Alternative TitlesEnglish: Darker than BLACK Synonyms: Darker than BLACK - Kuro no Keiyakusha Japanese: Darker than BLACK -黒の契約者-
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 5, 2007 to Sep 28, 2007
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.291 (scored by 11389 users)
Ranked: #1292
Popularity: #39
Members: 20,155
Favorites: 845 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action drama mystery sci-fi supernatural |
SynopsisIn Tokyo, an impenetrable field known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago. At the same time, psychics who wield paranormal powers at the cost of their conscience also emerged. 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 vying to unlock the mysteries of Hell's Gate. (Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Darker than BLACK
Side story: Darker than BLACK OVA
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Recommendations
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Both shows focus on the slow unravaling of a mystery and conspracy through police work and investigation, with small bits of action in between. Both have a case of interesting characters, great music, and high production values.
Similar premise to both shows, superpowered people in a quasi-future society, both centered around a character with above average powers that seem conflicted. Both have elements of mystery, Darker than BLACK just feels a little more hardcore.
Very similar premise; Contractors are very similar to Witches.
Witches and contractors seems like similar, ^^
People with mysterious supernatural abilities join secret organizations designed to watch/control other people with similar abilities
Let's just say Darker Than Black is much grittier and darker, and there are nothing assumed. It's also more intelligent and you can't find any over used cliche at all. If Witch Hunter Robin was an excellent show for you, then Darker than Black will be a superior show for you.
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Darker than Black and Code Geass are both in a technological world where the protagonist have a very powerful ability. There are lots of pizza hut hidden in the background or just somewhere on the screen. Suspense and fights, thats what they are all about.
Blood? Contractors? Mysterious green haired women in white suits? Pizza Hut everywhere? Same time slot?! That's right - Darker than Black and Code Geass have all these qualites in common. If you like one, there's a good chance you'll find the other good/funny.
Lelouch and Hei are very similar in that they both have supernatural abilites obtained through a "contract" (different meanings in each anime, but still a contract :P ) They wear a mask to the public (Lelouch is Zero and Hei is BK-201)and both are devoted to their little sisters. Both have Pizza Hut everywhere and mysterious green haired girls (well, one of them is really blond, but sometimes it looks green). If you like one of them, you'll probably like the other ;)
The characters are very similar to each-other Hei is to LeLouche as Amber is to CC. Amber and CC even look alike! Now back to WHY. The goal for each of them (Lelouche and Hei) both involve their sisters. Both have "magical" powers to help them succeed in their way of their goal. Either finding or protecting it seems so alike.
Whilst they aren't really terribly alike, the dark themes these two anime's share make them both highly recommendable, and if you like one then you will probably like the other. Both of the main characters, Hei and Lelouch, obtain supernatural abilities, and whilst Lelouch manipulates people and leads a revolution, Hei is manipulated by a mysterious company. But both characters seek to change the way the world currently works for the better.
The similiar main character Lelouch and Hei act very nice hiding their true goal
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Reviews
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
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Nov 7, 200725 of 25 episodes seen 95 of 125 people found this review helpful Darker than Black, what an adventure it has been. Darker than Black takes place in a near future world where two gates appeared, Heaven's Gate and Hell's Gate. The mysterious appearance of these gates brought with them the Contractors. Contractors are people who have entered into a contract with an unknown force and gained a unique power in return. The nature of the contract however requires them to give back each time they use their power. Payment is anything from smoking a cigarette to writing... a poem. The main story is told through an omnipotent point of view with the "camera man" being at the scene and generally following a certain group of characters, but can focus on other characters as the protagonists for an entire arc. It is a very unique telling of the story and hard to put into words, but that isn't a bad thing.
The animation and art style of Darker than Black are superb. Each character is completely unique and unlike some other shows with several similar looking characters, Darker than Black does an excellent job of giving each character an unique style and a winning personality. The fights of Darker than Black are done very well and are very fluid. Although short at times, it is after all not a shounen series, they are excellent none the less. Some fights are extended and are a real treat for the eyes. Bones, the producers, did an excellent job with the series and I am looking forward to seeing more of their work.
The soundtrack for Darker than Black is up there with my favourites of all time. An excellent mix of various genres of music. At one point it will be a jazz track, then later it will be an orchestra piece or a rock track. Overall the music is really well done and accurately depicts the scene. At some points I found myself with the hair on the back of my neck standing up as the music heated up in preparation of a coming battle. The voice acting is top notch. Hei has two distinct voices: one serious and the other calm or even clumsy sounding. The other main characters: Kirihara, Yin, Huang, and Mao also have top notch performances. Overall the casting and voice acting are very well done.
Each character has their own special traits and have very well written dialogue. Although it is for the most part an Action/Drama type of series, there are often Comedic undertones to help break up the suspense. When Hei is not masquerading as BK201, his codename, he is a very funny and sarcastic individual. Most every character has moments that make you want to laugh, especially Gai, the off the wall private eye, and his partner, the pink haired money hungry Kiko. All in all the characters have a very nice chemistry and it is interesting to see Hei's interactions with the people who are pursuing him. The only thing that is holding back the characters is, with the exception of Hei and Yin, there is very little back story provided for many of the main characters. This is hard to do of course though with an episodic type series.
The series seems episodic as the story is generally told in two episode mini-arcs, with the final arc being three episodes, it never really feels very episodic. Especially toward the end where the main plot runs into each new arc. Although there is a sense of conclusion after each arc, it never really feels like it is in an episodic nature (if that makes any sense at all). I immensely enjoyed Darker than Black and with a very satisfying ending I can only dream of a sequel. read more
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
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Dec 1, 200725 of 25 episodes seen 47 of 63 people found this review helpful Darker than BLACK is an exciting, heavily arc driven Sci-fi, Supernatural, Action anime; following the stories of various human beings, with various special powers, known as Contractors. ^_^
The plot of Darker than BLACK is somewhat confusing as you start but after a while you’ll become accustomed to the intriguing plot, though it does take most of the show to fully understand. For the most part of the story it is arranged into 2 episode length adventures/arcs, giving it and... episodic feel. Unlike other episodic adventure anime series (Cowboy Bebop), that extra episode allows the characters to be developed far better. This helps give this anime and edge because a lot of the characters are portrayed in such a way that you can’t help but feel something towards them. Even though each arc has the same sort of structure as a 4-panel manga (Intro => Development => Turning point => Conclusion) yet each one feels unique in its own way.
Apart from the episodic characters that I discussed early, there are quite a few recurring main characters in the series that have fairly complex and intriguing personalities. Hei (BK201) being the character that the story revolved around was the most interesting one of them all, because he was so difficult to comprehend. The only real negative is the annoying detective character that appears, every now and then, for comic relief.
The quality of the animation can be compared with that of the more popular series, Death Note; with its superb visuals and the seamless blending of hand drawn and CG. Nonetheless there is just a little less detail, put into it, due to action but this helps create incredibly fluid animation. The music is basically a mix of Jazz, Rock, J pop and other melodies that will go well most of the different situations and moods of the show.
Overall Darker than BLACK fulfilled its purpose of becoming, an incredibly, exciting anime that could compete, with the likes of Claymore, when it first aired. Even with the plot and premise being confusing in the beginning, it all ended up being easy to understand as the show went on however there were still some issues left unexplained, in the end. Even with some elements of its storyline, having already been done before, there was still enough original content to make up for it. Well I recommend this anime to anyone who feels like watching a good action anime, with some sci-fi and supernatural elements.
^_^ read more
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
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Aug 2, 200725 of 25 episodes seen 68 of 91 people found this review helpful ==STORY==
The story is very good in my opinion, it contains many details about the history, abilities and life of the characters. It gets more and more complicated through the show. The story tells about a world, very similar to ours that had gone through a massive change. one day the starts started raining from the skies and together with them appeared a gate, Hells Gate. Some people were given special powers but not for free and they didn't really choose them. They were simply given spe...cial powers. They are called Contractors. A contractor has a special ability, as an example I can rain fire from the sky however it will cost me something. Each contractor has a different "payment" method. Some have to drink alcohol after each time they use their powers, some have to drink blood. The contractors are lacking emotions (as far as I've noticed) but aren't emotionless. Together with them appeared 2 more life forms, Dolls and Oracles. The dolls lack ANY emotions or free will, they act according to what they are told to do. They can do anything a normal human can. The oracles can... obviously predict the future. Since the "Hell's Gate" appeared many weird phenomenons started to appear near it. The city (Tokyo) was closed within walls and new skies appeared.
=ART==
The art is awesome, there's always a feeling of mystery and an enemy might hide anywhere. You can never tell what's going on and it doesn't randomly switch the scenes. The show is smooth and is pretty much perfect.
==CHARACTER==
The characters start with a small amount of info about them such as name and that's it. The info will grow through the story and new parts of them will reveal. The characters evolve and change quite a lot through the whole story. Some develop new sides which have never been seen even if they shouldn't.
=ENJOYMENT==
I enjoy this show very much, to be honest with you I can't stop watching it. Almost watched the raws! The story isn't messed up, the art is great and you just can't stop watching. This show will leave you with a taste of more at the end of each and every episode.
==OVERALL==
I enjoy this show so much and that's the main reason I'm making this review. Since some of you are probably confused I am more than glad to write this review down for you. I really hope you'll enjoy this show as much as I do.
~regards -> Tsunami! <- read more
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Opening Theme#01: "Howling" by Abingdon Boys School (eps 1-14)
#02: "Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero without a Name~" by An Cafe (eps 15-25)
Ending Theme#01: "Tsuki Akari" by Rie Fu (eps 1-14)
#02: "Dreams" by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (eps 15-25)
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