Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor

Darker than Black -Ryūsei no Gemini-
"Darker Than Black -Ryūsei no Gemini-" Title Card
DARKER THAN BLACK -流星の双子(ジェミニ)- (Darker Than Black -Ryūsei no Jemini-)
Genre	Sci-Fi noir, Neo-noir, Supernatural
TV anime
Darker than Black -Ryūsei no Gemini-
Directed by	Tensai Okamura
Written by	Tensai Okamura
Studio	Bones
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment
Network	TBS, MBS
Original run	October 8, 2009 – December 24, 2009
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Anime and Manga Portal

Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (DARKER THAN BLACK -流星の双子(ジェミニ)-, Dākā Zan Burakku -Ryūsei no Jemini-^?) is an anime television series, created, directed and written by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It is a sequel to the anime series Darker than Black which premiered in October 2009 and ended in December 2009.^[1] Though details of the sequel series were leaked beforehand, it was officially unveiled almost a year later by Square Enix's Young Gangan seinen magazine. The English dub is set to be released November 8, 2011.^[2]

Story

Main article: List of Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor episodes

Hei is now in hiding after betraying the Syndicate in the previous season, and has become a depressed drunk taking various jobs from the CIA. While located in Russia, Hei encounters Suou Pavlichenko, a 13 year old Eurasian girl who is a direct copy of her brother Shion Pavlichenko, a contractor from birth, whose ability is to produce an object from nothing; this includes making clones of himself. However, all of Shion's copies differ in one detail to himself, for instance Suou's alternate sex. Hei teaches Suou various methods of fighting and self defense.

Meanwhile, a government group of hired contractors have captured a weapon named "Izanami"; this 'weapon' turns out to be Yin, however Yin has simply become a shell that is capable of disabling contractor's abilities or even killing them. It is implied that Hei has lost his ability as a contractor by using an anticontractor weapon that supposed to kill him, but Suou's presence and the meteor fragment she wears causes interference and prevents the weapon from killing Hei. Hei forms a team including July and Mao (who is now in a flying squirrel's body) and Suou, but their attempt to escape Russia to Tokyo is hindered when Hei is tricked by his contact. July is stolen by the contact who intends to sell him, causing Suou to track July down and seriously injures the contact in order to save July.

July, Suou and Mao are then in turn captured by a depraved and mentally unstable contractor Ilya, a man whose power is to shut of oxygen supplies to the brain. In a desperate struggle, Hei strangles and kills Ilya and rescues his friends. In the meantime Misaki Kirihara has been attempting to find Li/Hei/BK-201 to question him and also for personal reasons. During her efforts, she is approached by a mysterious woman (Madame Oreille) who gives her codes and information concerning BK-201. The codes are passwords to sensitive documents about the meeting of "Izanami" and "Izanagi", Izanami being Yin and Izanagi being Shion; the documents state that if the two were to meet, then a terrible disaster would occur and "strife would continue for eternity" (on earth).

Hei, Suou, Kirihara and the contractor team all work to prevent this from happening; in the process they meet the mysterious woman from earlier who leads them to Dr. Pavlichenko's super computer: a computer made up from hundreds of Shion's copied dolls. The intent of this computer and the meeting of Izanami and Izanagi is to create a completely alternate Earth in which the gates do not exist. As Suou, July and Hei rush to prevent the meeting, Suou and July are killed and sent to the alternate Earth by Izanami, as per Shion's wish, who dies apparently from using his power to create the alternate Earth. Then Yin tells Hei, that it's not too late, and he can still kill her to prevent the prophecy from coming true. Then Hei is seen touching Yin's body, and his powers are restored. After that Hei is seen carrying the body of Yin.

Main characters

Main article: List of Darker than Black characters

Hei (黒^?, Chinese: Black) Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)

The main protagonist and an elite Contractor with the Messier Code BK-201. During the events of the first season of Darker than Black, Hei used the cover of a seemingly gentle student from China named Lee Shenshun (Li Shengshun (Hanyu Pinyin) or Li Sianshong (Tongyong Pinyin), literally Mr. Li), but donned a mask and the dark clothes of the assassin "Black Reaper" while working for the Syndicate. Hei's contract allows him to generate electricity, and it is later revealed that his Contractor ability is the manipulation of molecules, electricity being his power's least extent, the greatest being to transfer the powers of a Contractor to a human being, as his sister did with him. The Japanese government, among many others, hotly pursues him for his involvement in multiple assassinations. In the last episode of the first season, he saved all the Contractors by manipulating the molecules in Hell's Gate, preventing it from exploding, just as Heaven's Gate had five years ago. His lack of remuneration is explained toward the end of the first season: since he inherited his ability from his younger sister, Pai, he is still human, and therefore still experiences emotions. As of Darker than BLACK: Ryūsei no Gemini, he is on the run from the Syndicate, operating, under the CIA's orders, in Russia. He has become an alcoholic, and has not shaved or cut his hair in some time, hinting to depression, presumably because of Yin's disappearance. In several dreams, he is seen desperately chasing after Yin, who promptly says goodbye and leaves. After discovering Yin's whereabouts, Hei has softened his attitude towards Suō and has given up his alcohol abuse. In Episode 9, Hei cuts his hair and shaves his stubble, reverting back to his appearance in the previous season. As of Episode 3, Suō, the newly rediscovered Mao and Hei are en route back to Japan, in pursuit of Shion. Also as of episode 6, it has been confirmed that Hei no longer possesses his Contractor power, but it is believed that he may have gotten his power back at the end of the last episode, episode 12.

Yin (銀, In^?, lit. Silver) Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English)

A supporter in Hei's team. Yin is a spirit medium known as a "Doll". Her primary function as a Doll is surveillance, as she has the ability to see anything near water as long as she is in contact with water. During the events of the first season, she is seen locating mission targets for Hei and Mao. Yin possesses the memories of her body's previous 'owner', Kirsi (last name unknown), who lived in Finland learning to play the piano under the tutelage of famed pianist Eelis Kostinen. In the manga, she resembles Kanon since she is also a "doll" though she has some of Kirsi's memories, making the method for creation of dolls a point of speculation. In the OVA it was revealed that Izanami had awakened inside Yin.

Suou Pavlichenko (蘇芳・パブリチェンコ, Suō Paburichenko^?) Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Alison Viktorin (English)

The main female protagonist. A 13 year old girl who lives in Vladivostok, Russia. In the Gemini of the Meteor story arc, Suou becomes involved in the war and machinations between the various groups and Contractors, and her life is forever changed when she meets Hei. She is Eurasian, with a Japanese mother and Russian father. She also has a twin brother, Shion, who uses a wheelchair. She is later revealed to have some form of contractor ability when she goes into mental shock, which awakens her latent powers. Her exact Contractor ability is not explicitly known, but with it, she is able to manifest a PTRD-41 from the meteor fragment she wears. Suou wields the rifle with ease and skill, though whether this is also part of her Contractor ability or not is unknown. Her remuneration involves folding paper into origami. In episode 9, it is revealed by Suou's mother that Suou actually died eight years ago and is a different Suou. It is also revealed subsequently by her father that she is a copy created by Shion, after he was hit by meteor core fragment. When Izanami shatters the meteor core, her memories are lost, but Shion sacrifices his life to have Izanami send her and July to his copy of earth so they can live happy lives. Her name may be a reference to Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper widely considered to be the best female sniper in history.

Shion Pavlichenko (紫苑・パブリチェンコ, Shion Paburichenko^?) Voiced by: Hōko Kuwashima (Japanese), Lindsay Seidel (English)

Suou's twin brother. He loses his right eye due to an accident with a falling meteor core fragment. This incident led to the creation of Suō. His remuneration confined him to a wheelchair. Shion has since told his father that he has fully paid it, meaning that he no longer needs to pay whichever remuneration he had. It is hinted, by Shion standing up when he told his father his remuneration is finished, that his remuneration might be the loss of use of his legs. In Episode 10 it is revealed that Shion's ability is to make physical copies of things. It is also revealed that he was a contractor since birth, though the meteor core fragment has given his powers a boost in order to create the Suou copy (later, he gives Suou the charm which acts as a memory chip). In the penultimate use of these powers, he links to the Doll Network, which has cataloged all the thoughts of all the people on earth, and creates a copy of the entire planet, minus the gates. This renders him paraplegic. He gives his life to Izanami in exchange for sending Suou and July to the Earth copy, where they can live happily. With his last words, he calls Suou his sister.

Development

A Microsoft Excel document containing information about Bones staff and production details, was leaked onto the Japanese filesharing site uploader.jp, in July 2008.^[3] Among other details, including the confidential contact information of Bones staff members, it revealed that a second Darker than Black and Fullmetal Alchemist series were in production and were being directed by Tensai Okamura and Yasuhiro Irie respectively.^[3] This information regarding Fullmetal Alchemist, which had never been previously released, was later proven to be true in January 2009.^[3] In an official statement posted on Bones' official website, co-founder and president Masahiko Minami claimed that the document was not released by the studio themselves but by an unnamed third-party. In a later statement, Minami also stated in regards to the two new series, "It hasn't been decided yet. We are interested in doing them. As original science-fiction works, they were extremely fascinating. With these kinds of dramatic story lines, I feel that there's a lot we could do potentially."^[4] Six months later, however, the second series of Fullmetal Alchemist was confirmed to be in production with Yasuhiro Irie as director, thus confirming the document's validity.^[3] The second Darker than Black series was confirmed in the 12th issue of Square Enix's Young Gangan Magazine.^[5] In the 14th issue of Young Gangan, the title had been revealed as Darker than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini (DARKER THAN BLACK-流星の双子-, Dākā Zan Burakku -Ryūsei no Gemini-^?, lit. "Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor") and it aired in Japan in October 2009.^[1]

Theme songs

Opening theme

"Tsukiakari no Michishirube (ツキアカリのミチシルベ^?, Guidepost of the Moonlight) by Stereopony

Ending theme

"From Dusk Till Dawn" by Abingdon Boys School

Production

A number of the crew who previously worked on the first season of Darker than Black came back forRyūsei no Gemini. However, Yoko Kanno did not compose for the sequel as she did in the first series; the score was instead composed by Yasushi Ishii, who previously worked on Hellsing.^[6]

• Original Concept: Bones, Tensai Okamura
• Original Character Design: Yūji Iwahara
• Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Takahiro Komori
• Art Design: Tomoaki Okada, Takashi Aoi
• Art Director: Takashi Aoi (Green)
• Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi (Fonishia)
• Composer: Yasushi Ishii
• Color design: Nobuko Mizuta
• Prop Design: Takahiro Yamada

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://pds15.egloos.com/pds/200907/02/50/c0052350_4a4cc679d3803.jpg
2. ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-29/funimation-delays-darker-than-black-season-2-by-3-weeks"
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "New Fullmetal Alchemist Anime's Staff Confirmed". Anime News Network. 2009-01-11. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-01-11/new-fullmetal-alchemist-anime-staff-confirmed. Retrieved 2009-02-15. 
4. ^ "Bones Studio Addresses Allegedly Leaked Document". Anime News Network. 2008-07-06. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-06/bones-studio-addresses-allegedly-leaked-document. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
5. ^ "Darker than Black Tv Anime Sequel Green-Lit". Anime News Network. 2009-06-03. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-03/darker-than-black-tv-anime-sequel-green-lit. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
6. ^ "A Gabriela Robin Site » Darker than Black Season 2 (Confirmed, Composer Not Kanno)". 2009-08-06. http://gabrielarobin.com/2224/darker-than-black-season-2. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 

External links

• Official Website
• Funimation Official Page
• Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Russia in Darker than Black 2 (Analysis of series from Russian point of view) (Russian)