Noir - Vol. 1 [2003] [DVD]

I own the region 1 release, which is identical in content."Noir", rated at A- by AnimeonDVD.com, is a very special production which will raise the standard expected of a series from this point onward. Most love it, some hate it. Why is the series so contentious?Mirielle Bouquet is an accomplished killer - one of the best in the world. So when a mysterious email carries a cyptic message and a chiming melody from her nightmares, she has no choice but to follow it to the source. And the sender is no less unusual, a young girl who knows who Mirielle is, and who carries an antique pocket watch - which Mirielle last saw by the hand of her murdered father, many years ago. But more astonishing still, when a large group of men interrupt their meeting, Mirielle is awed by the incredible skills Kirika seems to have, as she almost effortlessly takes down a dozen well-armed killers on her own.However, there are no answers to be had from Kirika, because she has no memory of who she is, or of anything she has ever done. But the two women make a pact - to team up to find out who killed Mirielle's family, and who Kirika is. But there is one last thing - Mirielle promises she will kill Kirika when it is all over... and so "Noir" is open for business.The first DVD volume contains five half-hour episodes, mainly focusing on the life as a professional hired killer. What makes the show really work is its depth. Using excellent sound cues, reaction shots, well researched weapons, well-realised characters, and generally employing everything that'll give you the right mood for the piece, this production is what you would get if Luc Besson did anime. I can almost guarantee that if you watch the first volume all the way through, you will end up buying the rest of the series. And it gets better as it goes along.This is an excellent start to the series, on a good quality DVD. ADV hasn't been too generous with the extras, though there are some hidden omake on the disc if you'll check out the net on how to access them. Overall the sound and picture quality is what you would expect from an almost brand new show. The asking price is fair and the five episodes included makes this a very good deal indeed. Overall, an excellent series with an excellent first DVD. Easily worth Five Stars, and possibly the best UK anime release of 2003.

This series is one that shows what anime is all about: a blending of two things, a half-way point between film and comic strip, between action and drama, between the minutely detailed realistic and the unfilmably fantastic, between artistry and entertainment. Designed, as the name suggests, to homage Films Noir (among other things), this is a long (26 eps) and quite complex story of Femmes Fatale, amnesia, assassination, mystery, conspiracy and betrayal, all in a classical Anime style that delivers great action and detail. There are those who say that this series is repetitive, and in a way it can be, but to them I say 1) watch it one episode per day or at a longer interval and not as a back-to-back fest, and 2) there are so very many series that are more repetitive, less engaging and more dull. One thing of real note that I noticed about this series was the music. So far Noir has 3 OSTs and it deserves them all for the classy and supremely invigorating music it contains. Overall I can't recommend Noir too highly.

This is quite definitely a minority opinion, but I found this dvd just didn't get my interest at all. Yes the animation is beautiful, yes its all very stylish, yes the soundtrack is gorgeous...BUT.Its boring. The story is slow moving, the characters are not at all "connectable", neither likeable or unlikeable (I just ended up not caring if they won/lost/lived/died), and the fight scenes are just completely lacking in any emotional depth.And if I never hear that bloody awful watch chime sound again it'll still be too soon.As stated, this is just my opinion, and others seem to feel very differantly about this, but personally I hit "stop" halfway through the 3rd episode on the disc and haven't bothered hitting "play" again since.

I must start this with an apology to all those who like Dubbed anime. I speak Japanese well enough to understand what is being said and when this series arrived i looked for just Japanese language in the set up menu but could not find it and the set up just would not let me set the Japanese with English subtitles either so I tried watching with just the English and found it irritating beyond belief. Sorry for being snobbish but I hate it when a foreign film,TV series or Drama is dubbed in to American accents when you know the the actors in the film etc. are actually speaking their own native language.After an hour or so of trying to get the set up menu to actually work i lost my temper and destroyed the DVD and threw it in the bin. I am writing this review to highlight to other possible purchasers that the set up may not work for you so it's buyer beware.

I have the entire series, and while it was quite an investment, it was well worth it. The series follows two professional assassins, one with amnesia and the other whose past was destroyed by assassins herself, as they try to unravel the lies surrounding their past and evading assassins who are trying to kill them.This is a classic anime. The artwork is stylishly done, and is supplemented by a soundtrack that tenderly yet forcefully emphasises the scenes being shown. But don't expect much from this episode; it merely introduces the two heroines and hints at a powerful force that is after them. It'll take until the end of the final volume before you fully understand the plot and everyone's involvement. But, believe me, you won't be disappointed!

I had to admit to being impressed by this. Normally I tend to go in for giant robots and augmented people defending the Earth and such so I found it made a nice change to see people using normal (if exceedingly well honed) skills rather than conjuring up suits of impervious alien armour when they get into bother. I also enjoyed the realistic way in which the characters are portrayed (no random temper tantrums and they wear clothes most of the time).I've got the first five episodes and can't wait for the next lot to arrive on my door. Whetever you happen to like I would definitely recommend that you take a look at this.