Anime Darker Than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

[Raiyuu]

It probably simplifies business deals for him to always [spoiler]possess the same cat. It means his partners always know it's him, presumably, instead of him having to surreptitiously crawl up to them in grasshopper-form and whisper "It's me, Mao"[/spoiler].

Or maybe he's just a cat person?

[Dagger]

Now this is my kind of humor! :) So many anime--especially the ones that are purportedly pure comedies--end up being not at all funny. It's also amusing to see Hei & co.'s sketchy activities from an outside perspective.

After reading Wild Seed, I expected [spoiler]the possession ability to involve killing the soul of the body you enter (and hence making each body you leave behind a dead and empty shell, impossible to return to).[/spoiler] This is a gentler version of the same concept. I wonder, though, [spoiler]where Mao's real body is--assuming he hasn't lost it--and how he keeps it from decaying in his absence.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Okay, so I [i]finally[/i] got around to watching Ep. 8. I gotta say, it was pretty boring, really. The only thing that made this plot all that great in episode 7 was the funny stuff, and without that, it was just sorta lame. If you look back on the episode, it really covered hardly any ground at all, not to mention the detective guy parts simply weren't exciting. Even the fight scene was brief and rather plain. All in all, I'd call this my least favorite episode thus far.[/COLOR]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#5d0b08][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Episode 9 really wasn't anything too special. Nearly the same as ever other odd numbered episode in the series. [spoiler]The new evil Contractor has a rather neat ability though. I'm not entirely sure what it [I]actually[/I] is. It consists of snapping fingers and making something inside a person's body explode. Leaving very unfashionable gaping holes in a person. The remuneration for it really sucks though. Having to slit your wrists? Doesn't sound like fun.[/spoiler]

This episode seems to focus more or Misaki and the rest of the National Police looking for a contractor who is killing a certain bunch of people which has been the topic of the day for the last couple of episodes. [spoiler] Alice (who apparently gets her high off stinging herself with bees that feed off of stone flowers which are from the gate) and her bodyguard Wei Zei Jung (who has an odd resemblance Haji from Blood+, and is the said exploding body contractor) seem to be trying to preform a kind of Coup d'état and yeah its nothing you haven't heard before[/spoiler]

Overall this episode gave me mixed feelings. It isn't anything I haven't already seen in this series already. But, there is a new contractor and new abilities which is always pleasing to see.

Something that actually made me kind of laugh though is how Hei just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I mean when Misaki is being[spoiler] shot at by an insane, high off an unique bee sting Alice and hides near a bush and Hei just [I]happens[/I] to be hiding in the same place being all "Oh hi, lol"[/spoiler]

I love moments like that.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

I liked the 7 & 8 arc a lot better than the first two arcs. Amazingly (to me, anyway), it was the first arc that I had some real appreciation for as a story--not for the cool side characters, grittiness, smooth battle scenes, quirky touches or whatever. The relationships between the widow, the husband and the ex-wife were characterized a lot more richly than, say, Mai and her dad. There was an ambiguity here that you just wouldn't get in [spoiler]their parting scene[/spoiler] or Havoc's disappointingly typical [spoiler]quasi-redemption through peeling beans with a nice family.[/spoiler]

In a way it's ironic, but this arc--which was supposed to be comedic--struck the most human chord for me. The garbage mansion was an incredible image--one that worked well even when they kept returning to it. I loved the fact that [spoiler]the widow [i]didn't[/i] actually kill the ex-wife. Her bitter speech about wanting her rival to rot and be forgotten & tainted was a lot more resonant and meaningful than a simple revelation of murder.[/spoiler]

I admire writing that brings real, recognizable emotions out of absurd or surreal scenarios... hence my affection for the last episode of Evangelion, and hence, probably, my enjoyment of DtB 7 & 8--which was, after all, done by the Ouran team, which overlaps not a little with the Utena team. Tra-la.

Time to go see episode 9.

But before that... I can't be the only one here who's addicted to Howling. Possibly the best OP of the season. Barring that, it's at least one of the catchiest. I've watched the otherwise unremarkable OP sequence too many times because of that song.

~Dagger~

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#5d0b08][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS][QUOTE=Dagger]But before that... I can't be the only one here who's addicted to Howling. Possibly the best OP of the season. Barring that, it's at least one of the catchiest. I've watched the otherwise unremarkable OP sequence too many times because of that song.
[/QUOTE]
Ah at least I know I'm not the only one. You know when your obsessed when you spend almost two hours looking for a full version of an OP only to give up yet still have the initiative to look for it again the next day only to find it in ten minutes, thereby waisting two hours of your life.

And yet I still find it worthwhile. That song is really that good.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Episode 9 was interesting. while it was just another part 1, I'd say it was the best part 1 so far. Kirihara is always cool (even if her ponytail looks extremely uncomfortable...) especially in that nice Mandarin dress. I think this show has lost pretty much any connection it couldn've had to cowboy bebop, favoring the sort of style of Witch Hunter robin more than anything.

the blood elf guy was pretty cool.[spoiler] His power was sick, not to mention awesome and I love the way he dispenses of the board members so calmly.[/spoiler] May i once more bring up how much I feel like i'm watching a comic book when I watch this. I loved the backstory part with [spoiler]Alice and Kirihara[/spoiler], and even though i didn't love this episode, the ending was enough to make me look forward to ep. 10.

Also, full-length [B]HOWLING [/B] is prolly one of my favorite anime themes ever. Fun listen. I'd love to remake this song as a black-metal song... [/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

@Ikillion: Wei's ability is more like [spoiler]being able to make his blood explode than just generally blowing holes in people. It was described as a matter-teleportation ability like Jean's in episode 1&2 so perhaps he teleports his blood and the surrounding matter to ... wherever. Slitting his wrists is necessary to make it effective, rather than being his remuneration[/spoiler]. I'm not sure we've seen him remunerate yet.

As for Hei being coincidentally in the right place, where were you for the rest of the series? The narrative position is one of my favourite quirks of the series. We never see Hei's preparation or infiltration, we (so far) never see his organisation's motives; he's sort of identified as 'main character' by his prominence in the OP sequence but we're forever only catching glimpses of his movements through the eyes of whomever we're following for that episode, whether it's the police or Gai/Matsukichi the wax-eared detective.

Barring the bits and pieces of backstory we keep being fed for Hei, Mao and the gang, they're set up more like antagonists than anything else. They're the perennial bad guys that just keep popping up to get in Kirihara's way.

Tangents aside: hopefully with Kirihara face-to-face with Hei's "Li" persona she might start putting two and two together; hopefully with Alice's [spoiler]stone flowers and resultant drug bees[/spoiler] we might get some more explanation about the Gate (the flora of which seem to be its main interest to most characters...).

And yes, I've spent two days this week with HOWLING spinning round and round and round on my mental turntable.

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS]I see what you're saying Raiyuu[spoiler], it just finally clicked in my mind that matter transportation can be used to take something out rather than put it in. My original assumption was that he had just probably put something inside of them at certain places to make them explode because well... yeah.

The blood thing makes sense as well because with the two people we've seen killed by him the gaping hole / holes appeared where his blood was split on them.[/spoiler] The only thing I want to know now though is how he isn't dead from cutting himself all the time! I mean that was a lot of blood. Then again this is anime, and when dealing with anime there is no such thing as logic.

As far as Hei Ninjaing his way in and out of places. I tried to always give him some kind of an accidental reason for being that like "Maybe he is hungry?" or "he could just be strolling down this...exact same road as this person". This time felt kinda blah though because "Oh hey there, I just happen to be hiding in the exact same bush you are for absolutely no reason since there hasn't been any emergency or anything as far as I am supposed to know" Didn't work out too well. It did make me laugh though.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

[quote name='Ikillion][color=DarkRed][size=1][font=Trebuchet MS]I tried to always give him some kind of an accidental reason for being that like "Maybe he is hungry?" or "he could just be strolling down this...exact same road as this person". This time felt kinda blah though because "Oh hey there, I just happen to be hiding in the exact same bush you are for absolutely no reason since there hasn't been any emergency or anything as far as I am supposed to know" Didn't work out too well. It did make me laugh though.[font=Verdana][size=2'][color=black][/quote]I think you're still missing the point ... on this, and every other occasion he's popped up seemingly at random, he's there because he's undercover, doing whatever his 'job' is. I assume he became a waiter at the party precisely so that he could gain access to those flowers, or Alice, or Wei, or whatever it is his organisation has him investigating/capturing/killing this week. Likewise, he kept 'coincidentally' running into Gai because they were both investigating threads of the same mystery.

In this particular episode, he's actually the one with a valid reason to be there, while Kirihara is the one that's ended up in the right place and right time mostly by accident. That is, I assume he's deliberately infiltrated the Triad and deliberately 'got lost' and found himself in the flower garden ... while Kirihara just sort of went wherever Alice dragged her and ended up discovering evidence significant to the VI952 case more by luck than judgement.
[/color][/size][/font][/font][/size][/color]

[Dagger]

[SIZE=1][center][i]A night sky full of cries
Hearts filled with lies
The contract--is it worth the price?
A soul pledged to the darkness...
Now I've lost it; I know I can kill
The truth exists beyond the Gate[/i][/center][/SIZE]
Just for kicks.

Episode 9 didn't do much for my opinion of Misaki. Or maybe it's just that [spoiler]bonding over righteously snatched cigarettes[/spoiler] has kind of outlived its usefulness as a plot device. Oh well. Hei continues to casually radiate awesome. I do like Alice, with her sharp features and mad [spoiler]bee-catching[/spoiler] skillz.

Does Mr. Elf's character design have anything to do with anything, or did they just give him pointy ears because they could?

ETA: New OP and ED coming down the pipeline, by the way. OP by An Cafe; ED by High and Mighty Color.

~Dagger~

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Episode 10 was probably my favorite yet cuz is was an action-packed thrill-ride all the way through. Mr. blood elf's powers were put to awesome use, and basically he was a complete badass throughout. That, of course, makes Hei even more awesome than before for [spoiler]kicking his candy ***! [/spoiler](if you haven't guessed yet, Hei is one of my favorite heroes this season, saddling behind the G-L cast). Once again, we've seen that this show can be brutal and blood-soaked which is always nice. Every bit of this episode was basically just coated in coolness and comic-esque glory. I can't wait for them to bring this one over to the u.s. (five bucks says it makes [AS])

Kirihara got a good amount of airtime in that sexy dress which is fun and like every other woman Hei's (or rather Li has) ever encountered there was some obvious chemistry. The more Kirihara I see, the more I like her, though I would really rather see more of the doll girl who hasn't had much airtime yet...

Of course the best parts of this show are the action scenes, though, and this episode delivers in the best way. If you haven't been watching this show yet, now might be a time to start.[/COLOR]

[Sasori]

Okay, this thread has me itching to check this series out.
Bones? Check.
Yoko Kanno? Check.
A series that balances a shrouded plot with odd characters and world-building? Check.
Fantastically-used (but not OVER-used) gore? Check.

I'm always down for a series with a plot that I can't explain to my friends in two seconds if they ask about it. It *sounds* like this is the case with this series.

[Dagger]

After episode 10, I desperately want to see a no-holds-barred battle between Mr. Elf [spoiler](he is still alive, albeit somewhat melty-faced, right?)[/spoiler] and November 11. [spoiler]Although Hei won, I got the impression that the elf presented more of a challenge for him than anyone else in the show so far.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Raiyuu]

What to say about episode 11...?

Not a whole lot, really, except that I'm looking forward to some more explanation of the Gate in episode 12, but also well-prepared for that not to come. Plus Hei's backstory looks like it might become relevant soon.

I'm still enjoing this series more than pretty much anything else currently showing, but I feel weirdly dry in terms of things to discuss.

[Dagger]

Likewise... although I hear that episode 12 offers a lot of food for thought. In the meantime I'll try to remind myself to pay more attention to Kanno's BGM. She's doing too good a job of blending it in--some lovely stuff hidden in there.

The moral of episode 11: Siscons of a feather flock together. :devil:

~Dagger~

[Andy]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Yeah, I had just recently gotten into this anime. So far I have seen all 11 episode's, and I can't wait for episode 12, it's gonna be awesome. Oh, and I LOVE the opening theme for this anime, it's like the most awesome opening theme for an anime ever. Yeah.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Dagger]

[SIZE="1"]Licensed by FUNimation; will be coming out in 2008.

I really hope they manage to get this on Adult Swim.
[/SIZE]
----------------------------------

*sings* Guess who's back, back again...

Yep... episode 13 marks the return of [spoiler]Gai & the pink-haired chick. That said, I very much doubt this arc is going to be comedic.[/spoiler] Also, episode 12 was quite a good watch, thanks to the awesome acting chops of Hei's seiyuu. (I just looked him up on ANN, and apparently he played Tenma in Monster. No wonder!)

Will add more to this post when I finish the arc.

ETA: HAHAHA!! Great [spoiler]Death Note[/spoiler] reference.

Also... am I a total idiot for not having realized that [spoiler]Yin is blind[/spoiler] until just now? Anyway, I'm about to watch episode 14. Hilarious meta-jokes aside, 13 had an atmosphere of impending doom (not to mention gorgeous piano music). Hm.

ETA after episode 14: Well, that was rather heartbreaking. Best episode so far. By a lot. Looks like episode 15 will return to [spoiler]the months![/spoiler] <-- very exciting.

----------------------------------

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKxdbxMYAhU][u]Abingdon Boys School perform Howling @ Live Earth[/u][/url]

Oh my god. The vocalist(s) actually sound better live.

~Dagger~

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"]Having finally gotten around to watching the first episode to this I'm finding it interesting. Enough that I plan on watching the next episode. It did take me a moment to wonder just why one character was breaking his fingers since the show doesn't introduce things, but rather you find out as it goes along. So I didn't fully understand that contractors have to pay a price for using their power.

The main character is interesting in that I like how he's very good at playing the innocent bystander when he's anything but that. It was fairly obvious when he got [spoiler]shoved over the edge just as a train was passing by underneath, that he was not dead. [/spoiler]

Anyway, I like the music and the dark feel to how the city is done. Now I just need to go and watch that second episode. [/COLOR]

[Dagger]

Amber, schamber. The highlight of the 15/16 arc was clearly [spoiler]November 11 taking out that little heterochromatic bastard.[/spoiler] I liked how the [spoiler]'nakama' (comrade) concept appeared in relation to the months. As a matter of fact, Hei and co. could learn a thing or two from their teamwork.[/spoiler] I guess I should also note that [spoiler]July's halting speech when Misaki came to him[/spoiler] brought out my non-existent maternal instincts in full force. I guess [I]moe[/I] might have to be the word for that. :animeswea

Anyway, I dig the casual romantic vibe between [spoiler]Nov. and Misaki.[/spoiler] Or is it just me?

As for Amber: [spoiler]She can stop time... or does she actually travel through time? Can she see/predict the future?[/spoiler] Not too clear on that, although her renumeration seems obvious enough.

New OP: Doesn't hold a candle to Howling. Animation-wise, the better-than-Initial D car fetishization is pretty cool.

New ED: Not your usual High and Mighty Color fare. Simple but adorable animation.

~Dagger~

[Andy]

[quote name='Dagger'][SIZE="1"]Licensed by FUNimation; will be coming out in 2008.

I really hope they manage to get this on Adult Swim.
[/SIZE]
[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="2"]I sure hope so, but the only thing that really concerns me is the English voice-overs. I hope Funimation does a good job on picking the voice actor's.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Raiyuu]

Been a while since I had time to post my thoughts - a fair bit to cover so this might come out in bullet points.

We got some interesting hints as to the origins and mechanics of the whole false sky/Contractor event. [spoiler]Berta's child choked to death on cigarettes, and Berta's remuneration is to similarly choke on things; she says before she'd finished mourning the child, the sky had changed, so perhaps people who were repenting for something at the time of the event became Contractors, and their remunerations relate to whatever it was that happened to them?[/spoiler]

A random note on Yin: I had to skim back through her backstory episode to confirm this, but the goth dress she always wears is the one [spoiler]she wore to her father's funeral[/spoiler]. Poignant. Also fits in with the aforementioned theme of repentance, though I'm not sure how the theory would apply to Dolls/Mediums.

The new OP theme isn't as good as HOWLING, but is one of HIGH AND MIGHTY COLOR's better tunes.

[spoiler]What DOES happen to a Contractor that doesn't remunerate?[/spoiler]

Various Dolls and Contractors seem to be displaying more than the prescribed amount of emotion (i.e. more than none). Yin and July making friends/comades/allies (however you want to translate 'nakama'), for a start; and November 11's sense of humour has always been well short of soulless, and couple that with his highly chivalric behaviour over the last two-parter and I'm starting to think either something is changing (possibly related to Amber's planned Heaven's Gate Incident mark II) or Contractors have never been quite as soulless/emotionless as they've been painted by 'normal' humans.

Final note: November's undertanding look to [spoiler]Maki, as he stood in the doorway being rained on, was the height of awesome. It felt like he was saying, "that's right. Sure Amber loves you the most. Keep telling yourself that."[/spoiler] And we all know what he did next. Sterling stuff, Agent.

[Dagger]

BONES clearly did episodes 17 & 18 in their sleep, but I'll forgive them because the final arcs will doubtless be outstanding.

~Dagger~

[Raiyuu]

Well, 19 and 20 didn't set the world alight, but we did get a bit more insight on the whole theological debate between humans and Contractors (are Contractors human, do they have souls, what makes Contractors different from humans, etc.).

Also, the next arc has the blood elf AND the months, so there's hope yet for that Battle Royale.

[Dagger]

Looks like the last arc--if it can be called that--will be three episodes (23, 24, 25). Very cool episode titles, too.

Sadly, though, the main reason I'm excited about episode 22 is because November 11 gets a black suit. XD

~Dagger~