There are a handful of things that truly stand out from their peers. Sometimes, just occasionally, a series manages to do everything perfectly, pull together all the strands that things before and since have tried and failed to do. Fullmetal Alchemist is one example from the fantasy field; Ghost in the Shell another among postcyberpunk sci-fi; Azumanga Daioh an example from slice-of-life comedy. And, among the fairly niche girls-with-guns proto-genre, Noir is another.
Noir isn't remarkable in its premise, in fact it's quite a patchwork of worn ideas; an amnesiac who is unsure whether her amazing combat abilities or complete lack of remorse
...
is more peculiar teams up with a wronged and vengeful assassin to search for the truth about both of their pasts, and they find more than either of them bargained for. Take one part Luc Besson, mix in equal parts HKBO and spy thriller and a pinch of memory loss, and add anime. As the song says, though, "it ain't what'cha do, it's the way that'cha do it"; none of these various concepts are inherently bad, they each have the potential to be interesting, and Noir fulfils it all. The structure of this 26-episode series works as a perfect blend of the overarching plot and episodic formats, in that almost every episode our heroines have someone new to kill, somewhere new to do it and something new to factor into how they do it and how they relate to one another, but each episode a little more is revealed to them about the power behind the shadows - the pacing is slow, but perfect. Not a single episode is filler or side story, the plot is all. It also keeps you guessing, maintaining the atmosphere of mystery superbly; every new piece of the puzzle being put in place changes the picture a little, goalposts shift and new questions need answering. Noir's story is complex, meaty, demanding of attention and, in the final analysis, highly satisfying; this is by far and away the best assassin flick or secret society yarn I have ever seen, and I don't just mean anime.
The cast is small, and dialogue is fairly spare. Kirika Yuumura, Japanese schoolgirl and amnesiac, is a very reserved, very introverted girl, seemingly all but unable to engage with people. Her initial inability to fully come to terms with her own ruthless, cold-hearted lethality is a feature that her business partner, experienced Corsican assassin Mireille Bouquet, does not share. She is a much more outgoing person, yet in some ways much more vulnerable; their relationship is tense, fragile and fascinating. Terrific acting from Kotono Mitsuishi and Houko Kuwashima does a fantastic job of giving the interactions between these two a highly credible, extremely watchable air. Even this excellent dynamic cannot hope to last 26 episodes, though - so, just when you think it's going to get stale, up pops the knife-hurling, child-voiced Chloe. A completely enigmatic character straight from left field, she shakes up these relationships just right and keeps everything nicely off balance. Aya Hisakawa's ingenuous voicing, her straightforward attitude and her innocence bring her a marvellously odd aura, and scenes between these three very distinct characters are tense and electric. All dialogue seems natural, though scripting is, as mentioned, sparse, but every word resonates, and often what is not said is as clear and significant as what is.
The show adopts a very stylised-realistic look, with marvellous European locations and stylings, keeping things interesting, but art style and actual depiction imbuing the world of Noir with an empty, distant air to almost everything that fits the tone of the show perfectly. Character design is a similarly muted but stylised affair; no super assassin ninja suits or rainbow hair here, most characters, protagonists or enemies, simply look like everyday people (Chloe is once again an exception, with her maroon hair and billowing cloak - but that merely makes everyone else more ordinary). Mechanical detail like guns and computers are very detailed and accurate to reality, although some things such as cars are, while adequate, not quite up to the rest of the series' standards. It all contributes to a sense that this is something that really could be going on somewhere out there right now, a sense that I have never felt as strongly with any other anime. In a way, this seems a perfect candidate for live-action adaptation; but the fact that it is animation, in full control of the look of its world, is one of Noir's most subtle and brilliant tricks. Visually, perhaps at odds with its name, Noir is colour-drenched, from the opening credits to the gorgeous watercolour backdrops, but beautiful and bright though the world might be, it only goes to reinforce the darkness and evil that can dwell inside people. Its characters look like everyday people, but they are stylised enough that the amazing feats of agility and skill they accomplish seem like achievable ends, fully in keeping with the world around them. The sense of a visually familiar world is so well evoked that once the backstory begins to become clear, it slots right into the gap between constructed and actual reality with consummate neatness.
Action choreography is another thing that contributes to Noir's sense of credibility. Most episodes of Noir climax with a gunfight; such a sense for creating gunfights that, working within the stylised reality the visuals provide, are believable, yet remain inventive and exciting, I have never seen with such consistency. Not all are as good as each other, but action in noir is entertaining at worst, and at best among the best fight scenes I have ever seen. The lightning-lit, rain-soaked battle across the rooftops of Paris in episode 20 is nothing short of brilliant. One factor that makes them so enjoyable is held in common with numerous other aspects of the series; they are designed in such a way that what you don't see is as important as what you do. Like blood. While at first glance, the lack of any actual visible blood almost seems counter-intuitive, it ends up seeming a lot more real than the red-steeped approach the subject matter more usually elicits; a truly skilled hitwoman kills cleanly, surgically, without mess. The deaths of opponents, crumpling like automatons, also quietly reinforce the idea of an organisation whose influence is great enough to render people nothing more than its puppets, to be used and discarded.
Noir is not among the best-known anime, but by far the best-known aspect of the series is its soundtrack. While she had composed a couple of anime soundtracks previously, Noir's musical score is essentially the thing that catapulted Yuki Kajiura into the eye of anime OST fans, and on lists of the best anime soundtracks ever, Noir is rarely out of the top ten. By blending electronica, operatic grandeur and solemn church music, Kajiura created a unique sound that for me she has so far never bettered. The haunting massed choir chants, soaring, prayer-like Latin vocals and intricate, piercing violin and expressive piano solos are some of the most evocative, atmospheric music anime has ever known, truly a masterpiece. The opening theme, by Ali Project, is also excellent. Anyone interested in the musical side of anime should acquire and watch this series.
Indeed, atmosphere is something that Noir does phenomenally well. The engrossing story, the excellent visuals and the superlative music all conspire to connect the viewer much more deeply to Noir than mere dialogue could. You get a powerful sense of the lonely, isolated, doom-laden feelings that the characters experience; it's splendid minimalist storytelling of the highest calibre.
Obviously, Noir isn't for everyone. The slow pace and frequent flashbacks will frustrate some. The unremittingly serious and generally bleak tone will fail to appeal to some. The lack of any comedy or more than very occasional and mild fanservice will repel some. The spareness and minimalism will alienate some. The realistic setting will fail to interest some. The lack of explicitness and reliance on implication will confuse some. My experience also suggests that this series does not suit marathon viewing well, being more fitted to watching each episode individually. None of this, however, stops Noir from being a truly excellent series in all respects, worthy of the highest praise. Among its peers, Noir remains a series that exemplifies what outstandingly high quality even a story that, at root, revolves mostly around women shooting people can attain.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: ノワール
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
26
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Apr 6, 2001 to Sep 28, 2001
Premiered:
Spring 2001
Broadcast:
Fridays at 01:15 (JST)
Producers:
Victor Entertainment
Studios:
Bee Train
Source:
Original
Theme:
Organized Crime
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#27292
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1879
Members:
113,483
Favorites:
868
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 53 / 54
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Your Feelings Categories Aug 16, 2007
There are a handful of things that truly stand out from their peers. Sometimes, just occasionally, a series manages to do everything perfectly, pull together all the strands that things before and since have tried and failed to do. Fullmetal Alchemist is one example from the fantasy field; Ghost in the Shell another among postcyberpunk sci-fi; Azumanga Daioh an example from slice-of-life comedy. And, among the fairly niche girls-with-guns proto-genre, Noir is another.
Noir isn't remarkable in its premise, in fact it's quite a patchwork of worn ideas; an amnesiac who is unsure whether her amazing combat abilities or complete lack of remorse ... Apr 29, 2009
I initially approached this anime tentatively, having heard mixed opinions on it. Well, I'm glad I gave it a chance.
Noir starts out pretty slowly, but episode by episode the plot picks up pace. The story revolves around two young women assassins, one with amnesia and the other with a troubled past, who together are journeying to find out more about their childhoods. Though I feel like it's a mixture of many plots I have seen before, somehow Noir seems to roll them all up and make it interesting all over again. Once the plot picked up pace it kept me engrossed, and I was on ... Jan 3, 2008
Noir is another girls-with-guns anime with somewhat of an interesting plot about an ancient fate, however this is overshadowed by the slow development of the show and also the dull and lifeless action sequences.
Mireille Bouquet is a top class assassin and Kirika Yumura is a mysterious Japanese schoolgirl who woke up with no memory at all. This is an action anime about two female assassins, who happened to encounter each other by fate. After the exciting action packed first episode, not much is explained about this show. Throughout the first half, all there is to go by are the subtle hints and surreal intro ... Apr 19, 2013
An excellent, stylish anime but strangley lacking in blood considering the subject matter.
PLOT: Noir has a very well worked out plotline. The 1st half of the series is quite slow, episodic and ‘assassination of the week’ orientated, but this is necessary in order to properly flesh out the personalities of Mireille & Kirika and develop their relationship to a point were the viewer actually cares about these two assassins. The second half of the series is much quicker paced as Mireille & Kirika delve further into their connected pasts and become entangled with the shadowy organisation Les Soldats. Light viewing Noir is not, as the ... Aug 23, 2009
Warning does contain Episode 1 spoilers
Story (3/10) The initial premise of the story is actually very good, Kirika wakes up one day not knowing anything apart from a name - Noir, a pocket watch, a , and a school uniform and ID. Oh and a great skill in assassination. She contacts Mirelle, another assassin with whom she makes a pact to find out who this Noir is and what has been controlling their lives. Being a big fan of mafia and spy movies, the premise sounds great, but from an early stage I could feel this early promise slipping through some horrific sub-plots and plot gaps. ... Sep 20, 2015
Noir
Noir for those that don't know is an anime that conforms a trilogy but are not canon, dubbed ''Girls with Guns'' the other two are Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja, like i stated they are not canon but for what i'm seeing their story and characters have similarities and are made by the same producers Bee Train, well lets see what Noir has to offer. Story Noir starts like a mistery anime, with a confusing plot and story because it has around 14 eps. that are episodic, in which the protagonists Mireille and Kirika work together as professional killers and take jobs and they named ... Aug 25, 2008
There are a multitude of things that mark an anime as particularly terrible. Bad music, medicore art, clumsy and slow reactions, clumsy and slow emotional reactions, a cumbersome plot, a repetitive plot, an immature plot, and cheap attempts at thrilling the viewer are all bad things that Noir accomplishes remarkably well! Not a single episode of this is 'filler' because every episode has the same clumsy plot execution and, at least in almost every episode, a bad shootout, and, sorry to spoil a bit, nearly every shootout involves one of the two messing up in some manner and barely getting saved, but not, of course,
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Jun 1, 2010
I wasnt originally going to write a review for this series as i really didnt enjoy it and i get wound up when other people write overly critical reviews of shows. But here i am and i hope someone will appreciate where i am coming from with this
For anyone who hasnt read the summary of this show its about 2 female assassins who are trying to discover more about their mysterious pasts, while being hunted by an underground society. That sounded like the makings of a great plot to me, but unfortunately it didnt deliver. The plot was too slow to develop, ... Feb 4, 2014
How often do we see an action anime that showcases the usage of literature in the plot, and where plot progression inherently relies on the literature used? And how often do we see an anime that has bloodless gunfights? Lost for words? Noir is one such anime.
The story starts with Mireille Bouquet; a renowned freelance assassin, coming into contact with Kirika Yumura, who knows nothing of her past due to amnesia. Except that she possesses the skills of an assassin and the word ‘Noir,’ which becomes their leading clue in the future. The reason for their encounter lies in the things they hold in common ... May 24, 2010
This is what ushered anime into the new millennium. Noir is the very first classic of the third millennia A.D., and as such is a very interesting specimen of times gone.
Now, I must stress that the score I gave it is not an accurate measure of Noir’s actual value. True, Noir is a must watch for anybody who loves japanese animation, but it achieves this by doing absolutely everything wrong. There is so much not right in Noir that calling everything bad in in out is almost as singular an experience as watching the series itself. And yet, it is perhaps exactly this absolutely wrong ... Jan 16, 2010
About the review:
Just like my recent review of Rurouni Kenshin: Ishinshishi e no Requiem, this review was written by me some time ago, i.e. before I was a member on MyAnimeList. Therefore, I have no score on Enjoyment and you wont find any section called Enjoyment in this review. I think you will do fine without it, though. ^^ Story 4/10 I'd like to use the expression "What kind of trickery is this?", but since it wouldn't be appropriate, I won't. I'm not really sure, though, why I decided to watch Noir. Somehow it attracted me, making me imagine a thrilling story about a skilled assassin ... Jan 11, 2017
Noir is an original Bee Train series written by Tsukimura Ryoe. It's also the first part of their “girls with guns” trilogy of unconnected anime that are thematically similar. Those of you who are familiar with my previous reviews may know Bee Train as one of the studios that did the main production for Murder Princess, Phantom Requiem & Shinrei Tantei Yakumo. All of which were pretty solid works earning 8, 8 & 7 from me, respectively. Let's see if Noir can continue that tradition of quality.
Story: We open with a young lady, Mireille, receiving a strange email asking her to take a journey to the ... Jan 1, 2015
"Noir" That is the name of the anime that you are reading the review of right now and you likely never seen this anime before and are looking up what other people thought of it in order to make a decision on whether or not this is the anime for you and to you I advise that I am only one person and this review is of my opinion that may be contrary to your own so keep that in mind and as for the people who have already seen this anime and are reading this, well you guys are just along for the ride.
Story/Characters: The ... Jul 26, 2008
First off, you must know that "Noir" deserves its name (Noir means black in French). It is a very dark story which only shows real glimmers of hope and sanity toward its very end. So if you intend to watch this, you had better be patient.
I have given an overall rating of 6/10 to this animated series because I am not much of a fan of bleak drama that is not quite sure whether it is realistic or symbolic. There are however quite a few things of worth in this anime so I would not discourage people from watching it. I shall try, in this ... Nov 9, 2009
Noir is a fairly decent anime to watch, but nothing stellar, and therefore should be taken as the superficial “girls with guns” anime that it is. The story is centered around two young women with mysterious pasts tied to some secret mafia-type organization known as the Soldats. There is a great deal of violence in this series, expect lots of shootings, stabbings and poisonings but for all that,the action and scenes are surprisingly not gory and practically bloodless. This is but one of the many things I found peculiar with the series apart from the generic vanilla plot and the emotionally static characters.
~ Art The ... Dec 18, 2010
Lots of Spoilers.
“Inside there’s a pill. If captured, it will cause death in 9 seconds.” “Great, but how exactly do I get them to take it?...Not much of a laugher, are you?” - Get Smart Laughter doesn’t figure largely in the world of Kirika and Mireille. Soldiers usually laugh more than this; but maybe it’s because these two aren’t solders, but pilgrims, a bit austere and tightly wound. Women always talk more than this; to dwell on what is left unspoken between them would require more than 1000 words. ... Sep 17, 2008
looking for a great anime? well your search is over!!noir is the best anime i have seen,heard or even made up in my head!! i am not kidding!!the story follows threw with no second quessing. the art work in it my seem a little dated but i do not see that as a fault at all. the sound from the begging theme to the end is well done and not sound like it came from another anime.you will love each character in it as well!! my favorite is chole! she uses knives and has a steady head on her shoulders. i have never meet any
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May 22, 2015
The thriller genre of anime concerning real places and typically political ideas is sparse. Despite the versatility of the medium in being able to create technically amazing shoot-outs (you’d think we’d see more John Woo style action in anime) there doesn’t seem to be many examples out there. And to make things even worse, the few examples are, for the most part, less than exceptional. Black Lagoon and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom are the only anime of this type I’d go so far as to recommend; everything else tends to be on the bad side.
I was recommended checking out the Bee Train trilogy of ... Oct 18, 2012
Noir is an anime that is very interesting and complex at times. I was surprised how much I liked it due to the fact that it was recommended to me by a friend and I had a feeling I would hate it. With that said, there were some things on each spectrum that I ether loved or had a problem with.
PROS The story to this anime was pretty unique. I don't think I've seen any anime with a similar storyline and in that retrospect, it did well. For the first half of the season, I had no idea where the story was heading. Sadly enough, the ... Mar 27, 2017
Noir is more than a Girls with Guns show; infinitely more than a plodding Bourne Identity/Leon mashup. With the air of black magical realism that chilled in Seven, Usual Suspects, and the comic 100 Bullets, combined with that haunting character drama the Noir genre was made for, this is a unique, masterful anime that may stay with the viewer for some time, and amply repays close viewing.
The score by Yuki Kajiura excels at filling the world of hitgirls and conspiracies with tense, unspoken feeling. I recall the animation being described as a Hollywood movie turned anime; everything is realistic in form, and a range of ... |