Noir

Noir… It is the name of an ancient fate. Noir is awesome, a thrilling series from start to finish, with a soundtrack that fits the feel of the show perfectly.

I do have one complaint about Noir. It has the worst eyecatch in the entire history of anime. I’m not joking, it’s the worst eyecatch I have ever seen or heard. When this series was put together, the eyecatch had a catchy, interesting opening theme, a rich soundtrack by Yuki Kaijura, and vivid characters and settings to draw from. So, of course, the eyecatch actually consists of a bright neon line drawing of a gun that looks like it was animated in an ancient version of Power Point with a guitar noise that sounds like it was a rejected from a DARPA experiment involving sonic weapons in the background. I’m going to assume that copious amounts of Sake or a similarly intoxicating beverage was involved in the creation of this part of this show in some way.

Noir tells the story of Mireille, assasasin for hire, who is approached one day by Kirika. Kirika appears to be an ordinary student, but quickly demonstrates deadly skills as they are attacked by unknown MIB. Kirika explains that she has lost her memory, but somehow knows of a tragic event that happened in Mireille’s past. Curious to know more, Mireille accepts her as a partner, but warns that she will kill Yukino when everything about her past is sorted out. They accept jobs under the name “Noir.”

The Noirverse has an interesting, unusual, overly romantic view of organized crime. Triads, warlords, and Costra Nostra all make appearances. One target of the duo happens to be a former member of the KGB. It is gradually revealed that a mysterous organization known as Les Soldats lurks in the background, and finding out more about Les Soldats gradually becomes the main focus of Noir. Les Soldats seemingly random actions and inconsistent appearances are gradually explained in a way which is quite believable (although Les Soldats themselves are not quite). Muddying the waters further, we are introduced to Cloe, who claims that she and Yukino are “the true Noir.”

Noir is a great show; the characters are dynamic and dimensional, and the plot is full of surprises, right up to the end.