Search - Noir Complete Collection on DVD

The Best - Period

Stone Bryson | Greeley, Colorado | 06/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Noir' was my introduction into Anime, and I have been hooked on genre it ever since. The artwork is incredible, the music is mesmerizing, and the voice actors (both the original Japanese AND the English dub) are perfectly suited for the characters. This collection transcends anime - it is a presentation that anyone can enjoy.

Which brings me to the story itself. It is spread out over 26 episodes [each approximately 21-23 minutes long), and it plays like one 11+ hour long movie. With that noted, it can feel 'slow' in some areas (especially early on) - stick with it during those 'slow' areas, because every line, every flashback, adds to the overall building of a story-line that crescendos into a magnificent finale. By the closing episode, you'll not only be satisfied with the conclusion - you'll wish it had never ended.

Be advised, however - if you are one of those who lives only for anime that is chock-full of mecha and fan service, you will be disappointed. You will find no giant robots or random panty-shots in this anime, which is one of the things that I find so appealing about it.

If you are a person like myself, someone who enjoys action-adventure presentations that are mature and character-driven, I highly recommend 'Noir' - whether you are an anime fan or not."

Great Story, great anime. A true keeper!!!

E. Mijangos | Los Angeles,CA | 03/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Noir is truly a great and "out of the ordinary" type of anime worth watching. It is interesting to mention that the story has a sexy touch and at times slight lesbian moments (oh yeah!!).
The story starts with a young beautiful assassin for hire called Mireille Bouquet, who's mysteriously contacted by another beautiful and even younger girl called Kirika Yumura, who's skills as assassin surpasses by far those of Mireille. Kirika needs Mireille's help to uncover her past because she is amnesic, as they try to work together; a mysterious organization is trying to kill them both. Little they both Kirika and Merielle know that their dark past have a lot in common and that the organization trying to kill them (the Soldats) is also part of their past.
As they try to survive and try to uncover the mystery of the Soldats, both girls start to see how entwined their past is and how their survival and future depends on uncovering the truth. Its beauty relies on the fact that at times is rather slow paced (some hard core anime fans can not stand that). Nothing wrong with the slow pace, this adds to the complexity of the 11+ hours, 7-volume story that develops and builds to a great climax and outcome. The slow parts happen when they are off work, sometimes the seem to be contemplating the beautiful views of the French countryside, visiting cafes and fashion shops, or at times they stare at each other in a conspicuous manner for no other reason that to know what are they thinking.
The story also has its fast paced times with lots of action, as the girls do their assassinations in a cold and calculated manner.
The music is superb; it is very rare to see an anime with such good music. Not only the music is great, but it also fits the slow and the fast story parts to such extent that it brings the overall anime experience to unexpected heights. This 7 DVD volume collection (as well as the 2CD soundtrack) is a keeper and I highly recommend it!!



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Good dark series

cherryblossom | 07/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watched this anime a year ago and though it was very good I have not touched upon it again. It was a dark series, very well written, always leaving you at the edge and kind of confused state. The characters were both matched correctly there voices so mysterious that you probably could never forget. When an action seen came on this anime does get the coolest, in my vote, for the song. The anime was also drawn beautifully even the battle seens were not corny and left you wondering and kind of wishing that you could be that cool. It was an intense anime which I do recommend though it could be bit graphic."

A great anime...Every moment counts

Night owl | Portland, OR United States | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Watching Noir is an amazing experience. It's a great mixture of character, mystery, action, music and art direction. The anime has so much going for it:

Great characters:

Kirika--the amnesiac Japanese high school girl who knows nothing about herself except that she's an exceptionally-skilled killer who feels no remorse. She's searching for the answers to who she is and desperately hoping there's more to her than cold killing.

Mireille--a young but accomplished professional assassin living in Paris. She's the hard-edged strategist who prefers to work alone and only begrudgingly accepts Kirika as an assassin partner in hopes that unlocking the keys to Kirika's past will help them find the people who executed Mireille's family when she was a child. Mireille is angry, stubborn and bent on vengeance.

Chloe--A strange third young assassin who shows up half-way through the series claiming to be the "True Noir." She knows more than she's telling, pops up unexpectedly and is happy to drive a wedge between Kirika and Mireille.

Altena--The woman pulling strings behind the scenes. Is she good? Evil?

Like in the film noir genre, which this series obviously draws from, the lines between good and evil are blurry, the connections between people are mysterious and mistrustful, there's much more at work than meets the eye, and our heroes (or heroines, in this case), are trying to make their way through a dangerous underworld with little more than skill, instinct, guts and guns.

Beautiful designs:

Lush, colorful and well-rendered backgrounds. The European and Asian locations are almost impactful enough to be considered another "character."

The soundtrack is A+:

From the beautiful, haunting church choir sounds of "Canta Per Me" to the driving "fight song" "Salva Nos" to the incidental music...all of it is fully conceived. Not a shred of music is "filler." The music becomes so integral to the series that it takes on almost symbolic proportions.

No "filler" episodes:

There is a deliberate story arc at work here. In early episodes, Mireille and Kirika go into business as a team of assassins-for-hire...only to come to slowly realize that they're being played by a mysterious organization whose roots continue to extend deeper and deeper into their current lives and their pasts. Somewhere along the line they cease being assassins-for-hire and become prey. And then to find that they've been sucked into a much grander and darker scheme.

Space:

This is a show without a lot of dialogue, where every word, gesture and expression counts. The subtleties speak volumes about the characters and leave the viewer with plenty to chew on.

Excellent English dub:

Usually I watch anime in Japanese with subtitles because the English voice cast doesn't match the intensity of the original version, but this is one anime where the English cast is every bit as good as the Japanese. In fact, the English voice actress for Chloe adds a layer of sly humor to her line readings that isn't in the original Japanese. And the English voice actress for Mireille is great.

A high body count but minimal gore:

These girls are the best of the best, and they pile up the dead bodies like nobody's business. There are some very memorable fight scenes in this series, and each character's fighting style is distinctive. But if you're looking for lots of blood and gore, look elsewhere. The scenes are stylishly staged and full of fun little surprises.
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