Darker Than Black – Speculations and thoughts with only seven episodes left
10 August 2007
lacking words to describe this….
I dug that up somewhere on the web and it made me wonder why Pizza Hut isn’t as cool in America as it is overseas. I mean, if American Pizza Hut started endorsing and advertising anime, more specifically Darker Than Back, I’m theirs. I’ll buy their pizza every day for the rest of my life and risk obesity, high cholesterol and heart attack.
The more I think about it, the more I see Darker Than Black as a mournful reflection of human existence. Painfully bleak and stark is the world in which our protagonists live. As if some divine power bequeathed the world punishment, humanity is fated to suffer for its follies and mistakes, forever searching for redemption and resolution that’s just out of reach. It’s an inexpressibly depressing existence, every day to be reminded of past grievances just by looking up at the night sky and knowing that it’s an illusion.
Darker Than Black, in my mind, is first and foremost a story about people, the science fiction and action as a guise for something more profound and insightful. This goes back to the first, and the best, Shrek movie, but if Darker Than Black were comparable to an onion or a parfait, beneath the layers of gritty action, smooth animation and gorgeous music lies the essence of the show, the characters. The characters make the story. Each arc tells the story of a particular individual and, at times, the only relation they have to each other is Hei’s involvement. It’s the bi-episodic glimpses in the tragedies, sorrows and pains of people, the fragility of their lives, the weight of regret and their own journeys to find an answer that makes Darker Than Black genius.
In this ocean of conflicted individuals there is Hei, the enigmatic contractor (with some very un-contractor like qualities) searching for his sister and, subsequently, his own redemption. There’s something so cryptic and haunting about Hei as a character. His characteristic gaze is so eerie and stoic, something I can’t quite place about the way he looks at everything.
Going all the way back to the first arc, Hei, despite being a contractor, shows immense animosity towards contractors and calls them liars. He also has no obvious obeisance, no payment for his contractor powers, which reminds me strangely of Edward Elric from Hagaren who also does not abide by the equivalent exchange law. However, Ed only has the ability to transmute without a circle because he attempted human transmutation, lost a few limbs and saw the Gate. Judging from Ed’s predicament, is it possible the Hei’s payment has already been completed? Is it a stretch to think that maybe the price he paid was his own sister? As much as I love Hei and adore ‘happily ever after’ endings, I can’t shirk the feeling that he won’t ever find his sister, at least not in a physical sense. The ending animation shows Hei and Bai on a beach, but Hei ultimately leaves alone.
Bai, thus far, has ‘appeared’ only in the PANDORA infiltration arc. Even then, it might have only been a hallucination induced by being near the Gate and the meteor fragment. And on a different note, Amber (I’m calling her the antagonist for now, and lover) is looking for a ‘key’. Amber also tells Hei that if he wants to see his sister again, he’ll have to follow her. Following her, I’m assuming, would be joining Evening Primrose and finding this ‘key’. Tying that together with the notion that one regains what one has lost in the Gate, is it also possible when Amber finds the ‘key’ and ‘opens’ the Gate, that Bai will return? Or, tangential thought: Hei asks Mao if the starry sky will return and Mao replies that things lost can be retrieved from the Gate. If Bai doesn’t come back, will the sky return instead?
Enough about Hei, the whole series is about Hei. Episode 19 is the beginning of Huang’s arc and unless BONES has a few more cards up their sleeves, the beginning of the end of Darker Than Black. Evening Primrose makes another appearance, as well as a religious organization (reminiscent of Scratch from Bebop and Falungong from, well, real life) that is somehow related to a case Huang was working on before his partner died and he left the force. The old lady in the photo he found at a headquarters of sorts for a terrorist group involved in South America, shows up in a scene for the preview of next episode.
If the old lady was connected to the terrorist group in South America and South America is the crux of the show where everything happened, then how is she affiliated to EPR? I’m guessing that Prophet Alma is just a spokesperson and someone else is pulling the strings behind the Gate Friends thing. Her attitude, the remark about how she doesn’t like using Dolls as mere objects and her willingness to die differs from Amagiri’s attitude entirely. And even more mysterious, the EPR appears to be using the group as a front for gathering Dolls. I can’t even speculate as to why they’d be doing so. All of this is somehow connected to Amber, who looks to be the mastermind behind, literally, everything. Or am I giving her too much credit?
Before 19, I wasn’t too fond of, or interested, in Huang. He was just there. There’s a sharp contrast between his current personality and his old personality, which is similar to Yin, because she isn’t quite her old self either. Huang’s story, surprisingly, was a lot more than what I expected. It seems, that before all of this happened, Huang was your every day policeman. Goes out for a drink every once in a while, impeccable sense of humor and charm (not quite sarcastic on this one), visits his friends and all that. Another one of the many metaphors, much like Yin and moonlight, is Huang’s complete tolerance to alcohol. An interesting thing to note is that Huang didn’t want his memories wiped. The way he acts presently, it was a bit surprisingly he chose to join the organization in lieu of loosing his memories.
Shihoko’s actions reminds me a lot of the way Hei works. Hei always works under the guise of Li Shenshun, the mild manner and polite Chinese student studying abroad. So, what if Shihoko, who at the time may or may not have been working for the organization, meets Huang for the sake of killing Huang but after the staircase kiss, targeted Isozaki instead?
My feelings and affections for characters are easily swayed and I’m beginning to like Huang. After all this time, he still cares for Shihoko. Even Hei notices the subtle behavioral changes. In the end, his curiosity and meddling did more harm than good, resulting in Shihoko’s capture. Since it’s a Huang centric arc, he might have to get his hands dirty the next episode.
With that said, a good plot is still necessary. There are three and a half arcs left and a whole lot of loose ends flailing in the wind. I have faith in BONES but I can’t shake the feeling that the ending won’t be as fulfilling as I hope it’d be. But the world’s full of surprises and judging from the intricacy of the story and characters, I might just be wrong.
There’s just so much to say about Darker Than Black, it’s hard to shut up about it. They manage to sneak in these random references, when Shihoko asked Hei to read, she asked him to read from the Black book, page 201, along with a million Pizza Hut ads. And if you’ll let me, I’m going to have another totally random post regarding the infinitely mind boggling titles of each arc. “I’ll sing a love song at the garbage dump”? That’s the worst one of all. The others at least make sense in context, but “I’ll sing a love song at the garbage dump”? A title like that needs a post.
couldnt agree more on your thoughts on DTB
I have a feeling DTB is going to end up like Ergo Proxy in the sense that very few of us will really appreciate it. So many people have been expecting something else from this show. i keep hearing people bitching about plot and waiting for something to happen… But that isnt what DTB is about in my opinion. the show is less about the plot and destination and more about the world these people inhabit, the people themselves, and how this new fucked up world fucks with them. So i can see it now. it oct when the show is over so many people will go on and on about how the show didnt live up to what they expected. the same thing happened with ergo proxy because people were expecting an action show or something like ghost in the shell. they focused so much on their expectations that they forget to pay attention to the journey. oh well. Im loving every minute of DTB, then again it wouldnt be that special if everyone was all up on it and lovin it. this way the show can remain a gem to be discovered and wouldnt end up being overrated and overshadowed by its very own superimposed ideal *cough*haruhi*cough* lol. in the end to each his own right??
hei dying would be a perfect ending. can u imagine if Bebop’s ending wasnt og Spike dying?? it would never have achieved the masterpiece status that it did. i wonder what hei’s last words will be… spike’s was “bang”. hei’s should be something lile “im hungry” or “food” or maybe “neesan”
love the new lay out. the last one was waaaaay to bright for me lol
Amen to that. I hardly expect explanations to be given as to how one becomes a Contractor or a Doll specifically in the next few arcs — the ending should be more emotional than intellectual, satisfying the heart more than the brain.
Great write-up. Even if I haven’t seen the latest episodes, your post now makes me wish Syndicate could be faster. (:
Agree with regards the writeup; it’s great. I enjoy hearing your thoughts on the matter.
I actually like DTB the more I watch it; at the beginning, I thought it was rather lackluster, and the characters are flat, and there isn’t much more than the (admittedly awesome) action sequence. But then I continued watching… and watching… and watching… and suddenly I realized that there’s more than just flatness to the characters. There is roundness and squarishness, triangularness and tallness. There are much more than one facet of each character, and I really like the way it is conveyed to the audience.
It also doesn’t hurt that Hei is good looking. 😀
I love your speculation about Bai and Hei’s obeisance. It sounds logical that he has already paid his price, which is why he can use his powers like that.
Perhaps his love and future with Amber is also part of the price he paid.
I still don’t get the whole “doll” thing, though. How exactly does one turn into a doll? Kirsi used to be as human as anyone else, but now Yin is about as responsive as a dazed sparrow.
However much Hei’s death would make an impact… I quite simply do not want him to die.
@kauldron – Ergo Proxy confused me to pieces, but there was something nice and conclusive about the ending. That last scene, when Re-L and Pino were on the Rabbit and they see Vincent in the distance, that scene just felt right.
As for Bebop, gah, Spike’s death, though expected, still broke my heart. I really hated the fact that Spike died, but it was so iconic and so beautiful and perfect. And I can’t handle Hei dying. Personally, I don’t want him to. If anyone’s going to die, I’m putting my money on Amber. DtB can’t end without Amber dying. And if Hei were to die, I don’t think he’d have any last words. He’s too quiet for last words. If anything, I’m expecting a last…glance? His eyes are pretty expressive.
Looking at it, I’m going to agree with you that it’s going to be an Ergo Proxy ending. Vincent lived in the end! There’s still hope for Hei!
And thanks for liking the layout! The last one was all white and gray, I guess it was a bit hard on the eyes. Hehe…^^
@Owen S – What I need most from any ending is a sense of conclusion. Whether emotional or intellectual, as long I’m satisfied , it’s all good, even if they don’t explain every little thing. I’m with you on the emotional ending though. As much as I want certain things explained and certain questions answered, I want satisfaction more.
It’s shows like DtB that makes me want to learn Japanese, makes me want to move to Japan just for the hell of it. Then, what it really comes down to, is just sitting how and counting the days till the next sub. Thanks for reading my random thought, XD.
@Briar – “Roundness and squarishness, triangularness and tallness”, I love that description. XD The first arc of DtB was just so attractive, and it’s more than just Hei. The plot, the mood, the music, the action and, fine, Hei made it impossible for me not to keep watching.
What you’re saying with Amber makes sense, he gave up his sister and the love of his life to be like a human Pikachu. XD Tough price to pay, but I guess that’s the point.
That’s the one thing that’s been on my mind. What are dolls? Are they human? Are they not human? Are they somewhere in between? It seems that contractors are linked to stars and stars are linked to Hell’s Gate. But where do the dolls come in? Observation ghosts can only be seen by contractors, then there’s definitely some relation. But can you manufacture contractors like dolls? I’m thinking no, so what’s the deal?!
I agree with you, completely. I don’t need impact, I need the excessively good looking protagonist to stay alive. It never hurt that Hei is good looking, it just makes it all the better. =D!
[…] that for all its bang and glitter, it has pathos binding it all together. If Darker than Black is a mournful reflection of human existence, then Code Geass shows us the pain that comes with searching for survival and […]
Xerox, when you start to say that you want the protagonist to live because he is excessively good looking, I am reminded of the movie “Zoolander.”
@Brik – I have vague memories of watching “Zoolander”. I forget completely what the movie was about, but it had something to do with underwear and turning left, or something. But the thing is, even if Hei is excessively good looking, it doesn’t mean he won’t die in the end. And in all honesty, I can’t see the point in having Hei die.
Derek Zoolander: “Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?”
@Brik – XD, Well, is there really more to life other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? I wonder…Looking at Darker Than Black, I’m going to tentatively say yes.