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Review:
Kirika Yumura and Mireille Bouquet are Noir, top female assassins for hire.
Noir is also the name of an ancient legend which states that the 'peace of the
newly born' is governed by the black hands of two maidens. The series alludes
to the two maidens being Mireille and Kirika.
Kirika is a natural born killer, cold and unemotional, able to assassinate her
targets even under extreme pressure. But her flawless killing skill is also
her biggest source of agony, the inability to feel sad after each hit.
Mireille on the other hand achieved her professional skills through hard work
and training.
The juxtaposition and duality of themes keeps coming up in this series -
Kirika is an amnesiac assassin, searching for her past, Mireille is trying to
abandoned hers. An icy blond, Mireille is an accomplished assassin in
mini-skirts and high heels while Kirika dresses like a conservative school
marm. Kirika is also a houndog of a girl - she would be top choice for Hush
Puppy's mascot if the basset hound ever retires.
Never trusting each other, Kirika and Mireille forge an uneasy alliance but
their fragile relationship is tested when they become the target of
another mysterious assassin.
All these make for tantalising anime prospects - an ancient myth weaving its
way into the backdrop of contemporary France through the hands of two female
assassins. Their world is a dark one filled with icy and cold blooded
vengeance, mystery,drama and action as they battle unseen enemies and their
own pasts.
However, the reality is Noir not as big as it builds itself to be - the result is less inspiring than expected.
There are some great ideas but they are rendered into a
limbo due to a lack of a well defined purpose, stagnating the well meaning and excellent action set-pieces.
The lack of urgency and grandiose [well at least in the first 5 episodes]
makes it very easy to dismiss the NOIR legend story device as meaningless
hogwash.
Ultimately, it seems that much attention was lavished upon the backgrounds
[which are stunning] and animation [which is superb] but the story development
drew the short straw.
That is not to say that Noir isn't a watchable anime, indeed it is and it's
one that will grow on you but whether or not it is memorable will be highly
subjective and dependent on what tickles your anime bones.
Stylistically, although coming across more Euro 70's glam cool [see the
opening redits with its James Bond female silhouttes] than noir it is still
very alluring. The much lauded soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura is very good indeed,
the opening song is one of the catchiest in a long time. The liberal use of
techno-opera to elevate the tension and mood is effective if a little overused
throughout.
I have to remind myself that this is only the first 5 episodes of 26. In that
light, although not quite hitting the top mark, it nevertheless promises a lot
of potential in the rest of the series. 7 close range assassinations out of 10 by Ching Yee back to the top
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