Movies: Darker Than Black Vol. 3

The good news about Darker Than Black continues unabated. This has shaped up to be one of the best shows coming out in 2009 — not just a great anime, but a solid TV show even for people who would never label themselves as “anime fans”. So, yes: those of you thinking of using this as a gateway drug for that special someone, do it. You (and they) may need to stick with it for several episodes at a time for it to really click, but that’s actually one of the best things about DTB: it builds its impact cumulatively. The longer you stick with it, the more rewarding it is.

Disc three’s four episodes are actually best thought of as two double-length installments, and are in fact billed that way: “When One Takes Back What Was Lost Within The Wall…” and “A Heart Unswaying on the Water’s Surface…”, each with parts 1 and 2. In the first half, Li’s new assignment is to infiltrate the PANDORA research base that’s in the Hell’s Gate forbidden zone. There’s no way he can just waltz in there and use the full gamut of his powers, and for two reasons: a) the PANDORA people would skin him alive if he pulled a stunt like that, and b) Contractors, him included, tend to have serious trouble keeping their powers on a tight leash when they’re in or near the Gate. To that end, he’s given a cover story: he’ll apply for a job with the janitorial team and hide in plain sight. His ultimate goal is to recover an artifact from within the Gate that might have game-changing consequences for Contractors as a whole.

Article originally written for AMN. Click here to read full text.