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Review by Mr. P. J. Pears for Noir – The Complete Collection [2003] [DVD]
(5 / 5)
Rating:
Noir the first show to really get me hooked on anime and with good reason. This is a steller show with 26 episodes of tense drama and action. Granted it’s quite old now but the style is great and the soundtrack is one of the best examples of music supporting anime. Noir’s story is complex and drawn out following the main characters Mireille and Kirika, along the way the anime picks up a few new characters but the story is rightly kept fixed on these two.
The series follows the story of Mireille (a contract assassin) and Kirika, who is amnesiac. They embark together on a personal journey to seek answers about mysteries concerning their past. While at first they seem to be only vaguely related to each other, there are clues and hints given throughout the series that there is more going on behind the scenes than at first glance.
Worth mentioning is the fact that, for an anime featuring only female main characters there is no fan service of any kind, this is not an anime in the vein of Najica, no wobble physics or underwear shots, this is an anime which is serious and stays away from low grade comedy (although lovers of sarcasm may be in for a treat on one or two occasions!)
The story is complex and mature and requires a second watching to really understand all the plot points but when you’ve watched that last episode the series will really stay with you, not for the epic (and often not so epic) gunbattles (which are very stylish with swathes of black shadows and shades of grey) but for the characters, their own “pilgrimage into the past” and the revelations it brings…
Highly Recommended
Review by S. J. Fisher for Noir – The Complete Collection [2003] [DVD]
(3 / 5)
Rating:
Noir – 3 Stars
Opportunity missed.
This is a rather inconsistent anime series as its quality seems to vary quite considerably throughout. On the downside there is an over-indulgence in stills (both static and panned) and a distinct tendency to repeat previously shown footage whenever the opportunity arises. This usually goes beyond the demands of art or drama and soon becomes tedious and annoying. It leaves you with the impression that if you were to add all the time spent on stills and repeat footage, barely half the stated running time would consist of original animation, and one can’t help suspecting that this was a conscious decision to reduce production costs. Similarly the animation, plot and dialogue are frequently no better than mediocre. The drawing is often cursory and simplistic and again one wonders whether this results from a desire to minimize effort, as opposed to an expression of confident draughtsmanship. However, once one is several episodes into the series, it seems to raise its standards – the artwork improves, as does the screenplay, and the plot suddenly gets into its stride and becomes more gripping. The old faults do not disappear completely, but they become less intrusive. Sadly, much of the time `Noir’ lacks the subtlety and attention to detail associated with the best anime, but just when one is becoming disillusioned again it will produce a few inspired moments, and sometimes entire episodes at a much higher level.
The concept of a female assassin/agent with an enigmatic and gifted, but naïve and child-like partner has also been dealt with in `Najica Blitz Tactics’, and although quite different in tone, and therefore perhaps they ought not to be compared, in my opinion `Najica’ generally carries it off with more flair and ingenuity. Nevertheless the plot of `Noir’, though somewhat derivative, is generally well told, particuarly in the latter half of the series. It also possesses a hard to define quality which causes the series to grow on you – at least, it did on me. Towards the end I found myself wondering : “If I find this series so mediocre, why am I thinking about it so much?” I must say that on the whole I enjoyed it, although it often left me feeling frustrated or irritated. However, though enjoyable, `Noir’ is by no means outstanding, and left me feeling slightly disappointed because it could have been so much better.
OK, three stars is probably a bit mean, but you can only alter ratings in 20% increments here.
Review by William Jenkins for Noir – The Complete Collection [2003] [DVD]
(2 / 5)
Rating:
Okay. I heard alot of good things about this series before I decided to buy it. This one of the most overhyped series I’ve ever watched. It only has a couple of faults but seriously they are BAD fualts.
Every episode is the same!!! 1 of the 2 main heroins(3 I suppose… if you include the moody knife wielding one) gets into trouble.
The odds are against them but somehow they shoot and destroy an entier army of what I can only assume are goons hired from a huge rent-a-thugs company (not to be confused with the rent-a-guard company Metal Gear Solid clearly has in its employ)
After you’ve seen the first episode there really is no need to go on. The story is a mediocre amnesia driven mess and isnt original in any way. The heroins may aswell be immortal cause thats just about how it looks… they enter a gunfight and leave without a scratch on them IN EVERY EPISODE. To be fair, towrds the end there is a little blood and stuff…. but I have to be honest here… I only watched this series 2 months ago and I can’t even remember wether all the main characters survive or not.. thats how little I cared. I stopped enjoying the series after about episode 4 ish.. this is because that was the point when I started to notice that I was watching pretty much the same episode over and over again.
If you absolutely love the 1st episode to bits then maybe buy the whole thing cause thats pretty much all it is.
This is ridiculasly overhyped so buy it only if you dont mind repetition of… erm… everything.
Thanks for reading.
Review by Jon for Noir – The Complete Collection [2003] [DVD]
(4 / 5)
Rating:
I’d have to agree with a lot that S. J. Fisher “Hecate” said in their review about the production values of this series. There is certainly a lot of stills, and a tendency to reuse old footage, the latter of which can get pretty annoying.
However I’d also agree that this show gets stronger and stronger as the series progresses. The character development a the development of the relationship between the two leads and their quest to find the truth is what drives the series and makes it very watchable. The fight scenes are pretty cool, and also worth a mention is the great music, even the music for the opening and closing credits isn’t that bad for an Anime series.
The strength of the plot and characters as the show progresses allowed me to forgive the series for it’s technical flaws.
I definitely enjoyed watching this, and while it may not be classic stuff I’d still recommend it.
Review by Richard Mills for Noir – The Complete Collection [2003] [DVD]
(5 / 5)
Rating:
This was the first real anime I saw. It was on German TV, spoken in Japanesa and subtitled in German. I watched the whole of it there, then Amazon came up with the DVD’s. I still watch this over and over again. My favorite show.