Darker than BLACK / Final Impressions / First Impressions

Summary:

Inside the Gate, Amber is thankful for Yin bringing Hei here since the other Dolls had all died. She then apologizes because she doesn’t have much time left. Outside the Gate, Kouno and Saitou are trying to figure out what to do when they get a call from Ootsuka of the Astronomy Department wondering what’s going on. She’s scared because the Great Dark Spot is entering its final stage soon, and the Stargazer is laughing again. More fighting soon breaks out near Kouno and Saito as a pair of boy Contractors appear and start fighting the Pandora troops. After watching the boys get hit by a rocket, Kouno comments on how this is like a war, and Matsumoto suddenly drives up in the car with some body armor in the back. They then rush past the troops and towards the Pandora complex. In the control room, the men under Eric Nishijima are powering up the Ring, and he orders the use of all cameras inside the Gate to look for BK-201.

Meanwhile, Hei admits that he wasn’t interested in the reason why EPR fought until he came here, and he now wonders if they’ve been fighting the Organization ever since what happened in South America. Remembering that they had fewer members, Amber reveals that they had known about the Organization’s ulterior motive for a while and that a lot more stars had fallen back then. As Contractors, they had followed orders from their higher-ups, but there came time when they began to change. Those who noticed called each other comrade and shared information – Hei”s sister was one of them. In fact, it was Bai who first found out about the Organization’s plan, but she didn’t want Hei to get involved with it. The reason was because Hei was a human, different from the Contractors. Amber feels that this was true back then and is still true now. Bai had known that it would be troubling for him to choose between humans and Contractors, and she had been hurt a little each time Hei had obeyed the Organization’s orders.

Amber feels that Bai changed, and she understands this because she was the same way. She also thinks that Yin and the other Dolls have begun to change little by little even though they don’t understand it yet. Amber knows that the contract that they’ve made is only the start of something that could happen in 100, 10000, or 100000 years. The reason she waited until now to tell him is because she didn’t think he’d believe her until now. In addition to that though, she thinks Hei would have left the Organization if she had told him, and he wouldn’t have survived until today if he had. Yin suddenly interrupts them to say that that is coming soon, and when Hei wonders what she’s talking about, Amber explains that it’s the thing that will completely erase Contractors and the Gate – the thing that they want to stop. Walking over to the nearly clock, Amber asks Hei if he wants to meet Bai. She then pulls out the meteor fragment and calls it mysterious because of how it returned to its round shape despite being broken earlier and distributed to all of the EPR members.

Her plan involves doing the same thing as back in South America – releasing Bai’s power before that comes. When Hei isn’t sure what she wants him to do, Amber thinks that he should have noticed it a long time ago: Bai has always been inside of him, ever since he thought she died. The electric shock power was nothing more than a part of the beginning of Bai’s ability, and Amber claims that the real power is Hei. She urges him to go see Bai, but for the time being, Hei is more concerned about what will happen to the city. He suspects that everyone will disappear like in South America if he releases his power, and because of this, he doesn’t think that he can do it. In response to this, Amber tells him that all the Contractors on this planet will disappear, including herself and Yin. All except for him. By now, the Pandora control room is ready to activate the Saturn System, and Schroeder starts the countdown. They receive a live image of Hei, Amber, and Yin a few seconds into the countdown, but despite Misaki’s protest, Schroeder continues counting.

A moment before Nishijima presses the switch that shoots the anti-Gate particle, Amber touches Hei’s chest with the meteor fragment. A bright light rapidly expands to cover the entire city, and Hei suddenly finds himself younger and in a yellow-orange hued world where the sky clears into a field of stars. This causes him to start crying because he didn’t want everyone to disappear, but to his surprise, he hears Bai ask him what’s wrong in a scene from their past. She thinks that he’s lying when he claims that it’s nothing and questions why he’s crying. Bai reveals that she had noticed that he didn’t actually want to kill anyone and had been doing things he didn’t want to do for her sake. Hei tries to deny it and say that it’s because he’s the Black Shinigami, but she disagrees. Taking off his mask, she says that her older brother is her older brother, and that’s why she doesn’t want him to try so hard anymore. Huang then shows up to lecture Hei about the same thing, and he cites how Hei’s indecisive attitude had troubled him. Mao is also here, and he notes that this is Hei’s interesting point.

In fact all of Hei’s dead friends are present, including November 11 who says that Hei’s existence being indecisive isn’t like a Contractor. Huang then tells Hei that things become complicated because Hei is a human who pretended to be a Contractor. He suggests that if one side is impossible, then Hei should take both since he’s both like a Contractor and like a human. After Hei is helped back up onto his feet by Nick, a grown-up Amber asks him if this is really okay. She feels that only difficulty awaits him if he chooses both, and the Organization would do whatever they have to in order to go after him. He’d have to kill again, and she notes that he didn’t want that anymore. She tries to convince him by saying that he’d lose the long awaited things he just obtained – such as the starry night sky and his sister – but Hei simply hugs her. Amber still doesn’t understand why since Hei should have always wanted those things, which is why she did all this. However, November 11 points out that it was her who didn’t want to let him go in reality.

Hei then tries to say something to Amber, but before he can do so, she kisses him. She tells him that she doesn’t want to hear any more than that, and she heads to Bai’s side. When Bai says goodbye to him, Hei says goodbye back, using her real name Xing. He also bids farewell to everyone else, including Amber, and as the world suddenly changes again, the last thing he sees is child Amber smiling at him. Everything around him turns into a dark vortex, and Hei manages to make it out when Yin stretches out her hand and asks him not to leave her alone. Hei finds himself back in the normal world holding Yin’s hand, and all that’s left of Amber is a pile of clothes. Time has been turned back so that they’re right before the firing of the anti-Gate particle, and Hei realizes that it was Amber’s intent all along to use the last of her powers. This time, as Schroeder counts down, the image that pops up on the screen in the control doesn’t show Hei, Amber, and Yin anymore. However, nothing happens when Nishijima presses the switch to activate the Saturn System, and power soon shuts down.

With everyone suddenly glowing blue, they see Hei standing on top of some large machinery on one of the monitors. The shaking and glowing ends as soon as Hei grapples away from camera view, and the roof of the control room then gets blown off. Despite this, Nishijima orders his men to prepare for a second shot, but Schroeder tells him that it’s pointless. Schroeder thinks that Hei’s electric shock and the blue light have caused the anti-Gate particle inside the system to completely mutate. Hei’s electric shock is no ordinary electromagnetic wave because it mutates things at a quantum level. Schroeder compares it to a regular person becoming a Contractor, and he theorizes that the Gate in South America was just like this in how it was filled with mutated substances. Unable to concede the loss, Nishijima punches Schroeder in frustration, but he’s then shot twice in the chest by Hourai. This scares everyone else into running out of the control room, and Hourai calmly places the murder weapon on Nishijima’s chest and puts Nishijima’s hands on it.

As he does so, Hourai explains that they were conducting an undercover investigation on Nishijima for violating United Nations law and committing insurgent crimes. Misaki thinks that this is just the leaders trying to avoid responsibility by sacrificing someone weak, and she accuses Hourai of doing everything to exterminate Contractors. She doesn’t have any direct proof, but she thinks that the truth will come out sooner or later, and the time will come when judgment is passed in history. Hourai, however, claims that she can’t prove his connection to the Organization, and he feels that she doesn’t know how big the Organization is yet. When Misaki points out that the disturbance this time puts the existence of Contractors into the open, Hourai says that he’d make everything disappear into the darkness before that happens. Misaki soon feels that she’s heard enough and reveals the tape recorder that was in her pocket, but Hourai then leaps forward and grabs her by the throat. He tells her that the path she’s chosen has only a more violent fight waiting, and he cites how humans and Contractors hate each other.

Fortunately, Misaki is saved when Hei suddenly shows up and sends a jolt into Hourai’s arm. Hei dodges Hourai’s counterattack punches and manages to slam him into the ground, knocking him out. He immediately tries to run back out, but Misaki stops him by calling him Li. Turning around for a brief moment, Hei tells her that there is no longer any man named Li. Shortly after Hei disappears, Kouno, Saito, and Matsumoto come running in, and Misaki has Saitou carry Hourai out since he’s been caught for murder. In the aftermath, she notes that their lives soon returned to normal, but like Hourai had said, Contractor incidents kept increasing. She can’t find traces of the existence of the Organization anywhere, though everyone now knows about Contractors. Misaki also thinks that the time to choose will come in the near future, and she pays a visit to the Stargazer who is now talking about the distant future that no one has seen. Misaki later heads to Hei’s apartment building and is led to Hei’s apartment by his landlady who thinks that he got deported.

Staring out the window from Hei’s window, Misaki suddenly sees Hei’s figure walking across a nearby bridge, so she dashes out and chases after him, wondering if they chose the same path – the path of living together. She really wants to hear from Hei, but he disappears around a corner, and Misaki can’t find him again. Misaki then gets a call and has to break off her search, so she doesn’t notice the black cat and female shaped surveillance spectre nearby.

 
 
 

This didn’t really feel like a final episode to me. There’s just too many things unresolved – what happened to the Organization, where Hei went, what the meteor fragment truly is, what the Gates truly are, who the Stargazer really is, and what Amber meant when she said that this is only the start of something. On that last point, the only thing I can think of conjecturally is that Amber was talking about some sort of eventual evolution from humans to Contractors. There’s not much else that’ll take that many years to happen, unless Amber knows something she didn’t share.

Anyway, I felt that there wasn’t nearly enough closure and conclusion here – it was a bit too open-ended for my tastes. Even just seeing more of Hei and Yin, or Hei and Misaki could have made this better. Now that I think about it though, one of the big problems was that there was a lack of major antagonists. Both Eric Nishijima and Hourai made for pretty weak final boss types, and the episode itself failed to keep me excited and engaged the entire way through. Having said all that, the ending certainly wasn’t a bad ending, and I rather enjoyed seeing everyone gathered in the alternate world urging Hei on. The final message seemed to be all about coexistence between humans and Contractors, and the finale did a decent job with that in terms of Hei being both, and Misaki talking about paths.

Final Thoughts: Darker than BLACK is a show that has a ton of potential, but I just don’t felt that it got as good as it could have. The show had a ton of dialogue where almost every single line was important to the plot in some way – that not only makes for really long summaries here, but it also indicated that the emphasis was placed on explaining things through conversation. My main complaint about this is that I tend to think that it’s better to show something instead of talk about it, and while there were plenty of exciting moments in the series, there were just as many long discussions of the relatively complex plot. I still had fun watching it though, and I do hope that they can continue the series in some way in the future. Maybe the OVA can wrap up some of the loose ends, but that unfortunately won’t be out until sometime next year with the final DVD volume.

149 Comments

  15. Amber disappears from the world after her final use of the Time ability probably dead or an baby somewhere around the world.
    Omg a Hei and Misaki ending….where Misaki is searching for Hei.

    So the possible survivors in the series….. Hei (whereabouts seems undertermined), Yin (just walking somewhere in Japan) , the cat (but not Mao),code name April and July, Misaki now a contractor
    Not sure
    Mai (the flame contractor) still alive, Amber (a kawaii baby?) probably taken care of by the naked teleport contractor somewhere in the world dunno her name, and the Pandora boss being interrogated by the police department. And some other contractors.

    there supposed an OVA for DtB (Hope the script won’t be stolen this time)

    arigatou
    Reply

  17. Yeah that’ the start of the anime holidays u.u

    All is finished, darker, romeo x juliet, etc etc…

    Hum I d’ont see a misaki hei ending…Misaki seach hei but she doesn’t found him…
    Hei is gone, Misaki stay alone it seems clear..;and comprehensible because all his friends have disppeared…

    Hei x Amber kiss kyaaah \o/

    Lolipopo
    Reply

  20. I just feel happy but sad. Darker than Black is the best anime show of Summer 07. But now comes Winter 07, that means Clannad, SnS and maybe Code Geass. Now I have to wait until next year for HaruSuzu, MushiUta, maybe a Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto ova[like, you know, Mai-otome] and someday for Ouran HSHC 2nd season[prays to anime gods].

    Like MJ-chan
    Reply

  23. I thought that Yin stayed with Hei, seeing as how she wanted him to stay with her. Or at least she pleaded with him not to leave her alone, which leads to Hei leaving that dream world and coming back. I kinda figured that they’d stay together, seeing as both of them don’t really have any place to go to anymore, and are the only ones left of their group. Plus, Hei seems to look after Yin, and Yin definitely depends on Hei even if she doesn’t really show it.

    Or that could all be just my wishful thinking.
    (o and btw first comment!)

    kazekage26
    Reply

  28. Unless you are going by more than just the screen shots, I doubt Misaki is a contractor. The reason she’s glowing (and her surroundings) is likely related to why everyone, including the doctor glowed in that building a few episodes back when Hei was threatening Amber. IE, meteor fragment/Hei’s power related.

    Gamen
    Reply

  32. There will definitely be a second season. The ending is so “OMFG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT THERE GOTS TO BE A SECOND SEASON”. The episode itself though was very boring :(. They basically did a the characters can be god and randomly use their powers in all these different ways that you would have never even thought of before ending. :\ Dia ex machina or whatever ending. 🙁 Disappointing but at least theirs a light for a second season.

    Annonymous
    Reply

  41. So does Misaki finally put two and two together and realize that Lee-kun and Hei/BK-201/Shinigami are all the same person? The screen shots toward the end certainly imply that Misaki at least cares about mild-mannered Lee-kun and/or came to the realization that he was more than he seemed after seeing his empty apartment.

    Looks like an awesome ep though. At least the dead contractors and all those whose lives Hei’s touched appear to be in a better place (the fact that Chiaki and Huang are there, a doll and a non-contractor human respectively, seem to indicate that that “after-life” isn’t limited to just contractors). Even Nick makes a reappearance (I was hoping they’d explain why he and Hei seemingly share the exact same powers). I also see Brita (nekkid teleporter chick) there too, implying that she’s dead (guess that explosion that took out all those encapsulated dolls got her and the rest of the EPR members), along with Mao (which is a bummer, I was hoping Mao just soul-shifted to another person or animal). If only they’d explain the significance of the old woman stargazer (whom I still suspect is Amber).

    Now that Amber is gone (unless the Stargazer does turn out to be her or somehow related to Amber), it’s just Hei x Yin or Hei x Misaki left for the OVA ep (*crosses fingers*). As much as I love Yin, I’m hoping Misaki finally gets to see Hei unmasked as her beloved Lee-kun (Yin has basically become Bai’s replacement sister for Hei, and as much as Yin and Hei depend on one another, they have a brother/sister dynamic, I think). And no way is Misaki a contractor; it just seems to be that blue glow that covered everyone in the building (including non-contractor humans like the wild-haired doctor) back in ep 22.

    KaminaLives
    Reply

  42. an OVA? where did you guys hear this? and when’s it coming out?! i wanna see!

    also, like I said before, there is a manga which is different from the anime storyline, so even if the anime and the upcoming OVA leaves questions unanswered, probably the manga will tie up those loose ends.

    Damian
    Reply

  43. I’m thoroughly unimpressed by Darker than Black. They drag out the exposition for 20+ episodes and THIS is all they could do? Even the very end is very ambiguous and leaves too much questions IMO. Also things just seems to happen on the fly without much of gravitas holding them up. This show doesn’t even crack my top 15 shows this summer.

    Shippoyasha
    Reply

  44. ok i just watched it and i need the summary cause i dont know what happened lol.

    A lot of talking so I cant wait to see what they revealed. So was the Chief guy the ultimate bad guy or something? At least thats what it seemed like to me.

    Im with KaminaLives on the comment that the Stargazer might be Amber. There are quite a few connections between those two.

    Two things disappointed me at the end. It was never explained how Yin became a Doll. But like I said, the OVA or the manga might explain that. Im gonna download the manga >

    Damian
    Reply

  45. The other thing is that July and April didnt have a big role at the end. When November 11 died and they left, it seemed like they would be making a badass comeback at the end and play a biiger role.
    I liked the episode. Sucks I dont speak Jap though I was confused for the most part. But it seems like many questions were left unanswered. We can only hope the OVA and/or the manga answer them.
    But at least now we know how Yin saved Hei that last time when he fought with Nick. She can make that surveillence thingy take up her form. ^_^

    Damian
    Reply

  46. this is weird! Does anyone remember the new opening sequence, there are scenes that show how Hei fight with a number of dopplegangers and Misaki appears just when he escape by flinging himself so skillfully? I was completely misled by that opening, thinking that they are from the actual story T T
    Please I can’t wait for the summary! So sad that DTB has ended. I love Yin so much and no matter how wisful it is I still go for Yin-Hei.
    About 26th ep, I heard from a LJ for DTB that it will be only about a complete separate story – like Cowboy Bebop the movie.

    Moname
    Reply

  47. I really think there will be an OVA or movie. Overall, the show had lots of style, good plot and character, but didn’t completely spend their time wisely but I enjoyed it. I also am hoping for a Hei x Misaki ending eventually.

    ann
    Reply

  48. Contractors have all teh MOAR! Naked Chics, Incest, Gayness as teh end is Gay as Hei. We find oot da truth they’s all commies on top of all their other depravity! HOOORAY!!!
    And I guess all the gratuitous killing is now just incidental.

    Chouga
    Reply

  50. Uhm… is there any sequel for this anime??

    Coz I really want to see its contuniation…
    XD…

    I’ve only watched DTB until 6th episode, but this Anime is kind of attracting, so I keep hoping for this anime to be long… But it’s only lasting for 25 episodes…*sob*

    O yeah is there any pairing for Hei? The first time I watched it I guessed that it’ll be Yin, but when I was searching in google, the most popular one is Hei x Misaki.. Is that true? Well, that’s kind of disappointing, coz my guess isn’t right.. but I don’t think it’s a bad couple though… (But I still hope for Hei x Yin) Ehehe..

    Or there is no possibilities for pairing? (Only hint??)

    Aww..My head hurts…(too much thinking..)
    Dammit you DTB maker!!
    You make me crazy for DTB!! XD

    gagal_axzel
    Reply

  51. I wasn’t impressed by Darker Than Black at all. I thought there was potentials when I started watching it but it just sort of left me down. Too many questions unanswered. And oddly enough, the thing that kept me hanging in the last episode is… THE BLACK CAT :O meow meow~ Anyhow, err… none of the pairings seemed solid to me, so I’m assuming Misaki’s love is one sided (if… she is in love anyway. If there were hints, I didn’t really catch them D:)

    Fuugetsu
    Reply

  52. Just watched it.

    The ending seemed a bit rushed, but overall I thought it was rather good.

    It could have been better, but even if it was half as good, it would still be better than School Days. That was 12 episodes of total crap.

    Lithium17
    Reply

  53. At least the final episode was a fairly alright one, but still it didn’t wrap up enough things and even brought up more question, the show was Entertaining, but it always did disappoint.

    @ gagal_axzel The more popular one I thought was Hei x Yin, maybe not in some places but there are a ton more pictures of HeiYin then any others, Though Hei doesn’t really end up with anyone, I’d lean towards Yin if you’d go on the most likely pairing from the ending.

    tomahawk
    Reply

  60. This show started out so good, but it lost its momentum really fast and never regained it. I blame this on the 2 episode mini arcs that made up the show. It’s a cool idea and it could have worked, but I got the feeling that the animators hadn’t done it before and didn’t realize that using mini-arcs effectively changed a 25 episode show into a 13 episode show. This had the result have severely restricting how many adventures, fact finding, and question answering events could happen in the show.

    Oh and the episodes with the private detectives was a huge waste of time, taking precious screen time away from more relevant plot lines.

    The manga is way different for any of you who haven’t seen it, so there’s a good chance it won’t answer any questions raised in the show at all. Here’s hoping that OVA or maybe a 2nd season will put a better ending on this series.

    W.Wolf
    Reply

  62. This show could get a 2nd season sometime next year, you just have to wait and see how the DVD sales go, and how the ratings for the show were. That said, it was said at the start of the show when Misaki was talking that this story was about how they first came into contact with BK201. I think that it’s only the start of something more. I don’t know what the OVA will do/show. But another season is doable, with more action now that all the character development and story pieces are in place.

    GP
    Reply

  63. Very good episode, though I was hoping that Amber would make it out with Hei and Yin. But, I’m almost positive that the Stargazer is Amber, as she was noticeably younger at the end; couple more times and she and Hei could be doing the horizontal monster-mash.

    And to whoever can make it happen. Sequel/prequel please! *outstretch hand*

    Yggdrasil
    Reply

  64. I’m extremely disappointed by your review, omni. So according to you, Fuck Darker Than Black because it actually had a story, conversation between the characters made sense and it wasn’t action packed like pokeman?

    I should have expected this from you since your reviews in regard to this series lacked emotion from the very start. However it brings my piss to a boil when people like you don’t appreciate all the thoughts, work and beautiful imagination that had been put together to make a fantastic series like this. You should only stick to the likes of G. Lagann because again, according to you it is an action packed anime with no plot whatsoever thus a superior anime to DTB. Do you want to satisfy the majority of your rehears by calling this anime shit or is it your professional opinion about this series? Why the hell do you have to be so fucking annoying omni?

    M.K
    Reply

  66. @ M.K

    Someone didn’t have their cookies today. Calm down and go to bed. By repetitively saying “according to you”, doesn’t justify the assumptions you’re making. Not once did he ever declare an DtB superior over another particular anime. If it irks you that much to read such a “biased and unfair” review then just tune it out and go on with your bad self. Jeez.

    M.K's Mom
    Reply

  67. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

    Why did it end!!!!It hurts in my chest lol!!!!!!J/k but seriously why did they end it in 25 episode so many un answered questions….I was so hoping for misaki to see heis face and misakixhei….. and yin is like a little sister if they try to do more than that its child molestation or statutory rape!!!! lol….

    Japanese animators always have this baaaaaaaaaad relationship twists..Like: 1 guy and 20 million girls(exaggrrated)and the girl who deserves him doesnt end up with him or the other way around. Also the aging is just messed up as well like the dude is like an adult and shes still like under age…..

    The obsessions with the school outfits and maid clothes…I cant stop laughing….Really horny moe foes….As much as i admire the work….But seriously if they want to show stuff with relations do it properly im not sayin it has to be happy!!!

    anyways completely moved from the topic but im really dieing for season two and i prey to god they make one….patch up the misakixhei issue….and really strengthen the characters becuz the show was soooooooooooo weak!!!!! yet itleft a huge impact on us fans want and needing more of it so if theres a petition needed to sign for a second season just gimme the directions or site im there!!!!!

    Show had and still has a tonne of potential to go for 1000 more episodes….Look at naruto, bleach freaken for god sakes pokemon what the hell….Even though i dont support that…. I dont care if its 10 20 ot 50 episodes just close the gaps answer the questions for the viewers whether small or big, all the hows, and whys and whats!!!!

    anyways….

    Ill always support DTB!!!!

    jin
    Reply

  70. I belive that the show had a some what Yin and Hei ending with Yin pulling Hei back to the real world. And I’m very sure that where ever Hei is Yin is more than likely there with him.

    magixiii
    Reply

  73. Ah, it’s over! I’d cry if I didn’t there might be an OVA.

    Anyone else wonder what the glowing thing in Misaki’s pocket was? At first I thought Amber had shoved the meteor fragment lens but looking back now I see it’s rectangular. Is it her phone sucking up the Gate radiation or what?

    matt_shade
    Reply

  74. Ah, it’s over! I’d cry if I didn’t know there might be an OVA.

    Anyone else wonder what the glowing thing in Misaki’s pocket was? At first I thought Amber had shoved the meteor fragment lens but looking back now I see it’s rectangular. Is it her phone sucking up the Gate radiation or what?

    matt_shade
    Reply

  75. Ah, it’s over! I’d cry if I didn’t know there might be an OVA.

    Anyone else wonder what the glowing thing in Misaki’s pocket was? At first I thought Amber had shoved the meteor fragment lens in there but looking back now I see it’s rectangular. Is it her phone sucking up the Gate radiation or what?

    matt_shade
    Reply

  76. I think the ending to DTB was done fairly well. It’s a full-circle type thing (lol@levitating guy getting shot down by chains) so it’s not supposed to have a definite ending. It’s pretty much a “life goes on” ending and the only thing I didn’t like so much is that they just had to keep blue-balling Kirihara to the end. Still, what I particularly liked about DTB is that they obviously spent a lot of time crafting the world. By the time you hit the last few episodes, you pretty much have a very good idea about what’s going on in DTB, like what Dolls and Contractors are, what their limitations are and you already get an inkling about how they’re becoming “human-like”.

    Sure they could potentially make another season out of this storyline, hell they could even throw in a Kirihara x Hei romance but really, I think the DTB world is well-made enough that they could make a whole season with completely different characters.

    I mean, come on, those kids outside the wall were so awesome they needed to fire RPGs at them from behind to take them out. Or the black-hole basketball guy… or the rubber band bullet girl…

    Eej
    Reply

  79. does anyone know if this there would be another season of this… or its actualli over…. it would be sad if its finished.. with so many unanswered questions that werent solved and can onli be assumed by educated guess

    dl
    Reply

  80. What happened to the Organization

    I think it seems pretty apparent that it continued to function as it always had.

    and what Amber meant when she said that this is only the start of something. On that last point, the only thing I can think of conjecturally is that Amber was talking about some sort of eventual evolution from humans to Contractors.

    I think she (also) meant the ‘evolution’ of contractors; as she was talking about her, bai, yin etc changing before that.

    Nox
    Reply

  82. Yeah, I’m a DtB fan, and yeah, I’m gonna have to defend this ending a bit. The reason why many watchers feel unsatisfied by the DtB ending is that it does break a few anime rules;

    First, there were no bimbo/air headed women chasing after the main protagonist or providing fan service on a consistent basis.

    Second, Hei did not noticeably transform into anything other than his normal self (see Bankai) to defeat some overrated foe that just appeared the previous episode.

    Third, rather than force-feed every plot angle to the viewers and compress an explanation for every single question raised, DtB choose to concentrate on a single piece of the gate puzzle while thoroughly giving an insight into the minds and feelings raise by all the characters involved.

    I wish more people loved anime of this pace, I can identify with almost every character in the anime from Hei’s crazy student neighbors to the shifty gangster that fell in love with the doll, great writing imho.

    Yet, instead we will get 400 more episodes of One Piece… hurray…

    KLined
    Reply

  83. Very well put, KLined, couldn’t have said it better. The same goes for me as well, I just love the pacing, storytelling and matureness of this anime. I really liked the ending and the way they pulled everything out. In a situation like this, there can’t be the happy ending with roses and a kiss, but DTB still created one of the most intense endings I’ve seen so far (it’s not the standard “tears-come-out” or the “nothing-has-changed-cu-in-season2” cliffhanger ending), it just fits the rest of this great series perfectly. I don’t think it was anywhere near of a feel good ending, but that’s for everyone oneself to decide (I mean, actually only 3 of the main characters are still alive). Like KLined said, you can really sympathize with every character in the show, that just shows how well developed the storytelling is.

    The probably best thing was, there was no black and white, no good or evil. No boss fights, no stupid anime clichés. You could always argue with valid points from both the human and the contractor side, and there is no right or wrong. Sometimes you could sympathize with Hei, sometimes you could hate him.
    Of course, the background of the organization and various other issues are still unclear, but who cares? Isn’t it this mysterious feeling that created this unique atmosphere in the first place? When all questions are answered, what is there left for the viewer to do? It’s no Shounen-Series after all, nope, it’s definitely one of the best anime shows this year. DTB was fresh while still having a somewhat oldschool touch, maybe it’s the 2 episodes miniformat. I recommend everyone who wants to take a step outside the average shounen-anime crap to watch this show.

    PS: Hei and Amber would have made a great couple, after all… Q_Q

    Neara
    Reply

  85. I think it ended perfectly like it did. So we didn’t get a full conclusion, but who cares? Hei changed and solved the questions that had worried him since the beginning of the show.
    A good and satisfying ending if you ask me xD

    semtex
    Reply

  88. thank God !Another people think the same that i think!, a few comments back people just said thinks like “im disappointed bla bla bla”.But Darker than BLACK was a great show, and a very nice done end. And yes, it makes me sad that some shows that, with all the respect school days fans,have not plot, are a lot more populars, and valued for the people here.
    So, please, second season BONES (at least a movie after the OVA)

    Amber
    Reply

  91. She died after the organization find that they were using doll to help hei to get into the door, they just put the scene with the bus burned and some bodys (the bus were they had the dolls)

    Amber
    Reply

  92. it could’ve been so much better :[[
    i wish hei died with his mask on with like amber in his arms or someting
    and misakis the one who unmasks him
    and all contractor dies or something beside yin 😉

    Hei
    Reply

  94. @Kan-Chan
    Brita truck blown up quick seen need to look for it, its right when organization talks about stopping the dolls and Hei’s progress behind the gate.

    @M.K. I agree! SomeOne, get Chouga!!! to write this and take it from fangirldom livejournal! Does any of use people Know how to get in touch w/ Chouga????

    reservbed
    Reply

  96. I do like how the show went around and concluded in a circle type of sense. It all relates back to the first episode. Hmmm.. Looking forward to rumored episode “26” on the DVD. And if this series does get that second season calling, I’m all ears for that. ^^;

    tg
    Reply

  101. So Hei isnt a contractor… :O Begs Tensai Okamura and BONES for squeal or prequel or OVA!! i dont see why people dont think answers were answered in this episode… meh.. i want MORE!! it was a great ending mind you 😀

    nfoia
    Reply

  102. while guys i have to explain something for you. the most important question is “how did Misaki get that recorder in her pocket???” well it was easy hei gave it to her ….. !!!! some might wonder how, but i will tell you. It was because the prof. said that Hei’s power was to materialize things and he did materialized the recorder in Misaki’s pocket. And there is something else. Misaki isn’t a contractor it’s just the reaction from Hei’s powers that gives that blue outline to everybody around him when he is next to the Gate.

    Massive
    Reply

  107. “My main complaint about this is that I tend to think that it’s better to show something instead of talk about it, and while there were plenty of exciting moments in the series, there were just as many long discussions of the relatively complex plot.”

    I disagree with this statement. Darker than black is a very ‘dark’ anime. There’s little comic relief, and even if there is, it’s not very funny. And when i say ‘dark’, i also mean that this anime is as realistic as a fantasy-anime can be. And in a realistic show, you explain things by talking. Imagine how different Darker than black would be if it was like all the other animes- jokes here and there, with the anime characters suddenly looking like dolls or differently for comical effect like these pictures:
    alviarin.free.fr/images/luckystar/9/1.jpg
    soaker8710.tripod.com/album/Bleach232.bmp

    Also imagine how unrealistic DTB would look if they explained things in pictures:
    http://animediet.animeblogger.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/hayate13-3.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Bleach/Bleach%20-%20128%20-%2006.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Bleach/Bleach%20-%20115%20-%2019.jpg

    For me, DTB was the most realistic anime I have ever watched. For example, most animes would have electricity flying around when a character uses lightning powers. But in DTB, it’s a simple squirming of the body that denotes electricity passing through. The first time I watched this, i thought Hei had the ability to implode people’s organs.
    https://randomc.net/image/Darker%20than%20BLACK/Darker%20than%20BLACK%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2008.jpg

    and you’d think when a character has freezing skills, everything around him turns icy blue
    imagup.net/01/1177875422_hitsugaya-bankai.jpg

    not in DTB:
    https://randomc.net/image/Darker%20than%20BLACK/Darker%20than%20BLACK%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Darker%20than%20BLACK/Darker%20than%20BLACK%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2025.jpg

    Mark
    Reply

  108. Man that makes Hei a fucking God. He has the power to make other people contractors, kill them by fucking shocking them, and when combined with shit, he can obliterate existence.

    Anonymous
    Reply

  110. Why is everyone begging for a 2nd season when a good anime has come to it’s end? Leave it as it is; continuations of something originally completed are often not worth it. What would a 2nd season be without all the remarkeable characters who have died so far anyway? Maybe an OVA, but please no second season, at least not soon.

    Neara
    Reply

  111. I think that Amber meant that contractors and dolls will evolve to have human feelings and that human will grow to accept the rise of this other “race” or species of themselves. Sad that most contractors had to die in this episode but more will be born and human will adapt( Louis #2, another gravity manipulator).

    Probable Answer
    Reply

  112. The meteor fragment, I think, is not a meteor fragment at all. I don’t remember anything about a meteor crashing to earth being mentioned in the show. The scientist probably call it so because the material was never found anywhere but at Hell/Heaven’s gate and was not man made. The Organization is a collective of many nations with a goal to control contractors so their job is not finished yet. Hei becomes somewhat of a super hero. He is a human and contractor and can be viewed as a icon for contractors everywhere. Most confusing are the Gates. Remember the Gates are not actual gate but a region of land that cannot be or is difficult to enter. So the gates to me are merely zones that from which people within the area emerge as contractors and/or attract contractors for whatever reason. Maybe a world wide release of some wave came about with the arrival of he gate. The Stargazer could be a sort of advanced contractor that people early on discovered could read the stars.

    Probable Answer
    Reply

  116. Dudew!!!!!!!!! Thanx for the props…. i/teh end Hei he simfl is the devil? No supriz~
    Though show no worSHIP NO GOD but me, no MAN is GOD! Not even BAD BOY Hei w/fangirl GO GOOEY GAWGAW -> G+AWG+AWG+++GAWW over, yuk!!! Hei & Mai date, yuk!! Hei sleeping w/ did kid sis, yuk, yuk!!! MAYBE it is the torture & bit$@4 slapping you like???
    exemplify Dumb FanGirl: “there was no black and white, no good or evil.”
    DudeW to the X! Teh main charac in an advert buy-in is called black, over the top, what don’t yuou get>?????

    Chouga
    Reply

  117. Hei it da meaning of the BLACK.
    Hei sez tis
    “WA WA WA, Amber, please tell me what to do, WA WA WA WA…” “WA WA WA, I just killed millions again, like down in the Rio De JANERO, WA WA WA”
    an evil little cu@#$ is DA HEI.

    Chouga
    Reply

  119. Chouga, you are a bad man. Hei is good. The title of the show is supposed to be ironic, you just don’t get it, do you? The way Hei speaks so sweetly to Amber in the last epic episode proves that he is a sweet dear man.

    Donna
    Reply

  122. Thank you very much for the detailed summary and the critical comments.I think the sries needed an introductory episode revealing the required basic information.Still, a great part of this anime uniqueness id derived from its mysterious nature….

    ALi
    Reply

  125. Chouga is an internet legend for years. People like me search out Chouga never knowing where Chouga will appear next or what Chouga will say. You don’t understand what a great honor it is to have Chouga post here. The key to Chouga is truth and integrity.

    RichardNixon
    Reply

  126. sorry i’m french so:
    J’ai entendu parler d’un OAV qui se porterait evidemment plus sur hei et le fait de demanteler le syndicat qui le poursuivre. Si cela est vrai cela pourrait etre très interressant . Cela étant dit je trouve aussi que l’on reste un peu sur notre fin. le météore qui se régénère et puis qu’est que sont ces portes?

    tit_cassis
    Reply

  128. The show was great but the end was pretty disapointing, too much question left, no answers about Hei’s relations with Misaki/Yin but this was overally a very good show with a strong beautiful animation and a wonderful OST.
    Lots of potential, too bad not enough great vilains and not enough emotions in the final arc (personally Yin’s arc was the most powerful on me)

    41nano
    Reply

  130. man the possibility this show had was almost infinite
    great ideas (contractors, the walls, not to say AMBER!!)
    i’m depressed it had to end like this but none the less
    it was a great ride and i don’t regret watching it
    as for the manga adaption was … wow
    i wouldn’t have even known it was Darker Than Black
    if it weren’t the freaking title
    i mean protecting a little highschool girl?
    wth and not to say this weird character that makes the manga scream YAOI

    Hei
    Reply

  131. You think you’re cool ’cause you’re all “rational” and stuff. It was too hard to get the horses into people’s bedrooms, basements, dorms, etc. And the horses have a tendency to trample people’s rights. Not to mention getting horses into the internet tubes that connect them. This is only a partial explanation of why Darker is Lights Out!

    Anonymous Coward
    Reply

  136. Darker than black is rather unique in a sense that it uses side characters to take apart the main character Hei to introduce in bits and pieces.. each side character shares something in common with Hei.

    For example, Mai demonstrates the lack of remorse and deprivation of common morality/feeling when a person becomes a contractor, The episode with Huang takes the perspective of a commoner and demonstrates the sense of shock and helplessness when Hei had to constantly watch his sister commit mass murder in a chillingly casual manner, and yes Huang’s lover died and his memories were erased, leaving serious likelihood that the exact same thing happened to Hei in his sister’s final moments. November11’s story is used to mirror Hei’s loyalty to his partners.. and the contractor who uses electricity as weapon is a reflection on Hei’s childhood dreams.. Havoc points to his past encounters and the horror on the battlefield as a commoner who feels guilt.. and the list goes on and on.

    so even though the series doesn’t talk about things from Hei’s perspective very often.. in the end, especially the last episode, you get a sudden revelation of what Hei feels.. and the more detail you were able to grasp from the humanity touch of this series throughout earlier episodes, the worse you feel in the end. As a result i was depressed for quite a while.

    I also think it’s not true that Hei failed to realize his sister’s death until the last episode. When he had a confrontation with Amber inside the Hotel where he activated Bai’s powers subconsciously and heard Bai’s voice through the Meteor’s fragment, he probably knew she was dead right then. And the shock from the realization just made him collapse.. that scene really killed me.

    Therefore throughout the journey Hei was always close to Bai in a sense that she passed on her powers, but they were never able to have a real reunion.
    The stuff that went on between this brother and sister is depressing me a whole lot.. but there is an OVA coming out and I hope to see them more there.

    stellar
    Reply

  139. Decent ending. But waaay too unresolved. I want to know if he ends up with Misaki or there needs to be some type of conveyance of Misaki’s or Hei’s feelings towards each other. Hei simply says coldly to her that there is no more Li. Lame!

    Like the blogger said, lots of potential in this series, but so not satisfied.

    hei kun
    Reply

  140. This is interesting: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-06/bones-studio-addresses-allegedly-leaked-document

    “It hasn’t been decided yet. We are interested in doing them. As original science-fiction works, they were extremely fascinating. With these kinds of dramatic story lines, I feel that there’s a lot we could do potentially.” – BONES about second seasons for FMA and Darker Than BLACK.

    Seems like there’s possibly gonna be another season. I so hope that there will. After all, the OVA was only a little extra comedy story. I wanna see more of this anime!

    Mizu
    Reply

  141. @cure: same! Im glad that Yin and Hei lived together in the end. Of course they stayed together, it’s obvious! They are the only ones left from their unit, and they are still being targeted by the syndicate. Even in the end, it showed Hei walking off as Misaki chased him, he disappeared just as Yin’s apparition disappeared as well, indicating they are both together; it’s just my theory, but Hei could’ve already evolved into an ultimate contractor seeing as he could now fully utilize Bai/Qing, his sister’s powers, and that it even influenced Yin that she was able to make her apparitions appear into a human shape form of herself.

    Seeing as that old scientist guy explained that Hei now had the capability to make humans into contractors, then it would be easy for him to give powers or “upgrade” Yin, making her able to go back like when she was still human, able to express her emotions and have her own will (well she already had one to begin with, all dolls have one- they are humans after all, just those whom experienced tragedy and became like that)

    Also although most people thinks of the pairing of Yin X Hei as a sibling-like relationship, IMO it’s quite different. If it was that case, then he would probably been closer to Yin from the start, and it wouldn’t make sense for him to do so seeing as he was still looking for his sister at the time; also, it doesn’t make sense for Yin as well seeing as she’s purged most of her emotions. If it’s anything, then I believe it’s her attraction towards Hei, it is quite a strong theme or point from this series, seeing as almost everyone that Hei interacted changed completely (like Huang, Mao, Mai, Amber, his sister, Misaki, Nov.11, Yin, Havoc etc.)

    He affects everyone, humans (Huang and Misaki), Contractors (Nov.11, Amber, that chinese bodyguard guy, his sister, Havoc, etc.), and even dolls (Yin and that doll in the first ep. who died by protecting him – he even said that she was alive). I thought it was befitting that it was revealed that he was human indeed, and that his powers are actually his sisters, infused within him, which I think is also one of her sister’s ability.

    So just like Misaki had a natural attraction to Li/BK201/Hei, then Yin would most certainly have one, seeing as she was there by his side all along. This was why she was able to live on, I think. If she hadn’t met up with Hei, then she would certainly remain like a lifeless doll, unable to have it’s own will and emotions. BUT because she met him, and is able to understand his feelings and his past from watching him and hearing about his life from others (such as Amber and Huang), she fell in love him, and even voiced out her emotions from this episode telling him not to leave her alone.

    I have to say that this pairing is quite a strong point as well in the series asides from the mysteries, seeing as the indication about Yin’s emotions started earlier in the series in ep.6 when she held his hand when Hei was feeling down after not being able to protect Havoc, also she acts on her own and observes Hei (like from the gate incident in ep.12), the time where she hears Hei calling her his partner and her choosing to stay by his side to remain as Yin, and I thought it was quite an overshadow when Amber told Yin about the Hei and told her in the end to “take care of him”. It was quite an indication that Amber already knew the future, and might have already known that Hei would choose to leave the world as it is, that’s why Amber told Yin to take care of Hei, and it was already revealed at this point that Yin loved him, when Amber reminisced that when she saw Hei’s real smile, she fell in love with him and thought that she would do anything for him and to his smile again, and she mentioned that it was the same with Yin.

    This alone indicates that Amber acknowledges Yin’s feelings for Hei, but in the end she still hoped that Hei would choose to be with her and his sister after creating a neutral world – where Hei could see the real stars and those whom have passed away BUT not those who are still living; so it was a choice between Yin and Misaki (still living) and Amber and his sister (whom are dead already – FYI Hei was the one who killed his own sister, which was why he cried, unable to see his own sister suffering anymore) Also in the end, Yin even cried out to him just as he was about to lose himself in the dark hole, telling him to come back and stay with her – quite a moment between the two – I EXPECTED A HUG THOUGH! DAM! THEY COULD DO AT LEAST THAT MUCH LOL!

    Oh well I have to admit these pairings are quite a strong theme:
    Yin X Hei – proving that dolls have emotions and will. Also the pairing is quite romantic and possible seeing as Hei views dolls as humans and cares for them (this was pointed out from the beginning of the series (when that doll went against her orders and protected him by sacrificing herself). I believed that the doll even loved him at that point. So for sure Yin loves Hei, and thank goodness they’re together in the end!

    Misaki X Li/Hei – shows that humans and contractors can co-exist. To laugh and have fun together, and to even help each other in times of need. It was too bad that this relationship didn’t develop any further, especially since Misaki now knows about Li’s true identity and would even want to meet with again (too bad though since he’s probably just hiding in Tokyo or worst – he’s already gone far far away from Tokyo(just as the Hoshi-sama predicted) with Yin – and that the last vision of him was just Yin’s doing, just to relay a message to Misaki that he was fine or something) I had hoped this pairing would develop in the end seeing as they have quite a potential, but oh well, I guess it’s just open ended and that Misaki would just be chasing him till she can meet with him again.

    Amber X Hei – Now this is a pairing that I had hoped would have more flashbacks and more details about them. Since Amber is very much in love with Hei, enough to do what she did for him. I admire the fact that even though she traveled through time and foresaw such events, she still managed to love him, and do those for him. I admit it was a sad parting, but I couldn’t really shed a tear, if it was Yin I wouldve, but since Amber’s character wasn’t developed enough, it wasnt as sad. If more of their past was revealed like how they became close to each other, enough to work together in the past, and even decided to run away together – then this pairing would’ve been far more stronger. It’s too bad, but in a way it was a relief or else i would’ve been pissed off that she died and wasn’t chosen by Hei.

    In conclusion, I had hoped all along in the series that Yin and Hei would live together and that came true! Even though it was only open minded, it was obvious that the two are now running away and hiding together just like Kenji and that doll. Though I hope that Hei can live peacefully and happily with Yin, and hoped that they’ll have a loving relationship which is quite a possibility just like Kenji and that doll, of course that little arc was shown to emphasize Hei and Yin’s relationship.

    SO HEI X YIN FTW!

    Yin X Hei FAN!
    Reply

  142. I just had a marathon of this show and it definitely ranked as one of my top anime, and I consider as the best. Ranking second! 😀 First is Yu-Gi-Oh LOL no seriously!

    Anyway xD There’s that leak about FMA and DTB of sequel and FMA’s was validated, so which means…:D so they say they’re ‘thinking’ about it, but heck, there’s sure to be a sequel. The question is..WHEN?!?!?!

    Tan-Tan
    Reply

  143. I enjoyed DtB also. I have to agree, though, that the ending left too many questions and had a lot of dialogue. I had to watch it a couple of times before I understood it. Omni, your summary helped me understand the plot better. Thanks for that!

    @Tan-Tan: LOL, Yu-Gi-Oh is my favorite series too! Well, just the Duel Monster series, though I haven’t seen GX nor 5D’s.

    I’m also hoping for a 2nd season of DtB. The OVA was amusing but I was hoping that it would expand/explain the story a bit more.

    As for the pairings, I liked Yin x Hei and Misaki x Hei, but from the beginning (i.e. the 1st OP) I expected Amber x Hei. Unfortunately, I ultimately believe that Yin and Hei see each other more like siblings since Yin seems much younger than Hei (10 yrs apart?). Amber was introduced too late in the series and without enough character development. Therefore, I was hoping for Misaki x Hei, but that didn’t materialize in the end. O well.

    My 1st post!

    TKO
    Reply

  145. “Anonymous at 2:47 am on October 2nd, 2007
    Man that makes Hei a fucking God. He has the power to make other people contractors, kill them by fucking shocking them, and when combined with shit, he can obliterate existence.”

    Agreed.

    I gotta admit, the title drew me in and it lived up to my expectations. Solid, and none of this mainstream anime bullshat. BONES has impressed me =)

    invAZN
    Reply

  148. Hei is one of the the worst anime villain.

    He killed all the good guys, the contractors who fight against syndicate so that they can live a good life.

    Amber is stupid for not killing Hei. She just let him walk away after he killed so much contractor. Dumb woman.

    I just feel sick watching this anime. There is no justice, just an evil monster (Hei) got unpunished after committing so much crime of killing innocent contractors. I sympathize with all the contractors who got killed.

    gatariboi
    Reply

  149. I’ve been watching this series whilst following your blog! It was very helpful for me as I agree that every single line was important to the plot!! I also feel that there needed to be more closure because I’m still unsure about what the meteor fragment does. But anyway, it was an enjoyable series overall and I loved it 🙂

    cli
    Reply

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