Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer of soundtracks for anime series, video games, television dramas and movies. She has written scores for Cowboy Bebop, Terror in Resonance, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam and Darker than Black. Kanno is a keyboardist and the frontwoman for Seatbelts, who perform many of her compositions.
Wolf's Rain is a Japanese anime television series created by writer Keiko Nobumoto and produced by Bones. It was directed by Tensai Okamura and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto with a soundtrack produced and arranged by Yoko Kanno. It focuses on the journey of four lone wolves who cross paths while following the scent of the Lunar Flower and seeking Paradise.
Olga Vitalevna Yakovleva, better known as Origa, was a Russian singer who rose to prominence for her musical collaborations in Japan, especially her work for the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. franchise.
Tensai Okamura, born Yutaka Okamura on December 13, 1961, in Fukushima Prefecture, is a Japanese anime director and animator. Okamura grew up in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Waseda University's department of science and engineering. In 1991, he changed his first name to Tensai.
Darker than Black, is a Japanese anime television series created and directed by Tensai Okamura and animated by studio Bones. 25 episodes were broadcast on MBS, TBS and their affiliated stations from April to September 2007. The series is set in a world where a spatial anomaly identified as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America and was followed by "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo, altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscapes. People with special abilities labeled as Contractors emerged shortly afterwards. The series follows agent Hei and his comrades in the Syndicate organization, operating in an vastly altered version of contemporary Tokyo to uncover the mysteries of Hell's Gate.
Darker than Black is a 2007 Japanese anime series created by Tensai Okamura. Set in modern Japan, the narrative focuses on how ten years prior to the events of series, a mysterious spatial anomaly known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. During this time, people possessing various special abilities emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats—these are known as contractors. The series follows the exploits of agents Hei and his comrades of the Syndicate organization operating in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo and their mission to uncover the mysteries of the Hell's Gate.
"Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without a "Name"~" is the twelfth single by Japanese band An Cafe. The single is available in three types, two including different bonus DVDs, and one with a bonus live track. The title track is the second opening theme of the anime series, Darker than Black. "Kakusei Heroism" marks the debut of guitarist Takuya and keyboardist Yuuki after the departure of Bou. The song peaked at No. 13 on the Japanese singles chart and is their biggest selling single.
Stereopony was a Japanese pop rock band that formed in Okinawa, Japan, in 2007 and disbanded in 2012. The three-girl band consisted of Aimi Haraguni, Nohana Kitajima, and Shiho Yamanoha (drums). They were signed to the Sony Records music label. The band released 11 singles and three studio albums.
Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor is a Japanese anime series directed by Tensai Okamura and produced by the Bones studio. It is a sequel to the 2007 series Darker than Black, and most of the crew returned for the production. The series premiered on MBS, TBS and their affiliated stations on October 8, 2009. The sequel follows Suo Pavlichenko, a Eurasian girl whose life is changed by a frightening incident surrounding a meteor shower, and her encounter with the assassin Hei; the man is searching for her twin, Shion, and his missing partner Yin.
"Tsukiakari no Michishirube" (ツキアカリのミチシルベ) is the fifth single by the Japanese rock group Stereopony under label of gr8! Records on November 4, 2009. The single's main track "Tsukiakari no Michishirube" is the opening theme for the anime series Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor.
The discography of Stereopony, an all female Japanese rock band formed in Okinawa, Japan, consists of 3 studio albums, 1 compilation album, 12 singles, 4 video albums, and 13 music videos. After forming the band in 2007, Stereopony's three members Aimi (vocals/guitar), Nohana (bass), and Shiho (drums) performed on Tokyo FM's School of Lock! program, and were soon signed to Sony Music Japan's gr8! Records record label. The trio released their first single "Hitohira no Hanabira" in 2008, followed by their second single "Namida no Mukō" and third single "I Do It", both released in 2009. "Namida no Mukō" is the band's highest charting single on Japanese Oricon singles chart, peaking at No. 2. Stereopony's first three singles were later featured on the band's debut studio album Hydrangea ga Saiteiru (2009), which peaked at No. 7 on Oricon's albums chart.
The Cowboy Bebop anime series was accompanied by a number of soundtrack albums composed by Yoko Kanno and Seatbelts, a diverse band Kanno formed to create the music for the series, with a principal focus in jazz. The soundtrack was released in the American market by Victor Entertainment, a subsidiary of JVC Kenwood.
The music for the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was primarily composed by Yoko Kanno and produced by Victor Entertainment. Soundtracks were also produced for the two OVA films, The Laughing Man and Individual Eleven, and the TV film Solid State Society.
Hei, also known as Li Shenshun, is the protagonist of the 2007 anime Darker than Black by Bones. Codenamed "Hei", he is portrayed as a Contractor, a man with supernatural powers with Hei being able to generate electricity. In Tokyo, Hei works for an organization known as the Syndicate and earns the nickname "Black Reaper" due to his skills as an assassin. During the series, Hei's backstory of his mission involving his missing sister is developed. Hei also appears in the sequel Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor as the mentor of young Contractor Suo Pavlichenko while searching for his partner, Yin. He is also present in the inter-sequel original video animations Darker than Black: Gaiden, which explores his escape from the Syndicate with Yin between the events of both anime.
Darker than Black: Gaiden is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series created by studio Bones and directed by Tensai Okamura. It is a sidesequel to the anime television series Darker than Black and a prequel to Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor. It consists of four episodes about the main character Hei and his partner Yin, with the events taking place between both seasons. After betraying the Syndicate organization, Hei and Yin escape from Japan to live a peaceful life, but Yin later develops a god-like alter ego that causes mayhem.
Suo Pavlichenko is a fictional character introduced in the anime series Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor. A young teenage girl, Suo is an upbeat Eurassian photographer who lives alongside her father while aiming to protect her twin brother, Shion, who is a Contractor, a human with supernatural powers. One day, the Pavlichenko family is attacked by the assassin Hei who wants a piece of a meteor Shion is hiding but ends up taking her under his hand during a mayhem caused by Section 3 who also seek Shion. Despite hating Hei, Suo goes along with his plans and soon ends up awakening her own powers. The character has also appeared in the video game Heroes Phantasia.
