So I was just down at Yin Obsessed Crazy Guy’s place trying to find some solace from the mindf*** episode 12 of DtB2 just put me through. And as usual, he and his throng of DtB apologist commenters did wonders to help disentangle the web of inconclusive nuances that malicious Bones keeps throwing at us. Sasuga desu!
Unfortunately I don’t have much to add to all of that discussion except a number more irresponsible questions. Hit the jump if you’d like to benevolently attempt to explain them to me. I should warn you though that if you’re here seeking answers, you’ll likely be disappointed :)
Who the HECK are you?
Ok, let’s cut straight to it. So what was missing in Shion’s new moon-world (something is supposed to be off in everything he creates)? That felt like it was important when Dr Pavlichenko mentioned it. I’ve been playing with the theory that all the contractors he creates in the new world is missing their powers, but that doesn’t really amount to anything, and something should be wrong with the world – heaven – itself, not just the ‘souls’ sent up to it. I just cannot help feeling that I’m missing out on a chunk of the plot when this equation didn’t add up.
Also, I dunno, if I know Darker than Black, then black and white ‘double Yin’ appearing at the very end wasn’t random, and probably meant/alludes to something. Something that I can’t quite pinpoint. Izanami and Yin? I’m not even sure if the show wanted us to think that they are distinct in the first place. But for that matter why the heck is Yin involved in all of this anyway? Shion’s involvement is easy to see, but Yin doesn’t seem to have ANY motivation for this heaven/moon creating business at all.
Yin and Yang? lol
Then again, the existence of the prophecy may imply that there is a more fundamental reason all those things happened – a reason other than Shion wanting to send Suou to heaven. So that Yin didn’t really have a choice in the matter and things just happened to coincide with Shion’s wish. If this is true, then what is that fundamental reason? It was constantly noted throughout the series that Izanami sends contractor’s souls to heaven, but that seems like a lame and completely underdeveloped reason. And where the heck does Amber fit in anyway? Bones can’t possibly have just meant her to be ‘shapeless voice who says cool mysterious thing to Kirihara’ (or there will be arson at their HQ soon). Oh gah, maybe the OVA will resolve more of these Hei-Yin-possibly Amber questions (this isn’t just Bones ploy for more DVD sales right? RIGHT?)
Then I can go on to rant about what does the title mean – Ryuusei no Futago (Gemini), where Gemini is the twin horoscope and Ryuusei is ‘shooting star’, ‘meteor’, or in DtB probably ‘falling star’. Every episode we see a twin of stars falling from the night sky – did we ever come back to that? The other twin we see in the show is the doll blonde twins, but we don’t even know much about Madame Orielle, much less her screentime-starved lolis.
Shion and Suou? But neither of the stars are red! Argh!
And I have one last wild and crazy thought to thanklessly fling at you for paying me the compliment of reading this irresponsible post. Recall that final scene, Yin in the air, surrounded by a tower of swirling spirits – a river of souls. And then Hei comes to her, finding her a mutilated shadow of her former, quiet self. If you’ve read the Izanami myth (thanks Dustin), then this reeks of implication that Hei is Izanagi. It sounds ridiculous even as I’m typing this, but it was never clear that Shion was Izanagi. Mao said Yin was – used to be – Hei’s woman. And at the gate, Shion was ‘absorbed’ into the tower of souls just like everyone else, but Hei wasn’t. And at that final moment, as stalker-Misaki watches, Yin and Hei meets, and between them was born a fiery light. A child of fire?
I just noticed that Yin didn’t have her weird star-trek jumpsuit on anymore
I know I know I’m crazy, but hell isn’t that uncanny, and now that I had the thought I can’t get it off my blain.
Aaargh! Halp! *contemplates eating a wall*
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Dustin
What’s up with all of these irresponsible questions? And don’t eat a wall, it’s hell on your digestive system (speaking from experience).
I’ve of course considered Hei as Izanagi and in a lot of ways it makes more sense. Let’s get into the heart of the myth and the imagery inherent in these last scenes. For one you’re right to point out the two Yins. It’s something I’ve thought about but never bothered posting so I might as well post this here and then maybe copy and paste it into my comments or something. First Izanami represents both death and creation. Creation can basically be called life and in the final moments we see both a white and black Yin which I think is supposed to show the paradox that is Izanami. She embodies both. Of course the white Yin showing up which we can equate with creation also could indicate “the final month of pregnancy” or the realization of the child that would kill her upon its birth. Still what I really can’t swallow is Hei letting it happen, even contributing when he knew it would kill her to bear that crazy child. He wouldn’t at least participate willingly. In the end either Shion or Hei could be the lord of creation as both of their powers create on some level. However, Shion fits the bill a little more since he actually created another earth which is much closer to the Izanagi myth, and what’s more Yin, Izanagi, helped. So where does this leave us? It leaves us with the question what did Hei do at the end of this season. He had two choices really. Let the prophecy take it’s full course and watch as Yin died while giving birth to the fire god OR somehow change it. Amber’s “Hei will…” is perhaps the biggest indication of him changing the plan ever so slightly. I happen to think he saved Yin and made the fire god to come less than terrible. Who knows though. It’s open to interpretation, but I would like to point out that in the memory of the future they never said Yin would die after giving birth and this was definitely included in the original myth. Memory of the future written by Amber and how hard would it have really been to include that. Especially after they were so close in the first season.
The two stars were Shion and Suou. They were the contractors we cared about and the ones who died at the end of the series. The twin stars :). They even called them the green and red stars somewhere and in the ED I’m pretty sure the colored stars fall at the end… but maybe not it’s been awhile.
He always creates a world with imperfections huh :)? How about he wanted to create it with himself but instead creates it with Suou. She doesn’t belong in a copied word (She shouldn’t exist). Therefore the world is imperfect without him in it and his sister alive. I’m willing to live with that explanation. He really cared about Suou, as far as his narcissism at his own creation would let him.
Few, long comment… Hope it isn’t so long you decide to eat a wall instead.
Dustin
Your text on comments is so tiny… It’s hard to read :(!
Oh and I forgot to mention a couple of things. After the long paragraph I wanted to include that Hei could have killed her before that child at the end was born. However, we know Yin lives at least long enough for that child to be created. Unless she got hit by a truck exiting the premise this means that she isn’t dead because Hei didn’t kill her in those final moments and all that other stuff I already said up there. I am a Yin obsessed crazy person and yes I have completely rationalized away any and all thoughts of her actually dying. Muahahahahaha!!!!
(Dustin runs to the bathroom and throws up pieces of the wall he ate earlier)
Jason "moofang"
Oh wow thanks for the LONG response! *Decides against wall-eating on Dustin’s advice – throwing up wall pieces sounds painful!*
Yeah I could see that world creating is a big indication for Shion as Izanagi, but significant as it is that was kind of the only one, and on the other hand Hei and Yin’s relationships bears many uncanny similarities with the myth, so I just started thinking :P Most of what you said made sense. Thanks for responding ^^
For the record I think Yin didn’t die too. Darker then Black in my eyes is the kind of show that isn’t embarassed to make clear very explicitly when a well loved character dies. This sort of apologetic half-assed ambiguous death seems uncharacteristic – so it probably isn’t a death. I’d also like to casually point out though that in the myth Izanami died giving birth to the fire child, so the successful birth doesn’t preclude the possibility that Yin died one way or another ;)
Dustin
Call me a romantic, but knowing Hei I just can’t imagine he sat around and watched while Yin died giving birth to the fire child. He would have A. Killed Yin to prevent unending calamities death or B. Prevented Yin from dying, making everything somewhat ok. Then again it’s possible. If she is dead though I’ll lose a lot of respect for the series, because as you say if she died it was ambiguous and half-assed. That is just not what I would expect from a main character in DTB.
Jason "moofang"
!! That was a fast response. I agree with you of course. At any rate as you guys said, all this reeks of sequel set-up. We’ll just need to wait and see.
Oh and I just levelled-up the font size of the comment area. Hope it’s better!
Dustin
Yes, it’s much better. I can read again :)!
idyllictux
Why no love for Kirihara Misaki? Her hairstyle at the end is <3 . Just back to the Lion land, and the first thing I did was dled and watched last 3 episodes of DtB (hail backlog). Moar Misaki!!!
Jason "moofang"
Yo idyllic! Welcome back (to hell)! And as for Kirihara, I’m a little disappointed that all through to the end she remained nothing much more than well-meaning bystander who didn’t manage to do much except constantly stalk Hei. She got shafted (too bad this isn’t produce by a certain other anime company so I couldn’t capitalize the ‘S’ there).
As for the lack of appreciation for her new hairdo, well, you tend to miss such things in the middle of being mindf***ed :)
Dustin
Hehe, this post was a long time ago, but now that the OVAs have come out i can finally respond too:
“I’d also like to casually point out though that in the myth Izanami died giving birth to the fire child, so the successful birth doesn’t preclude the possibility that Yin died one way or another”
Now we know Izanami probably did die but Yin didn’t as they’re too completely different entities. Hei probably saved Yin in those last few moments while Izanami went about doing her thing. There’s just no way Yin is dead ;). Not that you care :P.
Jason "moofang"
Gah who’s this person digging out my long-buried post just to insist yet again that Yin didn’t die? Oh right, it’s our Yin-Obsessed Crazy Person. Truly doth thou livest up to thy name ;)
Now comes the awkward confession – I haven’t finished the OVA’s. PlsDontBurnMiForHeresy…
Yaya
You guys are misleaden and right in the same time :
Episode 11 S2—>Hei tells Hasuki (TheNeonKissFreakKatana Chick)that he wouldn’t hesitate killing IZANAMI, yes not Yin, IZANAMI (TheBlackLeatherStarTrekOutfitChick).
Mitaka Documents S2—>Amber’s “oeuvrage” Memory From The Future never mentioned Yin, it talked about IZANAMI and her HellGateFireChildDoomStuff.
Episode 12 S2—> And as the first picture of Dustin’s post, that dood looks exactly like a male version of IZANAGI (Silver hair, violet eyes)…I would say 90% that this dood is the fire child of IZANAMI, not Yin, Why? Because as in the end of Ep 12 he can obviously send contractors to heaven as well as his momma (IZANAGI)used to do, unlike Yin who hasn’t this kind of ability.
Episode 12 S2—>You guys noticed that after the moment in the pic n°4 (last pic) of Dustin’s post, Hei’s (BK201)star shined brighter than ever, more than an ordinary contractor star…furthermore in the mitaka documents, Amber said “Hei will…” so it means that he must’ve done something at that moment..because even if he wasn’t even there at the gate, IZANAGI would have met Suou, given birth to the child etc etc…
So to sum up this analysis, what Hei may have done (80%) is that he managed to save Yin (that star didn’t shine for nothing –“) on the expense of fulfilling the mitaka documents prophecy / IZANAMI Myth / by the success of IZANAMI in giving birth to the fire child who we saw at the end of ep 12, before she died/was killed (Pic n°1 Dustin’s post)…Which also means that a season 3 would justify my analysis and the oncoming ovas would tell us If Yin is alive or not ( Thats what you guys wanna know anyway…the rest is Bullshit to you :p)
PS: Hei in the end was carrying Yin.–>If it was the real Yin then she’s alive because if she was dead he’d leave her on the gardenia floor by the gate…If It was her empty shell then it means that her spirit (her water-stalker :P)would regain the shell which means he saved her..but either way the fire child will rise…along with his season 3 :D
Eat the wall if you think this is wrong :D
Yaya
Yaya
EDIIIIIIT : NOT IZANAGI, IZANAMI (GOT CONFUSED)
Yaya
Forgot to add:
I believe that Hei really was Izanagi, not Shion like everyone seemed to believe, and the boy version of Yin is their son.
As far as the crazy “code names” that they gave to Yin and Hei/Shion are gods from Japanese mythology. Izanami (who dies in childbirth) is the goddess of creation and death, and Izanagi is her husband. Kagutsuchi is their son (who burns Izanami which is why she dies) and he is the boy version of Yin at the end. His birth signifies the end of creation and the beginning of death. So, it seems the DTB is following the mythology.
Which means that (50%) The dood in the end is Hei and Yin’s son.
Hopefully there is a season 3 or perhaps movie/more OVAs to explain what happened after the end of season 2.
Jason "moofang"
Argh, reading the post again and thinking back on all those stuff at the end there makes my head hurt again :P I know I should stop being an infidel and actually go WATCH the gaiden ovas, but my blain just doesn’t feel quite up to it at its current state of constantly being stressed.
Thanks for the points and analysis though. So the key point is that Yin and Izanami are distinct entities though they somehow shared the same physical form. So one can persist even if the other dies. Could make sense :)
Latecomer
Two years after the fact, I just finished seasons 1 and 2 (but not the OVAs), and decided to check my trusty ol’ google to see if I was under the right impression when I thought Hei was Izanagi. It seems most people are under the impression that it’s Shion who is Izanagi, but for some reason for the last few (maybe since ep9s2?) episodes I thought it was Hei. Unlike (seemingly most) other people who believe, like I do, that Hei is Izanagi, I didn’t come to this conclusion at the very end of the season, but as aforementioned I was under the impression for around 4 episodes. I feel like if one were to go back and rewatch looking for clues attesting to Hei being Izanagi, they would start seeing signs around episode 9, not just at the very end.
Broken
I seriously don’t think hei would ever kill yin or let her be killed. I believe that either of these 2 things happened 100%. A important point to notice is that hei is carting the naked yin and not one with clothes on
1) hei took a 3rd option just like the end of season 1 and somehow saved yin
Or the more realistic one
2) shion and yin made a deal. He would separate yin and izanami so that yin/izanami could help him create the world with human soles for suou to live in. It’s more likely cause shions creations always have something missing. In this case he separated yin and izanami but instead turned izanami into a boy. Izanami is the yin wearing black and yin is the one wearing white. Therefore the fire boy was born indicating that izanami died hence we didn’t see the yin boy in black at all in the end with the credits so what happens to him? Yin and izanami were separated and hei saved yin and izanami died so the boy came to life. Hopefully in s3 they explain it all
I’m posative that this happens cause who’s the kid wearing black and would hei actually let yin die? I’m 100% sure this is right
nobody important
it kinda seems like yeah, izanami fulfilled the prophecy and whatnot, but as to everyone wondering who the yin like male doll is, i kinda think it’s possible for it to be July. after all, izanami took his spectre, and isn’t that pretty much what dolls are? back in the first season when that one contractor took yins spectre, she fell, but maybe it didn’t kill her because of who she was? I think if just adding more crazy bulls**t to the mix, but i dunno. anyway, cause she was gonna create the child of fire or whatever, couldn’t she do it, even more with an empty doll on hand? just my guess though. haha guess i’m kinda a bit late on all this huh?
nobody important
if she did use julys body, than that supports the believe that hei is izanagi, right? i think.
if not then it would have to have been shion, to create the body, too.
again, i think. not so sure. i actually just finished season 2 a couple hours ago, and like most of you, i am completely mindf***ed. it just don’t make sense. anyway that’s what i forgot to add.
Mark
I know this is resurrecting an old discussion, but i just finished watching season 2 (not finished the OVA’s yet) and I feel like everyone’s missed some critical factor:
What if Shion (contactorabletoduplicatethings) made a copy of Yin (Izanami) and the result was ‘incomplete’ – a boy (Izanagi) who together with the original (Yin) would fulfill the prophesy?
or perhaps it’s all explained in the OVA’s?
…well i’ll see them soon too.
MegaSP
Well I would love to know the answers and find out that hei and yin ended up alive and together. But that season 3 is sure taking a long time… I’m losing my belief…