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ファイト／ステイナイト 
As I thought, the extra episode is just some kind of filler that happened between episode 14 and episode 15. It's like a flashback to the time when everyone was still together, similar to Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, I guess. This means that if you're looking for an answer to the questions that episode 25 left behind, you wouldn't find it here. Anyway, while this is not exactly a fantastic episode, it's quite funny and worth a watch if you're not busy. After seeing this, however, I get the feeling that we'll probably never see second season. After all, out of the 4 main characters, only 2 are still alive at the moment. I don't think I'd like to watch the show without Mao. And I don't even know what direction could a second season take after the ending? Humans vs. Contractors war could be an option but that kind of story doesn't lend itself to a one-off episodic plots that this series thrives on. Having said that, if there is a second season, I hope the writers will deal with some of the plot holes that the first season finale left.
This is so disappointing. After such a strong penultimate episode, the writers just let the series end like this without closing many of the plot holes that they've created. I've heard that there's episode 26 coming in one of the DVDs. But wow, that's a really lousy way of ending the series for the television viewers. I don't mind including some unaired episodes on the DVDs, but I think it's really slack of the producers if these episodes actually hold the answers to the storyline. Extra episodes on DVDs should not be anything more than one-off storyline like those Honey and Clover's side stories. I think the worse thing about this episode is that I really get the feeling that they're trying to emulate Evangelion's episode 26, which rivals this episode in its non-conclusion.
This turns out to be a fantastic penultimate episode. Although I don't have attachment to many characters on this series, it was still great to see them go out with a bang. One thing that I think the writers should have established earlier was the rapport between Hei's gang. The four members always work together but there was little team spirit between them in most of their missions. It's not until a few episodes ago they became a true team. In a lot of ways, their group reminds me of the Cowboy Bebop team. Huang's final gesture towards his comrade even remind me of Spike Spiegel's "See You Space Cowboy" finger gesture.
September 30, 2007 | 
5 Comments
Yeah, I'm crawling to the finish line. I think my problem is not so much with the actual series but finding the motivation to watch it. This episode seems to be the 'calm before the storm' kind of episode. I really enjoyed the simple and almost slice-of-life style of the 2/3 of the episode. The last 1/3 of the episode is also exciting because the series is finally heading towards the final confrontation. What I fear seems to be happening though. The series does not bother to give more information about the Organization. It simply states that just like any other organizations, it uses people like chess pieces. I guess it makes them more mysterious but at the same time, it makes me wonder why the Organization was conceived in the first place. Also, how did they get so much power to the point that they can override authorities and government.
September 24, 2007 | 10 Comments
This is a rather intense episode which concludes the MI6 part of the story. I think while the episode was pretty good, I'm not quite satisfied with how things are left unanswered. The thing is, I am not sure if the writers will have enough time to give the Organisation the back story it deserves or to explain how Hell's gate came into existence in the first place. With the focus stays on Hei's attempt to stop Evening Primrose or maybe helping them with whatever they are going to do, they don't have much time left to cover the above issues. I think the only things that the story will be able to cover in such short amount of time is the fate of the characters in the series. I just hope they do a good job at it.
September 11, 2007 | 8 Comments
Well, this is pretty good. The start was a bit slow but it's well compensated by the well-executed fights toward the end of the episode. I also like the way Hei and his group work together in a mission. It seems after the previous episode's incident, their teamwork becomes a lot more effective. Plot-wise, I like how everything is heading towards a climax involving the end of the Great Sunspot. I do wonder, however, if we'll ever find out about the diffection factions that exist in this story and their intention in regards to Contractors and the Gate. One thing that I feel is a bit extraneous is Misaki and her subordinates. I guess they need several characters to represent the normal human factions but at times they feel so removed from the general plot. Of course it doesn't help that they're always late and miss out on crucial informations.
September 8, 2007 | 6 Comments
Sorry for the extremely late entry but for some reason I find it hard to go back into the routine of watching the series. Upon watching this, however, I remember why this is the case. The story while pretty good, is also quite depressing. It's like a chronicle of a group of people who could never find happiness and everything from the narrative style to the ending song are used to emphasize this. On a more positive side, the story contains some interesting discussion about the difference between humans and Contractors. There's also an interesting twist that I didn't expect although I'm not sure if it's a good thing for Huang's character. In a way, it actually made him look like a fool and erased the justification that he had on the previous episode for hating Contractors in general. On an unrelated note, I've updated Kongetsu as usual.
Once again sorry for the late review. I am just not in the mood to write long summary lately. Much to my surprise, this episode is actually a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much since the main subject deals with Huang, a character which I have little sympathy for. This episode, however, does a good job of fleshing out his character and giving him enough reason for his behaviour. In addition to this, I really like the atmosphere and the style that the episode decides to adopt. The black and white sequences really make the episode look more noir-ish. And the animation is unusually high quality, something which I hope will continue right down to the finale.
It looks like the opening isn't so misleading when it comes to Hei and Misaki's relationship. I am not sure if there will be a romance between the two but it seems they will develop some kind of bond due to their high-risk job. Unfortunately, despite the potential that this arc promised, there's no exploration about the nature of the dolls whatsoever. In the end, the doll and Kenji are nothing more than just characters of the week that Hei must save. I'm even surprised at the lack of Contractors in this episode. If dolls are well-known commodities even amongst normal people, then I wish the writers will start informing us how dolls are used by non-Contractors.
This one seems to be a one-off story but there are some Amber-after effects coming out of last week's episode. I do hope that this 2-parter will shed more light on the doll's background and mechanism. I just feel that lately they start to resemble the name that's been given to them. This is a contrast from the first doll on the show, Chiaki, who's as normal as any other humans until her programming over-rides her. Ever since then, however, other "Dolls" including Yin, seems to be emotionally stunted and robotic. This makes me wonder if there was anything special about Chiaki that makes her far more humane than the other "Dolls"? More importantly, I'd like to know how and why someone decided to make a "Doll" in the image of Kirsi. If Yin was created to remind someone of Kirsi, then wouldn't it be in their interest to infuse Yin with Kirsi's personality? If Yin is actually Kirsi, why do some characters treat her like a robot which can be re-booted easily?
I'm sorry that this comes even later than usual but I've been sick in the past few days and didn't feel like writing anything until now. Anyway, this is a very gratifying episode because everything that I wanted to happen actually does happen in this episode. It's unfortunate that some of the incidents in question are not permanent because the show would be a bit more interesting if the writers actually killed a few annoying characters. In other note, I think the answer to Hei's love interest is provided in this episode. I think I was partially right in that it's a toss up between Amber and Yin. Misaki is still not on the picture though despite what the opening implies. In other note, the animation for this episode is unbelievably good. The flashback battle between November and Maki is a good example of this.
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR - Dreams (24.8MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
This is basically the new ED theme for Darker than Black. I'm not a big fan of the group so this is actually the first time I've heard their song. They're actually pretty good singers but the song, at least the longer version, doesn't sound as good as Tsukiakari. The PV itself is nothing special. I like the marble imageries but not so keen on the hair cutting part. There are so many things they can do with the PV but they instead settle down with many shots of a girl (who is the lead singer) getting her hair cut and styled by a hair dresser. Dreams will be released as a single on the 1st of August this year.
Large images will follow later. I'm kind of strapped for time at the moment
OP Theme: 「覚醒ヒロイズム ～THE HERO WITHOUT A “NAME”～」 (Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A “Name”~) by アンティック-珈琲店- (Antic Cafe) - AVI version (960 x 540, 42.4MB) | PSP version (14MB)
Well, things are starting to become interesting. I like how this time around the people targeted for extermination are the MI6/SIS guys. The series also come with a set of new OP and ED theme. I personally like the new OP better than Howling. I just think it's more consistent and there is some kind of rhythm to it. Having said that, the song is nothing special and the animation that accompanies it are not as good as the first OP. The new ED theme, which is performed by High and Mighty Color, is pretty good but I prefer Tsukiakari, which is far more melancholic in nature. This new song seems like a love song. It makes me wonder about the girl in the white hat seen with Hei and Yin. This brings me to another point, Hei's love interest, which I always thought is Yin. However, it seems like he'll either be paired off with Misaki or Amber.
This is definitely the kind of episode that elevates the series to more than just an action espionage series. There are so much emotions poured into Yin's scenes that even though the character herself seems emotionless, one can't help but sympathize with her. Unfortunately even after this episode, the character's past is still not fully explored. It would have been good if the series could deal with her character again in the future. However, due to the 2-episodes arc nature of the series, it'll be a while before we see another Yin-oriented episodes. In a way, this series is kind of similar to Cowboy Bebop when it comes to character-based arcs. In other note, this episode also did a good job in making the villains of the piece, especially Berta, look sympathetic. The only thing that feels off here is the appearance of Gai and Kiko but their appearances are quite limited that they don't detract much from the parts of the story which involve Yin.
After waiting for 12 episodes, we're finally rewarded with Yin's background story. It's interesting to know that her personality in the past is quite different from her current personality. It makes one wonders if Dolls actually retain the personality of the original person or if they have their own unique personality, even though they are limited by their program. In a way, the Dolls (and Contractors) can be compared to Replicants in Blade Runner or its literary source, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The main difference is that Replicants can mimic human emotion effortlessly while Dolls can't seem to do the same. There was actually some reference about Contractors not being able to see dreams on last week's episode so it's a natural extension for this episode to continue along that theme. As a side note, this episode also provides brief explanation as to why Tsukiakari is integral to Yin's story.
This one is a little bit hard to watch for me because I don't find the supporting characters to be that interesting. There was potential in Nick and Hei's friendship but since both characters were in their 'persona', I have no idea if their friendship was genuine or not. I supposed one can argue the friendship was genuine because back then, Nick didn't know about Hei's identity. I wish the actor who played Nick gave more emphasis in his reading of "I am happy to have met you". I think that line, when said to a friend can be very powerful but in this episode it comes across as simple pleasantries. As far as 'love interest' goes, Meena is probably the most annoying thus far. It doesn't help that Hei has this cold attitude towards her. As a result, there was lack of chemistry between the two characters.
Wow, I can't believe I finished that proposal. I thought it'll never end. Anyway, I'll have to play catch-up with the blog now, which will be hard but I'll try to do what I can. Things will probably won't return to the way they were until 1 or 2 weeks later though. It doesn't help that Summer season is about to start and I haven't decided what I want to follow yet. Thankfully at least 2 series that I follow right now is about to end soon. I'm referring to Death Note and Nodame Cantabile. This means I have at least 2 new shows that I can follow without much difficulty. The only problem that I have now is choosing which shows I want to follow. Anyway, Nodame Cantabile will come a bit later after I get a rest.
What's with Pizza Hut getting their hands all over anime series screened in Code Geass/Darker than Black's timeslot? It's not hard to tell that unlike other, barely recognisable brand, such as the infamous McDoness Burger, theirs is one of the few real-life brands which make it into the show without being disguised as something else. Personally, I don't mind in-series advertising, providing that the series' animation and writing quality remains good. Unfortunately, I feel that the series hasn't been as good in the past 2-3 episodes. I think the main problem that I have with this arc is Wei and his silly ability. His ability feels too over-the-top even for a series about super-powered people. I feel that I went from the usually constrained but stylish series to a tacky, over-the-top Speed Grapher wannabe.
I've been kind of disappointed with the last 2 episodes of this series. I especially dislike this one because the ability of the Contractor is starting to remind me of those freaks from Speed Grapher. I just think the new ability is a bit out there even for a show about people with super powers. At any rate, I hope we'll get to see more character arc. I've been wanting to know more about Yin, for example, but we never have a story about her. I suppose this episode was meant to give Misaki a background story. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything surprising about her background.
How do you write research proposal in less than a month? That's the question that I have to figure out after writing this and Nodame Cantabile's summary. It feels like it's been ages since I've been able to enjoy my free time. I don't even remember what other series that are playing at the moment. I should really catch up with Kekkaishi since I'm way behind but I really can't afford to spend too much time blogging until next month. Anyway, I don't really like this episode. It's not as amusing as last week's and it's not as engaging story-wise. I kind of miss the mysterious vibe that the earlier episodes provide. I suppose the writers want to show some variety in the story and in that respect, this episode works quite well. This episode also meant to be a character development piece for Mao but it's kind of hard to do character development for a cat and this episode proves that.
This episode is highly unusual but much to my surprise, I really enjoy it. To begin with, I like the pseudo noir style that the episode tries to adopt. What I meant by this is the use of typical noir elements such as the brooding detective, his cheerful secretary, the dangerous villain and most importantly, the seductive and mysterious femme fatale. The amusing thing about these elements is that the series doesn't hesitate to make fun of them. For example, it is a norm in a noir film for the detective to smoke cigarette and the poor secretary rarely have problem with this. In this episode, however, the secretary, Kiko, immediately coughing a furball and tries to open the window as soon as possible. I find it amusing because although a detecting standing in a dark smoky room is an important image of film noir, I'm sure that it's not a pleasant experience to stand inside such room.
This episode is amazing and I'm not even talking about the action. I am just amazed at how touching the dialogue and interaction between Hei and Havoc turn out to be. It's been a while since I've seen a one on one conversation which actually interest me. However, their conversation turn out to be really heart-warming and arresting for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with the jazz music that plays on the background or maybe it is because this is the first time I see a Contractor with an unguarded emotion. So far we've seen Hei 'acting' like he has some kind of emotion but I suspect he's actually pretending all of those times. In this one, however, both he and Havoc actually show something resembling true emotion. In fact, it's actually kind of creepy seeing Hei acting like he is in the first few minutes of this episode.
Rie Fu - Tsukiakari (45MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
Tsukiakari is the ED theme for Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha. The song is performed by Rie Fu, whom most people knew after her single, Life is Like a Boat. I've been looking forward to this PV but unfortunately the full song doesn't feel as powerful as the short version. I keep hoping that there will be a crescendo part of the song but it always ends on a plateu. The PV itself is nothing special but it's better than just showing the actress singing the song. It basically shows Rie Fu in various locales and in one instance, she can be seen jumping from a real world to a canvass. It makes me wonder if this has any significance to the actual Darker than Black plot.
Tsukiakari will be released on the 23rd of May this year.
It looks like James Bond is going to get some supernatural colleagues in the future if this episode is an indication of where MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, is heading in terms of recruitment. At the moment these agents seem to be okay although just like other Contractors, they seem to have no sense of mercy and are bordering on cruel. I think this is the interesting thing about the series. Having said that, I'm getting a little bit tired with how every single foreigner in this series seem to be either evil or have suspect personality. I guess Hei and his friends are supposed to be representative of the good guys. The problem is, I'm still not sure if I'm actually supposed to root for him or against him. After all, I know little about the organisation that he works for and what he does to all of the contractors that he finds in his missions.
This series continues to impress me episode by episode. Just when I thought that things will get boring and repetitive, the writers and animators prove me wrong. They've done such a good job in maintaining an episodic storyline while still including the overall arc in it. The action also doesn't let up and some of the things that have been shown in this episode are quite violent. This, however, serves as a reminder of the dangerous nature that each Contractor brings into the world. Those who can control their power may use it for their own greed while those who can't control the power will be an even bigger danger for the society. I know I keep comparing the show to Heroes but after this episode, the similarity is striking. And in a way, this series one-up Heroes because it presents the plotlines that Heroes want to show faster.
The first 2 minutes of this episode gave me the chill. I really thought I was watching a sneak preview of Heroes' last episode How to stop an exploding man. I wish I remember the sequence better but unfortunately the only thing I can remember was seeing a pile of bodies stacked on top of one another. In other note, I think the animators should stop giving this series green tint. I am not sure if they intended doing this or not (just like The Matrix producers did) but I find it rather unpleasant effect. Other than that, the colour pallette is actually better-looking this time. And I think this episode confirms that the price that Hei must pay for using his power is to eat a lot of foods.
This episode is a lot more enjoyable than the first episode. First thing first, the action is a lot more fluid and it's easy to understand what is about to happen when a character uses his/her power. Informations about the mysteries also start to come and this is a good thing because normally a show take at least 10 episodes before revealing anything. It also helps that the soundtrack is a lot better in this episode. One thing that concerns me is the episodic nature of the stories. Judging from the preview, it is obvious that they are going to deal with a new client. I'm just hoping that there will be continuous arc underlining these one-off cases. I guess I was quite right when I said that the group reminds me a bit of Jigoku Shoujo's group. Well, as long as the story is a lot more entertaining then this should be good. After all, series like Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi are episodic but still manages to be entertaining.
OP Theme: 「HOWLING」 by Abingdon Boys School - AVI version (20MB) | PSP version (14.3MB)
So yeah, I realise that I haven't done any Spring series and that's because there is nothing that I really want to follow so far. One or two series are okay but they don't give me that "Must watch" feel like some series from the past few seasons. Well, at least this one has some potential from what I've seen of the first episode. If I have to describe the first episode, I'll have to say that it's an odd combination of NBC's Heroes and Jigoku Shoujo team. I think you'll understand it better once you see it but basically it's a series about a group of people with superpower but with little to no emotion called "Keiyakusha" (Contractors). The police are involved as well as this mysterious group of Keiyakusha which are composed of three people and one black cat.