Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha (Darker than Black)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: DTB

Japanese: Darker than BLACK -黒の契約者-

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 25

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 6, 2007 to Sep 28, 2007

Premiered: Spring 2007

Broadcast: Fridays at 01:25 (JST)

Producers: Aniplex, Square Enix, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Movic, Myrica Music

Licensors: Funimation

Studios: Bones

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Theme: Super Power

Duration: 24 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 8.05¹ (scored by 437,480 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #561²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #166

Members: 946,710

Favorites: 16,745

Available At

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Synopsis

It has been 10 years since Heaven's Gate appeared in South America and Hell's Gate appeared in Japan, veiling the once familiar night sky with an oppressive skyscape. Their purposes unknown, these Gates are spaces in which the very laws of physics are ignored. With the appearance of the Gates emerged Contractors, who, in exchange for their humanity, are granted supernatural abilities.

In the Japanese city surrounding Hell’s Gate, Section 4 Chief Misaki Kirihara finds herself at odds with an infamous Contractor codenamed Hei. Called "Black Reaper" in the underground world, Hei, like his associates, undertakes missions for the mysterious and ruthless Syndicate while slowly peeling back the dark layers covering a nefarious plot that threatens the very existence of Contractors.

From the mind of Tensai Okamura comes a sci-fi thriller taking the form of a subtle exposé on a war in which political positions and justice have no sway—a war waged exclusively in the shadows.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Darker than Black was awarded Best Original Anime of The Year by GoGoplex, a popular magazine for teens. In the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival, it was one of the jury's recommendations from the category "Animation Division/Long Animation."

On January 21, 2016, it was announced that Funimation Entertainment, the North American distributor for the anime, no longer holds the license for this season.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha
Side story:	Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha - Sakura no Hana no Mankai no Shita
Sequel:	Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha Gaiden

Matsumoto, Yasunori
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Harp, Clarine

Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo

Producer

Oyabu, Yoshihiro

Producer

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Opening Theme

	1: "Howling" by Abingdon Boys School (eps 1-14)
	2: "Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero without a Name~" by An Cafe (eps 15-23,25)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Tsuki Akari" by Rie Fu (eps 1-14)
	2: "Dreams" by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (eps 15-24)

Reviews

Apr 11, 2024

arais_demlant

Recommended

I'll keep this brief and short.

This show redefined what anime was to me when I first watched it. This show really opened up the idea of what the medium could be, as a mature thought provoking medium. The characters I adored, the story and world were mysterious. The dub for this show was utterly fantastic, even though I almost exclusively watched subs. It's not perfect, it contains many flaws, but overall the package to me exceeds those flaws by some and then more. This show is not for everyone, especially these days, but it is my favorite of all time and will remain so.

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May 25, 2023

DISKOWN

Mixed Feelings

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha falls into the realm of mediocrity, grappling with inconsistencies throughout its run. While the pacing remains steady, allowing for adequate character development, the animation suffers from uneven execution. The action sequences are visually appealing and dynamic; however, the remaining scenes are flat and uninspired, particularly when it comes to poorly animated vehicles that noticeably age the series. The character designs are rather plain, failing to leave a lasting impression. The narrative, while intriguing, builds up to an unsatisfying conclusion that fails to deliver and falls short of expectations. In summary, Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha boasts a commendable ...

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Feb 17, 2021

AnimeEnjoyer420

Not Recommended

Summary: Darker Than Black is a neo-noir crime thriller that has some nice pieces, but is held back by an incoherent story and a lack of progression in either the characters or the plot. It's structured as a series of 2 or 3 episode arcs, and many of the arcs are filler and don't link back to a single unified story, leaving the season as a series of floating, unconnected pieces that are fairly unsatisfying in the absence of a central story.

Positives:

+ Many of the arcs are strong individually. They're relatively compelling, if simple, crime thriller plots, and the action is good. ... Each arc will individually hold your interest for the most part.

+ Action scenes and animation look pretty good for the show being almost 15 years old.

Negatives:

- Unfocused plot. There's no real central story here, unless you count the final arc, which you can't really, since it only lasts about 4 episodes and is only vaguely alluded to before that. The show is basically a series of short stories that don't really connect to each other. A lot of things happen in these shorter stories, but it isn't really anything of significance. There are two separate arcs following the internal power struggles in minor gangs that are never once referenced outside of that particular arc. This kind of episodic storytelling can work in a show with stronger themes or by framing it around a strong main character, but Darker Than Black has neither of those, so it ends up largely being a collection of entertaining stories that don't mean anything or have a larger narrative when they're put together.

- Difficult to care about the characters. Especially early on, the main characters in the series are almost an afterthought. Even Hei, the nominal main character of the series, is sidelined for long stretches, only showing up to foil a bad guy at a critical moment after being largely uninvolved in the rest of the story. They almost seem tangential to the oneshot characters that are only in for their particular arc. A lot of energy and attention is put into making these temporary characters worthwhile, but it comes at the expense of the actual characters that will be with us for the whole series. Other characters, such as the private detective and his slacker assistant, could have been done away with entirely with virtually no impact on the show. They are also far too cagey about the main character, his past and his personality in particular. It's clear the intention was to make him a dark and mysterious Batman type figure, but it comes off as simply boring and unrelatable instead.

- Predictable storytelling. For a mystery/noir thriller, the mysteries in this series are not very entertaining. The plot twists will all be easily spotted from a mile away. It also has a bad case of Cowboy Bebop Syndrome, where it unceremoniously kills off its new character of the week at the end of their arc so the status quo is always preserved (Huang's lover is the most obvious example of this). After you start noticing this happen regularly, it becomes impossible to care about side characters that are virtually guaranteed to be in the ground by the end of the next episode at the absolute latest.

- Weak ending. Slight spoilers ahead, but I'll keep it vague. The ending is a real disappointment, teasing an impossible choice for the protagonist only to have him choose option 3, which is for everything to stay exactly the same and for him to not have to make the choice at all. In the end, we end up basically in the same place we started, only with a lot more people dead. It's an extension of the show's broader problem with a lot of things happening, but none of it ever really meaning much.

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Poll: Darker than BLACK Episode 16 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Zel - Jul 21, 2007	105 replies	by almightybismarck »» Apr 4, 11:46 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK Episode 15 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Faust721 - Jul 21, 2007	100 replies	by almightybismarck »» Apr 4, 10:55 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) cyruz - Jun 13, 2007	99 replies	by TheMangaManiac »» Mar 11, 4:13 PM
Poll: Darker than BLACK Episode 14 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) tainteddonut - Jul 6, 2007	144 replies	by YankataY »» Dec 10, 2023 11:44 AM
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Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

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Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

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