| Brynhildr in the Darkness | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuring Neko Kuroha | |
| 極黒のブリュンヒルデ (Gokukoku no Buryunhirude) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Lynn Okamoto |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Imprint | Young Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Young Jump |
| Original run | January 26, 2012 –March 31, 2016 |
| Volumes | 18(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Kenichi Imaizumi |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Yukinori Kitajima |
| Music by | Nao Tokisawa |
| Studio | Arms |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Tokyo MX,ytv,CTV,BS11,AT-X |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 6, 2014 – June 29, 2014 |
| Episodes | 13 + OVA |
| Novel | |
| Brynhildr in the Darkness: The Moment | |
| Written by | Makoto Narikami |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Imprint | Jump J-Books |
| Published | April 18, 2014[4] |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Brynhildr in the Darkness (Japanese:極黒のブリュンヒルデ,Hepburn:Gokukoku no Buryunhirude;lit. 'Extreme-BlackBrynhildr') is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byLynn Okamoto. It was serialized inShueisha'sseinen manga magazineWeekly Young Jump from January 2012 to March 2016. The series follows a Ryouta Murakami, a young boy obsessed with proving that aliens exist, who sees someone who looks like his deceased friend. Ananime television series adaptation byArms aired between April and June 2014.
Ryouta Murakami along with his childhood friend, Kuroneko set out to search for signs of alien life. Although Ryouta is skeptical about her theory, Kuroneko insists that aliens are real. During their search, an accident occurs which gravely injures Ryouta and kills Kuroneko. Due to his strong memory, Ryouta cannot forget about Kuroneko. Since then, he has been continuously staring at the night sky in order to prove that aliens exist, and also to fulfill Kuroneko's dying wish.
Ten years later, Ryouta is a top student at his school and the sole member of the Astronomy Club, but he is taken aback when a new transfer student named "Neko Kuroha" arrives in his class. She bears a striking resemblance to Ryouta's dead childhood friend, although she dismisses the fact as a bluff. Ryouta later notices something amiss about Neko: First, when a student is miraculously saved after nearly drowning by a mysterious force; and later when Neko predicts that Ryouta will also die and displays superhuman strength when saving him. It is then revealed that Neko is a witch who escaped from an alien research lab.
Ryouta becomes a part of Neko's life, learning more about her dilemma and the hidden forces that exist in the universe. As he sinks deeper and deeper into a world of magic and artificially created witches, Ryouta must use any means necessary to preserve and shelter other escaped witches and allow them to live normally, despite knowing the scientists of the lab would kill any outsiders involved.
A Sorcerian secret research organization that discovered alien remains inGermany in 1910 through a joint operation involving gold miners and Ryouta's great-grandfather, a Japanese geologist. Rather than disclosing the finding, the group initiated classified studies aimed at achievingdivine annihilation. Relocating to Japan during World War II, the organization established autonomous operations. It currently maintains research subject A008 andLoki in incubation for their role in humanity's prophesied transformation.
A resistance group meaning "witch hunt" that is built by scientists who defected from the Organization due to the threat that they posed to God himself. Hexenjagd is responsible for the magic-users' escapee.
Written and illustrated byLynn Okamoto,Brynhildr in the Darkness was serialized inShueisha'sseinen manga magazineWeekly Young Jump from January 26, 2012, to March 31, 2016.[7][1] Shueisha collected its 181 individual chapters in eighteentankōbon volumes, released from May 18, 2012, to May 19, 2016.[8][9]
An anime adaptation was announced on November 11, 2013. The anime is directed by Kenichi Imazumi at studioArms, with Yukinori Kitajima acting as head writer and Hiroaki Kurasu as chief animation director and character designer.[10][11] The series aired between April 6 and June 29, 2014, onTokyo MX,[12] and later onytv,CTV,BS11 andAT-X. For episodes 1–9 the opening is "Brynhildr in the Darkness -Ver. Ejected-" by Nao Tokisawa. From episode 10 onwards, the opening is "Virtue and Vice" byFear, and Loathing in Las Vegas. The ending song is "Ichiban Boshi" byRisa Taneda,Aya Suzaki,M.A.O, andAzusa Tadokoro.
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "While Waiting For You" Transliteration: "Kimi o Machinagara" (Japanese:きみを待ちながら) | April 6, 2014 (2014-04-06) | |
Ryouta Murakami shares a close bond with his childhood friend Kuroneko, who claims aliens exist. During an attempt to prove this, they fall from a dam—Ryouta survives but Kuroneko allegedly dies. Driven by guilt, Ryouta dedicates himself to astronomy, aspiring to joinNASA to validate her beliefs. A decade later, Ryouta, now a high-achieving student, encounters Neko Kuroha, a transfer student identical to Kuroneko yet unaware of their past. After witnessing Neko save a drowning classmate through unexplained means, Ryouta grows suspicious of her unusual abilities, including superhuman strength and gaps in basic knowledge. When a mudslide nearly kills him, Neko intervenes, splitting a boulder with supernatural power. She reveals her true nature as a witch, displaying the harness on her neck. | |||
| 2 | "Magician" Transliteration: "Mahōtsukai" (Japanese:魔法使い) | April 13, 2014 (2014-04-13) | |
Neko insists Ryouta keep her witch identity secret. A flashback reveals Kuroneko never took her planned ocean trip with Ryouta. When Neko misses school, Ryouta delivers a pamphlet to her hideout in an abandoned village, observing Self-Defense Force vehicles nearby. Neko explains she enrolled to prevent deaths, having escaped a secret laboratory with other witches after an accident. Inside the hideout, Ryouta meets Kana Tachibana, a paralyzed witch who communicates via keyboard. Kana possessesforesight, revealing the laboratory has captured and executed another witch, Kanade. Though initially reluctant, Kana persuades Neko to return to school. During a subsequent visit, Ryouta brings food and invites Neko on an upcoming field trip. | |||
| 3 | "Death Suppressants" Transliteration: "Chinshizai" (Japanese:鎮死剤) | April 20, 2014 (2014-04-20) | |
Neko returns to school bandaged, alarming Ryouta. He finds her bleeding at the village and administers "Death Suppressants"—essential pills witches must take every 30–35 hours to survive. When the kitchen burns down with their remaining supply, Ryouta uses hisphotographic memory to recall the drug's identification code and trace its manufacturing location. Relocating Neko and Kana to the observatory, Ryouta learns of Neko'stelekinesis ability. They enlist witch Kazumi Schlierenzauer to hack the factory's security system. The laboratory detects their inquiry and dispatches assassin witch Saori. Despite Kana foreseeing Neko's death, Neko infiltrates the factory while Ryouta searches for pills. After reading Neko's letter, Ryouta intervenes, only to witness Saori kill Neko. In despair, he recalls Saori's secondary ability could reverse the situation. | |||
| 4 | "Lost Memories" Transliteration: "Ushinawareta Kioku" (Japanese:失われた記憶) | April 27, 2014 (2014-04-27) | |
Ryouta fatally wounds Saori, forcing her to use time manipulation to reverse their deaths—an act that drains her magic and erases Ryouta's memory of Neko being Kuroneko. Though restrained, Saori escapes but is later ejected by the laboratory, her body dissolving into an amoebic form that Ryouta destroys. After securing the vital pills, Ryouta returns to the observatory where Kazumi and Kana barely survive. With the witches stabilized, Neko joins Ryouta's class trip tothe ocean, weeping as if fulfilling a long-held desire. She later provides Ryouta with acommunication device and an alien embryo from researcher Akane. As Kazumi transfers into Ryouta's class, laboratory director Chisato Ichijiku is reprimanded for the escaped witches. Meanwhile, new transfer student Kotori Takatori arrives, requesting to join the astronomy club. | |||
| 5 | "Stargazing" Transliteration: "Tentai Kansoku" (Japanese:天体観測) | May 4, 2014 (2014-05-04) | |
Kotori joins the astronomy club, allowing Ryouta to organize their first observation night. Neko unconsciously breaks a table in jealousy over Kazumi's advances, prompting Ryouta to learn her magic use erases memories—explaining her forgotten childhood. During their mountain hike, Neko demonstrates knowledge ofconstellations, while Kana foresees her death, suspecting Kotori. When confronted, Kotori reveals her teleportation ability but remains ambiguous about her intentions. The group resumes stargazing, their initial disinterest fading upon viewing Saturn's rings through the telescope. The next day, witch Shino contacts them while fleeing Kikako near a lake. Despite Ryouta's objections, Neko and Kotori intervene, only for Kikako to kill Shino with a destructive energy beam. | |||
| 6 | "The Meaning of Her Smile" Transliteration: "Hohoemi no Riyū" (Japanese:微笑の理由) | May 11, 2014 (2014-05-11) | |
Neko engages Kikako in combat, but Ryouta deactivates her harness to prevent memory loss. While Neko distracts Kikako, Kazumi isolates the area through hacking. Ryouta directs Kotori—who had bound herself to a pole—to teleport-swap with Kikako, neutralizing the threat. They later find Kotori bleeding from pill deprivation in a cottage. She reveals her deceased friend Chie sacrificed her own medication to enroll Kotori in school as a final gift. Though prepared to die, Kotori is persuaded to live after sharing the group's remaining pills. During a club outing, Ryouta visits his scientist uncle Kogorō Hashiratani, demonstrating Neko's magic to secure his help in replicating the vital medication. | |||
| 7 | "Fragment of Hope" Transliteration: "Kibō no Kakera" (Japanese:希望のかけら) | May 18, 2014 (2014-05-18) | |
Kogorō agrees to analyze the witches' medicine and alien embryo, though synthesis may require years. The witches express gratitude, with Kana noting Ryouta's affection for Neko. During a karaoke outing, Neko struggles with public singing. Meanwhile, Kotori reveals laboratory origins tied to century-old alien ruins containing apocalyptic threats. Chisato informs superiors that interrogating Kikako confirmed their priority: capturing subject #1107 (Kotori) and retrieving the 'Grane'. InAkihabara, Ryouta acquires computer equipment with Kazumi, who treats the outing as romantic. Activating the communication device, they decode a German message: "Kill the witches now. Only then will we reveal the truth." | |||
| 8 | "The Last Lead" Transliteration: "Nokosareta Tegakari" (Japanese:残された手がかり) | May 25, 2014 (2014-05-25) | |
Ryouta investigates the map location alone after the device's password protection suggests hostile senders. Two black-coated individuals appear where the device activated. Kazumi later analyzes the map at Ryouta's home, propositioning him aggressively before he visits the marked church—now ruined, with an elderly witness confirming its unexplained destruction. Discovering German inscriptions, Ryouta is arrested until Neko and Kotori intervene, disabling the police. They urge collective action. Meanwhile, Kogorō receives updates about the alien embryo, while Kana mocks Kazumi's behavior. Ryouta shares the blood-marked inscription but hesitates to reactivate the device. The laboratory identifies Ryouta as an accomplice to witches #1107 (Kotori) and #7620 (Neko). Chisato dispatches assistant Kurofuku and witch Nanami Tokō to track them. | |||
| 9 | "False Memories" Transliteration: "Mozō no Kioku" (Japanese:模造の記憶) | June 1, 2014 (2014-06-01) | |
Nanami, a memory-manipulating witch, cooperates with Kurofuku in exchange for sweets. After locating Ryouta through Kitsuka, she temporarily erases Kurofuku's awareness of her. Seeking freedom, she lures Ryouta and scans his memories, discovering the observatory witches. Though Ryouta resists her memory alteration due to hisphotographic memory, Nanami remains skeptical of his offer for independence. The group attempts peaceful reconciliation. At a park, Neko removes her sunglasses to appeal to Nanami as a friend, triggering a memory-altered attack. Neko's sincere address as "friend" prompts Nanami to reverse the manipulation and join them. Meanwhile, Kurofuku regains his full memories of the events. | |||
| 10 | "Proof of Life" Transliteration: "Ikiteiru Akashi" (Japanese:生きている証) | June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) | |
Kogorō attempts to deactivate Nanami's harness beacon at the observatory, but it triggers before intervention, dissolving her body. To spare the witches grief, Nanami erases their memories of her—preserving only Ryouta and Kogorō's recollection—before manifesting as a consciousness within Ryouta's mind. With only three weeks of pills remaining, the club debates abandoning school until Ryouta reaffirms their desire for normalcy, organizing a beach trip. During finals, Neko scores first, Ryouta second, and Kazumi third. As Neko sings that evening, Ryouta realizes her worsening memory loss and embraces her in distress. Meanwhile, Chisato unleashes Valkyria, an S-rank witch, to locate Kotori (#1107). The deployed A-rank monitoring team is swiftly eliminated. | |||
| 11 | "A Sudden Reunion" Transliteration: "Totsuzen no Saikai" (Japanese:突然の再会) | June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15) | |
Valkyria (Mako Fujisaki) annihilates a police squad withantimatter magic, prompting the witches to strategize evasion. Hatsuna Wakabayashi, having escaped the scene through regeneration, joins the astronomy club after finding them feigning death for protection. She tests Ryouta's reliability by staging a radio tower fall—he rescues her despite knowing her regenerative ability, earning her trust and a public confession kiss, which triggers Neko's jealous destruction of the tower. Kogorō theorizes the witches' melting stems fromprotease enzymes, potentially accelerating medicine production within a month. Meanwhile, Chisato directs Mako to locate Kotori (#1107). When juice spills reveal Neko's birthmark, Ryouta confirms she is Kuroneko and vows to restore her memories. Their reunion is interrupted by Mako's arrival via helicopter. | |||
| 11.5 | "Much Ado About Nothing" Transliteration: "Karasawagi" (Japanese:から騒ぎ) | September 24, 2014 (2014-09-24) | |
Following Hatsuna's confession, Ryouta searches for Neko while Kazumi reacts with jealous frustration. When pressed about his feelings, Ryouta admits only to liking Kuroneko, provoking Kazumi's competitive pursuit. After accidentally tumbling downhill together, Kazumi hallucinates an elaborate rivalry with Hatsuna involving cooking challenges and hot spring endurance tests—all culminating in Neko accidentally crushing her with the observatory telescope. The hallucination breaks when Ryouta performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, revealing Kazumi never left the hillside. Neko, witnessing the act, misinterprets it as romantic, reigniting tensions over Ryouta's affections. | |||
| 12 | "Witch Hunt" Transliteration: "Majogari" (Japanese:魔女狩り) | June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22) | |
Mako and Chisato arrive at the observatory demanding Kotori (#1107). When Ryouta's distraction fails, Mako bisects Hatsuna. Chisato declares B-rank witches expendable and orders Neko's execution, but Ryouta intercepts the attack. In a near-death vision, Nanami reveals Neko was once an S-rank witch; reactivating her power requires pressing her harness' top button—a fatal risk for Ryouta. Hexenjagd, a resistance group, intervenes using Ryouta's activated device to nullify Mako's magic. Chisato escapes with Kotori via teleportation. Hatsuna revives Ryouta through healing but melts afterward. Hexenjagd explains the witches' Drasils will eventually hatch as monsters, and Kotori'sGrane could annihilate humanity. At the lake, Chisato confesses implanting his deceased sister Rena's consciousness into Kotori. When Kotori's harness activates, it emits "Ain Soph Aur"—a planetary-scale light threatening global destruction. | |||
| 13 | "Things to Protect" Transliteration: "Mamoritai Mono" (Japanese:守リたいもの) | June 29, 2014 (2014-06-29) | |
As "Ain Soph Aur" engulfs Earth, Ryouta, Neko, and Kazumi attempt to rescue Kotori, though Neko and Kazumi incapacitate Ryouta to protect him. Kotori self-ejects her harness to halt the phenomenon, sacrificing herself to preserve others' happiness. Mako bisects Kazumi but spares Neko, recognizing her as a sister. Ryouta reaches Kotori's melting form; her final words plead for Chisato's redemption and express contentment. Meanwhile, Kana intervenes by activating her harness' top button, sacrificing her foresight for mobility. Neko follows suit, regaining her full power and memories as Kuroneko. She counters Mako'santimatter assault with a barrier until Hexenjagd's interference forces Mako's retreat. After Chisato dies shielding Mako, she attempts global annihilation with antimatter. Neko eradicates her using amicro black hole but loses all memories again from overexertion. Post-conflict, Kogorō secures the pill formula, allowing the witches to resume school life. The astronomy club observes theSummer Triangle, with Ryouta guiding the amnesic Neko. | |||
Nicole MacLean ofTHEM Anime Reviews panned the series, finding it inferior to Okamoto'sElfen Lied due to overlapping themes. She criticized its "shoddy" story and underdeveloped characters. She further criticized its excessive reliance on harem tropes, arguing they undermined its sci-fi/horror premise.[13]
