DVD Review- Darker Than Black vol. 1
__THISRES__176272.jpg)
Funimation has been promoting Darker Than Black as the anime that shares an animation studio and some crew members with the legendary Cowboy Bebop. Darker Than Black is missing most of the elements that made Cowboy Bebop so popular, but the first volume at least is still entertaining and intriguing.
The setting of Darker Than Black is an unnamed city that, a decade ago, suffered a strange transformation: a large wall called the Hell Gate suddenly appeared, isolating a section of the city. Almost no one who entered the space beyond the Hell Gate ever returned, and its presence (as well as what happened to the people caught inside) remains unexplained. Coinciding with the appearance of the Hell Gate was the sudden manifestation of super powers in a small segment of the population, who came to be called Contrators. The powers are limited and carry a price; every time a Contractor uses their power, they must perform a bizarre task such as smoking a cigarette, eating huge quantities of food, or – gah!- breaking their own fingers. Most Contractors are true to their name- they sell their services to the highest bidder, whether the assignment is espionage or murder.
The city’s government has reacted accordingly by creating a law enforcement department to track and deal with Contractors. Darker Than Black’s resident cops focuses on foreign Contractors who have entered the city (making it clear the Contractor phenomenon is a global one). The department’s main obsession is BK201, an elusive and unusually deadly Contractor about whom almost nothing is known but who is responsible for untold numbers of deaths.
The series opens with a dead Contractor and a beautiful young scientist on the run. She’s got all kinds of information stolen from her lab at Hell’s Gate, and she decides the best way to hide is to work at a hostess club. Meanwhile, Chinese exchange student Hei moves in next to her and always seems to show up when she needs help outrunning the bad guys who want her secrets. Of course Hei…BK201 isn’t what he says he is, but then, neither is she.
The next two episodes deal with a scientist who was the only survivor of an expedition beyond Hell’s Gate. He used something he found there to suppress his own daughter’s growing Contractor powers. But Hei has to get involved when it turns out the man’s good intentions have paved the road to a particular kind of Hell.
The fifth and final episode on this DVD begins a new story arc. A young woman shows up in police custody, a girl with frightening Contractor powers that she has apparently lost. Everyone wants a piece of her: the government, the cops, the criminals, other Contractors, and BK201. Hei is one who succeeds, but what is his connection to this girl, and why does he want so badly to talk to her? We’ll have to wait until the next DVD is released to find out.
Darker Than Black is a slick, interesting show. It’s not because of the characters (who are little more than stereotypes at this point) or the setting (totalitarian city-states are as common in anime as they once were in Greece) but in the unique element of the Contractors, the circumstances surrounding their powers and the prices they must pay for using them. It lacks most of the qualities that made Cowboy Bebop so popular: eccentric, lovable characters, a quirky storyline and a sense of humor. But it succeeds at being what it is: an action show with supernatural underpinnings.
The first DVD does a good job of setting up the concept and engaging the viewer. Nothing is explained in the first five episodes, not even the presence of Hei’s friend, a talking cat. The stage is now set for a labyrinthine mix of thriller and fantasy, two genres that aren’t blended nearly enough.
The animation on Darker Than Black is nice, though the palette seems too bright for the dark nature of the anime. Character designs are nothing special, but the backgrounds are detailed, particularly the imposing figure of Hell’s Gate, which is a constant, claustrophobic presence.
Legendary composer Yoko Kanno did the series’ background music. She’s in one of her jazzy moods here, and while the kinetic score works for the chase scenes, it would better fit a bank heist movie than an anime where people are being constantly brutally murdered in various creative ways. Unfortunately, Kanno didn’t write the opening or ending themes, and it shows: “Howling”, by the band Abingdon Boys School, is jarring and unpleasant, while the ending, Rie Fu’s “Tsukiakari”, is one of those melancholy love songs that seems to end every anime being made these days.
Funimation has done a thorough job with their release of Darker Than Black. The dub is excellent, and the subtitles are some of the cleanest I’ve seen. The DVD has few extras, but the package at least is attractive.
It’s difficult to judge a series solely from the first few episodes, but so far Darker Than Black is making out to be a solid thriller. Let’s hope the writers can keep it u
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment