I think I spent more time than necessary figuring out just what rating I’d give Darker than Black. Having been fascinated with it from start to end, and having found the coherence and thematic focus of the series to be AMA~ZING!, on top of the brilliant storytelling (guess I can proudly say, “yes! I can see what you’re talking about, Owen/Hige/0rion&Guff (or their spirit)/other DtB fans!”) and the excellent portrayal of the characters (Without doubt, Hei is <333. To my new spunky shiny sexy black laptop, I dub thee 'Hei'!) — each of whom finally found their purpose in life, the ‘truth’ they truly believe in, what they stand for, and their place in society, I felt compelled to give it a 10. Until I finally got to the end of the series, and started thinking whether I should be more “objective” in my rating.

Darker than Black is far from perfect, as with all other animes. There were a LOT left to be revealed by the end of the series, some episodes felt a little out of place (or that they didn’t really push the plot forward), and the “ending” turned out to be pretty rushed. But there were also a LOT of things going for it — the characters were dynamic(and I mean REALLY), character revelation and development here and there, and they happen even if you might not be aware of it (I’m looking at you, Yin)! They’re not stereotypical characters; they exist to break their own stereotypes. And although some episodes didn’t contribute to “plot development”, it didn’t stray off from the intended theme of the series, or in 0rion’s words, the “philosophy” of Darker than Black. Episodes 7-8, for example, seemed to me like one of the most filler-like episodes, but once viewed in the light of ‘Identity’, or ‘What constitutes the essence of our being — is it our body, soul, or uhm, smell?’, it all makes sense. Kindly read Owen’s post on this for the intricate details, I can’t give justice to this just yet.

It’s the first time I’ve seen an anime with this kind of coherence. But a brief disclaimer: It’s not until lately that I found my tastes ‘maturing’. Take that as you want.

is that a lively kitty I see, or are you just happy to see me?

What I’m basically going at with this is that, the aforementioned Great Things about Darker than Black makes the ‘lack of proper ending’ nothing else but a trivial matter. And while I can see where the dissenters are coming from, I felt the series had an epic win ending as well. To quote Guff:

“I loved how the series gave an honest illustration of the epilogue. The contractors still exist and some still abuse their power. But power is neutral, neither inherently good nor wicked. It is people who manipulate it that causes violence and conflict. In short, the show ended brilliantly – the world still isn’t perfect, but there remains a glimmer of hope that shines like the distant stars.”

I heartily concur.

Karura once wrote about her disappointment with Darker than Black, and 0rion only had this to say:

“While I understand where you’re coming from with your criticisms, and while I agree that the main plot was decidedly hurried, I feel that Darker than Black still stands pretty well simply on the strength of the individual story arcs.

Rather than being concerned with fleshing out the grand overarching plot, the writers used that as a backdrop to tell a series of brilliantly executed character stories. Certainly the vagueness of the setting and plot mechanisms smacks of a story where even the writers aren’t sure what’s supposed to happen, but I feel that the unhurried pace was also one of the greatest strengths of the series. It gave the smaller thematic stories breathing room, where in other circumstances they might have been buried under the momentum of the main plot.

In essense, Darker than Black is best appreciated one episode at a time, without regard for those larger elements. Much like Mushishi, each episode creates and nurtures a theme, and manages to draw something profound out of it in the space of 22 minutes – not an easy feat. Once you view it in that light, the entire show makes a lot more sense and becomes more enjoyable. :)”

I couldn’t have said it any better. And yes, this is the life; if you can’t find the words to convey what you want, quote the words of other people who says just the right words for you. So effin’ brilliantly too.

See, even they don’t know the answer.

Also, as opposed to people who found themselves caring less for the characters as the series went on, I found myself caring less and less for the plot and more for the characters. To Hell with Hell’s Gate or Heaven’s Gate. What does that say of me? I’ll leave that to you.

So in the end, after overthinking about ratings and feeling a bit “lost”, I went with my instincts, and did what I think was right. A 10 it is.

In the process, I found myself mulling over “10″, what it means to me, and/or the basis I have for giving that Grandiose Grade. I know there’s been a whole lot of discussion regarding Axiology before, the proper methodology behind evaluating animes, evaluating our feelings (enjoyment or otherwise) vis-a-vis ‘objectivity’, how Quality is not directly proportional to enjoyment and vice versa. Incoherent stream of thoughts follows, read at your own risk!

Hypothetically speaking, all animes can be enjoyed if viewed in the “right” light (or in the wrong light, that would work too), the right “frame of mind” (with or without the accompanying experiences necessary), or the right “lens”; we may not notice it, but enjoying something is a subconscious decision we make [all too often] — which entails either a conscious or subconscious decision to want to go through the said “lens”. Ever wondered how mecha fagn ghostlightning could enjoy something like Skip Beat or Nana? Another case in point: I know people can enjoy Queen’s Blade for what it’s worth (or otherwise), may it be for fapping, appreciating the beauty of squirting boobs as a form of ART, etc., but at this point in time, my mind is set to “I wouldn’t touch this with a 10-foot pole” — partially because (a) I don’t want to ruin my image (what will watching Queen’s Blade say of me?), (b) it’s not relevant to my interests if there are sexy hawt men instead, we might just be able to negotiate that, (c) I find other animes to be far worth my time at the moment, and (d) I’m not really in the mood to enjoy it for the wrong reasons.

Chibi Amber is so moee D: I want a Doll version, literally.

Now if all animes can be enjoyed by people, that simply means that we all have the right to give that Highly Coveted “10″ Score (or any other score for that matter) and others can’t give a damn about it, right? “Hey, this is all personal!” But here’s my take on this, bear with me please. The “this is my 10, and I don’t give a damn about what you think about it” mindset, is tantamount to saying “My 10 is greater than your 10″. So you not only disregard other people’s opinions, but you also elitistly look at your own as the Absolute 10. My beef with this is: how would you know exactly what “10″ is, or how would you ascertain that this “10″ is the “Real 10″ (or how you really want your 10 to be), if you don’t explore other people’s take on it? Can’t we humble ourselves and see where other people are coming from with their point of views, and be enlightened in the process? Our “10″ will be all the more ‘rich’ (for the lack of a better word) that way.

At this day and age, I still wonder how the heck Owen ever gave Itazura na Kiss a 10 in MAL, but well, it’s “personal” (though I’d like to see some bit of explanation and expounding — showing others’ opinions rather than yours is not enough to defend that 10! And, just to see what exactly went wrong with my watching, not just “Why so serious HURR DURR DURR, lighten up yo!”) But I digress.

There’s the concept of identity through the Looking Glass Self, the kind of mindset I subscribe to. Getting to know other people’s take in what I watch, where they’re coming from as they evaluate their animes, only serves to let me get to know myself (or my tastes) better. And in the end, realizing that 10 != PERFECT. Interpretation of the said “10″ varies from person to person (we are unique individuals after all), and for me it means having appreciated an anime for what its worth, not necessarily because the said anime is the PINNACLE OF ACHIEVEMENT (quoting OGT on this) and that EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT, but having enjoyed it because we saw it in the “right light”, and saw how great it is (the QUALITY) because of that — a personal love affair. 10 = having Fallen in Love with the said anime. Falling in love here is tantamount to seeing both the Good and Bad sides about it, but ultimately accepting that the flaws of the series simply constitute it as a total package. That’s how true love is supposed to be, right? Say cheese!

In the wise words of soon-to-be-otou-san ghostlightning:

“Perfection does not need your love. It is whole and complete. It is never any less perfect without your love. Nothing, nothing is missing.

Ahh, don’t you just love the sound of that?

Though of course, it’s never easy to see animes in the “right lens”, and what that “right lens” is (or what ‘quality’ is) needs a lot to be contended with. I mean if IKnight hasn’t found a way to directly perceive quality, or even to prove once and for all that it exists…! I know Ryan is onto something with his introduction of the melative Relative Rating System, but I have yet to fully grasp it or try my hand on it T__T /lazymode

Slowly but surely, I think I’m starting to find what “10″ means to me. It’s a continuous process, I know. My standards change, the way I perceive things change; the “lens” I viewed anime with during my younger years is far different than the lens I have now, which is why at times, I ask myself, how come I can no longer share with the joy of my baka anikis as they watch Yu-Gi-Oh? I thought of this as a sign of being ‘jaded’, but OGT boosted up my morale x9000 during one convo we had as he viewed this in the light of being “knowledgeable about my taste”, rather than “jaded”. And I like that. For one, I can actually see what they find so enjoyable about it, I just choose not to partake in it. To anyone who thinks I’m losing out on half of my life by not watching Yu-Gi-Oh, I challenge you! To a duel!

There’s a certain sense of joy I get out of being able to understand other people’s sentiments, when I’m able to ‘connect’ with them, especially. “Oh, so this is what thought to be great about ” (in that wide-eyed sense of wonder fangirl mode), or even a disappointed “Oh, so this is what was talking about, I see…” (but enlightened nonetheless) “Getting” where another person is coming brings about… enlightenment on a whole new level. And it allows you to connect with more people that way

In closing, I would just like to say: I don’t expect you to enjoy animes (or enjoy Darker than Black) the way I do, but I do hope you’ll see where I’m coming from.

…How do you rate your [love for] animes?

P.S. I am terribly sorry for losing control over this post’s word length.

P.P.S. Not incorporating coburn’s excellent post on the similar subject matter just made this post a ‘poor man’s version’ of his *facepalm*

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