Darker than Black ep.02

April 13, 2007 | 34 Comments

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.

As Li and Haraguchi go back to their apartment, Haraguchi asks the guy if he knew that the falling star above signifies the death of the Contractors. This means the current falling star implies that a Contractor passed away somewhere right at this point. She also mentions how 10 years ago, the real starlit sky disappeared and was replaced by this fake sky. Fear of information spread regarding ruthless and powered individuals called Contractors and soulless bodies known as Dolls, forced government from each country to use ME, the new technology from the gate, to erase memory of those who got into contact with these information. This is happening even when these countries make terrible use of these individuals' power. Upon hearing this, Li makes a comment how Haraguchi seems to know the full story. Chiaki admits that the reason is because she's been working at the research institute. Moreover, she has 'connections' to these individuals.

When she was a high school student, she thought her parents died in an accident. However, the truth was different from what she was told: her parents was actually killed by a Contractor. Ever since then, Chiaki has been 'fascinated' by these individuals. Meanwhile, Misaki is seen briefing his colleagues about the new Contractor. The astronomical division has find out that the French agent is known as Jean and his capability is substance exchange/teleportation. Although they've canvassed the scene of the crime, they haven't been able to find any trail. She also reminds them of how fatal this case would have been if they are negligent. Misaki especially want them to be careful and on the lookout for BK-201. At the same time, Li and Haraguchi have arrived back at her room and find out that the place has been ransacked by someone. Li asks Haraguchi to change and he'll be next door if something happen but Haraguchi asks Li not to leave her alone.

As a result, Li decides to take Haraguchi back to his room and agrees not to turn on the light per her request. While the two lie on the mat, Haraguchi mentions that although she should have gotten used to arragement of the apartment's room, she still finds it weird and fake-like. She also explains that she has only been here for 2 weeks but actually feels more alive for the first time. And although she thought she wouldn't be able to do her job, she unexpectedly likes it. Haraguchi admits that she doesn't know if her real self is the person who does research all the time in that research centre or the person who lives in this apartment. However, she knows that she's excited at the prospect of Louis picking her up soon and realises that she can't go back now. Upon hearing this Li wonders if the guy is reliable so Haraguchi laughs and admits that there's no such thing. She can only depend on the guy. In response, Li asks her to run away together.

Haraguchi tells Li that he's done enough today but Li claims that him coming here is fate and meeting her today was foretold by divination. Haraguchi is shocked to hear this and embrace the guy. She asks Li what he's talking about and advises the guy that he'd be better off running away on his own. In response Li claims that his face was already seen anyway so their pursuer will come to this room soon. As Haraguchi shivers in fear, the two hear footsteps coming from the stairs. As it turns out, however, these are just the footsteps of the two detectives, who have come to inspect Chiaki's apartment. The two are surprised upon seeing the apartment, realising that someone has gone here before them. Despite this, they still intent on combing the area to look for clues. While doing so, however, they hear noises coming from outside the window. When they check the source of the noise, however, they find out that it's just a black cat.

In order to avoid the detectives, Li takes Haraguchi to a late-night restaurant and details his plan. He has an acquintance who works at Macao foreign trade and can help them preparing passport. Haraguchi is shocked to hear this and wonders if Li intends on using forged passport to illegally enter the country. This makes her wonder if he really is a foreign student. When Li tells her that he got his circumstances too, Haraguchi muses that she was unaware that this country has become unsafe. WTH? There's a Hellgate nearby and she makes a comment about illegal immigration? Anyway, Li mentions that the problem is they need a lot of money so Haraguchi suggests that they sell information that she obtains from the Pandora centre. Li is happy to hear this since information about the gate can be sold for high price. Haraguchi assures him that it's a special information about ME technology. Upon hearing this, Li believes they can sell it for high price.

Upon hearing Li calling her using "Haraguchi-san", Chiaki decides to inform the guy that Haraguchi is actually a fake name. Her real name is Shinoda Chiaki. Upon finding out about this, Li also introduces himself. Their conversation comes to a halt when a waitress brings a truckload of foods into their table. Chiaki is horrified when she finds out that Li is going to consume all of them. After sipping some wine, she tells Li that he's going to get fat. He might be okay now but he's going to be fat for sure by the time he turns 30. The two then laugh this off but Chiaki then realises that her eyes has become glassy. Because of this, she excuses herself and goes to the restroom. This allows Li to talk to his colleague, an elderly man who sits behind him. The man praises Li's skill but he orders him to get the item already. He also tells Li that there are men coming here so they need to erase her memory before the situation becomes troublesome.

Li looks at the window and notices Jean's henchmen heading towards the restaurant. Because of this he quickly finishes off his drink and heads towards the restroom area. Inside the restroom, Chiaki washes her face and notices the blank state of her eyes. As soon as she gets out, Li pushes her into the kitchen but unfortunately the henchmen already notice their presence. As soon as they enter the kitchen, one of the henchmen starts to shoot at Li and Chiaki using his gun. In order to distract the guy, Li throws a bag of flour towards his opponents, hoping it'll distract them enough while he and Chiaki makes their way towards the emergency exit. Unfortunately, the other henchman blows up a bag of beans, causing its content to fly off at rapid speed, killing the chefs and injuring Li's shoulder. Li closes the door and blocks it with a locker before running away. Later on, the man with a gun contacts Jean while the other guy eats a flower. No, seriously.

A few hours later, Mao the cat informs the rest of Hei's group that Hei has ceased communicating with him. The older man wonders if this means that Hei betrays them. Mao, however, disagrees, pointing out that Hei has no reason to betray them. The older man argues that Hei has been behaving strangely and wants to know why he hasn't killed Chiaki. The old man thinks Hei is wasting their time. Mao agrees that Hei has changed so the cat asks Yin what Hei is doing at the moment. Yin tells her comrades that she has no idea because Hei is in a place without water. That place turns out to be in front of a building in the city. Chiaki is trying to bandage Hei/Li while apologising for the incident. She feels that it's her mistake and wonders if she can never escape from this. In response Li tells her that she looks tired and her face looks kind of dead so he suggests that she sleeps a bit. Chiaki admits that she's tired and rest her head on Li's lap.

Chiaki feels that she's been brandished by these individuals. Everytime she tries to escape from them, they catch up to her and disturb the life of everyone around her. Chiaki feels that she can't forgive them but what she can't forgive the most is the way she's 'entranced' by them. Chiaki tells Li that when her parents died, she couldn't testify even though she saw the killer. Apparently the Contractor was a child and although she couldn't see the child's face, from within the darkness, she could see the spark in the kid's eyes. She admits that it was beautiful and dream-like. Upon hearing this, Li thinks Chiaki would be better off forgetting her memory of the Contractor. Chiaki, however, argues that if she throws away that memory, she wouldn't be herself any longer. Chiaki then opens the heel in her shoes, revealing a key inside it. As she hands the key to Li, she tells him that she believes he has memory that he can't erase even though he wants to.

In response Li tells Chiaki that a Contractor is just a killing machine who wears human's skin. In order to minimise the risk, they usually kill witnesses. These individuals according to Li, are liars and betrayers. The next morning, the two travel to a train station to open a locker with the key. Inside the locker, they find a book. Unfortunately Jean and his henchmen also arrive at the same time so once again Li and Chiaki try to get away from them. As the two walk along the street, however, Li notices a police car nearby so he whispers to Chiaki's ear, ordering her to forget everything. Chiaki immediately stops walking while Li continues to walk on his own. She then falls unconscious while Jean and his henchmen go after Li. At the same time, Misaki receives a report that they have found the French men. Misaki, however, is shocked when the detectives also tell her that Shinoda Chiaki's dead body has been found in a river.

Meanwhile, Chiaki that Li knows has regained her consciousness and decides to go after Li. Li himself has now return to being Hei and tries to check the book. However, it is filled with only blank page. Jean and the men then arrive on the scene, fully aware that Hei is a Contractor and killed Louis. Chiaki who overheard this appears from another side and asks Hei if this is the truth. Hei reminds Chiaki of what he said about Contractors being liars. Jean then remarks about how the mouse has walked into a trap and all of a sudden Chiaki's eyes becomes lifeless again. When Jean tries to shoot her, Hei shields her with his body. Jean then explains that the woman is not the real Chiaki but a doll that is filled with her memories. Jean's henchmen then shoot at Hei's body again, thinking that they finally killed him for good. They, however, are shocked when Mao appears and tells them that Hei wears a bullet-proof coat.

Preview

By the time the men looks back at Hei's body, Hei already moves and throws his string to choke a Contractor's throat and uses some kind of static electricity to kill him. Upon seeing this, the black guy explodes his partner's body, hoping that the explosion will kill Hei. Hei, however, manages to escape and throws his string to capture the guy's left arm before killing the guy with his power. Jean uses his substance exchange to kill Hei but Chiaki moves in front of Hei. As a result, her heart is now splattered on a wall. Upon seeing this, Jean runs away by replacing himself with the water in the river. Hei's comrades then appear. The old man asks Hei why he didn't kill the doll. Hei argues that Chiaki wasn't a doll. Meanwhile, Yin manages to find Jean's whereabouts so Hei kills Jean by dipping his leg in the river, sending electricity while the guy is in it. The episode ends with the police coming to Li's apartment, asking to see his alien registration and to contact them if he remembers something about Haraguchi.

Impression:

I really like the fight scenes in this episode. They really are exciting to watch because everyone gets to use their power. I was especially impressed with Jean's ability, which turns out to be substituting one thing for another. One of the henchmen's power was also quite nifty. He was able to explode anything and turn it into projectiles. From what I've seen so far, I think Hei's power is the ability to manipulate electricity. I remember how he uses static electricity to fix the TV and how the security system suddenly allows Chiaki to exit the room. In this episode, we see him using it to kill others. The most obvious one is the way he dipped his leg in the river while Jean was in it. Hei's price for using the power seems to be gorging food. Well, at least that's the impression that I got. He orders insane amount of foods. I do wonder why different Contractors get different price. How do they get a good deal out of their contract?

Moreover, can you choose the ability that you want? And what's the process to obtain it. It's interesting how Chiaki doll didn't seem to have any kind of power while Yin, who's also rumoured to be a doll seems to be able to track someone. Speaking of Hei's comrade, I sense future conflict between Hei and the older man. This group actually reminds me a bit of Cowboy Bebop. Even the soundtrack reminds me of that series as well. I also think that was The Seatbelts performing the song that was used towards the end. Last but not least, I sense a rather heavy illegal immigration theme in this episode. I find it a bit disturbing. Ignore this one if you want but I hate Misaki's formal tone towards the end when she finds out that Hei is a gaijin (foreigner). It's the same tone that dozens other police use when they find out that you're a gaijin in Japan. They immediately want to see your alien registration like you're some sort of criminal.

© memento 2003