Heh, like the season 1 final episode, this is probably one of my longest posts as well. My final impression of this series is noted at the end. =)
Episode 12: “The Ark of Stars” (series finale)
SUMMARY: Suou finds Shion knocked down on the ground in a room inside the Gate. Shion says it’s because he paid the amount necessary for his remuneration, then asks Suou to take him outside because he wants to see the moon. Yin, who’s clad in black, is humming a creepy tune while sitting on a rock in a flowery field, surrounded by a bunch of observation spectres (and contractor spirits?).
July leads Kirihara, Mao, Madame Oreille and her dolls inside the room where Shion and Suou were earlier. He says that Suou was there a while ago but went out with Shion. Madame Oreille says Shion went to meet with Izanami/Yin. Kirihara asks Oreille why she didn’t stop that from happening if she knew that something catastrophic would happen if Izanami and Izanagi would meet. Oreille responds that there are times when people are supposed to meet each other. She says she’ll explain what she means, but they have to leave that room since the enemy has found that place as well. Meanwhile, Hazuki and a still powerless Hei are having a fight. Hazuki gets the upper hand, kisses Hei (for her remuneration) then punches him. She’s about to kill Hei, but she can’t seem to do it. Hei, still calm and expressionless, then says that he heard from Youko that Hazuki’s (and Section 3’s) true objective is in fact to prevent the prophecy from happening. However, he says he doesn’t care about that since his aim is to kill Izanami. Kobayashi then appears and stops them from fighting any more, telling Hazuki that Hei wasn’t the one who killed Youko after all. They leave the room with Hei at gunpoint. It turns out that Shizume was the one who killed Youko. He used the ME against Youko and got the data about Izanami’s location from her memories. He betrayed Section 3 and teamed up with the CIA and John Smith. Kobayashi adds that the agencies that make up PANDORA are now under the CIA’s control, including MIAC. Hazuki lets Kobayashi and Hei go ahead, saying she will take care of Shizume. She tells Hei that Izanami is waiting for him.
Oreille and company escape via a futuristic getaway car. Mao realizes that July isn’t with them anymore. Goldilocks twins say that July went after Suou. In the control room (the same one where Nishijima observed the events in season 1, ep 25), John Smith instructs his team to extract Dr. Pavlichenko’s memories via the ME to find out where the people they’re pursuing are going. Meanwhile, Kobayashi takes Hei to the real location of Izanami’s box. Kobayashi informs Hei that Izanami/Yin’s inner being has already awakened and went inside the core of the Gate and that the one in the box is now just an empty shell as they were too late. We learn that Dr. Pavlichenko and Oreille has a super elite doll network at their disposal located inside the Gate. She takes Kirihara and Mao there. She reveals that they set the events up so that the MI6 and CIA would take Shion and the Doc out of Russia. With Shion’s contract, he copied another moon (and earth?). Suou and Shion have a talk while on their way further inside the Gate. Shion notes that although that happy memory in the aquarium that he gave Suou was Suou’s dream, that’s not his dream. He notes that she’s still an emotional person even though she’s become a contractor. Suou says maybe it’s because she has been influenced by her friends. They come across one of the contractor’s that was forced to commit suicide by Izanami/Yin. Suou remembers the time when Horio’s mom died, and realizes that it was Izanami who was responsible for it.
Back in the room, Kobayashi tells Hei that at the time they got hold of Izanami, they were planning to kill her immediately but her reactions as Izanami suddenly stopped and they decided to contain her in that secret room. It seems that she was able to stop the awakening of Izanami herself. However, she awakened when that incident with Hei and Suouhappened (see episode 6). Kobayashi admits that there was nothing else they could do ever since that Gate appeared. A sad Hei whispers to Yin, “Let’s end it all.” July manages to find Suou and instructs her to come to him (he’s waiting at
the same place Amber had a conversation with Yin and Hei back in season 1). However, August 7 then appears in front of a suprised July. He says that their mission had been canceled since their higher-ups made an agreement with America that they won’t interfere. July says he isn’t going with August 7 since he likes being with Suou. August 7 comments that July’s an evolving doll and leaves him be. July gives Suou a big hug when she arrives, then leads her away with the help of another spectre. A big flash of light is then threatening to engulf the Gate. Back in the doll room, Oreille notes that Izanagi and Izanami has met and it has begun. Meanwhile, Hazuki is waiting for Shizume and they fight.
Back in the control center, Smith is informed that Hell’s Gate is opening. Smith orders his troops to go to the core of the Gate. July takes Suou to Shion, who’s now in the flowery field at the core of the Gate. Suou runs to a dying Shion and holds him in her arms. Shion informs Suou that he’s made a deal with Izanami. Before he dies, he says that the deal was his present for Suou and asks her to look after it and to send his love to their parents, calling her his dear sister. An angry Suou yells at Izanami/Yin, asking what she did to Shion. Yin says she granted his wish. At that moment, July collapses and dies too. A pissed off Suou summons her gun and aims at Yin. She says that Hei must have known this would happen that’s why he said he’d take care of his problems and that they promised each other that they’d finish this. While Suou is pulling the trigger, Yin retaliates by breaking the necklace that Suou is wearing. Apparently, it does contain a meteor core fragment. According to Oreille, it’s the fragment that made Suou retain her memories, so now that it’s broken, she’ll lose all her memories. Suou realizes this as well and tries to hang on to her memories and her life, but to no avail.
Mustering her remaining strength, Suou is about to fire at Yin, but Hei arrives and stops her, saying she won’t be needing the gun where she’s going, and he holds her in his arms trying to comfort a crying Suou as she slowly loses her memories and fades away. He lays Suou down beside July. There suddenly appears another Izanami/Yin (but dressed in white). She tells Hei with a smile that it’s not too late and asks him to kill her. Hei understands and smiles back. Kirihara tries her best to run towards where Suou and everyone is at. She says she doesn’t know if she’d make it but she thinks her wish to find them will come true since they’re inside the Gate. Mao reminds her that she’ll lose something in return. She then stops in her tracks as she notices BK-201’s star shining so brightly. She suddenly sees everything from above, with Hei reaching in toward Yin’s heart (just like what Amber did to Hei in the season 1 finale) and they are both engulfed by a bright light.
EPILOGUE… In the aftermath of the incident, we see Suou living a normal life with her mom and dad. In her voiceover, Suou notes that she always felt that something seems to be missing even though she’s now with her family and friends. She visits the aquarium with her parents. She says she doesn’t feel lonely but rather she feels like someone’s always watching over her and that makes her feel relieved. We then see a smiling July pass by Suou at the aquarium and waves at her. As she looks up at the stars through her telescope, Suou says she feels like she has previously met many people who are important to her, even though she can’t remember them. She believes that she’ll meet them again someday. As the ending credits are being shown, Oreille notes that the earth seems to be moving away, but she’s sure that Suou is there, just as Shion had wished. Goldilocks twins confirm this and says that July is there too. Kirihara and Mao stand gazing at the ruins inside the Gate. Kobayashi appears, commenting that it’s finally over. Kirihara disagrees, saying that this is only the beginning. Kobayashi smiles, saying she’s right, and that’s why they chose her to join their team. Oreille then appears and gives them a ride out of the Gate.
Kirihara does her usual voiceover… She says that America gained control over Tokyo in their quest to become the advanced nation they once were. The age of the Syndicate is now over. We see the old Oji-san dead from episode 7 dead, as well as Shizume (yeah, Hazuki killed that traitor! Serves him right after what he did to poor Youko). Goldilocks twins note that another Gate has opened. Smith and his team examine the flowery place inside the Gate. They find a boy (who looks like Yin) lying inside a box. He suddenly awakens and kills them. Kirihara wonders what could be new that’s being written in the pages of the prophecy now, and how it will change the world. Kirihara (in an all new more girly and stylish outfit) is picked up by Oreille, Kobayashi, and Mao using the futuristic (flying!) car. Kirihara notes that in the not-so-distant future, they chose the same path for what would happen, and ironically, they are now being referred to by people as “the Syndicate.” Kirihara adds that she hasn’t heard any news of Hei since the second Hell’s Gate incident, but even so, she believes that he is still alive. We then see Hei carrying an unconscious Yin, walking underneath the starry sky.
~ THE END
IMPRESSION: Whaaat? That was the end?! *ahem* Anyway, that fight between Hei and Hazuki was really awesome! (albeit short) I knew it wasn’t Hei who killed Youko… And although I suspected Shizume for Youko’s death, I didn’t *seriously* suspect him. Acting all chummy with Kirihara and Youko and Hazuki, he turned out to be the sneaky and sadistic kind of contractor. I don’t really understand how Hazuki’s little backstory that we got a glimpse of (see episode 9) is connected to the main plot, but maybe that was supposed to be a hint that she isn’t as emotionless and completely devoid of conscience like other more ruthless contractors are. I think Hazuki and the rest of section 3 believed that Hei’s goal was to take Izanami/Yin from them. Hei saying that his goal is to kill Izanami laid down that doubt and Hazuki was able to trust him enough to let him go and entrust to him what she was supposed to do while she avenged Youko’s tragic death by facing off with the traitorous Shizume.
Whoa, August 7 turned out to be alive. It didn’t surprise me that much, but I don’t quite get how that happened. I don’t think he was a hallucination or anything like that. Maybe he was able to escape Shizume’s deadly hand stomp back in episode 3… Yeah, that’s probably it. I mean, he won’t be be in the same ranks as November 11 (he has a number following his month name, I assumed they both rank higher than July or April) if he didn’t have the skills. Besides, he was known as “The Magician” so yeah, I guess he was able to fake his death back then. And it’s pretty obvious that July didn’t know about it since he seemed to be genuinely surprised to see August 7 appear in front of him.
Speaking of July, he is so adorable. I really liked his character more as he got more screentime and character development this season. Like Yin in season 1, we witnessed July’s evolution from a mere emotionless doll to a doll capable of expressing his emotions and making his own decisions. I appreciate that August 7 told him to do as he wishes when July said he liked being with Suou rather than going back to wherever August 7 was going. July hugging Suou was pretty cute. And I like that he was also sent over to the cloned earth that Shion wished and created for Suou.
I suppose the title “Gemini of the Meteor” referred to Suou and Shion, in that everything happened with the help of that meteor core fragment inside Suou’s necklace. Suou’s clone appeared right after that meteor shower incident where Shion almost died after being in the area that had been hit by the falling debris. It enabled Shion to overcome the glitch in his power, allowing Suou to last as long as she did despite being a clone. The twins were connected to the prophecy because of Shion’s wish, and Shion wanted to meet with Izanami because of his for the future that his beloved sister never had as she died at such a young age.
And as for Shion, I appreciate that he loved his sister very much. That’s why he managed to make an almost perfect copy of her when he was dying during that meteor shower incident and that’s why he went to all the trouble of meeting with Izanami. I think it’s also quite selfish of him to go that far since there were a number of people that died in the process, but I think I’ll give him enough props for doing so because he loved his dear sister whom he lost in that laboratory explosion. It’s also no wonder that he died since he cloned the earth and cloned numerous people for Suou to interact with as well. That must have drained a lot of his power and it must be the price for his wish. Their parents and even July were there… I wonder if there’s also a cloned Tanya, Nika, Hei, Mao, and Kirihara somewhere there? Hmm.
Moving on, Kirihara wasn’t able to pass on Amber’s message to Hei, was she? Bah, she wasn’t even able to meet with Hei again at all. Just a mere glimpse of him from above when he was supposedly “killing” Yin. I wonder what Amber’s message was about. What did she want Kirihara to pass on to Hei? Well, back in episode 9, Amber wants Kirihara to pass on to Hei and company whatever Kirihara finds out from the Mitaka Documents, so that no one will make a mistake in what was about to take place... based on that, I wonder if what was supposed to take place was the one that took place in the ending. I think Oreille mentioned before that there are many versions of the prophecy, and I think what happened was just one version. Now, as Kirihara pondered at the end of the episode, I also wonder what’s being written anew now that one version of the prophecy came true as all the characters involved in the event have made their own decisions. I doubt that Kirihara and Kobayashi remained with Section 3. It seems they’ve established a new group along with Oreille and Mao… I think maybe Hazuki is probably with them too, although we didn’t see her (just that she was able to kill Shizume in the end).
Like Kirihara, I also believe that Hei is still alive somewhere. I still think she wants to meet Hei again someday, but it also seems to me that she isn’t as hung up as she was about Hei anymore. I think it’s because, initially, her main motivation to meet him was to ask him some questions regarding the first Hell’s Gate incident and the path that he has chosen afterward… It seems to me that she has now found some answers to her questions as well, even though it’s not readily apparent to us viewers. I think she has a better understanding of the path that Hei has chosen now that she seems to be taking the same path as well, at least that’s how I interpreted it as she did her voiceover towards the end of this episode, adding that they have been ironically been referred to as “the Syndicate” since then. Oh, and I’m still hanging on to a wee bit of positive thread regarding my Hei x Kirihara shipping (stubborn fangirl in me will never abandon this ship! Haha ;P) And also, Kirihara’s makeover at the last few moments of the final episode is full of win. d(^_^)b
Attempting a more objective perspective on Kirihara, I think she’s one of the essential characters in the series. I mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again. I think she kind of, somewhat represents the audience’s point of view in the series, so I think that’s one of her character’s purpose. She cares about people as well as contractors and wants both camps to just get along and live harmoniously, she tries to see things from both perspectives. I think most of her questions are the same ones we have, and from her own dilemmas and worries, we can see both sides from her POV as well. Hmm, I can’t seem to find the right words to properly explain what I mean… For instance, she was as confused about Oreille, as desperate to find out more about Hei, and concerned about Suou and July as I was. Hmm. Does that make sense? Gah, maybe that’s a bad comparison, but I suck at explaining stuff, so sorry if I confused you even more. ^^;
With regard to Hei and Yin… Is Yin really dead? Or perhaps she was just unconscious? Mao turned out to be alive and August 7 also turned out to be alive in the end, so maybe Yin isn’t really dead too, but what do I know? Heh. I still think Hei is still alive too, but where has he gone off to? When will he ever get a good ending in which he could move on properly with his life. I don’t really get the whole cloned earth thing, but well, Shion’s wish was granted because he was inside the Gate, so I’ll leave that epilogue about Suou and July in the “supernaturally solved” section in my head for now. Maybe I’ll understand it someday after I’ve watched this finale for the nth time. I wonder if Hei made a wish too. I wonder who that boy who looked like Yin was. Is it the one that would bring catastrophe to the world? Where did Oreille come from? How did she know Mao and why did she have gadgets that were from Dr. Schroeder as well as a flying car? Who could Kirihara, Oreille, Kobayashi and Mao be working for now? Are they going rogue now too since America has gained control over Tokyo and PANDORA ? What are they going to do now that they’ve been dubbed as the new “Syndicate”? Does Oreille’s car go Back to the Future too? Ow, my head. >.<
The ending was quite open-ended, raising the possibility of a follow-up movie or an after-the-season-2-events OVA (since the upcoming season 2 DVD OVAs’ timeline is set between seasons 1 and 2), or perhaps maybe even a 3rd season… I really wouldn’t mind another season, but I hope they’d pick up with Hei as the main character once again and try to tie up the loose ends from both seasons 1 and 2. Oh, and if there would ever be a season 3, I’d like to request November 11 to turn out to be alive too ;P
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FINAL IMPRESSION: As I expected, this finale requires as much thought as (if not more than) the season 1 finale @_@. Hmm. I’ll try to be as objective as I possibly can in expressing my final impression…
Although I still had a bunch of questions that were left unresolved in season 1, I’m happy to say that I was actually quite satisfied with how season 1 ended. I was thoroughly excited and ecstatic to find out that season 2 was green lit. I initially expected the 2nd season to be a continuation of season 1, but obviously it wasn’t since Hei took a backseat and they shifted the main plot’s focus on a new lead character, which was Suou (which somewhat makes it seem more kinda like a semi spin-off or something like that). I think Suou as this season’s lead character is the most important thing that viewers should keep in mind from the very first episode to the last.
Being the relatively tolerant and flexible viewer/DtB fan that I am (or so I’d like to think), I really didn’t mind the shift too much. Why? Because I really love DtB, not just the characters but also the entire series and story itself <3. But I’d be lying if I said that Hei isn’t one of the main factors why I love it so. Ahehe (I love how complex his character is). I admit that I also always thought that “some Hei is better than no Hei at all!” xD You might think it a pretty superficial and shallow motivation of mine, but with that, I was able to enjoy watching the 2nd season without being bound by ridiculously high expectations that they would tie up the loose ends and answer the remaining questions that were left in season 1.
Moving on to the series itself, I think it’s quite a sad story, but the epilogue for Suou somewhat makes it not too sad a story as it would have been if there wasn’t an epilogue. I think having a different person provide the background music for season 2 also speaks of the series’ divergence from season 1’s main plot and a making use of a new lead character to boot. Poor Hei still got a bittersweet ending despite all his efforts T_T. But I really enjoyed the awesome fights and the more contemporary, beat-laden, techno-ish music brought in by the team (do take a listen to the OST… I think it’s pretty kicka$$. I especially like the upbeat tracks 1, 2, 5 and 7).
What I’m trying to say is that with regard to the main plot of season 2 (which concerns Suou), even though I still have some unanswered questions, I think the series managed to wrap things up quite properly considering that it was set for only 12 episodes. Although, honestly, I think season 1 had a better ending despite still having some holes in the storyline. But I really do think that season 2 was pretty good and enjoyable to watch, it’s just that the ending would make you exclaim “HUH?!” with the final episode (I’ve even heard a number of people say “WTF?” over it xD). I was actually somehow satisfied with how season 1 ended. And even though I still had a bunch of questions after the 1st season, I think season 2’s ending raised even more questions that have been left unresolved. But now I kinda think they should really make a post-season 2-events OVA or movie or a 3rd season that could address or at least lessen the questions.
So would I recommend you to watch Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini? – Hmm… I’d say yes, but with some conditions and a bit of advice. Let’s see…
- Watch it only if you really like the DtB series as a whole and not just because you’re shipping a couple of characters (especially if you’re a hardcore Yin or Yin x Hei shipper, or you’ll just be disappointed and you’d probably just curse the 2nd season to oblivion after watching it).
- Be prepared to think, to speculate, to think, to lose a character you liked, and to think. Be ready for a bunch of re-watch to be able to connect the events together. Yeah, I think it takes some effort to watch this series (personally, that’s one of the things I love about it, except the part about losing the character I like T_T). And keep in mind that this storyline is mainly about Suou and not so much about Hei.
- In my opinion, I think you can *probably* watch season 2 even if you haven’t seen season 1. However, I still think it’d be wiser to watch season 1 first since there are a number of elements (like Amber, Dr. Schroeder, Heaven’s War, etc.) that were mentioned referring to events in season 1 (there might be some people out there who jumped right into season 2 without watching season 1… I wonder what they think of it)
Hmm, what else? I can’t seem to think of other things to say. I better stop here before I start going in circles again. ^^;; I think it was a pretty good and a really enjoyable season 2 in general… It’s such a pity that season 2’s ending was too confusing to be appreciated by many viewers. Even I felt I was left hanging in the end T_T, but even so, I don’t think my soft spot for DtB will ever wane. ^^
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I admit, I am pretty fond of the Hei and the Yin dynamic. But it’s not why I cry foul with regard to the second season. I re-watched the episode a couple of times, and posited some interpretations. I really thought about the episode, in short.
A sequel, however, is usually made to build up on the first season and is usually purposed to be better than it. This was not true with Darker than Black. The first season, granted, had an open ending, but it was an open ending one could tolerate, appreciate, and think about. The season revolved around Hei’s choice, and what he chose at the end of it all was both awesome, inspiring, and yet bittersweet. I was expecting the second season to build up and address the questions that were left during the first season, but it left me with even more questions without any proper answers. In addition to that, it pegs Hei in a position of painful tragedy. Hasn’t the guy suffered enough?
I didn’t get it…I stopped caring. But the ride was fun.
@ Michael: I also liked how season 1 ended, despite some questions left unanswered. I did hope to see Hei have his happy ending somewhere along the way and be able to move on, but unfortunately he didn’t get it this time. Maybe someday.
@ lelangir: Haha, yeah. I also thought it was a good run even if the last episode was not quite what most people were hoping for.
Ending was “WHAT?”.
I was waiting for that post, even with the awful internet and the new year crazyness. Finally managed to connect and read. Thank you for writting all these, Miss Hazy.
It’s kind of a new experience for me, debating about a series as I watch it, and speculating on things… It’s actually pretty fun. 😛
But this ending… They might as well have called the episode “Watch Out For Season 3”. It’s incomplete as hell, and not as satisfactory, although there were highlights here and there. Part of that, I would blame the shortness of the series. Too few episodes to properly explain the whole story. The end was rushed, and it SHOWS. The build-up was pretty good but in the end… We were just left hanging. It’s not BAD per se, but doesn’t feel like a finished story either.
I guess I’m just scared of Darker than Black, one of my favorite animes, turning into a franchise zombie. With Gazillions of sequels and OVAs and spinoffs, getting watered down and de-railed to mediocrity. But despite all my complaining, I am glad for the series and liked it a fair bit.
I agree with you on Suou being the main character, and she doesn’t do a bad job, although I prefer Hei. ( But cut the girl some slack, she had 12 episodes to develop, hei had 26 as a main character +12 as an important protagonist ).
Kirihara had an interesting role. On the first season she hunted down BK201, but she was a nice person and you could sympathize and even cheer for her. And she grows as a character, develops a tenuous relationship with Hei/BK201 and also revolts against her boss and her function, all the while remaining consistent. Awesome! On the second she was more of a sideline character, less active, and yet she also was, as you say, the point of view of the series. We saw things the same way she did, more less, and were on the same page. She grew more as a character as well, getting over BK201 ( sorry for your ship Hazy, but I’m afraid it doesn’t look too good ) but it’s a pity she wasn’t really a more active character.
Here’s to hoping the next season ( and there WILL be a next one unless they cancel it ) will be better paced and has a real ending, and not a cliffhanger posing as an ending. But yeah… I’ll watch it. It’s still one of the best series out there ( in my very limited knowledge ).
Ugh, sorry for the wall of text. As you, I also had a lot on my chest. Have to admit, it was cool, reading your opinions and posting these horribly long essays. I might just hang around and do it again, if you don’t mind. 😀
When all’s said and done, I can’t help but wish DtB wasn’t over… *Sigh* the strange paradoxes of being a fan.
Congratulations, Miss Hazy. Those were 12 long and yet interesting posts. Now go and get some well-deserved rest.
@ Mr. E: Yeah, it may have been too short and the “wrap up” didn’t properly wrap it up at all. Oh, I do hope it won’t be one of those franchise zombies either. That would probably suck out the fun and goodness in the series.
And about my ship, haha, that’s OK. It doesn’t seem likely anymore at this point and I’m not expecting anything much about it, a fangirl can only hope. xDD
I hope for another season too (or an OVA or movie), one with Hei as the central character once again and one with a nice and proper finale. There’s just too many questions left hanging by season 2’s end. If they go for it, I’d definitely make time to watch and blog about it again.
~Thank you! It’s been my pleasure. I enjoyed reading your insights/comments as well, be it long or short. It’s always good to hear from fellow fans of the series. And just “hazy” is fine. ^_^
(Off topic: I’d recommend you to watch the series [“Seirei no Moribito”] if you have time to spare. I *think* you might like it. I have [posts] about it too, if you’d like to read up on it first before watching to test the waters :))
Hey. I appreciate you blogging about this. I’ve been following your DtB post since ep 4.
Nice job. I did enjoy your summaries, and your input/opinions.
Will be reading more of this blog.
@ Czirro: Thank you! I’m glad you found my summaries helpful. I guess I’ll see you around! 🙂
Loved every minute but still not the same magic as S1. Probably because it was sooo short!.
But about August 7’s appearance – I dont know if it’s the real guy. They are INSIDE the Gate at this point where strange things happen. I think it was a manifestation of the gate, not the real August 7. That boy is dead.
But I think we are being set up for a whole new host of possibilities.
Maybe alternate future, maybe alternate prophesies, who knows?
But one thing is for sure – I like the character developments so far. I honestly was sooo glad to see Mao back. Was sad when April was killed in Ep. 1 no less!
I have to say – loove Shizume’s power. Gives the animators a reason to create a “monster” (kaijuu). He was animated quite well as the monster. And loved the epilogue shots with the sword through his eyes/head. Man!
So…like season 1, left with sadness. July is gone. He grew on me. So that S1 MI6 team is all… “shinda” 😦 – really liked them actually…
Oh well – waiting eagerly for S3! This is what sucks about discovering an anime while it is still in the middle of it!
I got to enjoy Avatar ..and The Wire (live action) after a few seasons already. Dang!
@ Cryptblade: Good point about August 7. The fact that anything can happen at the gate slipped my mind at that point. Lol. Should there be as season 3, I’m sure to watch it!
If you mean Nickelodeon’s Avatar cartoon series, I loved watching that too and I’ve got the DVDs. Benders are awesome. ^_^
I watch the entire of Season 1 two years ago last friday i found out there was a Season 2 & OVA i was very happy but after I watch Season 2 and the ending was left to be open and i don’t really understands what it means until I read the Forum here, But still I hope there is Season 3. By the way does anyone here knows why OVA have the ending with a continuation seems like YIN & Hei that time before Season 2 have a Fight with some people then what happen even MAO body have change?? I don’t get it. Is there a OVA 2? I check everywhere there is no OVA 2 so where is the continuation comes from? Season 2 not possible as the preview of OVA 1 ending have details of what happen to them before Season 2. Even for Season 2 the ending seems like Got Season 3 as for the Boy who looks like YIN.
@ Andrea: There will be several OVAs included with season 2’s DVD releases. The timeline for those OVAs is set in between seasons 1 and 2. You might want to check out [this link] for more details.
the ending pretty much asploded like it did in season 1
=_=
it feels like they left out too much again thus the very open ended ending once again. There will most likely be a season 3 but not for a long time. Honestly I don’t think the 4 OVAs will be enough to answer much :/. This whole amber prophecy kinda confused me in season 1 but in season 2 its like WTF? Like how exactly did yin obtain her new powers she possessed in season 2? They said she killed many contractors but isn’t she just a doll? When there was a quick scene with yin around many corpses, how exactly did she dispose of them? WTTTTFF And doesn’t that scene remind you of Yin’s little sister Pao or w/e her name is >_> Anyways season 2 was completely WTF incoherent.
It just seems Souou never belonged in the story besides the fact that she was a copy. Her existence seemed insignificant besides substantiating the point that contractors and dolls are not completely devoid of emotions and that they are constantly evolving. (As seen in the behavior of July,Souou, Hei, Yin,etc) I mean the fact that Souou was transported into a fantasy earth was like WTF 3x. So what if there is a season 3? Does that mean Hei will become the protagonist again even though I don’t think he was ever stripped of that position. It seems like that his star had reappeared so does that mean his powers are back? (I kinda liked how he is still able to kick some ass without his powers and the fact that he has no powers makes him a little less op >_>). More importantly how will they pick up from this WTF ending!
well sorry for the bouncing off the walls rant
D:
@ mindtrix: No problem. It’s always nice to hear other fans’ point of view. ^_^ The DtB S2 ride was good, but the ending was just too open-ended and confusing. It needs some sort of closure! @_@
Season 3 should explain how Yin got her crazy powers and ability to grant contractors their wishes in exchange yor their lives. Mostly though, it should explain wtf is the meaning of hell’s gate and heaven’s gate. All we know is that they suddenly appeared, but wtf are they and what do they mean. Why do they say than Yin can send people to heaven? If so, is this anime one relating to an actual heaven and hell and supernatural powers? Is this like an actual battle of the heavens that was somehow for some reason placed on earth. If so, for what? What greater being placed those two gates in the world and why do contractors appear. Also, why the fuck do they have to pay remunition and was that the intention of the great being who placed the two gates there. I love darker than black; i love its premises. There are two gates in the world randomly which are creating contractors. The problem with the show is that there is no explanation to why the gates are there for and what they are! WHO PUT THEM THERE!? Explain this to me please! Is this a greater being trying to test the people on earth for a judgement?
Idk, season 2 didnt answer any of these questions which i had since season 1. Badass theme song; badass hei for killing contractors even without powers; i hope season 2 and its main character are actually important for the plot of the enitre story ( i really dont want DtB to just place random storylines in their main story). The main story is a powerful one i believe. In conclusion, no DtB fan knows the plot to DtB because although we may know the premises, we do not know the meaning of the Gates and the appearance of contractors.
@ Josue: I also hope that they’d explain to us, even just a bit, how contractors and dolls came about.
After watching season II, IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME!!!
I wish they would fix this in Season 3, if there’s going to be one.
i just wolfed down all of season one subbed in one sitting a few nights ago then i watched it all again in the dubbed format tonight. i loved it. i watched the OVA’s as well with some trepidation because the last OVA i saw screwed my favorite anime characters over and totally changed their personalities. no bueno. but these DtB OVA’s were actually very good. i was glad to see so much hei/yin development.
i have yet to watch season 2 but it seems that hei takes a backseat and a decent ending still eludes him. i have this thing where if you are taken along on a journey with a long-suffering character who you come to invent in, love and admire, he or she should not remain miserable for the rest of their lives or die a horrible death because that only makes the people that care about them miserable, ne? this is why i hated the “reflection” OVA for rurouni kenshin so much. characters like kenshin and hei, who have suffered so much, deserve some kind of happy ending…or at least some satisfactory ending. that’s what makes the journey and the suffering worthwhile.
but this may be too much to ask from anime most of the time. usually, the end tale for a beloved character may still remain heartbreaking and/or soul-crushing (cowboy bebop, anyone?) but C’MON!!! toss us a bone here! I IMPLORE YOU, YE GODS OF ANIME, PLEASE GIVE HEI A HAPPY ENDING (preferably with a restored, sweet Yin). I realize this may be just as likely as wishing for them to bring back november 11 so he can make cute babies with misaki, but i can dream.
thank you so much for your summaries and keen insight/commentaries into this wonderful anime. i just bought the season one dvd set (but all of the OVA’s will be in the season 2 dvd set, is that right?). i appreciate the time you spend on it and it’s a valuable resource for the fans. rock on, sister!
~sin
*that word up there should be inveSt, not invent in the second paragraph. gomen!!!
sorry for multiple posts but quick question…
do you have summaries/commentaries for the OVA’s that are out there? would love to read them.
thx!
@ Sinamon: Thanks for reading my summaries! I’m glad to hear you found them helpful. It’s always great to hear from fellow DtB fans.
In my opinion, season 1 is much, much better than season 2. When the time comes that you decide to watch season 2, I’d advise you to try to keep an open mind because Hei took a backseat in the story and many questions were left unanswered. Season 2 isn’t bad, it’s actually a pretty good ride and enjoyable to watch (and Hei is still awesome), but the ending was lacking a lot of things, so don’t expect too much.
With regard to the season 2 OVAs, I haven’t had the chance to see them yet. But I’m definitely going to write summaries when I finally get around to watching them. ^_^
was just reading over your commentary of season 2 episode 2 and you may have posted follow-ups on summaries and commentaries for later episodes but the OVA’s will answer your questions about why yin is not with hei at the time of episode 2 and why hei is so despondent (and looking like a hobo). i think you had wondered if yin had something to do with why hei was so haggard and driven to drink in season 2. i believe the answer is a resounding yes.
SPOILERS AHEAD REGARDING OVA’s THAT TAKE PLACE BETWEEN SEASON 1 AND 2…
yin did in fact escape with hei after season 1 episode 25 and was on the run with him. they posed as a (honeymooning) couple and made their way from okinawa to hong kong where they were still being hotly pursued. during these OVA’s, we see the deeper formation of yin and hei’s relationship (hand holding and hugs galore!) and also we see yin’s alter ego start to peek out more and more in what can be seen as almost schizo moments. this alter ego also kills without hesitation, even using other contractor’s own abilities against them. hei realizes that yin is undergoing some kind of change but can’t do anything to help her. she tells him she’s scared of what’s happening to her, and that she hears a voice calling to her especially when hei is near. hei suggests that if his being around her is hurting her that they should separate but she cannot accept their parting as a solution. she wants to be with him forever, she confesses. he says he will protect her.
by the end of the 3rd OVA, hei and yin have found a compound for contractors (led by amagiri, who i thought burned to death by mai’s hand). but remnants of the syndicate who want to speed along the “awakening” of yin finally do get their prize doll while hei is purposefully distracted away from the compound. in the end, he couldn’t protect her. hei is told that yin was injected with something to speed up the process but that she herself stopped the awakening before it completed. hei is then told that it’s not too late and that he can still find her….and kill her.
the previews for the 4th OVA look like hei’s search for finding the kidnapped yin. obviously by the start of season 2 in the series, he has been unsuccessful as we see he is still without yin and has flashbacks of her. i think it’s safe to say that in that period of time (implication is 2 years, it seems), he has continued to look for yin but is falling apart. i am sure he’s wracked with guilt among other things.
i think watching the OVA’s will fill in a some holes but it may not make you a happy camper in your pro hei/kihiraha shipper ways 🙂 it’s very hei/yin centric but i think you’ll like them anyway since more hei is better than no hei lol! i think these OVA’s alone made many hei/yin shippers very happy. i am looking forward to your summaries and insights once you’ve watched them.
sorry if someone already posted about this or told you and this is old hat 😉
~sin
Allrighty, I just finished season 2 and here are my thoughts as it pertains to Hei and Yin (as I refuse to believe neither are dead). Some of these are known, some of these are what I now speculate as true (or will be in my fanfiction!! lol)…
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD. DON’T READ UNLESS YOU WANT ALL REVEALED OF SEASON 2:
1.) Yin’s alter/supra ego is Izanami
2.) Shion’s alter/supra ego is Izanagi
3.) Izanami, mythologically speaking, is like the god/being of destruction. As we have seen, all Izanami pretty much does is kill or cause chaos (many bodies in her wake)
4.) Izanagi, mythologically speaking, is like the god/being of creation. As we have seen, Shion is able to create copies of people as well as a new earth (!!!)
5.) The two must meld together and become one again (for some greather purpose/fulfillment of prophesy. Maybe there were whole at one point in time and the appearance of The Gate was a result of the sundering of the two halves (this has been a huge theme in literature and film i.e. The Dark Crystal).
6.) Hei has always said, regardless of the prophesy and other some such, that his goal was to kill Izanami…he never said he was going to kill Yin. He wants to destroy that which separated him from Yin.
7.) As Izanami draws Izanagi’s and July’s souls to her, Yin extends herself as a last ditch effort and appears and appeals to Hei to kill her because it’s not too late. Though she was not able to keep the awakening from happening like she did initially, she manages to send herself out one last time to Hei
8.) Misaki sees Hei’s star shine exponentially brighter in the night sky than ever before. His powers and that of his sister have returned in full force (and then some) and he has taken the meteor shard (either still in pieces from when Izanami broke Shuou’s pendant or it formed into a whole piece again after the fact like it did in season one when amber had broken it into pieces but it went back to being whole) to destroy Izunami via Yin’s last ditch attempt to save this crazy world.
9.) Hei changes Izanami on a molecular level via Yin’s
projection thus preventing the Iza/Iza binding.
10.) Soon after, we hear that another Gate has appeared (the twins call it out) because the actual completion of Izanami and Izanagi was prevented by Hei and Yin.
11.) Thus resulting in the boy we see in the fields. He looks like a boy version of Yin. He is now the new yet incomplete Izanami incarnate signified by the arrival of a new Gate as Yin proper has split from that entity completely and there is no consciousness to hold anything back now. So this kid wakes up and just starts consuming as soon as his eyes open.
12.) During the molecular change, as noted above, Yin and Izanami disconnected as beings totally. Yin was never a shell that remained in that box though that’s what everyone thought. Izanami had just seemingly taken over her wholesale and their entities were tightly intertwined but Yin boldly asserted herself at the last moment to Hei. Once the disconnect occurred, the remnants of Yin returned to her body.
13.) Hei is seen carrying Yin’s naked body off. This is clearly the Yin from the box in the room, not Yin that showed herself to Hei moments before, wearing white. Hei went back to the bldg after the change, disconnected Yin from the tubes and carried her off with him, at last alone together. At some point later, Yin regains consciousness and though it takes a long time, she slowly but surely returns to herself.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!!!! They live and are happy together eventually!!!!! Waaaaah!!! Fanfiction here I come!!!!
*refuse to believe the EITHER are dead, not neither, sheesh.
Nice review, found it trying to make some sense of the ending.
The “flying car” is actually explained. Somewhere way back at the very beginning (the first two episodes of season 1) there’s a part in which the Chiaki-doll lists a handful of (classified) scientific breakthroughs that’ve come from studying the gate. One of them is something like either “anti-gravity unit” or “gravity repeller”.
I’d love a season 3. Seems like earliest we’d know is Fall 2011, there were around two years between seasons one and two.
The thing with Kirihara in the gate at the end seems to be pretty straightforward: while she’s running she explains she thinks the gate will grant her wish, and she has something she still needs to ask BK201; Mao warns her that even if she gets her wish she’ll lose something.
Immediately after the exchange she’s swept up into the clouds and sees Hei doing whatever he does to Yin.
What was Kirihara going to ask Hei? I think we can safely surmise it was something along the lines of “did you ever have any feelings for me?” based on how she’s portrayed in season 2.
What was Kirihara’s wish? Probably to see Hei and get the answer to her question.
Did she get her wish? Seems so, if a bit indirectly: we don’t 100% know what happened with Hei and Yin, but what Kirihara saw does make the answer pretty clear (Hei’s in love with Yin, just like the rumors Genma told Misaki about once).
Did she lose something? Seems like it: as of the closing monologue she hasn’t seen him again, and it seems like she lost her belief things could work out.
It’s a DtB moment at it’s best: they tell you exactly what’s going to happen, do exactly what they said they would do, and still leave it up to you to connect the dots.
One interesting parallel between the endings: in the season 1 ending they show Kirihara has faith in Hei. They do this by showing she interprets Hei’s actions as “good” both times through: the first time through, when she sees Hei, Amber, and Yin on the surveillance feed she’s all “stop, they’re hesitating, they won’t do it”; the second time through, when they’re not on the feed, she’s all “stop, they’re not there, they’re not going to do it”.
So in this case, if what Amber had to say Hei would do in the end was “bad”, maybe Kirihara getting a glimpse at it is supposed to hint he took a 3rd way again? Who knows.
Oh well. Hei-Kirihara got ruled out pretty definitively in season 1 when they went on that date; Hei was all “you just have to go on your instincts” and she was too wimpy to do more than shake his hand and go back to work.
I’d love for there to be a season 3 but seems like the earliest we’d get one is fall 2011, which is too long. Fingers crossed.
Viewing a thought-provoking anime like this with a somwhat companion lecture has been a real blast!
Thank you for so deep analysis for all episodes of this season!
I honestly enjoyed a lot of the second season, but the last episode I was really just like eh. The whole season felt like they didnt try, and the last episode was like what everyone says “UHM?!?”. Despite that, it had some charm, particularly with Suau and her mom. Also I agree, July was cuteeeeee, I was thinking the same exact thing when he hugged her towards the end. I also found it interesting that contractors didnt exist in the alternate copy world that Suau and July were sent to. This was obvious because there was a quick scene of Suau looking up at the stars, and you could see constellations, the most obvious sticking out in the scene was Orions Belt. No more fake sky, with stars signifying contractors 😛 . . . What a boring world that would be!!!! I wish it had the flair of the 1st season, but it just didnt have that spark that drew everyone to it. We can also blame it on the budget too, they prooooobably didnt have much of that, being that they have SO many repeat scenes… unless they really were just a bunch of lazy fools. halfway throguh I was sighing at how Suau had to go through these drawn out “summon the sniper rifle” scenes. NOT ONCE did she pull it out without the same copy/paste scene. I can say this though, personally I really liked Suau’s personal story, struggle. . . I liked alot about her. They had 2 stories going on at the same time in a 12 episode anime though, the whole time there was also the Yin part, which I thought was garbage. Yin becomes some omega doll that has evolved so much that shes like a contractor god. . . for some reason. I liked how she was in the first season, just a normal doll, that was once a human, who is Hei’s partner. Couldn’t they bring in a different character if they wanted something like that?! Her whole existence is a wtf here. Well I’m not going to go into SUPA DETAILS, so I’ll stop myself here. Good day, friends.
I commented an asnwer in case you are intersted
Listen. If you want skip it to the conclusion. Btw i know it is 8 years after that but heyyy fuck ot why not.
So it was the prophecy to which if izanami and izanagi met they will give birth to a new being, a one which repressent the two gates: hell and heaven. That creature in the end is the same being i was talking about.
Through the series it known that yin had became izanagi(which the OVA was about). So in the end of the OVAs yin fulfils her job and transform into izanagi. Thus, the orginization hei works for AKA “syndicate” is doing all it can to prevent izanami meeting izanagi’s , and simultaneously trying to find another solution in case they meet: that solution is the brother in the wheelchair(sue’s brother) which he can basically copy paste anything he want- he is a contractor. So he is producing more beings like him so they could copy Earth faster.
However there is one problem, the ME which is an device ment to erase or adapt memories into beings can only “tape” a memory that will stay within the being for 3 days at its maximum. Therefore they use a meteor fragment (found at season 1 in one of the episodes- which btw hei took under the syndicate’s orders. I believe it was used in season 2) which can contain the being’s memories untill the fragment is cracked or broken. To test their theory they create sue(the girl in season 2) which was the sister of the wheelchair contractor and creates memories for her into the meteor fragment- which it believed he will make sure her memories will bond to her till it cracked. Near the end of season 2, it seems the theory is correct the meteor fragment will contain the memories.
So by multiplying the wheelchair contractor they recreate Earth: a new world without any contractors or dulls, and save all the humans’ memories in a big fragment (that orange thing you see in the end, that thing has at the same room all the wheelchair copies). So in case something will happen to the real world they make sure human kind will survive.
With that all discussed, what happened with hei? In sense you didn’t know, hei lost his power and with the meteor fragment of sue he basically delivered his contract power to her(thats why she became a contractor). Hei doesn’t have his power untill the end when he meet yin as izanami which returns hei’s powers(the scene where sue dies) and yin gave hei two option: 1. To kill yin and prevent the birth of the alien which might erase all humans and contractors as one- save earth. Or 2. To use his power once again to seperate yin from izanagi; by doing so he make sure izanami and izanagi will meet and will bring birth to the demonic child we see in the end, the one sucking souls from anyone; using hei’s power he will be able to get yin and to live with her till death will shown upon them, which might happen in the next future.
Hei choses the second option he gets yin and the real Earth isn’t safe anymore. So when you see hei holding yin and going with her you should know she is alive and he is aswell. Meanwhile, the demonic child is on earth, americans conquer japan, the syndicate continues his affords to prevent from everyone dying and there is another planet earth with humans only on it.
Conclusion, hei uses his power to seperate yin from izanagi and by that he gets yin alive!!! Earth is being duplicated but without all this messed crap. Syndicate continues to safe humanity on the fucked up Earth – the policewoman is working for the syndicate.
Btw, sue was only a experiment tool to see if the fragment can hold the dull’s memory.