Ambiguity for the Yin Obsessed Crazy Person (DTB Season 2 Episode 12)
Shion’s Plan
1.Make Suou check
2.Implant her with memories check
3.Give her the meteor core and hope the memories don’t go away check
4.Create a Super Computer out of lot’s of Shion Clones (gather ME memories) check
5.Copy the earth using ME memories check
6.Get Madam Orielle to bet everything on your plan check
7.Make a contract with Izanagi to send Suou (and July) to a copy of our world (with the real stars and no contractors?) check
8.Pay the renumeration and die check
Far be it from me to criticize a genius, but I don’t really see the point? I don’t think Shion actively changed the world that our characters reside in. He actually created a new world for Suou and July and then asked Izanagi to send them there. The moon that he created seemed to be the anchor point.
Why did Shion do this? I can only guess because he loved his sister an awful lot. He wanted to order discount pills give her a life before all of this contractor business started. Maybe it was kind of a self love too. In a way Suou was Shion so by sending Suou to a normal life Shion sent himself too. Contractor Shion would have never fit into the new world anyways.
As for the fate of Yin, that’s a tricky business. As Leon pointed out the boy (or girl) in the coffin is probably the fated offspring of Shion and Yin. What does this tell us though. I went ahead and went back and pulled some relevant information concerning the prophecy.
Amber:
At the end of the path Hei will… tell them so no one will make any mistakes…
The Mikata Documents:
Izanagi gazes upon the false sea bottom waiting for Izanami. Izanami will cross the sea bottom and eventually, the two will meet. When they do heaven and earth will split in two, and the gate of hell will open its way there. From the gate will come forth one, a being unknown. And strife will continue for eternity.
The sign will be a rising crescent moon that never ampicillin buy online sinks. When it becomes full, Izanami will reach her final month of pregnancy.
I think I want to go ahead and highlight some relevant lines and try to explain them using the knowledge we have of the end of this second season. “heaven and earth will split apart” I think defines the two worlds. One is currently occupied by Suou which we assume to be heaven since the one Kirihara exists in still has a fair amount of troubles. This is of course opened inside Hell’s gate by Yin. “One will come forth from the gate, a being unknown” is our new mystery boy that has Yin’s hair and a similar (but not exactly the same) shade of eyes.
Here’s an interesting bit to chew on for all of those out there who think Yin died at this point. Clearly at the end Yin says “Hei, it’s not too late. Kill me” and surprisingly enough Hei responds with a smile. I think it’s important to point out that he smiles. This is weird. For a guy about to kill the girl he loves he certainly is jolly about it. That is of course, unless he isn’t going to kill the girl he loves. I actually think when Yin said those final lines Hei realized something. The Yin he loved (who wanted to prevent this whole thing from happening) wasn’t entirely gone. When Misaki sees the final confrontation between Hei and Yin (with the choir making lots of noise in the background) she’s in the shade we’ve seen when Hei was in they Yellow world (at the end of last season and with Nick). This is the place where dreams are made possible. It’s also very important to notice a full blown reappearance of Hei’s star meaning that his contractor powers are reemerging and Hei’s order discount tabs contractor powers can change things on a fundamental level.
I don’t think Hei killed Yin. For one Amber’s line “At the end Hei will…” didn’t seem necessary if Hei was simply going to knock her off. For two, the prophecy still comes true. The new being appears from the gate, and Yin fulfills her promise by transporting Suou and July to “heaven”. When she says “it’s not too late, kill me” I’m pretty sure she meant Hei could still prevent the prophecy from happening by killing her. The prophecy still happened, I don’t think Hei killed her. I think he changed her “soul” on a fundamental level. So when we see acomplia cheap him carrying her empty body at the end, I have to wonder if it’s really empty. Truthfully, I don’t think the end of this season gave us any reason to believe she’s dead. They’ve given us a lot of reasons to believe she’s alive. This isn’t some Lelouch is the cart driver discussion either, so don’t play that card here :).
I think I’m still a bit mystified by the actual workings of Shion’s plan. He took all the memories he could from the ME so he could create “heaven”. I have to wonder about the calamity though. I don’t think Madam Orielle would actively support something that would lead to a calamity on earth. Ultimately this means that she believed the prophecy coming true wouldn’t end up being such a bad thing. I think at the end Hei realized this too. Thus, he let it happen.
Where does this leave our contracted earth: The dolls seem to be evolving, Kirihara seems to have formed a syndicate with two people who didn’t end up being that bad, there’s a new gate, and the traitors are dead. The “offspring” seems to suck out peoples souls by just being around them, but they were only the CIA (who we’re not supposed to like that much anyways [stupid power hungry Americans]). All in all, not such a bad end. You could even call it a happy ending considering this is Darker than Black. We didn’t really kill off any major characters and once again the world isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better.
This season really set itself up for a continuation though. With the “offspring” in play we’ve really opened up a whole new can of worms. Thus, if the DvD sales do ok expect to see a new season in the not so distant future, we probably won’t have to wait nearly as long as we did for this one.
Other than that we can only wait for the OVA to answer some of the questions about how Yin became Izanami and their interesting relationship. Maybe it will reveal some much needed information…
Want to know more about the actual Izanami myth? Here is the wikipedia entry that gives the bear bones. You’ll zithromax without prescription notice some similarities, I guess we’ll see how closely it will follow in season 3.
If I skipped over something important that you didn’t understand go ahead and ask. I probably have some idea, and if I don’t, there are some other pretty smart people who stop by here. I might write another post when I marathon the whole show, but for now I just wanted to disambiguate the ending a little as I’m sure I wasn’t the only person confused upon the first viewing. So until next time…
Awesome Side Note: Every time we hear black Yin humming it’s Yin no Piano! These thoughtful perceptions brought to you by a Yin Obsessed Crazy Person.
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13 Comments
I found it a disappointing end if I’m honest. It seemed to be a big set up for another season, so I’d be suprised if we don’t get one.
Hopefully the ovas will clear some things up.
I agree, disappointing to say the least. Most of us are really unsure as to what actually happened . They added a lot of shock value appearances (magic dude, August 7, coming back) at the end and it was just plain rushed. I almost wish they hadn’t made a second season as the first season at least felt complete. Oh well, I suppose we’ll see more in time to come.
Then again, they seemed to conclude everything that had to do with Suou. The rest of the world is the problem.
Season 3 end! Also the ‘sells the OVAs’ end.
I agree, and mentioned before, that there was a lot of rushing. 12 episodes felt too little, but 24 would probably be too much. As such, the pacing an narrative was a bit off. The first season was definitely the stronger one; one of DtB’s great strengths was its world building, and the 1st season shone for it. Unlike many other fans, however, I still think the second season was quite good, despite the flaws. Season 1 set up a world, and season 2 walked what is essentially a normal through it. Along the way, stuff happens. Much of what makes DtB good was still there. The characterisation was excellent. The plot was layered and kept me going all the way (although it got bloated by the end, as oft happens). The second season really was about Suou; Hei’s story, which we saw underneath, will be the OVAs.
As for the ending itself, it seemed to me that Madame Oreille (and the head of section 3, whatever his name was) had resigned to the prophecy happening anyway. “There are times when people must meet”. Whatever the hell that means. In any case, her plan seemed a bit like a humanity preservation project. There is a recognition that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and while Shion may just have been trying to create a better world for his sister (his proxy) to live in, to Madame Oreille it was a “proof that humankind existed”. I am reminded of the references to Noah’s ark near the beginning, but I may be reading too much into it.
As for Hei and Yin, I agree that Hei obviously did something. They had his star reacting (like a crazy thing) at the end, after all. And everything that happens inside the Gate is really trippy anyway (like the Magician popping up; find what you’ve lost, lose what you’ve found). I’m tossing 50/50 on whether Yin is alive, and either way I wonder where he is taking her.
Definite a setup for a third season. Despite Kirihara’s sunny outlook, things are pretty rotten right now. The prophecy reached its unknown conclusion. With the Syndicate gone, the power balance of the world has gone haywire and America has basically taken over PANDORA (probably cheesed that they spent all last season getting shafted in the contractor business). All in all…come on, third season.
Leave it to you to still be positive :mrgreen: .
Nah, I’m kidding. I get your point of course. I actually was thinking a lot about “Suou’s Journey” today and it really was a complete telling. I’m more “cheesed” about the popular characters from last season getting the shaft (mainly Yin). They left the world so unresolved and the form of storytelling was so open ended that a lot of the fans, even rabid ones like me, don’t know what to make of it. It could have used a couple more episodes for the ending alone. I really liked how they took their time with the final confrontation last season and yes I agree with most everyone that the first season was my favorite.
I’ve heard argument on both sides for Yin being alive or dead. Unlike Lelouch though it’s left ambiguous on purpose. Quite frankly they brought Mao back from the dead this season so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they bring her back simply because she has overzealous fans like me :).
Overall a lot of stuff just kind of hit us out of nowhere. I admire Darker than Black for not explaining things most of the time, but it was really too rushed to go without exposition. They didn’t have the time to develop the subtlety that was necessary for a “show not tell” conclusion.
I like what you said about World Building. It reminds me a lot of what Owen said in the first season “It’s a novel way in which to develop a story, building world devices from the ground up with these things in mind, although it’s by no means original.” They didn’t get to do that this time and I think it hurt them. I think the key fault of this season though was trying to do to much with too little a time span. They should have cut down the number of stories they were trying to tell to just Suou’s. Truthfully (as much as it pains me to admit) the side story of Yin and Hei should have been completely cut out. Only Suou’s interactions were important. Maybe that’s extreme, but the way they did it didn’t leave enough time to develop anyones story all that well. Oh well, hopefully they’ll take it under advisement for season 3.
Still I’ve really enjoyed your comments this season and I’m loath to think of a world without them :(. You always managed to stay positive about the series even while people were clawing out their eyes and destroying their media machines. I can wait for Season 3 I think. Yin isn’t dead until the next season comes out and they confirm her dead. Of course they could also confirm her alive, but I’d rather make my own ending :)!
I hope you continue to Pass By this small anime blog on occasion to deliver awesome comments. Maybe I’m being overly sentimental, there are still the OVAs…
Goodness, I had to watch this episode twice to catch what’s really going on. Then again, I should have just read your post and everything would make sense. Marvelous write-up btw! I guess one of DtB’s magic to a viewer like me is its ambiguous plot devices. Things sometimes happen and we’re left guessing about why they happen and why some of the characters make or let those things happen. It’s almost philosophical in a way, such as the case with Shion sending Suou (literally “himself”) to the new world.
Overall, I did feel the ending was a bit rushed too, and I’m left somewhat unsatisfied with how it ended. It’s clearly not a clean curtain call for this series and it looks almost obvious that we’re going to get a continuation of this story. It’s just another chapter that was closed, right? As for whether Yin is alive at the end, I agree on waiting for the next season or possibly new OVA too. It’s too soon to confirm her situation. I just hope she’s alive. :)
Gosh I wish that one OVA would come sooner. We need to know what happened in between those two seasons!
I will, with any luck, pass by again when the OVAs come out.
…And if we get a season 3 I will probably stride in and do cartwheels.
I think I’ve heard it described as Suou kind of being a nice concluded side story as the rest of the world continues to advance along a more overreaching plot. Now that really big things are happening and Suou is out of the picture we might go back to watching Hei duke it out with everyone or they might introduce a new main character. Bones currently denies that they’re going to make a new season, but I’ve heard very reliable rumors that if the DvD sales do well they’re going to make another soon.
I likes what you said about DTB being philosophical, I think that’s a label the writer/director really wanted.
Thanks for the praise about the write-up!
@Passerby
Lol :)!
“The sign will be a rising crescent moon that never sinks. When it becomes full, Izanami will reach her final month of pregnancy.”
This rising crescent moon it’s not actually Hei’s star? As on the picture above i thing it is. If so, i just dont get it what has Hei’s star to do with Yin’s pregnancy. And he walked with Yin to his star, whats the point? I also dont get the red light betwen Yin and Hei, whats that? It’s like he made her pregnant but that does not fit the story with Izanami. Well i would wish for that :D
So any explanations or corrections?
The rising crescent moon is definitely not Hei’s star. It has more to do with Yin and we learn in the last episode that the moon isn’t actually a moon at all, it’s another version of the earth that Shion created (so when it’s crimson it’s still in the process of being created).
Hei’s star reappears in the last moments and we can definitely trust Kirihara’s knowledge as she’s a crazy stalker :). Hei’s star doesn’t have much to do with Yin’s pregnancy. Hei isn’t in the prophecy. As for the last shot where he’s walking with the stars in the background: That’s more artistic then literal. It embodies his trek through a place with no clear identifiers. Almost a god motif as it embodies he can be anywhere.
The red light is Hei using his contractor powers on Yin. What he’s doing, well your guess is as good as mine at this point :). He didn’t kill her, but he might have prevented her from dying like the original Izanami myth. In fact it almost feels like Izanami and Izanagi switched rolls in this case. Shion was more of the pregnant one and the one to die shortly before or after the birth of the fire god. Izanami on the other hand looks like she might survive.
Who knows though; it’s not clear enough.
In response to the post in the trackback. Jason raised some good questions that could use some answering and I wrote some answers to the best of my ability. Here it is!
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, Izanami, 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. On another note he could have also killed her before the fire god was created and yet we know that didn’t happen. So she obviously lived that long.
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.
Phew, long comment… Hope it isn’t so long you decide to eat a wall instead.
has anyone relized that Yin strikes a crazy simularity to a certain other silver haired girl who also starts off like a doll.
which one? The character arch-type isn’t exactly original… Though I’m having trouble thinking of silver haired ones. Maybe you’re referring to the recent Sora no Woto. You could be referring to Nagato, but she’s not exactly silver haired. Hmm, Tessa from FMP is ash blonde and not doll like. I’m having trouble thinking of memorable silver haired anime girls at the moment. I guess I haven’t noticed but I would like to be informed who you’re referring too and after that the significance.
Edit: OMG you’re talking about Tenshi aren’t you :P. I’m such a dork, I should have known that but really good point. Piano playing and everything.
Yea, I agree, it is strange. o.e
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[...] 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, [...]
[...] is a tough question as well. There’s a reason I had to name my post on the ending of Season 2 Ambiguity for the Yin Obsessed Crazy Person; the key word being ambiguity. Let’s start with Suou and Shion. First off, to understand what [...]