Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha

It has been 10 years since Heaven's Gate appeared in South America and Hell's Gate appeared in Japan, veiling the once familiar night sky with an oppressive skyscape. Their purposes unknown, these Gates are spaces in which the very laws of physics are ignored. With the appearance of the Gates emerged Contractors, who, in exchange for their humanity, are granted supernatural abilities.

In the Japanese city surrounding Hell's Gate, Section 4 Chief Misaki Kirihara finds herself at odds with an infamous Contractor codenamed Hei. Called "Black Reaper" in the underground world, Hei, like his associates, undertakes missions for the mysterious and ruthless Syndicate while slowly peeling back the dark layers covering a nefarious plot that threatens the very existence of Contractors.

From the mind of Tensai Okamura comes a sci-fi thriller taking the form of a subtle exposé on a war in which political positions and justice have no sway—a war waged exclusively in the shadows.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hei Main

Kiuchi, Hidenobu Japanese

Yin Main

Fukuen, Misato Japanese

Mao Main

Sawaki, Ikuya Japanese

Kirihara, Misaki Main

Mizuki, Nana Japanese

Huang Main

Ikeda, Masaru Japanese

Amber ing

Kawakami, Tomoko Japanese

November 11 ing

Inoue, Kazuhiko Japanese

July ing

Asai, Kiyomi Japanese

Havoc ing

Shindo, Naomi Japanese

Kurasawa, Gai ing

Matsumoto, Yasunori Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Harp, Clarine Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Hosokawa, Osamu Producer

Reviews

Mar 30, 2025

Ciaran_Zagami

Recommended

It's really good, a bit dark and edgy but that's how I like my anime.

Every episode is a two parter, so each arc is pretty self contained. Secondary guest characters get lots of time to be fleshed out which is nice. Even if they are killed off or thrown away at the end of the arc you still get time to come to understand and enjoy them.

I will it that the protagonist Hei is more than a little cliche but he's well written and voiced enough to still be emotionally resonant. Every other major character is fairly interesting and gets just the right amount ... of spotlighting, the entire show is supremely tightly written with fantastic pacing. The show also runs the full gamut of human emotion, some episodes are crushingly dark and sad while others are much more light hearted. So it avoids feeling overwhelming and never lets you get inured to one feeling or the other.

Animationwise is alright, about average for its era nothing extremely great nor awful. Character designs are generally grounded and basic except for Yin and Kiko, which I think is intended to foreshadow their friendship.

Sound and music is great, especially the intro tracks. Both versions will be stuck in my head for a long time yet. Although I can't say the same about the second outtro which I found frankly annoying.

Also for those who don't like fan service Darker than Black generally avoids it, except for one character near the end who must be naked to use her powers. Everyone else is portrayed fairly seriously and without much room for eroticisim.

Over all this show gets my highest recommendation. Its very well put together and doesn't have anything I feel I'd need to warn potential viewers of.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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May 25, 2023

DISKOWN

Mixed Feelings

Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha falls into the realm of mediocrity, grappling with inconsistencies throughout its run. While the pacing remains steady, allowing for adequate character development, the animation suffers from uneven execution. The action sequences are visually appealing and dynamic; however, the remaining scenes are flat and uninspired, particularly when it comes to poorly animated vehicles that noticeably age the series. The character designs are rather plain, failing to leave a lasting impression. The narrative, while intriguing, builds up to an unsatisfying conclusion that fails to deliver and falls short of expectations. In summary, Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha boasts a commendable ... cast of well developed characters but comes up short in other areas.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 17, 2021

AnimeEnjoyer420

Not Recommended

Summary: Darker Than Black is a neo-noir crime thriller that has some nice pieces, but is held back by an incoherent story and a lack of progression in either the characters or the plot. It's structured as a series of 2 or 3 episode arcs, and many of the arcs are filler and don't link back to a single unified story, leaving the season as a series of floating, unconnected pieces that are fairly unsatisfying in the absence of a central story.

Positives:

+ Many of the arcs are strong individually. They're relatively compelling, if simple, crime thriller plots, and the action is good. ... Each arc will individually hold your interest for the most part.

+ Action scenes and animation look pretty good for the show being almost 15 years old.

Negatives:

- Unfocused plot. There's no real central story here, unless you count the final arc, which you can't really, since it only lasts about 4 episodes and is only vaguely alluded to before that. The show is basically a series of short stories that don't really connect to each other. A lot of things happen in these shorter stories, but it isn't really anything of significance. There are two separate arcs following the internal power struggles in minor gangs that are never once referenced outside of that particular arc. This kind of episodic storytelling can work in a show with stronger themes or by framing it around a strong main character, but Darker Than Black has neither of those, so it ends up largely being a collection of entertaining stories that don't mean anything or have a larger narrative when they're put together.

- Difficult to care about the characters. Especially early on, the main characters in the series are almost an afterthought. Even Hei, the nominal main character of the series, is sidelined for long stretches, only showing up to foil a bad guy at a critical moment after being largely uninvolved in the rest of the story. They almost seem tangential to the oneshot characters that are only in for their particular arc. A lot of energy and attention is put into making these temporary characters worthwhile, but it comes at the expense of the actual characters that will be with us for the whole series. Other characters, such as the private detective and his slacker assistant, could have been done away with entirely with virtually no impact on the show. They are also far too cagey about the main character, his past and his personality in particular. It's clear the intention was to make him a dark and mysterious Batman type figure, but it comes off as simply boring and unrelatable instead.

- Predictable storytelling. For a mystery/noir thriller, the mysteries in this series are not very entertaining. The plot twists will all be easily spotted from a mile away. It also has a bad case of Cowboy Bebop Syndrome, where it unceremoniously kills off its new character of the week at the end of their arc so the status quo is always preserved (Huang's lover is the most obvious example of this). After you start noticing this happen regularly, it becomes impossible to care about side characters that are virtually guaranteed to be in the ground by the end of the next episode at the absolute latest.

- Weak ending. Slight spoilers ahead, but I'll keep it vague. The ending is a real disappointment, teasing an impossible choice for the protagonist only to have him choose option 3, which is for everything to stay exactly the same and for him to not have to make the choice at all. In the end, we end up basically in the same place we started, only with a lot more people dead. It's an extension of the show's broader problem with a lot of things happening, but none of it ever really meaning much.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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