Take a sullen protagonist with a tragic past, a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, a gun-toting girl in a kimono, a master thief with a trick or two up her sleeve and a timid girl with a terrifying secret…and you have a premise such as that of Black Cat. What is immediately apparent is that this is typical of so many other series we’ve seen in recent years – whether I’ve been watching too much anime lately or whether it really is a show that treads a well-worn path in action thrillers I don’t know, but it gave me that dreaded ‘seen it all before’ feeling. That is not to say it’s not enjoyable though: it kicks off as a fast-paced bit of fun that, given some solid writing and characterisation as the episodes progress, could fare quite well indeed.

The sullen protagonist is Train Heartnett, an assassin working for the secret society Chronos. Denoted as Number Thirteen by the organisation but known only as Black Cat by others owing to his ability to kill quickly and silently, he carries out his duties without remorse. This all changes when he meets Saya, a bounty-hunter or ‘sweeper’ who teaches him the value of individual lives. Also crossing paths with the Black Cat is Sven, another sweeper whose gentlemanly behaviour is matched only by his lack of income, and Eve, a mysterious girl who has been created by an arms dealer as a living weapon.

The vague American West flavour (aided by the lazy slide guitar riffs in the soundtrack) is very reminiscent of the classic Cowboy Bebop with good-for-nothing criminals and hard-up bounty hunters walking the lawless streets; there are echoes too of Gonzo’s other supernatural gothic thrillers such as Hellsing and Trinity Blood. Train, the Black Cat, reminds me strongly of Darker than Black’s taciturn hero Hei too, although Train currently lacks that all-important depth of character beyond the somewhat obvious traumatic childhood and orphan assassin aspects that his type of character so often has.

Fortunately the supporting cast are lively and varied enough to keep us occupied in the meantime. Saya is a vivacious yet merciful individual with a penchant for milk and irreverent conversation, while Sven is living proof that in Black Cat’s tough world of sweepers and killers, nice guys often finish last. It’ll be interesting to see how they and Eve tempt Train out of his life as a Chronos assassin but the series’ decision to hit the ground running in terms of action (a real plus if it’s excitement you’re after) left me wanting to learn more about him first.

As is so often the case, we’re only meeting the main players here so the first four episodes of Black Cat concentrate on the action set pieces; to be fair it makes a decent job of them and gives an exhilarating introduction. The animation quality doesn’t help here though – it comes across as a bit rushed and cheap, and lacking in detail in places too. This inevitably takes a bit of slickness out of the action scenes, setting them to the level of other generic Shounen Jump fare; while it’s not quite as sloppy as some older shows it lacks the polish of Gonzo’s A-list titles.

On the flipside there are plenty of comedy moments that aren’t affected nearly as much by the simplistic visuals. These moments of slapstick stop the proceedings taking too much of a walk down the path of angst; comic relief proves to be a real benefit when the worldview and its hero are as serious and gloomy as this. Whether the two aspects will compliment or detract from each other it’s hard to say but for the time being at least Black Cat is enjoyable in the short term but has enough potential to tell an interesting story that isn't afraid to have a bit of a laugh along the way.

In summary

With the angst-ridden protagonist of the title and a gritty background being tempered by colourful and amusing supporting characters, Black Cat takes some tried-and-tested ideas to make the beginnings of an enjoyable series. The lacklustre animation lets it down at times but if it plays its cards right it has the potential to be a derivative yet fun addition to the current release schedule.