The cover of the first English DVD compilation released by FUNimation on November 25, 2008 for North America. |
Season One
'Darker than Black' was conceptualized by Tensai Okamura and produced by Bones and Aniplex. The series premiered on Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System's Thursday late night anime broadcasting timeslot, replacing the Sunrise series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion on April 5, 2007, and similar to Code Geass incorporated corporate sponsorship of Japan News Network partners Pizza Hut and Nifty, where episodes of the series was streamed every week during the series' broadcast run. It completed its initial run on September 27, 2007, and received its broadcasting satellite premiere on Animax from May 8, 2007 to October 23, 2007.[4] The series was also aired in English on Animax Asia, Animax's English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia from December 2008 onwards. The series has also been released in Japan by Aniplex across nine DVDs, each containing three episodes, except for the first DVD, which had only two. The ninth and final DVD included an original video animation, which expanded upon the romantic relationships between characters. The DVDs were released between July 25, 2007 and March 26, 2008 by Aniplex. FUNimation received the license for the series in Region 1 and has released one DVD compilation with two more coming in the future.
The first English DVD was released on November 25, 2008 and the second
and third DVDs were released on January 20, 2009 and March 10, 2009
respectively. Volume 4 was released on May 5, 2009 with Volume 5 released on June 23, 2009.Volume 6 was released on August 11, 2009 and is now available. In May
2010, Funimation released the entire first season in a complete box set;
it was originally released in March, but was recalled due to a
defective disk.
The Blu-ray Box was released in Japan on September 30, 2009 with a
guidebook with several unreleased music tracks not available in the
OSTs.
The series made its North American television debut when it started airing on the FUNimation Channel September 6, 2010.
- Titles - English: Darker than Black Synonyms: DTB Japanese: Darker than BLACK -黒の契約者-
- Type - TV • OVA
- Episodes - 26
- Aired - April 07, 2007
- Producers - Aniplex • Bones • Square Enix
- Genres - Action • Mystery • Sci-fi • Super Power
- Duration - 24 min. per episode
- Age Rating - R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
- Opening Theme -
- #01: "Howling" by Abingdon Boys School (eps 1-14)
- #02: "Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero without a Name~" by An Cafe (eps 15-25)
- Ending Theme -
- #01: "Tsuki Akari" by Rie Fu (eps 1-14)
- #02: "Dreams" by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (eps 15-25)
- Licensing Company - FUNimation Entertainment
- Official Website (JAP) - http://www.d-black.net/
- Type - X264 MKV
- Audio - English • Japanese
- Subs - English
- Size ~95 MB
- Status - Complete
- Resolution - 720P HD
- Download all 3 parts of an episode in the same folder.
- Use FreeArc or any other extractor to extract the files.
- Use VLC Media Player or any other player to play the .mkv files.
- EPISODE 01
"The Fallen Star of a Contract... (Part 1)" "Keiyaku no Hoshi wa Nagareta... (Zenpen)" (契約の星は流れた...(前編)) |
Story : The police attempt to arrest a Caucasian man, but he escapes using
gravitational power. He lands a short distance away, but while
attempting to complete his payment, he is confronted by a mysterious
masked man who easily defeats him and demands to know the location of
the package. After the defeated man reveals that a girl named Chiaki
knows the location of the package, the masked man, Hei, kills him. Still in pursuit, the Public Security Bureau Section 4 chief, Misaki Kirihara, is informed of the man's death and discovers his identity as a DGSE agent. She later discusses the man's death with her police squad. Investigating a lead, Yūsuke Saitō and Yutaka Kōno, members of the squad hang out in a hostess bar
and end up pursuing a girl they believe to be Chiaki Shinado. Hei, also
known as Li, meets up with her and saves her from the police. When
Chiaki meets up with her supposed allies, she is nearly kidnapped,
although she is saved by Li before she can be knocked out. In the chase
scene, another contractor punches Li over the railing of a bridge and
knocks Chiaki out, capturing her. She escapes from her kidnappers and
meets up with Li again, collapsing into his arms.
- EPISODE 02
The Fallen Star of a Contract... (Part 2)"
"Keiyaku no Hoshi wa Nagareta... (Kōhen)" (契約の星は流れた...(後編))
Story : Li brings Chiaki back to her apartment and she tells him about
contractors. When they return to her room, they find her it's been
ransacked by the men who have been chasing her. Chiaki asks to stay in
Li's room and they spend the night together. They later go out to eat in
a diner, but are interrupted when Chiaki's pursuers appear and attack
them. They escape, but Li is injured as they run. Chiaki reveals her
story to Li and entrusts him with the package that everyone is seeking.
The following morning, while on the run from their pursuers, Li causes
Chiaki to collapse and escapes in the ensuing chaos. Now dresses as the
Black Reaper, Hei reveals that he is a contractor and is shot while
protecting Chiaki, who is revealed to be a doll. He still manages to
defeat the other contractors, though Chiaki sacrifices her life to save
him in the process.
- EPISODE 03
"A New Star Shines in the Dawn Sky... (Part 1)"
"Shinsei wa Shinonome no Sora ni Kirameku... (Zenpen)" (新星は東雲の空に煌く...(前編))
Story : A man, the only survivor of his expedition, explores the interior of the
Gate and discovers a glowing flower. In the present day, Li has
breakfast and stops by a small store. A schoolgirl, Mai Kashiwagi,
misses her train in the morning. Li checks into a construction site to
begin work and meets Kōzō Tahara, the man from the Gate expedition. Two
men, monitored by Huang,
check into a hotel and reveal their plans to use force to convince
Tahara to obey them. Mai awakens in front of a fire and is sent home
from her school. When Li attempts to drive her home, she escapes and
runs off with friends. Hei later makes contact with her and entertains
her. However, they are attacked as they travel through the city. Mai
reacts and an inferno is seen in her eyes as Kirihara is informed of a
new star.
- EPISODE 04
"A New Star Shines in the Dawn Sky... (Part 2)"
"Shinsei wa Shinonome no Sora ni Kirameku... (Kōhen)" (新星は東雲の空に煌く...(後編))
Story : The aftermath of Mai's reaction reveals that she has become a
Moratorium. The collective groups pursuing Mai change their plans and
her continued impulses cause additional infernos. Kanami Ishizaki,
Kirihara's high school friend, discusses the Moratorium with Kirihara.
During the full-scale civilian evacuation, Mai reacts again and
accidentally kills her friend, Yuka, and Yuka's father. When the police
move to retrieve her, they are attacked by Luco, a contractor. He
kidnaps Mai and they use her to force Tahara to reveal his research.
Tahara tells Hei of the research, but Hei leaves in disgust to retrieve
Mai. He is defeated when Mai's kidnappers threaten Mai's life, but
Tahara arrives, hands over the remains of his research, and attempts to
kill Mai. Luco kills Tahara, and, in turn, is killed by Hei. Mai
transforms fully into a Contractor and is sent off to the Syndicate.
- EPISODE 05
"Red Giant over Eastern Europe... (Part 1)"
"Saiyaku no Akaki Yume wa Tōō ni Kiete... (Zenpen)" (災厄の紅き夢は東欧に消えて...(前編))
Story : After a trade between a mafia group and a man goes bad, the man uses his
Contractor abilities to kill the gang. When the boss attempts to
escape, the other man is aided by another Contractor. The Contractors
are revealed to be MI6 operatives, led by November 11. He and the other contractor, April, retrieve a woman named Havoc.
A former Contractor, Havoc is taken in to be researched and examined.
She is then transported with the help of Kirihara and the Tokyo police.
However, the transport, a helicopter, is really a ruse to draw the
attacks of other organizations pursuing Havoc. November 11 reveals that
he hid Havoc in Kirihara's car, but they are soon attacked by Hei and
his team, and Havoc is taken. However, when Huang checks in with Hei, he
discovers that Hei has left with Havoc to interrogate her.
- EPISODE 06
"Red Giant over Eastern Europe... (Part 2)"
"Saiyaku no Akaki Yume wa Tōō ni Kiete... (Kōhen)" (災厄の紅き夢は東欧に消えて...(後編))
"Saiyaku no Akaki Yume wa Tōō ni Kiete... (Kōhen)" (災厄の紅き夢は東欧に消えて...(後編))
Story : Hei interrogates Havoc as to the whereabouts of Amber and Pai,
Hei's younger sister, but Havoc does not know anything useful. She
offers to help Hei by approaching the Gate and recovering her memories
and powers, but that only leads her to wanting her own death. With the
MI6 agents in pursuit, her wish may be granted.
- EPISODE 07
"The Scent of Gardenias Lingers in the Summer Rain... (Part 1)"
"Samidare ni Kuchinashi wa Kaori o Hanachi... (Zenpen)" (五月雨にクチナシは香りを放ち...(前編))
"Samidare ni Kuchinashi wa Kaori o Hanachi... (Zenpen)" (五月雨にクチナシは香りを放ち...(前編))
Story : Gai Kurasawa, a private detective, and his partner Kiko Kayanuma,
a young girl, are hired by the widow of a cosmetics company executive
to search for her lost black cat. They cross paths with Hei, who is on
the search of the Contractor killing employers from the very same
company. As the two groups continue to peruse in their search, Kurasawa
unexpectedly comes across the skeleton of a long dead woman.
- EPISODE 08
"The Scent of Gardenias Lingers in the Summer Rain... (Part 2)"
"Samidare ni Kuchinashi wa Kaori o Hanachi... (Kōhen)" (五月雨にクチナシは香りを放ち...(後編))
"Samidare ni Kuchinashi wa Kaori o Hanachi... (Kōhen)" (五月雨にクチナシは香りを放ち...(後編))
Story : Kurasawa continues his investigation, even suspecting his own client of
murder, while Hei continues to go after the body-switching Contractor, Mao, who temporarily switches bodies with a crow and nearly drowns in the process.
- EPISODE 09
"The White Dress, Stained with the Girl's Dreams and Blood... (Part 1)"
"Junpaku no Doresu wa Shōjo no Yume to Chi ni Somaru... (Zenpen)" (純白のドレスは少女の夢と血に染まる...(前編))
"Junpaku no Doresu wa Shōjo no Yume to Chi ni Somaru... (Zenpen)" (純白のドレスは少女の夢と血に染まる...(前編))
Story : Kirihara, who is investigating a string of murders, ends up at the
birthday party of her high school classmate, Alice Wang, who is the
daughter of the boss of the Hong Kong mafia, Qing Long Tang. The party
is actually a cover for an emergency board meeting related to the deaths
of several Qing Long Tang executives, and Hei is also in attendance,
posing as a waiter. With the Contractor, named Wei Zhijun, on her side, Alice eliminates Qing Long Tang, but Kirihara is also on her list.
- EPISODE 10
"The White Dress, Stained with the Girl's Dreams and Blood... (Part 2)"
"Junpaku no Doresu wa Shōjo no Yume to Chi ni Somaru... (Kōhen)" (純白のドレスは少女の夢と血に染まる...(後編))
"Junpaku no Doresu wa Shōjo no Yume to Chi ni Somaru... (Kōhen)" (純白のドレスは少女の夢と血に染まる...(後編))
Story : Hei and Kirihara barely escape from Alice, but Hei goes his own way
after reuniting Kirihara with Saitō and goes after the crystal in the
stone flower garden. He runs into Wei and loses the crystal in the
process. Wei then meets up with Alice, but decides to eliminate her
first before going after Kirihara and Saitō.
- EPISODE 11
"When One Takes Back What Was Lost Within the Wall... (Part 1)"
"Kabe no Naka, Nakushita Mono o Torimodosu Toki... (Zenpen)" (壁の中、なくしたものを取り戻すとき...(前編))
"Kabe no Naka, Nakushita Mono o Torimodosu Toki... (Zenpen)" (壁の中、なくしたものを取り戻すとき...(前編))
Story : Hei has been asked to infiltrate PANDORA Institute, which is located in
the vicinity of the Gate, and retrieve a Meteor Fragment, which even the
CIA is after. There, he meets a man named Nick Hillman, and they find that they share the same dream of seeing the real stars.
- EPISODE 12
"When One Takes Back What Was Lost Within the Wall... (Part 2)"
"Kabe no Naka, Nakushita Mono o Torimodosu Toki... (Kōhen)" (壁の中、なくしたものを取り戻すとき...(後編))
"Kabe no Naka, Nakushita Mono o Torimodosu Toki... (Kōhen)" (壁の中、なくしたものを取り戻すとき...(後編))
Story : Hei discovers that Nick is a Contractor with powers similar to his own.
Hei follows Nick into Hell's Gate, where Nick transforms and Hei
recovers the Meteor Fragment.
- EPISODE 13
"A Heart Unswaying on the Water's Surface... (Part 1)"
"Gin'iro no Yoru, Kokoro wa Suimen ni Yureru Koto Naku... (Zenpen)" (銀色の夜、心は水面に揺れることなく...(前編))
"Gin'iro no Yoru, Kokoro wa Suimen ni Yureru Koto Naku... (Zenpen)" (銀色の夜、心は水面に揺れることなく...(前編))
Story : Many years ago Yin,
also called Kirsi, is playing the piano under the watch of her teacher,
Eelis Kastinen. In the present, Yin has apparently run away. Kurasawa
and Kiko are asked by Kastinen to look for Yin.
- EPISODE 14
"A Heart Unswaying on the Water's Surface... (Part 2)"
"Gin'iro no Yoru, Kokoro wa Suimen ni Yureru Koto Naku... (Kōhen)" (銀色の夜、心は水面に揺れることなく...(後編))
"Gin'iro no Yoru, Kokoro wa Suimen ni Yureru Koto Naku... (Kōhen)" (銀色の夜、心は水面に揺れることなく...(後編))
Story : The Syndicate orders Huang and Hei to kill Yin. However, Yin decides to
continue working with Hei and the others. Yin then displays emotions by
crying. Hei stuns Kastinen, and then erases his memory, on Yin's
approval.
- EPISODE 15
"Memories of Betrayal in an Amber Smile... (Part 1)"
"Uragiri no Kioku wa Kohakuiro no Hohoemi... (Zenpen)" (裏切りの記憶は琥珀色の微笑み...(前編))
"Uragiri no Kioku wa Kohakuiro no Hohoemi... (Zenpen)" (裏切りの記憶は琥珀色の微笑み...(前編))
Story : April spots Amber and Maki, two operatives of the Evening Primrose, and
ends up in a non-fatal explosion. Meanwhile, the city is spiraling out
of control as a chain of terrorist attacks occur, the culprit being
Maki, on several foreign embassies, which allows the Evening Primrose to
steal the Meteor Fragment. November 11, wanting revenge, chases down
Amber. Hei, also wanting revenge, chases after her as well.
- EPISODE 16
"Memories of Betrayal in an Amber Smile... (Part 2)"
"Uragiri no Kioku wa Kohakuiro no Hohoemi... (Kōhen)" (裏切りの記憶は琥珀色の微笑み...(後編))
"Uragiri no Kioku wa Kohakuiro no Hohoemi... (Kōhen)" (裏切りの記憶は琥珀色の微笑み...(後編))
Story : The Stargazer
finally speaks, giving vague information on the Evening Primrose.
November 11 kills Maki in a final showdown as Hei finally reaches Amber,
who has taken Yin. Kirihara also arrives at their location, but, with
the help of Amber's Contractor powers, everyone escapes.
- EPISODE 17
"A Love Song Sung from a Trash Heap... (Part 1)"
"Hakidame de Rabu Songu o Utau... (Zenpen)" (掃きだめでラブソングを歌う...(前編))
"Hakidame de Rabu Songu o Utau... (Zenpen)" (掃きだめでラブソングを歌う...(前編))
Story : Hei meets Kenji Sakurai of the Nakazawa Family, a clumsy yet ambitious
young man. New characters are introduced who live in Hei's apartment
building. Later, Kenji is given the assignment of taking care of a Doll
by Hitotsubashi, his boss. Hei, Mao, Yin, and Huang try to find the
Doll, who is conveniently in the hands of Kenji.
- EPISODE 18
"A Love Song Sung from a Trash Heap... (Part 2)"
"Hakidame de Rabu Songu o Utau... (Kōhen)" (掃きだめでラブソングを歌う...(後編))
"Hakidame de Rabu Songu o Utau... (Kōhen)" (掃きだめでラブソングを歌う...(後編))
Story : Kenji falls for the Doll, and they try to run away together with Hei's
help. While out shopping, Hei is nearly identified by Kirihara as
BK-201, but Kirihara doesn't see the relation between Li Sheng Shun and
BK-201. Later, Kenji is caught and nearly killed by Hitotsubashi when
Hei saves him. Kenji and the Doll successfully run away.
- EPISODE 19
"Dreaming Shallow, Uninebriated... (Part 1)"
"Asaki Yumemishi, Yoi mo Sezu... (Zenpen)" (あさき夢見し、酔いもせず...(前編))
"Asaki Yumemishi, Yoi mo Sezu... (Zenpen)" (あさき夢見し、酔いもせず...(前編))
Story : Hei is sent to infiltrate a religious organization and kill the prophet, named Alma. He is aided by an insider, another Contractor, named Shihoko Kishida, whom Huang appears to know. Amagiri
and Alma appear to be in cahoots with Alma providing him with Dolls. A
well-meant mistake on Huang's part leads to Shihoko's capture.
- EPISODE 20
"Dreaming Shallow, Uninebriated... (Part 2)"
"Asaki Yumemishi, Yoi mo Sezu... (Kōhen)" (あさき夢見し、酔いもせず...(後編))
"Asaki Yumemishi, Yoi mo Sezu... (Kōhen)" (あさき夢見し、酔いもせず...(後編))
Story : The Syndicate orders Huang to kill Shihoko, and as a secondary directive
secretly orders Mao and Hei to kill Alma, and also Huang if He fails.
In Huang's past we see him falling for Shihoko, and then Shihoko killing
his then police partner Isozaki. Isozaki's wife's memory is wiped by
the M.E., and Huang is drafted into The Syndicate. He is unable to kill
Shihoko, and asks Hei to kill them both. Hei tries to help them run away
while Mao refuses to have any involvement. When they arrive at the
docks to wait for a boat, Shihoko sees someone from The Syndicate and
realizes they cannot escape. For love of Huang, she runs into the path
of an oncoming truck and dies.
- EPISODE 21
"City Under Crackdown, Moist with Tears... (Part 1)"
"Shukusei no Machi wa Namida ni Nurete... (Zenpen)" (粛正の街は涙に濡れて...(前編))
"Shukusei no Machi wa Namida ni Nurete... (Zenpen)" (粛正の街は涙に濡れて...(前編))
Story : A doctor, named Dr. Schroeder, is abducted by agents of the Evening
Primrose, while the American embassy in Tokyo suffers attack from Hei
and his team. A new Contractor with the power to teleport herself and
others appears as a double agent for the Evening Primrose. Wei
reappears, but is scarred from his last encounter with Hei. Kirihara
enters the embassy compound only to be detained by PANDORA, and Mao is
discovered by Amber. November 11 leaves the MI6 Secret Intelligence
Service for the Evening Primrose.
- EPISODE 22
"City Under Crackdown, Moist with Tears... (Part 2)"
"Shukusei no Machi wa Namida ni Nurete... (Kōhen)" (粛正の街は涙に濡れて...(後編))
"Shukusei no Machi wa Namida ni Nurete... (Kōhen)" (粛正の街は涙に濡れて...(後編))
Story :Mao is taken by Amber to the headquarters of the Evening Primrose. While
there, Amber calls a meeting for all of the leading Contractors of the
Evening Primrose, including Mao, and Dr. Schroeder. She reveals that
there was a plan to destroy the South American Gate, which would have
led to the eventual disappearance of all Contractors worldwide. Dr.
Schroeder notes that the plan was interrupted by a mysterious blue
light. November 11 meets the head of East Asian MI6 operations, who is
revealed to be a member of The Syndicate, and they kill each other. Hei
attacks the Evening Primrose to rescue Mao. Hei uses his powers on Amber
while Amber activates her meteor fragment, resulting in the
illumination of the whole building in a blue light.
- EPISODE 23
"God is In His Heaven..."
"Kami wa Ten ni Imashi..." (神は天にいまし...)
"Kami wa Ten ni Imashi..." (神は天にいまし...)
Story : Eric Nishijima
is using a particle accelerator to wipe out the Contractors. Amber
gathers numerous Contractors to destroy the accelerator, and Dolls to be
used for some other unknown reason. Nijishima, revealed to work with
The Syndicate, places a phone call to eliminate Hei and his team. Amber
sends a message to Hei via Wei, telling him to meet her in the Gate. Hei
agrees and thus Huang, Mao, and Yin assist Hei to infiltrate Hell's
Gate with Wei's guidance.
- EPISODE 24
"Meteor Shower"
"Ryūseiu" (流星雨)
"Ryūseiu" (流星雨)
Story : Hei's team, on the orders of Nishijima, has been kicked out of The
Syndicate and contracts taken on all their lives. Kirihara discovers
that "The Syndicate" is really a collaboration between intelligence
agencies of multiple countries and that she herself has been an
unknowing member. Hei, Yin, and Mao infiltrate Hell's Gate while Huang
detonates a suicide bomb for distraction. Mao is disconnected from The
Syndicate's network. As a result, his feral cat behavior takes over, and
he runs away. The Contractors of the Evening Primrose launch an attack
on PANDORA security forces, leaving the way open for Hei and Yin. The
Syndicate takes out the Doll system of the Evening Primrose, leaving Hei
with only Yin for guidance as they head towards the interior of Hell's
Gate.
- EPISODE 25
"Does the Reaper Dream of Darkness Darker than Black?"
"Shinigami no Miru Yume wa, Kuro yori Kurai Kurayami ka?" (死神の見る夢は、黒より暗い暗闇か?)
"Shinigami no Miru Yume wa, Kuro yori Kurai Kurayami ka?" (死神の見る夢は、黒より暗い暗闇か?)
Story : After meeting with Amber, Hei learns that against common knowledge
Contractors can become more human than was thought to be possible.
Realizing his own position between the world of Contractors and humans,
Hei has to make the decisive choice for both. With final farewells to
his past comrades inside the Gate, and their support behind his back,
Hei's decision brings forth a new future for the world.
- EPISODE 26 (OVA)
"Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom..."
"Sakura no Hana no Mankai no Shita" (桜の花の満開の下)
"Sakura no Hana no Mankai no Shita" (桜の花の満開の下)
Story : Mayu Ōtsuka works at the Fourth Foreign Affairs Department in the Japanese National Police Agency as a liaison officer with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
She wrote a story about a masked man that supposedly seemed to be a
dream, but she isn't sure. Hei and his team got themselves a new task
and are looking for a numeric password attached to a sample. A
Contractor took it from the Gate and buried it under a cherry blossom
tree. As events unfold, Mayu seems to fall in love with Hei, while Saitō
struggles to confess his feelings for Kirihara.
Report if you find any broken link.