Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

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 of an episodic nature (if that makes any sense at all). I immensely enjoyed Darker than Black and it had a very satisfying conclusion.

Ah, the age old question; what to do when certain people suddenly begin manifesting mysterious superpowers. Darker than BLACK responds with a classic solution found in series ranging from Witch Hunter Robin to X-Men: Form secret organizations to monitor and control these people. However, despite the similar theme, this show is anything but derivative.

In the beginning of the series, the premise of the show is somewhat vague as little is known about where the powers of the contractors come from, or how they are related to the gates. As the series progresses more information is inevitably revealed, creating good plot exposition and allowing the story ... to move at a decent pace and keep each episode interesting. Where this series really shines however, is the characters.

Hei is portrayed brilliantly, having a rather comicbook superhero-like persona but adding a unique spin to it. His motives are not initially apparent, nor is his true relationship with the syndicate to which he belongs. Also, while contractors are known to be emotionless and purely rational, Hei somehow manages to retain his humanity, an anomaly which many of his acquaintances and opponents comment on. The true reason for this, as well as the origin of his powers remains hidden until the end of the series.

The other members of Hei's organization are similarly well portrayed, each being represented uniquely and interestingly. Huang, Yin, and Mao each have a well written back-story that is both engaging and important to the overall plot. The other characters in the story are outstanding as well, especially the antagonists. Despite the fact that the contractors are supposed to be unemotional, each character still manages to have a unique personality which often even enhanced by this fact.

If there is one weakness in this series, it is the ending, which is unfortunately rather inconclusive. I'm kind of hoping for a sequel, but this may be difficult for reasons that would be hard to disclose without revealing spoilers. The ending also has a "suddenly everything got weird" part to it that seems common in final episodes of supernatural anime, but at least it makes a lot more sense than many I've seen. If you like shows about people with supernatural powers, I think you should definitely watch this series.

•Cool-ass Chinese Batman protagonist in a Gotham-esque neo-noir setting?
Check✔
•A city overrun with nifty characters that have x-men like powers?
Check✔
•Nice mysterious lore with strange in-world concepts?
Check✔
•A clear-cut answer to ANY of these "mysterious" concepts and a sense of finality to our protagonist's existence?
Don't hold your breath.

Darker and Black felt like a show that was onto something worthwhile but ultimately never got around to proving it. The ingredients to make something great was clearly there but by the end, all we got was a show with ambitious ideas that did nothing but let it dwindle away into nothingness. Does that mean it isn't worth the investment? ... Well, yes and no. If all you wanted was a cool-ass electric Batman beating the mercy of God into x-men characters, then DTB certainly delivers. However, if you wanted more than the beat-em-up action happening on the surface and actually cared about the complete package hinted at in the background, then you'll walk away empty-handed.

Long story short, Darker and Black had the goods, just not the means necessary to deliver them.

**THIS REVIEW WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PIZZA HUT**

Instead of reciting the synopsis, I'll get straight to what the meat of the show consists of.

The story follows a series of mini-arcs with each addressing a new conflict. In each of these conflicts, the main group that contains our characters is assigned a task to fulfill by a crime syndicate, with our protagonist, Hei, being the foot soldier to carry out the missions. The syndicate, for a majority of the show, remained a faceless organization, and in the confines of the kind of show being presented, that isn't really a bad thing. They were omnipresent and ominous, guiding their pawns across the chessboard, with Hei simply being another piece in the game. This syndicate was in constant conflict with other underground organizations, which lead both sides to dispatch "contractors" (superhumans) to do their bidding.

These clashes play out like a feud war being carried out in secrecy, due to the governing bodies of the city covering up the existence of "contractors" and "dolls" in fear of civil unrest. Since law enforcing authorities from the CIA to the local police are constantly trying to apprehend, gather, and suppress information about these occurrences, every episode hits you with a blitz of energy and nonstop action. That, of course, results in a narrative that's constantly on the move, which is a good thing for action junkies and those seeking out easy-to-consume entertainment. Also, while all of this is going on, we are also given clues as to how the world operates in regards to the contractors, dolls, and a phenomenon that's simply dubbed "Hells Gate." While it's a gradual occurrence, after some time, these mini-arcs eventually converge to create an overarching one. Its story structure is similar to that of other shows like Ghost in the Shell: SAC and Psycho-Pass.

Seems pretty straightforward right, so where do the problems start?

Well, despite the consistent pace, since everything is told in a semi-episodic mini-arc format, there isn't really any true progression to talk about. Sure, we get to see the backstories of our main characters unfold and find out more about the show's lore, but as far as a sense of direction, DTB was scatterbrained. It aimlessly meandered about with no sense of purpose or clear destination, even after one seemed to present itself in the last handful of episodes. It ended up escalating the conflict instead of addressing it. This brings us to the biggest issue plaguing the show: its inability to provide answers.

DTB has a bad habit of telling us everything BUT what's actually important. It will go out of its way to deliver unnecessary expository dialogue to things we clearly see happening, while simultaneously using ambiguity as a crutch to avoid explaining the concepts it depends so heavily on. This, of course, results in a lot of moments where individuals would start acting out of character just so they can directly inform the audience of situations or explain how certain things work (like a contractor's given ability for example). I'm not saying a brief explanation isn't warranted but after something is established like the payment concept contractors have to make for using their powers, we don't need to get that information regurgitated every single time it happens—and trust me, it happens a lot. It feels as if the writers believe that the show's viewership was too dimwitted to figure it out for themselves.

As for the information that they don't give us, a definitive answer to any of the anomalies that occurred in the story remained one of them. The show kept on insinuating that there're answers to come, by dropping little nuggets of information throughout the narrative but that simply never exfoliated into anything in the end. It felt like they completely abandoned the idea of trying to explain the reason for any of the "mystery" concepts, only to opt out by following a hollow aspect of the overall setting established in the beginning. None of the supernatural elements are ever justified or explained despite the fact "mystery" part of its genre:
Why did the Hell's Gate appear? What purpose does it serve? How does it correlate with humans evolving into contractors? Why do the stars correlate with contractors lives? What is the end goal of the syndicate's operation? Are the contractors and dolls suppose to parallel the man vs man parable? Why is anything not making any proper sense outside of superficial techno-babble?

For a show that tried so much to build a mystery, it sure failed on upholding its end of the bargain.

And how do you end a show that didn't bother to provide answers to anything? Well apparently, you simply reveal a poorly planned plot twist that turns the final episode into an existential fever dream that hasn't been seen since the likes of Evangelion. And since no one has the balls to say it, I will. For a show to chalk up all its supernatural elements to nothing more than made-up allegorical fluff, while throwing in an improper Eva-esque conclusion, when up to that point, it was a simple rule-of-cool beat-em-up; why that's just borderline pretentious. And yes, I know, many of you are probably rolling your eyes in disgust by the mere mention of that "p" word, but really, in this situation, there's no other word to properly describe just how over-bloated the show got towards its climax.

There's nothing wrong with creators trying to be overly ambitious but when the foundation is built on poorly realized concepts and unexplained in-world mechanics, the end result will inevitably suffer as a result. A perfectly serviceable action-romp was thrown away for the sake of ambiguity and pseudo-concepts. And if you're expecting the 2nd season to fill in the gaps, all you'll get there is a super loli, a raging alcoholic, and a talking squirrel, so don't hold your breath.

**You know what goes well with this review? A nice hot box of PIZZA HUT!**

The stylistic direction of DTB was very western influenced. I wasn't kidding when I made the Gotham/x-men hybrid comparison. From the murky hues to character designs akin to that of DC Comics' cartoon installments, DTB's universe could easily crossover with a Justice League spin-off with very little problem. Like many other animated works, during the show's downtime, there wasn't much to credit the show for presentation-wise, but when the action sequences happen, it truly becomes blood pumping roller-coaster ride. And when placed side by side with other shows made in the same year, it truly was a cut above the rest. The only major hindrance that reared its ugly head was the occasional usage of CGI... also Pizza Hut ads, lots, and lots of Pizza Hut ads. I've counted no less than 17 ads while viewing the show (Code Geass has nothing on this). So take that for what you will.

The soundtrack was a mixture of new-school jazz, funk, and blues, along the lines of other western influenced anime such as Baccano! and Cowboy Bebop. This nice blend help contributed to the show's overall atmosphere, giving it character. Of course, it has its somber tracks as well but the ones that stood out were the aforementioned. The songs never outplay the corresponding scenes on screen but work in unison with them. There's a chemistry there that couples the visuals with the audio wonderfully. All the voice actors performed their roles with no noticeable hiccups, with this being one of the premier examples of an English dubbed cast trumping its Japanese counterpart. It's not going to be the "best dub ever" but it certainly gets the job done.

Now, what barely got the job done, however, was the characters themselves.

You know you have a problem when the show's cat has more of a personality than the people in it.

The cast was crippled by the show's premise. Since contractors and dolls alike are devoid of irrational feelings and have no moral compass outside of calculated thought, it doesn't leave room for any kind of development or growth (or personality, for that matter). The most DTB can do was to flesh them out with a backstory but other than that, they remained one-note from beginning to end. Despite this flaw, one redeeming quality was that most of the adult characters were handled with some semblance of maturity. Of course, that doesn't negate the lack of characterization but it certainly helps to make them feel more grounded.. well... for the most part anyway, as they do occasionally toss in a bit of misplaced comedic moments in a similar fashion to how shows like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood attempted something similar.

To add more life to these emotionally stilted characters, the show resorted to victimizing them, with either the inclusion of a sad backstory or having them be discriminated against because of their abnormal abilities (similar to the way x-men approached the subject matter). It's passable drama but only to a certain extent and can be seen as forceful by seasoned viewers.

Due to the semi-episodic structure, there's a lot of characters introduced. I'll only go over the three main ones we follow.

Our main protagonist is a man of little words and little personality as well, given his position as a "contractor." in the show's canon. When remnants of his past and personal life are conjured up by others, it quickly becomes apparent that there's more to him beyond his stoic demeanor. But despite that, these brief glimpses of humanity in him are still lacking, thanks in no small part to the short emotional leash the anime forces him to wear. When in public, he masquerades as a bashful mild-mannered person, playing off the "nice guy" gimmick similar to other characters like Himura from Rurouni Kenshin and Vash from Trigun. It's only when he's tasked with a mission that his electric Batman persona reveals itself. His sole purpose is to be that of the iconic badass that kicks ass and takes names. And with little else expected from him, it's always fun to see him do just that. But of course, like the plot that went from a simple action-romp to a contrived metaphysical mess, the show's ending brought with it an unneeded plot twist that negated all the fun that Hei brought to the table.
On a side-note, it seems like lacking emotion leaves more room for an appetite since Hei can guzzle down a crap ton of food with as much proficiency as a battle shounen protagonist. But enough about Hei, time to discuss my personal favorite from the bunch, Huang.

Huang, to put it simply, is your hard-ass. The kind of guy you'll come across with the gravely voice and no bullshit attitude that borders on pigheadedness. He doesn't take shit from anyone. It's made quite clear that he's discriminatory towards Contractors and Dolls. This, of course, was later explained with his stand-alone backstory. Although he's simply a human and not tied to the "no irrational emotion" crutch of the show's premise, he too lacks any further growth. He's your archetypal mobster type and given his disdain for Contractors, you often see him butting heads with Hei. Despite that, he's the most maturely handled character in the group and perhaps the only one with actual characterization. He's the closest thing to a character with actual depth in the show; a man hardened by his line of work and unfortunate past. This was shown through his business decorum, as he approaches every situation with a veteran-like decorum. And as he stood, Huang was the backbone of this anime's success. Constantly working in the background to get shit done.

And now that we've covered the show's cool mobster, time to talk about the Great Value knock-off brand of Rei Ayanami, Yin.

Yin was essentially the bootleg version of the "Rei Ayanami" archetype and with that said, there isn't much of a personality to speak of. She was appropriately classified as a doll (as she has the personality of one) and the only information needed to be known about her is that she's the eyes and ears of Hei, as her power allows her to see anywhere around the city where a pool of water is collected. Of course, she was eventually given a proper backstory episode dedicated towards her later on, but even that didn't do much to flesh her out as an individual and eventually became null and void after her moment in the limelight was over. But since this series is known for saying "fuck a plot," even her involvement became more convoluted in later installments. But until you venture that far in, just enjoy her for her simplicity.

There are a few other recurring characters in the show, like a private detective named Gai Kurasawa, a man who shares a striking resemblance, job, and characteristic to Kuruma Jo, from 1975's Hurricane Polymar. But seeing that no one even knows of that anime's existence, I digress.
Another recurring side character worth addressing includes Misaki, who was your level-headed detective, and unlike most of the other side characters, she actually received a few episodes dedicated to fleshing her out. Not anything too compelling but enough to properly define her. She plays a bigger role by being a proxy for the viewers to see both sides of the growing conflict in the show. For all intents and purposes, she's basically a fleshed out plot-device.

Despite a lack of any true development or proper characterization, as a collective, the cast was a lot of fun to watch. A case where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Just don't expect anything profound out of them. And in a way, that's the best way to describe this show, in a nutshell: fun but nothing beyond that.

Darker than Black is like a smorgasbord, you simply pick whatever suits your fancy and discard anything that doesn't. As for me, I took away the cool ass fights and audiovisual treats. Your appetite as a viewer may allow for more, so depending on your taste and tolerance for certain things, this might be a buffet that you find yourself fully indulging in.


Enjoyment: 7.5/10

Despite my issues with the plot and contrive narrative threads brought up later on, I can't deny how much I enjoyed watching electric Batman kick the crap out of baddies in the dark alleyways of the city. Call it mindless violence if you will, but it was done with so much style and ease that I found myself taking in every moment of it. DTB was a bitter pill to swallow at times but when it came to the action, it delivered on a silver platter.

Overall: 6/10

Throughout the years, DTB has garnered a sizable fan-base, staying relevant in many anime-centric discussion circles and to a certain extent, I can understand why. As far as rule-of-cool shows goes, DTB excels, but due to the issues I discussed, I can only recommend it to those who simply want a nice action flick. With that said, the lower you set your expectations, the greater your enjoyment of this title would be. It's not a show I'll ever advocate for but at the same time, I'll still give it the greenlight for others curious enough to want to check it out.

**BTW you're probably tired from all that reading.. you should treat yourself to Pizza Hut......PIZZZA HUTTTT!!!**

==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 special 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! <-

Darker than BLACK has grown rather popular on the net, gaining rave reviews, popularity by word of mouth and leaving trails across the forums and the net in general. With a show with such high acclaims it is only natural to expect a truly remarkable show. Funnily enough, it turned out to be one of the most unremarkable shows I have ever seen.

Set in our time but in an alternate world where global warming isn’t the planets biggest threat but supernatural beings with unique powers are – these beings dubbed the name “Contractors”. They appeared the same time Hell’s Gate did; a mysterious force ... that covers Tokyo’s sky. Their powers come at a price and the wage is different for every Contractor. Rival organizations kill, back-stab, infiltrate, investigate and work together to uncover the mysteries of Hell Gate.

Our protagonist is Hei, one of these Contractors working as an assassin/investigator for one these organizations. Together with Yin, an emotionless doll; Mao the talking black cat and Huang, a normal middle aged guy; Hei tries to investigate the mystery that is Hell’s Gate and locate his younger sister Pai whilst carrying out the orders/missions from the Syndicate.

Oh, don’t think you’re going to get any more answers or plot revelation when watching the show. By the end of the series we’re left with the SAME standstill story and the SAME questions as the beginning: What exactly is Hell’s Gate? How did it get there? Why did it make people with supernatural abilities emerge? How did it alter the sky? Why doesn’t Hei have a payment for his power? How did he come to work for the Syndicate? Sadly, the endless line of questions we have from episode one is left unanswered.

When entering Darker than Black it can either be a hit or miss – people will either say “Oh, I’ve seen it before” and dismiss it, others will be taken in by the dark American superhero story atmosphere presented in the first two episodes. For the rest of the series it is pretty much a rinse and repeat session with the two episode mini arcs. This is what DtB does well, actually. By creating these mini arcs it doesn’t danger itself into needlessly dragging the same story out and with this manages to cover quite a lot of characters as each mini arc is dedicated to one character revealing their past etc.

But the characters themselves were quite unremarkable. Sure, a masked contractor; a blind emotionless girl and talking cat along with other Contractors; British MI6 agents and police agents sounds interesting enough - but it really isn’t. The characters do develop – as aforementioned there are mini arcs to show this, but they all lack something: REAL CHARACTER. Of course it is not a slice of life, therefore it can ignore the finer details but as they were TRYING to give the characters substance with the mini arcs it just made them fail even worse on giving an individual any spruce: they are all so dreadfully BORING. I ended up not caring about any single one of them.

Hei, on the other hand, was the exception. Forget all the other characters; this is the one who takes the entire spotlight. Probably the most entertaining one of them all – and why not! Playing the normal innocent student by day and an apathetic assassinator by night, Hei is the master of in-character acting. What’s more, with his split personality, insane skills and a mask that screams ‘badass’ he takes control of the entire show, I only wished we got to see more of that side of him. He brought a reminiscent feeling of the character L from Death Note, notably for his crouched stance when taking on the role of the clueless student.

His English voice actor captured the split personality nature of Hei; from the innocent naivety to the cold-hearted killer. It really stood out from the other voice actors, who were – at best – average. However, one of the pros of watching the dub is hearing the British accents by many of the characters. Although it is overdone, at least there is that international appeal in it that the Japanese version will not have. But if you’re not too keen on dubs in the first place then just opt to complete subs. You’ll be missing out on the accents but one of the character’s voice acting was so bad it lowered the overall quality of the sound.

Speaking of sound, one of the saving graces of the show was indefinitely the music. Though the music is most likely forgettable as there was no set soundtrack or theme songs that would be played in every episode, each unique theme that would range from jazz to classical to rock always manages to stir up excitement that would fit in perfect sync with the choreograph or scene. Like Hollywood movies there is a varied track list, so it never becomes repetitive. The OP and ED on the other hand did not live up to the excellent sound during the show – it was good but with the other music they had already set themselves a high bar so that had left their OP/ED to become rather disappointing. One point that comes to mind about the opening sequences is the jogging camera movement in the animation. I thought this was an excellent way to portray the hectic and fragmented nature of the show, and made the OPs a joy to watch. Animation is flawless, as expected of BONES (those awesome guys who brought us Ouran, Fullmetal Alchemist and Cowboy Bebop).

Fans of NGE, rejoice. Well fans of a ‘certain scene’ in NGE rejoice. For the show carries some resemblance to that famous mindfuck anime – with riddled monologues and the infamous “Congratulations” scene almost being replicated in the last episodes (yes, the show does not give us a complete ending). So, if you’re not a fan of the NGE ending, then DtB probably won’t be your cup of tea in terms of ending.

Darker than BLACK is heavily flawed. I felt like they were trying to hard; sometimes it had bad comedy and often enough it had too many loose ends. The story lacks development and the characters do not stand out. However, the series still manages to hook the audience with its dark atmosphere, the menacing Hei and the well orchestrated action scenes (my only qualm about said scenes were that there were too few and too short). The first few episodes are the critical point for the viewer – either a hit or a miss for them, some would deem it as “seen it before”, and others will be drawn into its alluring nature. Also, regarding the second season of the show: that too does not even answer the questions formed for season one, so if you’re okay for vague roundabout answers, dull characters (excluding Hei, naturally) and well choreographed action then DtB is the show for you.

What format is best for telling a story of an anime series; a narrative format that’s episodic or a format that has a continuing story from beginning to end? It honestly depends on who or what story is trying to be told if any at all. While episodic is easier to get into since the format can be better use for just entertainment. Thus you can eliminate the need of continuity, making it favorable for anyone to just jump into the series at any point. An overarching story on the other hand can build up to a greater or more disappointing outcome depending on the ... execution since it requires commitment. “Darker Than Black” combines both formats in its narrative will which lead to commitment issues. Thanks to it's careful execution in combining both types of story formats you have a first half that does a great job of world building and a second half that has an overarching story that remains engrossing to the end.

Good: Strong Writing

Darker Than Black uses a two episode format to tell its stories. Allowing side characters to receive enough development to them feel like characters part of a bigger story instead of coming across as unimportant one shot characters. Thanks to this format it offers a host of well thought out characters and storylines on a variety of themes. Each contributing to either fleshing the setting or further developing a recurring character. No matter the screen time of certain side characters, their contribution feels like they added a piece of lore to the series. The atmosphere excels due to its extensive world building in the first half. Not only does the world fill unique, but by the end of the series it’ll feel like a real place even if it belongs in the realm of fiction.

For an anime that is mostly serious it knows when to have fun. The few comedic episodes in the anime don’t affect the overall plot, but are nice a diversion to lighten the mood. These episodes inclusions make the series a bit enjoyable preventing from being a downer all the time. Generally though it has the well written dialogue to keep it afloat all throughout and engaging conversation among the characters as well.

A downside to the two episode format is it will take half way before the main cast gets developed. In turn, this makes sticking with the anime a risk versus reward deal. Making it more dangerous is the fact that it doesn’t have an overarching story until it reaches the second half either. So the first half focuses on Hei taking on jobs for a shady organization called “The Syndicate”. Being more in line of an episodic anime generally not connecting story arcs. This will make it difficult to want to commit to the anime since the main cast is the only guaranteed returning characters while every supporting character is not guaranteed to return. The main cast will remain underdeveloped before reaching the halfway mark. There’s no way around this issue other than having complete faith in the anime. If you’re unable to attach yourself to anything in the anime before the main cast are developed in the second half, then staying committed to the series is a task on itself.

Once it starts developing an overarching story in the second half everything falls further into place. The stakes become bigger, the main cast get developed, and answers on some of the series biggest dangling questions get answered. For example, “The Syndicate” motives and goal are revealed in the second half after being mentioned heavily in the first half. There’s also the start of an overarching story that instead of creating more action goes for giving Hei a greater mental obstacle to overcome. Building it up nicely before reaching the finale and feeling the weight Hei has to shoulder.

The reaction towards the finale of “Darker Than Black” will draw mix reaction. It doesn’t end with a bang making it fit more with the rest of the series. However, not everything will be answered. It’s appropriate for some questions to remain unanswered since the characters themselves don’t know all of them either. It’s more in line of capturing a noir mystery so some dangling questions will be forgivable. One thing is certain about the finale is it does close the story up and ties up all loose ends. Completely understanding everything after it ends that’s a whole other matter.

Good: A Cool Cast

Hei is the protagonist of the series and for more than half of the anime his past is kept secretive. Unfortunately revealing anything about him should be a consider a spoiler. Learning about Hei and seeing his backstory developed is a major part of the story. His personality can throw viewers off since the series does take its time giving background towards contractor and explain why they are emotionless. Hei is written in such a way that part of his character is difficult to read because of it. He fills the quota to be an emotionless contractor, but shows emotion in everyday life with sarcastic remarks when he interacts with other in the cast. He’s an intriguing mystery within the story and as a character becomes fully realize.

The rest of the main from talking cat Mao who gathers information, to the unable to get drunk when drinking handler Huang, and emotionless medium doll Yin are handled in the same way in their characterization. Like Hei, these main characters don’t get developed until later on in the series. When they are develop the two episode format allows room for in depth characterization. Setting up the character conflict in that episode and then following up by revealing bits of their themselves once the main cast reach closer towards a solution. Seeing them interact with one another never goes smoothly. Since they have varied personalities the chemistry between the characters can be both hilarious and captivating at the same time.

Half of the supporting cast tend to be done with after a single story arc. Once the story or job is finished that supporting characters will likely not be seen again. One of the few recurring supporting character is private eye detective Gai Kurusawa and his young manga obsessed assistant Kiko Kayanuma. The majority of the comedy revolve around these two characters. Gai Kurusawa is the closest the anime has to an exaggerated character. Reacting to his situation in over the top ways for a comedic effect. His interaction with Kiko usually revolve being desperate to accept any job for cash to arguing about the methods in getting cases solved. Episodes revolving around Gai Kurusawa and Kiko Kayanuma are easily entertaining with humor that hit due to their personalities and chemistry.

Though the setting of the story is in Japan the cast is composed of characters from other parts of the world. It’s not racial diversity just for the sake of it, but rather more of story tool to get across how big of a crisis it could escalate too. The CIA are involved, MI6 Agents are involved, underground organization “The Syndicate”, and the organization Evening Primrose that attempt to obtain peaceful coexistence between contractors and humans are involved. That’s quite the batch of organizations to keep track off and the same applies to the characters that work in them. Fortunately each organization is given a different objective for their goals and how they operate varied from one another. What this does is create different viewpoints within the setting on how the matter of contractors should be resolved. Giving several viewpoints on the matter as it grows into a bigger issue for everyone.

Good: Capturing the Intended Mood Perfectly

The animation is handled by studio Bones. While not impressive in the least on the visual side or in movement the style is a good fit for the anime. Character designs don’t have any exaggerated features and the environments are kept down to Earth as much as possible. Backgrounds are detailed with careful lighting that helps create the noir feel the series goes for. Everything is portrayed with some level of realism, including the contractors powers. Whenever a contractor uses their power the animation withholds from creating an excessive visual effect. Action scenes don’t feature any flashy particle effect that draws attention to a contractor power. So everything meshes together for a unify look even when the more exaggerated element of the story are on screen.

This also holds true for the action scenes which aren’t a drawing factor for the anime. Usually the action scenes are slow with the already mentioned restrained on flashy effects when a power is in used. In general, most of the action scenes have simple choreography that gets interrupted by conversations or is just slow in execution. Not counting the second opening. There are a few action scenes that combines contractors full abilities with the restraint display of powers, but unless Hei opponent Wei the action is underwhelming. CGI is used rarely, but questionable since it’s primarily used on cars which aren’t used for any elaborate scene. Cars simply go from one point to the next. Thankfully it does not stick out enough to become an issue since it’s only use from far shots. If anything can get annoying is seeing product placement for Pizza Hut in the background.

Voice acting from both the Japanese and English dub cast are terrific. In both versions the low key and restrained performances give off that noir feel the anime goes for. Unfortunately in both versions, some cast members aren’t allowed much ranged because part of the cast play the emotionless contractors. However, they are not stiff performances. The voice actors walk a thin line of coming across sounding wooden that they never cross. Most notably the most balance and perfected portrayal fall under Hidenobu Kiuchi in Japanese and Jason Liebrecht for the English dub both of whom voice Hei. Regardless what language you hear Hei speak both voice actor performances are tailored for this character. Neither are a dead giveaway in their delivery always surrounding Hei in this mysterious aura. His character is very difficult read, thanks to the voice talent, even delivery their jokes in a careful manner. Both actors are able to be funny while staying in character despite how little emotion they display in general.

Ikuya Sawaki in the Japanese cast and Kent William in the English both voice Mao. These two actors' voices give off vastly different vibes in their portrayal of Mao. Sawaki sounds more natural like a friendly person with many connections, while William deeper sounding voice makes him sound wiser. William older sounding voice shines when he delivers sarcastic remarks. In the English dubbed Kent William is an easy standout and my favorite actor in this season.

One area where the English dub surpasses the Japanese cast are the accents for foreign characters. The Japanese cast in general don’t even come close in copying accents for foreign characters. In the English dub Troy Baker voices November 11, a clearly British character terrifically. Adding to an already accurate portrayal he fits the sophisticated character just fine.

The only major differences between both version is the comedy. Depending on what version you see the humor will be written for that specific culture in mind. Aside from that the English script remains as faithful as possible. While there’s the obvious dialogue changes there are episodes where the story changes are less subtle. There’s some episodes where certain plot points are beaten over the head. It’s not damaging to the point that it’s a complete turn off as it, though the material won’t always match the quality of the original in the English script.

If you had to choose how to see the anime I would say watch the series subbed since the Japanese cast is consistent throughout the whole series. While the English dub in season one is the clear victor due to the voice actors more accurate portrayal of foreign characters. However, in season two some casting choices end up backfiring as the script changes are notably different making some of the English voice cast come across as annoying. The English dubbed has a better cast for the first season, but the Japanese cast is consistently good all the way. If it’s short term English dub, but in the long run go with the English subbed.

The soundtrack is filled with good music. It’s diverse in genre from rock ballads, to cool jazz, and to slower more calming sounding tracks. The two opening tracks can come across as misleading when representing the mood and pace of the series. “Howling” by Abingdon Boys School for the first 14 episodes and “Kakusei Heroism” by An Cafe is used in episode 15 and onwards (minus episode 24) for the remainder of the series. Both opening theme makes “Darker Than Black” come across as a quick pace action series. While not accurate in presenting the series the two opening songs are fine for the anime. “Tsukiakari” by Rie Fu is a slow and melancholic track. It’s the ending theme for the first 14 episodes with a more emotional feel to it unlike the opening themes. Rie Fu soothing vocals are in harmony with the soft piano ballad. The second ending theme is "Dreams" by the band High And Mighty Color. “Dreams” is more upbeat than the first ending theme in it’s serenity.

Personal Enjoyment: More than thrilled I stuck with it

It took me fourteen episodes before I was actually able to enjoy watching Darker Than Black. Everything is kept deliberately secretive so I found it difficult to care about my main cast in the first half of the series when they weren’t developed. Eventually in the second half I started to care about them on episode 13 & 14 both of which focused on Yin. It was with these two episodes that my skepticism were gone since it made me feel that much closer to the main cast. I was convinced with these two episodes that this anime has something else to keep me coming back beside the first closing theme “Tsuki Akari” by Rie Fu. Thank goodness too for those two episodes because episode 15 the ending theme changed. Episode 15 and onward the whole development of the main cast made the strong writing that much better in subsequent episodes. It just took a while to get into it.

Calculating Points:

Story: 3/3

Characters: 3/3

Technical (Animation, Soundtrack, Voice acting, etc.): 2/3

Personal Enjoyment: 1/1

Final Thoughts:

Darker Than Black is not a series that will immediately hook you from the get go. The pacing is slow with it two episode structure taking half-way before developing a main story, but over time the strong writing, and great characters become far more memorable for it. Thanks to it two episode format for storytelling even side characters get fleshed out. Creating a fully realize world with diverse and complicated characters. It’s a difficult anime to fully get into, but the payoff it worth it if you trust it and stick with it through the end.

I decided to check out this anime based solely on Yoko Kanno's involvement. From the first five minutes, the Matrix vibe was so heavy I thought Trinity was going to show up any minute. After the opening 'homage', the Matrixy stuff is toned down and reduced to the landscape. It's a green-hued city populated by people with powers...

There's also A LOT of annoying Pizza Hut product placements in nearly every episode. This anime also has one of the most annoying anime character types in the medium: I'm talking about the character in law enforcement that is just useless and who's only ... purpose is to provide us with exposition.

The premise is interesting though, random mysterious 'gates' appearing in South America and Japan, the stars being replaced by fake ones, contractors enacting weird rituals every time they kill. Some story arcs are better than others, it's a mixed bag. It's episodic, but tries to provide some plot development in each episode. There's a cool British character named after my birthday: November 11.

Kanno's music is good as usual, she's sublime, but I was slightly disappointed to hear her strings aping Don Davis's Matrix style.

The main character of Hei was pretty interesting, not least for the fact that he's a Chinese main protagonist in a Japanese anime, but he looks cool in that mask too, and we watch him deceive people a lot, which is always fun.

Darker Than Black is let down by the writing. You know its at fault when you realise after 25 episodes they couldnt explain the main mystery of the tale; the reason why the world is the way it is; why the characters are the way they are; why we bothered to watch the anime in the first place. There's a difference between smart ambiguity and stretching an interesting premise so thin you cant even wrap it up at the end.

‘’Darker Than Black’’ immerses the viewer in a fascinating world rife with cool superpowers, intrigue and mystery carried by beautiful animation and an evoking soundtrack by none other than Yoko Kanno.
Well, that was the idea……

The actual series definitely boasts impressive animation and cool superpowers, but that which the series tries to pass of as a story full of intriguing mysteries is nothing more than a total mess full of inconsistencies and plot contrivances. Worse yet, it wants to be seen as a dark and serious story but nevertheless shoehorns in some anime-trappings to try and hook a bigger audience.

Said story goes as follows: ... 10 years ago a mysterious gate (creatively titled ‘’Hell’s Gate’’) appeared in the middle of Tokyo which caused the stars to disappear and prompted changes in some people. People affected could be split up into 2 types: first there’s Contractors, who get a badass power (e.g. gravity-manipulation or teleportation) at the cost of an arbitrary payment (e.g. eating eggs or kissing someone) and then there’s Dolls, (seemingly) emotionless people who can track people through an arbitrary medium, like water or mirrors. Knowledge of these things is kept under wraps by a secret international body called ‘The Syndicate’. They hunt down Contractors and offer them an ultimatum: submit or be killed. Normal people who come in contact with Contractors have their memories erased.

It is in this backdrop that we follow a team of Syndicate agents consisting of a bland Batman-knockoff, a Rei Ayanami-clone, a grumpy old fat guy and Salem from ‘Sabrina The Teenage Witch’. A large part of the series consists of 2-episode story arcs detailing a random mission carried out by said team. Well that’s actually a bit misleading since it’s Batman who ends up doing all the work while Rei (being a Doll) occasionally does some surveillance. Fatso and Salem are mostly there to be grumpy and snarky, respectively.

Of course a team of secret agents needs to have a couple of real ones hunting them down for some tension. Problem is that the police officers in this series are idiots who couldn’t catch a cold if they ran outside naked while it was snowing, so that’s it for tension. Their only purpose in the narrative is that one of them often ends up listening to infodumps courtesy of that episode’s exposition vessel.

The story-arcs all end up having a pretty similar pattern. Syndicate team tackles a case related to either a Contractor or a Doll,the police officers have a storyline that ties into the secret mission, Syndicate team gets to pull of secret agent stuff that often involves fighting dudes while the officers get to listen to exposition and remain ignorant of all the mysterious things that keep happening around them. Batman meets X-files, basically. The series makes an attempt to shake things up towards the end by introducing an overarching storyline, but it’s so convoluted and filled with retcons and Deus Ex Machina that it ends up causing more damage than it fixes.

All of this is made worse by a number of plot elements and trappings that are inconsistent either within the show’s universe or in a narrative sense. Some examples:
- A big deal is made about how a Contractor has a power that has to be paid for by doing something. 1 power, 1 payment. Except that there’s Contractors whose powers can change in arbitrary ways, and there’s Contractors who don’t have to perform a payment. Worse yet, some payments aren’t really payments at all. There’s one Contractor whose payment is basically something that comes naturally with using his ability, and some payments are actually rather beneficial.
- A big deal is made about how Dolls have no emotions. Except that they do, they just appear emotionless. Why? It’s never explored, in spite of the fact that it’s a crucial part of one character’s personality seeing as she’s a doll. Guess they were fine with having a Rei Ayanami clone to attract otaku.
- The series wants to be viewed as a gritty and serious ‘noir’ type story only to introduce a pair of supporting characters who outright parody these concepts. This creates a jarring tonal dissonance. Playing a genre straight can work. Parodying a genre can also work. Not both. The introduction of a blatant comic relief character in a serious story basically destroys the tone the makers were trying to establish. It’s akin to putting Frank Drebin smack-dab in the middle of The Wire.

I could talk about how some characters act completely out-of-character just so they can get killed or how a certain character’s power goes from a basic elemental attack to being able manipulate reality but I’ll stop here for brevity’s sake.

It’s pretty clear at this point that the makers didn’t think this series’ narrative and concepts through. The whole series is deliberately ambiguous in regards to its overall plot and universe which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. The problem is that the narrative is a mess. One could say that it doesn't matter seeing as the story is character-driven (ie. he J.J. Abrams Defense) but that's a rather weak defense as far as I'm concerned. Even a basic plot has to be somewhat coherent.

Darker Than Black could’ve been great. It had an intriguing setting, stellar animation, great sound direction (the actual soundtrack is forgettable despite being from Yoko Kano) and a few cool action scenes involving rather creative use of superpowers. But the storytelling is deplorable, the characters fail to be interesting or even entertaining and for every decent fight there’s 2 fights that are essentially 3-second massacres that are there to impress you with the main character’s ‘’awesomeness’’.

Just goes to show: you can have all the best ingredients but you still need to have some cooking skills to make them into a tasty dish.

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.

^_^

For a show with so much promise, Darker than Black is remarkably unremarkable, with a production as insipid as it is polished, and plot that tries so hard to be original that it ends up being turgid. I know there are hordes of fans of the show who will no doubt line up to disagree with me but, if the show had lived up to the expectations the names “Studio BONES” and “Yoko Kanno” conjure, I wouldn’t be here expressing my disappointment. But irrespective of expectations and potential, I couldn’t help but think of the show as dressed-up mediocrity, with only an added dash of ... heart to save it from being entirely unmemorable. The show’s strengths lie in its characterisation and dramatic themes, which ultimately manage to shine through the absurd pseudo-sci-fi banter and general silliness. Its weaknesses are pronounced in the overarching story itself, and the way its progression is paced over the course of the show, but are also reflected in some surprisingly unimpressive production choices.

By no means is this a cheap anime, and on numerous occasions the visuals prove this with displays of technical excellence. However, I was rather dissatisfied with the show’s production due to its poor and uninspired use of aesthetics to create a sense of style or to build an atmosphere. I think the show could have been enhanced greatly with greater attention being payed not simply to the detail and framerate of the animation, but also to its overall look. The background artwork, excluding a few scenes inside the gate, is bland and disengaging, with basic design and criminally unsubtle colouring. Compare the striking, and varied cityscapes of Gits:SAC to the featureless squares that DTB passes for buildings. Walls are lazily depicted in gradients of grey or brown that seem at odds with the lighting of the scenes. Rather than bringing the settings to life, they actually detract from them. Perhaps I’m spoilt by IG’s background work, but for a series of such supposed calibre I found it to be very poor indeed. The cel animation is crisp and detailed, and holds up well in the action scenes (as expected from the professionalism of BONES). Unfortunately, the character designs it has to work with are fairly average, with a few exceptions (Misaki, Yin).

The music is by Yoko Kanno, which says a lot for itself, although not as much as I’d like in this case. The quality of the music itself is inarguably high - not Kanno’s greatest work by any stretch, but nor her worst. Her jazz pieces lack the sophistication or personality of her work on Bebop and I can’t help but feel that Mai Yamane’s vocal contributions are wasted in her songs - but this still really good music. Unfortunately, it is often misused in the series - a common occurrence in anime. The problem with anime composition in the style of Kanno is that they’re more pieces of music in their own right than they are score music. So, at times, the choice of music for a scene is jarring and some tracks are too oft repeated. I have no real qualms with the music, I was merely expecting a little more; if I hadn’t known Kanno was behind it I would have been far less sceptical.

Darker than Black presents the kind of story that only anime would have the audacity to envision. The strangeness of the story almost leads me to suggest that it exemplifies the desperation of anime writers - where originality can only be found in the most farfetched and bizarre. So, rather than revolving around a core sci-fi concept or idea, the story is merely a construct of frivolous machinations that have no thematic connection to the real world whatsoever, and which are left mostly unexplained. I find it hard to justify my reservations toward the premise of the series, but it probably amounts to the fact that it is completely ridiculous AND it takes itself seriously. Such a wedding of the ridiculous and the serious should only be undertaken at the hands of those with extreme stylistic prowess like Shinichiro’s Samurai Champloo or Cowboy Bebop - it really didn’t work out in this anime.

As part of the modern tradition of sci-fi anime, Darker then Black has hit up the viewer with a whole arsenal of strange vocabulary to learn, like “Hell’s Gate, Contractor, BK201”, in what appears to be an attempt to alienate the audience while giving the impression everything makes sense if you’ve done your homework. The anime industry seems to have come to the irreverent conclusion that the more convoluted and inaccessible a storyline is, the deeper and more worthwhile it is. I’m not sure whether to blame Hideaki Anno for this, but Darker than Black is a certainly a culprit, leaving unanswered questions and logic gaps in its determination to condense a plot worthy (or not) of a fantasy epic into its 25 episodes.

Much of my frustration stems from the fact that the core backbone of the plot isn’t divulged until far too late in the show, so that, for the majority of the series, you have an idea of what’s going on but almost no idea WHY, or why it should matter in terms of the overall plot. I’ve seen this in numerous anime before and I don’t like it. It comes off as being little more than a gimmick to impress the viewer towards the end of the series by suddenly whipping out the answers to its seemingly incomprehensible premise. I prefer a traditional, linear approach to storytelling, as knowing the context of the story always adds gravity and import to the character’s decisions and motives.

The characterisation is, nonetheless, a strength of the show, a strength that is not flaunted nearly enough. In this arc-based show, it is important that a sense of affinity or empathy with a character is swiftly established, and DTB achieves this nicely. Many of its earlier episodes are saved from their redundancy by the profoundness of the minor character’ plights. Hei, the protagonist, is certainly quite lacking; he spends so much time being mysterious that it’s very hard to really care about him until the quick burst of character development he receives towards the end of the show. Luckily, the cast is rather large, and there are plenty of characters to become attached to. I grew particularly fond of Huang’s anti-social rhetoric, and Mao’s sceptical imparts. Together with Hei and the detached Yin their portrayal as a defunct family, who ultimately came through for each other, warmed my heart.

In a fleeting grab for redemption, the series manages to pull out a surprisingly gripping and sincere finale, which very nicely brings together the many emotional themes and dramatic overtones that have been brewing. The result is a climax that will tug at the heart of cry-baby and cynic alike with a powerfully bittersweet wrap-up, even if it won’t divulge answers to some of the series’ greater mysteries. In fact, it was probably the most satisfying conclusion I’ve seen all year. But a delectable aftertaste cannot wholly excuse the lack of direction of the bulk of its earlier episodes - which almost seemed like padding before this final arc. This could almost have been a 6-part OVA series. When all’s said and done, the show was enjoyable enough through its entire run for me to recommend, but one should be prepared to be frequently underwhelmed and almost always unapprised.

"Now I've lost it; I know I can kill. The truth is just beyond the gate...!!"

STORY - For a series that essentially never explains anything, I'm actually extremely surprised I ended up liking it as much as I do. I'm not a fan of overt exposition, but I'm not a fan of dancing around all the obvious questions either, and Darker than BLACK does almost exclusively the latter. The majority of the series is episodic and comprised of two-episode mini-arcs; these episodes serve to explore the world and the characters, but any insight gained is limited and generally lead to more questions than answers. And ... yet, the world presented is a very intriguing and unique; the concept of a select few with special abilities is everywhere, sure, but I'm totally in love with the idea of having to consistently pay a price for it. The series starts off a little slow, but none of the episodes are outright boring, and it's fun cataloging all of the data you receive and formulating various hypotheses about what had happened and why things are they way they are. It's the mystery that keeps you going.

Yes, it's immensely frustrating trying to understand anything sometimes, including the overarching plot and the motivation of any of the characters, which are, you know, kind of important, but even though I say that nothing's ever explained, there's definitely enough there for you to work off of. The episode-to-episode story is easy enough to get at a basic level, and as more and more elements present and repeat themselves, it becomes more and more interesting. It's open-ended in many ways, and there's plenty of room for interpretation. For that reason, it probably isn't for everyone; if you're looking for concrete answers and explanations, you'll almost certainly be disappointed. Most characters in the series don't even know what's going on, so there isn't anyone to spell it out for you.

CHARACTER - It really doesn't seem like it at first, but Hei is quite the fascinating character. It never seems quite clear whether Li is the disguise and Hei is the real personality or if it's the other way around. Both seem so sincere in their actions and words. The duality of his character seems contradictory because he comes off like he should be very straightforward, especially considering that "contractors are logical creatures." The details of his past remain hazy and vague for a majority of the series, though it becomes obvious rather quickly what he still feels towards whatever had transpired. That in itself isn't all that interesting or original, but it's a good starting point for all the contradictions and a huge catalyst for the grand plot. I wouldn't say that Hei actually changes much throughout the course of the series, which is usually what I measure the merit of characters by, but he does learn a lot about himself, and those revelations seem to work just as well.

The rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting, but together, they make a great supporting cast. Mao and Huang are both fun in their own way, though I do wish they had explored the former's past more. Too much about Yin was left unexplained for me to really take to her, but it didn't bug me all that much either. The detective and his assistant were pretty standard comic relief, but standard doesn't mean bad. Kirihara was also a pretty generic cop-type character, but she worked her role very well and her interaction with Li made for an interesting angle. (Or maybe I'm just a sucker for the secret identity drama thing.) The vast bureaucracy that stood over the plot was confusing to keep up with at times, but after a while, I found that it didn't really matter what the details were -- it's just bureaucracy. And it works out all right.

ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - Most of the things that BONES animates tend to impress me, and Darker than BLACK is no exception. Everything is smooth, beautiful, and entertaining to watch; the action scenes were fluid and well done, and most of the character designs were slick and distinctive. It's worth noting also that one of the sponsors was obviously a car company (I don't know which though because I don't know anything about cars) -- all of the vehicles in the series are explicitly detailed, with many utilizing 3d animation. There's also a pretty epic driving scene in the second opening's animation sequence. For the most part, this works out well, but there's that occasional 3d car that looks a bit out of place.

One of the sponsors is also the notorious Pizza Hut! In contrast to Code Geass's overt product placement though, DtB is much more subtle in its ways. The logo will appear on a few buildings and storefronts, but as much as Hei does gorge himself every other episode or so, he never actually goes out for pizza. I think this fact helps keep the overall mood of the series relatively serious; there are humorous bits, certainly, but it doesn't come off as nearly as crack-filled as the aforementioned. (I guess that's the difference between BONES and Sunrise.)

MUSIC - My little blurb at the beginning of this review is from the first opening theme. Once again, I really appreciate songs that relate directly to the series and contain lyrics specifically referencing it; I've always respected Takanori Nishikawa for this. Unfortunately, I find that his music under abingdon boys school is sub par compared to his music under T.M. Revolution. "Howling" has an interesting beginning, but the rhythm and melody feel jumbled up until the end/chorus. Being a Rie fu fan, I'd heard "Tsuki Akari" long before seeing the series, but while it's a pretty song, I didn't really feel as if it fit. It was almost jarring to hear it after every episode. The second opening, "Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A Name~" by An Cafe is better in that it's more energetic and not as forced feeling; the second ending, "Dreams" by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR is similar to the first in tone and mood, but something about it fits better -- I think it was just that Rie's voice itself didn't seem to fit the series, rather than anything about the music.

The soundtrack itself mostly average, though there are a number of standout tracks -- particularly the intense tracks for high-action scenes and the horror/suspense movie-like tracks for the creepy and contemplative scenes. Still, I was surprised to find that Yoko Kanno was the composer because I don't feel as if Darker than BLACK's soundtrack is of the same caliber as the stuff Kanno is generally known for. It's not terrible by any means, but it certainly feels more subdued.

VOICE ACTING - Most of the cast is pretty average -- they're effective in their portrayals, but not particularly amazing. I did like Hidenobu Kiuchi as Hei a lot though; the differences between Hei and Li were really well done and it was great at highlighting the conflicts within his personality. I was also fond of Kirihara's voice, though it was pretty much the typecast for a strong-willed and morally infallible woman. The first two episodes are available dubbed and streaming from FUNimation's video site. Those two episodes didn't really leave that much of an impression on me, but I didn't think it was too bad?

OVERALL - To be honest, the first five episodes didn't do much for me. At six, it started to get more interesting because that was when Hei's past first started affect his present, and that was when the gate started to play a bigger role. After six, I never had a problem staying engaged, and the two-episode mini-arcs really helped keep my thoughts organized. As the overarching plot comes to reveal itself and the series climaxes near the end, you kind of forget that the episodes were ever structured that way because everything comes together so neatly. It's very smooth storytelling. And I liked the ending a lot too; it doesn't really explain much, and I'm still not completely sure what happened, but I like what I could understand and interpret. The concepts were good. It leaves me with a lot of questions, and I'd really like a sequel, but it's not the end of the world if there never is one. Few series can pull off that kind of open-endedness, but Darker than BLACK does.

Title: Darker than BLACK

Manga, Anime: Darker than BLACKdoes have an manga adaptation (who the author/artist is, I don't know, cause the information just isn't there). It began running in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka magazine, and is currently up to four volumes. It has yet to be licensed Stateside.

Darker than BLACK is a twenty-five episode series done by Studio Bones (famous for their work on Fullmetal Alchemist and Ouran High School Host Club), and directed by Tensai Okamura (famous for his work on Wolf's Rain). It ran from April 5th to September 28th, 2007 on Japanese TV, and has been licensed Stateside by ... Funimation and is due to be released at some point this year.

Story: About ten years ago, this random thing called Hell's Gate appeared in the middle of Tokyo, and basically caused the normal destruction of the city and the disappearance of the night sky. At the same time, people called Contractors started getting paranormal powers (think like the mutants from X-Men), and in exchange favor rationality over a human conscience. The Contractors are kept a secret from the general populace and are used by the government and private groups as spies, assassins, etc. The focus is on Hei, one of the most powerful Contractors, his blind Doll Yin, their handler Huang, and Mao, their wireless information Contractor talking cat.

I admit, the premise drew me in; it sounds like X-Men, but with people actually trying to use them to their own advantage instead of annhiliate them (well, I take that back; you'll see what I mean later on in the series). But there's a whole boatload of problems with this series.

You might be wondering, What exactly IS Hell's Gate? What are Dolls? How does a person become a Contractor? How can a Contractor be a wireless information talking cat?

Except for that last question, don't expect any answers. Darker than Black throws a whole shitload of information at you in the first few episodes, and then continues that pattern, but pulls a Rozen Maiden and really doesn't bother to explain exactly what the hell's going on, or anything that could actually help you make sense of what's going on here. It's confusing and irritating; there was so much they could've gone into that would've made things clearer and would've helped the series a LOT.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of. This wouldn't be such a bad thing, except for that the character development comes a bit too late in the story for most core characters. In fact, aside from the core characters I mentioned above and a passing interest in the Contractors and government agents involved in the cases, you don't really give a damn about who most of the two-episode arcs center around, which really doesn't help the series. There were only two full arcs that I actually liked, along with the second half of two other arcs, and two of the three individual episodes at the end. So, that's a total of... eight out of twenty five episodes that I actually liked. That's a pretty shitty percentage.

Another big problem with the series is the placement of the two-episode arcs. But more on that in Length.

You're going to notice a lot of product placements, only because it's done in a clumsy and annoying way, which is utterly unamusing.

Also, towards the end, Hei is revealed to have a power that, in its use and origin, is utterly Gary-Stu-ish and lacks a lot of coherent explanation, simply to try and bring an end to the story, which just pisses me off even more.

There is going to be an OVA due to be released later this year. However, it's one episode, and based on who it centers around, it's not going to add shit to or conclude the story.

The action sequences were nice, yes. And I liked the core characters. However, the fact that nothing was really explained, the fact that most of the two-episode arcs' central characters weren't that likeable, and that character development comes at the wrong point (more on this under episode placement in Length) overwhelmed all the former.

WARNING: There's a lot of blood, and a bit of nudity at some points (anything that you'd really WANT to see is creatively censored).

Art: Art is pretty well-done, here. The character designs and backgrounds are well-done and gorgeous. The cityscape is absolutely beautiful, especially at night. The CG stands out a bit, but it isn't used enough that it gets on your nerves.

Music: Yoko Kanno did the music for this series. It's got a jazz bent to it, like what we heard in Cowboy Bebop, with a few sentimental pianos and string numbers thrown in. It's good stuff, but it's not quite as good as some of her other stuff that I've heard.

There are two OPs and EDs, one for each half of the series. The OPs are all harder rock numbers, though I like the first one slightly better than the second one, and the first ED is the typical J-Pop female ballad, which wasn't half bad, and the second ED is a power ballad, which I didn't like all that much.

There are a few insert songs thrown in, and they aren't half bad. Can't remember them enough to tell you how well they fit, though.

Seiyuu: No talent that I recognize from other shows, but everyone did a pretty good job.

Length: There are some problems here, mainly with arc placement.

Most of the arcs that contain character development are tossed in towards the end, which is a bit too late for it to come in, and most of the pointless shit is tossed in at the beginning. For the most part, the arcs are standalones, which means that they could be easily be rearranged to make the series a bit more interesting. They SHOULD have done this, as it might have made the whole thing a bit more bearable. Plus, certain plot elements are picked up in one arc, dropped for a few arcs, and then come up again towards the end, which just makes things even more irritating; it would have worked far better if the arcs with those elements were placed closer together.

That said, twenty-five episodes is just right. Any more, and I probably would've dropped it, any shorter, and it would be even more incomprehensible and shitty than it already is.

Overall: A series with pretty good animation and music, and an interesting premise and characters that utterly fails to explain ANYTHING, arcs that center around characters you don't give a shit about, has shitty episode placement, and, on top of it all, gives the otherwise likable main character a Gary-Stu power towards the end. Trainwreck, please.

Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Length: 7/10

Overall: 38/50; 76% (C)

What do you get when you combine X-men and Cowboy Bebop? This.
Darker Than Black tackles the manifestation of paranormal abilities to humans and while it is not masterfully presented, I have learn to enjoy it.

Ten years passed after the incident that gave birth to Contractors, people who manifested paranormal abilities. Nowadays agency's hires Contractors for their own use, seldom even use them as they see fit; giving in to darker emotions and abusing that power. But in exchange from gaining this ability, they must always fulfill their renumeration. Hei is a powerful contractor hiding under the alias of Lee, masquerading as a Chinese transfer student ... when not undercover, who has the ability to generate electricity and for some reason he doesnt have a renumeration. Under an unknown government, Hei along with Yin, a spirit medium who is incapable of emotions otherwise known as Dolls, and Mao a contractor whose body is stuck on a cat, together they form a team working assassination and the likes.

The show seems to be fairly deliberately paced, without being too frantic.
Each arc consists of two episodes. And each one introduces a new well written story, which sometimes can be frustrating since it was better off being a long arc rather being episodic.Dont worry, the characters are likable, in fact I very much like every character. Problem is, they're lifespan. Knowing that its only episodic, you can expect that they'll kick the bucket before you get to know them. But at least the arc does just gradually advances the story a little and it is impressive how they were able to compressed such immersing stories in only two episodes.

This is not an action-oriented anime. It focuses more on the struggle of each Contractor goes through. Sure it has some decent action every now and then but most of them ends with disappointment. Hei's power is nothing more than a taser, which makes it hard to believe that he is actually one of the most powerful Contractor. Even so, the story makes up for it, well more often than not.

The characters acting are distinctive and good enough all around. We all know how interesting people with psychedelic powers clashing can be. But Hei, in particular wasnt the highlight of the show. Yeah, he does have an interesting past, that generally forms half of the premise of this show. But clearly he is your average wanna-be angst badass protagonist, even though he does prove to be a promising character. Furthermore, there were two other unlikable characters, the detective and his otaku sidekick. They were the comic relief of the show, and quite frankly I felit it was unnecessary. Their arc was pointless and dull. Every second of their screen time, is a second wasted. They were better off giving as a better background of any of Hei's team.

DTB is designed in such a way that the anime appears dynamic. It has detailed visuals and the animation is extremely fluid. The designs of each characters are not elaborate enough to be different but it does have its own physique. The sound was fairly average and OST was nothing special to be notable.

This easily couldve been the anime version of the critically acclaimed american tv hit series, Heroes. But its deficiency of substance, plot advancement and in depth characters had it put down.

What Hei does with his power and the impact he'll have on others is the raison d'etre of the show; the moody noir tone and offbeat writing are the reasons to tune in.

--- Warning: Contains spoilers ---

Stories of people with superhuman abilities have been around practically since the dawn of time. Ever since DBZ set the bar for “power levels” consisting of blowing up planets however, more and more modern series have teetered on the edge of colossal scales at some point or another. Then you have Darker than Black, which can stand out among a handful of those with more reasonable (or rather comprehensible) scales in the post DBZ era.

Darker than Black starts out by introducing these things known as contractors, people with special abilities like many series out there, who must pay a “price” ... for using their power ranging from things like writing poetry to breaking a few fingers. Aside from contractors we have dolls, which are basically emotionless mediums with no real personality, who send out things known as “observer spirits” that work like mobile security cameras.

We quickly meet our main character Hei, a contractor with electric abilities who seemingly has no price unlike the other contractors out there. Working with a doll named Yin, a talking cat named Mao, and a man named Huang who seems like your typical 1930s mafia average joe, the group takes on missions from an organization simply referred to as “The Syndicate”. This organization is apparently vast in scope, as it easily networks Hei into a variety of odd jobs necessary to gather intelligence and work his missions, even in the midst of organizations with top notch security.

For the first half of the series, we actually don’t learn much about this group, but rather we uncover a variety of characters, their motives, and their back stories as Hei goes on various missions. Although these are well done and quite gruesome visually at times, none of these really seem to be tied together or have importance beyond just another day at the office, making the series fairly episodic in the beginning for the most part.

The arcs in Darker than Black generally tend to consist of two parts, mostly pertaining to “Hell’s Gate”, a wall around a supernatural zone that appeared some ten years ago in Tokyo as the stars in the night sky were replaced with those representing the lives of contractors. Unless you like unstable realities that laugh in the face of physics and induce mass hysteria, this probably isn’t the type of area you would like to stroll through on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s easy to see from the beginning, that there is a feeling akin to that of a mafia series. Everything from the way Huang obtains information to Hei’s execution of missions to the way the group explains their relationship with each other fits the bill for a futuristic mafia. As such, they keep their profile as low as they can manage while avoiding failures that may make them live out their usefulness to The Syndicate. Of course, this means you will also get your fair share of enjoyable action as the group carries out The Syndicate’s dirty work.

Perhaps one of Darker than Black’s most refreshing attributes though is the protagonist Hei. While not particularly rare, Hei is strong but not overpowered. Many modern series have protagonists that are simply too strong in comparison to the antagonists, leaving for boring lackluster fights as they easily beat their opponent. Hei is realistic on the other hand, and many times throughout the series the help of an ally saves him instead of his own strength. For those of you who prefer the ridiculously strong heroes, you might see this as a weakness on his part, but I quite enjoyed giving importance to what has become the oft forgotten role of “right hand man” in today’s lineup of do it yourself heroes.

Unlike most protagonists though, Hei is rather silent. When he talks, it’s usually only a brief response to another character consisting of maybe a few lines. Compared to other protagonists out there that are always shooting their mouths off and the like, it’s nice to see one speak more through actions than words for once. Sometimes though, this does leave Hei taking a backseat for supporting characters as they become the central focus. In hindsight this is primarily seen in the beginning arcs, but this may end up making it difficult for some people to form a strong enough attachment to the series to see it out to the end when there is more focus and clarity on our main character.

Despite his rather limited dialogue, Hei still clearly develops as a character. Initially seeming nothing more than the stoic murderer contractors are pegged for completed by his feared moniker “The Black Reaper”, we see that this is only to maintain appearances for his job. It’s not really until the second half of the series that we get to see this other side of Hei, notably when Yin becomes a target for their enemies. When The Syndicate deems Yin possibly harmful to their interests, they order Hei’s group to kill her, to which he defies the order and saves her instead. More difficult orders come down from above as time goes on, and Hei becomes increasingly defiant as he comes to his own realizations of the path he wants to pursue.

This arc also introduces the growing relationship between Hei and Yin, and despite that both are about as conversational as a rock, they do gradually grow fonder of each over time in their limited communications. Their relationship reminded me much of Roger and Dorothy from Big O, though definitely more realistic considering Yin is actually human unlike Dorothy. It is important to note they don’t always clearly communicate through language, as Yin simply sending out an observer spirit into the gate to check on Hei during one arc clearly meant a lot to him, and it is later noted that this is actually quite painful for a doll to do. Even by the end however, this relationship is still really only a stern fondness. Some audiences may be left unsatisfied that more development wasn’t given here while others may feel that there wasn’t enough directness in their relationship to make for a convincing enough development.

Around the same time as Yin’s arc, the main and only real plot of Darker than Black begins to emerge with the appearance of a character named Amber. Amber is a contractor codenamed “February”, who apparently betrayed Hei as a member of his group, which also happened to include his sister Pai, in a South American War over a similar zone to Hell’s Gate named “Heaven’s Gate”. Spearheading a group of contractors by the name of Evening Primrose, Amber begins bombing the town and making a nightmare of Hei’s life like a bad ex-girlfriend when she also kidnaps Yin. Don’t forget she leaves behind the courtesy “FU” letter written in that girly handwriting complete with the little hearts and all.

The story here actually bridges a lot of elements from the beginning arcs together, in a way that makes you realize that while it had the kick back feeling of an episodic series initially, they were conveniently busy weaving the main plot underneath many of these stories unbeknownst to the audience. The realization at the end in how these stories connect to one another is quite a nice touch, but not to the level of being spectacular at the same time.

By the end, Amber eventually exposes the truth of the Syndicate and the nature of contractors to Hei, and it is then we really see him as the ideal hero. Hei struggles with the hard moral choices and his limitations as an individual that are in ways reminiscent of heroes like Batman. His final decision on how to resolve the ending conflict speaks strongly towards justice, as he makes the world his enemy to do what he feels is right despite concerns from Amber.

Abandoning everything he had previously known except Yin, Hei moves forward with his choice to try and get humans and contractors to coexist. Previously having been kicked from the Syndicate, the ending is left rather open with the implication he will begin a whole new life as the Syndicate hunts him down to no end. In many senses, Hei’s journey is only beginning and this series is a prequel to setting that event in motion. While many people prefer their definitive endings, I felt it was rather fitting for the series to leave the ending open instead of attempting an abrupt halt to the nice developments the series brought forth just to manage a definitive end.

Top the series off with a fitting OST and fluid combat scenes, and Darker than Black becomes a very enjoyable action series definitely worth the watch. The characters were all explained nicely by the end with their developments, even a majority of the supporting cast. Overall this series is best summed up as a “Chinese Electric Batman”, which as it sounds, is just plain awesome.

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Shadows on a Black Road
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At the horizon of a bleak world stands an ominous wall, ‘Hell’s Gate’, it’s steel and cement arms spreading across the Tokyo skyline. The city itself is filled with curious characters borne with the Gate, Contractors and Dolls. Contractors are those that have gained supernatural abilities for a price, a penance they must pay for using their skills. Some have to overturn the shoes of their victims, smoke cigarettes or even drink the blood of young children. Dolls on the other hand are soulless mediums, who use various surfaces to track the ongoing of the city. Presented is a dark world ... painted in shadows and ambiguity, a backdrop against which Darker than Black[DtB] succeeds, a few shades short of greatness.

The premise is vague: ten years ago, Hell’s Gate emerged along with Contractors and Dolls, humans granted paranormal abilities. The smoke doesn’t really clear up much as series progresses, failing to provide answers to how or why the Gate was created in the first place. Instead, Darker than Black drags you through a tale rife with political head butting and philosophical dilemmas while attempting to pluck a few heartstrings along the way. Sometimes it feels the plot is trying to do too much, pushing character development while layering bureaucratic maneuverings atop of a monologue about the nature of the human soul. The tale is ambitious, but some of these elements just fall short. There’s also the little issue of leaps of faith across little plot holes. You won’t enjoy Darker Than Black very much if you don’t buy into the logic. Some shows abuse this, such as Code Geass R2, but DtB never exploits its own narrative to that extent.

The climax serves as a stage focusing on the main character’s personal journey instead of the large conflict that had nurtured in the final few installments. The effect was underwhelming, both could have been featured and the latter did not have to be shoved to the final few minutes to be resolved. The ending didn’t tie together all the loose ends but I expect the sequel to fulfill the unrequited promises of the first.

The characters were exceptional in Darker than Black. Hei, a polarized hero, wears an icy mask on his missions, while off duty he’s reserved, clumsy and for a lack of a better word, ‘cute’. He’s supported by the silent and morose Yin, and the level-headed Huang. The cast is given some vibrancy by Mao, the cautious if somewhat paranoid talking cat. The leads are likable but their development is allocated to specific arcs, their growth stunted outside these small windows. Hei can be seen as an exception, his past penciled in throughout. From a beer chugging secret agent, a cop with a stoic sense of justice to a sock-sniffing sociopath, the supporting cast is spectacular, filled with interesting figures. Kurosawa Gai brings relief to the tense, often brooding, atmosphere, with his perky pink-haired partner Kiko. Close to the middle of the series we see an erosion of Hei’s stony visage, seeing it completely shatter in the last few moments. The revelations make Hei endearing but somewhat forgettable. We’ve seen this type of hero, a cut and paste history pulled from many popular stories.

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Production
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The art in Darker than Black is exceptional, the Bones name branded onto every frame. A dark palette is favored to fill in the vacant allies, while vibrancy bubbles in Shinjuku’s flashing lights. The style is outlined in dark strokes, as the action unfolds before your eyes. The scuffles between the Contractors highlight the fluidity of the animation, powers vibrating with force, sizzling with electricity or rippling with strength. Hei invokes the spirit of Spider-man as he zips around and about buildings with his grappling hooks for an impressive effect. A slight amount of CGI is used to animate cars, Bones opting for a more cell-shaded look to let them drive about seamlessly in the world.

Character designs work well, each unique enough to give a distinct personality. Hei’s pupils are not drawn in, creating an eerie effect, making him seem almost soulless. Facial animations are spot on, most impressively seen in Yin, her eyes betraying small fragments of feeling that she had supposedly forgotten.

The sound is decent, not up to par of the visuals. The supporting cast surprisingly delivers excellent performances, their short roles reprised excellently. It’s the main cast I felt was a bit weaker, feeling a bit forced. Huang is best when asked to treat his comrades like shit, his compassion coming off as fake. The soundtrack is varied; composed of more traditional tracks featuring bellowing pianos and whining violins, to more electro-pop influenced tracks like the opening. They interweaved the two styles well enough, rendering a pleasant soundscape fitting of Tokyo’s dreary future.

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Watchability and Enjoyment
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At moments I had ‘WTF’ feelings shock my system. I didn’t know exactly what was going on why certain plot points were unfolding the way they were. The story led me one way, then the plot would stretch itself thin to move in another direction. It’s a bit disorienting, but the complex forces at work in the show eventually boil down to a simple ‘us versus them’ scenario with Hei at the center of it all. The intricacy might be a turn off to some viewers, but I appreciated that the show saw the viewer as an intellect and did not spoon-feed the entire story to me.

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Closing Thoughts
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Darker than Black is a welcome in a sea of mediocrity. It attempts to touch the horizon, to realize its own epic ambitions. There are a lot of loose strings, holes in the story that have to be reconciled in the second season for this program to reach hallowed annals of Anime prominence. The twenty-five installments created are excellent, the potential is there, but Darker than Black is an incomplete work.

Darker than Black is a very enjoyable show for most people. The storyline is extremely unique, with characters that show a level of depth not often seen. I never found myself looking at the artwork and wondering what the animators were thinking. Each of the characters has an appearance that looks realistic, but also unique. Everything looks extremely high-quality to me; Especially if you look at a dvd or .mkv version of the episodes, the level the artists drew on is very high.

The music was at times a bit hokey, but it grows on you surprisingly fast. The creators ... chose to go with a more jazz-themed soundtrack for a lot of the generic scenes, which I personally didn't enjoy. But, the battle music is some of the best that I've heard. DtB also features some of the most heartbreaking and beautiful songs for character themes or special moments that I've ever heard in an anime.

I'm particularly impressed with the choice of Seiyuus that the producers chose. I only recognized one actor as a 'veteran', later finding another favorite that changed her voice so completely I couldn't recognize it. Despite this, I enjoyed the voices in the anime probably the most out of any subbed show. Everything was matched so perfectly, I don't think they'll be able to come close with an english dub.

That said, it is not for everyone. Darker than Black is, well, dark. If you've ever watched Death Note or a similar show, expect the same aura of gloom to hang over the episodes. It also features some rather disturbing or violent moments, with a good deal of blood or gore. If this makes you uncomfortable, perhaps another show would be better. It's nothing compared to shows like Elfen Lied or Hellsing, but it's definitely there.

The storyline is one of the most well-written I've ever seen. It starts you off knowing nothing at all, then ramps you up at a ferocious rate. As I once commented to a friend, some shows like Naruto that are aimed at a younger crowd mention important concepts specifically, in detail, and quite often with pictures to go along with the explanation. In DtB, you're lucky if a character mentions it in passing. More often you're expected to pick up on things simply from how people act or talk of something.

In addition to not discussing concepts clearly, Darker than Black often changes its mind on the rules of its own universe. All too often it will lay down a rule, only to provide an exception to that very rule the same episode. Because of this, the plotline feels very open and free to interpretation, even through the final moments of the show.

With all of this said, I still personally count Darker than Black as my second favorite anime out of dozens that I've watched. It provides a suspenseful, well-produced, mature alternative for those anime fans who want a little more out of their episodes.

What is truly Darker than Black?

Enter 10 years after the "incident" and the emergence of "Contractors" and spirit mediums known as "Dolls". Darker than Black takes you into the mystery that is Hell's Gate. From the production studio Bones, the studio of such anime as Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, Eureka Seven, and Noragami comes one of 2007 best Anime. Darker than Black's anime adaption is one of original origin as the story line does not directly relate to the Manga. A risky move that is payed off with exceptional results as this was one fantastic series.

Darker than Black focuses around Contractors, one in particular (BK201 ... as known as The Black Reaper) and the humans who control them using their powers to gain utter dominance over one another. Humans also use spirit mediums known as "Dolls". Contractors are humans who gained supernatural abilities after the appearance of Heaven's Gate in South America and Hell's Gate in Japan, while Dolls are are emotionless mediums often used for their observation spirits. Contractors are referred to as Contractors as the pay a price each time they use their powers. Their "payment" can be just smoking a cigarette or growing years older. Dolls are know as Dolls as their emotionless nature leaves them with a doll like appearance.

After the sudden disappearance of Heavens Gate 4 years ago the fear and mystery of Contractors grew and they became ever expendable to humans. Contractors and Dolls became tools for organizations all over the world such as the CIA, MI6, and the ever mysterious Syndicate to which the protagonist Hei (BK201), Yin (Spirit Medium), Mao (Contractor), and Huang (Human) belonged. Contractors existence is kept a secret from everyday citizens. Their lives show only the purpose of carrying out the dirty work of humans and doing whatever to survive. They are thought to be emotionless, tactless beings unable to think for themselves and are looked down upon by the humans they serve. Contractors and Dolls slowly evolved throughout the series becoming more independent and capable of self thought. With the emergence of Evening Primrose contractors now had a choice, fight against the Syndicate for the survival and acceptance of Contractors or remain a thoughtless tool sure to die by the hands of the ones they serve.

Darker than Black features in my opinion everything you could want in an anime. The animation stands on a level one would not expect to see in 2007. There is good character development among the main cast. The fight scenes are amazing (no matter how brief), and the soundtrack is awesome. Whether it is and OP, ED, or insert song it all fits the setting and story line. Lets not forget the top notch voice acting. True delivery of emotions and feelings or in Yin's case a lack there of was great. The episodes were shown in an episodic nature which didn't take away from or break the original plot. Not one episode could be called filler as each one progressed the original plot or the character it portrayed.

To sum it up Darker than Black was a unique, one of a kind anime and it was pleasurable to watch. It contains its fair share of comedic moments, loaded with action, highly entertaining, and leaves the viewer wanting more. Plus how could anyone forget that it gave the world Yin. I believe that Darker than Black is a must watch for anyone. It won't leave you disappointed. Over 140,000 people agree.

Darker Than Black is one pretty good ranked anime, the name is cool, the short videos are OK so I expected a good, thrilling SCI-FI dark action anime.
Well, the anime is all that, but in a very poor and mild way.

The first few episodes of the anime are good and they can hook you to want more, but when you find yourself wanting more, this anime simply doesn't give you that. The plot is decent, but eventhought this anime has 25 episodes, it feels like it has a looot filer episodes and characters. The story is going good, but the anime gets you the ... feeling like only a couple of minutes per episode (and even that's a lot here) are story related and that something really happens only in the last few episodes. This anime can easly be watched with only half of brain since you won't miss much and you don't have to concentrate. To explain, you don't have to concentrate on the story, but the average viewer would want to concentrate to find some anwsers which the anime doesn't provide that very good. Conclusion from that - feel free to do your dishes and watch this anime. It won't emerge you into the story and the setting, it won't get you rooting for some character and only a few last episodes will compel you to watch more (so you can finaly SEE something of this anime).

The characters are pretty one dimensional, their past has been explained but really poorly, the animation is tolerable, sound is nothing special and the overall experiance was pretty poor.

Dark than Black was one of the worst I have seen. The entire show seems to have a created by committee feel to it. Several half decent ideas about characters, story, and development get jumbled together into a incoherent mess.

The story is confusing due to lack of decent explanation for pass events which seem to have a lot to do with the current events. While at first this seemed to be trivial in the first few episode, all of the supporting characters keep bring up the pass like a weapon. Every time you think you have time to enjoy the hear ... and now someone, who will not survive the episode, is all, "Hei, remember back when you had feelings and wasn't such a tool?" Ok Darker than Black, I get it the incident with Heaven's Gate is undisclosed South America is important. Due tell...........oh ok, no one knows WTF happened. Stop bring up stuff you are not going to explain and has no real barring on the events at hand.

They did get around to explain this incident later in the show, but it wasn't that big of a reveal and changed nothing about what was going on now. While it did present Hei with a bit of a moral/social dilemma, he seemed like he had already made his choice on the matter some time before the anime.

So what does the story give you. Hei is an assassin with super powers....that he never really uses and works for an "mysterious organization" with no real name. He is contracted to kill fellow contractors (ha ha, I see what you did there) for no good reason and he is totally cool with that. He is in fact using them as a resource to pay his bills so he can secretly look for his sister....a hobby he barely makes time for.

There is also Huang, his handler who is just around to tell Hei what he is thinking about doing is stupid, then run and hide. He does help with information gathering, but honestly he is just a plot device to explain away how you contact an organization with no name, location, etc.

Yin is the stereotypical mute and cute girl. She can see anyone near water if that water is connected to the water she is usually standing in, washing her hands with, etc. I was waiting for her to be something more than a long range tracking device, but it was not to be. The 1 shot episode about her was also very pointless.

There is a talking cat for some reason.

I would now take the time to rip into the villains, but I just stopped caring at some point. They were all the same "bad guy". Contractor, ex-military from the Heaven's Gate incident, knows nothing important, kills for no reason, dies at the hands of Hei. Repeat with new character design and new social quirk.

Nothing in Dark than Fail had any substance and never went anywhere of interest. You know what was cool about this anime, the music. The opening got me to get the Abingdon Boys School self titled album which was great.

I thought the first episode was great; but then it failed to measure up to its own standards for 25 more episodes. There are real McDonald's signs everywhere (I bet you can't guess who paid for production costs), but I actual think that was kinda cool/funny. Hei, Yin, and Huang all are uninteresting and seem to be incapable of developing as people. No matter what happens in the story, being betrayed, killing people for no reason other than someone said to, murder your own kind, find out your sister is a bitch, nothing seems to phase them. No social growth, no change in character, nothing.

Just get the Abingdon Boys School album and forget you ever heard of this failure. Maybe get a wallpaper or two of Hei in that wicked mask, but that is the limit.

Darker Than BLACK is an anime that I had no knowledge of whatsoever before watching it. I decided to start it because the plot sounded interesting, and I am so glad I did. Most of it consists of 2 episode arcs up until the last several episodes, and they all help the plot along while also dealing with character development and sometimes a little comic relief.

Art: The art in DTB is perfect for the atmosphere the story and characters are meant to be in. It gives off a neo-noir feel that also has variety within it. Character designs are varied depending on gender and age, ... and they are all very realistic while maintaining fantasy-like charming qualities. The settings in DTB are realistic as well, as it is supposed to take place in a modern Tokyo. You will not see an abundance of bright colors or too many dark ones, but it tends to lean a little darker. The battle scenes are done well, being intense yet not so intense that you can't tell what is going on. Much of the story is based upon the sky and stars itself, so those will come into play when regarding the art. The way shooting stars are presented whenever a Contractor is killed is done beautifully, even if it is just a shooting star. The art in DTB isn't something you would compare to other animes, simply because it just suits this anime's feeling so perfectly.

Sound: The sounds and music used in DTB also fits the anime, ranging from a heartwarming song to a chase scene's music. The genre of music used on DTB fits the neo-noir aspect, as it sounds jazzy like it's supposed to. The same composer also did Cowboy Bebop's music score. The sound effects dealing with the splatting of blood to rainfall are done just as well as one would expect, so no complaints or super praising here. I must say that listening to DTB's background music outside of the anime has turned out well, and the songs are just too good not to listen to on repeat for a long while.

Character: All of the characters in DTB had good development and progress in my opinion, with some having their own arcs. Now you might be thinking "ugh, character development arcs" however they are done in such a way that they do not divert from the main plotline. It is also done in such a way that you want to know more about these characters and their past, just so you can get a better feeling of attachments towards them. Hei, the main character's intentions are never really clear until the conclusion of the series, yet you still feel like you're able to figure out what it is he is truly seeking. To be able to relate to Hei even though you're not completely sure of his true intentions shows how good of a character he is, although even after the end of the series he still might seem a little shrouded in mystery to you as it might feel a bit inconclusive.

Story: Much of DTB deals with several parties of people having some development dealing with their past and other characters they must interact with. During these arcs, Contractors are always present. While also learning more about certain characters, you will still be learning about Contractors and the groups trying to find out more about Hell's Gate. The story in DTB might start out slow or might seem like it isn't progressing, but if you pay attention to what is happening in the world around the characters and the characters themselves, it shouldn't be hard to see what is going on. What you'll be seeing here is conflicts between the government, Contractors, and the Syndicate that Hei and his team work for. They battle for peace, equality, and to find out each others intentions. Their biggest goal, however, is to find out the truth behind Hell's Gate and the other mysteries surrounding it.

Enjoyment: I took my time with DTB and only watched 2-3 episodes a day, to help make it last longer. Being able to see the progress of Hei's and others' goals was very enjoyable, and sometimes a relief. Finding out more about the mysteries and the true intentions and goals of certain characters gave a big sense of accomplishment. So, although the ending might seem a little off, I still felt a sense of completion and that I could see where things in the future of this world might lead to.

Overall: DTB was one of the most enjoyable animes I've had the pleasure of experiencing, and I'm glad it lasted a while. I'm not going to say it is the best ever, but for right now it is one of my favorites. The story, atmosphere, and plot development pace might not be suited for everyone or even a vast majority of people. However, if you can appreciate and understand it, you will be able to find an anime that has good characters and a story that isn't terribly full of depth but has enough for you to be able to get hooked. I can say for sure that I'll have fun rewatching this many times.