Spring Anime Impressions - Darker than Black - Kuro no Keiyakusha
17 April 2007
Next on the list is the mystery sci-fi drama Darker than Black, starring a very cool silent (and blind) loli Yin in it’s supporting cast, with Fukuen Misato as the seiyuu, who also voiced Black Cat’s Eve.
Opening Theme:
“HOWLING” by abingdon boys school
The OP starts off with a short recitation: “Now I’ve lost it; I know I can kill; the Truth is just beyond the Gates”, which seems to be a description of a Contractor; they lose their humanity and gain supernatural abilities to kill, and the reason for this is related to the Gate. While this is being said, snapshots of Hei, Huang, Yin and Mao fade in and out in quick succession, introducing us to most of the main players in this series. Near the end of the recitation, the words “Darker than Black” crawl across the screen. The title of this series is a play on the main character’s name, which means Black, and is also a reference to him being a Contractor; he is a cold-blooded killer, one hidden in the shadows, one who is darker than black, so to speak.
HOWLING is a rock song with plenty of raw emotions in it. As expected from the title, the main emotion I gather from the OP is one of regret and pain, present in the minor key and trailing phrases. I would guess that this represents the feeling of Hei, since he doesn’t seem to be entirely a killing machine; he treated a doll as he would a human. But then again he kills without hesitation or regret.
The majority of the animation sequence has an old-camera effect, with white lines appearing here and there simulating tape damage. It provides a juxtaposition for the background, which often is of a modern city or a bleak futuristic landscape. In the sequence we see Hei alone for most of the time; probably a reflection of his emotional distance. But there are portions where this woman is featured; she’s definitely linked to him, probably in the past, and probably related to his becoming a Contractor too.
The lyrics give us a little more information on what Hei could be feeling. There are mentions of pain and insanity, of yearning and loneliness; probably yet another reference to Hei’s troubled past, and making it seem more likely that that girl in the animation sequence is linked to Hei becoming a Contractor.
Overall, HOWLING is a typical abingdon boys school song and it really brings out the emotion behind the words in the song. The animation is somewhat stereotypical but with some nice juxtaposition that gives it a special touch.
Ending Theme:
“Tsukiakari” by Rie Fu
Well I’ve a little bit of a soft spot for Rie Fu since Life is Like a Boat; she’s well suited to singing such emotional songs. Tsukiakari has that same quiet and peaceful feel, yet for the second half there is a distinct feeling of longing, a yearning for something far and distant. The music is simple, mostly piano and drums with a violin and choral voices coming in at certain portions. The lyrics serve to counterpoint the peacefulness with mentions of feelings of love and yearning, with mentions of wanderings and a promise. And I cannot help but love the animation sequence. It starts out with showing a green lakeside with white flowers gently swaying, and then slowly pans up to show Yin kneeling on the lake surface as if the surface was ice, and above her the stars are shining in the night sky. The sequence ends with a close-up of Yin’s upper body, and with her blind eyes and silent style she truly brought out the feeling of waiting and longing expressed by the song.
Verdict
Darker than Black is definitely a show I will follow, with it’s potential for character development, cool fights and interesting characters, including that wonderful silent loli Yin. From two episodes I can begin to see a contradiction in Hei, in that he is supposed to have no emotions and in fact he says that himself, though not in the same form. But at the same time he treated a soulless Doll as if it were truly alive. An interesting duality indeed.
The other main factor in my picking up Darker than Black is the ED. Firstly, it is by Rie Fu and I like her voice. Secondly, it has a very peaceful and tranquil touch to the song. Lastly, and most importantly, the animation sequence, though simple, is so very effective. Of course featuring Yin helps too! This song is definitely one of my favourites for this season, together with Bokurano’s Uninstall and El Cazador de la Bruja’s music.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
“Darker than Black OPED Impressions” would make a better title.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Yin is far from being a loli, she’s around 18ish like the detective sidekick girl.
And yeah…all you did was talk about the op and end without more then a few sentences of the show =/
December 16th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce