User reviews

Although the artwork in Noir is not a style I prefer with its triangle chin and noses, and over-sized eyes, the strengths of this anime are its story and its ability to leverage emotional impact. Without difficulty this could have been fit into less than half the number of episodes that are on the seven DVD volume set since each episode reveals only a small part of the mystery, with frequent near-term and long-term flashbacks.

Mireille Bouquet is an assassin for hire that works alone, at least until a mysterious Japanese girl who has lost her memory shows up. She knows herself only as Kirika Yuumura, which she assumes to be a fake name. However it is obvious from the start that she is even more lethal than Mireille, who reluctantly takes her as a roommate because an artifact that Kirika possesses, a music-box watch with an iconic emblem on its cover that looks like a state seal more than anything else. The watch once belonged to Mirelle's father, who was killed with the rest of Mireille's family for reasons she has never learned.

To make her position clear, Mireille promises Kirika, "when all of this is made clear, I will kill you." Kirika accepts this without protest and even something akin to what appears to be relief. "I'll be ready," she says.

So the girls are in the business together, with the leggy, blonde Mireille in the lead and Kirika doing most of what she is told. Although I am no expert, but it would seem to me that if you are an assassin and you continually get into pitched gun battles with dozens of better-armed foes it might be a sign to question whether you are doing it right. Even if you always win. Mireille's favorite working outfit is a scarlet blouse and black miniskirt with a slit up to the waist, which looks good but is hardly practical. Kirika dresses less flamboyantly but you have to wonder just where do those girls carry all those extra ammo clips? Further, if your life depends on your anonymity why would you go about your work dressed so conspicuously? The music track is slick and sophisticated, but it gets ruined by repetition. The first few times you see action scenes with the themed aria, a Latin verse or two that feels like it has religious overtones to it, it works. After the 20th action scene with the same track playing you want to shut it off. The bad guys are almost always virtually lining up to get shot, being such bad shots themselves I suppose they want to get it over with. For all of that the fight choreography well done and fun to watch.

None of this ruins what is the real point of Noir, and that is the relationship between Mireille and Kirika and their mystery, with the introduction of several other strong women characters along the way. There is no sex or even simple nudity anywhere in the plot, which is a shame because although the writers obviously thought it would either cheapen the production or perhaps distract the story, it would have given more opportunities to break up the repetition that drags on too long.

The few excellent episodes are the only thing knocking this score up to a 6. Without them, it would probably be a 4. I don't care about the central story line. The side story episodes are consistently superior. But the real pitfall here is the repetition and the flashbacks over and over again and at a paaaainfully slow pace.

Pass on seeing this. There's too much good anime out there to waste your time here.

I recently purchased this series and having now watched it all I must say I have no regrets. The story was fairly action packed from start to finish. The earlier episode were individual stories for the most part, but later episodes follow a story arc that was hinted at in the opening episode.

In the first episode solo assassin Mireille meets Kirika, an amnesiac who is even more deadly than she is. It is apparent that the two are some how linked as Kirika has a watch in her possession which belonged to Mireille's murdered parents. Mireille tells her that they can work together until Kirika's past is revealed; then she will kill her. The episodes contain a lot of shooting but we almost never see any blood which means this series isn't too gory for younger anime fans. Just under half way through the series another assassin is introduced; the mysterious Chloe who becomes a recurring character who appears to be connected somehow to Kirika.

While the animation isn't the best I've seen it is still pretty good and the music is great. The only weakness of the series I found was the over-use of flashbacks although it wasn't enough to spoil it. Given that the protagonists are girls in miniskirts it is surprising that there is no fan service to speak of, even the one scene that involves nudity is done in a non-gratuitous way that doesn't really show anything. I'd certainly recommend this series to anybody who likes animated action which doesn't include unnecessary comedy moments.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Noir is an anime set in the near future. Mireille Bouqet is a young girl who happens to be one of the most talented assassins in the underworld. One day she receives an e-mail with the name of her next target: Kirika Yumura. The e-mail has an attachment phrase, "Join me on a pilgrimage to the past." and a melody that was playing from a music box (Mireille's fathers watch) when Mireille's parents were killed. Mireille, whose parents were killed by a mysterious assassin, and Kirika, a girl who has no memory of her past, eventually team up together as assassins.

Noir is a remarkable anime. It has a lot of focus on the story, and the creators take their time to tell it. You don't see any funny sequences in these series, you see the characters hold on to whatever small hope they have left in their life, and you see the two main characters do their job in cold blood and an empty look in the eye. After watching a couple of episodes, I found it hard to take a break away from Noir. It has so much atmosphere, and the feelings of the characters really got to me. The main story has some interesting twists and turns, and at some points it really surprised me, and I never really couldn't be sure that the things I new wasn't going to turn around on me.

If there is anything I should complain about, it should be the flashbacks that you see through the whole plot. They just appear too many times, but in my opinion they bind the story together, and I liked them because of their "Noir"-style, so it really isn't such a big deal.

Noir has great animation all the way, a good plot, some interesting side-stories, and a kick-ass sound track that I regularly listen to on my computer. People who like action-packed anime may get a little bored watching Noir, though.

Dark series about a woman with a past, a woman who can't remember the past, and the secret that could destroy them both. The music is breathtaking, and the plot is winding and unpredictable. It's anime for people who didn't think they liked anime. Great stuff.

The story of Noir revolves around the two young female assassins Mireille and Kirika. Mireille the sole surviving daughter of a Corsican crime family and Kirika a mysterious, small, flat-chested introverted typical Japanese looking girl with amnesia. The young assassins will start a quest to solve a certain mystery they come across and find answers about Kirika's past. In this quest they will assassinate a lot of henchmen, some bad-guys and some semi-bad-guys, with semi-moral consequences. Overall the series is a pretty average anime with above average soundtracks which actually made the series pretty cool. Especially the action scenes with the techno/classical soundtracks really did it for me, although it might get a little repetitive after a while.

Overall a OK series with nice soundtracks.

I wasn't a big fan of anime before this, but having recently watched Noir in its entirety, consider me a convert.

The story of Mireille and Kirika is nothing we haven't seen before: girls with guns, amnesia, dark pasts etc. Think Leon + La Femme Nikita + Kill Bill + Bourne with a film noir atmosphere and you're almost there. This isn't new territory, but the magic is in the execution.

Noir is one of those rare TV shows that tell their story without hurry and without stumbling over themselves to provide empty thrills. The plot, while complicated, never overextends itself and always keeps its eye on the prize. Behind the ponderous pace lies deliberate focus, and by the show's closing scene, no loose ends are left untied. There is plenty of violence on show, but the vast majority of it manages to be brutal without being gratuitous. Blood is a very rare sight, and although I was confused by this at first, I came to appreciate it as an effective device that serves to heighten the impact of the (very well-choreographed) action. If the show had been more explicit, not only would that take away from its style, but the viewers would become completely desensitized by the third episode (as you would expect, people die a lot).

The relationship between the two protagonists is fascinating, evolving from a partnership to something that teeters between friendship and animosity. Danger and tragedy lurk around every corner and imbue Noir with palpable tension and pervasive sadness.

The soundtrack is one of the best aspects of this show. It doesn't just support the action, it lifts it to new heights, and does it so well that the music becomes an integral part of the plot.

That said, Noir has many flaws. Overuse of the same flashback scenes over and over, the camera's penchant for extreme closeups (since these are anime characters it just looks weird), etc. In my case however they didn't detract from the experience one bit.

In conclusion: kickass action, awesome music, interesting characters and a multitude of other things make Noir a riveting and surprisingly poignant gem. I hope you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was. Highly recommended.

It seems that over the last few years feminism is getting a stronger hold on anime. This is more than evident in this picturesque and extremely depressing anime - among the same level of depressing as Neon Genesis and Elfen Lied. What I could see almost instantly that the sinister and well hidden agenda of this anime is undermine the male gender while lionising and glorifying the female. This anime is not the usual man-hating that anime like Love Hina and almost every other recent anime which is slapstick has. This is far more serious. The anime asks me were women oppressed in the preceding generation? The answer of course is yes - there were some tyrannical men who wanted to 'oppress women.' But in the World Wars hundreds of men were killed just to investigate enemy grounds - they were expendable. This anime is a prime example of a source that will be used in the approaching inevitable Men's Movement as it depicts men as evil thoughtless zombies who answer to their dodgy generals and political leaders who are killed by the two heartless female assassins as if they were nothing! An example that men are oppressed by other men yes but thats not the worst of it! Mirielle and especially Kirika unlike the men they slay so casually and cruelly - and it almost always IS men - bleed - as if trying to show they are human and the men they kill are not. The cast is all female with Chloe joining in too add to the killing. This anime lionises women with the two maidens of death hogwash that will make any male viewer who is not a complete wuss wonder about his worth as a man - its just like Lucy from Elfen Lied being made to look like a holy virgin pure daughter of the mother god! Can you imagine the success of this anime if it were two men who were killing women every episode? It would be banned from countries! It does have an interesting story I'll admit though the ending is just plain pathetic as is Kirika who is supposed to be some rip off of Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis who's lost her memory. I can't give an anime that depressed the hell out of me a good rating. It seems that the only serious anime now a days are plagued by feminism. If its not slapstick anime where its easy to have the females kicking around the 'perverted' weak males then they'll just do anything to make females the leads and in charge and by far the stronger and more pure and innocent sex in the more powerful anime. This anime is a good watch for anyone really though. As it will further educate the male population how worthless their lives are and how hated they are and thus speed up the arrival and strengthen the backlash against the very message of this anime - feminism. People just love this anime because they are so blind to this fact.

... then this series would be it.

the story centers on Mireille and Kirika. Mireille is the sole surviving daughter of a Corsican crime family and has become an assassin to pay the bills. Kirika is an introverted Japanese girl with no memories of her past and an inexplicable talent for extortionary violence. (you will *never* look at schoolgirls the same way again after you've seen Kirika in action!)

they adopt the codename 'Noir' and set to business taking bids from gangland for contracted assassinations, developing a reputation as killers to be particularly feared.

but as the story goes on, both girls come to realize that the name 'Noir' has history all it's own: a dark legacy that links both Kirika and Mireille together in ways that could never have imagine...

look past the obvious hyper-cute character designs (both Mireille and Kirika are *very* easy on the eyes), mind-blowing action sequences and a soundtrack that absolutely keeps the adrenaline pumping, you'll find things very rare in anime of this genre: a story with an actual purpose and very well-written characters.

'Noir' is anime that ain't anime. if you get the chance to watch any episodes, grab it.

you won't regret it.

In the business of life and death, trust and loyalty are definitely two lines that shouldn't be crossed. In this action packed anime, Monica Rial and Shelley Black loan their voices as the roles of Mireille and Kirika, two maidens of death who have nothing in common except one thing: they're both emotionless killing machines. Mireille Bouquet is one of France's most revered killers who will wack anybody for the right price. Up until now, Mireille hasn't had a reason to care or a reason to depend on anybody but herself. All of that changes though when a beautiful young Japanese girl named Kirika shows up asking Mireille for help in finding her identity, as it turns out that Kirika is an amnesiac with no memory but has the skills of a very dangerous woman. Mireille agrees to help Kirika, as she feels that Kirika may hold they key to unlocking a mystery to Mireille's own past. The two set up shop in Paris and begin two work as a hit squad code-named Noir and their journeys take them to the chilly land of Moscow to the beautiful land of Sicily. As the girls take down their targets and get some serious big time pay, they draw closer to the truth behind Kirika's sudden amnesia and the truth behind Mireille's banishment from her home in Corsica years ago as a child. However, a dangerous organization called the Soldats doesn't want the young women uncovering the truth about anything and even goes as far as to send one of their own, a young girl named Chloe to keep watch and if necessary, silence them if they get too close to the truth. Now the men and women of the Soldats who swore a mysterious oath to watch Kirika and Mireille's back are now eager to put a bullet in them. The two girls will have to learn the difference between being a target and being a shooter as the Soldats start closing in and Mireille decides that it's time to go gunning for revenge. In the end, the girls will learn the difference between trust and loyalty as they enter a dark world where watching each other's back is the only way to stay alive.

I will admit while I do prefer it's successor Madlax (which I will be reviewing soon), I thought this was a very good series. While I will admit there are times when the pacing can be very slow and some of the fight scenes are reused moves from previous ones but that doesn't necessarily ruin the experience.

Mireille and Kirika are a very likeable duo. Through I like Kirika better of the two. The only downside towards her is that she voiced by someone who I lost respect for back in 2019 but I am not going to talk about that here.

The dub is good too regardless.

Also the ost is a banger especially the intro.

ok, having gone through my freshman year at Arizona and watching the new shiz over at TASS, i must say Noir stands out as one of my favorites that i have seen out of the new stuff (other recommendations: X, hellsing, vandread, love hina). i was looking foward for the first episode to this series because the name sounded cool at first. after watching the opening theme, listening to the music throughout the first episode, and seeing how the plot was unfolding, i was blown away. this touches anime in a way that i have never seen before. i would definately say this series rivals cowboy bebop and trigun combined! if you're looking for gun fights, girls, lots of killing, and one of the most electrifying soundtracks, see this, period

This is a decent show, lets just get that out of the way. Its crisp, stylish and occasionally beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it, however whats frustrating is there are a few simple things it could have done to make it excellent. The basic story is that of Mirielle and Kiryka, a young woman and a teenager who are highly trained assassins. Kiryka, the teenager, has severe amnesia and cannot remember anything about herself, her past or how she can kill so easily. The only thing she know is the name Noir. She tracks down Mirielle and finds she has some connection to her from her past. They agree to team up until the figure out Kiryka's past as the assassin team known as Noir.

The fight scenes are excellent technically, the animation is crisp and top notch and the things these two women can do with a simple handgun is astonishing. However the major problem I have with the fights is the utter lack of blood. Now I don't need blood to enjoy a movie, but the complete lack of blood throughout the entire series (save one seen that the repeatedly flash back to) makes the gunplay seem almost sterile. Just a little blood here and there would give the gunfights a more visceral dangerous feeling. Also some people might take issue with the fact that the gunfight are very James Bond-esque, meaning the protagonists fire 3 shots and you swear 5 people fall, while the so called crack troops the often come up against can't seem to hit anything but air. However if you are able to suspend your disbelief as is necessary when watching anime you probably won't find much of a problem with it.

Another problem I had with this series is the constant use of flashbacks. I don't mind flashbacks when they are important to the story but do we really need to watch the same scene six times? It gets to the point when the director must have been a few minutes short on the episode so they decide to flashback to the same scene again. Also sometimes during the middle of the series it begins to drag a bit. There are times when its slightly boring and slow moving but its not that bad. The English dubbing is fairly good for the most part though some of the English voices seem slightly sedated. The music is haunting and beautiful if somewhat overplayed. All in all its an entertaining series though not on the same level of style as Cowboy Bebop or the same level emotionally as Evangelion.

This show is great. Every Anime fan should have this in his/her repertoire. But please, they could have skipped Mirellies flashback scenes, they very annoying when they pop up now and then. Other than that, I have to say: Just watch it!!!

Noir is one of the finest animes there is. The animation is great, the plot is difficult, but good and it has lotsa, and i mean a lot of shooting. The character's are somewhat hollow at beginning, but just watch. Intresting plot i must say. Music plays the biggest part. It is beautiful. Classic music.

And thats funny cos i hate classic music, but it fits in Noir just perfectly. Nearly every episode has this great, powerful music and I LOVE IT! The shootings are not violent, altough there is much of it. It's very moderate, but still intense. And one thing to say, Noir is a bit feministic, nearly every man is evil and women are heroes. And something about the plot, Noir is about two female assasins. Yeah thats what im saying about the plot, cos its rather difficult to explain. But its a action-drama about these two assasins. Dont expect this to be pure action, even if i said it has lotsa shootings. Its not. Its rather slow, but still great. Its not an ordinary anime, its like a beautiful masterpiece.

If I must discribe Noir with one word, it would be beautiful. nothing more to say. Check it out.

On first appearance, Mireille Bouquet would strike the most vigilant eye as nothing more harmful than a beautiful young woman who spends her afternoons in the markets of Paris; shopping for groceries and riding to and from her loft apartment on a moped through the cobbled streets of charmingly rustic neighborhoods; a perfect disguise for one of the most deadliest assassins in the world.

On first appearance, Kirika Yumura would strike the most vigilant eye as nothing more harmful than an innocent young girl, living a school girl's life in Tokyo, Japan; another perfect disguise for another one of the world's most deadliest assassins.

The only real difference that sets these two apart is that Mireille stands out as a woman who's never had the obsessed questions of her past answered, while Kirika is literally unable to remember her past.

The only clues that Kirika has ever had to her missing memory are the ones that have now forced her to seek out Mireille's help. Resigning herself to the fact that their lives are inextricably linked, Mireille is forced to team up with this mysterious and dangerous stranger in the hopes of finding the answers she's always sought, while at the same time helping to recover Kirika's lost memory. From this point on it becomes only a matter of time before their quest takes them deeper into a world of dark conspiring forces, savagely intent on bending these femme fatales to their own will and at any cost.

As the first installment of a seven disc collection, Noir: Shades of Darkness is an impressive debut that succeeds through a combination of consummate storytelling, beautiful art and a praiseworthy soundtrack. Audiences will walk away feeling compelled to make space in their DVD library for the entire series.

It's been awhile since I owned several discs of this, so I'll have to be a little vague..

Pros: Nice intro and music, good fight scenes, nice locations, stylish, semi-interesting ongoing plot. Also, the set-ups for each episode really do hook you.

Cons: Too long spent listening to dull dialogue between the main characters, one is a cute zombie, the other is just aggressive (often for no apparent reason). The whole 'heartless unstoppable killer' really isn't new, it's a character stereotype which can VERY easily bore (it does here) without care being taken to make the character interesting. The same goes for 'femme fatale' characters. Here we have a heartless unstoppable killer femme fatale... *yawn*. Oh, and a heap of other femme fatale characters. It gets old, we aren't all 14 year old boys trying to get our jollies from murderous young females with an arsenal that'd make the Gunbuster crew twitch.

Overall, it's a decent looking modern anime which doesn't involve fantasy, sci-fi or teen romance. In my book that's a real plus.

I wouldn't turn any anime fan away from this if they like the look of it, if any of the above has caused you any concern, go for a rent. Internet-based rental shops now carry anime even here in the UK :)