is a Japanese light novel series written by Shiden Kanzaki and illustrated by Saki Ukai, published under ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story takes place during a parasitic epidemic, and follows Rentarō Satomi and Enju Aihara, two Civil Security workers who take missions to protect the Tokyo Area from destruction.
The series began publication in July 2011, and 7 volumes have been published as of January 2020. A manga series began serialization in August 2012 in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Maoh. An anime television series adaptation animated by Kinema Citrus and Orange was broadcast from April to July 2014, and was simulcast outside Japan by Crunchyroll. The Black Bullet franchise was localized in three countries by several companies: the anime was licensed by Sentai Filmworks for North America, Animatsu Entertainment for the United Kingdom, and Hanabee for Australia. Both the manga and light novel series are published in North America by Yen Press.
Plot
In the year 2021, mankind is ravaged by the epidemic of Gastrea, a parasitic virus, and is forced to live within the Monolith walls, which are created from Varanium: a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, children who were born with the Gastrea virus and obtained superhuman abilities as a result, are discovered and dubbed "Cursed Children". Due to the Gastrea virus' intervention, the Cursed Children could only be female. Civil Securities are formed to specialize fighting against Gastrea, operating with the pair of an Initiator, who are cursed children, and a Promoter, serving to lead the cursed children. Ten years after the epidemic, Rentarō Satomi, a high school student who is also a Promoter in Tendō Civil Security Agency owned by his childhood friend Kisara Tendō, along with his Initiator, Enju Aihara, conducts missions to prevent the destruction of the Tokyo Area and the world.
Characters
Tendō Civil Security
Rentarō is a second year student in Magata High School and a Promoter in Tendō Civil Security. Rentarō's parents died in the war against Gastrea ten years ago, and was adopted by the Tendō family, but left the family along with Kisara. Rentarō lost his right leg, right arm and left eye in a fight with Gastrea to protect Kisara, and was saved by Doc's "New Human Creation Plan" which replaced his lost limbs with Varanium. Due to his kind and sincere nature Rentaro is one of the few sympathizers of the cursed children. He usually goes to extreme lengths to help them. This trait also leads many cursed children to either take an interest in him or become infatuated with him. He uses an XD and is a beginner in Tendō style martial arts in the beginning of the story.
Enju is a Cursed Child, and is Rentarō's Model Rabbit Initiator in Tendō Civil Security. She lives with Rentarō and goes to primary school normally until her status as a Cursed Child was revealed during the incident involving Kagetane Hiruko, and was forced to transfer to a new school. When first introduced to Rentarō by the International Initiator Supervising Organization (IISO), Enju had severe trust issues, but this has since improved through getting along with Rentarō and eventually becoming infatuated with him despite her young age. She is a fan of the Tenchuu Girls anime.
Kisara is the president of Tendō Civil Security. Originally from the Tendō clan, she left the family after a certain conflict along with her childhood friend Rentarō. Kisara's kidneys are barely functioning due to the trauma of witnessing her parents being eaten alive by Gastrea. Believing that her parents' deaths were connected to the Tendō family, she swore to avenge them and has been searching for the murderers. She is extremely skilled at the Tendō style of martial arts, but is unable to fight for extended periods of time due to her condition. Kisara has feelings for Rentarō, who has shown the attraction to be mutual, but their attempts to communicate their feelings towards one another are usually interrupted, most of the time by Enju. However, her obsession with exacting revenge on the Tendō clan is a source of concern for Rentarō, who fears it may one day lead to them parting ways.
Tina is a product of Ayn Rand's mechanized soldiers and his Model Owl Initiator. Tina was ordered to assassinate Seitenshi by Ayn but was instead foiled by Enju's interference and eventually defeated by Rentarō. Seitenshi gave her special treatment and only ordered to keep her under observation, and was hired by Tendō Civil Security when she was released. She later on forms a pair with Kisara, while becoming infatuated with Rentarō just like Enju, with whom she competes for his attention.