7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The intrigue and danger continues in Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor. Hei - aka the masked killer, BK-201 - encounters Suo, a young Russian girl whose life changed the night a meteor fell to Earth. With Contractors attacking from all sides and the mysterious organization Section 3 closing in, Hei must fight to keep Suo alive.
Starring: Hidenobu Kiuchi, Misato Fukuen, Masaru Ikeda, Nana Mizuki, Takeharu OnishiAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Sci-Fi | 9% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (2 BDs, 3 DVDs)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
William Shakespeare gave Cassius in Julius Caesar one of his most iconic lines, one which seems to make a case
for personal responsibility and which argues against any all-controlling fate or destiny determining the course of an
individual’s life:
The fault, dear Brutus, in not in our stars,
But in ourselves, for we are underlings.
Now of course, as with just about any phrase culled from Shakespeare, there are manifold levels to ferret through to
fully understand (or at least try to understand) what The Bard might have meant. In this particular instance,
Cassius is trying to persuade Brutus that Caesar is just an ordinary man, like other men, certainly not a God, and one
whose ambitions to become a God-like Emperor must be thwarted. But if the fault is indeed not in the stars but
ourselves, how are we “underlings”? That seems to imply an overarching power which may in fact determine what
causes us to do certain things or act in certain ways. These are some of the questions that are at least part and parcel
of the intriguing anime Darker Than Black, an intentionally dense and convoluted thriller-esque outing that
combines elements of spies, science fiction and (as weird as it may sound) the dialectic between doing one’s duty
(and/or job) and what one may feel on a personal level might be right. The whole issue of what the stars may or may
not control is a major subplot of Darker Than Black, for in the present day alternate universe Tokyo that is the
setting for this anime, the real stars have disappeared due to some sort of cosmic cataclysm, replaced by false stars
that seem tied on an individual basis to mutants of a sort who attain supernatural powers. These mutants are known
as Contractors and they each have their own false star associated with them, with the connection being so complete
that the mutant actually becomes known by the star’s official Messier number.
Darker Than Black: Season Two and OVAs is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is one of the more elegant looking animes to come out of Bones, which is really saying quite a bit, and it sparkles with beautiful detail in this new high definition presentation. There's a lot of care taken throughout this second season to render gorgeous backgrounds along with very nicely nuanced character designs, and those all pop really well here. There's also a consistent use of something akin to the old Disney multi- plane technique, so that a quasi-3D element is present in many shots. Colors are beautifully saturated, though the series tends to be intentionally muted in terms of palette a lot of the time. Line detail is crisp and very well delineated and the series really shines brightly on this Blu-ray set.
Someone somewhere just slightly missed the boat with regard to the two lossless audio options on this Blu-ray. While we're granted the original Japanese language track in a nice Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mix, the first copy I received for review purposes had a bizarre authoring error, leading me to believe they forgot to add one little element—namely, English subtitles! A final retail version had no issues and subtitles were present on the Japanese mix. Both of these tracks offer excellent fidelity and the English dub is quite good with the usual assortment of FUNimation voice talent involved. Surround activity is rather consistent, especially in the action sequences, which are plentiful. Dialogue is clear and cleanly presented, and the series' rather nice score also sounds great in the 5.1 mix. While discrete channel utilization is perhaps a bit sparser than might be hoped for, there are enough decent effects included on this outing to remind listeners that they're hearing a surround mix.
It's hard not to give Darker Than Black considerable props for trying something really complex and convoluted, but it's just as hard not to take the series to task for not adequately tying up loose ends or providing a really satisfying conclusion (see above for my self-proclaimed "Lost Syndrome" analogy). The series is visually extremely impressive, certainly one of the best looking animes yet to come out of Bones, but that visual ingenuity is sometimes wasted on storylines that never really go anywhere or amount to all that much. Still, for those who like spy dramas infused with a touch of science fiction, Darker Than Black is frequently intriguing, if never completely compelling. Recommended, with the caveats noted above.
Premium Edition
2007-2008
Combo Pack
2009-2010
2009-2010
Anime Classics
2009-2010
(Still not reliable for this title)
2009
コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュR2
2008
Anime Classics
2008-2009
Classics
2003
Limited Edition | バッカーノ!
2007-2008
Classics
2005
Combo Pack
2010
Anime Classics
2011-2012
2010
2009-2010
Anime Classics / フルメタル·パニック!
2002
Classics / エルゴプラクシー
2006
Extra Edition | Standard Edition
2013
2011
2003
2005
ソウルイーター
2008-2009
Classics
2004
2010
Evangerion shin gekijôban: Ha
2009