|
|
||||||||||
| Episode Details | |
|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 99 | |
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
|
[series:307#1552] |
|
There are folks who hail Noir as a stylish action title and being the best of Bee Train's girls-with-guns anime titles. My only other exposure to a Bee Train girls-with-guns title was Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~. But I ditched Phantom in the middle of the series thanks to its shallow characterization. While I did survive watching all of Noir, I did find it to be a bit of an oddity compared to other gun-action titles I've come across. While there's enough intense action in the series, there's oddly no blood spilled throughout Mireille and Kirika's journey to find answers on their pasts. Even when shot with guns or stabbed and slashed by knives and swords, no blood came out from the wounds of victims which baffled me quite a bit. In terms of plot development, Noir takes its time at slowly unraveling the answers sought by the two girls who make up the assassin pair of Noir. A number of episodes in the show's first half have the annoying habit of playing the same flashback sequence of Mireille's past which does get a bit irritating. The first half is a bit too slow with unveiling elements of the series, like the mysterious Soldats organization. These two major issues made much of the first half to the series a challenge for me to get through. But the later appearances of Chloe and Altena help build up the plot progression later in the series when Kirika and Mireille meet up with Chloe. The answers the two girls seek about their pasts lead them to have a closer connection than they think and puts their developing bond to the test. But this also exposes some unexplored plot points that Noir doesn't explore too deeply like the organization and tensions within Soldats and the pasts of Chloe and Altena before becoming involved with the group. And while I was given enough development to get a sense of the type of people that Kirika and Mireille are like where they didn't feel completely like archetypes, Chloe and Altena had an archetypal cult leader/ brainwashed supporter-type bond that painted Altena as a stale villain and Chloe a mindless pawn. In the visuals department, artwork and character designs had decent quality and detail, though animation was a bit on the average side. Music did well at giving Noir a stylish and mysterious feel, especially during gun fights and scenes centered on Soldats. I wouldn't exactly call Noir the end-all anime of the action genre as reviewers have implied. It lacks the deep plot, character depth and fluid action scenes that wowed me with Gunslinger Girl. And the lack of blood made it hard for me to take the series as a gun-action title. But the series at least gave me more enjoyment than I got out of Phantom. However, seeing Noir doesn't have me tempted to touch another gun-action title from Bee Train anytime soon. Last updated Thursday, August 27 2009. Created Thursday, August 27 2009. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
 aoneish
|
[series:307#1615] |
|
So let me start with what’s NOT GOOD about this anime. The physical fighting, while awesome, happens too little. They, Kirika & Mireille, use guns too much. There’s hardly any blood at all for an anime with gun fights and assassinations every episode, which just isn’t realistic. I’m not talking gore, but come on, kids really aren’t watching this you know. The ending is disappointing, but what else could they do? The flashbacks that they seem to love so much are very irritating in that they waste time. The vertical translation texts are just stupid. Who do they really expect to read that? You have to pause the anime if you want to read it. Complaints aside, it’s not the psychotic mindf*ck that Evangelion or Lain is, but I think it falls along there somewhere. Basically, the three words to describe this are intrigue, tragedy, and epic. There aren’t really any serious plot twists, at some point you already know what’s going to happen before it does. The story plods along at a somewhat slow pace, but it works. It’s emotional at times and the rest of the time is just cool fighting via Kirika and sometimes Mireille. Honestly though, I wish Kirika had fought physically more often. That girl is liquid death. Her moves are awesome. And Mireille sometimes pulls a few cool ones of her own. The fight in the ruins is the best. Near the ending things get downright emotional and when I say mindf*ck I’m talking about the girls. The Soldats are seriously twisted and the girls...their lives are really depressing. It’s wonderful. The soundtrack, while repeated through out the entire series, is very pretty and somehow works with everything. All in all, I believe that it’s worth the $60 you pay for it, especially considering some other $60 crap I’ve bought. Last updated Thursday, March 09 2006. Created Sunday, March 05 2006. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
 Pingy
|
[series:307#1323] |
|
I wrote about this on my blog, so let me start this review by quoting it... "at first I thought this anime was alright but it didn't really worth the money. However, it all changed after I finished watching it. my, this anime is seriously screwed up aside from the main story twist, it is filled with symbolisms and ironies; on top of its dark setting it is so damn depressing and interpretive it kept me thinking the whole night...or morning... in conclusion, the story's amazing, but it kept me awake..." Okay, that was the story part, some people may not see it the way I did. There are so many little details that appeared symbolic to me, some may not be as obvious as others. Aside from the stories, I'd like to give thumbs up to the artwork and music. The music is great and fits into the series, but you have to actually listen to it to know what I'm talking about. As for the artwork, I like to point out the settings and backgrounds. many of the backgrounds are recongnizable from real life, Catacombs and Hagias Sohpia just to name a few. While these may not really affect the anime itself, I thought it was nice to see those things. Now to the cons... First of all, you need to watch the entire series to appreciate it, you won't get much out of it without doing so. Second, 2(or 3) girls killing an army of people in open fire without getting shot is honestly un-convincing; yeah they're pros but when 20 people shooting at you in the open you're gonna get shot no matter what. And finally, there are few(or no, for most of the time) indications of blood/wound/being-shot. Im not looking for a blood bath, but it was just so disturbing for me to see people falling without knowing where the shots came from... maybe thats the whole purpose but it looked so unnatural. Don't get me wrong though, the action it self was great, but the actual execution of the action kind of disappointed me. Overall, I thought Noir is great and i recommend it to people that are into suspense and ironies. However, not everyone will enjoy from it, like Lain Last updated Thursday, April 08 2004. Created Thursday, April 08 2004. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
 StoicDan
|
[series:307#1118] |
|
This anime is also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Noir is about two female assassin. Ofcourse every guy has dreamt of watching two half naked girls shooting people dead. But, this is why I love what the director, producer, creator, etc did. There is almost nothing close to sexual content in this anime. They don't even dress that skimpy, no panty shots, and no hot guy that their in love with. It just focuses on the two main characters. Kirika is a girl who doesn't know her past, and the only thing close to her past that she knows is that she known as "Noir". Mirelle, a Corsica girl was called to Japan by Kirika to help her find out about her past. What makes her realize that Kirika is someone important is the a pocket watch. The exact same one her father had before they were assassinated by "Soldats". Soldats is also a connection to Kirika's past. Also later on they will be accompanied by a mysterious assassin that goes by the name of Chloe. She claims to be the second Noir. This anime is my Third favorite. This is a must buy. The first couple episodes may be a bit boring and tedious, however after that, when you meet Intocabile (Mirelle's past time friend) is intoduced. It'll be hard to stop watching.
Last updated Tuesday, December 30 2003. Created Tuesday, December 30 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
 Anonymous #1058
|
[series:307#1058] |
|
Noir is a great story, one that doles out its treasures instead of just handing them to us. It's something that's best savored. The first thing that will grab you is the music. "Canta Per Me" is sad, aching, understated, simple, beautiful. And, in a way, that sums up the series as well. Characterization is revealed, never shouted. Dialog is judicously sparse, facial expressions and gestures are meaningful, and the surprisingly rich soundtrack is as important as the art in creating mood, tone and emotion. These are women of few words, and every word counts. In this way, watching Noir is an experience of discovery. Early episodes establish the main characters, Kirika and Mireille, as they figure our their working relationship and begin to realize the magnitude of the forces that are out to get them. From about episode 10 on, the mysteries start to unfold unsettlingly toward a thrilling conclusion. There are lots of gun fights, action and intrigue throughout the series...but the real power of Noir is in what's held back...Its pacing, subtle characters and flair for understatement make this is anime with a clearly adult sensibility. Patience and attention to the small details delivers big rewards.
Last updated Thursday, November 06 2003. Created Thursday, November 06 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
 Rogue_Noir
|
[series:307#850] |
|
I'll admit, this show does start up a bit slow (but not as bad as .hack//Sign, another one of my favorites.) Around Ep. 10 or so, the plot begins to finally unfold and each subsequent episode offers another piece of the puzzle to Mireille and Kirika's past. I'd like to think of this as almost a female version of Cowboy Bebop.
Last updated Wednesday, November 26 2003. Created Tuesday, November 04 2003. | ||||||||
| Rent | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 |
 Ðå kïÐ
|
[series:307#464] | |
|
Its been along time since i've made a review on here since then i've seen tons of new anime anyway lets get down and dirty. This a pretty good series if you give it a little patience if you are a dragon ball z, yu yu hakusho fan your most likely gonna go on ebay with this one. The music isnt the best out there to me its all wrong but it gain ppoints for trying you can see it too. The animation and charater design is top notch they have no problems in those areas its just this thing i've notice about first its like Lain then it pull a DBZ on you. First they chat chat then its full on action. I only got this one because of all the hype and I almost started to get angry until the second episode. Because if havent done your research on this you'll be left in the dark i give this one a Rent because it can be quite confusing at times.
Last updated Tuesday, August 19 2003. Created Tuesday, August 19 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
 Marcus
|
[series:307#679] | |
|
Well I've only seen the first nine episodes (the so-called 'filler') and I still think it's fantastic. This concept could so easily have degenerated into 'violent cartoon porn' territory, but it's nothing of the sort. Thoughtful characterisation, emotive music, and a surreal atmosphere not unlike Lain make this a fascinating series. It's already gone beyond the initial 'hit of the week' idea- and apparently the real plot hasn't even begun yet. Bring it on!
Last updated Friday, August 15 2003. Created Friday, August 15 2003. | ||||||||
| Watch | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
 Lutzie
|
[series:307#786] |
|
All in all, i think Noir is a good series to watch. Putting aside the altra-slow movement of the plot and annoying re-occurring flashbacks, the storyline is ok. Action is great and music is awesome.
Last updated Monday, July 07 2003. Created Monday, July 07 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
 Anonymous #491
|
[series:307#491] |
|
If I wrote to much about Noir I would spoil it! I will only say: YOU MUST WATCH IT! I know first 8 episodes may be boring but after it you simply cant stop watching! Unique expirience guaranteed. And dont worry its not only action serie like it looks like!
Last updated Monday, January 13 2003. Created Monday, January 13 2003. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
 kakyuu_prince
|
[series:307#404] |
|
Kaaah! This was such a good series! Mireille (Mireiyu? Melayuu? I don't know how to spell it!) and Kirika were fascinating characters, and it definitely helped that Mireille was played by the great Mitsuishi Kotono. All the main charcters are top notch, especially Chloe. Chloe was one of the most memorable characters ever. Just watch the ending, god the ending, it was so incredibly good although I was wondering what the hell that stuff was. I think it was lava or something. Anyway Noir was a really great series, great characters as well as top notch animation, music, and a really interesting story. The story starts out with filler (it's good filler though) until episode 8 or 9 and THEN you really get into the meat of the story. That little Noir poem thing before each episode was interesting and it has A LOT to do with the show obviously, and there's even a little bit more revealed about near the end. But one of my favorite things about Noir were the things that were revealed throughout, especially that one part during a preview, I think you might know what I'm talking about if you've seen it, but when they revealed that I was absolutely shocked. I rewound my tape going, "Oh my god, are you serious?! No way!!" But it was so dumb that they revealed it during a preview. If there was ever one series that you should DEFINITELY not read spoilers for it's Noir. All in all, I very highly reccomend Noir, it's one of my favorites and maybe you'll like it just as much.
Last updated Sunday, November 03 2002. Created Friday, October 18 2002. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
 Helen
|
[series:307#340] |
|
It's all absolutely true - the series starts out slow and the first half is pretty much all filler. Despite this fact - it is still VERY good filler, and you do learn a lot about the main characters, Mireille and Kirika. Note: despite what the previous reviewers have stated, her name is not Noir, its actually Kirika. Noir is well... I won't spoil it... ^^ Personally, I would say the series REALLY starts around episode 10, when you first meet Chloe (I won't spoil as to who she is but she really helps with the plot.) The soundtrack is downright amazing, it can basically be described as techno-ambient-new age. Also, the characters travel a lot, and the places they go are drawn in incredible detail. There's actually a shot of the WTC buildings in ep 6, and later on, when they are in Corsica... well, it really looks like Corsica. The amount of detail and accuracy in many of the facts, even the little allusions to Classical Russian Literature in ep 5 (I think) are all perfectly done. I have to say the ending of the series was great, however, its a shame that the plot of the series was kinda slow. However, as I said, Noir gets much deeper than it initially seems, and while you won't learn any striking life lessons from this one, its still well worth watching, and overall great. Last updated Monday, July 01 2002. Created Monday, July 01 2002. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
 Kaneda
|
[series:307#87] |
|
*warning possible spoiler* Noir, in now way can be summed up in simple sentances. Noir is a complex girl who has lost her memory and doesn't know who she truly is, however she knows she must meet another person, whose memory in herself is blurry as well. This other girl is an assasin for hire and they join up to be assasins becomes that is what they know best. There are several passing references to a secret weapon the goverments used in the 70's known as 'Noir' for special ops but 'Noir' was put to sleep, and it is hinted that one of them may be noir. In essence the anime starts very simple and as is moves on the pieces come toghether like a beautiful puzzles making an anime that once released in north america will rival even the great animes like kenshin, trigun, etc. Last updated Wednesday, September 05 2001. Created Wednesday, September 05 2001. | ||||||||
| Avoid | 9 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
 skyknyt
|
[series:307#29] |
|
This series can be summed up in a couple sentences: Noir's a girl that doesn't like killing, but does it anyways. She's an assassin who will kill Noir after helping her. Overall, Noir is a Rei clone without Rei's emotion and personality. And if you know Rei, you know why that's bad. Its a pity, too, because the music is beautiful and the animation is top notch.
Last updated Monday, July 23 2001. Created Monday, July 23 2001. | ||||||||
