[DVD] Darker Than Black Vol. #4

[Chris Beveridge]

Review by Chris Beveridge

Mania Grade: A-
* Audio Rating: A-
* Video Rating: A-
* Packaging Rating: B+
* Menus Rating: A-
* Extras Rating: B
* Age Rating: 17 and Up
* Region: 1 - North America
* Released By: FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd.
* MSRP: 29.98
* Running time: 100
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* Disc Resolution: 480i/p
* Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
* Series: Darker Than Black

In Summary:
After the third volume with its revelations and teases, I knew this volume wasn’t going to stack up in the same way so it was fairly well expected. There’s certainly a lot to like here overall, even if the first storyline didn’t click that strongly with me, and that’s one of the things that keeps it so enjoyable. There are so many little nuggets here and there that explore this world, the Gates and the past, that even when the main story isn’t engaging there’s plenty of good stuff. The characters continue to be the main appeal though and Li’s laid back style even with his lifestyle and job remains one of the best parts. His almost hapless smile at times is so off-putting that you can’t help but to smile when you see it. This range of episodes is usually among the weakest in any series, but there’s eight more to go with a lot of ground to cover and some hopefully engaging stories to be told. I’ll consider this a slight lull before it ramps things up.

[Doom85]

Glad to see the strong rating, this and 4 other Funi DVDs (thank you, Rightstuf!) should arrive tomorrow, so I got plenty to look forward to.

[Damius]

This volume was really great!

[WTK]

I watched this volume last week. I still enjoy watching this series. I'm definitely looking forward to the remaining two volumes.