Darker Than Black — 2007-2010 · 2 seasons · 42 eps

★ 7.7

Darker Than Black poster

Darker Than Black

2007-2010 2 seasons 42 episodes

★ 7.7 (13,275 votes) Top 41%

Ten years ago, a mysterious spatial anomaly now known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities — called "Contractors" — emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats. Following the disastrous Heaven's War, the United States lost its dominant position as a superpower to a mysterious organization named the Syndicate. The story revolves around a Chinese contractor codenamed "Hei" as he undertakes various espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo.

Ten years ago, a mysterious spatial anomaly now known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities — called "Contractors" — emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats. Following the disastrous Heaven's War, the United States lost its dominant position as a superpower to a mysterious organization named the Syndicate. The story revolves around a Chinese contractor codenamed "Hei" as he undertakes various espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo.

Episode Ratings Grid

Every episode at a glance, color-coded by rating. Rows are episode numbers within each season, columns are seasons.

Size: M

S1

S2

E1

7.1

7.6

E2

7.3

7.8

E3

7.1

7.7

E4

7.3

7.5

E5

7.2

7.6

E6

7.5

7.7

E7

7.1

7.7

E8

7.1

7.7

E9

7.1

7.6

E10

7.4

7.7

E11

7.3

7.9

E12

7.5

7.8

E13

7.4

8.4

E14

7.8

8.8

E15

7.3

8.5

E16

7.8

8.9

E17

7.1

E18

7.5

E19

7.6

E20

7.9

E21

7.9

E22

7.9

E23

8.1

E24

8.1

E25

8.0

E26

7.8

Avg

7.5

7.9

Great

Good

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top Episodes

#1 8.9

S2E16 OVA: Gaiden Part 4

#2

S2E14 8.8

OVA: Gaiden Part 2

#3

S2E15 8.5

OVA: Gaiden Part 3

4. S2E13 "OVA: Gaiden Part 1" 8.4
5. S1E23 "God is In His Heaven" 8.1
6. S1E24 "Meteor Shower" 8.1
7. S1E25 "Does the Reaper Dream of Darkness Darker than Black?" 8.0
8. S1E20 "Dreaming Shallow, Uninebriated Part 2" 7.9
9. S1E21 "City Under Crackdown, Moist with Tears Part 1" 7.9
10. S1E22 "City Under Crackdown, Moist with Tears Part 2" 7.9

📉 Bottom Episodes

#42

S1E17 7.1

A Love Song Sung from a Trash Heap Part 1

Hei meets Sakurai Kenji of the Nakazawa Group, a clumsy yet ambitious young man. New characters are introduced who live in Hei's apartment building. Later, Kenji is given the assignment of taking care of a doll by his boss. Hei, Mao, Yin, and Huang try to find the doll, who is conveniently in the hands of Kenji.

41. S1E9 "The White Dress, Stained with the Girl's Dreams and Blood Part 1" 7.1
40. S1E8 "The Scent of Gardenias Lingers in the Summer Rain Part 2" 7.1
39. S1E7 "The Scent of Gardenias Lingers in the Summer Rain Part 1" 7.1
38. S1E3 "A New Star Shines in the Dawn Sky Part 1" 7.1

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

Trend

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:

8 Standouts

13 Infamous

21 Hidden Gems

0 Forgettable

Top Standout: S1E24 Meteor Shower

Most Infamous: S1E1 The Star of a Contract Fell...: Part 1

Best Hidden Gem: S2E16 OVA: Gaiden Part 4

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.