Darker Than Black

I came across this anime accidentally, I do not watch a lot of anime, in fact I rarely find an anime that I can truly say I enjoyed immensely, but Darker than Black is definitely an exception to this.

I will admit after the first episode I wasn't completely convinced. It was vague and left me feeling a little jilted, but I found out the series runs in a two episode story arc, so of course I was confused. I watched the second and was intrigued. I had to know what happened next. I kept watching and I was left with the same feeling of anticipation. The good kind of anticipation when you know something really satisfying is going to happen.

Not only is the story great but the art and animation is fabulous. Very clean and smooth, the movements are fluid and fight scenes are very enjoyable to watch. The character designs are unique, even characters that look similar are distinct. The characters' designs are not the only good thing about them, they are also dynamic with their own personalities and almost every character is likable. I have to say it was actually the style of art that prompted me to watch this show, and it was a great decision on my part.

Although the ending may seem vague and leave questions unanswered, don't worry, the is a sequel on the way.

Overall, there is no lack of good things in this show. It is hard to describe which is something I find a good quality.

I got into Darker Than Black because of its creators- Tensai Okamura has made some real nice works before, notably Wolf's Rain. In that series, he also worked with Yoko Kanno, the composer of some of the best soundtracks I have heard in my life, most importantly Cowboy Bebop. However, this series isn't as good as those mentioned earlier, but it is still good.

The problem with DTB is that it starts bad. It's just confusing, we don't know what's going on and we don't know the characters, so it's hard to care about them. Not only that- what I expected that would save the series, the music (I believe that music is as fundamental as anything else) wasn't that great either. Kanno's music just didn't stand out, and even the opening and closing themes weren't hers.

However, if you have patience, there's a point where we get to know the characters. Some story arcs get really interesting and when a episode ends, you will want to see the other to know what is going to happen. And it gets fun and turns out to be a nice experience. However, I would only recommend it to anime fans- not the general public. There's still a lot more series in the same vein of DTB that are much better and you should see them before this one.

I'm going to have to agree with the majority of viewers; this is a great anime with a unique story...though it might not be for everyone.

I noticed that one of the reviewers had the most inane childish review, mentioning nothing about the actual anime and just saying it was "crap". Really? In fact, that reviewer said it was "just a typical anime filled with nudity---no male nudity either!---and filed with satanic themes". There is absolutely no nudity whatsoever--save for a 'nipple' (in silhouette only) in the first opening and one single episode near the end (which has no private areas displayed)--and I have no idea why that reviewer believed it was about satanism.

I'm sure it was a useless trolling attempt on their part, but some people might actually believe that garbage the reviewer said if they weren't sure themselves.

As for the show itself, the animation was well-done; the music was unique (especially the first ending theme and Kurosawa's theme), rife with deep mini-plots, light humor, dark humor, and genuinely likable (and hateable) characters.

I do agree that maybe at one specific point I felt I might be losing interest, but I honestly don't believe that was the anime's fault. And sure enough, something occurred within the story immediately after that definitely fixed that.

As a show with little focus on sexuality , and instead on the deep and painful cycles of life, death, relationship and happiness...I know many will enjoy it.

Darker Than Black is not an average anime. It has something special in it, the story, the characters, the music, the moral, and those feels. I have seen many anime over the years but, this ranks above every one of them. It is supernatural but it stay so close to reality that you get lost in it some how. "Every step is taken at a price, regardless of feelings it has to be paid."It echos in my ears and make me reconsider my actions. Being an anime it describes all the emotions inside a person, what he has to do in order to make the right decision. It is truly remarkable. The dialogs are so meaningful that they make you think about thing. I will always remember what Hei said "If you pretend to feel a certain way, The feeling can become genuine all by mistake." If you want to watch an anime, then i would definitely recommend you this. Darker Than Black?????? YES!!!! Evey life has something darker than black.

This is what the American series Hereos could have been like if it was written for adults.

It features super-powered people who are real people, their powers come at a real price and not a token moral price as is used in children's comics.

The story unfolds gradually with us getting to know more of the main character's back story from episode to episode.

The powers are interesting as is the background of fear and manipulation and the fact that it finishes is one series rather than dragging on to squeeze extra money out of the idea is appealing.

The plot is intelligent with no bad or annoying episodes and the ending is surprising and consistent, there is a small bit of comic relief but this is a dark story.

I hadn't watched any anime in years but this one dragged me in from the first episode and I didn't regret it.