Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

One night, as meteors streak across the star-studded sky, Shion Pavlichenko becomes a Contractor. Despite her brother's transformation, Shion's twin sister Suou continues to live a fairly ordinary life, attending middle school with her friends and getting caught up in the awkwardness of growing up. However, everything changes when her home is invaded by a masked man cloaked in black, destroying any sense of normality she once had. Revealed to possess latent Contractor abilities of her own, Suou is caught between family, friends, and her own sense of purpose as she ventures into the ruthless world of cutthroats and espionage that Contractors call home.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, investigation surrounding Hell's Gate's sudden collapse is underway, and prophetic signs of doom point in the direction of a silver-haired doll.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

Episode Videos

Edit

Related Anime

Prequel:

Supporting

Katou, Emiri
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo

Producer

Oyabu, Yoshihiro

Producer

Okamura, Tensai

Director

Edit

Opening Theme

"Tsukiakari no Michishirube" by STEREOPONY

Edit

Ending Theme

"From Dusk Till Dawn" by abingdon boys school

Reviews

Feb 21, 2010

abhishek14

Recommended

Somehow the high expectations I had awaiting the sequel to a fantastic series were not fulfilled. Ryuusei No Gemini isn’t exactly a sequel to Kuro no Keiyakusha, but more like a separate arc in itself. It would be unfair to compare both of them as they vary in their style and storyline. For starters, the series are not bi-episodic; instead revolve around a single storyline involving a Eurasian female protagonist. Hei’s involvement through the series although significant, has not really been up to what it ought to be.

Storyline: 7/10
Suou Pavlichenko is a 13 year Eurasian girl whose life suddenly changes on a fateful ... day when she meets up with Hei. Involved in the mess of politics and war between the contractors, she seeks out on her own quest to find her missing twin, Shion. Alongside her is Hei, a drunk bastard who completely lacks the mannerism and politeness he once had. The personality change might have been necessary in this series as it made things a bit interesting, but it didn’t seem all that good seeing him like that. The storyline, in its individuality served to be interesting though. The protagonist goes through a lot of ordeals throughout her journey. The series also has some graphic and violent killings which made it a little gory at times. The birth and evolution of the contractors was something we had vaguely seen in Kuro no Keiyakusha. The involvement of many groups (CIA, FSB, MI6 and Section 3) could have made for better viewing had they had more air time. They left it a bit incomplete and it felt as if these names were only included to attract attention without proper motive behind it. Also the “Syndicate” that pretty much ruled in Kuro no Keiyakusha was nowhere to be seen, again a disappointment as the whole mysteriousness behind them suddenly disappeared. Altogether though, despite its shortcomings it was somehow good how it ended up being. I guess it may be due to the protagonists’ whole journey from havoc to happiness. As for the name “Gemini of the Meteor”, it wasn’t nearly as important to be kept in the title IMO.

Characterization: 7/10
Ryuusei No Gemini had a plethora of characters which made it quite an entertaining prospect to watch. Starting off with Suou, a determined and strong girl entwined between living a life as a human or a contractor. It was touching to see the ordeals she and her school friends went through. Much like a supporting character, July was an example of some nice character development, and his relation with Suou was charming to watch. Hei’s laid-back sake drinking attitude failed to impress me the slightest. And the fact that he was not able to showcase his powers during most of the series made it lamer for me. The agents of Section 3 were pretty good, namely Hizaki and Genma. Hizaki’s remuneration involved kissing someone after the usage of her power added to the humor. Madam Oreille was yet promising character shown but somehow failed to make much of an impact in the Anime. Lot of interesting characters I would say. But somehow they were cramped up in a short series which somehow failed them I believe. They should have been given more time for their characters to be known properly rather than just through some cameo roles.

Art: 9/10
The original characters were already pretty awesome in how they were made. The new characters were also very nicely put out. From the Russians to the CIA to the Japanese characters, all looked very original. Also the new characters gave the storyline a refreshing experience. The fights were well coordinated and typically good to watch. Hei’s new look was intriguing; Suou’s character was pretty nicely done too. The agents looked good and the whole background of the Anime from Russia to Tokyo was beautiful. The characters are all very nicely drawn and the animation stands out to be pretty good as well.

Sound: 8/10
Sound was another good factor for Ryuusei No Gemini. The OP was a treat to the ears. I particularly liked it. The voices of the characters were also very good. Suou sounded very sweet whenever she used to shout “Tanya”. As there was a mixture of cultures, it’ll be interesting to see how these voices correlate in the dubs that will be out later on. The ED was average I would say. The best thing however would be the background score during the fights. The whole beat-box thing or whatever that was being played surely pepped up the interest to watch. I loved it.

Overall: 8/10
Seeing this series individually without comparing to the previous one and you’ll find that it’s actually good. Although not as epic as Kuro no Keiyakusha, Ryuusei No Gemini offers an entertaining experience with some interesting character portrayals. Combined with good artwork and sound, it is a definite recommendation. Just don’t try and compare it with the first season and you’ll definitely like it.

Open

Gift

Jan 23, 2010

Chameleon_Dude

Mixed Feelings

I'm not really one for writing long reviews of anime I've watched, but I felt that I had to say something about this one.

Darker than BLACK - Kuro no Keiyakusha had a dark storyline and characters with very distinct traits, especially Hei. Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini, the sequel seemed to forget these.

*Mild Spoilers Ahead*

This anime would have been great if it was a stand-alone, but it was unlucky enough to have expectations to live up to its predecessor. The main character, Hei - once a calm, collected, cold-blooded killer now stars as an umkempt drunk who abducts small children and beats them. ...

Open

Gift

Mar 8, 2015

ZephSilver

Not Recommended

I had a rather a hard time wrapping my head around the thought process taken up by the scriptwriters of this show. They had an almost infinite pool of ideas to work with, from the origin story and reasoning behind the Hell's Gate manifestation to endless detours that could have been taken up using the Contractors and Dolls as parables for sociological issues plaguing current society; the possibilities were endless. It seemed that with all the mysterious themes being left in a shroud of ambiguity and the multifaceted approaches to tackling them just on the cusp of being explored, any route could have been taken ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Worst rated sequels

by eblf2013

25 Entries · 12 Restacks

Anime sequels considered dissapointing

by Bushmeat

33 Entries · 18 Restacks

2000s Anime Watchlist Part 1

by Ssnowyy

50 Entries · 49 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

More news

Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for May

Here are the North American Anime & Manga releases for May 2015 Week 1: May 5th - 11th Anime Releases Astro Boy (2003) Complete Series Denki-gai Collectors'...read more

May 5, 2015 12:04 PM by Snow | Discuss (14 comments)

Side Story Episodes of Darker Than Black 2 Are DVD/BD Release Only [Confirmed]

According to dojin mangaka Guyohmaru's blog, Aniplex announced at a preview for the anime business people that four extra episodes of Darker than BLACK - Ryuuse...read more

Sep 30, 2009 7:00 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (38 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Amphetamine - Dec 24, 2009	672 replies	by Erdgeist »» Jan 9, 1:03 AM
Poll: Status poll about Darker than BLACK Second Season Episode 12 KingSunWukong - Dec 15, 2023	2 replies	by Ecarteo »» Dec 16, 2023 7:25 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) yakisobapan - Oct 29, 2009	270 replies	by GearheadOtaku »» Nov 10, 2023 5:59 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) yakisobapan - Oct 22, 2009	315 replies	by GearheadOtaku »» Nov 9, 2023 9:29 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK - Ryuusei no Gemini Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) yakisobapan - Oct 8, 2009	391 replies	by GearheadOtaku »» Nov 9, 2023 7:00 PM

Recent Featured Articles

10 Anime Like Death Note

Death Note was a major hit when it was released back in 2006 and quickly became known for being an intelligent, yet accessible thriller that would be mentioned anytime anime was brought up. In case your hype for the series still hasn't died down, here are 10 similar anime!

by NicWat10

346,473 views

Collection

Top 15 Best Mystery Anime of All Time

Do you love mysteries, puzzles and ‘whodunit’ anime? Check out our collection of the Top 15 Best Mystery anime below and see if your favorite mystery anime made it on the list!

by Ai_Sakura

631,969 views

Spoiler

Collection

Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Hei

Mao

Pavlichenko, Suou

Kirihara, Misaki

July

Yin

Amber

Kurasawa, Gai

Hazuki, Mina

Kayanuma, Kiko

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-