Oji Tanaka has a wife, a child and a mundane job as a salary man in Tokyo's modern society. But life wasn't dull for him to begin with; 15 years ago, he was known as "Gabriel", leader of a short-lived heavy metal band called Black Heaven. Oji's life gets a sudden change in direction when he is invited by a mysterious blonde woman named Layla to pick up his Gibson Flying V and once again display his "legendary" guitar skills, not knowing that his music generates power for a massive weapon in an intergalactic war.
(Source: ANN)
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ZephSilver
Rock 'n' Roll, the sound of sexual liberation, youthful revolt, and living in excess. Since its early induction in film and other media, this genre of music has become synonymous with the "live-fast-die-young" lifestyle, almost becoming a checklist shorthand in the process. Whether it be used mockingly (This Is Spinal Tap) or genuinely embraced (Nana), rock 'n' roll has become a cornerstone in establishing tone and character. A correlative feature eventually made it a faux-literary device whenever brought up in any media that denotes the lifestyle mentioned. All of which brings us to the anime in question, Kachou Ouji (Black Heaven). A show about anine-to-five schmuck going through a midlife crisis, who, through a series of ridiculous events, is pleaded by a blonde bombshell from outer-space to save the world by picking back up his musical instrument. With his guitar playing skills becoming the only way to protect mankind from annihilation, a life defined by decades of tedium has finally been reinvigorated. This is the tale of a former rock star who ended up cutting his blossoming career prematurely to raise his family. A decision that led him into the cubicle-space hivemind, beating away at his keyboard day in and day out in order to bring bread to the table. With nothing to look forward to but heaps of paperwork and business seminars, this otherworldly woman offers him an escape from his vapid lifestyle; a man past his prime given a second chance at what he loves. And in the process of playing his music to save humanity, he also—you guessed it—rekindle the fleeting youth of his glory days.
If you haven't guessed by now, the story and premise of Black Heaven is not just literal, but also allegorical. It externalizes the inner turmoil that our protagonist is going through, creating a metaphysical environment that allows us as viewers the chance to examine him in the process. Its narrative structure and motifs are similar to that of other abstract works like FLCL (Fooly Cooly) and Abenobashi. While being nowhere as bombastic or eccentric as FLCL, it similarly handled the protagonist's midlife crisis to how FLCL handled its coming-of-age themes. With rock 'n' roll and the guitar being used as a motif to embody that youthful spirit and unkempt sexuality, what is seen on the surface is only as important as what they truly represent in our protagonist's life. This lends itself to several innuendos, some subtly surfacing to the foreground while others are shamelessly on-the-nose. Black Heaven is all about guided interpretation. Where some shows with this narrative structure may have some semblance of ambiguity as to what they're alluding to, Black Heaven is very upfront about what it represents, taking no detours to beat around the bush.
Black Heaven is far from your typical anime outing, and perhaps no defining feature best establishes that than its targeted demographic itself. It should come as no surprise that a majority of anime is aimed at teens to young adults. Black Heaven's sense of humor and situational awareness is, first and foremost, directed towards older adults (which should be a no-brainer given the subject matter). It's an anime that thematically has more in common with Oscar-winner Crazy Heart than it does anything found in the medium's usual canon.
It's not something that's trying to be gut-wrenchingly funny or instantaneously gratifying either, as it instead decides to draw humor and intrigue from relatable, commonplace issues that come with adulthood and all that it entails. It's a show that approaches the ordinary through a warped lens, never letting the growing pains of everyday life slip pass it. It's humorous because you "get it." You "get" the frustration that comes standard when dealing with an overbearing boss. You "get" how being caught up in the work environment could place distance in your social life, as well as your imitate relationships. You "get" how daily responsibilities can often strong-arm you into placing your hobbies on the back-burner. You "get" what our protagonist Oji Tanaka is going through, and in the process, chuckle at it, having experienced similar things yourself. And even if you haven't found yourself facing the same dilemmas firsthand, you've possibly seen this occur with your parent/guardian(s) in retrospect. If you're old enough to grasp these troubles, it's easy to appreciate the show's endearment and honesty in depicting the growing pains of being a worker-ant and family man.
While most of Oji's problems were played up for comedic effect, there's still a general sense of pity draped over his situation. Here's a man unsatisfied with the status quo of his home-life to such an extent that there's a rift forming between him and his loved ones. With a son whom he feels alienated from and a marriage just going through the motions, Oji is at the end of his proverbial rope, dangling with nothing left but memories of his youth. And as surreal as the concept may get at times, the humanistic endeavors remain down to earth.
The mundane meet surrealism, comedy meet sobering reality—Black Heaven juggles them simultaneously, resulting in Oji's journey being a roller coaster ride of failure and triumph. At one minute you're snickering at his misfortune, and by the next, you're rooting for his success. And while other named characters occasionally get screen-time, the story remains Oji's, and Oji's alone. It's his woes; everyone else is just along for the ride.
And really, at the end of the day, that's all the show needed to do. There's just something inherently intriguing about viewing someone else's plight. We never want to be at the receiving end of these troubles, but seeing others work through theirs always manages to command viewer attention.
And to keep that attention, the show straddles our lead with a few companion characters. One of which is the extraterrestrial-bombshell mentioned earlier, Layla Yuki. Apart from our protagonist, Layla receives the most screen presence throughout the show. With a compelling mystique and sultry demeanor, it doesn't take much for her to honey-trap Oji into submitting to her whims. She encompasses an innate desire, a type of sensuality that could only be birthed from unbound sexual freedom; which makes her not only a pivotal character but a symbolic presence as well. She's the embodiment of Oji's bachelor days, free of marriage, of parental duties, of responsibility. His desire for her is a desire for his former self, which ties into an unspoken real-life truth for a reason men of his age often cheat with women still at the prime of their youth. Yes, there's a sexual urge present, but the motivating agent on a subconscious level is often just wanting to feel "young" again.
Aside from her, we're also introduced to a ditzy comedic trio (names irrelevant) who operate similarly to that of The Three Stooges. They often lend their assistance, whether it was requested of them or not, and usually end up being more trouble than they're worth. Despite serving no further purpose beyond their hijinks as comedic reliefs, they were a welcome addition to the show. This also extends to the other side characters as well. They don't demand your attention, but their inclusion was still well-received. They breathed life into the situations that they were a part of and contributed in their own little way to making Oji's expedition one that was far more wholesome than had it been a one-man show.
Another aspect that adds to this journey is without question the music selection. Given that the show chronicles the life of a former rock star, a proper opening theme was in order. And what better way to get each episode kickstarted than by having the intro song be performed by John Sykes, a writer for the rock band Whitesnake and former guitarist for Thin Lizzy. The song "Cautionary Warning" from Sykes's 1997 album, 20th Century, served just the right amount of spunk and bravado needed to get you pumped up for each new episode. With a snarling cadence that could only be delivered by a veteran with experience in his craft and a guitar riff that's toe-tappingly infectious, the opening song is a love-letter provided by Sykes, boasting all the tricks he's acquired over his luxurious 30+ years performing in the music industry.
Almost serving as a counterbalance to the electrifying opening, the closing track is a bubblegum pop number with hints of jazz and funk undertones. It's cute in a way that befits Black Heaven's warped sense of style and humor.
But even after factoring in everything going for it, there are still many issues that plagued this anime. For one, despite the strength of the standout musical tracks, the actual musical selection was insufficient; often reincorporating an instrumental version of the opening theme for whenever the protagonist picks up his guitar. While the gradual progression of the song along with Oji's own progress in the show was a nice touch, the sheer amount of times the song was used did nothing but lessen its "pizzazz" as it continued onward. There are a few other accompanying tracks sparsely scattered throughout the show's run-time, but they were mostly drowned out by the Cautionary Warning tune's repetition.
Unfortunately, this cut-rate mentality didn't stop there, as it also affected the visual presentation for Black Heaven. It's below average, even by the standards of late 90s animation. Reused sequences were often implemented whenever it was possible, and outside of a few keyframes demonstrating some semblance of quality, still-frames were often used to cut corners. On top of that, the character designs are widely inconsistent or reduced to misshapen blobs if they're in the mid-ground or further away. "Shoestring budget" is what immediately comes to mind when discussing Black Heaven's production value. This isn't one of those cases where you could make the counterargument of "it's supposed to look cheap." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see Black Heaven wasn't high on the Studio heads' priority list.
Outside of presentation issues, the show lacked screenplay polish that could have been tightened up with a script revision. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, given the chaotic state of the presentation at times. Where it's forgiven is the fact that the premise doesn't go to waste despite the blemishes spotted upon initial viewing. Some things just needed to be trimmed down a little more to allow for a better flow in the narrative.
Despite these shortcomings, Black Heaven never felt bogged down by any of it; in fact, it could be argued (by some) that a few of these imperfections added to the show's charm. But that's more a matter of subjective preference than impartial assessment. It could have been assembled better but isn't handicapped by these drawbacks. What it lacked in pristine visuals, diverse sound selection, and a tighter script, it more than made up for with a sense of integrity and commitment to its tale.
Black Heaven was born out of the need to tell one story, Tanaka Oji's story, and by extension, teach us to live life to the best of our capabilities; finding happiness regardless of the hand we're dealt.
If you take the general storyboarding of American Beauty, add a dash of absurd allegorical visuals of Fooly Cooly, and filter it through a similar comedic lens of that of Welcome to the NHK, what you'd get is this humorous Japanese-salaryman monstrosity. Black Heaven was quite the surprise for me. Despite its humble offerings, Oji and company always manage to find a way to keep me entertained. And even when it played things out comically, the adult subject matter was always handled with a sense of responsibility.
Cheeky, charming, funny, and oddly enough, sobering, Black Heaven is a title that teaches us to find the silver lining, even during times when we find ourselves in a depressing slump.
It's not something that's going to blow your mind with groundbreaking revelations, nor is it a grandiose tale to defend earth (despite what the immediate premise alludes to). Where Black Heaven shines is in its commitment to telling a man's intimate struggle with no need for party tricks to keep the attentiveness of the viewer. It remains a small-scale identity crisis only inflated in relevance by the protagonist that's going through it. Where other titles would topple over with such self-imposed constraints, Black Heaven uses this very limited range as the driving force behind its narrative. It treats its audience with respect, trusting that they're mature enough to understand the intentions. There are not that many shows out there that could dare to do the same, and while a bit rough around the edges, its heart was in the right place. And for if only for that reason alone, Black Heaven has effectively become a mainstay among my cherished favorites.
Crystelcaster
This is one of those Animes that will really throw you for a loop. It starts out pretty plain but by the end you are at the edge of your seat. The setting goes from a hapless salary man's every day life, to a battle that the fate of the universe rests on. The Legend of Black Heaven is a wild ride with some of, if not the best, music that you have ever heard in a Anime. Story: I can honestly say that while the story is beyond a doubt a very original creation, it does lack some polish. Some events in the story takeplace much to slowly (around the beginning especially) but by the end of it, the writers get it right and you're trying desperately to find the next episode to find out what happens. Don't worry if the first few are a little bland, you'll thank yourself by the end.
Art: Art is perhaps the one field where Black Heaven really falls short. Now don't get me wrong, some of the space scenes are done in a very impressive CG and they look amazing! Unfortunately the reason they do look so good is that most of the artwork is nothing more than average. You won't find anything really special in this department either, but it's not so bad as to distract from the fun.
Sound: AMAZING! <--- The one word that really describes the sound and the soundtrack for Black Heaven. The fact that the story centers around a band, and the fact that music is an extremely integral part of the Anime makes the sound even better. While character development and action may be the most important and cause some of the most heart wrenching moments in other Animes, Black Heaven's music will make you cry, laugh, and rock on! To put this into perspective, the first ever OST I downloaded was this one, and I love it.
Character: Both Oji and Layla are very memorable characters for me. I loved it whenever they were on screen, even more when they were both on. Oji (AKA Gabrielle) makes it possible to love this series; his transformation from depressed cubical dweller to rock god is shown amazingly.However most of the other characters, while either interesting or pleasant, didn't leave me with lasting memories of them.
Enjoyment: Again Black Heaven ranks very highly for enjoyment. This is a direct result of Oji and his great music. There will be times early on when it seems to drag, but these don't last very long. Layla's assistants also do a great job of putting in comic relief every time you see them. Personally, I enjoyed it even more the second time around.
Overall: I give it an 8/10. I was tempted to give it an even higher mark but I know I shouldn't. This Anime is not perfect, nor will you mistake it for being one. But despite all of it's flaws it has a little bit of magic to it. A magic that you will feel every time Gabrielle strums his guitar. Honestly the music in it makes it a must see, or at least a must hear. (I wanted to give sound a 11/10 but they wouldn't let me)
5camp
Legend of Black Heaven was made in 1999 and made by AIC back when they didn’t rely on shitty fanservice harems and could pump out stuff like Black Heaven and Now and Then, Here and There. It tells the story of Oji, a generic Tokyo salaryman going through a midlife crisis. After despairing when his wife throws out his favourite electric guitar, a sexy alien co-worker tells him that he is the one man with the ability to power an intergalactic super weapon using his guitar playing. Not that the space opera plot really matters that much. The super weapon runs on roughly the same energythat the robots in Gurren Lagann ran on, except this time it requires guitar playing to transform said spirit (which Black Heaven calls ‘groove’) into energy to run the weapon. We’re never given any reason why they’re fighting or who they’re fighting. One of my running theories throughout the series was that this was all in the main characters head. The anime itself kept to the theme that this was all a dream, never crossing the boundary between the real world and the space battles.
What purpose the space guitar playing battles really serve is a big metaphor for the lead characters mid life crisis. For everything that happens in the space battle zone, there’s a clear correlation between what’s going on in his head and the real world. The realisation that nobody really cared about the songs he was playing in the spaceships was a metaphor for how he had gotten so wrapped up in trying to create a spark in his mid life that he hadn’t realised how his head was totally in the clouds. The numerous sexual metaphors connected to escaping to play his guitar, while played for comedy pretty frequently, correlated to how he wanted to escape his whiny wife and unsatisfying home life.
Black Heavens greatest achievement is that it manages to keep both the general story and the metaphors great fun to watch throughout. Purely on the surface level, Black Heaven is still an incredibly fun anime. The characters all have clear personalities and flawed in their own ways. The failing marriage of Oji and his wife has no clear person you’re meant to side with. There’s a panic and fear surrounding the women when she realises that their marriage is failing and he might be off with another women, but she struggles so hard to understand his passion that it’s understandable how Oji wants to create a spark in his life with this metaphorical mistress of space guitar playing. Oji is a hugely flawed character himself, prone to frequent feelings of elation and depression. One of the parts I really liked about Black Heaven were how the most extreme moments in his emotions were set inside the ramen stall. It was the one place he could visit and be himself without the show ever actually saying that itself.
There’s so many little things I love about this anime. The growing relationship between Oji and his son, where at the beginning he knew nothing about him to Oji becoming the dads idol. The kids TV show Flying 5 constantly providing indirect commentary to what was going through Oji’s mind at the time. The way the show never lost its sense of humour, whether it be through the hilarious sight of middle aged office workers trying to fit a bass guitar over their ever-expanding bellies to the occasional yet rather liberal use of fanservice throughout the show (bunny girl press-ups spring to mind). It’s a story of identity crisis wrapped up in a Heavy Metal Macross package.
It’s far from perfect and I’m not so blind as to suggest otherwise. Made in 1999, the animation isn’t particularly good even for its time. The animation is pretty fluid but has a tendency to re-use frames a hell of a lot and far away shots of characters can often give them misshapen heads. The anime has a single utterly awesome theme song that it uses the entire way through the show. While this does add a lot when you hear how the song evolves throughout, it does start to get a bit much as it goes on. The comic relief trio don’t do an awful lot for the plot either and can sometimes take up time being not very funny.
My biggest complaint though is how I felt it started to lose sight of the balance it created between the real world and the space opera right at the end. I get what it was going for and how Oji had come to terms with this dream by the end, but I felt it didn’t quite get the balance right the same way the rest of the series did. Even so, Legend of Black Heaven is one of the greatest anime I have ever seen, just in case that big fat 10 mark hadn't given away that already ;)
gorki
For me this story has nothing to do with music, that's just accessory. The true jem about this anime is the story. With more money to avoid some scene repetition, this could have been one of the greatest anime i ever saw. This is definitly not for young people who are usually longing for strong,in rough emotions. When I saw this anime i took pleasure in seeing that the main character is an adult,simple, regular person. No fancy things just plain normal. He could have chosen a life to follow his dreams, but instead like a man, he took up his responsibilities, dedicated himselfto his family. Nobody had to die, no overreaction. By contrast to many predictable, and drama queens animes, in Black Heaven there is no big drama, it's just simply sad. There is no blood sacrifices, no impossible, platonic hyped love. It's the most realistic essay of the human condition i've seen in anime in a very long time. He doesn't have a special power, he just happens to know how to play a song. For some it may be very boring, due to the small amount of action that you observe in the anime, however it is this tranquillity that allows it to develop the so well the characters. It reminds me of the 70's & 80's movies. Very few special effects and more concentration/focus on the character/plot development. The sound may be a bit repetitive after a while, but nevermind that, the rest will compensate for it. It's a serious anime for serious people.
Hatul
Kachou Ouji or Legend of Black Heaven does stand out quite a bit. It's a slice of life that features a middle aged salary man with a mid life crisis as a protagonist (not very common in anime) who also happens to be a former rock star and misses his glory days. He has a wife and kid who don't understand his obsession with the past and the show itself plays out like a black comedy filled with sexual innuendos and features themes such as the difficulty of aging, nostalgia and the hope for a happy life despite losing your youth and glory. Sounds like agreat show right? Well, sadly it's hard for me to get on board with that even though I really wanted to.
Notice that this anime also has a 'sci fi' tag attached to it, and sadly this ends up being the show's biggest weakness in my view. Not only because the sci fi genre doesn't integrate that well in to a slice of life about a middle aged man who desires to relive his youth, but it also ends up forcing the protagonist in to situations, making the story often take bullshit turns and by extension hampering its themes. Spoilers ahead.
The first episode opens with a space battle which is used to establish this work as a science fiction series right away. But this scene doesn't do a very good job since it really doesn't become relevant until episode 2, it has metal music played over it and is followed by an opening sequence filled with interesting trippy visuals and a metal song accompanying that. So that scene could've easily been brushed off as some kind of visual metaphor.
But sadly that scene becomes center stage later even though the 1st episode (which was the show at its best) focuses solely on the protagonist's mid life crisis and how all the color was sucked out of his life as an aging salary man.
In episode 2 the protagonist meets a hot chick who encourages him to play the guitar and relive his glory days.
She later turns out to be an alien who's just taking advantage of his unexplained guitar playing powers that somehow helps her and her allies shoot stronger lasers at their faceless and motivation-less enemies in space.
What happens in between episode 2 and 5 is that his wife is getting annoyed by the fact that this alien woman is taking up a lot of his spare time with his family (and suspects he's cheating on her) and so hi-jinks and misunderstandings ensue.
Up until the end of episode 5 The protagonist does not realize he's being taken advantage of and when it is revealed he does not take this revelation kindly (despite the fact that she explains this to his face in episode 2) and he mistankingly believed that she genuinely wants to hear his music.. which is followed by a slow and meditative episode 6 made up of the protagonist just contemplating, thinking about where to go from there.
Episode 6 could've been a great turning point for our protagonist with him eventually realizing that he's better off living his boring but adequate life rather than living a lie or reliving your youth by becoming somebody's tool. But sadly the main character submits to his desires and becomes a tool for an alien war he knows nothing about.. Which would've been fine if he was punished for his actions eventually, but the show does NOT condemn him for it. In fact, he ends up rewarded for his behavior which included neglecting his wife and kid.
Thus for the rest of the series he keeps playing his guitar on the aliens' space ship assisting them in defeating their enemies
I should also mention that later in the series the protagonist tries to convince his old band members (who have families and moved on with their lives) to join him in playing music for this space war "to no avail"... only to magically appear on that space ship later with no explanation on how they got there.
The biggest insult for me is that near the end of the series earth is also at stake all of a sudden which leaves the band members no choice but to play more music and lend their powers which gives the characters even less agency. On top of that, the wife divorces the protagonist due to his neglect only to regret doing so a few minutes later (and also magically appears on the space ship somehow) when she realizes what's at stake.
To me, all of this reinforces what a lazy plot device this whole sci fi bullcrap was all along, it simply doesn't give the characters much of a choice and as a result of this, the protagonist receives no further development in the second half of the show. He just willingly becomes the aliens' tool and that's where his character arc ends. It makes it feel like nobody really learned anything and that there were no consequences to his actions.
Leaving all that aside, none of the characters stand out all that much but they're not bad either.
The protagonists' wife and kid are fleshed out decently and given enough screen time and comedic moments for you to care about them and understand their relationship with our protagonist. I even liked some of his old band members and the sexy alien lady. But aside from him, his wife and the alien lady, none of them really have much of a character arc to speak of and I personally feel that these three arcs are all kinda botched in the end.
Visually this show is pretty cheap looking. The animation is stiff, still frames are used fairly often and the characters look ugly and off model at times. On the other hand, the first episode had good cinematography with interesting camera angles and solid framing all around and so does the rest of the show but to a lesser extent. The character designs are distinct and seem to compliment their personalities pretty well.
I also liked the use of color, everything in the protagonist's mundane life seems to be washed out with dull colors to reinforce how the color was sucked out of his life, hell, he even wears a white suit. This contrasts nicely with a much more colorful pallet when he's reliving his glory days.
The music is very good but also a little disappointing since there really aren't that many songs. You have a fantastic metal opening theme that fits the series well and visually gives you a glimpse of the protagonist's former lifestyle but different versions of it are pretty overused throughout the show including when he himself plays the guitar.
The ending song is a weird pop song that you sorta get used to. Voice acting is fairly good for what is required and the voices do match each of the characters' personalities just fine.
Overall, this show isn't a complete waste of time, it does have its moments, the comedy wasn't too bad and it's somewhat recommendable for being unique. But I personally don't think it lived up to its promise all that much and it just let me down with the way it handled its themes and characters.
Ravenhart
I guess with more money, expertise and time this anime would have been brilliant. The main reason to watch this anime is the sound. The story is really build up around the head character who is the mayor band leader. But in the whole story there are only like three different songs, of which one is played constantly. That's sad because the guitar player really is gifted, the music is great so it would drive everyone mad if there were more different songs!!!!!!
ZeroEnigma
Guitars, babes, saving the universe, hairmetal, and comedy--The Legend of Black Heaven is where it's at. Sure, it's an unrefined production effort that could be better, but it certainly stands out as a show that's worth watching at least once. After all, the series is only thirteen episodes and the pacing is fair enough that it could be finished in one or two sittings. The bare plot of Black Heaven does leave something to be desired, though. Don't expect any great twists, deep characterization, or huge revelations. However, I feel, that's one of the coolest things working for the series. As a portrayal of the routine,usual life and diminishing dreams, it does well to stay away from those tropes and still be enjoyable.
What really sold the series to me, though, was the brilliant depiction of Japan's rock scene. The show reflects on the decline of what rock once was as well as the uprising of more contemporary music in an interesting way, manifested through the main character. In fact, Oji comes to personify a sort of social commentary on the Japanese, showing how easily dreams are deferred for a salary-man's job. Several times throughout the series, characters are nagged back into reality, leaving us with the question of what's more important. This all works to make the message of staying true to oneself and following up on your dreams even more potent.
My major gripe with the show is that, despite being a show focused on music, only a few songs are actually used throughout the duration of the anime. Sure, they're -cool- songs, but it'd be interesting and refreshing to hear something new in a show that's about rocking out.
All in all, the anime is worth the time invested. It's a somewhat ecchi and slow-paced show compared to others, so I wouldn't reccomend it for someone who hasn't seen many series. However, fans of late 90's/early 2000 era anime, music-nerds, and anyone who's up for a glimpse at a solid portrayal of Japanese society should enjoy this a good bit. What's there to lose? Go for it!
angelsreview
I started watching it and in first impressions, I did wonder what the hell I was watching. It’s heard to rate something that does not have a definite feel to it and this one seemed almost all over. It’s a slice of life with a lot of other things mixed into it and it just feels… off a bit. It’s not bad, but its not good ether leaving it in what I call no mans land along with a couple others that I have watched. The characters are rather likeable, Oji not really being my all time favorite but I think it really wasn’t createdfor my age or gender. This feels more like it was made for those that were about 30 and up men that are in their mid-life crisis and find out that they lost several of their glory years stuck behind a desk. It’s something you might have to just go though before the character stands out.
In this story, it’s a rocker who just wants his old life back after having it cut short. Unlike slice of life, he has to fight an alien race in order to save the planet and all with the power of his rock. It’s not a school boy or girl in trouble with love which is really different.
The animation is all over the place. The characters look almost abnormal in how there bodies are created, Oji’s chin seems to fall off when he’s surprised, and all sorts of things happen. There is a lot of fan service and a lot of drama because of it.. If you’re going into this for amazing battle scenes, forget it. When there are battles and it isn’t much, most of the time it’s the weapon going off to rock and roll and mostly just the guitar. The rest of the time, its mostly slow images of life.
The music, you really have to be the judge of. It’s alright for the 90’s but not really present day music.
nyarlathotepsama
The Legend of Black Heaven…well it is a slice of life/comedy about Rock and Roll and Space…the two are not in fact mutually exclusive you see. The series is pretty good for the year it was made in, which really doesn’t affect anything unless you are some sort of visual-anime-snob. The series is fun to watch and listen too, the music in my opinion is pretty good. You’ll enjoy this series if you like less slapstick styles of comedy (although there is some of that in there). I finished the series in a single night, which says something for it, butit does get a little repetitive and when the novelty of the ideas and themes wears off it can become slow in the middle, B+ effort, so sayth Lord Nyarlathotep…
alstore
black heaven is one of those rare anime's that focus on music. the story is threw you for a loop on a couple of points. 1:the main character is married. I felt that it hurt the over all because it ruins the whole rock and roll image. it's like watching a badass good guy for a while and latter you find out he is whiped by his wife. that is just lame. 2: the whole band quit and have lives of the own. not a bad thing , but it kind of hard for them to "sneak" out to play music. 3: the whole affair image was justfiller. the whole office thought they did with good reason. i thought slowed down the story a bit. it was not need for it all. ether him single or have the alein layla be a guy. so there is no affair to slow the story. the art was good and the theme of it being a music anime was done great. giant space guitar was great:)
the sound was the best and saving grace of the series. i do like rock music. but i felt it was a great theme for space battle.
Character: Oji was made of awsome. he was smart and understanding with his band mates. he was not over the top nor a loser. a rare thing to be seen.
the only character i did not like was oji' wife yoshiko. she only nagged when he was around. this is a rock and roll sereies not a bad drama. the family felt like filler.
enjoyment: ok, the music and the art is what will keep most people watching. the story was a little hurt with the "filler family". some thing you do not see often but done badly here.
overall: it is a cheap series to pick up. so the price is right. just pretend the wife is not there and it comes together better.
gwern
I originally ran into _Black Heaven_ due to its inclusion in an _AMV Hell_, and then finished _Black Heaven_ while scanning an old anime encyclopedia (so all quite nostalgic). I wanted to like it because it seemed like a funny take on _Macross_, but the constantly repeated music, the slow and repetitive plot/pacing (in 13 episodes?!), and the occasionally very ugly animation all doomed it to pure mediocrity.
ggultra2764
This was a fun title while it lasted. Black Heaven features office grunt and middle-aged man Oji reliving his days as a rock guitarist when he unknowingly becomes the major tool an alien race needs to combat an enemy threat that could wipe out the Earth if not stopped. The fun from the series comes from the show's mix of sci-fi/adventure and slice-of-life comedy as Oji's life turns topsy-turvy from interacting with Layla and the aliens. Oji gets his head too into the clouds over reliving his younger days with Black Heaven where it effects his work and home life, the aliens need his helpat the most inopportune times and the three alien gals who serve under Layla contribute some of the best comedy relief I've seen in an anime thanks to their lack of common sense when it comes to understanding elements of Earth culture. Despite the comedy, the series does have its serious moments where Oji's revival of his music interest strains his marriage and he gets into a moment of disillusionment when he realizes the reality of his situation as Earth's hope for survival from the enemy fleet, as well as Layla developing admiration for Oji's guitar playing and outlook on music.
The visuals to the series are solid with clean details and vivid color with scenery and character designs. Animation shortcuts are apparent at points, particularly with reused shots of animation from Oji's guitar playing and the firing of the fleet's "ultimate weapon". The show's soundtrack, as to be expected with the show's use of rock music for a plot element, consists mostly of rock and metal music tracks which fit quite well with the show's varying situations.
Black Heaven isn't without its faults though. The series doesn't go into great length explaining what exactly the enemy alien threat is, explaining much about the war that the two fleets in and why Oji was seemingly "the chosen one" to help Layla and her forces with their conflict. The show also gets in the annoying habit of abruptly bringing about some plot twists way too conveniently in its second half, particularly the reuniting of the band and the resolution to the whole conflict.
Outside of these issues, Black Heaven was an enjoyable romp for its effective mix of genres, the trio of alien gals adding in some unpredictable antics and its focus on Oji reliving his younger days while trying to fend off a hostile alien threat. This is a definite hidden gem for anime fans as I don't hear of the anime mentioned in many online circles of discussion.
Benjamin72227
*CLIFF-NOTES* final rating: Two thumbs up mode watched: official DUBS age restrictions: They say "damn." 18+ (The kids wouldn't enjoy it anyways) recommended viewing experience: Dub, alone, the fanciest headphones you have, sober/a little buzzed. *FULL-SPIEL AHEAD* Aight dawg, listen up. Black Heaven is not a one-time anime. You will watch it more than once. It's not deep. You dont have to rewatch to understand whats going on. You will remember this anime randomly sometime later in life and feel the need to watch it again. It's freaking great. It's about passion, and sticking to it. its about friends, family, love and depression. But there is no story-book lesson to learn here.It's not a shounen moral piece. It follows a man who decides what he wants to do with his life, always choosing what he loves above all else. That's probably the biggest draw of the work, the truly "adult" protagonist. This aint one of your high-school-shitfests. Oh, look, originality!
Look, this is about music, and there are only like three songs tops in the series. IT'll get annoying if you marathon it, but hey, its the same as listening to it on the radio that way. The tunes are hella catchy.
The art is kinda old. Not MSG old, but like, maybe, low-budget from 08th MS team-tier. It looks good enough. Check out the first episode sometime. Actually, no. Set a day or two aside for this one. It'll be fun.
You are my instigator, you are my aggravator, you are my space invader, CAUTIONARY WARNING I PROPOSE~~~~~
AnimeTopScholar
Kachou Ouji (Legend of Black Heaven) is a 13 episode TV anime original produced by studio AIC and A.P.P.P. It was directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi (Macross Frontier) and aired from Jul 8 1999 to Oct 7 1999. The story goes something like this. Ouji Tanaka is a middle-aged sallery worker, working a dead end job, and living in a tiny apartment together with his wife Yoshiko and their son Gen. Ouji is living his mundane everyday life with nothing exiting happening. The only thing to remind him of the exiting times of the past is his flying V electric guitar that he used to play whenhe was in a metal band called Legend of Black Heaven. One day a woman called Layla Yuki starts working at the company Ouji works for. She is very interested in Ouji, and it turns out that she is an alien who has come to get him to play his guitar for them in, cause his music is the only thing that can activate their ultimate weapon to protect the earth from getting involved in a space war. Ouji happily agrees and gets to live out the glory days of his past and rekindle his love for music.
There are a few characters that could be worth mentioning, but I'm only gonna stick to the most important ones.
First we have our main character Ouji Tanaka. He's the former guitarist of a metal band called Legend of Black Heaven, who had aspirations of making it big in the music world, but sadly it didn't work out for them. Now he's working a dead end job and living with his wife and son, and nothing exiting happens.
Secondly we have Layla Yuki. She's an alien commander who come to earth to get Ouji, cause they need his music to activate their ultimate weapon which only activates from his music.
Finally we have Ouji's wife, Yoshiko. She was once a groupy of Ouji's band, and they ended up getting married. Now her life together with Ouji is not going great. While Ouji is unhappy and stuck in the past, she wants to move on, and in order to make room for their new life and child she tries to throw away all of Ouji's music related things, and even ends up throwing away his flying V guitar.
The animation in this show is not good. This show definitely does not excel in the visual aspects. It's not bad enough that the show is unwatchable because of it, but you're not gonna be blown away visually. Also the CG is as you would expect from a 90s anime.
The music in his show on the other hand is very good. Being mostly made up of metal and hard rock this is right up my alley when it comes to music. Everything from the OP, all the way up until the ending was very good. However the ending really felt out of place. Almost like it didn't belong to the same show, and their choice to use the song they did for the ED was a strange decision. Another complaint I've got about the music is that while I think it's good, I do wish they would have had more music to use. Because, even though I really liked the OP song Cautionary Warning, hearing it played on most of the episodes as an insert song as well got a bit boring. But if you like that song as much as I do, it won't really be that much of a problem.
Overall I was surprised by this show. Hearing about it and reading the synopsis it sounded like just another stupid anime premise, and it definitely is, but this is the sort of stupid I can get behind. I enjoyed the show, and even though the writing at times got a little weird (shocking, I know) it for the most part felt like the show had a very good idea of what it wanted to be and do. At least up until the end where they started pulling some weird stuff because "aliens". The only other thing that got a bit annoying for me was the 3 retards of the show. They were to this show what Jar Jar Binks was to Star Wars, just a waste of a comedic relief character, and having 3 of them in this show isn't exactly a dream come true. But despite this I enjoyed the show, and I would definitely recommend this show if you just want a dumb show about a man fighting aliens with metal music.
Tyrannicswine117
Warning possible Spoilers Black Heaven is definitely one of those anime's where you can put two things that don't look like they would work, but somehow do well mostly. The story is about Oji Tanaka who is a former lead guitarist of a band and now lives a normal boring life with his wife and son until one day a mysterious woman named Layla asks him to use his guitar to fight an intergalactic battle. Now from seeing a story like that you know you're in for a wacky ride, but this was actually pretty serious as we see a former band leader who seems to look likehe has nothing worthwhile in his life until he has been asked to do what he does best again and seeing how his character shifts from being lifeless to being full of life shows that getting old doesn't really snuff the fire in you and it was really interesting seeing these guys who think they have lost their youthful spirit until they realise it's the only thing that can save the universe.
It was also kinda interesting how the power of Groove could power a weapon which seems incredibly absurd, but since this is anime anything can happen really plus it was also fun seeing how our MC's new activity affected the current life he has and the people around him it made it seem like it was some weird superhero movie of sorts.
Despite the story being unique it did sort of feel a bit meh in some areas like the fact that they tried to force in some kind of romance with Oji and Layla which just didn't make any sense since Oji is already married and has a kid so the fact this was kinda forced in there really hurt the story a bit.
There isn't many characters in the show that make a big impact apart from a few, but those few definitely kept me going throughout the show.
Oji is the male MC and he is the former band's lead guitarist, he is pretty much a man who is questioning where his life seems to have gone as he believes his life right now is dull until now and you see his character develop back into the youthful nature he has and he even starts taking note of his family more well sorta, he seemed like a cool guy and once he got going he definitely showed a determined and non-quitting side.
Layla Yuki is the female MC and was instructed to keep an eye on Oji so that they can use him for the ultimate weapon, as a character she was actually pretty bland to me, she pretty much did what I was expecting of her and that was a forced love interest which seemed unnecessary since Oji was already married, the only interesting thing that happened to her was her opinion of Rock itself and seeing her mood change because of it was something at least.
Yoshiko and Gen are Oji's wife and son who do play some kind of important role in the show, Yoshiko is pretty much the usual nagging wife you'd expect though honestly her nagging was understandable since she didn't know about the whole space war thing till the end so she had no idea what was going on especially since she was hearing rumour's that Oji was having an affair and Gen is very hyper just like a normal kid and thinks the whole space battle thing is just a real representation of his favourite TV show he does find out about the space battle stuff early on and decides to keep it a secret.
Then there are Oji's other band members Sato, Yamada and Suzuki who are all in the same lifestyle as Oji, but are also looking for that lost spark and all these guys along with Oji prove that getting old is something that shouldn't stop you from doing what you love doing most.
Finally there is also the 3 alien officers who help out Layla who are called Kotoko, Eriko and Rinko, these 3 were really funny and pretty much were the best female characters of the show as they were always mistaking things that people said for something else which always lead to bad situations where they got the wrong thing or were being a nuisance for the other characters.
The artstyle looked alright as the characters especially the male characters had a decent amount of variation, the spaceships looked cool despite being CGI, but at least the CGI looked good compared to other anime's that I've seen use it.
It was funny though seeing the Power Rangers being referenced in this show and recalled Power Saucers which just didn't seem to make any sense, but it was still a good reference.
The music was actually very good compared to other musical anime's and even though the same track was used throughout the show much like what Fuuka did it actually expanded upon as more bad members were introduced which extended the musical pieces being played so it just got better and better to listen to each time.
The comedy in this show was a hit and miss for me, it was funny whenever the 3 alien girls showed up as their antics always caused trouble for the characters and their lack of understanding certain things made for some funny entertainment I think the funniest thing they did was the routine they had Layla do which seemed so bizarre, but really funny.
Overall this was a decent Rock & Roll space battle anime that could have been better in some aspects, but was pretty entertaining to watch so music or sci-fi lovers might find this enjoyable.
Troothful
This was a series that seemed to have so much going for it, and most of that potential ends up squandered. The plot sounded like something out of Heavy Metal, crossed with Interstella 5555, it featured some promo art gorgeous enough to hang on my wall (see the DVD cover if it's not on this site) and the opening theme was stunning in both audio and video. But as for the show itself... Well... What I thought I'd be getting was a schlocky, pulpy, devil-may-care sci-fi story that lives up to the heavy metal lifestyle it seems to profess so much love for. Maybe my disappointmentis my own fault for thinking the show was going to offer something that it wasn't prepared to offer. Instead, the bulk of the show is like a coming-of-middle-age slice of life... comedy? I feel compelled to use the question mark because most of the jokes or gags are just groan-worthy.
As I said, I was in love with the opening sequence. But then if you watch the ending sequence, it looks nothing like the rebellious heavy metal love letter from the opening, and instead makes the show look like a soulless pop-appeal throwaway entry in the moe slice-of-life genre. In a sense, the show finds itself caught in a war between these incompatible ideologies, and I saw the latter side winning more often than not.
The portions of the show where that metal ideology shines through approach the territory of "pretty good series." But even then, there are problems. The space battles use some very dated CGI, and while John Sykes' musical contribution to the series was its highest point of quality, it's obvious he gave them one track and nothing more, because the instrumental version of the OP is used ad nauseam in nearly every musical sequence. I can't exactly say I got tired of it, since I still listen to the song long after having finished the series, but a greater variety could have helped the story.
Overall, the story didn't build up to a climax that I particularly cared about, nor did it pack the kind of punch that I really want in a sci-fi work, particularly one where rock or heavy metal music are touted as themes or influences. There's a plot development near the end where the enemy space fleet finds their own musician to fight back against the main character, but again, nothing too powerful comes out of that subplot. The greatest item of value in the series, outside of John Sykes' Cautionary Warning, is a scene that went somewhat viral under names like "worst black guy in a Japanese dub." It was a funny scene, but not really for the reason the creators intended.
It might be enjoyable if you're looking for a lighthearted family comedy first and foremost, if this gels with your sense of humor. But if you're seeing the promotional material I've seen, read the synopses I read, and saw the opening sequence I saw, and you want something like that, I'd direct you to something like Interstella or Heavy Metal before I'd ever direct you to this. It was not (as I'd hoped) anything like a cross between those two.
91blsw
It's slow and annoying, until about halfway where it gains some momentum, and the ending was a blast. That being said if you get too bored with episode 1, jump to episode 7 and watch to the ending then go back if you want to pick up the loose ends. The music is IMO really good; shedding guitars, thumping bass, grooving drums, and keys straight from the 80's. The art style especially on the sci-fi scenes really fits, but the best visual on the show is the psychedelic moments hands down. The everyday scenes I find less noteworthy. Some of the characters really annoy me with just plainstupidity probably added for humor or something.
Overall had it not been for the extremely sluggish start it would have been quite good.
Wolfie219
Kachou Oji is a pretty old anime, but its story is original. You may think rock music and a space battle have nothing in common. Well, you are quite right, but it somehow works in this anime. A middle-aged ex-musician never lost his passion for rock music even though he has wife and a kid now. He decide to save an entire universe with his song. He is a very likeable character even though he is an average joe. I like how his relationship with his wife was presented. Music is nice, but there is just one or two songs which is devastating. Art isn'tmuch to look at and characters look off model most of the time. Also this isn't an anime I normally enjoy so I gave it a 6. It is a definition of a fine anime. Nothing great nor bad.
