Reviews for Darker Than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha (7.43) 4464a

Rate this if you dare! This review is based on the Shinsen-Subs and Sudo fansubs in HD, I have revised it now that the DVDs have come out; the review is fair and final. I enjoyed the series, and hope you enjoy (and rate) the review. Thanks for reading!



Quick Take: Mystery, violence, supernatural. An supernatural force field known as "Hell's Gate" dramatically drops worldwide onto several places including Tokyo, about ten years ago prior to the setting of the series (set in the near future). The normal stars in the sky are replaced by false constellations, and people with psychic ability named "contractors" appear througout the world, somehow connected to these "stars." Hei is one of the most powerful of these psychic agents, and along with his blind associate, Yin, works for one of the many rival agencies competing to unravel the mystery of Hell's Gate, though at times, he may have his own agenda. It is a dark and mysterious series, appropriate for ages 13+ due to violence and frightening images, as well as mature themes. 


Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha (or Darker than Black: The Black Contractor in English) is an Production I.G. series as released in in DVD. It's an excellently-animated 2007 original (not based on manga) Bones series directed by Tensai Okamura (Wolf's Rain, Project Blue Earth SOS), and shows his flexible storyboarding and narrative genius. As a series, it just lost to Dennou Coil for the best media of the year at the Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Nebula Awards). It's a mixed ride: the first half has three excellent arcs to begin, then wanders a bit, but the second half is much tighter in narrative direction. There is a reason for this, as discussed later under "sound".

DTB has a complex mythology, is morally obscure and has interesting characters with copious backstories, has excellent animation, great action sequences, and just about everything to make a Ergo Proxy-like hit save for one thing: it's almost as inscrutable as Evangelion, largely due to a complex and mostly unexplained mythology.

Well, and another small thing: for the first half, it's loosey-goosey on the narrative drive, being usually a straight sci-fi drama, but the directors of some eps threw in some wacky comedic elements (also a little like Ergo Proxy). There are a lot of parts in this series; some connect like a punch to the gut, and others veer off wildly! For all it's faults, you gotta love it even though it's reach exceeds its grasp, because it's very interesting, dense and quite nicely animated. It's appropriate for late teens due to graphic violence and some nudity, and mature themes. The younger kids just won't get it.

Animation: 9
The DVD transfer is quite lovely. This series features some of the undeniably best animation for the season. The 2D animaton is fluid, with great backgrounds, cinematic touches, a dark color palate (except, notably, on rare occasions), and great (but sporadic) martial-arts and battle action animation. Some mostly unobtrusive use of 3D in cars and such. There are a lot of animated action sequences, and it's outstanding choreography. The small complaint is I did wish they had spent a little more time on facial animation, because other than Hei (aka Li-kun) and a couple others, we didn't see much attempt at establishing character with facial expression. However, there is a large amount of detail in the animation, the backgrounds and inbetweens are excellent, and it's quite lovely, earning a 9. It doesn't get much better than this on a series budget.


Sound: 9
The DVD has a good English voice cast, but I had a difficult time adjusting to the voices for Yin and Kirihara, as they sounded a tad too different from the original seiyuu. Dynamic translations are in evidence, but no major differences from the original script.
English voice cast aside, it's a small quibble. The DVDs have the best sound of a series this season, I think. Great foley and sound design. Expansive and immersive soundstage. OP for the first half (ep 1-14) is by "Howling" Abingdon Boys School, and the second half (ep 15+) is "Hero Without a Name"by Antic Cafe, are driving rock and quite interesting. I rather liked the first OP, but the second grew on me and matched the uptempo of the changed storyline better. The English voice cast are good, but the Japanese seiyuu are excellent. 


As you'll see, it really is a tale of 2 halves: at episode 15, Shotaro Suga (script or screenplay for Blood +, Eureka Seven, Ghost In The Shell (tv), Seirei no Moribito) came in to provide series composition, and it worked marvelously. The change in OP marks the approximate addition of Shotaro. Energy and narrative direction picked up and the show gained momentum. Excellent choice, even in changing the OP/ED music; Yoko Kanno provides the series music otherwise, and she is deft as always.

Foley work and sound engineering and effects are excellent in 5.1. The full soundstage is used, and quadstereo directionality is present.

Seiyuu for main characters Hei (Hidenobu Kiuchi, Jose in Gunslinger Girl, Ren in NANA),  the cat Mao voiced by Ikuya Sawaki, Masaru Ikeda {Kitamura in Death Note}as Huang and overworked Misato Fukuen (Kurumu Kurono in Rosario + Vampire) as Yin. Seiyuu are perfect, and I particularly enjoyed the voicings of Nana Mizuki (Oboro in Basilisk) as Misaki Kirihara. I give this a solid 9; hard to find better on a series budget. So, for the technicals (animation and sound), you're going to find this a great series.


Story: 8  
This is the difficulty in giving it one rating; If I could, I'd give the first half a 6+ and the second half a 9. I suspect the difference may be because there was no manga to give plot direction of the series at first. The first half is a ton of great characters in search of a direction, the plot is full of mystery and intrigue (and mythology), but the second half is tight, economical and full of action, plot and good direction. It's a tale of two halves. The second half makes up for the looseness (and sometimes wackyness) of the first half.

The story is as dense as Ghost in the Shell 2gig: mysterious beings called contractors look like humans but have no conscience, can kill without remorse, but are employed by big forces (like governments or Mafia) yet normal people don't know much about them. Hei works as a contractor for an organization of which we learn very little; he has his own agenda which unfolds. There are indeed hidden plot elements and a complex mythology, explanations to which are not completely given. The weakness of the story is the failure to completely explain the mythology, though some might find this a plus. On the whole, you do have a journey that ends satisfyingly (if not completely understood), and that plus the change midway, gives us the lowest score, an 7.5-8. It could be an 8-, rather than a solid 8. If they do a second season (and as of July 2008 there were rumors that a sequel to DTB and/or Fullmetal Alchemist is being considered), I think I'd watch it.


Characters: 9 
Character design is excellent, though I wish there could have been some more changes of clothes for the main characters (yes, it's a small quibble). Good character design with a strong male lead, some unusual loli and strong female roles, a good character team (a ton of parts in this series, making it hard to keep the players straight at first) and good backstory. The main point of the character development is not lost, though Hei does have the usual bevy of beauties he can fall for.

Character development is excellent, on par with Fullmetal Alchemist. The "character" parts were very interesting (Huang is craggy but lovable in an Edward James Olmos-type part), and I enjoyed the direction of the character development. Without giving much away, the character drives the plot, not the other way around; i.e, events seem to be designed to develop the characters. There is a good amount of character development, and the ending resolves without providing a solid catharsis. It could easily be sold for a second season, assuming most of the original cast can be cleared, because it can go anywhere, not having a manga base to satisfy. Solid 9.

Value and Enjoyment: 
This is a series you will talk about and enjoy because of what it does well, not because of what is missing. Just like FullMetal Alchemist, it deserves a second season, just because there are some threads left to be tied and the characters have some room to grow. I'd give value a 9 and enjoyment a 10, just because it was almost as much fun to watch as FMA or GITS. I wish they could bring it back, but anime series these days seem to be tied to budget, and I think they need to get this one to market and off the animation desk. It's been licensed by FUNimation, so look for it in DVD about November 2008 (edit: DVD1 11/2008, DVD2 1/2009, DVD3 3/2009, in R1).

Conclusion: Watch it. Lots of cookies, some easy to get at, some not. The DVDs are worth collecting. A good if not great original anime, and a tale of two halves. It's worth the ride.

Please rate and leave a comment for my review, if it's not too much of a hassle—it's been quite a while since I last wrote a review, so I'd like to hear any recommendations that could help me write more effectively. Or, if you feel my review is either good or horrible as it is, it'd also be nice to know that. Thanks! :}

So I just finished watching Darker than Black last night, and I've got to put it simply by saying that it's worth watching. This BONES production, directed by Okamura Tensai (the director of Wolf's Rain) and featuring music by Kanno Yoko (Wolf's Rain, Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Cowboy Bebop), will absorb you into an alternate version of our current world, writhe with conspiracies and strife.

The key that drives this series forward is, by far, the strength of the main characters, notably Hei, our anti-hero protagonist. I've always been a bit of a sucker for anti-heroes, as the way in which they move against the forces of the common and everyday world is interesting and often inspirational, especially when you discover their motives. Hei, a man capable of controlling electricity to his will, is a great example of a what I love to see in an anti-hero, and his character development throughout the series is what I enjoyed the most about watching Darker than Black.

The other key characters, Yin, Huang, and Mao, are all great for Hei. They all function as a team, though they have the "everyone for oneself" sort of mentality to begin with. Not only do the individuals within the team develop, but the team as a whole develops and comes together in a believable and fairly touching manner. Yin, a seer of sorts, as well as Huang, the organizer of the missions, both get their own story arcs which flesh out their characters quite nicely. Mao, unfortunately, gets no such in-depth backstory treatment, however his character is still a delight to watch—he's stuck in the body of a cat for most of the series, and uses this to his advantage in a lot of fun ways.

When it comes to the story, there are two major flaws. First, the first half of the series contains a series of mini-arcs, generally 2 episodes in length, which form the basis for the development of some of the characters as well as show us various aspects of the world in which they live. The latter half of the series is much more cohesive. It reminded me a lot of the way PlanetES' story developed, which is in some ways good but could also have been more relevant from the start.

Second, there are several things left un-explained, such as Mao's history and a few things in regards to Hei's history. For the most part, at least, most of the story's elements are tied up by the end of the series, at least enough to where the conclusion is actually quite fulfilling, thus preventing the series from actually needing a sequel. Nonetheless, there is plenty of room left for more story, and I would love to see another season. The story itself is about what it means to be a human, including how certain people may forsake emotion in exchange for a more logical approach to confronting a situation. The main character drives this part of the story forth, all the way to the end of the series.

Otherwise, the story is about a bunch of Contractors (people with special abilities, i.e. teleportation and flying, that have compulsions that they must perform in order to use their abilities. Some of the characters have some pretty creative and/or interesting abilities, as a side note) who are struggling within a world that tries to keep their existence a secret from the public. There are several agencies that have a role in the series, including the CIA and MI-6, which was a nice touch in regards to making the story feeling more interesting: it gives us agencies from the real world which we are familiar with, and which we see in this alternate version of the world doing conspiratorial and covert-type things. The story's greatest success is the way the main character discovers who he is amongst this great conspiracy.

The technical aspects of the series are above average. I've heard much more compelling music from Kanno Yoko, however the use of music generally enhanced the mood in a pleasing way. The voice acting was also above average, Hei and Yin being the most notable. Yin managed to pull off a dull and seemingly lifeless seer magnificently, without ever sounding in the least bit strained nor annoying, and Hei's range of emotion and lack thereof (as appropriate for whatever situation he's in) is top notch.

The animation is generally above average, which rather fluid fight scenes and some great character designs (again, Hei and Yin are the most notable). Hei's eyes throughout the series managed to grab my attention the most: they are incredibly deep, though at first they may just seem to be big pools of nothingness. There are quite a few still shots, though as a whole, everything is pulled off believably, and when there's something happening, it is portrayed with the amount of high quality animation that is necessary to get the point across and impress at the same time.

As I have already gone over, the character development and story are mostly what make this series entertaining, and thus they are what make it worth watching. I was able to go through each episode with ease, never actually feeling bored (not even in the first half of the series, before the story really picked up the pace). In of the value of the series: I would doubtfully watch the series again, but it takes a lot to get me to even consider wanting to watch something again. Knowing the way the characters develop and where everything is headed would prevent me from a rewatch, as the discovery of these things is a large part of what was so enjoyable about watching Darker than Black. I would definitely consider buying it for collection purposes, however, as well as for lending it out to friends, as I'd love to hear what others felt about the characters and some of the philosophy explored by the series.

And on that note, I highly recommend you watch this series, as it seems to be severely underrated, especially for a BONES production, and it is very enjoyable, especially if you're in the mood for a dark and mature storyline that explores what it means to be a human, and what it means to make important, life-altering decisions based on either logic or emotion (or, perhaps, both?)

Note: This review is based on sudo fansubs, which though lack in translation are of great 1280x720 HDTV quality. If you are not too picky about elegant English you should go with them.



Originally created and directed by Okamura Tensai (Wolf's Rain, Stink Bomb) Darker than Black[/b] is a story about a super power wielding hitman Hei, who works for an organization hidden so well, no one, including Hei himself, knows a thing about. Everything unfolds in the near future where the world is warped by some weird phenomenon causing imagination become reality, super power wielders called Contractors run around causing crime and government does its best to contain them, all the while hiding truth about their powers and phenomenons from the public eyes. Working as hitman Hei learns new things about Contractors, organizations and gets closer to the phenomenon itself. Though Hei is but a tiny cogwheel in the world scale turmoil, his significance to the future of the world is bigger than anyone could guess.

Though the show has both interesting premise and characters, it never exceeds in any categories, never turning itself into something really memorable. It offers various questions including what are the defining traits of a human, what is the best way to make decisions, or can humans co-exist with an intelligent life form different from them. However, it never really delves deep in any of the issues, leaving the viewer to make his own decisions and use his own answers, all while enjoying the good action and atmosphere of the show. Though it's not groundbreaking, Darker Than Black is an anime which retains its substance from the beginning to the end and never really disappoints. Be it up-par animation, fitting music or engrossing plot, there is little to actually call bad in this show, despite that, it will probably be forgotten after a few years of time, as it offers little, what other anime haven't offered before.

Animation: 8/10

The animation, just as you could expect from Bones (Wolf's Rain, Rahxephon) is done very well. Though it never surprises you with high tech cgi or artsy imagery, it always retains its stellar level of detail. You will never see Van Gogh in the backgrounds, but you will be content with the realistic feel they offer. Character designs aren't too different either, though main cast looks better, even the minor, expendable guys have a high level of detail. All people look realistic and there are very few details missed in mass scenes. Though sometimes people tend look alike and indistinct faces of the cast wont turn them into idols of anime world, the realism their designs offer rivals the movies, and considering the plot of this show - it's a good thing. Finally, the high production values can be best seen in fluidity of the animation, as everything, small or big things, move just the way you'd think they are supposed to. Fights, though slightly lacking in choreography, look awesome, explosions are cool and cars run just like real cars do. On the other hand, there is little, if any, distinctive direction in this show, so all you will get from those high values is a great sense of realism.

Sound: 7/10

I was really surprised to learn that one of my favourite composers Kanno Youko (Escaflowne, Wolf's Rain, Cowboy Bebop) composed the music for Darker Than Black. Unlike in most of her other works, music in this show is, at best, atmospheric. We have those rocky bad ass tunes during the fights, and we have those soft piano and lyre pieces for emotional moments. However, though few of those pieces indeed touched me, it was, at best, three times in whole 26 episodes, also I couldn't shake off the feeling that I have already heard them somewhere else. Either way, though background music does great job at maintaining atmosphere, it fails at being memorable. Though the music itself doesn't disappoint, it doesn't make you buy soundtrack either. And it made in Escaflowne.

On the other hand, the first opening/ending combination in this show is great. Howling by High and Mighty Color falls so flat before the first ending it's sad. It's not really bad, it's just, well, average, and it makes it look so miserable next to Tsukiari. I really wish they never changed it.

Voice-acting in Darker Than Black is average for the most part. And it's no surprise, since many seiyuu had little experience voicing anything apart from this show, though they do a pretty good job at conveying their characters. Anyway, the best voice is probably the voice of Hei, the main character, who is voiced by Katou Emiri (Lucky Star as Hiiragi Kagami) and with her distinctive voice she sounds really refreshing around all the bland guys. On the other hand, she has very few appearances and lines, so I had little chance to listen to her. I noticing some good voice-actors in the episodic characters, but they don't count, seriously.

Story: 6/10

The setting of the show is pretty interesting. Those human versus super powered beings stories are nothing new, but that phenomenon, which makes your imagination come reality is pretty interesting stuff. Rather than in the fact that it's producing contractors, I was more interested in how does it make possible for people to walk buildings diagonally or how does it produce that memories into reality stuff. Unfortunately, they've never really bothered to explain that part, hiding under the fact that no one of the cast didn't understand anything about it either. Well, just as it goes, it was a tool to make series more interesting, but I still wanted for it to have some deep meaning or idea, as it did have the potential. For example the fact that all Contractors have to do that "renumeration" thing of theirs after using their powers, which mirrors their personalities or past sins when they were still humans, was an interesting philosophical medium, but it was never given any depth.

The plot itself, though takes really long to kick in the main line, is never boring. Almost twenty episodes are sacrificed to the two episodes long episodic cases, which either give depth to one of the characters or reveals some significance behind Contractors and those fishy organizations. Though at first I was seriously scared that it might start and end in its episodic nature, I soon noticed those, at first sight, not coherent episodes, add a lot of background to everything and build up for good finale. I guess I should credit the fact that the main character is always mysterious and so thin between sinister and kind, that I could never really guess if he is going to save, or end the life of a particular person he sat his eyes on. Once the main story line kicked in, I was all ready to cry for deaths and cheer for victories. It has its emotional moments and the ending is well rounded up, though still leaves room for a sequel (and I didn't mind if they explained the Gate in it), but it never really shines in one place or another to become unforgettable.

Oh yeah, I have to mention the awesome episode previews this show has. I usually don't watch these things, but this time I made an exception. Each episode is "previewed" by something what sounds like a poem reflecting its nature. Kind of reminded me of those great previews in Berserk.

Characters: 7/10

Darker than Black never delves too deep into its characters. Though most of them aren't one dimensional and particular episodes which focus on their past give them some depth, they never really become something you could write an essay about. The best character in the show is probably the main character, who is mostly to blame for all the best moments in starting episodes. He kind of reminded me of the protagonists in Persona games, who despite not having a real personality, made their presence big. Just like them, he seems to change his attitude, depending to whoever he is spending his time with at that moment, easily becoming their best friend or potential lover. And then he betrays them, tricks the stuff out of them and leaves them to die, it's his job. However, despite doing all those sinister things he sometimes shows a kind heart and saves somebody from their miserable fate. Even though it's told over and over that Contractors aren't supposed to have emotions, he sometimes seems influenced by them, making him into an irregular. Either way, it was really fun to observe him and always guess which path, evil or good he will choose to deal with his mission this time. The funny thing is that exactly his ambivalence is what decides the finale of this show.

Other characters include a completely emotionless Yin, whom I thought was there just for looks, until I've seen the episode dealing with her past, and an easy going future reading Amber, who goes for both heroine and villain roles in the show, scheming something nobody knows about, always killing lots of people in the process. She never appears evil though, and for a reason. It's kind of hard to tell villains or good guys apart there, because the line between them is really bleak. Even the main character fights for various reasons which wont necessary bring well-being to humanity. The third character going for heroine's role is the high ranking police official Misaki, who is zealous about her job and will do anything to catch the killer BK-201, oblivious of the fact that his real identity is that of her friend Li she secretly has romantic feelings for. However, none of the heroines come close to becoming full fledged, maybe Amber is the closest choice for that role since she has known Hei for many years prior to the time-line of Darker Than Black. Well, the show is not for romance, so I guess there is little use for a full fledged multi dimensional heroine, and they are indeed better than those sad one dimensional girls in shounen anime. Though I still wish they'd made Yin play a more important role than scouting for enemies in the vicinity, as she has little chance to do anything apart from that.

The side cast, if you discount the expendable episodic villains who are really generic, consists of quite a few characters both from police and the sinister syndicate Hei works for. Though Huang and Mao have enough depth and are indeed charismatic characters, they serve little role apart from leading the plot, but since they do a pretty good job at that, it's good. On the other hand, many officials from police and syndicate are given so little screen time that I kept forgetting who the hell they are. And once the secrets and hidden villains started to leak out at the end, I was quite surprised to see many characters, I didn't notice the existence of before, take the roles of villainous masterminds. On the other hand, for the first time in a serious anime I have actually found a comedic relief character exciting, which is the pink otaku girl. I rarely see otaku girls in anime so it was really funny to see her act all zealous about moe stuff.

Either way, though there are no awesome personalities in this show, it doesn't pose morbid developments, nor it makes its characters stand for something symbolic, it has a realistic cast which, though relatively normal, does its job well in moving the plot and entertaining the viewers. Though I doubt there will be people shouting their names aloud after finishing the show, the viewers will at least be content as long as they'll be watching it. Attractive, if unmemorable.

Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:

Hei - ISTP (B)
Yin - INFP (D)
Mao - ESFJ (D)
Kiko - ENFP (C)
Huang - ESTJ (D)
Amber - ENFP (C)
November 11 - ENTP (D)
Kirihara Misaki - ISTJ (D)
Kurasawa Gai - ESFP (D)

Show Spoiler

Value: 6/10

Though the episodic nature kind of scares me off from re-watching, cool action, attractive characters and a story which actually leads somewhere might make me re-watch Darker than Black one day. It's not too original, but I did like it.

1. Conclusion[/u]:[/b] Suitable for anyone who is over 13 years old Darker than Black is a good, if not exceptional, show. If you don't have anything good to watch at the moment, check it out and you wont be disappointed. It doesn't break the limits, but it does well at following them. As long as you are not scared of action and bleak, nor evil, nor good leads, you should give this show a chance, it wont become your favourite, but it will probably make your day. Other shows of interest - Wolf's Rain.[/ol]

Darker than BLACK takes an interesting premise... and does surprisingly little with it.

Animation:
It's well animated, and the design lends itself well to the gritty vibe the series is going for. The art style produces some odd looking faces, though.

Sound:
The first OP and the EDs are good, but it's the background music that really makes it. Kanno Youko composed it, so that really shouldn't be a surprise.

Story:
The story is where Darker than BLACK has most of it's problem. It is, with the exception of the three-episode finale, entirely broken into two-episode arcs that are only vaguely connected to each other. Aside from the hit-or-miss tendencies inherent in layouts like that, this leads to the plot being rather fractured.

Much of the focus of the series (or at least much of the dialogue, which makes up most of the series) is on the mysteries of the world in which it's set. This wouldn't really be a problem if they actually ever told you answers. Few of the mysteries are explained, and those are mostly the boring ones.

Character:
The only character that consistently appears is the lead, Hei. As such, he's the only one that gets much characterization. Most of the main characters get their own arcs, but they tend to take a backseat to the plot outside of them.

What to say about Darker than Black (DTB)...

Story
The story is yet another normal people vs power people, called contractors, with an organization in between. So there's not really much for me to say about the story that you don't already know. The whole story is made of 2-or-more episode sub-stories some of which are rather boring. Of course there are some added hidden plot elements, Hell's gate and Amber to name a few, but the progression and ending remain rather unoriginal.

Sound
The first opening was what really got me attached to the series initially as I was already a fan of ABS' music and HOWLING kept it that way. The actual score is nice as well and some tracks are still on my mind (Yin's piano song for one).

Animation
The animation in DTB is simply outstanding. The facial expressions really help keep you interested in the possibly mediocre sub-story. As well the fight sequences really leave you wanting more. Especially when they pan to a shot of something else in the middle of a fight sequence and when they come back again it's already over... but I digress. It's arguable that there are few animes out there that look better than DTB and that really shows in HD.

Characters
I don't know what to tell you that you won't already know about the main characters from the first couple of episodes. And the same even goes for any other character you meet later on. There really are no surprises here save maybe the fact that the main character had a surprise past where... well... I guess it's pretty cliche'd enough that I don't even need to spoil it for you.

Value/Enjoyment
So what to say about DTB? Not much, unfortunately... as I already said, the animation is amazing so if you're just looking for the next pretty anime to watch I would recommend this series. Otherwise, it's right on the line between getting a recommended watch from me or not. And that's about it. Sorry.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell's Gate appeared in Tokyo and altered the sky and decimated the landscape. The heavenly bodies disappeared, replaced by false stars. At the same time, people who possess various special abilities emerged. Kept secret from the knowledge of the masses, these individuals, known as Contractors, are able to murder in cold blood. Various nations around the world use Contractors as spies and agents, often resulting in violent battles for information. Each fake star has a corresponding contractor, and they vibrate when their contractor's power is being used. As such, contractors are usually identified by their star's Messier catalogue number. However, their abilities are gained at the edge of their humanity. They lack human emotions, especially aversion to killing. Contractors usually work for one of various rival Syndicates as spies and assassins, although the ultimate purpose of the Syndicates is unknown.

The main protagonist is an elite Contractor with the Messier Code BK-201. Hei plays a gentle-hearted student from China named Li Shunsheng when undercover. He becomes an apathetic and guiltless killer when on his missions. ing an organization of unknown ambitions known only as a Syndicate, Hei is searching for the whereabouts of his sister Bai, whom he lost several years ago when the South American gate imploded. Hei's contract allows him to generate electricity, and he is hotly pursued by the Japanese government for his involvement in multiple assassinations. For unknown reasons, Hei does not have a remuneration. He acts as the warrior/spy/assassin of his team.

Review:

First thing when u start watching this show is the high level of animation that went into the making of this anime as to be expected from a studio like BONES. The Second thing u notice is the OST done by non other than the legend herself Yoko Kanno. So you got 2 out of the 3 requirements to make an awesome series all u need now is the story to bind the first 2 together but we will get to that part soon enough.

Story:

This is where Darker than Black’s weakness lies in its story. It tries something different u may ask what? It has something unique in its storytelling, it does two-episode story arcs through out the show except the final three episodes. Each focusing on different story which contains a part of the bigger story which Darker than Black works to in the final episodes.

This is an awesome concept but what ultimately kills it is the fact that these story arcs contain fillers and it over complicates the complicated story line already making it hard to follow. And to complicate it even more they repeat what has already been shown in previous arcs that don’t contribute anything to the story. But if u are able to keep your head u will discover a gem of a story. It cries out for a second season, as there is so much of the story left untold. Some of the underlying plot ideas and just the general feel of the anime reminded me of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I really hope they are considering a 2nd series of this show.

Animation:

As I stated before first thing when u start watching this show is the high level of animation that went into the making of this anime as to be expected from a studio like BONES. The action scenes are done nicely and the animation sequences are fluid and they even used some 3d rendering for all the cars in the show. There has gone a lot of detail into the opening sequences of the show which makes for nice eye candy.

Sound/Music:

The first opening song done by Abingdon Boys School really grabs u and gives the show a flying start. But the second one done by Kakusei Heroism didn’t really do anything for me. The rest of the OST is done by non other than the legend herself Yoko Kanno. (She has written scores for famous animated works, including Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop, Vision of Escaflowne and Wolf's Rain, and is the most trusted composer by veteran and new-wave directors such as Yoshiyuki

Tomino, Shinichiro Watanabe and Shoji Kawamori. Kanno has also composed music for JPop artists, the most notable being Maaya Sakamoto and Kyoko Koizumi. She is also a skilled keyboardist, and is the frontress for The Seatbelts, who perform many of Kanno's compositions on the various original soundtracks for which she is responsible.)

So I cannot fault the anime on the OST side of things because it is Yoko Kanno so by default is awesome yes I know I am bias.

Characters:

The characters get introduced at a rather fast pace during the anime. We get to meet Mao, Yin, and Huang although Hei takes center stage most of the time during the show. My favorite character in the show was November 11 his contractor powers just did it for me and the way he acted reminded me a lot of the bond films and 007. Without giving much away the character are the ones moving the plot along and not the other way around like in other anime titles.

Enjoyment:

If u are able to keep your head u will discover a gem of a story. It cries out for a second season, as there is so much of the story left untold. The only let down is the 2 episode arch concept which in the end lets the anime down. So if u willing to persevere u will find a good anime behind the somewhat flawed story.

For someone like me who likes complicating storylines and on-going plots, I was instantly turned off by Darker than Black (DTB). For many others who only want to see action scenes and badasses, it became one of their favorites. I mean, why wouldn’t it? Said badasses also happen to be amoral killers with tragic backdrops, who wear hoods, masks, and have superpowers. It’s the ideal escapism fantasy for angsty teenagers.

It has a false sense of maturity and it’s easy to trick the casuals into considering it serious and deep. The characters are not teenage hyperactive idealists, dressed in bright colored clothes, fighting an evil government. They are adult amoral mercenaries, dressed in dark colored clothes, working for a cynical government. There are no clearly obvious good guys or bad guys, you can’t defeat the conflict by beating the crap out of the big boss and nobody is afraid to kill his enemies or spares their lives in order to give them a second chance. That’s way closer to what happens in real life and why many who were fed up with too-goody protagonists consider this anime to be mature.

Despite the short stand-alone stories, there was also a mystery regarding Hell’s Gate and the origin of the powers, which was giving you the impression it will eventually bring everything together. There was something keep you engaged, and many love this approach since they can theorycraft all they want about it, even if it didn’t lead up to something satisfying. There was no solid ending in the first season, and the sequel which attempted to offer an explanation, did it in a very confusing manner and expected you to read a wiki in order to make sense of what they were unable to explain in-series.

Which was to be expected, just like with most of what was animated by studio Bones. It’s always about amazing production values, good atmosphere, a catchy premise, and no decent storyboard or proper plot. Beyond that, there are issues with having short stand-alone arcs, such as knowing none of the main characters is ever going to die or be crippled, because they all need to be present in all the stories. Thus whatever variety there can be comes in the form of the side characters of each arc, and the weird powers the enemy assassins will be using. Even then, you know you will never see them again after the arc is over, so you don’t really care if a two episode character lives or dies.

As for the main characters, they don’t have emotions, and despite the theme of racism you don’t feel any sympathy towards them, since they are uncaring assassins who don’t give a damn about the treatment they receive from the normies. This ain’t X-Men where they have emotions and fight for coexistence. They are just being paid to do their job, which has nothing to do with racism. At least it’s not Elfen Lied where they try to make you feel sorry for a bunch of psychotic lolis who were genetically programmed to kill humanity regardless of how you treat them.

Although the second half tries to have a more dense plot, and the sequel attempts to give emotions to the assassins, as well as explaining what the hell is going on, down to it, it’s good only superficially. The characters are distant, the themes are not explored much, and there are always the X-Men as a much, much, much better alternative.

That Anime was the best i had ever seen ! 9/10
I watched it with my friends and everyone love it !
I think the pretagonist is really cool and also his superpower ist great for him.
The story and the character are really good and i love this kind of animes .
Also you will enjoy it :thumbup:
All episodes are really good to watch and there is nothing boring about them.
When you didn't watch it you need to do it when you have time for watching it because
it's really good .
But the second season is not really good i think because he is not anymore the "main" character in this Anime ,
because that girl is important for this season . But Hei has not change so much only .. you will see ^^

:thumbup: arigatou_Jan

The one thing about this anime that really got to me was the incessant Pizza Hut placement. After watching DTB, I got the impression that in the not so distant semi-dystopian future, Pizza Hut has managed to set up a store on every other block in Tokyo! Truely, it is a sign of the end times. Perhaps that's where the secret and shadowy syndicate gets all it's funding?

Other than that though I enjoyed this one, although like many shows, it could really use a second season or so to help tie up the loose ends the characters leave laying all over the place...

Critic's Log - Earthdate: June 17, 2012. Review #9: Darker Than BLACK



A heart of Darkness is a heart full of Hatred and Deceit, A dark
heart's lust for power can never fill his avarice to the fullest, he
will continuously consume power because he resents people that have it.
His wrath will eventually lead to his despair and his arrogance will
give him a heart that is Darker Than Black. Is it possible to have a
heart that is lighter than black or darker than white? I do not know
myself because I still search, and then... The trials of a journey
begin.



Okay... Enough with the poetic philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Here's Darker Than BLACK!







Ten Years ago, an unknown and abnormal area known as Hell's Gate
appeared in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape.
The real stars disappeared and are replaced by fake stars. During this
time, people possessing various special powers have been appearing, each
capable of different supernatural feats. These people are known as
"Contractors". Each fake star has a corresponding Contractor which
reacts to their activities. They are also kept secret from the masses.
These contractors are known to murder in cold blood. They also kill
their emotion with logic and rationale. Their abilities on the other
hand at the cost of their humanity, Contractors are also named because
of a involuntary compulsion to pay the price each time their power is
used. Various nations and organizations around the world are training
these contractors as assassins and spies resulting in aggressive battles
for objects of value and information. After the Heaven's War, The
United States have lost their position as a superpower to a mysterious
organization named The Syndicate, The story is about a Chinese
contractor named Hei as he undertakes various espionage and
assassination missions in Tokyo under the direction of The Syndicate.







To be technical, this is a Studio Bones production and Studio Bones
still has good animation quality. Darker than Black does not disappoint
in the animation department. The animation looks really good even though
computers may have been used as part of The Animation. The animation
isn't perfect in this show, but it looks really nice. The action scenes
are nice. Kudos to Studio Bones.



Even though the animation is great, there are some big problems with
Darker than Black. The story may vary your mileage and I have many
reasons why I say this... The pace in this show varies on speed and that
might not be so bad. The big problem with the story is that the
narrative tense does feel disorienting. Let me explain this, there are
times when flashbacks are shown in the prologue of some episodes and
then you see the present events occur after the opening. There's also a
lot of things explained as the show progresses, this is an anime you
need to pay attention to so you need to wake the fuck up while watching
Darker than Black. I will give Tensai Okamura some credit that his
direction in this anime is a bit different than some other anime out
there.



One of the major flaws of Darker than Black is that it feels like the
story isn't developing where it should be, Darker Than BLACK does
develop a bit at the start of the second half in the show but it does
take a while before the show gets somewhat interesting. The ending is
rushed and at the time I am writing this review, I am a bit skeptical
about the second season of Darker than BLACK.



Another major flaw is that the Minor characters seem to have the more
interesting storylines than the main characters themselves and I did
find some of these minor character's intriguing. The main casts of
characters do get backstories but they are not as intriguing save for
Yin's Backstory and Huang's backstory. Hei's backstory was a bit
interesting but I don't have much to say about what intrigued me about
it. The variety of the powers that the contractors have is nice too. The
character development is a mixed bag for me and I was this close of
calling the character development "Shoddy". There are some characters I
find boring and I found some to be quite interesting. Hei is a bit
complicated for me to enjoy watching. I ire the fact that when he
assumes the alias "Li Shenshung" you wouldn't suspect that he's the
infamous "BK201" or "Black Reaper", but when he is the Black Reaper,
he's a badass (to some degree). Yin on the other hand does develop a bit
but not too much, since she is a Doll, your expectations will vary.
Huang is the only main character that is 100% human. I like the two part
episode about him and Shihoko. Mao is okay. Again, the minor characters
seem to have the more interesting storylines than the main characters
and that can be considered a big problem. It may also feel a bit
unoriginal at times.



The music for Darker Than BLACK is composed by Yoko Kanno who is well
known for composing the music for animes such as The Vision of
Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, and Ghost in The Shell. The music
is okay in Darker than BLACK, but Kanno- san has done better, Also, I
found it quite nice to hear Mai Yamane in a song or two. If you don't
know who she is, I'll tell you... She's the singer that is well known
for her work in Cowboy Bebop, if you know the song "The Real Folk
Blues", she's the one singing it. But I will say that the first opening
kicks ass, and the first closing theme is pretty good too. Last but not
least, the moments where you hear some jazz in the show. I think it's a
nice touch... Kind of reminds you of Cowboy Bebop a bit.



When it comes to voice acting. The subtitled version is excellent,
however... so is most of the dub. I will it the subtitled version is
good, The dubbed version might be the most appropriate choice because of
the settings and some of the character backgrounds. Even though
Funimation is notorious for re-casting the same voice actors at their
disposal, I did not mind the dub too much. Hidenobu Kiuchi is great as
Hei and Jason Liebrecht isn't bad as Hei either. Misato Fukuen is pretty
good as Yin while Brina Palencia was okay as Yin, Masaru Ikeda and John
Swasey play Huang pretty well. Ikuya Sawaki and Kent Williams are
pretty good as Mao. If there is one character that had a pretty good
performance on both the dubbed and the subbed version, it was the late
seiyu Tomoko Kawakami and Laura Bailey as Amber. You can't really go
wrong with either version so whether you want to watch this dubbed or
subbed is totally up to you, they are both pretty good. Zach Bolton (who
worked on Shin-Chan) was repsonsible for the ADR direction and he did
pretty good on the dub on this show.



Speaking about Amber, doesn't she look awfully familiar to C.C. (pronounced C2) from Code Geass?







Damn... She Does!



Darker than BLACK is available by Funimation, the OVA "Beneath Cherry
Blossoms in Full Bloom" is released with Season One and is a side story
of the show. The Second season of Darker than BLACK called "Gemini of
The Meteor" is also available by Funimation, there is also another OVA
called "Darker than BLACK: Gaiden (Side Story)" it is also available
from Funimation. A manga of Darker than BLACK is available from Yen
Press and there is another Manga adaptation of Darker than BLACK but
hasn't been licensed here yet at the time I am writing this review.



With that said, Darker than BLACK is a somewhat unique series that
might have some unoriginal elements. You might find this show really
cool if you can get past the mixed bag of character development, and the
story's narrative tense. This is one of those animes that I think is
not really bad but I think it's not really good either. Do I like this
show? Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool. It's not really on my
favorites list...



I give Darker Than BLACK a 7 out of 10. It is GOOD!



Feel free to comment, and have a good evening

***********************************************************************************************************

Critic's Log - Earthdate: June 17, 2012. Supplemental for Review #9: Darker Than BLACK OVA: Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom.

I got no poetic dialogue for the intro here. Let's jump right into the Darker than BLACK OVA!

Mayu Otsuka works at the Fourth Foreign Affairs Department in the Japanese National Police Agency as a liaison officer with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. She wrote a story about a Masked Man that supposedly seemed to be a dream but she isn't sure. Hei and his team got themselves a new task and are looking for a numeric attached to a sample.

To be technical, this is an OVA of Darker Than Black and does not take place after Episode 25. It is a side story of Darker Than Black that could take place somewhere in the show.

There isn't much story in this OVA, and it has nothing to add to Darker Than BLACK.

The animation is fine like the show, The Cherry blossom petals are drawn in nicely.

The voice acting for both the subbed and dubbed version are both good, if you already read my review of this show, I have already said enough of it.

I already said enough of the music by Yoko Kanno, she has done better musical scores.

The characters are also the usual and I already said enough about them as well.

I guess the real question is... Is this OVA worth seeing? Yes and No. I say yes if you already enjoyed watching the show before, and I say no because it does not add anything to Darker Than BLACK. This OVA is obviously made for the people that liked the show.

With that said, there isn't much to say about Darker Than BLACK: Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom, it is a welcome addition to Darker Than BLACK. You might like, you might not like it. Consider this OVA optional unless you are a completist.

I give the OVA for Darker Than BLACK the same rating as I gave for the TV show, a 7 out of 10, it is GOOD!

Feel free to comment below, and until then... Howl in the shadow.