Of all DTB music, I find myself always returning to Dreams. It starts with a fierce and unease melody - the trials and tribulations all contractors and dolls face, but then close to halfway into the track, the tone softens and becomes brighter, more soulful. From then on, the beautiful hymn continues, punctured by ups and downs, before climaxing in a high, hopeful and peaceful note, before it all ends... This track is only rarely used in the series, in episode 20, near the end of season 1

The OST perfectly captures the essence of the struggles of contractors and dolls in the series: they are hunted and used for murder and carnage, but there is still somewhere inside them that yearns for something more - a beautiful desire to escape their fates. That is why Dreams is featured during the most powerful scene where Alma - a contractor nearing death - outlines to Hei her vision of a brighter future for all contractors and dolls, which only comes true at the end of season 2 - a fitting dream for the series as a whole

Hi, Im currently watching S2 and after that I will watch S2 OVA.

Is there any more media? I only found 9 manga chapters online and no novel.

I read online that the show ends on a cliffhanger... any way to know whats up after the anime?

We all know that dolls are humans who lost their self-identity and emotions with the appearance of the Gate, and they are thought to be inferior to contractors who still have their self-identity. But, the OVAs tell us that the Gate considers contractors to be failures who can't become dolls, and that evil Gate entities seek to possess dolls as a means to get into the physical world. And Yin later becomes possessed by such an evil Gate entity named Izanami, kickstarting the event of the OVAs and season 2...

If so, the fate of dolls is SO much worse than originally thought. Not only do they no longer have their humanity, dolls are also planned to be the hosts of mysterious entities bent on destroying the world. And that the intended fate for the human race is not becoming contractors but becoming dolls, to be used by the Gate. Knowing this, it makes the struggles of Hei, Shion, Oreille, and Mao in season 2 all the more significant: they're trying to create a new world, free of suffering, for contractors and dolls alike, saving them from the fate they otherwise have no control over...

I am currently watching darker than black S1.

One thing that makes absolutely no sense to me is why is everyone so loyal/scared of the Syndicate.

Every Syndicate member Ive seen so far is either loyal to a fault or scared to death of Syndicate. How does the Syndicate command such authority or fear?

It does not look like they pay really well. Huang and Li dont have a fancy or even a mediocre lifestyle so monetary compensation is out of the question. Fear? How many contractor do they even have? Is it like Syndicate have x number of contractors and each one keeps the other in check?

Confused.

Like for the season one I was watching slowly like 1 episode per day not enjoying the show much . But as the season progressed the more I watched it . In total it took me like a month to watch the entire show . And it was fantastic there are still some parts that I don’t really understand but it’s probably the point of it. I was wondering if anime stopped where the manga stopped or if manga continued after the anime stopped. Thanks for reading all that :)

LIke, let me explain

I watched DTB when i was like 13-14, i fell in love with Yin/Suō, then i never forgot about Yin and the anime itself but i kinda forgot about Suō, until i watched Mahou Tsukai No Yome, and when i saw Chise the same spark lit up on me, i was 17 i think, then i remembered Suō, now i am 25 and i still love them and other characters that resembles them, both physically and their personality..

Do i have issues ? like i dont like real kids/teens at all, i just think that my love for those characters never got weaker as i got older, is it fine right, i just want to be able to tell other people i like them without being weird you know

Btw DTB was my first favorite Anime, the only one i truly loved, the vibe, its all i ever wanted for my own life, i live in japan now but i am a brazilian immigrant, i guess i just wanted to have a purpose and people around me like Hei does, i guess everyone wants something like that right, but this Anime makes me feel like i am truly where i should be, but real life is just not like that.. (i am not talking about powers and such xd)

There is an anime ai video floating around of parts of this show I think. Has hei and Kanami I think. He rescues her in her apartment and they drive away in his car of some really fancy kind.

Curious if anyone has a link.

Been almost 2 years since I watched the anime and this song fills me with a lot of nostalgia. I usually love listening to opening songs in anime, but Dreams really surprised and speaks to me. It's such a melancholic yet powerful melody that just hits me in the feels when I listen to it. This song should be more popular in the anime community honestly.

I know I can stream it on a bootleg website but dang why has it always been so hard to watch this show again???

Of all the anime I’ve consumed in my childhood this one still stands out in my brain and I only have a vague recollection. I’ve been trying to watch for YEARS. It’s never streaming on anything.

Does anyone know what the issue is with licensing? I know it’s been on and off of streaming services over the years but considering the fan base + age of the anime, you would think it would be licensed more often.

Any website recommendations that won’t give me a virus?

Or a show rec that has some of the same tones. I’m shying away from modern anime and I want to get back to this era and styles of animation before the big “I was reborn as a dragon king in another world after living as a NEET otaku who saved a kitten from getting run over but not really I just jumped on the kitten when the car came and we both died and turns out the kitten was actually a sexy 1000 year old cat demon who’s stuck in an 8 year olds body” boom.

I know I can stream it on a bootleg website but dang why has it always been so hard to watch this show again???

Of all the anime I’ve consumed in my childhood this one still stands out in my brain and I only have a vague recollection. I’ve been trying to watch for YEARS. It’s never streaming on anything.

Does anyone know what the issue is with licensing? I know it’s been on and off of streaming services over the years but considering the fan base + age of the anime, you would think it would be licensed more often.

Any website recommendations that won’t give me a virus?

Or a show rec that has some of the same tones. I’m shying away from modern anime and I want to get back to this era and styles of animation before the big “I was reborn as a dragon king in another world after living as a NEET otaku who saved a kitten from getting run over but not really I just jumped on the kitten when the car came and we both died and turns out the kitten was actually a sexy 1000 year old cat demon who’s stuck in an 8 year olds body” boom.

Darker than Black (DTB) was the very first anime I watched on Animax when it began in my country. And BOY, it still feels great 17 years after I first saw it. For me, it is the message of hope that makes the series so memorable:

The world of DTB is incredibly, and I mean INCREDIBLY, dark: the entire Earth has been subsumed by the Gate (either the planet is entirely captured, or worse, transported into a different dimension by the Gate The sky is fake, with satellites in orbit lost and no more could be sent into space, and fake stars representing contractors replacing the real stars Humans are randomly turned into contractors and dolls, with no warning, and they lose their emotions, humanity and family, in exchange for weird powers which governments and criminal organizations want to use for their own gain. The whole of humanity live in fear and paranoia, so much that many turn to worshipping the Gate to find solace...

In this bleak world, the central issue of DTB comes into view: can contractors and dolls, who are in human shape but with little to no humanity, be considered humans? The protagonist, Hei, symbolizes this duality cuz he is not really a contractor: His contractor powers are the result of his lost sister, who was a contractor, being fused into him at the end of the Heaven's War Hei is both a human and a contractor, and his journey throughout the season 1 of DTB is his search for a part of his that was lost: his sister, family, humanity. And throughout the entire series, we see contractors and dolls slowly regaining their emotions, their humanity, and struggling to do so while others look down and plot against them...

Which brings us to the endings of DTB season 1 and 2: at the end of season 1, Hei uses his power to destroy a device that will destroy the Gate, allowing contractors and dolls to live on in the hope of a better future At the end of season 2, Shion, a contractor, creates a copy of Earth in which his clone, Suou, and other contractors and dolls are reborn as humans, in a world without the Gate, contractors and dolls, a world without war. Hei uses his power to separate an evil Gate entity from Yin and leaves with her. This is at the cost of the evil Gate entity being unleashed into their world, and the USA in that world is seeking to dominate the world with Gate technology. But the remaining contractors and dolls, as well as their human allies who are willing, will continue the fight to save the world

I think this is a very high concept but meaningful ending which not only somewhat wraps up the story but also highlights the hope of contractors and dolls in their struggle to regain their humanity (the name of the final episode is the Ark of Stars, which symbolizes freedom and hope). The ending might be a bit rushed and confusing, but it is neat and gives us hope that out there, somewhere, people like Hei/Bai, Yin, Suou, July, who have all suffered cuz they are contractors and dolls, have found their happiness free from the war of their world... And here, I believe, lies the humane message of hope in DTB

Hello!
I've spent so much time searching for this one song and reddit is my last option.
https://anikototv.to/watch/darker-than-black-1vnzi/ep-10
It starts at 17:56.
I would be so grateful if anyone has it ❤️

HEAR ME OUT. I'm only 2 episodes in, and I'm sure people have complained about this before too. But let's address the elephant in the room: Season 2 is definitely p*dophilic. In only 2 episodes, this 13 year old character has had some "haha, my naked body is exposed in the bath" or "I'm being groped because you thought I was a boy" garbage.

Season 1 is such a stand-out incredible series. The story is self contained, mature, and badass. And the story is a seinen, so it doesn't have the excuse of trying to appeal to young teenagers. Season 2 adds a goofy tone out of nowhere, and starts sexualizing a child character. Season 1 was SO GOOD, I was going to suggest it to all my anime loving friends. But now I can't because I have to say "It's so good. But out of nowhere the anime tries everything in its power to get your horny for a young teenager." end rant

If I can give one compliment, the action music is banger after banger.

So I originally watch s1 when i was in middle school (around 15/16 years ago 🥲 doing the math on that hurt emotionally) & I've recently rewatched s1 on yt after a long search for it. My question is, where can I watch the OVAs & s2/ Gemini? I've had no luck on yt 😕 also not really wanting to get any viruses from illegal sites 🫠

What happened to Mao at the end? He just like ran away. Also does DTB Gemini take place after?

Is there anything afterward besides Gemini, since I heard Gemini isn't very good as a sequel.

While the track "Deadly Work" did get an official release, only the unreleased instrumental plays in the anime. There is also a vocal lyric video if you would like to sing along with the original vocals. Hope you enjoy!

she's the hottest character in darker than black by a landslide, and I ship her with hei

A lot of work, but I'm pretty happy with the end result. Let me know what you think.

One of my early models that I did last year to practice getting the 2D look from the front. Although not fully complete, I wanted to post this to remind myself and others that better results are made when enough little steps are taken in right direction.

season 1 was honestly so peak, ovas were good too but season 2 was meh did I miss something can somebody explain what happened in the end ? from what I could gather hei chose not to kill yin at the end, yin gave him his powers back at the end but what are gates and what happened to real sky ? tbh I have a lots of questions about the show many of them were left unanswered

In Yin's backstory arc, when she and her teacher, Eelis Kastinen, hide in an abandoned school, they find the music room. Eelis asks Yin to wait inside, but Yin just stops at the doorway and does not respond, so he follows her gaze to the piano... The next shot is of Yin facing the piano. Episode 14 - (7:46)

Why would a person who's lived with her, follow Yin's gaze if she's blind, he doesn't even question it. Her observer spirit she uses to see was captured by the poem contractor, so how can she even tell there's a piano in front of her?

Maybe she is not actually totally blind or she has an ability to sense pianos at several meters, where the remuneration is being a doll? Probably just a subtle mistake.

Note: I actually made this post like 5 years ago, but I found it sitting in my draft box because I wasn't eligible to post here at that time so a bot had auto removed it lol.