Noir

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.

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 ... the edge of my seat until the end.

I found myself very attached to the main characters. Initially Kirika struck me as very bland, as she rarely talked at the beginning, but I think that made it all the more enjoyable to watch as she slowly emerged from her shell, and developed a personality as the series progressed. I liked Mirielle as well, for she put up a front of being a no-nonsense and callous assassin who didn't need anyone in her life, but before she knew it was happening found that she had formed an emotional bond with Kirika, whether she wanted to or not. The interaction between the two of them is very interesting, for they balance each other out. Mirielle is outgoing and professional, while Kirika is quiet and very observant. Somehow the two of them really fit together.

To me the art appeared to be alternately gorgeous and a bit off. Some episodes are better animated than others. However, on the whole I thought it was beautiful, and I was able to overlook the bad bits. As a whole, I thought that the actions scenes were excellent. The art really reflects the mood of the series, and I think the style suits it perfectly.

The music is really what I felt pulled the series together. It's really gorgeous, and it really creates the mood of the scene. The only thing I ever had a problem with was that the melody from the watch eventually got tiresome after it was repeated many times. On the whole, though, I was blown away by the beauty of the sound.

One of the only things I have to complain about is that I felt that some characters were a little bit lacking. Chloe, for example, felt really out of place in the series. She was the only person that seemed to really stick out in a bad way. I know she was supposed to stand out, but somehow...the character design just looks wrong. Her clothing looked silly as compared to the more realistic or european style of the others. However, personality-wise she is very interesting. Also, the lack of skilled male adversaries was odd, but I don't think it really stood out enough to irk me. Another thing that annoyed me was that in the beginning was the constant flashbacks. Seriously, I thought I'd kill myself if I had to see that scene with Mirielle as a kid one more time. Some of the plot was a bit unclear at times, but it was very good as a whole.

I'd recommend this series to anyone who likes a mysterious plot with lots of action, and alternately a slower paced, more casual atmosphere, as well as a great soundtrack.

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 ... however there’s only one word that can describe this show as it begins, “boring”. It was so boring that people hoping for some form of development, may not be able to continue watching this anime however for those who are patient can enjoy the better half of the show. It is the second half that is somewhat interesting, with a lot of things finally being revealed, like the secret organization behind everything. Though it is interesting it never becomes truly captivating.

The animation style resembles that of “Cowboy Bebop” with the same artistry and fluid animation. This tries to give a little extra by being widescreen format and beautifully drawn characters, nonetheless it losses its greatness once the action kicks in. It isn’t long before you’ll quickly notice the incredibly useless enemies they are up against and the lack of blood. This isn’t an important thing for anime, when it comes to a “Bang! Bang! Shoot-em-up” gunshot wounds are essential and that isn’t found here.

The music is exceptionally great especially when it gets to the action or when it’s building up to it. On the other hand the music lacks variety so it gets tiring to hear the same tunes other and other but what really is annoying is the high pitch watch melody that will pierce through your ear drums whenever you listen to it.

This had the potential of being a great anime, but it took so long for anything about the plot to be revealed that only the second half of the show was enjoyable to watch. This is the major downfall of this, plus other little annoyances like time wasting techniques and the constant, pointless flashbacks. This anime was predominantly filled with gun-battles which were usually great but it didn’t change the fact that the enemies they faced were so rubbish, with a gun, that they couldn’t even hit a parked car. It’s only till the finally 2 episodes when something spectacular happens, but by then this decent show is over, with a BANG!

If you enjoy the odd action packed anime and don’t mind censorship, then by all means check this out.

^_^

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 ... truth that the two girls seek to find is determined to remain hidden – the viewer is required to think as much as Mireille & Kirika, as we are not given much more information than they are at any one time. The character development is superb and all the named characters introduced are all needed to progress the plot. Noir is an impressive piece of storytelling – not what I was expecting from BEE TRAIN at all.

ANIMATION: Really nice very stylish animation, gorgeous realistic backgrounds accurately depict the various locales that the characters travel to to carry out their missions. The gunfight action is extremely well choreographed and exciting to watch and there is excellent use of lighting effects, unusual camera angles and cuts. Character designs are quite nice, but sometimes there is a lack of proper emotion in the faces in close up shots.

The major criticism I have is the completely bloodless violence. You will be hard pressed to find more than a single drop of blood in this entire series! Mireille & Kirika do not hold back on their missions and the death toll is massive, but no one really seems to bleed – all wounds are very clean. It’s irritating as everything else is quite realistically done – a bit more blood would have heightened the drama. Also there’s a bit of James Bond style shooting going on – the girls can stroll through a crowd of machine-gun wielding SPs and never get hit and dispatch their enemies with a single shot from a handgun! But hey they’re the main characters its to be expected, and they look really cool when doing so!

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: The score deserved especial praise – an absolutely beautiful and very memorable soundtrack. I really like Kajiura Yuki’s work and Noir is no exception – grand sweeping melodies, great use of haunting choral pieces, classical scores and thrumming electro perfectly matches the action and intensifies the emotional drama, and all without drowning out the dialogue. The OP is by Ali Project and is quite similar to most of their other songs, but I quite liked it after listening to it a few times (despite the fact I utterly despise Ali Project!), the ED is a nice calm ballad. Voice acting is excellent throughout – a small cast but all are great in their roles.

Overall an extremely good series – highly recommended. Looses a point because of the slow start and the bloodless violence.

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 ... themself Noir which is also a recurring theme of the plot, in every job they have to kill a target almost always being bad guys other times ex bad guys who in the present are making good deeds and helps people, the story looks unique but the problem is that, it has flaws, the lack of explanation on some important things, the lack of bullet holes on enemies, the lack of blood, the lack of making sense almost always, like in one scene the weapon doesn't have a suppressor and when Mireille is shooting, bam magic happens and a suppressor appears, yeah when you think about it, there was a lot nonesensical plot devices, plot holes, loop holes (?)... the idea of what the story could be interested me more but because of those flaws i didn't like it that much, at some point it was predictable and i already had my thoughts of what was going to happen next and it was like i imagined, i can't decide if i liked the ending or not, i was expecting what happened but in a different way and maybe because i was starting to like the girls in a attachment level, i can point it was a bitter sweet ending, the story is good but if they took the time to polish it this could have been great, but it just reach the good status.

Art & Animation
I like the classic old art style, but i didn't like it on Noir, because it felt cheap, like they didn't have time to draw everything correctly, or like what i stated the lack of details, the bullet holes on enemies, the lack of believable movements in the fights/shoot outs parts, or when they die, it was almost always inconsistent, like i stated, i like old school style, but it could be much better than this for a 2001 anime, but i think it was fine.

Sound
The best thing from the anime, the music, the music made the anime watchable, it was enjoyable to listen to the two action tracks, despite being repetitive, it has that something that will not bore you, one of those is like an orchestral song, really great, melodic with a opera like singer, it felt fitting for the drama and the other one (when you knew the action was coming) was like a combination of new wave, dance-trance, the best song, like i said repetitive but never boring despite that, the OP song was really great and the ED reminded me the ED song of S.B. Outlaw Star, i didn't like it in Outlaw Star, but is fitting in Noir tho (both songs being melodic) the voice acting was good but i expected more, and with all of this i could have give a 9 to the sound but the problem is that not always the music background was fitting like that weird song, Ta ta ta ta, i always laughed at that and it was placed at serious parts, i couldn't believe a Mario 64 song (sounded like it) was in the anime, i couldn't take those serious parts seriously because of that song, and the sound effects weren't that good, so overall the sound is very good.

Character
I wasn't attached to the characters, the thing is that the protagonists were good but not appealing to me because of the lack of development they had, we know at the end who they are, but not who they were in the past, well maybe we get to see more for Mireille and who Kirika was in Mireille past and almost in the plot, but not really how she became that? who was she? who is her family? (all these questions about Kirika and is applicable to Chloe too) two importat characters never got development (Kirika and Chloe) and i didn't liked that, i thought at the end i was gonna get answers to my questions, never got them, but at the last episodes i felt little attachment to both and felt sorry for Chloe, overall is just good by little.

Enjoyment
What never got me bored was the music, the episodic chapters weren't bad, at the end i liked Mireille and Kirika, and really appreciated the story as a good one, what i hated was the lack of believable deaths, shoot outs, fights, the amount of cliches the non sense in the story etc. if you don't mind that you will enjoy it more than i did, but for me, i took a good enjoyment from it combining everything.

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 ... – a chime played from a pocket watch and an inscrutable monolith that has some connection with their past. Thus, they embark on a journey to track down this organization and uncover the truth behind their existence.

The premise, kept simple despite the many underlying mysteries and twists, starts off at a slow pace. Mireille and Kirika take on many assassination jobs with their new codename, Noir, hoping that The Organization may react to their name. The first half focuses on episodic missions, their growth as a team and skeptical leads about the organization, that sometimes turns out to be a wild goose chase, and most of the episodes end with realistic but bloodless gun-battles. It isn’t until the second half that some new characters, Chloe and Altena, are introduced and the story starts to flow in a deliberate direction. Now, the highlights of the show are the clues inspired by literature. Generally, clues used in many anime are names, places, dates, times, or encrypted codes. However in Noir, literature is used to convey the meaning behind the existence of Noir and The Organization, which, in a way, has its own appeal. The series manages to do a fine job in answering most of the questions that popped up in the beginning.

Noir is definitely a story-driven anime and offers very little room for character interactions and development. Both Kirika and Mireille are left one dimensional; just like puppets acting according to where the story goes, at least in the first half. Some life is given to them in the second half, making them question their feelings, their motives, judge their situations, and act accordingly. Kirika, after losing all her memories is like a lost child; overflowing with innocence, yet oftentimes emotionless which makes her a formidable assassin. On the other hand, Mireille, who was brought up by her uncle, is more rational and can easily blend in with a group. While the production house tried to develop the characters, they do not leave a lasting impression on the viewers.

At first glance Noir’s animation is just plain, nothing that catches the eye. Due to the anime’s realistic approach, the reach of the action scenes are confined by the somewhat lackluster laws of physics. There are no flashy moves or unbelievably fast close combat fights. Every fight is limited to what is necessary. Due to which they are sometimes unappealing to the viewers. Even after restricting themselves to real life action sequels, I found one dubious element in them; whenever there is a gunfight, all the agents do is shoot, run around, and get shot down themselves by the end of it. They never manage to get a singlehit on either Kirika or Mireille. That aside, none of these unfortunately doomed agents even get close to hitting either of them; instead they act as practice targets for Kirika and Mireille to improve their own skills. This is usually how the gunfights ended up, but luckily the case is different when they are facing an expert assassin. And lastly, where was the blood? A lot of agents from The Organization are shot dead and there is not a single drop of blood. Yeah, the production house tried to stick to the nature of the show and avoided heavy bloodsheds, gore and violence. But, at least a small amount of blood wouldn't be bad.

Back to animation, since the setting is based in Europe, the background animation is unexpectedly good, close to how a European society looks and neat for the most part. Character designs are simple and are relatable to their backgrounds. At least they can be easily distinguished, unlike many anime nowadays where all the characters look the same with different hair styles and color. Mireille is designed to look more attractive than Kirika. Kirika’s looks are akin to an Asian high school girl. Mireille is given a matured figure and looks older than Kirika and Chloe, despite the fact that they should be around the same age.

Sound was also kept realistic and at many times minimal. Action sequences were played along with a couple of sound tracks. They didn’t have much appeal in the beginning, but as the series progresses and is given a historical touch, the soundtracks befit the nature of the show.

Noir is one of the few anime where the OSTs contribute higher than animation in building the tension needed during action scenes. The OP is a J-pop song which is somewhat influenced by western pop, and comparatively, the ED is an authentic J-pop song both in lyrics and the style. The ending was especially more enjoyable since it somehow relays Kirika’s feelings of uncertainty. I admire the seiyuus' spirited approach to these characters since there was very little to adapt from the script. Despite having repetitive lines and a script that often sounded monotonous, they did a good job from what little they had.

One of the main reasons why Noir will fail to entertain the viewers is due to the lack of tension in the series. There are hardly any attempts made to intensify the gravity of a particular situation. In one of the episodes where Mireille is to face-off with an old acquaintance, Intoccabile-who supposedly is one of the most ferocious assassins, there is a lack of viciousness in her presence, which brings down the tension and enjoyment in the situation. And this is not evident in only one case; the viewer experiences this troubling trend throughout the series. Noir would be more enjoyable if the viewer is watching it with some intervals. If watched in continuity, completing the series in one go becomes an arduous task rather than a feast to relish.

Noir is an anime that tries to present a realistic approach to the life of an assassin on a journey to find her origins and, for the most part, it succeeds in doing so with the help of commendable animation and sound. And it does manage to explain some of its plot holes.

Like NGE, Monster, Cowboy Bebop and many other anime, Noir is more rewarding after every re-watch. Noir is just one step away from being a remarkable anime, but that elusive one step is the one many action anime fail to overcome.

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 ... approach Bee Train took to Noir’s creation that seperates it from much of the rest of anime and elevates it into levels reserved for things that must be seen to be believed.

So yeah, Noir tells the story of two females. The first one we are introduced to is Mireille Bouqet. She works as a professionsal assassin. The second female is Kirika Yuumura, a japanese high school student who sends a mysterious message to Mireille, asking to meet her.

That is the basic setup of the first episode, and the entire story itself. What follows from there onward is the exact same thing throughout twenty six episodes that we see in the first one. Let me go into a little detail about this.

But first, a truism: There is a song named „All you need is love”. That title is actually correct. You REALLY only need love when it comes to creating a story. If you love the story you write –and I mean REALLY love it-, you’ll instinctively know exactly what is wrong with your story and exactly how to fix it. Even if it won’t be original, it will be good to experience because the love you have for it simply won’t let you leave it a bad experience. It is also important to note that the creative drive of many –if not all- of the stories created primarily out of their author’s love for them – that is, the creation of their story- can have their origin traced back to a single idea the author had, that the author wanted to expand upon.

Another truism: It is not enough for a story to merely expand upon a single idea in order to be heralded among the greatest of stories. For that, a story must also be about something different by the end. Death Note started out being about a notebook that can kill people, and it ended up being about the battle of wits between two deductive geniouses and a question about the nature of justice. Spice & Wolf started out being about a wolf- goddess, and ended up being about economics. Etcetera.

One of the stunning things about Noir is that it actually IS one of the greatest stories despite violating both of these truisms. It starts out being about women commiting preposterous action sequences, and stays being about women commiting preposterous action sequences. Now let’s examine this closely:

First episode. In the space of a single cut, Mireille goes from France to Japan, and meets with Kirika. not soon after she arrives, both of them get ambushed by black suits. It turns out that not only Mireille, but also Kirika can kill people pretty well (with the phrase „pretty well” being both an overstatement and an understatement at the same time here). Kirika, in particular, has no idea why she can kill so well: she lost all her memories, and all she can remember is the name „Noir”. Which, incidentally, is the pseudonym Mireille works under as an asassin. Mireille takes interest in Kirika because she has a pocketwatch that may or may not play music when it’s lid opens up, and definitely has something to do with the death of Mireilles parents when Mireille was a small child.

The events described above already contained the two things every episode of Noir builds on: building the relationship between Mireille and Kirika, and a ludicrous action sequence. (And let me just say that it’s rare to find an anime series so reliable outside of the magical girl genre or things like Pokémon or Digimon – seriously, in 26 episodes, you get 26 times the girls fire a gun.)

The action sequences of Noir: This is it; this is the meat and potatoes of Bee Train. These sequences are the very core ideas implanted into Ryoe Tsukimura’s and Koichi Mashimo’s brains, they are the very reasons Noir exists, and they are also the hallmarks of the series. In every episode, the girls assassinate various targets, ranging from corrupt politicians, judges and corporate executives to war criminals and “revolutionaries”. And every time Kirika and Mireille leap into action, Noir turns into a unique mixture of tragicomedy and trash.

You see, the action sequences of Noir suck! They are preposterous, unrealistic, ludicrous, ridiculous and some other mean words. An action scene in Noir goes like this: Mireille and Kirika enter the compound of their target, at which place they are greeted by the bodyguards of the target. A surreal shootout ensues. Surreal, because of what these scenes are based upon: the concept that even the viewer could take on the enemies Mireille and Kirika face. There are two things you need to know about the people those two gun down on a regular basis: 1) they are always male; 2) they suck at their job! Enemies in Noir could not hit the broad side of a bus, even with unlimited ammo, from three feet away; they stand in the line of open fire, practically freeze in place when they run out of bullets, and never look behind themselves. Their reaction time is about the same as that of your grandmother playing Modern Warfare 2 for the first time on the Xbox 360. They never stop firing when the girls are behind cover. They never move back behind cover. They never so much as slightly injure the girls. They all act like complete morons.

The girls, on the other hand, might as well be godlike beings who almost never miss, can hit a target in the span of half a second after spotting it, constantly show up behind the backs of their targets (they violate the laws of physics and time-space almost every episode), and have this uncanny ability to somehow force their opponents to wait for the girls to shoot first.

Other times, they are the worst assassins ever. They make no plans about approaching their targets at their most vulnerable, opting instead to fight their way through the bodyguards of their target. They make almost no attempts at stealth, and have half- minute long staring contests with their targets before executing them.

Consider a video game adaptation of Noir that is 100% faithful to the source material. You control either Mireille of Kirika, against hordes of mooks who stand in place firing everywhere all over the place, except for that one spot where you are standing. They keep standing there when they run out of bullets. The body of your character has no hit detection in the first place, and the game constantly has auto- aim turned on for you, ensuring that every shot is a direct hit, without even having to aim. You have unlimited magazines for your pistol, and you can spot enemies from a hundred yards away, whereas they can only see about five feet in front of themselves. You can stand in the way of open fire and literally never get hit no matter what happens. Also, you can pause the game at any time, select a location on the map, and teleport your character there, with no regards to distance and height of the destination.

At times, Noir throws all common sense out the window! Two people are fighting, one holding a pistol, the other wielding a knife, and THEY BOTH JUST STAND THERE LIKE THEY SAW A FUCKING GHOST! A staircase full of armed suits simply lets the girls walk up in front of them for half a minute!

This is why I said Noir violates those two truisms: Bee Train obvious loved these action scenes and put a lot of work into conceiving them, but despite all that, they fail to entertain in the way they are supposed to.

Instead, they entertain in a completely different way! You see, it’s important for a story to maintain the illusion that the main character could fail. This is what brings tension into a story. But with Noir, after the first two episodes, you lose all sense of worry over Mireille and Kirika: you know full well that they could send an entire army against those two and the girls would come out unscathed, with every soldier lying dead in front of them. However, this opens the door to an entirely different way to enjoy Noir: what zany way of killing a hundred people will they think of next? Getting deep into Noir, a strange kind of curiosity starts to overtake you. You become fascinated with how these ridiculous gunfights get pulled off with a completely straight face, and you’ll want to see how the girls break the laws of physics and space-time in the next episode. By the end, you’ll be outright laughing at the absurd ways the scenes play out, and you’ll actually start enjoying yourself! It’s the strangest sort of entertainment, but nonetheless, it’s working, and it’s one of the most fascinating things you’ll ever see.

Interesting side note: Although Bee Train was originally conceived in order to “rehabilitate animators”; you’ll be hard pressed to find another piece of Japanese animation made in the 00’s that cuts more corners in terms of actual animation than Noir. Conversations are littered with still shots, collapsing dead bodies are obscured by the environment (or outright cut away from), and there’s no blood at all. (Thankfully, this cheapskate approach does not carry over to the beautifully detailed backgrounds and razor sharp character designs – Mireille in particular, has character design as slick as Chadwardenn’s hair.(Dat hair man (Mireille’s), dat hair!))

The good news is that this all adds up to Noir’s style: when you get down to it, all Noir cares about is it’s plot. So it takes no time building the world around the two girls, neither does it care about any sense of time or place (if one scene plays out with the girls in Corsica, but the plot requires them to be in Paris in the next scene, they’ll simply be there, without a single shot of their travel – Kirika and Mireille are the most unlikely jet setter of all anime). So gunfights are mere obstacles in the way of Noir’s plot advancement, and it actually fits that it can pull off stuff like Mireille holding a gun on a poor bastard without him even knowing it, but never showing her actually shooting the guy. It kind of makes you not care about budget restraints.

So, it only cares about the plot, right? Then it must mean it’s good, right? No, not really. Noir’s plot is a farce, a mere vehicle to get the girls from one ridiculous action scene to the next, even if even then it cares more about advancing itself then producing a situation in which we would worry for the girls.

So then, is at least it’s presentation engaging? Well…

It’s the most straightforward plot in existence, really. It doesn’t care about side characters or side storylines (every character that returns for more than one episode in Noir is a main character). Once the target of the week has been established, it’s off to his (it’s almost always male) execution, with nothing in between. During the time it takes to establish the target, however, that bit I mentioned earlier about the relationship between Mireille and Kirika comes into play. Know this: Noir isn’t really heavy on dialog. Most of the relationship between the two girls plays out in facial expressions and long silences with equally long stills of the girls and their surroundings. This wouldn’t be a problem in and of itself, but the directing in these scenes is so static and lifeless, that if it wasn’t for the action sequences and the nigh constant (and pretty freaking awesome) background music, Noir could be the first animated television series that could get certified for Dogma 95.

Taking the above into account: yes, watching multiple episodes of Noir in a single sitting is a chore. The action scenes have no tension, the non- action scenes are mostly boring, and the characters sometimes have quite frankly infuriating emotions, either from the standpoint of common sense or ethics. (By the way, this is why Noir is such a good glimpse into times gone. Modern day anime pulls out all the stops and doesn’t care what it does until it successfully forced you with’ it’s emotional manipulation into whatever state of mind it wants you to be. Noir is satisfied with merely showing it’s characters having those emotions, however dumbfounding or unsympathetic those emotions may be – they aren’t forcing them on the viewer.) (And it’s not like any character in Noir is that interesting or well written either.)

Also, Noir’s BIG PLOT TWIST is just illogical and dumb. Somehow, nobody was around the Bee Train studios to tell them that people do NOT age selectively – that is, 10+ years of aging for one person is 10+ years of aging for another person too.

Still, despite all those things (or perhaps maybe even precisely due to those things), as an experience, there is nothing in the World like Noir. Even Bee Train couldn’t reproduce it, seeing as Madlax, produced by Bee Train right after Noir, took the ideas of Noir’s action scenes to their logical extremes and ended up with something that is both gut- busting hilarious and migraine- inducing dumb at the same time (no, that does not mean it’s intentional (yes, that means it’s unwatchable)).

Make no mistake: Noir isn’t “so bad it’s good”, it’s a legitimately memorable viewing experience, one that is comparable to nothing in existence, even though the sum of it’s parts would in any other way suggest otherwise, and something that should be mandatory viewing for any person who claims that he/she loves anime, if only to know: “yes, there are thing like this in the World too”.

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 ... past with the sender. Something about the message piques Mireille's curiosity and she tracks down the sender, Kirika. After an altercation with some suits, Mireille agrees to help Kirika track down her past on the condition that, when it's over, she'll kill her. Kirika agrees and begins helping Mireille with her assassination work. They call themselves “Noir” and eventually uncover information about a strange organisation called “Soldats” an organisation which may very well hold the key to Kirka's past. If the pair can unravel its mystery and survive the experience.

The biggest story problem with the series is that the questions are more compelling than the answers turn out to be. The whole mystery of Kirika's missing memory is interesting, but the ultimate answer you get for it is kind of weak. The twist that comes with her regained memory is pretty good but the answer to how she lost them is weak. The mystery surrounding the Soldats organisation is interesting as well but the actual explanation for its origins is pretty generic.

That being said, the narrative leading up to those reveals is compelling and well done, even with the weak pay-offs. The ending itself is fantastic. The romance sub-plot with our leading ladies is nicely done, developing over time and ending up as an endearing element for the series. The pacing is good as well. There are some slow, tense scenes. Some fast, intense sequences and the underlying narrative slowly and effectively builds. The early episodes start by giving you small pieces of the underlying plot while Kirika and Mireille take on missions and, from there, the episodes start to have more and more to do with Soldats and the mystery thereof until the story reaches the home stretch and becomes all about it.

Characters:

The only real issue with the characters is that a particular character undergoes a heel shift for no adequately explored reason and then returns to normal pretty easily. Aside from that, the characters are phenomenal. They have personalities with verisimilitude, clear motivations, some of which shift as a natural result of character development and superb interactions. That doesn't just hold true for the main heroines either. The antagonists are the same way. I particularly like Chloe. What makes her really interesting is that she's an antagonist but not much of one. She likes the heroines, particularly Kirika and even aids them at times. She's actually quite the sweet heart, wanting to be on friendly terms with Mireille and more than friends with Kirika. What ultimately puts her at odds with Kirika and Mireille is her loyalty to her superior within Soldats and some jealousy over the dynamic they share. I suggest polyamory as a solution.

Art:

The art is pretty good. It's not among the best out there, and it does suffer some from Bee Train's propensity for strange angles without any reason. But the character designs are distinct. The action sequences are nicely done and the backgrounds have some nice detailing to them.

Sound:

The acting is fantastic. The best performances coming from our main heroines voiced by Kuwashima Houko & Mitsuishi Kotono and our adorable little antagonist voiced by Hisakawa Aya (who also came up in my review of Gunsmith Cats last week). The music, handled by Furukawa Masayoshi, Kaida Yuriko & Kajiura Yuki, is really good as well. The opening theme is really catchy and will be in your head for a while, but it's really good so you won't mind. It was performed by ALI Project, who also performed songs for Code Geass, Another & Phantom Requiem to name a few.

Ho-yay:

A lot of the major character dynamics are driven by les-yay. In addition to the budding romance betwixt Mireille & Kirika, there's Chloe's interest in Kirika.

Final Thoughts:

And there we have Noir. How well does it hold up? Well, the narrative build up is compelling and leads to both strong moments and some weak pay-offs. The characters and their dynamics are fantastic. The art is good. The acting is excellent. Overall, it is a great series. My final rating is going to stand at an 8/10. Next week I'll continue girls with guns month with Upotte.

"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 ... story is something that I can only describe as a masterpiece, though there is no doubt there are better stories out there but I have to put this down as one of the greatest stories I have seen in anime as there is an almost perfect balance of story telling and action. However at first I had a little trouble really getting into the show with just the first episode but after that it was all good. One thing that I especially liked was the pacing as at first most of the episodes seemed rather self contained but everything seemed to build up until the very end leaving me rather satisfied.
All in all I really don't have anything bad to say about the story.

The characters on the other hand were a little bit weaker as I found myself liking some more than others for instance Kirika and Mireille, Kirika was this awesome character who on missions seemed to pull most of the weight while Mireille kind of sits back and maybe shoots a couple of guys; kind of like The Green Hornet and Kato (Kirika being Kato).
However despite that there is a lot of character development as these two characters develop a very strong bond. This anime does a good job a fleshing out most of it's characters though I do feel that they missed one or two.

Art/Sound:
Noir is one of the last anime series to be hand drawn through CEL and after over 10 year I think the animation has aged rather well though at times I feel it slips up a little like when people in this show are shot and killed there is hardly any blood nor indication that they have been shot other than a mello dramatic fall to the ground which at times seems kind of cheesy and almost looks like censorship, keep in mind that this is true for both subbed and dubbed versions of the show.

The soundtrack was decent and kept pace with the show; really adding to it but there were times that it felt kind of cheesy like from the 90's or something.

Sub/Dub:
Most of the time when being critical about this topic I usually believe that a large portion of anime are about 50/50 in terms of subbed and dubbed versions and I could really care less which version you watch and there is only a small portion where one is better than the other and for this anime I think that is the case.
The Japanese VA for this anime was just weak, there are many there are many anime's that it think sound bland and think they all sound alike in japanese but not weak. I watched the first episode subbed and pretty much had no interest in watching the rest. As for the dub, it is not the greatest dub ever, they even reuse a couple of VA's for side characters, but the dub wasn't weak and the characters actually sounded right, not to mention the vast majority of this show doesn't even take place in japan.
I normally don't like Monical Rial, mainly because I feel like she's a really over used VA and the voice she normally uses is annoying but Kirika is probably one of my favorite performances by her and goes to show that the one type of character that she is best at playing is the quiet mysterious type.

Final verdict:
I'm giving this a 9/10 considering that to me this anime was almost perfect and despite some of it's drawbacks it's definitely worth watching.

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.

... “Mireille Bouquet: a most trustworthy assassin for hire.”
“Kirika Yuumura: an exceptional assassin and a troubling enigma.”

They adopt the codename, “NOIR” because it is what’s left in the sieve of Kirika’s memory, and the agreement is that once they finish their pilgrimage for the past, Mireille will kill Kirika. There’s Kirika’s pocketwatch that plays the lullaby of Mireille’s jarring childhood, and then there is Kirika’s impressive physical memory which turns her 100lb frame into a weapon.

That’s all they have to go on. Things start off randomly enough with jobs that target crooked cops and questionable businessmen. There’s foreshadowing in the stories of the nameless assassin and Nazarov: killers aren’t allowed to redeem themselves; at best, they might get a quick and anonymous death, muffled by the falling snow. Each time, Kirika and Mireille prove effective and deadly in their work. So why can’t they see the net that has been cast to draw them in? In episode 19, Kirika looks around and sees a small world of pairs – two college mates discussing a tough test, a young man resting with his head on his girlfriend’s lap – and looks up wistfully into Mireille’s impassive face; Mireille, in turn, closes her eyes to keep her face expressionless – only to break out into a genuine smile in response. It’s a silent moment of connection, lovely, fleeting and beguiling. That’s right, the two of them are too beguiled to notice the netting closing in over their heads.

But it’s there. It seems that Noir has always formed the two hands of the Soldats; Chloe comes bearing the message and a challenge: she and amnesiac Kirika are the true Noir. After triggering Kirika’s memory with a gunshot, Chloe goes ahead, fully expecting her to follow. Kirika, on the other hand, accepts her memories as the sign that the time has come for Mireille to keep her promise. But it’s Mireille – sharp, collected, professional Mireille – who is conflicted; she withdraws herself from the contest, and leaves Kirika unchecked to submit to her dehumanizing training. “Sentiments for the remaining flower” is an uneven turning point for the series, but for all its flaws in flow, it is effective in communicating one thing: why Mireille gets back in the fight, and stays in it, with Kirika, to the very end.

Superspoiler, ho: Why wouldn’t Mireille and Kirika keep their promise and kill each other in the end? It makes perfect sense.

Three obligatory remarks:

First, the animation was the weakest part of the series. At best, Noir can boast of islands of consistent animation; scenes from episodes 18 and 25 come to mind: Mireille begging Kirika to leave; Kirika having that one-sided conversation with the grandmother at the bus-stop; the final running/fighting sequence between the two. Still, it is hardly a strength that the story often worked best when there was a minimum of animation.

Second, the music was a priority in the making of this series, noticeably so. The OST includes several different versions of the familiar songs from the series, including a recording of Kirika singing Canta Per Me. Copellia no hitsugi and Kirei na kanjou were not written for the series, but serve as perfect bookends.

Third, the voice characterizations by Kuwashima and Mitsuishi were the best part of Noir, making the story work in ways that honestly can’t be captured in dead text. Their voices had me, imagination and all.

Grade: A, even with the inconsistent animation.

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 ... one who has seen noir who did not like it!!!it is just too good of a series!!

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 ... second half kind of turned into a predictable anime at times. Certain things happen to certain characters and these things are supposed to be surprising, but some of them are not. This isn't a big problem for me since the majority of the series keeps you guessing, yet, I was hoping it would be completely unpredictable.

The character development in Noir is also worth praising. You really get a feel for the characters in the anime and you want them to reach their goal. Unfortunately, for me, one of the main girls was more interesting than the other. That's not to say that the other one wasn't interesting, but I was more fascinated with the girl that had a more interesting story to their past life.

CONS

This anime runs into a lot of big problems I have with other shows. The first being the fact that while there is a lot of character development, the majority of the show is more action oriented. The action is done well and all, but I wanted to learn about the characters much more in certain episodes, and I got little to nothing. Don't get me wrong. When there is character development, is is very rich and enjoyable (as said above). I just begged for more of it. It's the type of show where 60% of it is action and 40% is character development. I know some people prefer this to character development over action, but it is not my cup of tea.

The visuals are, at times, bland - really bland. There were many times when I felt like I was watching Dragonball Z (which isn't a compliment). Obviously, great visuals don't make a great anime, but it sure does help. I wouldn't quite say that it is ugly to look at, but I really didn't feel invested in the environment (if that makes any sense). I really wish the visuals were better, but I guess this is the best that the studio, who made this anime, could do.

OVERALL

If you want get past the fact that the anime is more action than character and also the "meh" visuals (in my opinion), you will love this anime. If not, you still might love the anime like I have, but be prepared for whatever comes (in terms of the creative aspect). Noir has a great storyline and really fantastic characters.

Noir is the first part of Girls with Guns trilogy. This trilogy is, in fact, three different stories about two girls, who somehow connected with each other. Noir tells us a story of professional killer Mireille Bouquet and the Japanese amnesiac (also a killer) Yuumura Kirika. Both of them have dark past, and they both trying to figure out the connection between two of them and their past. This anime has 26 episodes, it more than enough to tell a great story. Yes, the story is great, but first half of the series(till 11th episode) is a bit boring. I think, that ... 20 episodes would've been enough. The series is rather old, so don't expect first-class visual graphics and art, but it still lookes pretty good. Music is fantastic, but the best thing in this anime is the characters. Relationships between two main heroines develop more and more with every episode. Some says that we see a good women friendship, others that this is love.

So, if you like action-drama animes, don't miss this series. Story about two female professional killers won't dissapoint you. Sorry, they're not killers. They are NOIR.

In the end Noir does have some interesting elements, such as sound and art but the story and its presentation is lacking, which makes the anime less engrossing as it could have been.

The Good:
Interesting individual stories in the episodes as well as the european settings. As aforementioned the OST is fantastic. It's rare that an anime has so many good tracks in an OST. No fan service, which keeps the series on the reflective side as opposed to simply big boobed girls running around and killing tough big guys.

The bad:
While the story seems somewhat interesting - it's slow. For the 26 episodes its way too ... big, that is there are some scenes that play the same thing over and over again and it just becomes tedious. The flashback sequens in particular seem to be overused. The plot itself seems a bit shallow, with no suspense, read "everyone dies, but the assassians do not get so much as a scratch" nearly 100% of the time.

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 ... items from felines to potplants suggest hidden meaning cinematically. The many fight scenes, ranging from good to excellent, are distinguished for creativity and tension; their strong pace contrasts effectively with the slow buildup of each episode. The absence of blood evokes a cold world, where human bonds are destroyed, and life is cheap. The animation occasionally drops in quality, but key visuals are almost always very strong. Guns, of course, are rendered in great detail, though not so lovingly crafted as our murderous leading ladies.

On first sighting of the assassin duo, Yuumura Kirika and Mireille Bouquet, I thought of Rei and Misato from Evangelion; the emotionless waif and mature hard-luck woman. The difference is that I believe Anno had no idea what to do with Rei from ep 6 onwards, but Kirika never stops growing. We quickly see that she has emotions, twisted and deeply repressed by the existence of a child assassin. She is completely convincing as the strongest fighter, the decisive actor and the lost, pitiful soul of the series. Her co-lead Mireille is very much worthy of her; while Kirika’s heart hides under her blank exterior, her blonde partner’s affable manner hides a hardened heart. Kirika has amnesia, and is enmeshed in a mysterious plot; Mireille is driven by her past, and makes her own choices. As for the villains, Chloe is effective and very sympathetic, while Altena’s enigmatic plottings and sinister calm create a growing ultimate threat (albeit slowly). Four cold, driven and highly developed characters, working perfectly with each other and the tone of the series.

The pacing will probably be the most divisive aspect of this show, with a long slow burn of stand-alone assassination ‘cases’. Slow, ominous panning shots and flashbacks are the norm, particularly to a certain tragedy in a lead character’s childhood, while even hints at the ancient conspiracy opposing her are very slow to come. But the creation of a world where death is the daily routine and brave girls are trapped by crimes of the past was well worth the journey for me. The lingering shots of streets and sunsets suggest that everything in the assassins’ world must be analysed for meaning or threat; or perhaps appreciated as the last sunset ever seen. Apart from possibly ep 4 and the Triad episodes, almost every ‘case’ subtly develops the relationship between Mireille and Kirika; it really is worth pushing through the flashbacks. The plot is complex, ambiguous in its details, but thoughtful, strongly revealed and very well conluded, as the battle for the fate of the world becomes a struggle for the soul of a single girl.

"NOIR...It is the name of an ancient fate, two maidens govern death. The peace of the newly born, their black hands protect."

Keep in mind, this is a bit of an amateur review since I am one of those, "I can't seem to hate any anime!" types of people! I used to watch many animes after animes but I stopped because I had better things to do I supposed!

Watching Noir on Funimation just light a spark in me! The soundtrack, the storyline, and all the dramatic things that happened within the plot, it's just incredibly amazing. One thing I especially love about this anime is the ... relationship between Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yuumura, they are the perfect definition of partners in crime, but not only that, I love how they both care for each other. AH~! I love them so much <3

Also, the opening is amazing

I'm still not sure why this works. If you try to analyze separate elements, honestly, they're mostly not that impressive. How's writing? It's okay. How's art? Again, okay. All, right, the sound is pure awesomeness, you can have this one, but still. The story isn't all that interesting and unpredictable, moreover, a lot of episodes added virtually nothing in terms of it. The characters get surprisingly little dialogue (for a 26-episode series, anyway) to develop themselves. Even gunplay feels underwhelming because of the absence of blood, not that I'm a fan of gore. But somehow the ending felt very intense to me, there was never ... a moment where I was bored and, overall, it worked for me.

And I sincerely believe I have the directors to thank for it. As I have sad, there's not as much dialogue even between the leads as you would expect, yet the bond between them doesn't come out of nowhere, as it usually is in bad movies in such cases. The connection is established largely through their interactions: poses, glances, smiles, even battles. There are a lot of silent scenes which set the mood and allow you to see the characters' reactions instead of listen them talk about it. Honestly, that felt pretty refreshing, nowadays everybody loves to put in a ton of dialogue to explain all the details that could have been shown in a single shot just as easily (looking at you, Christopher Nolan), depriving the characters of any realistic emotions. You aren't writing an essay, you are working in a visual media! The "show, don't tell" idea comes from literature, for crying out loud; Noir is a nice case of following this principle. This approach has, however, a downside to it: you can't be sure of the feelings people have, you see their reactions but not their thoughts, therefore, the story has a sense of ambiguity to it, you have to analyze what you see. Some might have a problem with this. Personally, I like it for two reasons: firstly, it's not treating the audience as morons, it allows me to use my head, secondly, that's how real life works! You don't see the insides of people's heads unless you're Hannibal Lecter. So it makes the show feel more realistic, though a bit challenging to watch.

This storytelling concept has to rely on visuals and not dialogue, that's where music comes into play. It's extremely important, since it can actually help resolve the ambiguity I mentioned, transferring the emotions for the writers. Well, this is part of why this anime works: the score is simply amazing. It incorporates a lot of different styles: there's your usual electronic part, then it's suddenly piano with flute, then it's a church choir, you get a violin, even an acoustic guitar joined by an accordion at several occasions. Not to mention the opening song by Ali Project, not my favorite one, that title still goes to the opening of Another, but still a pretty good one. The music always matches the moment, often I found myself just admiring what I was hearing, also at several points I remember my opinion on what was even going on shaped by the music more so than by the dialogue. Not such an uncommon case, really, it was the same even with the original Star Wars trilogy; if you think about it, Darth Vader doesn't come out as that menacing of a villain through the writing alone, at least in the first movie; the score had to make him seem that way.

Another thing that I really liked about this anime is the realism of it, which has many levels to it. As I have mentioned, its approach in showing emotions feels very realistic; the characters, admittedly, aren't that complex but are believable. It's actually pretty important, since getting this wrong means the personalities can't be relayed through the reactions and, therefore, they will ring false. Not the case here; I get these people and their motivations, even though I can't agree with some of them. Again, there is a downside to it: none of them are all that original, to the point where one of the leads reminded me strongly of Ein from "Phantom", while the villain at one point turned into pretty much the goddamn Emperor from the sixth episode. Not that it bothered me, though, even things you have seen done can work if effort is put into making them feel unique, which is apparent with Noir. Said villain, for example, is wonderful: he doesn't do or say anything typical for an antagonist until the very last episodes, he's shown as kind and nice as you can get; we are told things about him, though, and we do learn his intentions and the reasoning behind them. The buildup he gets is so smart that I don't remember myself hating any villain as much in a long time, even though his motivation is something I've seen thousands of times. Overall, it's well-written, the story and the ideas themselves are simply not that original.

The shootouts, which are very prominent in the series, also have a realistic feeling to them. I am not a big fan of guns in general, I am much more into Medieval combat with bows, swords and all those good things. This show did not convince me to change my mind but it managed to make those battles somewhat interesting to watch by taking away the main characters' invulnerability, for the most part, at least. At several points the leads still stand in the field without anyone being able to actually hit them, hi, action movies from the 80-s, but most of the time they can and do get hurt. And the injuries aren't gone in a second or taken care of by a single bandage, they actually stick around for several episodes and affect the ability to fight. This decision, rather unique, sadly, helped the battles feel more intense. That said, yeah, don't expect miracles, it's a lot of people shooting; if you enjoy it, great, it's just not really for me. There were a couple of moments filled with genuine awesomeness here and there, like bullet time on one occasion and even a grandma with a shotgun (for a very short time, unfortunately). There's no blood, though, so it may take some people out.

These elements are what I felt to be most important in this anime. The story isn't focused on a lot and is pretty predictable; there's but one major twist, and even though it's good, some may see it coming (I didn't). The individual subplots aren't all that interesting most of the time, though some allow the leads to have some development, which is always nice. The issues explored are revenge, forgiveness, and there's some good commentary, so much so that it will make you think about your own views on the subject. This show is surprisingly good at making the audience think, actually; quite surprising, for an anime about two girls-assassins. The artwork is a mixed bag for me; while by no means bad, it is strangely too rough and too smooth for my taste at the same time; I didn't hate but it didn't do much for me. Overall, Noir has a realistic feeling to it and is extremely well-directed, more so than it is well-written. It also features a wonderful music score, making for a satisfying experience despite its flaws.

If I could rate this show an 11, I would! Noir is my absolute favorite anime, and this is the 2nd time of me watching it at the time of writing this review.

Story: The Story starts out shrouded in mystery as Kirika and Mirelle unravel the secrets of a mysterious organization known as the "Soldats". As each episode progresses, more of the mystery and a prophecy involving two assassins both known as "Noir" becomes clearer. Lots of exciting plot twists. The story is very exciting to follow! 10/10

Art: The art is excellent by early 2000's standards and has aged well in my opinion. The backgrounds ... appear to be painted by hand with an oil based paint and are beautiful. Objects in the background look realistic and fit the rest of the artstyle. The animation quality is good in my opinion as well. 10/10

Sound: Realistic gun noises, excellent music, decent dialogue (at least for the subbed Japanese version). What more can be said? 10/10

Character: The characters have unique personalities that are fun to follow and watch progress throughout the show. 10/10

Enjoyment: Every episode is action packed and leaves you at the edge of your seat! 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Ah Noir, one of the first series I bought. I remember it being awesomecool when I watched it for the first time. The story behind it is rather interesting, but it gets rather ambiguous when we get to the big reveal. It could have been somewhat more solid when it came to the who's the how's and the why's. Aside from a few pointless episodes, the show drips information at a pretty steady rate. Possibly a little slow, but I was rarely waiting for it to hurry up.

Then there is the flashback. I suppose everyone has heard of the flashback, and the show does repeat ... it a lot, and the one episode where it is entirely appropriate gets not enough of it. But I was surprised to find that this was not the only flashback that gets repeated. Many a time I found that events as recent as the previous episode got fairly lengthy flashbacks, and it was at these points where I was going, yeah, 'I know this already!'

There is also the issue of the soundtrack. Now I love the soundtrack, the OP is the only track I don't like but there is only 2 or 3 tracks used for the fight scenes and they get tiring after a while. Otherwise the soundtrack is very good and used in mostly appropriate places.

It's well animated overall, though the lack of blood still bugs me. The actions scenes are well choreographed, and one must mention the amount of detail put into the guns. Each weapon exists in the real world, and the signature weapons, a Beretta Model 1934 and Walther P99 are superbly detailed. The voice acting is pretty good. I felt the english track more.....suitable, given the situation, but the actors do a pretty good job. Of course there is Chloe and Kirikas habit......of speaking in......sentance fragments, but that's not their fault.

Noir is still a pretty good show, but it wasn't as fantastic as my memory serves. The story is, for the most part, sound and well paced, it's well animated with good music. The characters are distinct and memorable, but it's dragged down by the ambiguity of the big bad, and of the end and all the flashbacks taking up so much time, and limited use of it's great soundtrack.

Watching this anime is like going to an art museum. Quiet and the scenery in anime is beautiful. The action, drama and mystery is there, no doubt that it is really good. You will see most places in Paris or Europe. The art is classical. Although, sometimes the face of the characters are not proportioned. But why would I give it a 7 because most of the time the anime have this dead airs, that makes me bored. I'm on the verge of dropping it, but I still look at it since I'm curious of what will happen and the mystery of the anime. You ... really need patience for this anime. About its ending, I'm satisfied how the anime ended.