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Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (anime review)

Darker Than Black season 2Title: Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor 
Director: Tensai Okamura
Studio: Bones
U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment
U. S. Re-Release Date: May 12th, 2015
Format: Blu-ray and DVD/ 400 Minutes / 12 episodes and 4 OVAs
Genre: Sci Fi, Action , Adventure, Drama
Age Rating: TV MA (due to violence)
Overall Personal Rating: A
It’s been 2 years and everything is all messed up. It looks like something big is about to happen and Hei and Yin appear to be at the heart of it, but why?

Synopsis:
Drunk and working for the CIA Hei is on the trail a boy Shion Pavlichenko who seems to be the key to the wakening of Izanami, a doll that is prophesied to be the destroyer or killer of contractors. Hei makes a move for Shion at the same time that the Syndicate also moves in along with the Russian authorities. Shion escapes and everyone thinks that his twin sister, Suou, is him. Hei ends up helping Suou escape but in the escape they are caught in a trap that ends up turning her into a contractor.
Hei takes her under his wing and trains her to become a killing machine. Because of the loss of Yin, Hei has become a drunk and a mean drunk at that. There is also Mao, who has come back and ended up in the body of a flying squirrel that is Suou’s pet. At one point the Doll, April, who was also working for MI6 and helping the CIA breaks ranks and joins forces with Hei, Suou and Mao. The four of them begin to make their way back to Japan in search of Suou’s mother and brother. Along the way the begin to discover the secrets about Suou’s brother and his connection to Izanami and also Yin’s connection to both. All of the character along with some new ones are back for this next chapter in the Darker Than Black Saga.
In this edition there are also the four OVA’s that should be watched first. They provide the gap between the first 25 episodes and this 12.

Commentary:
First off, be sure to watch the four OVA’s first. There is a good deal of information in those four that the opening of Gemini of the Meteor won’t be confusing. I watch as the series progressed and then sat down with the OVA’s and caught myself saying more than once ” Now I get it!”.
This series is true Darker Than Black. From the very opening you get sucked into some seemingly normal existence and watch it get turned upside down. You also get to see people go from being regular humans to becoming Contractors and lose their humanity and compassion. As you move through these episodes you will find yourself trying to make a connection with Suou to have those perceptions turned upside down later in the series.
The over all look of the series was great. From the animation to the blending of the soundtrack everything merged together and made a complete package. In many ways I would have enjoyed this being a little bit longer to maybe allow for more of the newer character to develop, but in the end I was happy with what I was given. I found the playing with Hei’s character to be most rewarding. Giving him even more humanity than before helped to express the impact he had on those around him. The one thing I also enjoyed was the way that April, the stoic doll, managed to become more than just a watcher, he managed to get some emotional evolvement.
Again I can’t stress enough how important it will be to watch the OVAs before you start the series. They provide some serious back fill that will help make the first few episodes even more meaningful. After watching the OVAs I went back and watched the first four episodes again and was blown away by how much more it all made sense to me.
Overall Grade: A
Being a true fan of this style of hard Sci Fi drama, Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor  has everything in it from the tormented hero to helpless girl who ends up being anything from helpless to the core of the opposing forces that have their own agenda. The intrigue is top notch, I just wish there would have been a little more.

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