Darker than Black (Japanese:Darker Than Black ー黒の契約者ー,Hepburn:Dākā Zan Burakku ーKuro no Keiyakushaー, "Darker than Black: The Black Contractor") is a Japaneseanime television series created and directed byTensai Okamura and animated by studioBones. 25 episodes were broadcast onMBS,TBS and their affiliated stations from April to September 2007. The series is set in a world where a spatial anomaly identified as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America and was followed by "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscapes. People with special abilities labeled as Contractors emerged shortly afterwards. The series follows agent Hei and his comrades in the Syndicate organization, operating in a vastly altered version of contemporary Tokyo to uncover the mysteries of Hell's Gate.

Darker than Black
First English DVD cover, featuringHei
Darker Than Black ー黒の契約者ー (Dākā Zan Burakku ーKuro no Keiyakushaー)
Genre	Mystery[1] Science fiction[1] Supernatural thriller[2]
Created by	Bones Tensai Okamura
Manga
Written by	Tensai Okamura
Illustrated by	Nokiya
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA:Yen Press
Magazine	Monthly Asuka
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	March 24, 2007 –November 24, 2007
Volumes	2
Anime television series
Directed by	Tensai Okamura
Produced by	Yoshihiro Ooyabu Ryou Ooyama Hiroo Maruyama Osamu Hosokawa
Written by	Tensai Okamura Shōtarō Suga (13–25)
Music by	Yoko Kanno
Studio	Bones
Licensed by	AUS:Madman Entertainment NA:Funimation (expired) UK:Manga Entertainment
Original network	JNN (MBS,TBS)
English network	SEA:Animax US:Funimation Channel
Original run	April 6, 2007 – September 29, 2007
Episodes	25(List of episodes)
Original video animation
Beneath the Fully Bloomed Cherry Blossoms
Directed by	Tensai Okamura
Written by	Shinsuke Oonishi
Music by	Yoko Kanno
Studio	Bones
Licensed by	AUS:Madman Entertainment NA:Funimation UK:Manga Entertainment
Released	March 26, 2008
Runtime	25 minutes
Manga
Darker than Black: Shikkoku no Hana (2009–2011)
Sequel
Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (2009)
Spin-off
Darker than Black: Gaiden (2010)

The series was adapted into twomanga series, which were serialized inKadokawa Shoten'sMonthly Asuka andSquare Enix'sYoung Gangan, respectively. A sequel to the anime series,Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor, was broadcast for twelve episodes from October to December 2009. In the sequel, Hei trains new ContractorSuo Pavlichenko and searches for his former allyYin. DVDs of the series includedoriginal video animations titledDarker than Black: Gaiden exploring Hei and Yin's relationship between the first and second seasons. In North America,Darker than Black was licensed byFunimation.

The series was created by Okamura, who was inspired by ninja and spy stories based on ideas he had after creatingWolf's Rain. In contrast toWolf's Rain heroic cast, Okamura wanted flawed and violent heroes such as the Contractors. While Okamura penned most of the series' contents, he left freedom to other writers, most notablyShōtarō Suga who takes over the work of main writer in the second half. Critical response toDarker than Black was generally positive for its handling of Hei and the other Contractors, though some criticized the setting and ending.

Ten years ago before the events of the series, a spatial anomaly which became known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America. It was followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. At that time, "Contractors", people with special abilities, capable of supernatural feats, emerged. Kept secret from the public, Contractors murder in cold blood and block their emotions with logic and reason. Their abilities are acquired at the cost of their humanity, and their name derives from the requirement to "pay the price" each time their powers are used. Nations and organizations around the world train and use Contractors as spies and assassins, resulting in violent battles for valuable objects and information.

After the 'Heaven's War', the United States loses its position as a superpower to a mysterious organization known as the Syndicate.Darker Than Black follows a Chinese Contractor code-named "Hei" as he undertakes espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo directed by the Syndicate. In his false civilian life, where he is known as shy a student under the alias Li Shenshun, Hei is assisted byYin, an artificial human known as Doll andMao, a Contractor trapped in a cat's body and overseen by former police officerHuang. The series has avillain-of-the-week format, with a variety of characters such as a Japanese Public Security Bureau who oversee the activities of dangerous people with supernatural powers.^[3]

Early in the series Hei is revealed as a former fighter in the Heaven's War, searching for his missing sisterBai; he believes that a woman known asAmber is responsible for Bai's disappearance after escaping from the Syndicate. Amber leads Evening Primrose, a group of Contractors targeted by the Syndicate who claim they are terrorists. Pandora, another group, investigates Hell's Gate; the Syndicate is using Pandora and its Saturn Ring weapon to attack Hell's Gate and annihilate the Contractors. This creates mayhem as multiple Syndicate agents target Huang who ultimately commits suicide. Hei and Yin meet Amber while Mao escapes from them. Upon meeting Amber, Hei is revealed to be an ordinary human who became able to use Bai's power after his sister placed his body onto his flesh through her powers. When Saturn Ring is activated, all Contractors except Hei are killed. Hei has a vision where he meets Bai and decides to betray the Syndicate. Amber uses her Contract powers to revert time long enough to enable Hei to destroy Saturn Ring, and Hei and Yin escape from the Syndicate.

Darker than Black was first announced in December 2006, and its first trailer was released in March 2007. It was created and directed byTensai Okamura.^[4][5] SinceDarker than Black has an original screenplay, Okamura often considered changing the plot, something impossible with manga adaptations, due to the need for consistency with the source material.^[6] Okamura originally wanted the series to be calledBK201, a code name, but the anime staff considered it weak andDarker Than Black was suggested by anMainichi Broadcasting System employee.^[7]

The idea forDarker Than Black came to Okamura while he was creating the animeWolf's Rain, and was based on his handling of protagonists. The main characters inWolf's Rain are heroic, unlike the violent protagonists inDarker than Black; Okamura wanted the latter's characters to be flawed, in contrast to those inWolf's Rain.^[8]Darker than Black was the first anime series created by Okamura, who said that it took him several years. As a child he read manga about ninjas, spies and superheroes, and was particularly influenced by aShirato Sampei manga about ninjas which helped young readers learn the art of ninja; "the spirit and the atmosphere of the spy series that rocked my childhood", such asThe Fugitive, were other influences on Okamura's series.^[8] In particular, Okamura wanted a series of ninja to be centered around modern Tokyo.^[9] The handling of the two Gates prominent in the series' world building was inspired byRoadside Picnic, a novel byArkady and Boris Strugatsky.^[10]

The bi-episodic structure is based on the experience when Okamura worked as storyboarder in the animeCowboy Bebop. They have space to dig more on the new characters of each new arc. The series compositor of the first half is Okamura himself, leaving a lot freedom to the writers. The second half, since this original show needs to be put into an end, it isShōtarō Suga handling the role as his first time being a series compositor. The writer team consists of Shinsuke Onishi, Yuichi Nomura, Suga, Kurasumi Sunayama, and Okamura himself. Okamura wrote first two episodes as the first arc. He wrote them in advance to start off the series. Ohnishi was Okamura's acquaintance in previous works, the latter describes him: offering interesting script without speaking a word. Ohnishi is the mostDarker than Black spiritual writer. Every episode with detective comedy is handled by him which is Okamura's original wish to make a 1980s-like Japanese detective story.^[10] His stories usually contains a clear theme structured by a thematic line and a complementary line.

Nomura is the writer that conceived the character of Amber and was credited at being really good at depicting beauty of humanity with cruelty. Nomura wrote multiple episodes focused on relationships as well as the final parts involving Amber, giving her a tragic ending despite the character staying on Hei's side until her death. Sunayama handles all the gang related stories, including the Hong Kong mafia, and Japaneseyakuza. In his story, the desires of the characters are extracted and deferred. In his writing, Nomura finds Hei as funny from time to time, as he tries pretending to be innocent and naive as a Chinese international student while his strength as a spy just overflows. Then Suga, the most important writer in theDarker than Black series, handles high concept and main plot related arcs, with Hei on the spotlight.^[10]

The Havoc arc first reveals to audience the possibility that Hei is not a Contractor. And then comes the inside-the-Gate episodes is the first time change really takes place for Hei'scharacter arc after meeting a man who shares the same dreams as him. Suga is the one closest to Okamura's worldview, since they kept doing the throw and catch, he asked Okamura about the settings, and helped him extract what and how he wanted to express. With Suga's control of the last few arcs, take the doll selling as example, the stories starts to converge, and the ending is designed by Suga.^[10]

Character designerYūji Iwahara inspired Okamura to work onDarker than Black, based on his work on the video gameKoudelka and its manga version. The narrative was inspired by Japanese dramas which divide stories into two consecutive episodes. As a result, every story ofDarker than Black takes two episodes to finish. Okamura wanted to give his audience comic and dark stories for variety. Actual locations, including Shinjuku and a police station, were photographed to make the series more realistic.^[7] According to Iwahara, Hei was the most difficult character to draw; he struggled for a subtle balance when designing the character. Hei's black eyes were smaller, creating a cold impression, later becoming more expressive. Li, his civilian persona, was originally gentle-looking. Iwahara accepted the offer because he was interested in the project, and wanted to do something different after his previous serialized manga. Although he found the character sheets easy to do, he was daunted by the number of characters he had to create.^[11]

The team was tasked with depicting super-powered individuals fighting against a Tokyo backdrop, which was complicated. Okamura found early designs unacceptable; until his image of the characters matched Iwahara's, the pictures were redrawn many times. Iwahara found his work on the anime more challenging than his manga, since he had to keep up with staff requests and had little artistic freedom.^[11] Takahiro Komori adapted Iwahara's work for animation, retaining the essence of the original designs and making the animators' work easier; Huang's hat and Yutaka Kouno's and Mayu Ootsuka's clothing were changed. Colour designer Nobuko Mizuta was disappointed because much of the series is set at night and the main characters' clothing is generally dark-coloured, but she gave the guest characters brightly-coloured clothes. Komori said that when he draws female characters, he pays special attention to the line connecting her buttocks and legs. The series' first opening scene has a silhouetted nude woman following Hei, which had to be corrected in subsequent episodes. The artist had mixed emotions about sexualizing female characters but in the end decided to sexualize them to appeal to the audience.^[12]

The series' soundtrack was composed byYoko Kanno in 2007. The series uses four pieces oftheme music: two opening themes and two ending themes. "Howling" byAbingdon Boys School was used as the opening theme for the first 14 episodes while "Kakusei Heroism (The Hero Without a "Name")" byAn Cafe was used as the second opening theme from episodes 15 onwards. "Tsukiakari" (ツキアカリ, lit. "Moonlight") byRie fu was used as the ending theme for the first 14 episodes while "Dreams" byHigh and Mighty Color was used as the second ending theme from episodes 15 onwards.^[13] The lyrics of "Howling" focus on Hei's characterization with Okamura commenting that parts of it delve into elements the character briefly saw.^[14]

The soundtrack has 20 tracks, including the opening and closing themes performed by Abingdon Boys School and Rie fu. Other non-instrumental songs were written by Tim Jensen and performed byMai Yamane (tracks eight and 10) and James Wendt (tracks 14 and 19).^[15] It peaked at number 57 on theOricon albums chart.^[16] Tensai Okamura wanted 1970s-type folk music which would convey the impression of darkness.^[7]

When approached by Okamura, Kanno recalled being given ideas about a detective series to give her music a distinctive style. When she began composing the soundtrack, she did not have a scenario or setting in mind when she met Okamura again. Some of the background music is typical Kanno as heard inGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, but other tracks are livelier; she wanted to write glamorous songs. Kanno cited old French films as inspiring the music ofDarker than Black, wanting it to contrast with the series' emotionless characters; Latin music was another influence, and she appreciated sound director Kazuhiro Wakabayashi's assistance with the soundtrack.^[17]

Darker than Black was conceived byTensai Okamura and produced byBones andAniplex. The series was broadcast onMBS andTBS from April 6 to September 28, 2007.^[18][19][a] The series was also streamed onNifty during its broadcast run.^[20] Aniplex collected the episodes on nine DVD sets which were released from July 25, 2007, to March 26, 2008.^[21] The ninth and final set included an additional episode, "Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom" (黒の契約者- 桜の花の満開の下,Sakura no Hana no Mankai no Shita),^[21] which explored the characters' romantic relationships. ABlu-ray box set, which included a guidebook and several unreleased musical tracks not available on the original soundtrack, was released in Japan on September 30, 2009.^[21]

On July 1, 2007,Funimation announced atAnime Expo that they had licensed the series.^[22] Funimation began streaming the series, with an English dub, in September 2008.^[23] They collected the series on six DVD sets, which were released from November 25, 2008, to August 11, 2009.^[2][24]Darker Than Black began airing on the Funimation Channel in September 2010.^[25] Funimation released the season on Blu-ray on May 12, 2015.^[26][27] In January 2016, the company said that their rights to the series had expired.^[28]Manga Entertainment released the series in the United Kingdom as a compilation,^[29] andMadman Entertainment licensed it in Australia.^[30]

A second season,Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (Darker Than Black ー流星の双子ー,Dākā Zan Burakku -Ryūsei no Jemini-), was broadcast on MBS and TBS from October 9 to December 25, 2009.^[31][32][b] Aniplex collected the episodes in nine DVD/Blu-ray sets, which were released from December 23, 2009, to July 21, 2010.^[33][34]

On July 2, 2010, Funimation announced atAnime Expo that they had licensed the second season.^[35] Funimation released the series on DVD and Blu-ray on November 8, 2011.^[36] Their rights to the second season expired in 2018.^[37] Manga Entertainment released the series in the United Kingdom as a compilation,^[38] andMadman Entertainment licensed it in Australia.^[39]

A four-episodeoriginal video animation (OVA),Darker than Black: Gaiden (Darker Than Black 外伝,Dākā Zan Burakku Gaiden), was included on the second, fourth, sixth and eighth collected Blu-ray and DVD sets ofDarker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor released from January 27 to July 21, 2010.^{[40][41][42][34]} The OVAs are set in the time between the two seasons. Hei and Yin have left Tokyo and are on the run from the Syndicate. They are attacked by Contractors, and Hei notices Yin's alter ego Izanami (who would bring about the end of the world). Yin asks Hei to kill her; the Contractor cannot, and they are caught up in an explosion. Hei becomes depressed after Yin's apparent death; a CIA agent tells him that Yin is still alive, setting up the events ofGemini of Meteor. The closing theme is "Darker Than Black" by Yasushi Ishii. For the English-language release, the OVAs were included in theGemini of the Meteor compilation.^[43][44]

Amanga adaptation, illustrated by Nokiya, was serialized inKadokawa Shoten'sshōjo manga magazineMonthly Asuka from March 24 to November 24, 2007.^[45][46] Its chapters were collected in twotankōbon volumes, released on August 23, 2007, and January 24, 2008, respectively.^[47][48] The series was licensed for English release in North America byYen Press,^[49] which released both volumes in anomnibus edition on June 15, 2010.^[50][51]

A second manga adaptation,Darker than Black: Shikkoku no Hana (Darker Than Black ー漆黒の花ー,Dākā Zan Burakku -Shikkoku no Hana-, "Darker than Black: Jet Black Flower") illustrated byYuji Iwahara, the anime series' character designer, was serialized inSquare Enix'sseinen manga magazineYoung Gangan from May 15, 2009, to January 21, 2011.^[52][53] The manga is set one year after the events of season one, and focuses on Hei on a mission to stop one Contractor from giving civilians the chance to become like him. Square Enix collected its chapters in fourtankōbon volumes, which were released from October 24, 2009, to March 25, 2011.^[54][55]

Twofanbooks,Darker than Black: The Black Contractor Official Fan Book – Tokyo Explosion Investigation Report (Darker Than Black-黒の契約者- Official Fanbook トーキョーエクスプロージョン調査報告,Dākā Zan Burakku -Kuro no Keiyakusha- Ofisharu Fanbukku Tōkyō Ekusupurōjon Chōsa Hōkoku) andDarker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor: Official Fan Book – Mitaka Document Analysis Report (Darker Than Black-流星の双子- Official Fanbook 三鷹文書分析報告,Dākā Zan Burakku -Ryūsei no Jemini- Ofisharu Fanbukku Mitaka Bunsho Bunseki Hōkoku), were published by Square Enix on October 24, 2009, and September 25, 2010, respectively.^[56][57] The characters Hei and Suo also appear inHeroes Phantasia, a 2012role-playing game by Witchcraft.^[58]

The series was a jury recommendation in the "Animation Division/Long Animation" category of the 2007Japan Media Arts Festival.^[59] At the 2008 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation awards, Hei was the second "best male anime character"; Kazuhiro Wakabayashi was the best casting director,Darker than Black was the second-best television series, with the second-best original score, and Okamura placed fifth in the best-director category.^[60] Hei is a popular character in Japan, finishing seventh in the "Best Male Character" category ofAnimage's 2010 Anime Grand Prix.^[61] In aNewtype poll, he was the 10th-most-popular male anime character from the 2000s.^[62] The home-media releases of both seasons were successful in Japan,^[63][64][65] including the Blu-ray box.^[66] In the United Kingdom, the series was nominated for the 2009NEO Award for Best Anime.^[67] It was the winner of the "Best Original Anime" award by Japanese magazineGoGoplex.^[68]Japanator namedDarker than Black one of best anime of the 2000s, calling it a "beautifully animated show by BONES is sure to please anyone looking for a dark and serious show".^[69]

Critical response to the series was generally positive. AnAnime News Network reviewer, Theron Martin, wrote that although the setting was unclear, its narrative and cast were appealing.^[70] Reviewers have pointed out that the fight scenes and the handling of the Contractors contrasted with the more-lighthearted parts of the narrative.^[71][72] The series' final episodes received mixed reviews; Hei's character arc and his relationship with Amber and Yin were praised, but the ending was considered rushed.^[73][74][75] According to an Active Anime reviewer, most of the characters were generally three-dimensional and the narrative was compelling.^[1] A retrospective Fandom Post reviewer said that the series subverted viewer expectations because it aired in the same time slot as the popularCode Geass with appealing characters and fight scenes. Fans were disappointed by the ending's lack of resolution, to which character designer Iwahara responded with his mangaDimension W.^[76] AnAnimeNation reviewer said that the series was less popular in Japan than the West, and the Japanese audience was surprised by a sequel.^[77] The series has been compared toX-Men comics for its handling of supernatural fighters,^[78][72][79] and toCowboy Bebop for Hei's enigmatic characterization and stylishness.^[80][3]

The series' Japanese and English voice acting was praised, although Fandom Post suggested that deliveries were better executed in later episodes,^[76] while DVDTalk suggested the English dub for better immersion into the narrative.^[71]Tomoko Kawakami's performance as Amber, the actress' final work before her death, was called "solid";^[72]Jason Liebrecht's Hei was described as "a schizophrenic variation" ofSyaoran fromTsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.^[81] Anime News Network said that the Japanese and English voice actorssynched well with the video. "Howling" byAbingdon Boys School and "Tsukiakari" byRie fu were good contrasting themes in the series.^[70] The second opening theme, "Kakusei Heroism" byAn Cafe, was praised; "Dreams" byHigh and Mighty Color was said to lack the appeal of the first ending, "Tsukiaraki".^[81][74]Yoko Kanno's score was described as "unintrusive" byAin't it Cool News for the variety of instruments used for background music while Anime News Network commented it "achieve[d] a sort of synergy, pouring their considerable skills into a sequence of silent beauty and power".^[80][81]

In the two manga, Hei played in the other manga spin-off by Nokiya was criticized by MangaLife as "flat".^[82]

• Official homepage(in Japanese)
• Official homepage (MBS)(in Japanese)
• Animax's official homepage(in Japanese)
• Darker than Black (anime) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia