This article is about the Japanese television series. For the Cage album, see Darker Than Black (album). For the German record label, see Darker Than Black Records.
Darker than Black
First English DVD cover, featuring Hei
Darker Than Black ー黒の契約者ー (Dākā Zan Burakku ーKuro no Keiyakushaー)
Genre
Mystery[1]
Science fiction[1]
Supernatural thriller[2]
Created by
Bones
Tensai Okamura
Manga
Written by
Tensai Okamura
Illustrated by
Nokiya
Published by
Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher
NA:Yen Press
Magazine
Monthly Asuka
Demographic
Shōjo
Original run
March 24, 2007 – November 24, 2007
Volumes
2
Anime television series
Directed by
Tensai Okamura
Produced by
Yoshihiro Ooyabu
Ryou Ooyama
Hiroo Maruyama
Osamu Hosokawa
Written by
Tensai Okamura
Shōtarō Suga (13–25)
Music by
Yoko Kanno
Studio
Bones
Licensed by
AUS:Madman Entertainment
NA:Funimation (expired)
UK:Manga Entertainment
Original network
JNN (MBS, TBS)
English network
SEA:Animax
US:Funimation Channel
Original run
April 6, 2007 – September 29, 2007
Episodes
25 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Beneath the Fully Bloomed Cherry Blossoms
Directed by
Tensai Okamura
Written by
Shinsuke Oonishi
Music by
Yoko Kanno
Studio
Bones
Licensed by
AUS:Madman Entertainment
NA:Funimation
UK:Manga Entertainment
Released
March 26, 2008
Runtime
25 minutes
Manga
Darker than Black: Shikkoku no Hana (2009–2011)
Sequel
Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (2009)
Spin-off
Darker than Black: Gaiden (2010)
Darker than Black (Japanese: Darker Than Black ー黒の契約者ー, Hepburn: Dākā Zan Burakku ーKuro no Keiyakushaー, "Darker than Black: The Black Contractor"), is a Japanese anime television series created and directed by Tensai Okamura and animated by studio Bones. 25 episodes were broadcast on MBS, TBS and their affiliated stations from April to September 2007. The series is set in a world where a spatial anomaly identified as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America and was followed by "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscapes. People with special abilities labeled as Contractors emerged shortly afterwards. The series follows agent Hei and his comrades in the Syndicate organization, operating in an vastly altered version of contemporary Tokyo to uncover the mysteries of Hell's Gate.
The series was adapted into two manga series, which were serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Asuka and Square Enix's Young Gangan, respectively. A sequel to the anime series, Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor, was broadcast for twelve episodes from October to December 2009. In the sequel, Hei trains new Contractor Suo Pavlichenko and searches for his former ally Yin. DVDs of the series included original video animations titled Darker than Black: Gaiden exploring Hei and Yin's relationship between the first and second seasons. In North America, Darker than Black was licensed by Funimation.
The series was created by Okamura, who was inspired by ninja and spy stories based on ideas he had after creating Wolf's Rain. In contrast to Wolf's Rain heroic cast, Okamura wanted flawed and violent heroes such as the Contractors. While Okamura penned most of the series' contents, he left freedom to other writers, most notably Shōtarō Suga who takes over the work of main writer in the second half. Critical response to Darker than Black was generally positive for its handling of Hei and the other Contractors who fight each other though there was expressure of confusion in regards to the setting and ending.
^ abScholes, Sandra (August 5, 2009). "Darker than Black Vol. 1&2 (Advance Review)". Active Anime. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^Ellingwood, Holly (November 20, 2008). "Darker Than Black Vol. 1 (Advance Review)". Active Anime. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
The following is a list of characters from the DarkerthanBlack anime series and its spin-offs which were created by Bones. The main characters in Wolf's...
titled DarkerthanBlack: Gemini of the Meteor was broadcast for twelve episodes from October 9 to December 25, 2009. A sidesequel to DarkerthanBlack and...
The action anime DarkerthanBlack features music composed by Yoko Kanno who created one soundtrack. Kanno was approached by director Tensai Okamura in...
Paburichenko) is a fictional character introduced in the anime series DarkerthanBlack: Gemini of the Meteor. A young teenage girl, Suo is an upbeat Eurassian...
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, gallows humor, black humor, or dark humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter...
Piece, Akira Takizawa in Eden of the East, Train Heartnet in Black Cat, Hei in DarkerthanBlack, Larcade Dragneel in the final season of Fairy Tail, Dabi...
MIT are working on ... a tool to track the movement of dark matter. "Dark matter even darkerthan once thought". Space Telescope Science Institute. Retrieved...
postscript (link) "A Heart Unswaying On the Water's Surface, Part 1". DarkerThanBlack. Episode 13. Funimation.- closing credits Sherman, Jennifer (December...
in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam and DarkerthanBlack. Kanno is a keyboardist and the frontwoman for Seatbelts, who perform...
Darkerthan Amber (1966) is the seventh novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. The plot begins when McGee and his close friend Meyer are...
"Tsukiakari no Michishirube" is the opening theme for the anime series DarkerthanBlack: Gemini of the Meteor. In an Anime News Network poll, "Tsukiakari...
Other voice roles include Lilynette Gingerbuck in Bleach, July in DarkerthanBlack, Ganko Morikawa in Flame of Recca, Hyun in Geneshaft, Mayuko Asano...
1970s as BlackerThan the Night. In 2014, Henry Bedwell directed a remake of the film, this time with an English release title of DarkerThan Night. "Mas...
tropics and are exposed to high UVR have darker skin pigmentation than their surrounding populations. Dark-skinned humans have high amounts of melanin...
single". Apple Music. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2021. "DarkerThanBlack — single". Apple Music. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2021...
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