Noir (anime)

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Noir
ノワール (Nowāru)
Genre	Mystery, Action, Heroic bloodshed, Adventure, Drama, Neo-noir
TV anime
Director	Koichi Mashimo
Writer	Ryoe Tsukimura
Studio	Bee Train
Licensor	ADV Films Madman Entertainment
Network	TV Tokyo, Bandai Channel Anime Network Canal+ La sexta VIVA Animax
Original run	April 6, 2001 – September 27, 2001
Episodes	26

Noir (ノワール, Nowāru^?), is a 26-episode anime television series produced in 2001 by the Bee Train animation studio and was licensed for American distribution by ADV Films. In Japan, Noir was broadcast on TV Tokyo, which is known for strict guidelines, including not allowing blood to be shown. Noir circumvented this rule by stylizing the gunfights. The series follows the story of two young female assassins who embark together on a personal journey to seek answers about mysteries from 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 are more than meets their eyes. During the course of the series, they are lured into more and more traps by a secret organization named Les Soldats ("The Soldiers" in French). The anime draws inspirations and influences from two prominent films by French director Luc Besson, Léon and Nikita. The amnesia suffered by one of the main characters resembles the story of the protagonist from Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Identity. Also, the acrobatic scenes of gun-battle also have clear allusions to the Heroic bloodshed films of John Woo. Noir is also the French word for "black", and noir is a genre of film. Noir takes its title from both of these; it mostly takes place in France and is a fairly serious, dark and violent anime. It is worth to note that the production team stated that their goal with Noir was to make it as realistic as possible. Noir has almost no funny or comic relief scenes, save for some sarcastic remarks. No character is ever animated with super deformed or over-exaggerated style. Despite the presence of female lead characters, Noir features almost no fanservice. In Noir, characters' non-verbal expressions play such a significant role that it is quite difficult to come to a common understanding of the show.

Contents 1 The series 2 Characters 2.1 Kirika Yuumura 2.2 Mireille Bouquet 2.3 Chloe 2.4 Altena 3 Episode list 4 Music 5 Track list for official soundtrack 6 Reception 7 References 8 External links

The series

The series has a very small recurring cast, all women. It has been interpreted as having been influenced by the novel Foucault's Pendulum, but it is unknown if this was intentional on the part of the series creators. 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 désigne depuis une époque lointaine le nom du destin

Les deux vierges règnent sur la mort

Les mains noires protègent la paix des nouveaux-nés

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. 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. The plot unfolds in an almost organic way, with different storylines interweaving much as does the botanical imagery which pervades the series. These horticultural subtexts develop throughout the series to match the sparse script's intriguing references to 'saplings,' 'seedlings' and to cultivation in general. Outside Japan, Noir has been well-received, due to its unusual plots and stories which have a strong European style and flavor. It has been broadcast in France (by Canal+), Germany (by VIVA Television), Latin America (by Animax) and Spain (by La Sexta), dubbed in French, German and Spanish respectively. A particular aspect of Noir which warrants attention is the painstaking effort taken by the production crew to realistically portray and describe the real world. In animated filmwork, realistic portrayal of the real world is something very difficult to achieve. Noir production crew successfully achieved this feat: the sightings, sceneries, landscapes and landmarks of Paris and other places around the world (Corsica, Sicily, New York, Middle East, Taiwan), various models of firearms and the sounds of them being fired, facial and non-verbal expressions of the characters, background music, dress and costumes, and many more.

Characters

Main article: List of Noir characters

Kirika Yuumura

Kirika Yuumura^[1] (夕叢霧香, Yūmura 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. Before dying, Mireille's mother asked Kirika to take care of Mireille. She is an excellent markswoman and uses a Beretta M1934, but can also use a great variety of mundane objects as well. Kirika's theme music is 'Canta Per Me', Italian for 'Sing for Me'.
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

Mireille Bouquet

Mireille Bouquet (ミレイユ・ブーケ, Mireiyu Būke^?) is a Corsican woman born into a powerful crime family, Mireille and her uncle are the sole survivors of a brutal attack on her family. The reason behind the murder of her family was that her parents refused to have Mireille raised by the Soldats to become Noir. 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. Ironically, the codename Mireille chooses to work under, after teaming up with Kirika, is Noir, assuming the role that her parents wished for Mireille not to have. Mireille uses a Walther P99, a modern firearm developed in the 1990s. Mireille's theme music is 'Corsican Corridor' and 'Salva Nos'.
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English)

Chloe

Chloe (クロエ, Kuroe^?) is 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. She was witness to the murder of the Bouquet family by Kirika, an event which caused her to look up to Kirika. There are also strong suggestions later in the series that Chloe's feelings for Kirika are actually romantic. Chloe's theme music is 'Secret Game' (in addition to the instrumental song 'Chloe').
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

Altena

Altena (アルテナ, Arutena^?) is 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. (This is possibly inspired by the microstate Andorra.) She was orphaned during a war and was raped by a soldier. This trauma led her to believe that if excessive love could destroy, excessive hate could perhaps save. Altena's theme music is 'Lullaby'.
Voiced by: Tarako (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)

Episode list

Main article: List of Noir episodes

Music

The music in Noir is often the most commonly commended aspect of the series, 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. 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 series composer for all music except the opening and end themes is Yuki Kajiura, who is accompanied by primary vocalist Yuriko Kaida, secondary vocalist Yuri Kasahara, and Kajiura's band See-Saw. Yuki Kajiura is also the composer for several other anime series (including Bee Train Productions of .hack//Sign , Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja) and videogames (Xenosaga Episode II and Xenosaga Episode III), which have a similar musical style. The opening song, "Coppelia no Hitsugi (Coppelia's Casket), is written and performed by Ali Project,^[2] and the ending song, "Kirei na Kanjou" ("Beautiful Emotions", along with its piano-only BGM version), is by Akino Arai.^[2]

Track list for official soundtrack

OST I Kopperia no Hitsugi /Ali Project les soldats snow canta per me Corsican corridor ode to power solitude by the window romance silent pain lullaby mélodie chloe whispering hills zero hour liar you lie sorrow salva nos Kirei na Kanjou /Akino Arai	OST II le grand retour secret game fake garden les soldats II in memory of you colosseum salva nos II maze in peace despair power-hungry black is black canta per me II at dusk premonition killing a farewell song Kirei na Kanjou – piano ver. indio
blanc dans NOIR ~Kuro no Naka no Shiro International pressings of the soundtrack condense this installment on to one disc Disc 1 Aka to Kuro prelude canta per me – Japanese ver. lullaby – Japanese ver. Aime moi Himitsu salva nos – dialogie remix ver. love Gensou Rakuen	Disc 2 guests B melody – "salva nos" ver. jealousy at dawn black society family affection church at ease

Reception

Source	Reviewer	Grade / Score	Notes
Anime News Network	N/A	N/A	DVD/Anime review (complete collection)
Spectrum Nexus	Cacaoatl	3.5 out of 5	Anime review
THEM Anime Reviews	Diane Tiu	4 out of 5	Anime review
EX anime Reviews	John Yung	N/A	Anime review

In 2001 Noir was ranked #2 of the top 10 Anime of the year by Newtype Magazine^[3] IMDb ranked Noir a total of 8.0/10 stars based on 264 votes. ^[4]

References

External links

• Official website (ADV Films)
• Official website (JVC) (Japanese)
• Noir in the Anime News Network encyclopedia
• Noir in the AnimeNfo.com encyclopedia
• Noir in the Internet Movie Database
• Noir in the TV.com database
• Noir in EX anime
• Noir in THEM anime

•  • e Anime series and OVAs animated by studio Bee Train
Girls with guns	Noir  · Madlax  · El Cazador de la Bruja
Other original works	Avenger
.hack franchise	Liminality  · Sign  · Gift  · Legend of the Twilight  · Roots
Other video games	PoPoLoCrois  · Arc the Lad  · Medabots  · Wild Arms  · Meine Liebe
Manga and literature	Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle  · Spider Riders  · Murder Princess