Dead Master

Dead Master (デッドマスター) is the antagonist in the Black★Rock Shooter OVA and the manga series Black★Rock Shooter ~Innocent Soul~.

Original Concept
Dead Master is a girl with wavy dark green hair and straight bangs, and neon green eyes. Her outfit is similar to a Gothic Lolita outfit. She wears a black dress and a black bolero; her dress extends down to her thighs and is accented with a white ribbon attached to her waist. Dead Master also wears a pair of leggings and a pair of black pumps. She wears a pair of black gauntlets on each hand. On her head is a pair of long horns which resemble a pair of vertebrae with each tip made out of three tips joined at the end. Dead Master also has a pair of wings which sit low on her back, looking like a thick zigzag. Her weapon of choice is a large scythe named Dead Scythe. Most of the time she is accompanied by two floating skulls, each with glowing cavities, which she uses to attack.

Black★Rock Shooter (OVA)
In the OVA, she retains much of her original design. The white undergarment beneath the dress is not shown and the green is not as bright and is hardly present. The sleeves are tight to her arms and is completely black compared to the anime in which the white undergarment is shown again as the sleeve expands then is tied with a ribbon around the wrists to leave a small amount of cloth around the hand. White ribbon is tied on the front right corner above the hemmed bottom directly above the flared bottom. The green ribbons are taken away from around the top of the knees on the black capri and the ribbons surrounding Dead Master’s ankles that are attached to her pumps are not portrayed in the original OVA design. A frilled choker around her throat is also part of the "older" design. In features, her claws are more designed to look like the "vertebrae" horns from atop her head compared to in the anime, in which they are smooth and the nail beds are green. Dead Master's horns and wings are black not green and her hair is also more black and wild. Like all of the "other selves", she has a circular pattern in her eyes.

Black★Rock Shooter (2012)
In the 2012 anime, Dead Master's redesigned appearance, along with Yomi's, are the most notable among all the other characters. Her hair is somewhat less wavy, and wears green glasses, just like Yomi in the anime. She also wears a bridal veil over her head. Her black horns and pair of wings are now bright green. Her claws are much larger with green-colored tips. She still wears a Gothic Lolita-like dress, though it is now more dark green than black. Her sleeves are larger with green frills at the ends, and her skirt is longer and larger with white frills. Her leggings are also frilled at the ends, which are held by green roses. Dead Master also wears cross-laced ankle ribbons, and green-heeled footwear.

Black★Rock Shooter (OVA)
In the OVA, she is showy and sinister when trying to kill Black★Rock Shooter and shows great skills with her scythe. She makes a large show of threatening, wicked smiles, and while she is quiet, she is silently taunting her enemy. She also makes hissing noises when agitated. She can apparently take over Yomi Takanashi's body when her emotions become similar to the Dead Master's.

Black★Rock Shooter (2012)
In the anime, Dead Master seems more sympathetic. She appears to be under the influence of Chariot, and after being freed from this, is captured by Black★Gold Saw, becoming antagonistic towards Black★Rock Shooter after both she and Yomi lose control.

Black★Rock Shooter (OVA)
She sits on a throne at the beginning of the OVA in her castle, apparently expecting Black★Rock Shooter's appearance. They fight after Black★Rock Shooter extends her hand to her, rejecting the offer to go with her. Making a show of her nature, she tries to make herself threatening to her enemy throughout the battle. She gains an advantage when she manages to trap Black★Rock Shooter in chains, but Black★Rock Shooter gains the strength to break the chains. She makes the same hand gesture, but the Dead Master, again rejecting her, and backing up, starts to fall off of a ledge. Black★Rock Shooter catches her and holds her in an embrace.

Unable to handle this, the Dead Master escapes the body of Takanashi Yomi, whom she had been possessing, and dissolves; the reason is unknown, but it is likely either due to having left Yomi's body or the "affection" having damaged her in some way.

Black★Rock Shooter (2012)
While Chariot is torturing Black★Rock Shooter, Dead Master is seen watching. She eventually accosts Black★Rock Shooter and ties her in chains, but Black★Rock Shooter reverses this. Black★Rock Shooter suddenly ceases her attack when she notices a heart-shaped scar, identical to the one carved into Yomi by Kagari. However, a swarm of Chariot's spiders surround her and carry her away, with Black★Rock Shooter chasing after. She is locked up within a doll inside a house in the sky, but Black★Rock Shooter finds her. The moment she reaches for her, Chariot attacks Black★Rock Shooter, and the falling apart of the floating house reveals that Dead Master is chained to a large heart-shaped stone in the sky. However, as Yomi faces Kagari, she pulls the chains down and breaks the stone. The chains recede into the sky, starting the destruction of Chariot's world.

She comes down and looks and joins Black★Rock Shooter as Chariot is being sucked into the void, but suddenly Black★Gold Saw appears.She saves Chariot and cuts into the ground, creating a fissure that drags Dead Master in, separating her from the others.

Black★Gold Saw apparently holds Dead Master captive, leading to Black★Rock Shooter tracking them both down. Due to Yomi's instability in the real world, Dead Master also goes into turmoil and surrounds herself in chains, eventually summoning a castle and several minions. She then begins to battle Black★Rock Shooter.

After a long battle Black★Rock Shooter stabs Dead Master with her Black Blade, seemingly killing her. The emotional stress of the events turns B★RS into Insane Black★Rock Shooter.

Later Strength is shown dragging her body away; what happens to it is not shown in that episode.

It is later revealed she is in the abyss that Chariot was in and seems to begin reawakening to life when Yomi's memories of Mato start to return.

Abilities

 * Dead Scythe


 * Skulls

Trivia

 * Dead Master is one of three characters in the Black★Rock Shooter series who uses a scythe. The other two being White Rock Shooter and Death Scythe.


 * An Armament called "Dead Master" which appears in the game, is modeled after her.


 * Despite having wings, she can't fly but rather, uses athletic skills in combat.


 * There is an artwork of her which shows her with normal hands and a mechanical scythe.


 * Her blood is green.


 * Her implications as the "Dead Master" is proven in the anime, as she was shown to have been using necromancy to revive her minions.


 * In the OVA, she vanished after being hugged by BRS. The reason for this remains to be found.
 * She's the only "Other Self" who fought BRS without getting dismembered or having a body part lost.