DVD Re-release: Darker than the X-Men, that's for sure

In May of this year, Funimation re-released the first season of "Darker Than Black" in a box set.

This anime is a creative show that sucks viewers into a dark, noir world of supernatural battles between humans and contractors.

Think of this show as the Japanese version of the "X-Men." The story focuses on the lives of contractors, people who are allowed to use special powers as long as they pay a price. For instance, the main character, Hei, eats tons of food in order to pay for his ability to expel electricity from his body.

These contractors all come from different organizations. The British secret agent service, MI6, has three contractors who battle with Hei from time-to-time. An unknown syndication gives each agency different missions to assassinate people and to kill rival contractors.

Our main hero, Hei, takes on the identity of the Black Reaper. He's satisfied with his life as a contractor. However, he has a secret lover who he struggles to come to terms with. His former girlfriend, Amber, is hatching a destructive plot that could eliminate Japan.

These two lovers were part of some mysterious scientific experiments held by a company known as Pandora. They received their strange new powers through these research operations. However, they eventually get forced to endure the most daunting mission of their entire lives. A mission that literally reaches past the boundaries of heaven and hell.

This series certainly has its share of conspiracy theories. The characters receive very little knowledge about why they have to follow the syndicate's orders. The contractors live dangerous lives, where they must kill others before they get killed themselves.

Yet, the story all comes together in a strangely euphoric whole. To tell the truth, "Darker Than Black" doesn't make too much sense unless you look at the entire series as a whole. The storyline is very similar to the film "The Sky Crawlers." These characters are part of a gigantic life-threatening competition, but they must find a way to cooperate with each other when their lives are on the line.

Is there a way to defy the rules of society? "Darker Than Black" will definitely open your mind up to the possibility of a world where everyone lives in harmony. In the wake of a frightening genocide, it offers the promise of a new beginning. As imperfect as this show is, there is almost nothing cooler than this series.

Well, you could mention "Neon Genesis Evangelion." With all that said, the Evangelion director couldn't possibly come up with a script as poetic as this series. No one could ever replicate the sly, chilling tone of "Darker Than Black."

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DVD - Gotham Knight's hits and misses

The short films on the "Batman: Gotham Knight" DVD provide a wide variety of anime styles that either hit or miss.

The "Batman: Gotham Knight" DVD was released at the same time that "The Dark Knight" played in theatres. It consists of seven anime shorts by various anime directors. Unfortunately, the film doesn't give enough credit to the actual Japanese directors, or the previous films they directed.

Most of the stories are fairly basic. The first short anime, "Have I Got a Story To Tell You," was directed by Shijirou Nishimi, who drew character designs for "Tekkonkinkreet." The film consists of four skater kids retelling the time in which they saw Batman. Each kid sees Batman as a different creature. For example, one sees him as a shape-shifting reptile and another sees him as a flying bat.

The second short, "Crossfire," follows two detectives transporting a criminal to Arkham Asylum. One detective sees Batman as a hero, while the other sees him as a vigilante. Of course, their perceptions quickly change after Batman saves the detectives when their car is caught in a crossfire between the Russian and Italian mob. Although the animation is a little stilted, Batman looks truly menacing in this anime episode, in the directorial debut of Futoshi Hagashide,who did in-between animation for "Air."

The third anime, "Field Test," was directed by Hiroshi Morioka, who directed the animation for "IGPX" (Immortal Grand Prix) on the Cartoon Network. It was one of my favorites in the collection, because it was well-scripted, and Bruce Wayne literally looks cool as a shonen pretty boy. In the film, Bruce Wayne's inventor, Lucius Fox, shows off a new technological device that deflects bullets. Bruce Wayne has some fun with the device at first, using it to his advantage at the local golf tournament. However, in one of Batman's confrontations with the Russian and Italian mobsters, the device deflects a bullet into a gangster's chest, and Bruce ends up taking the guy to the hospital. After this encounter, Bruce gave the device back to Lucius, so that he won't endanger other people with the device.

The fourth anime, "In Darkness Dwells," was a simple story about Batman fighting Killer Croc and Scarecrow. While it didn't offer many thrills, it was somewhat frightening to see one of Batman's bones crushed. But apparently Batman didn't mind. After all, he saved the archdeacon without a sweat. This lavishly animated action episode was directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, who directed the pilot episode of "Tweeny Witches."

The fifth anime, "Working Through Pain," was directed by Toshiyuki Kubouka, who was the animation director for "Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" and "Gunbuster." It follows a series of unconnected events at first. Bruce Wayne gets shot in the sewers, and is headed to the surface. Suddenly it switched to a graphic scene in which Wayne is performing surgery on guys in Africa. Gross. However, soon we discover that Wayne is simply searching the world to find ways to relieve his pain. And Wayne comes across an Indian guru, who teaches him to...work through the pain. Although that surgery scene was too graphic for me, I enjoyed watching the last action sequence, where Bruce Wayne takes a board of wood to the head without flinching.

The sixth anime is a cool piece by Madhouse studio, the Korean group who directed "Gunslinger Girl" and "Boogiepop Phantom." Bruce Wayne is collecting guns to do research on Deadshot, the deadliest sniper in Gotham City. He's bent on assassinating lieutenant Gordon from a nearby train. And, somehow, Batman comes just in time to deflect the bullet in slow-motion with his metal wrist guard. Even if it's a show-off animation sequence, it does set the scene for an awesome fight between Batman and the gunslinger, who's also packing a chain gun on his arm.

While these are all completely different episodes, most of them look fantastic, except for the somewhat silly first anime, "Have I Got a Story To Tell You." Overall, this is a great combination of some good anime directors and one great anime studio. Honestly, I loved the third anime the best. There's nothing more hilarious than the pretty-boy depiction of Bruce Wayne.

Photo courtesy of thegeekrevolution.blogspot.com