Darker than Black/Season One Tropes N-Z: Difference between revisions

* [[Nice Guy]]: Hei's cover. Also, Nick. {{spoiler|Of course, he's also actually a Contractor.}}

* [[Noble Demon]]: November will cheerfully announce his own immorality and sociopathy, but is usually polite and charming despite his highly questionable sense of humor, has several [[Pet the Dog]] moments, and {{spoiler|eventually pulls a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}.

* [[Noir Episode]]: Kurosawa's arc is a [[Private Detective]] parody.

* [[No Name Given]]: The main Contractor/Doll characters are all known by code names. We do learn that Yin's name was Kirsi and November 11 introduces himself as Jack Simon (although this does sound suspiciously like a "John Smith" kind of alias). It's not clear if Hei is the real name of that character or not- it means "black" in Chinese which matches the pattern of code names used by the rest of his team.

*** Hilariously enough, Word of God has stated that his real name is Li. Yeah. The cover ID name.

* [[Non Standard Character Design]]: Gai and Kiko do not look like they belong in this show, and often use effects like [[Wingding Eyes]], [[Blue With Shock]], and [[Cross-Popping Veins]] that the rest of the show never uses. This is probably to mark them as the [[Plucky Comic Relief]]. Dr. Schroeder also looks totally different from every other character.

* [[Not of This Earth]]: The setting has strong ''[[Roadside Picnic (Literature)|Roadside Picnic]]'' style setup, so it has ''lots'' of strange things ranging from small plants to Dolls' and Contractors' abilities to the [[Alien Sky]]. Some of weird stuff found [[Black Box]] [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum|applications]].

* [[Not So Different]]: There's a lot of moments that show the audience how the protagonists and some of their antagonists aren't really different. For instance, the episode explaining Bertha's past parallels it with flashbacks of Yin's past and shows a similarity between the two; November 11 is told by the Evening Primrose members that he should do what's logical and join them, and he recalls telling Hei the same thing- although, November 11 concludes they are very different, as Hei acts illogically, while November 11 thinks it's logical {{spoiler|not to join Evening Primrose}}; Hei's advice to Kirihara in one of the last episodes to "trust no one and rely on her intuition" is pretty much word-for-word the same warning November 11 gave her, causing her to do a bit of a double-take.

* [[Omake]]: Two chapters' worth in the first manga, a [[Hot Springs Episode]] and a [[Cooking Duel]] in the [[Interquel]] manga, and basically the entire [[OVA]].

* [[One-Hit Kill]]: {{spoiler|Shihoko}}'s power basically dissolves the victim's internal organs. Anyone hit with it dies pretty much instantly.

* [[Only a Flesh Wound]]: Hei manages to drag himself halfway across the city with a bullet through his leg. But then, [[Berserk Button|Amber was involved]], so it's not totally surprising he went [[Determinator]].

* [[Opaque Lenses]]: November 11 sometimes wears these and tends to act particularly insincere when doing so. Notably, there's a scene {{spoiler|shortly before his [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}, where November teases Kirihara while wearing the glasses, but then takes them off and acts in a more caring manner.

* [[Percussive Maintenance]]: Hei in the first episode with the landlady's TV (although [[Mundane Utility|he probably just used his electricity powers to fix it]]).

* [[Personality Powers]]: A couple of examples- {{spoiler|Mai}} is a schoolgirl at the "going through a phase" stage of life, and suffers from [[Power Incontinence]] causing her to horribly burn people to death when she becomes emotional; Wei's [[Psycho for Hire|murderousness]] is symbolized by his [[Bloody Murder|blood-fueled powers]]; Brita is a [[Sexy Secretary]] and has [[Power Perversion Potential|the power of teleporting out of her clothing]] and the [[Intimate Healing|remuneration of kissing]] (this one might overlap with [[Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance]]).

* [[Pettanko]]: Kurosawa frequently makes jibes about Kiko's lack of cleavage. Furthering the parody of private detective tropes, she threatens to sue him for sexual harassment, something which never happened to Sam Spade.

* [[Phenotype Stereotype]]: MI6 agents November 11 and July, who are blond-haired and blue-eyed, but then averted with their partner April, a black British woman.

* [[Portal Cut]]: This is technically what Wei's powers do: he teleports whatever's covered in his blood, leaving the rest intact.

* [[Power At a Price]]: Arguably, the premise of the whole show. [[Superpower Lottery]] gives you a superpower but you must pay the price for using it. When it's something that you can do yourself, like breaking your fingers or smoking, it's compulsive. When it's aging forward or backward, it triggers after each use. Also, the show strongly implies that the main price which all Contractors must pay is losing your humanity and becoming an [[Lack of Empathy|absolutely rational]]... [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|being]]. There are at least two ways of using the power and not paying the price, though both aren't cheap either. {{spoiler|Losing your body is really a price to pay. Or gradually turning into walking plant. Hei subverts this because he [[Soul Fragment|inherited]] his abilities from his sister, who effectively paid the price for him (and depending on how her merger with him works, she may still be paying the price for every time he uses the power as her sleeping probably wouldn't impact Hei all that much).}}

* [[Power Incontinence]]: Contractors who enter "Moratorium" aren't forced to undergo Remuneration, but lose control and begin unconsciously using their powers while slipping into trances. If the power involved is {{spoiler|''setting stuff on fire''}}, this can be [[Tragic Monster|very bad]]. The odds of regaining control are slim.

* [[Powered By a Forsaken Child]]: Effectively, ''[[Haunted Technology|cyborg ghosts]]''. Though it seems that comatose Dolls weren't put into this state on purpose, as not everyone is lucky enough to end up as just an [[Extreme Doormat]].

** For some reason or another, the vast majority of the Pizza Hut logos were cut from the dub and awkwardly replaced with "[[Brand X|Pizza Slice]]".

*** [[Product Placement]] in one country does not transfer over to another. At least they bothered to replace the logos, unlike [[Code Geass|a certain other show]] that Pizza Hut sponsored.

* [[Psycho Electro]]: Averted, as Hei is one of the more mentally stable and humane Contractors {{spoiler|as is Nick who has the same power}}. At least, when [[Berserk Button|his urge to find]] [[Dead Little Sister|his sister]] does not turn him into violent [[Jerkass]].

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: Hei, Mao, and Yin, since pretty much every episode consists of them receiving (sometimes morally dubious) assignments from [[The Syndicate]] via their handler, Huang... who might also be counted as he doesn't like it much either {{spoiler|and joined [[The Syndicate]] not of his own volition}}. {{spoiler|Given the whole [[The Man Behind the Man]] thing going on, even Kirihara and her colleagues are involuntary punch clock villains}}. November 11, April, and July also have this dynamic, being a rather friendly group protective of each other. Then there's Bertha and Itzhak...heck, this seems to be the default state for Contractors.

* [[Reality Is Out to Lunch]]: Let's just say this place was named "Hell's Gate" for a reason...

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: Several characters, most heartbreakingly {{spoiler|Havoc}}.

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Arguably Wei's pointed ears and Maki's [[Mismatched Eyes]]. Although they aren't acknowledged as odd in-series, they are certainly a sign that the characters are up-to-no-good.

** Kirihara's boss, {{spoiler|who turns out to be part of [[The Syndicate]]}}, wears black gloves to cover up his prosthetic hands.

* [[Shock and Awe]]: Hei. {{spoiler|Or rather, Bai. Also Nick.}}

* [[Shoot Your Mate]]: At one point the Syndicate leaders {{spoiler|ordered Huang to kill Shihoko}} to test his loyalty, with secret instructions to the rest of the team to kill him if he didn't comply. {{spoiler|None of them were willing to, and she killed herself rather than let them be put in danger on her behalf.}}

** The last episode is potentially an extended shout-out to [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]].

* [[Show, Don't Tell]]: Relied on to the point of [[Viewers Are Geniuses]] and [[Mind Screw]].

** Then again, they couldn't even translate the title properly.

** And there's a reason we always refer to PANDORA by the acronym; their English needs some work.

* [[Slow-Motion Pass-By]]: Always done in real time, but the same idea. Usually, it's someone chasing Hei who goes straight past "Li" without noticing him, but at least once someone misses Amber instead.

* [[Smoke Out]]: A couple of times when Hei is in an otherwise inescapable position ({{spoiler|November 11 gluing his feet to the floor, Kirihara and a squad of her heavily-armed subordinates aiming machine guns at him from ten feet away}}), Huang drops a bomb that gives him a chance to [[Stealth Hi Bye|disappear]]. In the first example, it also {{spoiler|melted the ice holding him in place}}.

* [[Spoiler Opening]]: If you don't pay attention to the OP [[First Episode Spoiler|the first two times around]], it can come as quite a surprise that innocent, bumbling Li is a contractor.

* [[Spy From Weights and Measures]]: November 11 fits the "cultural attache" version and even counts as an [[Overt Operative]].

* [[Stalker With a Crush]]: Maki has an obsessive affection for Amber and tries to kill Hei because of this and likely would have tried the same against Amber's other followers.

** Also, quoth Kiko, [[Chick Magnet|"Only I can stalk him!"]]

** The Public Security Bureau's Foreign Affairs Division, 4th Section, dedicated to arresting/hunting down Contractors also counts as a Nakama, as they are quite close and affectionate with one another, and Kirihara refuses a promotion at least partially because she doesn't want to leave her team.

* [[Tuck and Cover]]: At one point November tackles Kirihara to get her out of the way of Maki's explosions.

* [[Understatement]]: In the second episode (though exactly ''how'' ridiculous an understatement it is is only clear later): "I'm a complicated guy." Yes. Yes, you are.

* [[Unreliable Expositor]]: We get a healthy dose of [[Expospeak]] early on, from a scientist who studies things that are under [[The Masquerade]], no less. The next thing we see? Our expo-speaker does not even know {{spoiler|who she ''herself'' is}}. Given her purpose, she presumably got no really sensitive information at all. So, have a happy dish of common oversimplifications and tampered memories. You're on your own.

* [[Weapon of Choice]]: Hei fights with throwing knives and a choke wire. Handy since they conduct electricity.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: In episode 11, the head janitor addresses his employees [[Serious Business|like they're in a military line-up.]]

** Itzhak probably bears special mention, though, since he's about the only Contractor we see who can't do much of anything in a fight.

* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: Both Contractors and Dolls are considered no-longer human and may actually think of themselves this way but frequently show hidden depths. Dolls are quite passive at best and catatonic at worst, and Contractors' typical self-centered attitude and "[[When All You Have Is a Hammer]]" style don't show that people who treat them as a sort of killing robots are too wrong either.

** Bertha's {{spoiler|baby ''choked to death'' on her cigarette butts}}, and to punish herself she chews them whole as her price.

** And, of course, November 11's cigarette packs are all black with "DEATH" written on them in big letters.

* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: As noted above, Kurosawa; also, the female protagonist of the OVA is a [[Cosplay Otaku Girl]] who thinks she's in a [[Shoujo]] story and that Hei is a romantic hero.

* [[X Meets Y]]: This show is essentially what you would get if ''[[X-Men]]'' was written after watching the entire run of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' and a few episodes of ''[[Batman the Animated Series]]'' back-to-back.

* [[You Bastard]]: Kurasawa's comments about anime in the dub of Episode 7.

* [[You Cannot Please Everyone]]: Kirihara likes and even has a crush on Hei's Li persona and is dedicated to hunting his BK-201 identity.

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]: A number of characters, usually Contractors and Dolls, have impossible hair colors like green, pink and white.

* [[You Have Failed Me]]: [[The Syndicate]], transmitted through Hei's handler Huang, often threatens to kill its members should they fail to complete a mission. {{spoiler|Not surprisingly, since their ultimate goal is to kill all Contractors.}}