Rating: 9/10

Overall Series Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

It’s 2:30AM and I’m really tired, so please excuse me if I say anything retarded. Well, Darker than Black has ended, and thankfully, the ending doesn’t screw up the masterpiece that is the rest of the show. I wouldn’t consider it a favourite of mine, since I am, by heart, a big explosions and overpowered protagonist fan. I just swing that way. xD However, I’m not dense enough to fail to see the magnificence of the series that DtB is. I had to adjust to the slower-than-shounen pacing, but once I did, I learned to appreciate the thought-provoking abilities and storytelling of the show, as well as the excellent cast.

The ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Many people will be disappointed by this—many people who love the show will feud over those who are disappointed—and some people, like me I guess, will be sort of in between. I too, agree that there are many things unanswered. But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Let’s not forget that, although not many things are wrapped up, the actually ‘plot’ is. The plot has a clear and definite ending, and that’s the important thing. Whether the many mysteries of the DtB are answered are not depend on whether the producers want viewers to be satisfied with absolute knowledge, or rack their brains with crazy speculation.

I reckon, the genius of DtB is the way they end the series so gently, and leave a large portion to the imagination. Will we ever find out more about contractors, dolls, the Syndicate etc? Probably not. A few things seem to be apparent though. Hei and Yin are alive. Amber is dead. There are probably many more new contractors now, and many are probably ‘evolving’ into humans. Or is it the other way around? Or perhaps, the ultimate future that which the seer has been seeing for years now, is a world where natural evolution has taken humans and contractors on a journey, which ends with the creation of a hybrid of the two species. Like Hei I guess. I guess he really was special.

I kinda got off track there—I was talking about the ending of DtB lol. Anyway, I had wanted to say that DtB chooses an ending that is quite rare among the vast libraries of anime out there. Essentially, they end it differently. There’s no big boss fight, no concrete ‘life-goes-on’ ending (since we’re not even sure what happens to Hei and yin), and hardly anything is explained in detail. This could just be a ploy by the producers to leave space for a possible sequel, but I like to see the good sides of things, and trust that the story-writers are just geniuses in their execution of the show. The ‘different’ ending that DtB has makes it truly memorable.

I liked sola for the awesome characters. I liked Gurren Lagann for its craziness and hilarity. I liked Claymore for its shounen-esque story and fighting. I liked Seirei no Moribito for its pleasant feel and plot. And the final spring 2007 series which I enjoyed immensely is Darker than Black. To put it shortly, I enjoyed DtB for its pacing, characters, seriousness and air of uniqueness. I wouldn’t mind a sequel, but only if the producers find another string of the plot to work on. There are so many, it wouldn’t be too hard. All in all, I’m glad I decided to blog at least one of the series I loved in spring 2007 (I failed to pick up sola, Claymore, Gurren Lagann and Seirei no Moribito in time T_T).

Rating: 9.5/10

Impressions:

I really like this episode, and I’m not even sure I can justify my reasons to myself. An episode like this—something that is in the midst of tying everything together, just has to be better than the subplots that have been the main plot fodder of the last 20 episodes. And hopefully, the next episode—the finale—will be just as good, if not better. Quality, as always, is excellent. But it’s the sense of finality and closure that makes this episode wonderful—not to mention the various scenes that just make you feel good (the most prominent one being Huang’s parting with Hei and Yin).

The constant switching of viewpoints from Evening Primrose to the Syndicate, showing their respective battle tactics and manoeuvres, make for some excellent action sequences. Hei gets a momentary spotlight as well, with his spar with Wei, though in the end, he still doesn’t impress me with his abilities. But I guess that’s not the important part. Anyway, when all the action dies down (or rather, continues only in the background), we get a nice and surreal atmosphere generated by Hei and Yin going into the gate. The explosiveness of the first half is heavily contrasted with the tranquillity of the second, and is topped off with the appearance of a very young Amber…nice!

We learn that the Syndicate is bigger than expected, right? Apparently, PANDORA and the many other governmental organizations out there are all part of the Syndicate, and are all attempting to get rid of the contractors. While I doubt Evening Primrose will win in preserving the lives of the thousands (or millions?) of contractors out there, I still believe that Hei will survive. Well, I’m hoping at least. I’m betting that Yin survives as well. But, however the animators have chosen to end Darker than BLACK, I’m confident that I will enjoy it. It’s a shame to see another excellent series come to a close, though very exciting as well.

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

The first episode of the final arc of the series starts rather slowly, with much talk, though reveals a lot about the recent past. Apparently, Hei doesn’t develop contractor powers until after the incident in South America. At the same time, his sister, Bai, had contractor powers. Amber apparently needed her power for her plan, and now she need’s Hei. It’s still unclear what this power is, and how it will be used to achieve Amber’s goals. Regardless, things are being put into operation now, with the mobilising of many contractors and dolls in the end. I have little hope in Amber surviving, but I predict that Hei will be relieved of his powers and continue to live his usual life as a human.

The flashbacks involving Hei and Bai are pretty sweet, though Hei putting his hand around Bai’s neck is quite confusing. At first, it seems like he’s checking Bai’s pulse, though when wraps his fingers around her neck, it almost seems as if he is planning to strangle her. He mentions that he was relieved when Bai disappears, which doesn’t add up at all. The details involving Bai’s ultimate disappearance are still unclear, and right now, Hei’s hatred for Amber is seemingly becoming less justified. I do hope Bai makes some sort of reappearance though, even if it isn’t a physical one.

Misaki gets a lot of screen time this episode, and in the end, I’m made to think that her role in the story is the mediator between sides, as well as Hei’s close friend in which he can console. But will she actually discover that Hei is BK201? She seems like the type of person who places emotion before profession, so I’m betting on her siding with Hei if she finds out. At the end of the episode, Hei is effectively ejected from his faction, rendering him a renegade soldier in a battle between nations. The factions are being blurred quite a bit at this point in time, and it seems like the ending will not be the conflict between major sides, but rather between Hei and Amber. Or something.

Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

Hopefully, there will be a large amount of Amber development in the final arc, as until now, there has been very little. I guess it’s obvious now that she is definitely getting younger, which is pretty sad as it strengthens my personal belief that she won’t make it to the end. But even if she doesn’t, I like to think that she and Hei will reconcile before that—it’s kind of depressing watching Hei act so mercilessly in this episode. A small glimmer of hope though: perhaps Amber will survive, and in a world with no contractor powers (where the original contractors are still alive), she and Hei might attain a new relationship, though something more like brother-and-sister.

This episode basically blurts out the important facts of show pretty bluntly. We now know that, essentially, Pandora and the Syndicate are trying to get rid of all the contractors—in other words, the antagonists of the story. And unfortunately, Hei is still among them. Hopefully, upon accepting the truth, Hei will make up with Amber. Even with this turn in the story though, I can’t see how things are going to end. Will Hei continue to fight against the protagonists of the story, or will he defect and join them? If the latter occurs, who exactly will he go up against? The rest of the Syndicate? I’d hate for them to start throwing in random characters we’ve never seen before.

I guess the big shock of this episode is November 11’s death. I can’t say I exactly liked him, due to his lack of involvement and development, and even until now, I still can’t see what his role had been. Was he just there to act as a representative of a different party? I guess I’m having similar thoughts with Misaki, since she has yet to play an important part in the story, and once again misses all the action. I wonder if she’s finally figured out Hei’s identity…Well, everything lies in the last three episodes now—I just hope the ending isn’t shit, like some other anime out there.

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Ah, this episode’s pace feels really good, and regardless of this episode being the first half of the last two-episode arc, it seems as though the main story has already started. It’s disappointing that the final arc will only be 3 episodes, though at least it means there shouldn’t be any pacing problems. The sad thing is that it doesn’t look like Amber and the other characters aren’t going to get much character development. Is it just me or does Amber sound even younger when she catches Mao talking at the end of the episode? It could just be because I haven’t seen in a while, though if not, it would support the theory that her remuneration is getting younger.

Along with many characters not getting any development, it’s also quite sad to see characters like Misaki fail to become significant in any way. So far, she hasn’t done anything important and constantly misses out on all the action. Her arc involving her childhood friend didn’t lead anywhere, except for the introduction of the same contractor seen in this episode. Because of this, Misaki’s character seems extremely insignificant. Characters like Huang, the detectives and the MI6 get similar treatment. These last few episodes seriously need to address these characters and give them some purpose of being in the show. Hei’s important still isn’t clear at the moment.

When the end comes near in any series, I always like to think about the possibilities of a sequel. In most cases, anime series stay as single series, even though by the end of it, it would seem like there could be more to build on. Many end with a sort of ‘xx months/years in the future’, or a ‘life goes on’ type of thing. I would love to see a sequel for Darker than Black, though for the high likelihood that there won’t be, I think a life-goes-on ending would be best. It seems impossible for a truly happy ending to occur, since there are many factions, with neither being especially good or bad. Not everyone can win either. Sadly, I also doubt that a happy ending for Amber will result.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

This episode fails to impress me as much as the previous ones, though overall it’s still pretty good. It ended how I thought it would with Shihoko dying, though the original purpose of killing the prophet somehow faded into unimportance, and ended abruptly. Nothing new about the Syndicate or Evening Primrose is revealed, which is quite a letdown, though interesting information regarding contractors is disclosed. It seems that when it comes down to contractors not having emotions, it is really the ones that affect their judgement that are the keys of being a contractor—something which Hei strangely has. But apart from this, contractors and the Gate still remain a mystery…

Some other things that seem to be a letdown for the episode—although it gets straight to the point, the pacing seems rather off as Hei, Huang and Mao are able to evade all security so easily, something which seems to be a common flaw in anime. Once again, Hei’s power as a contractor doesn’t impress yet again, which ends up making it seem rather dull, with his only special feature being his emotions. Sure, that’s an important factor, though entertainment-wise, it’s not so good. Also, Amber and the rest of Evening Primrose doesn’t appear, while the presence of Amagiri doesn’t advance the story much at all. Btw, is it just me or does the quality seem slightly lower?

I’m quite disappointed with the ending, as somehow Huang and Hei are not on the run from the Syndicate, as their previous actions would have dictated that they have defected, which should have warranted the sending of a few assassins on the two. With the end of the series approaching, I had thought Hei at least would need to defect from his organisation for a change of pacing and the allowance of the progression of the story. If something like that happened, he would have to face all sides by himself, giving rise to the possibility of him joining another side…well hopefully something eventful will happen in the next arc. Misaki gets captured? Interesting…

Rating: 8.5/10

Impressions:

This episode is actually a lot better than what I initially suspected. The revelation of a few snapshots of Huang’s former life proved to be far more interesting and impacting than I though. I never believed I would like the guy, though this episode has certainly pushed me more towards his favour. The last scene where Huang learns of his foolish interference causing the capture of his old friend Shihoko is quite significant as well. Not only that, it seems like this arc is continuing the Primrose arc somewhat, although Amber has yet to make another appearance (which I am slower dying for).

Aside from the story elements and such, this episode is actually quite amusing. Huang has a hilarious -___- expression when Shihoko kissed him (not to mention that scene was done extremely well, save for the fact that Huang is almost hideous…), while Hei’s interaction with those dodgy cult people outside his apartment door is pretty amusing as well. Speaking of Hei, I’m glad he’s in this arc as well, but still a lot of information has yet to be revealed regarding who he really is, his past, his sister, his emotions and so on. One thing that is mentioned somewhat is Hei’s organisation, which seems to have originally been a rebellion group aimed at the normal police.

With the ever-cryptic arc titles that Darker than BLACK has, I can not tell what the next two episodes after episode 20 will have in store for us. Like I always say, I hope that it begins the main arc, but unfortunately it is another 2 episode mini-arc. It is pretty likely that this will be largely in synch with the main Primrose storyline, and should definitely start involving Hei and Amber. Yin should also be an important character, while Hei’s sister remains a mystery, and I hope it doesn’t remain one even after the series is finished. Hmm, now that we are getting close to the end, I wonder if there will be a sequel…

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

The most disappointing part of this episode is the preview, which reveals that Evening Primrose will yet to come into the spotlight and begin the finale of the show. Well, there’ll still be five episodes remaining for that arc after this next one, which seems to be about Huang. If they’re going to do a character-focused arc at all, they should do it on Mao, since aside from knowing he’s lost his original body, not much else has been revealed. I personally like Mao a lot more than Huang. Even so though, I hope they don’t delay the finale even more with another arc after Huang’s, leaving a lame three episodes to cover everything, which will hardly be satisfying at all.

My favourite part of this episode is the interaction between Hei and Misaki, as it shows the light and cuter side of both, though once again you can never tell how much of Hei’s demeanour is genuine. I was hoping Misaki would realise Hei’s identity, as a relationship between the two will probably never happen. In fact, judging by the nature of this show, it is unlikely there will be any definite ending, nor will Hei end up settled with anyone at all. If there’s going to be an adequate ending at all, there needs to be something big, such as Hei breaking free from his contract, or something similar.

Anyway, while this episode was pretty cheery and all with the pretty-much happy ending, I fail to see its significance, as well as the reasoning behind placing such an arc this late in the show. It doesn’t develop any characters (much), nor does it reveal the much needed information about Dolls and everything else that remains a mystery. If anything, it does show that Yin having some emotion is not all that special. Hitotsubashi at least gets a bit of a background, which gives some depth to this arc, though what does he have to do with anything anyway? Does he even have any relationship with any of the main, significant characters?

The same goes with Kenji, as I find now to be an inappropriate time to incorporate characters for the sake of telling a story, and not taking it further. Of course, there’s a chance that he’ll become useful in the future, though I’d say such an occurrence will seem to be a forced and unnatural one. In fact, this whole arc is somewhat hectic and messy with the background information and such, as well as the actual story, since I find it highly unbelievable that a relatively normal person like Kenji would fall for a girl who he’s never heard speak. The Doll had shown no personality either, so if Kenji had any reason to fall for her, it would be looks, which would not be a good reason at all.

Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

After the impression left from the last arc, I can’t say that this is a particularly good episode. We discover that one of Primrose’s objectives is to get Contractor recognition from the government, which seems to make them the general ‘bad but good’ guys of the show. Unfortunately, no more information is revealed, and that’s certainly one of the reasons why this episode is not so good: it goes completely out of the way from the story introduced in the last arc. Hopefully though, this arc will tell us some more about Dolls, with rest of the show being focused on Hei, Amber and Primrose etc.

The doll that Kenji is entrusted with seems to be ‘new’, and so it seems that because of this, it has no emotion and cannot function at all in society. We see others like Yin and July, who seem to be a lot more capable (memories, limited emotions and speech). It makes me think that dolls can learn and perhaps eventually either return to their old selves, or at least regain their memories, emotions, and more importantly, ties in life. I do hope that we see more development for Yin, especially anything which is close to her recovering more of her human-likeliness. But out of everything, Amber x Hei is what I want to see most.

Hei amazes me again with his acting abilities. He seems so innocent when he’s working as the waiter. Not only that, it’s just about impossible to tell whether he’s really become somewhat attached to Kenji, or if his acting nice to him is nothing but a façade. I can’t see Hei just killing Kenji or something in the next episode, though from the looks of the preview he does get beaten up. Even though Hei’s great at his maintaining his disguise, his loneliness seems to show regardless of what he does. It suggests that his loss of his sister has caused such a large emotional scar that it cannot be reversed (unless she comes back to him somehow, if she isn’t dead).

It also seems that the doll will get to meet Yin, which may prove to be interesting. Unfortunately, Misaki isn’t in the preview—I want to see her more in hope that she will confront Hei and somehow discover his identity as a contractor (now that she knows about him and Amber’s relationship). If not next episode, I’m confident something will happen once the main story returns. Misaki can’t just be in the show to act as a representative of another faction—the police. I sure hope not at least. MI6 better make some more moves as well, since it can’t all be Hei vs Primrose. I think I see some excellent fights to come…

Rating: 9.5/10

Impressions:

I’m getting very excited with an ending like this—Amber returning to her ‘Evening Primrose’, and its purpose is still completely unknown to me. All I guess is that it’s probably connected with the disappearance of the gate in South America. The abundance of new characters in this unknown group also suggests that the finale will be a blast. I hope they devote all the episodes after this next arc to the ultimate end, or at least tie the arcs close together. It doesn’t seem like Amber or her group will appear in the next arc, which is a shame since they’re by far the most interesting characters thus far.

But even before any new characters are introduced or developed, I still feel the existing characters aren’t connected close enough to each other. Hei and his organisation hasn’t made real, face to face contact with neither MI6, nor the police that Misaki’s with. The CIA, which seems to be in the shadows, hasn’t played much of a role, while you can’t say MI6 and Misaki are working that much in tandem. Things should definitely make for a sharp turn if Misaki finally confronts Hei, or if Hei is ever rejected from his organisation for going against orders (Huang should’ve died—he’s a bastard). Of course, anything involving Amber will be wonderful as well. xD

I feel kinda sad how Hei’s desperate to kill Amber (and also how he slaps her, rejects her etc, when she appears to genuinely love Hei). It seems that she’s constantly getting younger, and it makes me think that her payment is losing age…though I don’t see how that’s possible. Perhaps she’s a special case. It seems to me that Hei will inevitably kill Amber, or she will die some other tragic way. If this show is going to end happily, I’m all for a Hei and Amber matchup, though that’s probably impossible as I have mentioned just before. There’s still Yin to follow up as well, unless the fact that she’s in both EDs doesn’t mean anything significant.

I’m surprised how Maki is killed by November 11, though I never like the kid in the first place. His devotion to Amber seems far too naïve, while his longing to be with her makes it obvious that it’s not going to happen. By the time November 11 corners Maki into the building, it’s clear that he’s already somewhat mentally disturbed. And Amber realises this. So first and most apparently, she has the power to stop time (or something along those lines). However, she’s also displayed some psychic abilities which don’t seem to come from her contract. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a lot more fascinating than Hei, who’s mysterious possession of emotions still hasn’t been explained.