Black Rock Shooter is such a weird franchise. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's reached mainstream status, but it is still a recognizable name and seems to have garnered some cult status in certain circles (could you believe that all of it started with just a simple drawing and a Vocaloid song?). With that said, you don't really need to know anything about Black Rock Shooter to enjoy Dawn Fall. You might miss some references here and there, but this, by and large, is a straightforward story.

The best way I can describe Dawn Fall is that it's sort of like if you smash Terminator and Mad Max together with some well-designed anime girls. There is a post-apocalyptic world with killer machines controlled by a rough AI, and the cast is just trying to get from point A to point B. I like the show's narrative progression: while there is an end goal, it organically works in all side quests as necessary stops. It never feels like the show is wasting our time, whether it is covering the plot-important stuff or expanding on its world-building. Even though the soundtrack is largely forgettable, marathoning the whole show in one sitting is a high-octane, exhilarating ride.

On paper, that sounds like a surefire recipe for success, and for the record, there is a lot to enjoy here. Right off the bat, the designs for some of the machines and main guardian girls are very distinct, mixing the sharp, neon edges of the machinery with the smoother, more washed-out human bodies. Even some side characters have minor mechanical details that hint at more significant stories.

However, it does get a little tricky to appreciate these designs given the Dawn Fall's overall approach to animation and rendering. The show is a mix of 2D and 3D animation. The lack of congruence between the two is sometimes obscured via character movements and/or camera angles. Still, the fully CG characters and machinery often blend poorly with their hand-drawn counterparts. It can be very jarring at worst and awkward at best, almost as if there is no consistency regarding how things are rendered in the foreground or background. The action is kinetic, but because of all the stylistic differences, that can act as a double-edged sword, leading to clunky or unfollowable action sequences.

I wish I could have better things to say about the characters in Dawn Fall, but aside from one or two examples, there's not as much to them as there should be. The foundation is there as most of these characters either come from a troubled background or have something happen to them throughout the show that should lead to deeper character introspection. However, the resolution of their individual arcs seemed to happen more out of narrative convenience rather than genuine character progression, with characters resolving their issues at points where the story just decides for that to happen. This can make it hard to grasp even the most basic elements of their characterization, such as their personalities and motivations. None of this is helped by the fact that some characters will ignore or not address major elements or events that occur around them.

The lack of direction also impacted the overall performances in the English dub. Some characters sound like the actors needed a firm grasp of who their characters are or how they should be emoting. I want to give the show the benefit of the doubt and say this was all done intentionally, but if that were the case, then there is a mismatch between the voice direction and the actual character writing.

Dawn Fall is brimming with edge in its attempts to show how thoroughly humanity is losing in this war against the machines. This is not a show that I can recommend to everybody as it has many uncomfortable elements, such as child soldiers, rape, and implied forced pregnancies. Some of these things even happened to the main cast members, but what makes me more frustrated than their inclusion is that Dawn Fall doesn't do anything with these elements. There are a lot of building blocks here for enriching characterization, which would have led to a much more satisfying action story than what we got. When you have these elements and then leave them hanging, it just makes it feel like they're there just for the sake of being there.

Overall, whether you're a Black Rock Shooter franchise fan or simply looking for edgy, high-octane fun, then I don't think you could do wrong with Dawn Fall. Unfortunately, while it is easy to follow and has a strong story progression with interesting world-building, its lack of character depth prevents it from being a solid action flick. Combining that with the show's rather messy art direction, I don't think I'll remember anything about Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall a day or two after finishing this review.