Darker Than Black, a futuristic supernatural romp in a world shrouded in mystery. It doesn’t sound too original, but this 2007 anime from studio Bones is a cut above the rest.

Ten years before our story begins a powerful disaster wreaks havoc upon the world, altering the sky and the landscape. Not long after this event people start emerging with special abilities. These people are dubbed contractors and are known to be ruthless cold-blooded killers.

Fast forwarding to the beginning of Darker Than Black, our protagonist, a Chinese student named Hei, is an elite contractor who hunts down bloodthirsty contractors for an organisation with unknown ambitions. In fact Hei is so good at his job that other contractors have nicknamed The Black Reaper. As you would expect the long arm of the law are also hot on the tail of these nasty contractor folk. The Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs Division 4, Misaki Kirihara speeds around town in her Porsche investigating reports of contractor thuggery. All this results in Hei and Division 4 facing off even though their goals are roughly the same.

The neo-noir setting and mystery shrouding past events are tantalising enough to keep things moving along. The most interesting part is that the main character, Hei is actually likable. His night and day personality prove to be a nice juxtaposition. By day he’s a likable and helpful student and by night he’s cleaning up the town of supernatural contractor scum. Other characters are hardly given the time of day on the first DVD. Maybe the lowest point of this anime is the fact that it all looks a bit dreary. Brighter colours are used sparingly, which is a shame because it makes the production feel flat overall. It’s not a huge detractor because the story and characterisation are strong enough to get it over the line. DVD extras are fair with a small array of commentary and cast auditions, not to mention the now obligatory art gallery and textless opening.

If you’re a committed this anime will reward but it takes time to draw you in. Once you’re down the rabbit-hole you’ll find it surprisingly enjoyable.

Overall: Buy

Starts slow but ends quick. Don’t blink!