Darker than BLACK / First Impressions

Summary:

Hitotsubashi is dreaming of a girl from his past when he gets a phone call informing him of the death of Nakazawagumi boss. Meanwhile, Kenji has run to Hei for help because Hei is the only person he knows outside of the gang. When Hei questions why he brought the Doll with him, Kenji admits that he’s fallen in love with her and wants to bring her happiness. Since he figures Hitotsubashi will be mad, Kenji feels that they have to run away from Tokyo, but Hei doesn’t think that they’ll be able to do so. Despite this, Hei heads off alone to buy the Doll some clothes. It so happens that Misaki and Kanami are shopping at the same store, and Misaki recognizes BK-201 from behind based on her memories of the Amber incident at the shrine. Pretending to have a weapon, she gets behind Hei and forces him to turn around slowly, but she’s surprised to find that this is actually the guy she knows as Li. Right as she’s noticing that he’s buying bras, Kanami interrupts the conversation to ask who this is, and when both Hei and Misaki have a hard time coming up with an explanation, Kanami is left to her own assumptions. As she watches Hei pay for the stuff, Misaki finds it strange that he’s buying underwear and a wig for a girl if this is to be a present, and after teasing her about being jealous, Kanami points out that it may not be a present. That prompts Misaki to ask Hei directly if these are for his own use, so Hei clears things up by explaining that he’s buying these for a friend to give to a girlfriend. Hei then heads off, and as they watch him go, Kanami teases Misaki about being glad that those presents weren’t for Hei’s own girlfriend.

When Hei returns to his apartment, he finds Yin sitting there with Kenji and the Doll. Realizing that his water faucet had been dripping, he demands to know if he had been under surveillance by Huang’s orders, but Yin shakes her head no – the reason she had come was because she felt that Hei was different from usual. Hei decides to let her change the clothes on the Doll, and while he and Kenji are waiting outside, he questions if Kenji is serious and warns of pursuers, not being able to stay in one place, and having to be on the run all his life. Along with pointing out the potential hardships with money, shelter, finding a job, and leaving the Doll alone, Hei also asks why Kenji is treating a Doll – who can’t communicate her words or intent – so well. Kenji doesn’t have an answer for this, and he instead waves to the girl from the Philippines who is heading out from the apartment complex for her job. Remembering how she had said that she came to Japan to earn money for her family, Kenji admits to Hei that he had been abandoned by his own parents. He thinks that Hei might also have something that he wants to protect without logic or reason, but Hei doesn’t respond, and Yin soon comes out with the disguised Doll. Hei then decides that he and Yin will see Kenji off at the Shinjuku train station, however as they are buying tickets, Hei notices a suspicious looking man glancing at them and calling someone. With members of the gang coming, Kenji grabs his tickets and follows Hei to a back hallway where Hei pushes him and the Doll into an elevator and sends it down to the parking deck.

When their pursuers arrive, they see only Yin standing in front of the elevator doors. She points upwards just as Hei leaps down from the ceiling with a garbage can and kicks all the Yakuza into one pile before knocking a stack of heavy boxes onto them. He and Yin then take the stairs down towards the parking garage, but they arrive just as Hitotsubashi’s car is speeding away after hitting Kenji. Mao had been watching Kenji and the Doll get taken away from nearby and now appears to suggest that this is a good time to quit. He thinks that after Kenji is killed and the Doll is sold, the men will come after Hei, and since continuing their mission is impossible now, he suggests that Hei and Yin quickly disappear. Any further support of Kenji will be taken as rebelling against the Organization, and Mao points out that there is no benefit for Hei in all this. As they are chatting, Yin notices a Surveillance Spectre on the metal pipe above them, and Hei realizes that it belongs to that Doll. With Yin able to interpret a message from the Doll asking for help, Mao can’t believe that a Doll would do this on its own free will and thinks that it’s a trap. Giving the choice to Yin, Hei asks her what she thinks and why she had thought his attitude was odd. When Yin doesn’t answer, Hei decides to have the Doll tell them where she is, and he heads there.

In a loading dock somewhere, Hitotsubashi is personally beating up Kenji and calls him an idiot for throwing away his life for this doll. Kenji, however, feels that the Doll is not a thing or a doll – she’s a girl. Seeing Kenji refuse to back down on this, Hitotsubashi points his gun at Kenji’s head and challenges him to get out of this. Their conversation is interrupted when Hei suddenly starts knocking out Hitotsubashi’s men, and with use of his electrical Contractor power, he’s able to get them all except for the leader himself. Fortunately for Hei, Kenji slams into Hitotsubashi from behind and takes his gun. Hitotsubashi wants Kenji to shoot, but Kenji instead has him get into the car, though before he leaves, Kenji leaves his bike with Hei. Kenji then forces Hitotsubashi to drive himself and the Doll back to Shinjuku Station. Along the way, Hitotsubashi recalls that this is the second time that Kenji has ridden in the back – the first time was with him on a motorcycle many years ago. It had been Kenji’s first time riding a motorcycle, and it was also the day they had met each other for the first time. Back then, Hitotsubashi had explained to Kenji that a motorcycle was not simply a machine – if you cherish it, it will answer back and not betray you. Taking it a step further, he had told Kenji to find something to protect with his life, and he had felt that doing so would make Kenji unafraid and allow him to do anything.

After Kenji and the Doll run into Shinjuku Station, Hitotsubashi gets approached by Hei and is asked why he let them go. Hei thinks that Hitotsubashi should have known that the gun Kenji held didn’t have any more bullets, but the man claims not to have realized. As Hei starts to walk away, Hitotsubashi asks him if he’s had anything that he has put his life on the line wanting to protect. With Hei not answering, Hitotsubashi admits that he personally doesn’t have anything right now, but he used to a long time ago. Shortly after Hei disappears from sight with Yin, Hitotsubashi gets bumped into by a man who shoots him in the gut with a hidden pistol before rushing away. Realizing too late what just happened, Hitotsubashi crumples to the ground and dies. Meanwhile, on a train passing through the countryside, Kenji is telling the Doll that she doesn’t have to stay with him if she doesn’t like him. The Doll, however, surprises Kenji by putting her hand on his and smiling at him. In the aftermath, Huang tells Hei and Mao about Hitotsubashi’s death which has also led to the disappearance of the smuggling route, meaning that their mission was canceled. At the same time, Misaki is learning that BK-201’s star reacted slightly the previous day in the vicinity of Shinjuku. This had roughly coincided with the period of time when a Yakuza leader was shot and killed in a gang dispute, and although Misaki can’t quite link the two events together, she does wonder where BK-201 will appear next.

Hei later arrives at his landlady’s apartment to pick up a package containing kiritanpo. Recalling that this is a dish from the Akita Prefecture, the landlady wonders if that’s where Kenji went. She then notices that there seems to be too much for just one person, causing Hei to suggest that it’s probably for everyone here. However, when he asks her to distribute it to everyone, the landlady feels that he should do it himself, so Hei takes the box to Apartment 101 and knocks on the door.

Preview

Well, they ended this arc on a fairly feel-good note with both Kenji and the Doll alive and well even though Hitotsubashi got killed. They didn’t reveal quite as much about Dolls as I had hoped they would – like how Dolls are created in the first place – but they did manage to show again that Dolls can have emotions. Yin also played enough of a role in this for me to think again that she and Hei have a special connection of some sort – or at the very least, she’s quite observant of how he acts. It’s probably not too far of a stretch to think that either the two of them will be close partners for the final arc or Hei will have to save her or something. The latter of those stems partly from how much emphasis they’re giving to the theme of having something or someone to protect, and I could see Yin being that someone for Hei.
Overall, I thought that this episode and this arc weren’t bad, but also nothing particularly special. My favorite part of this week’s episode was the Misaki and Kanami scene with all the MisakiXHei insinuations and humor, though I highly doubt that that’s a relationship that will come to pass. I’m looking more forward to next week where it seems like we’ll be finally getting into Huang’s background, and the preview shows that at least one member of evening primrose – Amagiri – will be making an appearance.

33 Comments

  2. Vane: Yes it looks like it, and its about time. There’s plenty of info’ we need on the old goat.

    I loved the shop scene a lot, classic Bones humor. I also love how hot Misaki looks with that hat on.

    Shiro
    Reply

  3. Shiro: Yes, they have just seven episodes to reveal and explain all… so, i have another question (since i am dowloading the raw and it takes a lot of time.. ) then..Misaki remembered Li-kun?
    Dear Bones.. we dont want an open ending, we want all clear o.k!!

    Vane
    Reply

  6. But you know, even when they have made “character based arcs” the episodes never are just about the character, the mix the flash backs with current missions and main plot.. so.. it can be a huan arc, and in can go far into the main plot at the same time

    Vane
    Reply

  10. Hey I really love all the animes from this season ( that´s why I could not come here any more( WATASHI WA ISOGASHI DAKARA…TOTEMO!!!)
    But a hint for you Otaku borthers out there(here)…
    as I´ve played school days the best ending is the group sex ending with hotoha and seikai…I love that last phrase that kotoha asks seikai:
    ” What will we(3) do on christmas seikai???”
    ” We are going to eat and after that we are both fuck with makoto until we all cum ”
    AHHHHhhhhhhh….my dream 2 girls like shiraishi Ryoko and tanaka rie on my lap sucking my cock starving for some milk……. 😀 Last night I saw a video with them that´s why they are the chosen ones…and if you 2 by any means read this post feel that you are special because I am special and I really think you are HOT( sexually speaking )…paku romi you are the next……..kanojo wo miru toki ni wa watashi no tinti ga HAGANE ni nata!!! 😛

    Tensai Otaku
    Reply

  24. I prefer the pairing of Hei-Yin than the other two. Personally, I think Yin is the most special one in the anime (somehow, I can’t tell whether she is a humandroid or a real person who lost ability to express emotion). The way she cares for Hei is very subdued and unconditionally.
    In this arc, I wonder whether the answer of Hitotsubashi implies that of Hei or Hei’s silence implying Yin (until now she is the only one whom he risk the danger to save without any motives – in arc 13 compared to other female characters)

    Moname
    Reply

  29. The ep wasn’t bad, but nothing great either. I think my disappointment stems from the fact that there was absolutely no ‘Hei’ in this arc, just ‘Li-kun’-ness XD
    And I’m with all the awesome people in rooting for Hei+Yin. Even though it may not form into a romantic relationship =/
    I first suspected that the Doll would’ve turned out to be Bai (somewhat of a resemblance), but she scared the heck outta me when she cracked a smile..
    Hoping Huang’s arc drops some huge shock bombs…my one gripe with the series is the lack of them.

    timotei
    Reply

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