Darker Than Black

Darker than Black Synopsis:

Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The heavenly bodies disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people who possess various special abilities emerged. Kept secret from the masses, these individuals, known as Contractors, are able to murder in cold blood. Various nations and organizations around the world use Contractors as spies and assassins, often resulting in violent battles for information. Each fake star has a corresponding Contractor, and they vibrate when their Contractor’s power is being used. As such, Contractors are usually identified by their star’s Messier Catalogue Number. However, their abilities are gained at the cost of their humanity. They are implied to lack human emotions which includes no aversions to murder, and they are regarded as extremely rational and logical in their decision making. Contractors are thus named because of their need to always complete a remuneration or payment each time their power is used. It is not entirely clear what happens to one if he or she fails to complete the remuneration. Contractors are described as being psychologically compelled to complete their remunerative task.

Darker than Black Story:

Ten years ago, an inscrutable and abnormal territory known as Hell’s Gate appeared in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats – these are known as Contractors. Each fake star has a corresponding Contractor, which reacts to their activities. As such, Contractors are usually identified by their star’s Messier catalogue number. Kept secret from the masses, these individuals are known to murder in cold blood, smothering unnecessary emotions with logic and rationale. Their incredible abilities, however, are gained at the cost of their humanity – Contractors are thus named because of an involuntary compulsion to “pay the price” each time their power is used, which can range from eating particular foods and completing meaningless tasks, to self-harm and having their bodies change in peculiar ways. Various nations and organizations around the world train and utilize Contractors as spies and assassins, resulting in violent battles for valuable objects and information. Following the disastrous Heaven’s War, the United States lost its dominant position as a superpower to a mysterious organization named the Syndicate. The story revolves around a Chinese contractor codenamed Hei as he undertakes various espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo under the direction of the aforementioned Syndicate.

Darker than Black Characters:

Hei (Black) –  Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)
The main protagonist and an elite Contractor with the Messier Code BK-201. In his team, Hei acts as the spy and assassin, swiftly dealing death without fail. Hei’s “mundane identity” is a gentle-hearted student from China named Li Shengshun, but when “working” he takes on the role of a seemingly (at first) affectless and ruthless killer nicknamed ‘The Black Reaper’; this alias was earned based on stories of BK-201’s accomplishments as an assassin during the war at Heaven’s Gate. His huge appetite, lack of the typical rational reasoning demonstrated by all Contractors and seeming lack of obeisance (the ‘cost’ paid for using Contract Powers) shroud his true character in mystery. Part of an organization with unknown ambitions known only as the Syndicate, Hei is searching for information regarding his sister Pai; Pai was a Contractor – the original BK-201, in fact – who disappeared during the implosion of Heaven’s Gate several years prior. It is only after her disappearance that Hei gains Contractor abilities (in particular, the same abilities his sister had) as well as the BK-201 designation. Prior to the incident at Heaven’s Gate, Hei was not considered a Contractor and lacked any supernatural powers; he also despised fighting. However, he still accompanied Pai for the duration of the Heaven’s Gate war, using his physical abilities in martial arts and other combat techniques. Hei’s Contract allows him to generate and manipulate electricity, and to alter matter at a quantum level. Hei is hotly pursued by the Japanese government for his suspected involvement in multiple assassinations. It is later revealed that Hei is not a true Contractor, but has “merged” with his sister’s powers when she died. This also explains why Hei has no payment for his contract.

Yin (Silver) – Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English)
Support personnel in Hei’s team. Her primary function is to use her observation ability to locate individuals, usually assassination targets, for the team. Yin is a “Doll,” a type of medium that came into existence with the appearance of Hell’s Gate. Dolls have an affinity for certain substances or elements which, when they are in contact with that substance, allow them to project “observation specters” to any location the substance is also present, and let the Dolls remotely view that location. Yin’s medium substance is water. Like all Dolls, Yin seems to be incapable of understanding or displaying any type of emotion, and is often very passive and quiet; however, she gradually reveals that she is not entirely devoid of personality, sometimes making involuntary movements (like grabbing Hei’s arm) that seem to indicate some kind of attachment to Hei and the other members of her team. Before Hell’s Gate appeared Yin went by the name Kirsi (last name unknown) who lived in Finland and was studying the piano under the tutelage of famed pianist Eelis Kostinen. In episode 14, A Heart Unswaying on the Water’s Surface: Part 2, Yin confesses that she remembers both good and not so good memories, but chooses to stay with her team members instead of returning to Finland with Kostinen.
Huang (Yellow) – Voiced by: Masaru Ikeda (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
Huang’s position can be interpreted as that of field supervisor. He is the only normal human on the team and primarily serves as a strategic advisor. He has a general dislike for Contractors and Dolls and voices it regularly in spite of having to work alongside three of them. Huang is also the only member of the team that seems to have consistent direct contact with the Syndicate, relaying the Syndicate’s orders to the team and occasionally sharing information that he has learned from them. Outside of “jobs,” Huang has very little to do with the other team members. In spite of his said-dislike of Contractors, Huang sacrifices his life at the end of the first season in order to help the team stop an experiment that would kill all Contractors if completed.

Mao (Cat) – Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)
A Contractor who has lost his original body and now resides within that of a black cat. As the cat’s brain is not fully capable of containing Mao’s human consciousness, a server installed in his collar is utilized to support some of it. If he were to lose contact with said server, he would become no different from an ordinary cat. Possibly related to his computer-based existence, Mao shows some proficiency as a hacker. His Messier Code is HM-432. A very practical character, he is very interested in watching Hei react to situations in an unorthodox manner. Although he fears the Syndicate’s disapproval and on occasion is able to receive direct orders from the top, he often protects the members of his team by withholding information about them from the Syndicate. His contract allows him to possess other animal bodies, although he sometimes has difficulty adjusting to them. In season 2, it is revealed that Mao lost his body when an explosion occurred during his mission to spy on the activities and research of Professor Pavlichenko, Suou’s father. Since losing his human body seems to be considered an extreme form of obeisance, he can use his Contract power of transference freely. After the dissolution of the Syndicate and the events at Hell’s Gate, Mao loses contact with his server. However he is found by the CIA and given a new server, identity and body, acting as Suou’s pet flying squirrel.

Misaki Kirihara – Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese), Kate Oxley (English)
The Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs Division 4 who investigates incidents involving Contractors. Misaki has long brown hair and glasses and rarely smiles or laughs. She has a strong sense of justice and a sharp intuition. Misaki became a policewoman in order to protect the weak, has a distaste for smokers due to their smell, and is sensitive about the exposure of her body. She drives a blue Porsche 997 Carrera in the series. Misaki likes eating greasy food but claims to stay fit because she works out. Her father is Superintendent Supervisor Naoyasu Kirihara of the National Police Agency. She is obsessed with finding the identity of BK-201, whom she suspects is involved in many of her cases. Throughout the series, she encounters Hei in his alternate persona “Li” (as Hei/Li is spying on her), and it is implied that she becomes attracted to Li, unaware that he is the person she is hunting. Later in the second season, she is scouted and recruited by Kobayashi from Section Three of the Japanese Intelligence which is formed after the final event of season one. Throughout the series, she is seen to primarily use Smith & Wesson 908S as her main side arm.

Kana Shinō
Kana is the main character of the first manga. While exploring the mystery of her father’s “death”, she meets Hei. She is kind and caring. Her mother was killed by her father, and her father is killed by his boss.
 
Darker than Black Episodes:

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Source: Wikipedia