Noir 1 - Shades of Darkness

Noir. The name of an ancient fate. Two maidens who govern death. The peace of the newly born their black hands protect.

Like it or loathe it, the ‘chicks-with-guns’ genre has been one of the mainstays of anime over the years, and continues to be churned out by animation studios throughout Japan. With the likes of Gunsmith Cats, Burn-up W and the whole raft of AD-Police related series' (to name just a few), the genre typically aims a mixture of action, comedy and schoolyard titillation at immature schoolboys of all ages. Whilst following many of these genre conventions, Noir, Tsukimura Ryoei’s surprisingly sophisticated new series, goes somewhat against the grain. Foregoing the typical slapstick, super-deformation and none-too-subtle pantie-shots of its many predecessors, Noir’s female protagonists rely rather on stylish action, mysterious political machinations and character development (gasp!) to justify their time spent discharging heavy munitions. The result is an interesting, refreshingly mature series that provides, in addition to the requisite anime beauties, strong female characters who should prove equally appealing to both genders.

The story concerns a leggy blonde-bombshell, Paris-based assassin Mireille Bouquet, who, whilst leisurely perusing her email one sunny morning, notes a mysterious message on her computer. Initially dismissing the message – a summons to ‘make a pilgrimage to the past’ – as a stupid joke, Mireille is sent reeling by the message’s hitherto unnoticed attachment; a haunting melody that conjures up strange memories from her childhood. Intrigued, Mireille tracks the source of the message to Japan and a young school-age girl whose falsified identity card names as Kirika Yumura. Kirika, suffering from acute amnesia, knows only that she possesses the most remarkable aptitude for murder; that she is noir, one of the oldest and deadliest designations in the assassination trade. This talent is very ably demonstrated when the pair are set-upon by a gaggle of suits in dark sunglasses, bristling with heavy weapons, and very clearly wishing them dead.

"Who am I? I am Noir. Beyond that I know nothing."

Suitably impressed by this young killer, and wishing to unlock Krika’s connection to her own childhood, Mireille agrees to help her solve the mysteries of her forgotten past. Mireille is quick to decree, however, that the price of her help is death; the penalty suffered by all who learn Mireille’s secret identity and particular line of work. Kirika wholeheartedly submits to this remarkable condition and the pair return to Paris; setting up a partnership in assassination under the alias of Kirika’s only surviving memory - “Noir�…

Madman’s first volume release of Noir presents the series’ first five episodes on the one disc; and a good thing this is too, given that the series is a rather slow starter. For although the action comes thick and fast right from the outset, the character back-stories and the mysteries contained therein are doled out painfully slowly. With the first episode introducing the central protagonists and the establishment of their assassination franchise, the remaining four episodes fall quickly into a fairly formulaic pattern; a new assignment, some research on the target and the hit itself are interspersed with numerous flashbacks to the girls’ pasts. Predominantly these involve replaying a fair whack of the initial episode. Although these repetitive flashbacks almost begin to grate, they do succeed in drawing you into the mystery; generating the requisite amount of interest in past events. Any heavy handedness in the flashback department is more than made up for, however, by the series’ action sequences; frenetic, stylish and executed to a pumping techno soundtrack. Combined, these two elements give the series the potential to satisfy fans on multiple levels, and by the end of the fifth episode I was left suitable engrossed to crave the continuation of the series.

Resplendent in its widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) transfer, volume 1 of Noir looks absolutely wonderful in this digital incarnation. Produced for television, the animation quality on show varies greatly; the panning stills that make up the quieter moments giving way to fluid, detailed animation during the nicely choreographed action sequences. Interestingly, despite a number of rather violent exchanges, there is no blood depicted in these first five episodes; helping no doubt to widen the series’ appeal across a much broader audience. In terms of character design - sporting big hair, bigger eyes and impossibly long legs - Mireille and Kirika are your typical anime beauties. But even given the rather serious nature of the subject matter, these classic character designs never appear out of place. In general, the series’ background artwork is of an impressively high quality, displaying authentic and highly detailed Parisian locations.

In terms of the transfer itself, things are about as good as things get for anime on DVD. The series sports lush, vivid colours that are supported by deep, solid blacks and which are rendered beautifully by the transfer without colour bleed or other associated nasties. The image is nice and sharp without introducing anything in the way of aliasing related artefacts, and has been taken from beautifully clean source material. The compression process, meanwhile, has introduced only the slightest amount of chroma noise on one or two larger areas of colour. Certainly nothing to get too worked up about.

Providing Dolby Digital Surround mixes in both the original Japanese and a serviceable English dub, like the video presentation the audio on display in Noir is quite reasonable given its television pedigree. In both mixes the all-important dialogue is clear and distinct throughout, and the surround channels are utilised to deliver a limited yet effective amount of ambient sound from the rumbling traffic of Japan, sighing winds and the grumbling of the sea, to the busy streets and wistful church bells of Paris. Above all else, however, the defining element of the soundtrack is Yuki Kajiura’s distinctive score. Ever-present, this score provides a moody, almost melancholy feel to proceedings; balanced nicely between the front and rear channels. And when the bullets begin to fly so too the score rises to the occasion; driving into the girl’s ‘working theme’ – a pumping, distinctive techno track that supports the action sequences beautifully. The results are immersive audio mixes that, punctuated by the thud and crack of gunfire and echoing ricochets, greatly add to the series’ stylish feel.

As is typical for anime productions, the Japanese voice talent is wonderful, and thankfully, the English dub is also quite serviceable. This time around, the American distributors ADV have managed to find voice actors for our lithe protagonists who display neither the Southern drawl or Valley ditz that has spoiled many a dub in this particular anime genre. Although some of the French accents are a little atrocious, most of their owners are often quickly dispatched.

All in all a great effort by all, and an above average presentation for anime produced for television.

Nicely animated, anamorphic menus provide access to a small number of extras that are relatively standard for Madman’s anime series releases.

• Production Notes: Inside the Amaray case you'll find a four page fold-out, containing some quite detailed production notes from producer Shigeru Kitayama and writer Ryoe Tsukimura, as well as some observations about the series; its influences, its style, its message. This contains some interesting and quite enlightening information about the series.

• Production Sketches: Countless pencil sketches from the first five episodes, concentrating initially on the central characters of Mireille and Kirika, and then going onto their weapons, cars, apartment and the many locations featured both in Japan and throughout Europe.

• Clean Opening Sequence: (1:30) Presents in beautiful anamorphic vision the series’ opening credit sequence and theme song devoid of the credits themselves.

• Clean Closing Sequence: (1:30) Similarly, the closing sequence and theme is presented without credits.

• Original Japanese Promos: (2:20) Six anamorphic promos for the original series and the DVD/VHS releases.

• ADV Previews: Previews for upcoming releases RahXephon, Steel Angel Kurumi, and Excel Saga, as well as the excellent Samurai X OAVs.

In addition to the extras being offered on the disc itself, Madman/AV Channel are also offering a special 'Collector’s Edition' release of Noir Volume 1 that includes a collector’s box with enough room for the entire series, as well as a Noir t-shirt. It is noteworthy that the shirts are only available in size L, and having managed to purchase a shirt directly from Madman, I can say that they are pretty bloody cool. Black (obviously), they feature a sepia image of Kirika and her Beretta M1934 on the front, and a small white logo for the series on the back between the shoulder blades. It's certainly worth the extra $20 outlay on the 'Collector's Edition' release.

Although it is a little slow to draw me in, by the end of the fifth episode I was suitably impressed with Noir. With an intriguing back-story underpinning the requisite big hair, big eyes and big guns, it’s a far more mature and ultimately more satisfying series than many of its stable mates. Those seeking slapstick and schoolboy titillation may need to look elsewhere, but Noir’s mixture of strong female characters, fluid action sequences, and rather melancholy mood is sure to appeal to anime fans of both genders.