[wao]

Cast interview...

Not like anything of much importance is actually said in it, but for the heck of it. Like I said, it's kinda cute how Mizuki and Fukuen are gaga over Hei.

The original is here: http://hobby-channel.net/content/view/2411/67/

I literally fell asleep at the end of it, so pardon me if it becomes totally undecipherable near the end...

Spoiler:

---Please introduce the character you're playing to us.


Kiuchi: Hei's like one of those professional killers you see in anime, and carries out missions as a Contractor under the orders of The Organisation. Normally he passes off as Li Shun Sheng, a Chinese university student living in a nondescript apartment. As Li he's a warm person, but when he's on the job as Hei he takes on an emotionless, cold facade, so he's really a character with two personalities. He's still a mystery even to me, the person voicing him, so I too am looking forward to what'll happen next.

Mizuki: Kirihara Misaki is a detective from Section 4 of the police's Public Safety department pursuing the "Contractors". As a section chief she leads her subordinates in going after Hei, the "Contractors" and "Dolls", but because her opponents are supernatural beings possessing special powers, it's an uphill battle where they constantly get outdone. It's hard to predict the story right now, but by the later half of episode 2 she finally comes in contact with Hei and co., so it'll get very interesting from there on.

Fukuen: Yin is a "Doll", meaning she's a mere soulless body, and she's rather devoid of expressions. She works with Hei, Mao and Huang but rather than fighting on the frontline, she uses this thing called a Spirit of Perception (観測霊 kansokurei) to find out where the target is, and gather information about the enemy. Normally she works part-time at a tobacco store.

---What are your thoughts on the dubbing and this work?

Kiuchi: There are many people here who are coming to work for the first time, but I enjoyed myself greatly. Personally I think it's a really interesting story so I'll put in my best while having fun at the same time.

Mizuki: Misaki's a cool lady who has older people working under her and gets the case solved quickly and efficiently, uses words like a man and is very much a detective; basically a mature career-oriented woman which is a type I haven't really done before, so I'm always full of nervousness each time I enter the dubbing studio. (laughs) In such a nice atmosphere, I've been learning new things every time I act out her character.
This show features a continuing series of bi-episode stories, so I think you get to see a lot of characters possessing special powers different from Hei's and Yin's. These "Contractors" have to perform some sort of special action in order to activate their powers, so for some of them it's cracking their knuckles, or eating dandelions... you get to see some pretty strange stuff so it might be rather interesting in that way (laughs) It's a pretty hard-going anime but if you manage to enjoy it anyway I'll be glad.

Fukuen: The main group of 4 people, namely Hei, Yin, Huang, and Mao are so wrapped up in mystery to the point you'd end up thinking "Isn't Misaki pretty much the main character~?", so I'm really looking forward to see what'll happen from now on. I love the whole dirty sort of atmosphere of busy streets, and this show's worldview and character relationships are very much the late-night type aimed at adults, so I reccomend this to those of you who like this kind of thing. For me I was really most surprised by Hei's personality! There's new guest character heroines replacing previous ones every other episode, but....

Misaki: They just keep coming like Bond girls (laughs) Hei's really popular with the girls, you know. In the first episode the girl he saves kisses him, like... from out of nowhere? But it was so nice... ... I went all ♥ (laughs)

Fukuen: And it wasn't just a kiss, either (laughs)

Misaki: It felt very adult, didn't it ♪

Kiuchi: He's a determined desparado... and that would be a lie (laughs) Hei's doing this totally naturally, he isn't a scheming sort of guy.

---Tell us what's your enthusiasm behind this show.

Kiuchi: Putting aside the fact that I'm acting the main role and all, from the viewpoint of wanting to create a great show with everyone I'd like to put in all my effort into this.

Mizuki: For me, since I don't have that much of a chance to be dramatic with my character, I put in a lot of force when I'm in the studio. It's to the point where I get told "Relax a bit more" when I overdo it, though (laughs) I'm really glad to be able to be involved in such a deep and charismatic work.

Fukuen: Like Mizuki-san I was also so nervous that I strained myself so much on just one line I ended up fumbling over my words anyway (laughs) It shows how much I want to take each and every single thing seriously. It's a show made quite prceisely to the point where you start thinking "you sure can't go around telling lies now, can you?", so it'd be nice if people enjoy the acting also along this line.

---Darker than Black -Kuro no Keiyakusha- goes along an original plot not based off an existing work, but do you have a message for the people looking forward to this show?

Kiuchi: It's an original work with no preexisting story behind it, and you can't find out what's going to happen by reading the original novel or manga, so I'm just thinking you could come in with with fresh expectations and enjoy this every time.

Mizuki: With shows that have an original work you know what's going to happen in advance and end up thinking that the acting of the characters, who are living in the present, feel fake, so in order to react at the same time as the characters the original story goes right along with the anime. But for this show it's quite fun in how the audience, like Misaki, keeps getting outdone by Hei.

Fukuen: It'd be good if you could keep yourself firmly in one place and see this show from a long-term perspective. Just watching the first episode alone will leave you with many unanswered questions, so do enjoy it slowly but surely.

---From the eyes of a female... what's Hei's charming points?

Mizuki: It must be that unscheming, calm and unassuming nature after all. Especially his gentlesness when he's Li, now that's just against the rules, you'd think (laughs). He quite innocently does certain things that would come across as rather sobering towards girls who've fallien for him. But as Hei he's very cold and I can really feel how he's acting under cool, caluclated instructions.

Kiuchi: Actually, he's schemed out a lot of things, you know... >Hei

Fukuen: Eeeeh...! At least I hope he'll stay nice when he's Li, at least (everyone laughs). Even if I actually met him without knowing who he was, I swaear I'd get just as equally attracted to Hei as the guest heroine from episode one [Chiaki Shinoda]. He's mysterious but still shows a bit of his kindness here and there, so I was thinking he's a rather nasty character in that way (laughs)

And Animedia scan:

So now I have pics of scans from all three mags out this month - except Newtype Romance Spring. That had a rather nice image with Yin looking extremely doll-like and Hei holding her, but unfortunately I missed buying the last one at Kinokuniya .

The latest TV spot has just got the OP again, nothing much in the way of new pictures. I do like the last still at the end of it, though - you can see a good version of that at BONES' production blog for this show here. Is that Hei looking through a telescope! *giggles stupidly*

Which reminds me, I might as well mention I was thinking about this:

-The Animedia spread mentions something about everything starting 10 years ago.
-The beginning of the trailer has a young girl (young Misaki?) talking about the stars
-We have Hei looking at a telescope and him against the same sort of star-filled night sky.
-Hell's Gate is described as having "stolen" the sky of Tokyo.

I expect some sort of dramatic tension along those lines. Eh, I don't know why I'm spoiling myself so much by thinking so much about what'll prolly be an average animu, but there it is.