Noir
From Animepedia
| Noir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| ノワール (Noir) | |
| Genre | Mystery fiction |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Koichi Mashimo |
| Animation by | Kikuchi Yoko, Shiba Minako |
| Music by | Kajiura Yuki |
| Script by | Tsukimura Ryoei |
| Studio | Bee Train |
| Network | Japan TV Tokyo, Bandai Channel US & Canada Anime Network, ADV Films France Canal+ Spain La sexta Germany VIVA |
| Original run | April 06, 2001 – September 27, 2001 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (25mins in Length) |
Contents |
Noir Summary
"Noir, it is the name of an ancient fate. Two maidens who govern death. The peace of the newly born, their black hands protect."
Kirika Yumura is a girl without a past. She has no memories and knows nothing of her past; but her ablility to deal death is phenomenal. She kills with great ease, but devoid of thought or emotion, a fact she finds deeply disturbing. In her possesion is pocketwatch which plays a haunting melody when opened, a melody which she knows to be a part of her lost memories. In order to gain information about her past, she contacts Mireille Bouquet, a profesional assassin for hire. During their meeting, Kirika discovers that upon opening the watch, she finds that the melody is at part of Mireille's past as well.
Believing she is a feared assassin by the name of Noir, Kirika teams up with Mireille to make a pilgrimage to the past in order to find her past. While seeking their answers they travel around the world and take hits, hoping to find the answers they seek.
Mireille promises Kirika that when their past is found she will kill her. An important element throughout the series is the development of their peculiar love-hate relationship.
Characters And Voice Actors
| Character | Japanese Voice Actor | US Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Altena | Tarako | Tiffany Grant |
| Chloe | Hisakawa Aya | Hillary Haag |
| Kirika Yuumura | Kuwashima Hoko | Monica Rial |
| Mireille Bouquet | Mitsuishi Kotono | Shelley Calene-Black |
Altena
In the beginnig of the series you see her spending her time with Chloe, an assassin that believes she is the true Noir.
Altena's connection to Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yuumura isn't made clear in the beginning of the series but is unveiled slowly throughout to show her deeply routed into both assassin's pasts.
She is a motherly figure to her followers, but mostly to Chloe of whome she spends a lot of time with and sends on missions of her own and to watch over Kirika and Mireille.
"If love can kill people, hatred can save them." Altena stronly believed in this statement and that the world cna be saved by the true Noir, a pair of female assassins. She believes that the world is burdened with sin.
Chloe
Her beliefs however come to an end when Kirika kills her in order to protect Mireille.
Living in "The Manor" with Altena, Chloe knows all about the legend of Noir and was trained by the woman she has a mother daughter type relationship with.
Chloe is always found with her green cape on and her MO tends to stick to blades more then guns.
The suggestions of a romantic set of feelings from Chloe to Kirika boils to the top in the 25th episode where she screams at Mireille, "I couldn't bear to watch you live with her." Before her death she kisses Kirika.
Kirika
With the ability to deftly dissasemble and reassemble a weapon and kill a person with any object laying around, Kirika is silent and somewhat disturbed. She befriends another assassin, Mireille in order ot make a Journey to the past. Though Mireille tells her at the end of the journey she will kill her Kirika is accepting of this and continues on.
She has a small pocket watch which brings forth memories for Mireille and herself, not vivid memories but strikes a familiar chord when it plays. Her expression rarely changes, despite her killing people on a near constant basis.
Mireille
The pair ironically choose the codename Noir to work under after teaming up. At this point Mireille begins to assume the role that her parents wished her not to, and in fact died to stop her from becoming. During the anime her character develops and it's left to speculation as to what her relationship with Kirika is. At times she seems almost jealous of the way Kirika is able to kill without a second thought, though she voices it as mild disgust/disturbance at the "careless" or "reckless" use of tactics at times. Mireille's theme music is 'Corsican Corridor' and 'Salva Nos'.
Noir Music
The Music in noir is rather unique with it's blend of French/techno/opre and has an inlfuence on the perception of the series. The music can in the series intensify a battle and the music of the watch brings back memories.
The composer for the music except the ending and opening theme is Kajiura Yuki. The Primary vocalist is Yuriko Kaida and secondary vocalist Yuri Kasahara. Yuki's band See-Saw also has a part in the unique music found in noir. Ali Project performs the opening theme Coppelia's Coffin.
Noir Episode List
- 1. Maidens with Black Hands
- 2. Our Daily Bread
- 3. Assassin's Game
- 4. Sound of Waves
- 5. Les Soldats
- 6. Stray Cat
- 7. Black Thread of Fate
- 8. Intoccabile, Act I
- 9. Intoccabile, Act II
- 10. True Noir
- 11. Tea in the Moonlight
- 12. Assassin Training
- 13. Season of Hell
- 14. A Bouquet for Mireille
- 15. Heartless Assassin, Act I
- 16. Heartless Assassin, Act II
- 17. Return to Corsica
- 18. My Darkness
- 19. Both Hands of Soldats
- 20. Sin Amongst Sin
- 21. Morning of the Wicked Heart
- 22. The End of the Road
- 23. Affection in Story of the Remainder
- 24. Recurrence to Darkness
- 25. Depth of Hellfire
- 26. Birth
