Noir

[Enfermeira Joy]

This is an old anime, it was released in 2001, yet I feel so intense when talking about it and remembering some scenes, that I'll do an review, and expect you to watch it.

Info+Overall Idea: It has 26 episodes like all other series. Tells the story of two ladies assassins who go on together in a personal journey in the hopes of clearing so many dark corners of their past. They, at the start seem to have so little in commom and that changes through out the anime, revealing that by clues and some hints. They keep fighting against traps of this organization called "Les Soldats"(french for "The Soldiers"), and I don't have to tell tou that they pull it out ;]. It is based, or at least I believe it to have some strong influence of some popular movies of this marvelous french director Luc Besson, "Leon" and "Nikita", besides the main character story remindes me of The Bourne Identity, with the loss of memory and all. It was produced by the Japanese animation studio Bee Train and broadcast on TV Tokyo. Now a very peculiar curiosity: TV Tokyo is very strict about not showing blood, and this anime avoided it by stylizing the gunfights, and the result is delicious to watch =]. This anime was well recieved through out the world since it has a different plot then most animes and has this very strong European style+flavor. As a matter of fact it was broadcasted in USA, France, Germany, Latin America and Spain. As some might know, "Noir" is "black" in French and also a genre of film. This anime includes both ideas. It takes place almost the entire time in France and this is a serious, dark and violent anime. It was created and produced to be as realistic as possible. Also, this anime has no funny or comic relief scenes, it's tense, although it has some sarcastic remarks. No character is too deformed or anything, and funny thing is that it was filmed in a 16x9 aspect ratio instead the commom 4x3 aspect ratio used for TV, to resemble a Movie. Another thing that is very unusual about this anime is that the characters present so many non-verbal expressions and that is of such importance that is very hard to come to a commom-sence about this anime.
It starts as a generic action anime, but later on with more characters appearing it becomes more psychological. It has a very small recurring cast, all women.
In the beginning of each episode, after the opening, a short sequence appears, where Kirika reads a prayer-like poem:

Noir? it is the name of an ancient fate
Two maidens who govern death
The peace of the newly born their black hands protect

The original promotions and DVD covers of the anime has this poem written in French

Le noir, ce mot d?signe depuis une ?poque lointaine le nom du destin
Les deux vierges r?gnent sur la mort
Les mains noires prot?gent la paix des nouveaux-n?s

In some of the later episodes slightly different versions of this poem are read by each of the other protagonists. Mireille and Chloe each have their own version of it.

Mireille's version:

Noir? it is the name of an ancient fate
Two maidens who govern death
To ward the darkness from the nursing babes their black robes serve as shields

Chloe's version:

Noir? it is the name of an ancient fate
Two maidens who govern death
To the depths of hell's fire their black souls lure the lost children

In the last episode though, the first poem is recited by two of the main characters, signifying the phrase Two maidens who govern death.

Despite the gunplay and a sizeable body count, Noir features no gore and very little blood. Originally a simple consideration for network TV, the DVD release remained bloodless, intriguing fans. It is said this makes the death of many suited agents less troubling, becoming faceless "stormtroopers", popularly termed 'mooks'. However, in limited instances, main characters such as Kirika display blood, perhaps to show their humanity.

Characters:

*Kirika Yuumura - Kirika is a schoolgirl who has lost all memories of her past, knowing only that her true name is Noir. It is not known whether her real name is Kirika Yuumura, as the only thing that links her to this name is a student ID card with her photo and that name on it. She meets up with Mireille in the first episode with an offer to make a pilgrimage to the past. She is an excellent markswoman and uses a Beretta M1934, but can also use a great deal of mundane objects as well. Kirika's theme music is 'Canta Per Me', Italian for 'Sing for Me'.

*Mireille Bouquet - A Corsican woman born into a powerful crime family, she and her uncle are the sole survivors of a brutal attack on her family. After her family's murder, she would later be trained by her uncle to become an assassin. Already a well-established assassin, she receives an email from Kirika with an attachment of a familiar melody. She agrees to work with Kirika because of a watch that Kirika has which is identical to one her father had. However, she tells Kirika that once the truth is revealed, she would kill Kirika. Mireille uses a Walther P99, a modern firearm developed in the 1990s. Mireille's theme music is 'Corsican Corridor' and 'Salva Nos', italian for 'Save Us'.

*Chloe - A mysterious figure that appears about halfway through the series, she claims to be the True Noir (her name may be significant, given the similarity in pronunciation between "Chloe" and "Kuroi", the Japanese word for black). Though she is about Kirika's age, she is extremely skilled as an assassin, a quite remarkable fact since she uses throwing knives instead of using guns. Chloe is very faithful to Altena and works for the Soldats, enjoying a position of considerable authority. Chloe's theme music is 'Secret Game' (in addition to the instrumental song 'Chloe').

*Altena - A motherly figure who is high-ranking in Soldats, who seems to be working for "Le Grand Retour" (The Great Return). She resides in a place called "The Manor" which is a vineyard run with medieval technology. The Manor is between the border of France and Spain, and is a "forgotten place" to the world. Altena's theme music is 'Lullaby'.

I do remark that inspite of all the main characters being the femme-fatale type, they're very different from others in the anime world. They're not seeking revenge, they're not fighting over women's right or any of this. They're good professional assassins, and they're very profecient at it.

Episode List:

1. Maidens with Black Hands
2. Daily Bread
3. The Assassination Play
4. The Sound of Waves
5. Les Soldats
6. Lost Kitten
7. The Black Thread of Fate
8. Intoccabile Acte I
9. Intoccabile Acte II
10. The True Noir
11. Moonlit Tea Party
12. Assassination Mission
13. Season of Hell
14. A Bouquet of Flower for Mirielle
15. The Cold-Blooded Killer Acte I
16. The Cold-Blooded Killer Acte II
17. Return to Corsica
18. The Darkness within Me
19. The Two Hands of the Soldats
20. The Sin Within the Sin
21. Morning Without Dawn
22. Journey's End
23. Sentiments for the Remaining Flower
24. Dark Return
25. The Depths of Hell's Fire
26. Birth

Music: This anime REQUIRES this topic. The music is so rich and it is praised for its uniqueness and creativity by mixing a blend of techno, opera, and French-flaired music. It has also been noted as having influenced viewer perceptions on analysis of the series, since the characters don't speak a lot. The battle scenes are intensified by the powerful music which accompanies them. Memorable tracks include Salva Nos and Canta Per Me, which are played in almost every episode. The sound-track was made by the same composer as other animations as .hack//SIGN and Madlax, and some games, Xenosaga Episode II and III.

Track List of Official Sound-Track:

OST I

1. Kopperia no Hitsugi /Ali Project
2. les soldats
3. snow
4. canta per me
5. Corsican corridor
6. ode to power
7. solitude by the window
8. romance
9. silent pain
10. lullaby
11. m?lodie
12. chloe
13. whispering hills
14. zero hour
15. liar you lie
16. sorrow
17. salva nos
18. Kirei na Kanjou /Akino Arai

OST II

1. le grand retour
2. secret game
3. fake garden
4. les soldats II
5. in memory of you
6. colosseum
7. salva nos II
8. maze
9. in peace
10. despair
11. power-hungry
12. black is black
13. canta per me II
14. at dusk
15. premonition
16. killing
17. a farewell song
18. Kirei na Kanjou - piano ver.
19. indio

blanc dans NOIR ~Kuro no Naka no Shiro~ (this is another disc xDDD)

Disc 1

1. Aka to Kuro
2. prelude
3. canta per me - Japanese ver.
4. lullaby - Japanese ver.
5. Aime moi
6. Himitsu
7. salva nos - dialogie remix ver.
8. love
9. Gensou Rakuen

Disc 2

1. guests B
2. melody - "salva nos" ver.
3. jealousy
4. at dawn
5. black society
6. family affection
7. church
8. at ease

My opinion: As you could see, I wrote a lot. So that means that the anime is very deep and it does make me wanna tell about it, so, I thought it was good. It is very genious, for the non-verbal expressions and the music. Man, you have to download this songs, they're so beautiful. And you must watch at least one episode. It is so intense and so different from others animes, it's a good break. Besides, it was brought to many other countries, does it tell you anything?? DO WATCH THIS ANIME! It is not like others, all characters are richly made with strong and unique personalities! It's delicious to watch \o\!

Stars: *****

[Enfermeira Joy]

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[Motenai_Ronin]

-1 for double posting
hee hee yeah funny that we call it old even though it's not even 90s

80s anime has a really different look tho back in the day of astroboy n such

can you do a review of dirty pair flash? ^o^

[Enfermeira Joy]

yup, coming up \o\
maybe I'll even do it today =o
I have to enjoy my vacations someway >__<

[Former-GM-Auron]

Yes, I found Noir to be a good anime also, but sometimes it was a bit repetitive in some episodes that didn't help the story to evolve much but all around a good anime.