Bible Black

Title: Bible Black
Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: Animation (Hentai), Horror
Duration (30mins - 6 eps, 2 OAV)
Director: Sho Hanebu
Language: Japanese

So there's not really any way of evading the issue – and anyone who watches for longer than five minutes will probably observe anyway – but Bible Black is a Hentai. That's not the same as calling it “cartoon pornography” as it remains far closer to other animé in the manner the plot unfolds, albeit rather slowly as a result of the sheer number of sex scenes they miraculously managed to work in. Covering everything from incest to hermaphrodites as well as a number of sexual torture devices[1], the sadistic horror of the magical fantasy remains at its core a fascinating tale of deploration and abuse, if perhaps – like Urotsukidoji – it could have done with a cut on some of the nudity. Once you've seen one sex scene you've pretty much seen them all, most of them only differing in the characters involved and even then the animation isn't so wildly different as to make it feel particularly original.

I can only remember the names of two, Minase and Kitami, due to the number of times their names were cried out. Minase as he was the only guy in the series, and Kitami for being the evil witch, so for simplicity I'll just refer to the rest as 'bitch' followed by a number. Following the discovery of an ancient book on black magic, Minase begins reciting some of the secrets it contains – every single one of them is somehow linked to sex – and after making a couple fall in love and start humping in the hallway, decides to try it on himself to similar success, making bitch #1 fall hopelessly in love with him. Enter Kitami, the school nurse searching for a virgin for her own purposes; almost twelve years previous she had been a victim of the book, intended as a sacrifice but survived by making a pact with the devil. The night where the devil will claim her rapidly approaching, she needs a fresh body to transfer her consciousness to in order to survive. Deciding on bitch #2, a student in love with Minase (and he wouldn't say no to either) Minase sets out to save her from Kitami's evil plan.

Part of my confusion between the characters was probably down to the animation on them, the only thing that seems different about their physique – excluding the one with a penis – is the hairstyle; one has pink hair, another has short brown hair, a third has a short blonde hair, another with a pony tail to the side and one with a couple of curls in it, and you have all the stylistic diversity on show. The voices sound almost indistinguishable in most cases and they have all the personality of sawdust. I know I'd be foolish to expect top quality animation, but here its awful enough that it can add to the hilarity of some of the scenes[2] and furthering the suggestion that the animators probably need to get out more. As enjoyable as the initial premise sounded, and as amusing as it all began, what started out as promising dragged on when little else came into play, and the plot couldn't do much to save it.

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[1]I think my favourites had to be using a handpump to fill a woman with water until she looked pregnant, and then raping her to fill up the last little bit amidst cries of “I'm going to explode,” or force feeding them huge quantities of viagra before using magic to make them fall in love with everyone in the immediate vicinity.

[2]The time we discover the hermaphrodites secret which was one 'sproing' sound effect away from being like a disturbing “Looney Tune,” or the fact every woman is severely anorexic with breasts the size of watermelons that jiggle as if filled entirely with water.