[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Darker than Black 7
Darker than Black takes a decidedly comedic turn as a private eye and his pink-haired teenage assistant are sent by an attractive widow on the trail of a missing cat. This change in tone would be bad news for many shows but in this case the end result is really entertaining: the parody aspect raised many a smile while still progressing the story.
I’m a huge fan of the hard-boiled detective stuff, having read a number of Raymond Chandler stories as well as enjoying the Humphrey Bogart classics such as The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon. Because of this, the cliches and general atmosphere really struck a chord with me in a big way. Kurosawa, the gloomy, cynical private eye, introduces himself by a melodramatic monologue that’s rudely interrupted by his hyperactive sidekick Kiko; from then on it’s a screwball comedy as we learn that he’s short of work but has an aversion to cats - something that unsurprisingly gets in the way of his investigation!
Occasionally the comedy didn’t work too well - every anime comedy I’ve seen so far seems to involve a lecherous male character getting hot under the collar over an attractive female - but it’s another fascinating arc that features a new Contractor. This guy is able to possess the body of his victims, and appears to be connected to Kurosawa’s investigation in some way. As the old gumshoe points out, the combination of beautiful widow, creepy maid and old mansion is a little too convenient: the whole thing looks like a set-up to me.
As always, the music and visuals are impressive: the jazzy soundtrack captures the Film Noir vibe and the brief action scenes are great too. I mean, when Hei trips the Contractor over you almost feel how much it hurts when he hits the deck! While I’m usually disappointed when story arcs in this series only last a couple of episodes, I think this one will outstay its welcome if it were any longer. The comedic approach works really well as a refreshing change but I can see the series going back to its dark and hard-hitting self by episode #10.
And for you neko fans out there, here’s a pic of one of the aforementioned darker-than-black cats. Because darker-than-black cats are cool.
Posted on June 6th, 2007 @ 7:32 am
I’m enjoying the story that’s unfolded so far. I think this episode worked better on some levels than previous ones. The relationship between the widow and her dead husband was intriguing. The idea that contractors do not have emotions is something they haven’t quite succeeded in exploring yet, but they have plenty of time left.
I think the universe they’ve established will work pretty well for 26 episodes, but it currently lacks something… resonance, maybe. Emotion, when depicted, is mainly expressed in stock anime clichés — cartoon violence, a quest for a missing sister — which leaves this series in distinct upper-B territory. It’s not as cheesy as a more traditional anime romp like Code Geass, but not as interesting or suspenseful as a series like Death Note. The rough concept of a fake sky with stars that correspond to people with superpowers is bizarre enough to be a little disappointing. If they manage to explain that in a more interesting way I’ll be duly impressed. Note the only reason I mention this at all is because the series is so close to becoming an all-time fave. The pouty schoolgirl violence in episode 4 left me in stitches. So over-the-top, very Elfen Lied! Hmm, I think I read somewhere that eating plateloads of food is not Hei’s remuneration, that in fact he doesn’t have one. I totally missed where that was stated. Any ideas?
Posted on June 6th, 2007 @ 8:31 pm
@relez: I think you’re right in saying Hei doesn’t have a remuneration or ‘obeisance’ or whatever it’s called - I think it may have been mentioned in episode 5 or 6…I can’t quite remember. That aspect confuses me a little, I must admit!
As for the show as a whole, it still feels like it’s getting off the ground and ’setting the scene’. I think that’s down to the seemingly unrelated two episode-long story arcs - I’m hoping it goes like a Tom Clancy novel in that seemingly separate threads come together near the end when they are shown to be connected after all. I often forget how early on in the series we are too - seven eps isn’t far at all for many shows of the same length.
Posted on June 8th, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Im loving this series. The latest two are really good. That reminds me to look to the soundtrack CD.
Posted on June 11th, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
Also seen ep 8 of this now - really wished that the PI chap would have a bit more oomph and at least try and fight a bit, he just seemed a bit…to normal for the series in my opinion.
I’m all for comedy and such, but didnt really see the point in these episodes - for this series there should be more comical things happening to Rei regarding his eating habbits, etc… I think this is just me though and I’m sure I’ll watch them again and love it ^_^
Wonder if this guy will feature more in the future…
Posted on September 16th, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
All im wondering is, where can i find the fansubbers continuing the series after its been licensed?
Yeye, you can tell me to support the rights of those who license the series and all that stuff, but some things to take into concideration:
1. Not everyone has all the moeny in the world to buy the dvd’s no matter how much they would like to.
2. Not every country has the same open mindedness to anime that other countries do. (although alot of countries are opening up to it there are still countries that are downright slowpokes when it comes to entertainment evolution. Mine happens to be one of these)
3. Even despite if the 2 other points weren’t the case (which they are) its still a matter of quality on the dvd’s. Personally i own a few anime dvd series already and if i listen to the translated english speak on it its downright crap, if i use the original japanese sound and look at the translations they are still crap. The fact is that most fansubbers are actually better at this than “pro” companies making the dvd’s!
Posted on September 16th, 2007 @ 10:59 pm
@Trond: The short answer is I don’t really know! I’ll continue blogging the series when it’s out on DVD so I wouldn’t really feel bad about watching the fansubbed versions before that. Unfortunately for us, the subbers stop posting the torrents in an obvious way in case they get prosecuted. The best thing to do is to google for the torrents because they are still listed on some pages.
Point taken with the quality of the picture and subtitles though - the great thing about fansubs is they’re not affected by issues caused by profit or copyright and can often be really good quality. It’s a recurring thing when stuff gets licenced, but I think that fansubs will continue to be in a moral and legal grey area for a while yet!