- A new and deadly breed of covert agent walks the streets. Known as Contractors, these assassins and spies wield bizarre supernatural powers to carry out the dirty work of others. They thrive in the underworld, between rumor and reality, their loyalties always in question. One among these operatives is more mysterious than the rest The masked killer BK201, the Black Reaper. His true identity and in
Everyone Wears A Mask.
A new and deadly breed of covert agent walks the streets. Known as Contractors, these assassins and spies wield bizarre supernatural powers to carry out the dirty work of others. They thrive in the underworld, between rumor and reality, their loyalties always in question. One among these operatives is more mysterious than the rest; the masked killer BK201, the Black Reaper. His true identity and intentions remain unknown, but as his path weaves through the shadows and alleys of Tokyo, blood is spilled on both sides of the law. It’s a new age of confusion, and the rules of engagement have changed. Ten years before the opening of the fantasy-adventure Darker Than Black (2007) a mysterious barrier called Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo. At the same time, Contractors, humans with mysterious powers appeared on the scene. Since then governments and private industries have used Contractors to do their dirty work, from assassinations to waging war. One of the most powerful Contractors, Hei (a.k.a. “The Black Reaper,” a.k.a. BK201) fights a complex battle against government agents, the CIA, and the hired thugs of a sinister corporation. Hei’s allies include squat, cynical Huang; Yin, who can trace humans through water; and Mao, who takes the form of a talking black cat. His most dangerous foes are Moratoriums, humans with even deadlier powers and–less conscience–than Contractors. Darker Than Black delivers plenty of fast-paced, hard-hitting action, including well-staged battles in which Hei slices up his enemies with a sort of piano wire-whip. But the story is so convoluted, it’s virtually impossible to sort out, even with frequent Morris-the-Explainer scenes. (Rated TV MA: violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, alcohol and tobacco use) –Charles Solomon
(1. The Fallen Star of a Contract (Part 1), 2. The Fallen Star of a Contract (Part 2), 3. A New Star Shines in the Dawn Sky (Part 1), 4. A New Star Shines in the Dawn Sky (Part 2), 5. Red Giant Over Eastern Europe (Part 1))
Buy “Darker Than Black: Volume One” For Only $4.95
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May 7, 2010
#1
For anyone who enjoys a good story, DTB (Darker than black) will not disappoint! I’ve shown this series to three people that don’t (generally) like anime and they loved it. It strays a bit from stereotypical anime and has you rooting for a killer. The music and animation are phenomenal.
May 7, 2010
#2
Working with a better than average storyline, “Darker Than Black” is a cool science-fiction anime that pits Dolls against Contractors while both are pursued by the Police. Li Shengshun is the main Contractor, a college student kind of guy who is also a conscious less killer…or is he?
Li operates with a high-level group of assassins inside a future Tokyo. There was some sort of cataclysmic event that forced the city to be walled off, and the stars and planets replaced by false ones. When the false stars appear or disappear, it’s the sign of birth or passing of a Contractor. No-one can come in or out, and the civilians are kept in the dark about Doll/Contractor existence by the Police.
For an Anime, this is pretty ambitious. There are no fairies or sword-warriors running about and no cutesie mascots (save for a Black Cat agent named Mao). “Darker Than Blake” is adult anime (but not [...]) with a decent backstory (the second episode toys with an explorer who survived an expedition – I think – beyond the gate). This is good stuff…and it has a kickin’ theme song.
May 7, 2010
#3
Some of my friends still haven’t heard of this awesome shonen anime, “Darker Than Black,” which may be one of the best damn anime series I’ve ever seen.
Admittedly, it starts very mysteriously. A man is chased on the rooftops by some cops. Then the man makes the cops fly in the air. The man then disappears to another spot in the city, breaking his fingers. Then the man meets the hero of this anime, Hei, who kills the man.
It’s a disconcerting opening to say the least. However, the anime gets better as it goes along. It turns out that Hei is a contractor, who bears the psychic powers to throw electric wires at his enemies.
He’s a member of a syndicate of contractors. By day, however, he is a college student named Liu Xiansheng. In the first two story arcs on this DVD, he helps out two female contractors who are unaware of their powers.
The second story arc, “The New Star Twinkles in the Dawn Sky,” is really the spotlight of this series. Liu investigates the activities of Tahara, the sole survivor of the Hell’s Gate incident, where the contractors obtained their abilities. Liu is also interested in Tahara’s middle school daughter, Mai. She also has a mysterious thing inside her wrist…
This is an awesome anime, with some of the best choreographed fight sequences since “Cowboy Bebop.” There’s plenty of fast scenes with quite a bit of gore, but tons of excitement. And with Yoko Kanno behind the soundtrack, there’s plenty of (surprise, surprise) fast jazz in the background, just like Bebop.
To say the least, “Darker Than Black” is one hell of a sleeper hit. I’m definitely keeping an eye out for this series.
May 7, 2010
#4
Years ago I watched the movie Akira and thought it was the most groundbreaking animated film I ever laid eyes on. One thing I learned from my introduction into Japanese Animation is this: without a compelling story, no one will want to know more. After watching Volume 1 of Darker Than Black, it looks like I’ve found another story that piqued my interest.
Darker Than Black takes place in the not-too-distant future of Japan, where an area simply known as “Hell’s Gate” is shrouded in secrecy. Once Hell’s Gate appeared, the Contractors showed up soon after.
A Contractor is a person with a unique superpower such as levitation, electroshock or teleportation, among others. Each time their superpower is used, the Contractor must “pay their price” and complete an obsessive/compulsive action afterward such as eating a plant, dog-earing book pages, eating, smoking, or even breaking one’s own fingers. Since they feel no guilt, Contractors are the perfect tools for spying and assassination.
Over the course of 5 episodes on this disc, we follow the adventures of a Contractor known as BK-201/Hei, living a double life as an exchange student called Li. He comes into contact with other Contractors, Dolls, government agencies, and much more. Japanese Animation usually leaps right into the storyline and explanations are revealed further down the road, and Darker Than Black is no exception. While nothing about Hei or his companions is fully explained, we are given just enough information to pique our curiosity and watch the next episode.
The animation was quite good – I included a few screen captures. There wasn’t a lot of foul language (which I’ve come to expect in this genre of TV) but there are a few scenes of violence that are definitely not for young children – so the M.A. rating is appropriate here. Most of the translated dialogue flows well, but a few scenes didn’t quite mesh. One example was the following:
(1) Spoken English: “So you just moved to the city huh? Guess that explains the way you dress.”
(2) Subtitled English: “Li-San, you’re from China? Your Japanese is great.”
Now how about those DVD extras?
Within each episode, we can choose the scenes we want to watch, but for some reason there are two menus:
(1) The first menu allows us to choose between 4 chapters of the story.
(2) The second menu lets us choose the prologue, the opening song, the closing song, or the preview to the next episode.
Audio – choice of English or Japanese.
Subtitles – only English is offered.
Extras:
(a) Episode 2 commentary – contributed by Jason Liebrecht (Hei) and Colleen Clinkenbeard (Shinoda Chiaki).
(b) Cast Auditions – 11 audio clips of the actors/actresses reading for their roles.
(c) Production Artwork – 13 color sketches of characters and their biographies.
(d) Settings – 11 sketches ranging from the Porsche interior to Hei’s blades.
(e) Textless songs – Music videos of the opening and closing songs, “Howling” and “Tsukiakari”.
(f) Trailers – 8 different anime shows/movie trailers. Whether you enjoy vampires, ghosts, giant mechs or androids, something here will catch your fancy.
Funimation Entertainment is only too happy to gather new followers: inside the DVD case is a flyer with 40 color ads for animated shows!
So what’s the verdict?
I did enjoy my introduction to this series – it left me with a cliffhanger that begs to be followed up on. I was a little disappointed that there weren’t any extra features for the Japanese actors/actresses or the series creators, I would have enjoyed hearing their thoughts.
As I mentioned previously, without a compelling story, no one will want to know more. After watching Darker Than Black, I definitely want to know more about what lies beyond the Gate. If you like Japanese Animation with plots that take a little while to play out, this is the show for you.
May 7, 2010
#5
An area of paranormal space called Hell’s Gate formed near Tokyo, around the time people with mysterious powers — called “contractors” — started appearing.
That’s the concept behind the anime series “Darker than Black.” While the concept — mysterious people with dangerous psychic powers and a powerful young man hunting them — doesn’t sound terribly interesting on its own, the way it’s handled makes it a truly memorable experience. Countless mysteries, solid writing and a bloodspattered noir atmosphere boost “Darker than Black Volume 1″ above the norm.
Not many anime start with the anti-hero brutally killing someone — Hei, a mysterious young man in a black coat and mask, hunts down and kills a blond man on a rooftop. Meanwhile, a young woman with a tragic past is being pursued by the police and a band of contractors, and her new neighbor Li — who is pretty obviously Hei — is her only hope for escaping them. Their goal seems to be a mysterious item that her boyfriend left with her, but is it their real objective… or are they really after Hei?
When Hei gets to his new job, he encounters a broken, reclusive scientist who once actually went into the Gate — and the man’s daughter, who seems to have fires pop up randomly around her. Hei befriends the girl as he tries to figure out if she’s a contractor or a moratorium — a contractor with uncontrollable powers. The answer to this puzzle lies inside her father’s experiences inside the Gate….
And MI6 brings a mysterious woman — a “regressor” named Havoc, who has lost her powers — into Tokyo for research, along with a charming, brutal MI6 contractor named November 11. The police inspector Misaki Kirihara becoms embroiled with the struggle to get Havoc back, but the Syndicate have their own plans for her — and Hei has information that he desperately wants from her.
“Darker than Black” doesn’t exactly spoil you with information — in the first five episodes, it raises countless mysteries and bizarre questions while rarely answering them. We don’t know who the evil contractors work for, what the Syndicate is, what phenomenon the Hell’s Gate is, the nature of various governments’ involvement, what those blue blobs on the power lines are, and where contractors come from, what they are, or even what will happen if they don’t fulfill their compulsions.
Heck, we don’t even know why one of Hei’s buddies appears to be a talking cat. Just try to guess what’s happening there.
So “Darker than Black” is a bit difficult to get into at first. Fortunately when taken alone, the episodes are brilliant — murky storylines, unexpected twists and complications, and some bittersweet, poignant moments such as Mai and Hei’s brief moments at a light-filled amusement park. But the superpowers also provide plenty of gore and horror — peoples are sliced apart, burned up instantly, explode and are frozen solid — and there’s some delving into how people regard contractors.
Hei is as enigmatic as the backstory of this series — on one hand, he’s a ruthless “black reaper” who electrocutes and garrotes contractors, and seems to be a contractor himself. But he also shows compassion and sorrow for the non-contractors that he comes into contact with, and the fifth episode reveals a teeny tiny shred of backstory for our mysterious anti-hero. As for his pals in the Syndicate, we have yet to see much about them — although the cool-headed policewoman is a cool, unusual character.
“Darker than Black” is incredibly confusing at times, with lots of answers yet to be revealed. But the brilliant individual plots make this a pretty memorable experience.