DArKeR tHan bLaCk ~黒の契約者~

Although I had tests coming up, I started watching this Anime in one go from last weekend on. 

I might have failed my book trading-history class, but it was totally worth it.

~

Meet Hei, our masked protagonist, who is working and killing people for a organization yet unknown to the audience. We learn that he is a so-called "Contractor", a former human, who obtains supernatural powers in exchange for their human feelings. Heis comrades include a "doll", an old man and a speaking cat. Not much of a catch you think, but it results in the perfect mixture to get where this anime is going:  A obscure, present-age, steam-punk like Tokyo, with the police, the syndicate and other organizations using the contractors to fight their bloody battle. 

I took a great liking to Mao, the speaking cat, who is also a contractor with the ability to switch bodies, and lost his body in an former incident (only gets uncovered in the 2nd season and is not as spectacular as I was hoping for XD). With his dry humor, sarcastic comments and sometimes loosing himself into being a cat, he is  the perfect side-kick. And well, he is just simply adorable. ♥

Concearing our maincharacter Hei, or Lei ShengShung, or The Grim Reaper, or BK201 (ALL THE ALIASES! XD)...well, what can I say, except for: All my love for you.

 In the beginning it might be quite confusing, because you don´t really get to know for whom he is working or on what side he is on, thus I basically lived through the confusing first few episodes because of the atmosphere and his lovely schizophrenic character, but after a while you can draw connections from is past to the main events in the plot and finally understand the bottom line of his actions.

The Soundtrack was composed by none other but Yoko Kanno, the master of steam-punk-jazz music. It creates the perfect atmosphere for an decaying Tokyo and a moralistic question, drawing itself through the whole plot: "Can beings without feelings, still be human?"

Might remind you of "Gunslinger Girl" or the likes, but although the basic idea might overlap with several other stories, I still think it is quite original, especially because of the rich characters. 

~

Well so much about the first season.

The 2nd season is...quite different. Not necessarily disappointing,  but the dark atmosphere, which was mostly the best part of the whole story, was just...gone forever. XD

A strange love entanglement between Hei and the doll, Yin leads to utter ridiculous events, and then the new protagonist, Suou, 13 year old, read haired girl, constantly crying and nagging about her feelings, although she turns into a contractor is not an expected occurrence.

She gets picked up by Hei 2 years after the events of the first season, and he starts training her in using her power (which is a gun appearing out of her chest in a sailormoon like transformation scene >__>) and fighting skills.

Hei by that time has grown a beard, lost his powers as a contractor in what, episode 2?, and became an alcoholic, wearing an ugly purple sweater and durping around in hokkaido. The fuck. XD

And this squirrel is Mao. Fuck that shit. XD I was pissed and amused at the same time. But well eventually he stops drinking, cuts his hair and gets back to work, but by that time the magic of the anime was already gone. 

Well what can I say, I was still hooked through the whole second season, so was not too bad, especially because it was exiting to see how Hei got by just fine without his powers. 

And Suous story...well, it didn´t really leave that much of an impression.

So conclude, first season pure awesomeness, OVA (whichs episodes were like a bridge to the second season) love smorfe, second season so-so.

Still I want to recommend it from the bottom of my heart. |D Just because it´s epic and...

the Grim Reaper rules.

!**********Spoiler************!

There´s just one thing I still don´t quite get.

In the first season it was mentioned, that Heis sister, Bai, had the power to grant the powers of a contractor to a human. Which was what she did to Hei, I guess, since it was always only mentioned that Bai had become a contractor, and there is also no real remuneration Hei has to fulfill when he uses his powers...so Hei is actually human, right? It´s just that it has never been really clarified and Hei keeps on spouting stuff like "I´m a contractor. Contractors have no feelings. I don´t dream because I´m a contractor" blabla. So he´s only doing that to camouflage himself as one? Oô

.....the end. XD