Golden Darkness
Golden Darkness | |
---|---|
Mea Kurosaki (genetic younger sister) |
Golden Darkness (
Although initially featured as a recurring secondary character in the original To Love Ru series, Golden Darkness becomes one of the main female protagonists in the sequel, To Love Ru Darkness, with most of its central plot revolving around the character.
Creation and conception
Having wanted a girl assassin constantly pursuing protagonist
Hasemi had wanted Golden Darkness to have a twin sister, one being dark and one nice, but it was put aside and the characters Nana Astar Deviluke and Momo Belia Deviluke eventually inherited the concept.[4] Because of the character's Eve connection, Yabuki revealed that he and Hasemi were "more restrained" with the sexual situations in Golden Darkness's debut volume, but said that he can not give her special treatment the next time she appears.[1] At the end of To Love Ru, Uchida, Hasemi and Yabuki's editor, suggested Golden Darkness was one of the characters who had changed the most in the series, with Yabuki agreeing stating that she "mellowed out". However, Hasemi said that he believed her character development was on par with how they had initially estimated.[5] In the final volume of To Love Ru Darkness, Yabuki stated that one of the reasons for ending the sequel series was because they had finished telling everything there is to say about "the Darkness arc of Momo and Yami as we originally planned it".[6]
Appearances
In To Love Ru
Golden Darkness is introduced in the eponymous 35th chapter of the To Love Ru series, as a dispassionate, withdrawn galactic assassin hired by
In To Love Ru Darkness
Though she maintains she will kill Rito one day, it becomes increasingly doubtful that she will ever do it and actually seems to develop feelings for him instead.
In other media
In the anime television series adaptations of To Love Ru, the Japanese voice actress for Golden Darkness is Misato Fukuen,[21][22] with Katelyn Barr voicing the character in the English dub.[23] In addition to the anime and manga series, Golden Darkness appears in the video games To Love Ru Darkness: Battle Ecstasy (2014) and To Love Ru Darkness: True Princess (2015), as well as the smartphone games To Love Ru Darkness: Idol Revolution (2014) and To Love Ru Darkness: Gravure Chance (2017).[24][25] Golden Darkness also makes a cameo appearance in the seventh chapter of the manga adaptation of the light novel series Mayoi Neko Overrun! (2008–2012).
Reception
Critical response
In a review for To Love Ru, Theron Martin of Anime News Network commented that Golden Darkness provides To Love Ru with the "loli look" that some fans prefer, with Martin highlighting the character's hair buckles.[26] Reviewing To Love Ru Darkness, Martin noted how Golden Darkness has been demoted to a substantially "meatier role" in the series, but praised the way Golden Darkness received "more opportunity for character development, which feeds into a greater number of action scenes, and also allows for a protracted exploration of Golden Darkness' background, something that has been conspicuously absent in the animated content up to this point".[27] In another review for To Love Ru Darkness, Martin stated, "Golden Darkness gets a lot of attention, because the crux of the plot centers on her latent 'darkness' aspect, which has been vaguely hinted at before but comes into with an unexpected twist in the last few episodes".[28]
Popularity and merchandise
Golden Darkness is one of the most popular characters in the series, coming in third place in the manga's first character popularity poll.[29] The October 2015 issue of Shueisha's Jump Square magazine included the results of several popularity polls for the heroines of To Love-Ru Darkness. In the various categories presented, Golden Darkness ranked: 1st as "which character would you want to switch bodies with for just one day?"; and 3rd as "which character would you want to be your girlfriend (or wife)?", "which character would you want to be in your family?" and "which character would be your favorite if all the heroines were in an idol group?".[30] When English-language website Anime News Network polled its visitors on the same questions, Golden Darkness ranked: 1st as "which character would you want to be your friend?" and "which character would you want to switch bodies with for just one day?"; 2nd as "which character would you want to be in your family (but not as a wife/girlfriend)?"; and 4th as "which character would you want to be your girlfriend (or wife)?" and "which character would be your favorite if all the heroines were in an idol group?".[31] In December 2016, Jump Square revealed the top 10 female characters from To Love Ru Darkness whose nipples were exposed the most in the manga; Golden Darkness came in 4th place with a total of 128 times.[32]
Golden Darkness' popularity led to her being featured in various promotional materials and other merchandise for the series, such as 300 official mousepads, each with a 3D image of the character's buttocks, which were distributed in April 2012.[33] In late January 2016, Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ online magazine celebrated its one-year anniversary by giving away manga-themed items signed by their respective authors; one such item was a box of tissues containing an image of Golden Darkness saying her iconic catchphrase, "I despise perversion", and as the tissues were removed, they revealed a nude drawing of the character made by Yabuki.[34]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-947804-08-1.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (March 31, 2015). "Ray, Mami Kawada to Sing To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness 2nd Themes". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-11-1.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-31-9.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-39-5.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-52-4.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-34-0.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-15-9.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-31-9.
- ^ ""A Frightening School Festival!"". To Love Ru. Episode 22. August 29, 2008. JNN (TBS Television, MBS TV, CBC and BS-TBS) and AT-X.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-34-0.
- TVAand AT-X.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-39-5.
- ^ ""Doubt and Dish"". To Love Ru Darkness. Episode 2. October 13, 2012. Tokyo MX and AT-X.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-01-2.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-18-0.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-28-9.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-33-3.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-38-8.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-49-4.
- ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (December 22, 2015). "VIDEO: TV Anime "Four Rhythm Across the Blue" Latest CM Narrated by Misato Fukuen as Asuka". Crunchyroll. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Loo, Egan (December 20, 2014). "To Love-Ru Darkness Gets 2nd Season, New PS Vita Dating Sim". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (November 16, 2019). "Sentai Filmworks Announces To Love-Ru Anime's English Dub Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ 「To LOVEる-とらぶる- ダークネス -Idol Revolution-」が本日配信開始. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Ressler, Karen (March 24, 2017). "To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness App's Promo Video Shows Gravure Photo Shoots". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Martin, Theron (January 11, 2010). "To Love Ru DVD part 1 - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Martin, Theron (August 25, 2014). "To Love Ru Darkness Sub.Blu-Ray - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Martin, Theron (November 17, 2016). "To Love Ru Darkness 2 Sub.Blu-Ray - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-947804-11-1.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 31, 2015). "Jump Square Publishes To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness Heroine Poll Results". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (May 6, 2015). "ANN Readers: Your To Love-Ru Heroine Picks Are In". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Sherman, Jennifer (December 7, 2016). "To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness Announces Manga's Nipple Count". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 18, 2012). "Official To Love-Ru Darkness Buttocks Mousepad Offered". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (January 30, 2016). "To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness Artist Creates 1-of-a-Kind Tissue Box (NSFW)". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2022.