“Noir- it is the name of an ancient fate. Two maidens with black hands. The peace of the newly born, their dark arms protect.”

The show always opens the same way- one of the three main characters speaks this cryptic line that would set the tone for this dark show. Noir is in no way a happy show. I would equate it most to .hack//SIGN, in the way that it isn’t really anything. It’s not romantic, it could be action, and it’s definitely not comedy. It’s simply just drama.

Noir follows the story of Mirielle Bouquet, a professional assassin. She is greeted one day wit a hit on a girl named Kirika Yuumura, accompanied with a message: “Make a pilgrimage to the past with me.” She dismisses it, until she hears a melody contained in the message that seems to shake her to the very core. She meets Kirika, originally to kill her, when she brings out a pocketwatch with the same melody as the one in the message. When they finally meet up, Kirika tells the story of her past. She found herself in a new home, with a fake identity, a gun, and that pocketwatch. Eventually, the two decide to team up in order to find some answers about Kirika’s past and the dubious killing of Mireille’s parents.

One of my personal favorite parts of the series was the voices. I personally believed that the voices were excellenly chosen. Noir was produced by ADV- the same company as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Steel Angel Kurumi. As a result, the voices were mostly shared.

Mireille Bouquet- Shelley Calene-Black- Dr. Reiko Amagi (SAK)

Kirika Yuumura- Monica Rial- Saki (SAK)

Chloe- Hillary Haag- Karinka (SAK)

Altena- Tiffany Grant- Asuka Langley Soryu (NGE)

No, I won’t tell you who Chloe and Altena are… too many spoilers.

Once again, feel free to post comments. Until next time…

“Noir is at your doorstep, and if you fear the heart of darkness, stand aside or die.”