Darker Than Black [1st season] generic discussion

[7Th]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Yeah, that's the first thing I thought about it, and I was even thinking so before the whole incident. You know, my mind starts going crazy once they mention cyborgs . Still, I find it lacks an element that's still to be revealed, and that is how exactly are cyborgs created. The whole concept of the ghost acquisition of a cyborg in GitS was derived from how the cyborg was created and how did the "ghost" act as data. I guess this will be revealed in the future, when we learn how Contractors are created in the first place, and then, how Dolls come to be. In fact, the specific role of the Doll wasn't mentioned yet, the only line that was said (and repeated several times) was that Dolls are a "passive medium"... but we don't know for what purpose. Maybe for the keeping of "goods", whatever that term could mean.

Dolls in DtB are undoubtedly organic, though.

[cmage]

Are there two types of Dolls? I remember reading something that said that Yin used to be a loving young girl, so I assumed she lost her personality when she became a Doll while retaining the same body. When it comes to Chiaki, though, it's pretty obvious the Doll isn't in her body. Wonder how they made it.

[Saber Cherry]

It seems to me that a 'Doll' is just a brainwashed person, probably kidnapped.

[Shinndou]

Originally Posted by Saber Cherry

It seems to me that a 'Doll' is just a brainwashed person, probably kidnapped.

Not really. In episode 2

Spoiler:

We clearly see Chiaki's dead body lying near a riverbank. Dolls are not humans who got brainwashed, they are artificial beings that have memories of a person installed in them. They seem to be more like cyborgs, probably with a semi-organic body so that they can be easily disguised as normal human beings among people. The example of GiTS' "Ghost" and cyborg bodies that other people have mentioned seems to well fit.

[cmage]

Originally Posted by Shinndou

Not really. In episode 2

Spoiler:

We clearly see Chiaki's dead body lying near a riverbank. Dolls are not humans who got brainwashed, they are artificial beings that have memories of a person installed in them. They seem to be more like cyborgs, probably with a semi-organic body so that they can be easily disguised as normal human beings among people. The example of GiTS' "Ghost" and cyborg bodies that other people have mentioned seems to well fit.

I'd agree with you about Dolls being artificial, except in this post wao said:

And about Yin, they say that ii seems that she used to be a bright girl who loved music, but obviously... Something Happened!

That leads me to believe that she was once a girl and is still in her original body, just without emotions or, um, eyesight. If she's in an artificial body, what happened to her original one? And why doesn't she act like Chiaki's Doll?

[Shinndou]

Originally Posted by cmage

I'd agree with you about Dolls being artificial, except in this post wao said:



That leads me to believe that she was once a girl and is still in her original body, just without emotions or, um, eyesight. If she's in an artificial body, what happened to her original one? And why doesn't she act like Chiaki's Doll?

Well indeed we don't know if those dolls are composed of organic and cybernetic parts, or if they're "entirely" organic. I suppose that part of those mysteries regarding them will also be one of the keys of the plot.

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by Shinndou

Well indeed we don't know if those dolls are composed of organic and cybernetic parts, or if they're "entirely" organic. I suppose that part of those mysteries regarding them will also be one of the keys of the plot.

I agree, I'm looking forwards to how they develop their concept of the Dolls and the mysteries regarding the details of them. They seem at least mostly organic (if not all) as doll Chiaki has a beating heart and all. Their humanity and the interesting info about how she used to be is probably going to make for some very interesting character development for Yin as the show progresses.

[quina]

now now... where is CC (Amber) girl in the OP?
Come on, I want to see her on screen already.

[cmage]

Originally Posted by quina

now now... where is CC (Amber) girl in the OP?
Come on, I want to see her on screen already.

She's in there. She's the girl as the end holding Hei, and she might be the floating pink lady. Hair looks similar to me, at least.

[quina]

Originally Posted by cmage

She's in there. She's the girl as the end holding Hei, and she might be the floating pink lady. Hair looks similar to me, at least.

lol I know that thats her in the OP, but I was asking whether when would she appear in the story :3.
How did we know her name is Amber anyway?

EDIT: nvm I found her name in the scan

[Shiroth]

There's a interview on the official website with Yoko Kanno --- i was wondering if someone who be able to translate it for me?

http://www.d-black.net/special/index.html

[cmage]

Originally Posted by quina

lol I know that thats her in the OP, but I was asking whether when would she appear in the story :3.

She'll probably show up standing in the shadows sometime soon. I wouldn't expect major screentime yet, since she seems like one of those mysterious characters who like to not show up until there's more plot development. Plus, if Hei's looking for her, wouldn't she only really show up a lot near the end?

[Shinndou]

I sorta get "Spike and Julia" (from Cowboy Bebop) kind of vibes from Hei and Amber. If it's a similar kind of pairing, it wouldn't be surprising if Amber would rarely show up throughout the show, to create interest and more mistery around her and her relationship with Hei.

[cmage]

Originally Posted by Shinndou

I sorta get "Spike and Julia" (from Cowboy Bebop) kind of vibes from Hei and Amber. If it's a similar kind of pairing, it wouldn't be surprising if Amber would rarely show up throughout the show, to create interest and more mistery around her and her relationship with Hei.

Does that mean I'm allowed to root for Hei and Yin?

...Yes, I've already begun shipping.

[issei]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

There's a interview on the official website with Yoko Kanno --- i was wondering if someone who be able to translate it for me?

http://www.d-black.net/special/index.html

my japanese is pretty bad, but i did pick out one question/answer that caught my attention. this is a rough paraphrase:

Q: In terms of the characters' humanistic qualities, or rather, the "meat" of the characters, what sort of approach does the music take in revealing these details?

A: Hm. Well, it's not dry -- I suppose it's more of a wet approach.

[wao]

Ooh, Kanno interview...

...and the pile of stuff-to-be-translated gets a little higher again There's a second part coming out on the 18th of April. ...wait, that's today. Anyway, from scanning through it she largely does say similar things to what she mentioned in the interview from Newtype May, about how she wanted to complement the apparent lifelessness of the characters with music full of energy and character. And the influence from French films too.
Okamura has mentioned in an earlier interview about how he referred to older dramas and this seems to somewhat come up again where Kanno mentions recreating a sort of 80s-90s atmosphere... in a way? (I just scanned through really)

Just for reference, here is a rough and badly-worded translation of the Newtype comments copied and pasted (apologies if I've done it before)

Spoiler:

"This might sound rather strange, but even what the director's wearing has an influence on the music"


When Kanno went to have a meeting with the director Tensai Okamura and first saw him, the director was apparently wearing hunting-gear-influenced wear*. The situation at the time was such that the designs and plot were yet to be completed and Kanno had to rely on conversing with Okamura for information. Without having any sort of firm impression to work with at all, how did Kanno get a grasp of this show's image?

"Wearing that hunting outfit, the director seemed to give off these 'police detective' vibes. Or even that of an artist from France... well, I can't really express it well (laughs)."

While discussing with Okamura, words which [they] were intuitively found interesting were picked out, and thus the image of the show became more fleshed out .... That's the way Kanno gets things done.

"Rather than through logic and reason, I can vaguely form impressions of the show through talking with the director. I thought, why not try emulating the mood of vintage French films? The males would be full of masculine allure while the females would be glamorous and very conscious of their physical body, and there'd be mellow music during the romantic scenes - that sort of feeling. This is kind of the complete opposite of the world of 'Darker', though!"


Indeed, the characters in the show as represented by Hei and Yin seem to be full of the rather inorganic types indifferent to sexiness. In that case, why express an image completely different from that of the anime's in the music?

"The characters have become what they are after disconnecting themselves with certain aspects of their human side, right. So that's why I was thinking I wanted to bring out precisely those aspects through the music. If the emotions and humanity, the bit inside themselves that they've lost which can't be portrayed visually, could be seen through the music instead, I had a feeling it'd make the film all the more impressive."


So contrasting with the visuals which try to take out the humanity of the characters, is the music, going in a more sensual direction. Needless to say, through the harmonizing of these two elements, the anime's level of finishing gets notched up higher.

"This time around there's two vocal tracks, which are being recorded right now. I had again gone to request a favour from Mai Yamane-san after a long time since 'Cowboy Bebop', and am having her sing the emotions of a man beyond help. However, there were more things I wanted to express through instrumental songs than through vocals, so I have no intention to increase the number of vocal tracks any further."


Yoko Kanno, whose skill is dubbed as a tamatebako (a treasure) by the sound director Kazuhiro Wakabayashi. One wants to enjoy the combination of her music with the visuals to their heart's extent.

*Literally, "ハンチング". Imagine Huang's outfit - that's the type of thing they mean.

[aardvark]

"Rather than through logic and reason, I can vaguely form impressions of the show through talking with the director. I thought, why not try emulating the mood of vintage French films? The males would be full of masculine allure while the females would be glamorous and very conscious of their physical body, and there'd be mellow music during the romantic scenes - that sort of feeling. This is kind of the complete opposite of the world of 'Darker', though!"

This feeling is perfectly transcribed in the show. Whether in the opening scene of episode 2, or the scene where Chiaki is laying down on Hei in the alley. Those scenes perfectly capture that atmosphere she's talking about.

Those two scenes are probably my favorite of the show so far incidentally. The music, scene composition, dialogue. Its the type of scenes that grabs my attention right away and lets me know this show will hopefully be something special...

[issei]

i definitely get a french new wave/noir vibe. hei's hei-personality reminds me of the titular character in jean-pierre melville's le samourai -- very cool, collected, and in control of the situation -- and his affable foreign exchange student side has tones of godard's young male protagonists in it, especially in the interactions with chiaki.

[Jazzrat]

A bit to the discussion, the closest term i can think of for the Dolls are bodies without soul/will (or Ghost for the GitS fans) since Yin was apparently a normal girl before she became a doll and Chiaki was an artificial doll (her real body was dead).

As for them being passive medium (makes me think of an empty hard drive), i suppose they are to house either memories (Chiaki's case) or abilities (Yin's observer apparition) but without the will to utilize those abilities without 3rd party instruction. So, it sorta makes sense when Hei said doll Chiaki was actually alive when she blocked Jean's attack for him.

[kujoe]

I'm kind of surprised that Shinndou mentioned Cowboy Bebop.

Spoiler:

When Chiaki says that a falling star means the death of a Contractor, that's what actually came to my mind...

I like the smooth and sharp visuals of this anime. With regard to the characters, I would have to say that Hei and the chief's character designs caught my eye. The style has that simplicity that I'm usually more into, and the soundtrack really complements the show. All in all, a good start.