Darker than Black: Origins as known in English is a wonderfully short but succint look into the events that transpired between the first and second seasons of the series. Having aired in Winter 2010, after the second season which was in Fall 2009, it can be considered a sort of midquel. I for one due to lack of information watched this between the two seasons, and honestly I'm glad I did. Season 2 would have had a lot of confusion if I had seen that directly after Season 1, and I don't think filling that in with Origins would have worked. Like some other series, I believe chronological order is a better watch than air order. But with that out of the way, let's move onto the specifics:

Plot: 6/10

Perhaps due to only being a 4 episode OVA, Origins doesn't really need to develop sub-plots to flesh itself out. We follow our protagonist and deutaragonist after the events of Season 1, and the consequences of their actions are played out. If you have seen season 1, then you will have a rough idea of the amount of work that goes into this, although it feels simpler and more cohesive here, which leads to a slightly improved rating.

Characters: 6/10

If anything took a knock in between 26 episodes and 4 OVAs, it would be how expansive the characters are being written. In the series defence, for the runtime, we actually get a lot of conversational scenes between many characters, and our protagonist Hei has his caring side fleshed out a good deal. However there just isn't much time to introduce any vital new information in this season, and basically all of the newly introduced characters are either one scene villains or internally resolved conflicts within the arc.

Animation: 10/10

God damn. The fights in this OVA are spectacular. From the very first scene we get an amazing three on one fight which cements the Black Reaper's skills and ruthlessness. Yutaka Nakamura (an animator) works on several of these fights and his work can be clearly seen for its brilliance (for an idea of his work, he did Deku vs Todoroki in MHA and also worked on some of Kekkai Sensen, Space Dandy and One Punch Man's best fights). There is only so much I can talk about really, but expect a mix of both quick skirmishes and extended multiple minute frantic fights, all with consistent animation quality.

Soundtrack: 10/10

Yasushi Ishii returns from working on the second season of the show and shows a perfect grasp of the type of series this is. He is known for specializing in experimental, jazz fusion and hard rock (having worked on both the original Hellsing anime and the 2016 Drifters anime), and this is clear to see here. A lot of the music in this OVA is admittedly shared with Season 2, but there are also plenty of original tracks. While Yoko Kanno's more sombre, subtle tones were indicative of the nature of the first season. The explosive and eerie tones of the latter seasons complement them well. And despite being a long time fan of Yoko Kanno, Yasushi Ishii's work here is nigh perfect and creates an incredibly unique sound, something which gets him full marks here.

Conclusion:

It is clear to say that I believe that Darker than Black: Origins is the peak of the animated series (I have read the manga sequel, but that may be for another time...), and it is a fun ride with only the commitment of seeing the first season. And even if you haven't, it is probably still serviceable to watch this first to get you into the series before backtracking to the first season.