×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Darker Than Black DVDs 4-6




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:36 pm Reply with quote
This anime was brilliant in general, excellent episodes. Too bad Vol. 5-6 only comes in december where I live, you really made me want to watch that bonus episode.
Great review for a great anime. Definitely a must buy.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Big Hed



Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 1607
Location: Melbourne, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 3:13 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Darker than BLACK is one of those rare series which is consistently better than it probably should be.


Absolutely, compared to a show like Speed Grapher which covers similar subject matter. Bones deserves serious credit for turning DTB into an excellent series, largely due to great characters, I think. Amber, for one, was very enjoyable to watch, as you said -- I think she's probably the mellowest (technical) villain I've ever seen in an anime.

I didn't find the ending rushed, although it probably wouldn't have felt drawn out by the addition of an extra episode either. I'm just sad that both spoiler[Mao and Huang (and November 11!) were lost in the end.] Episode 26 was a hoot though, and yeah, that thing with the elephant... what can be said? The convenient ending provided by the vial worked a lot better than it deserved to, as well Razz

Overall, a great second half. The groundwork laid out in the front 14 episodes really paid off here. I hope the R1 release of season 2 is a much more expedient process.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:20 am Reply with quote
While they're were some parts of Darker that I enjoyed it all boils down to these facts:

1. The beginning was confusing, yet effective.

2. The unique, two-ep stand-alone structure is effective, but makes the series go TOO fast!

3. The series' plots were uneven; Some stories were more interesting, affecting, and comprehendible.

4. The overall story of Darker (The Gates), could've been explained better. (Yes, the last episode is/was one of the weaker endings out there...)

5. The dub was, of course, a great aspect! I love Laura Bailey (I'm a fan of Blue Gender, Kodocha)! Brandon and Brittany are pretty good in everything I've seen them in... (Black Cat's Sven and Harima were my favs in their animes. And Shuffle! and Kanon were largely enjoyable because of Brittany.)
Other than those three, the dub is as good as Funimation usually does there stuff.

6. The soundtrack... was a disappointment...
Yoko's music becomes noticeable during those "special" scenes, but here... Nothing drew me in.

Overall, Darker Than BLACK was a, literal, mixed bag.

There were episodes that made me want to dub this a masterpiece, other eps that were hugely inferior to those...
It's themes of people being different, and how people deal with it, was one of it's unmistakable charms!

This the score I'd give for the ENTIRE series:

Dub: B+
Story: B
Animation: A-
Art: B+
Music: C+

+ The themes, characters, and execution are well done. Dub. Unique episode structure.
- Sub-par music. Uneven enjoyable plot stories. Ending arc is improperly executed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail My Anime My Manga
vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:23 pm Reply with quote
So much of my opinion of Darker than Black is going to hinge on the upcoming second season (I really hope Funimation works out a deal to stream it). As it is, it's a pretty good series with an unfinished storyline. If you see the finale of this series as a turning point, or a season finale, rather than the actual "end," then it works really well, tying up a lot of things but leaving you wanting more. If the second season is as good, and gives a complete and satisfying ending, then, well, this will go from being a pretty good series to an excellent one.

Pull through for us, BONES!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
jmfsilenthill



Joined: 31 Aug 2009
Posts: 1863
Location: Chinese cartoons are srs biz
PostPosted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:53 pm Reply with quote
Just got volume 6 in the mail today!! I've really enjoyed the series so far.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
SpecterVR



Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:51 pm Reply with quote
There is actually a rather recent, ongoing manga that expands the story a little bit. It seems like it will be neccessary to understand the next series but it is quite good.

I did enjoy this series quite a bit, the 2-episode arcs (or what I think should've been hour episodes) were very effective imo.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group