-== What is it? ==-

Darker Than Black (DTB) is an adventure drama anime from FUNimation that in some ways reminds me of the Heroes TV show. It was released in April 2007. Tensai Okamura directed, created, and wrote DTB. Tensai Okamura has worked on many well known anime classics including Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Ghost In The Shell.

DTB tells the story of a group of operatives who work for a secret organization known as the Syndicate. The main character is a Contractor with electric powers who is known as Hei. Contractors are super powered beings who appeared ten years ago when a strange territory known as Hell’s Gate materialized in Tokyo. These super powered beings are known as Contractors because they must “pay” for their power with some type of anomaly or strange behavior. For example, Hei eats a LOT. 😛 The other members of Hei’s Syndicate team include the following:

• Yin – A quiet Goth looking Doll who can observe people through water. (Dolls are clairvoyants who came to be with the emergence of Hell’s Gate.)
• Huang – A gruff supervisor for the team. His role in the story is that of a liaison with the Syndicate. Huang is a normal human (i.e. he is not a Contractor or a Doll).
• Mao – A Contractor who has the ability to replace his sentience in animals. He is currently stuck in the form of a black cat. Mao is practical and brings an “everyman” view to the story…okay…maybe “everycat”. 😉

The other important character in the story is the Section Chief Kirihara who is assigned to Contractor related cases.

There is some nudity at the very end of the series but it is not graphic or sexual in nature. There is a good deal of violence in DTB but it is not excessively gratuitous. This is one of the few times that I think the RightStuff.com rating of “17+” is too high. I really think this one should be around “14+”.

I purchased the standard edition version of the DVD boxed set. The version I have includes only minor extras in the form of director/actor commentaries and cast auditions. There are 26 episodes in the run.

-== What I Like ==-

The main characters in DTB are extremely cool. I really enjoyed Section Chief Kirihara. She ended up playing off of several characters in a really enjoyable fashion. I thought the fact that one of her subordinates develops a crush on her is also very well done and quite humorous at times. One my favorite episodes included a good deal of screen time for the Section Chief.

As you can tell from some of the initial text the DTB setting is really intricate. There are Contractors, Dolls, various agencies, this strange Hell’s Gate thing, etc. One interesting bit of background relates to how the stars are linked to individual Contractors. When Hell’s Gate appeared the stars changed! After some research scientists realized that every star is uniquely identified with a single Contractor. If a Contractor dies their star fades away. If a Contractor appears then a new star appears. Several times Section Chief Kirihara visits a friend of hers at a local observatory where this is this strange Gandhi type figure who can interpret the stars and what they mean.

There are a couple of episodes that I wanted to mention for being really great or different. In general the series progresses in sets of two episode stories. This works really well for the most part and produces some very strong two episode arcs.

• Ep 1 And 2 – The Fallen Star Of A Contract – The first two episodes really come off nicely. Often I have issues with the first few episodes of longer series but not here. These eps are cool, sexy, fast, and smart.
• Ep 9 And 10 – The White Dress, Stained With The Girl’s Dreams And Blood – I really enjoyed these episodes which focus on Section Chief Kirihara and a friend of hers, Alice, who happens to be the daughter of a well known mob boss. There is tension, humor, drama, and some GREAT fight scenes. Very nice.
• Ep 21 Through 25 – At this point the series kicks into gear for a final sprint to the finale.

The animation style in DTB is nice but it can feel a bit simplistic at times. The animation was done by studio Bones who did the notable anime Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Even though several of the two episode arcs are very strong I found the overall feel of DTB to be a bit TOO episodic in nature. At times I felt like yelling at the TV to get back to the main thread.

Unfortunately I think the storytelling in DTB could use some improvement. In my opinion it took at least 10 episodes to really get its feet. Even after what I thought was a FANTASTIC first two episodes the series did not carry it forward until quite some time. I was also not found of the strange ending. The ending really felt like a “cop out” to me. 🙁

-== Summary ==-

DTB is a sexy, fast, and smart anime series with super powered Contractors that are very cool. If you want super powered spy action that reminds one of Heroes look to this series.

Recently FUNimation created a classic pack for DTB. Thus the series is priced at a much lower price point. Nice. You can get a copy at RightStuf.com at this URL for $37.49. Amazon has it for $35.99 at this URL.

I give it 7 out of 10 paws.

I preordered a copy of Bookhounds Of London from Pelgrane Press and it arrived just a few days ago. The presentation of this package is not like anything I have ever seen in any product. It is so crazy cool that I am having trouble finding a place to start. I’ll detail the contents of the package as I open them. 🙂

First off it is delivered in a burlap army green messenger bag with word “DARCY” on one side and a strange Cthulhu-esque logo on the other side. When you open the bag you find a brown hardcover copy of Bookhounds Of London, a copy of Liber Fumo de Drater Vigilo: Agustus Darcy’s Guide to Occult London, a small plastic chip with a leaf insignia, and a manila envelope.

Opening the main book reveals a signature from the author, Ken Hite, and the word “ABYSSAL”. (Every copy has a different Lovecraftian word.) In the center of the book are 28 pages of fantastically beautiful color period maps. The work on these is just gorgeous. The book got an ENnie nod for best cartography and I can easily see why. To top it off the index contains an extremely detailed index for the book AND maps. (I will do a full review of the product and post it on this site after I have read it but knowing Ken’s work it will be a great review. 😉 )

The Liber Fumo book is a small (roughly 6″ x 8″) hardbound book. It is 148 pages in length. It covers occult London as researched by Augustus Darcy. The interior is entirely black and white but there are several inset photos to support the text.

The manilla envelope contains two postcards, an aged period book called Theosophy by Annie Besant (roughly 100 pages), and an aged period pamphlet called The History Of Christianity In The Essex Region by the Essex Education Committee (roughly 28 pages). When I describe the the book and pamphlet as “aged period” I mean that the pages are yellowed, some pages are stained, the binding on the book is threadbare, and the pamphlet shows wear. At the back of the Theosophy book is even a pasted in newspaper clipping that is stained. The postcards appear to be period and show faded text. The stamps are real and over stamped with period looking postmarks. I am not a “bookhound” but these look 100% authentic to me. If these are not authentic I applaud whoever created these objects.

These contents are extraordinary. I am running out of words to describe this package. Since I have run out of words I will leave you with the sound of my breathe getting taken away…[gasp]… 😀

[If you are reading this from the Kingbeast’s Lair blog site you can click on the pictures and examine full resolution shots of the details.]

Date At Start Of Game: 2/6/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 28th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Meiji’s House

As the fog clears the PC find themselves standing in a smoke filled cottage with all of the furniture pushed to the sides of the room. Under their feet is Donovan’s Mate. It is Meiji’s house! As the PC get their bearings Meiji says, “Welcome back! I’ve been waiting for you to return. So what happened?!?” With that the PC start to ask Meiji some questions. Here is what Meiji relates to the PC.

• It is evening when the PC arrive. According to Meiji the Dragon Festival is in two days. This tips off the PC roughly a week of time must have been lost while in the “genie bottle”.
• Cragspine visited Meiji last night. On his visit he left Donovan’s Mate with the command word, a strange skeleton finger necklace, and a magical short sword. Cragspine told Meiji that the rod must be used on ALL PC who want to be healed at the same time. The skeleton finger necklace aids spell casting and the sword, called Spirit Splitter, defends one against spells and has a very powerful dispel. According to Cragspine both were owned by Soza.
• The dragon seemed uneasy during his visit. When Cragspine left he mentioned that his uneasiness had to do with his “brethren” but he would not say anymore.
• At this point Po presses Meiji about the items he received by Cragspine. He asks if there is anything else. After coaxing from Po Meiji reveals that he also received something for Cillian but that he was told by Cragspine not to give them to him until he felt the time was right. When Meiji pushed Cragspine for details he told the court mage that where he was going was dangerous and that he may not return. This confused Meiji but he agreed. At this time the PC try to press Meiji but he does not want to give the item. When Cillian starts knocking over things in the cottage Meiji says that now is not the time and asks him to stop. Cillian reluctantly stops.

After talking with Meiji the PC go their separate ways. Oren heads back to the palace to update the Empress and find out if there is anyone that she wants to heal using Donovan’s Mate.

Donovan’s Last Laugh

At this point the PC decide to use Donovan’s Mate to heal themselves. Po, Cillian, and Kanga decide to get healed by the artifact. Po uses the skeleton finger necklace while sitting as his magical desk then activates Donovan’s Mate. In a flash of light and sound Po, Bilby, and Cillian find themselves standing naked next to nearly exact evil duplicates of themselves! In between them is a pile of their belongings. Kanga and Meiji are blind and deaf by the flash and fall to the ground trying to clear their senses. After a moment of stunned silence Evil Po react by jumping into the pile of gear. Good Po reacts by wrestling with his double! Evil Bilby grabs Spirit Splitter then jumps over and tries to stab Kanga thinking that he cannot get far if the archer recovers his vision. Good Bilby blocks the blow away from Kanga with a thrown knife. Evil Cillian immediately jumps out of a nearby window. Good Cillian grabs his Great Tree necklace and gloves from the pile. Good Po in a fit of strength toss Evil Po into Meiji’s open furnace! The Evil Raven Kin goes up in a black inky smoke that has skeletal birds flying up the chimney. Evil Bilby stabs Good Bilby who reels as he is not wearing armor! Good Cillian acting fast uses his winds to grab Evil Bilby and sweep him into the furnace. Evil Bilby screams and dies in the flames. When the PC look out the window Evil Cillian is gone! Good Cillian makes a remark that there is no way the PC will be able to find Evil Cillian in Tokaji. It is his home town and he is in his element. Po does some healing on Bilby then the PC go their separate ways for a bit.

PC Go Their Separate Ways

Lots of actions took place here so I will relate what happened to each PC over the next 24 hours.

Bilby

• The first thing Bilby does is to speak with Meiji and Po about making a chain mail shirt silent. Meiji and Po end up not only making his armor silent but also making it form fitting and weightless!
• Next Bilby tries to find Cillian by staking out his house. Before Cillian arrives Bilby spies the three teenage residents of the house sneaking out of the back entrance dressed like they are on a thieving run. Bilby waits and eventually spies Cillian returning home. After eavesdropping on Cillian’s conversation with the Sparrow Kin he joins Cillian to find out what his young friends are up to. (See the Cillian entry for the rest of the story.)
• On the next day Bilby is walking around town with Kanga. Kanga takes him to a an adventurer’s bar he has found called Nestor’s Rest. After entering the bar Bilby notices a Rat Kin sitting in the corner that he knows well. This Rat Gog is a master assassin known as Vesh. After some conversation Bilby finds out that Vesh is on a job. Bilby asks if he could help and Vesh agrees. The two are to meet up the next night at the bar to take on the mission. Bilby alerts the rest of the PC that he plans on tagging along as Vesh is often up to no good.

Cillian

• After his evil duplicate escapes Cillian goes to the palace to alert Oren then returns to his house.
• At his house Cillian finds only the Sparrow Kin Tachi. Tachi tells Cillian that the other three went out on a mission. He tells Cillian that Akiki thought the run was a “cake walk”. Apparently he learned of a visitor with jewels who is staying at a local residence. When Tachi shows Cillian the details and a crude map he gets nervous. The area is perfect for a setup and the job just seems too easy. With that Cillian heads out to the residence with Bilby. After carefully casing the area Bilby and Cillian spot two places where men are hiding. One set of men are in a building across a nearby alley. Others are inside the house behind a curtain wall. As the female Tiger Kin Hiyoshi starts to lift up the Krait Kin Akiki to the top of the wall Cillian comes out of hiding and loudly announces his presence! The three teenage thieves are stunned! At that moment the door busts open and Captain Ibara with four of his men emerge. As soon as the young thieves see the city guards they take off running! When Captain Ibara tries to smack one of them with his staff Cillian quick draws his sword and blocks the attack saying, “Good evening Captain…why are you harassing these youths they haven’t done anything wrong???” Realizing that he cannot really arrest anyone for merely planning a crime Captain Ibara storms off in a huff. After returning home Cillian chastises the young thieves and suggests that they be more careful next time.

Kanga

• Kanga finds a nice adventurer’s bar where he meets some interesting local color. [This scene will be played out when Geoff is back. 😉 ]

Oren

• Oren returns to the palace to ask the Empress if she needs anyone healed and to announce that he has returned. Empress Nokidara does not need anyone to be healed and seems glad to see the noble Armadillo Kin warrior.
• While stowing his gear Oren receives a note from Yotsu. The note from Empress Nokidara asks Oren to join her for a private dinner. [This scene will be played out when Jim is back. 😉 ]

Epic Tale #12 – Vault Of The Dragon Kings – Session #28

Po

• The first thing Po does is to complete his Link spell with Meiji. Once Link has been summoned he begins working on the chain mail for Bilby. While working on these spells Po finds that Meiji is distracted. Once the court mage even messes up a very simple preparatory spell. After some prompting Meiji reveals to Po that he is concerned about Cragspine’s visit. Cragspine was uneasy. For someone so powerful to be “uneasy” scares him. Po suggest that Meiji use the mirror to try and contact Cragspine. After first hesitating Po convinces the court mage that it is the right things to do. Meiji puts the mirror out on the magical desk then activates it with some strange words. First the mirror fills with smoke. When it clears it shows a steep icy mountain with a large cavern entrance. In the mouth of the cavern entrance is a huge dragon statue. As the vision in the mirror pans down the image fades to black then shows four round symbols. One if flaming, one is blue, one is white, and one is a round brown stone. In an upset tone Meiji explains that he thinks this vision represents the Vault Of The Dragon Kings. Meiji explains that he has followed Cragspine to these mountains in the past but could never find the entrance. He thinks the entrance might be magically hidden. If Cragspine has gone there he may be in trouble. Meiji begs Po to ask the other Avatars Of The Great Tree to see if they would be willing to help. Po agrees. Meiji says he will tell the avatars what he knows about Cragspine and the Vault Of The Dragon Kings after they have been gathered.

At the end of the session the group has gathered at Meiji’s house. Po also convinced the court mage to give the last object from Cragspine to Cillian. As the afternoon grows old and the sun begins to droop Meiji reaches under his tunic and pulls out a scroll tube sealed with gold bands…

Date At End Of Game: 2/7/207