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Darker than Black watch order

Ten years after a mysterious Gate appeared over Tokyo and the real stars vanished from the sky, people with strange powers called Contractors work as spies and assassins for rival governments. Bones' original series follows Hei, a Contractor known as the Black Reaper, across two TV seasons, a bonus episode and a four-part OVA that bridges them.

First time? Watch Season 1 (25 episodes), then the four Gaiden OVAs, then Gemini of the Meteor. The bonus episode Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom is an optional extra after Season 1.

Story order

The best way to watch. The only difference from release order is the Gaiden OVAs, which happen between the two seasons even though they came out after Season 2.

  1. Darker than Black TV, 2007, 25 episodes

    Hei works for a shadowy Syndicate in Tokyo alongside the Doll Yin, the talking cat Mao and their handler Huang, while police inspector Misaki Kirihara tries to work out who the Black Reaper is. Most of it is told in two-episode cases, building to a three-part finale about the Gate. Start here.

  2. Darker than Black: Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom (optional) Special, 2008, 1 episode

    Also called episode 26. A light, comedic side story released on the last Japanese DVD volume, in which Hei's team and the police go after a dead Contractor's belongings, rumored to be buried under a cherry tree. It doesn't affect the plot; watch it after Season 1 if you want more of the cast.

  3. Darker than Black: Gaiden OVA, 2010, 4 episodes

    Four OVAs (AniList lists them as Darker than Black: Origins) that fill the gap between the seasons: Hei and Yin on the run from Japan, through Okinawa and Hong Kong, and how they end up apart. They came out after Gemini of the Meteor, one per Blu-ray and DVD volume, but they explain why Hei is so changed in Season 2, so watch them first.

  4. Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor TV, 2009, 12 episodes

    Season 2, set two years after the first. The lead is now Suou Pavlichenko, a girl in Russia whose life falls apart when her twin brother becomes a Contractor, and a hardened, hard-drinking Hei becomes her reluctant protector. Shorter, bleaker and faster than Season 1.

Release order

Gemini of the Meteor aired in late 2009 and the Gaiden followed in 2010, packed with the Season 2 discs. Watching in this order leaves Hei's change between seasons unexplained until the end.

  1. Darker than Black TV, 2007, 25 episodes

    Hei works for a shadowy Syndicate in Tokyo alongside the Doll Yin, the talking cat Mao and their handler Huang, while police inspector Misaki Kirihara tries to work out who the Black Reaper is. Most of it is told in two-episode cases, building to a three-part finale about the Gate. Start here.

  2. Darker than Black: Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom (optional) Special, 2008, 1 episode

    Also called episode 26. A light, comedic side story released on the last Japanese DVD volume, in which Hei's team and the police go after a dead Contractor's belongings, rumored to be buried under a cherry tree. It doesn't affect the plot; watch it after Season 1 if you want more of the cast.

  3. Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor TV, 2009, 12 episodes

    Season 2, set two years after the first. The lead is now Suou Pavlichenko, a girl in Russia whose life falls apart when her twin brother becomes a Contractor, and a hardened, hard-drinking Hei becomes her reluctant protector. Shorter, bleaker and faster than Season 1.

  4. Darker than Black: Gaiden OVA, 2010, 4 episodes

    Four OVAs (AniList lists them as Darker than Black: Origins) that fill the gap between the seasons: Hei and Yin on the run from Japan, through Okinawa and Hong Kong, and how they end up apart. They came out after Gemini of the Meteor, one per Blu-ray and DVD volume, but they explain why Hei is so changed in Season 2, so watch them first.

Explained

Is Gemini of the Meteor season 2?

Yes. Ryuusei no Gemini (Gemini of the Meteor) is the second season, sometimes listed as Darker than Black 2nd Season. Funimation's English release bundled it with the Gaiden as 'Gemini of the Meteor + OVAs'.

Do I need the Gaiden OVAs?

Yes. They aren't recaps or side stories: they show what happens to Hei and Yin in the two years between the seasons, including why Hei starts Season 2 bitter, drinking, and without Yin. Season 2 assumes you know this, and many viewers who skipped them found its opening confusing.

Why does Season 2 feel so different?

The director, Tensai Okamura, wanted a different tone, so Season 2 is seen mostly through a new lead, Suou, and runs 12 episodes instead of 25. Yoko Kanno, who scored Season 1, didn't return as composer. It's shorter and moves fast, and it leaves several questions open.

Is there a Season 3?

No. Season 2's ending is deliberately unresolved, especially about Yin, and nothing more has been announced since the Gaiden in 2010. Darker than Black: Shikkoku no Hana is a four-volume manga (2009–11) set about a year after Season 1. It's an alternate story that ignores Gemini of the Meteor, not a sequel to it, and it was never animated.