DVD Review: Darker than Black Vol. 5 and 6
FUNimation Distributes Aniplex Anime Directed by Tensai Okamura
Sep 1, 2009 Dominic von Riedemann
On April 5, 2007, Aniplex unleashed the 25 episode Darker than Black on Japanese television. It made a splash in Japan, winning the Best Original Anime of The Year award from teen magazine GoGoplex, but didn't quite go over as well on this side of the pond.
Now FUNimation has brought this overlooked series to DVD. Darker than Black Volumes 5 and 6 comprise the last parts of the original series, adding an extra OVA as a bonus to the main storyline. It's a clever anime that is more entertaining than it really deserves.
Tensai Okamura, Bones, Animates Aniplex's Darker than Black
A pair of Gates have appeared in the world – one in Tokyo, the other in South America – while the night sky has been blanketed by "false stars." At the same time, superpowered people known as "Contractors" emerged, and were used as spies and assassins by various governments. There's a relationship between these false stars and Contractors: a corresponding star vibrates whenever a Contractor uses his powers, and it falls from the sky if the Contractor dies. For that reason, Contractors are usually identified by their star's Messier Code.
Darker than Black follows a Contractor – a young man named Hei who regularly dons a mask and calls himself The Black Reaper – who works for a mysterious government organization called The Syndicate. A mystery, with conspiracy theory/ X-Files overtones, ensues.
Despite the marketing, Darker than Black isn't the darkest anime out there. The main characters are cookie-cutter creations: the brooding, romantic anti-hero, the gruff ex-cop, the female Type-A personality cop who knows "there's something going on," the boss with a mysterious agenda, and a talking cat that often acts as comic relief.
What saves Darker than Black is the way the script manages to combine these clichéd characters without making the audience groan. It helps that director Tensai Okamura wastes no time in getting to the action, showcasing Contractors with highly unusual powers like one who sprays his blood on an object and then, by snapping his fingers, makes it explode.
The animation, by Bones, is wonderful: no static images, or re-used stock footage. The characters are distinctively designed, and remain that way even when they change shape or chronological age. That's a sign of an animation team that's truly on the ball. Yoko Kanno's score gets the job done: it supports the action without being too intrusive.
DVD Extras
Other than the trailers for other FUNimation products, production artwork, and textless opening and closing tunes, Volume 5 features a solid audio commentary for Episode 22, while Volume 6 features a decent commentary for the bonus Episode 26.
The Final Analysis
Take a little bit of The Crow, add some X-Files, plus every super anti-hero comic or manga you've ever seen and you pretty much have Darker than Black locked. However, the stunning animation, taut screenplay and smokin' action sequences make this a much more entertaining anime than it has any right to be.
Darker than Black Volumes 5 and 6 get an 8/10.
Darker than Black Vol. 6 cover art
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