Noir
26 episodes on seven discsMireille travels to Japan, where she and Kirika are attacked by a number of gunmen. The hitmen never have a chance; Mireille is superlatively lethal, and Kirika, it turns out, is at least as deadly. Mireille prefers to work alone, but she agrees to help Kirika discover who she is. Then she will kill Kirika. That is fine with Kirika. Mireille flies back to Paris with Kirika, and they join forces as "Noir."
Most of the episodes on the first two discs are hit-of-the-week stories. As Mireille and Kirika fulfil their contracts, they find a few hints about Kirika and her connection to Mireille. It has to do with something called the "Soldats," but information is elusive: informants get killed; libraries burn down. The story shifts into a higher gear in the tenth episode, in which Chloe is introduced. Chloe claims that she is the "true Noir," and she is as deadly as Kirika, though she favors throwing knives to firing guns. Chloe apparently knows who Kirika is. Over the course of the remaining episodes the mysteries surrounding the three young women, a fouth woman named Altena, the Soldats, Noir and Kirika's pocket watch are gradually revealed.
Considered as a "girls with guns" story, Noir is probably the best of the genre.* But there's more to it than that. When bullets and knives are flying, the soundtrack usually is a pounding techno tune called "Salva Nos." Here is a translation of the lyrics chanted over the cacaphony:
Hear us, the wretched
Hear us, Lord
Grant us peace
And save us from the enemy
Save us, God
Lord hear us
Lord have mercy
Grant us peace
Holy, Glory
Grant us peace
And give them rest
Amongst this rejoiced place
Call me with the blessed
Merciful Jesus, give them rest
Lord God, Holy, Glory
That the song is a prayer is no coincidence. Noir is finally is about evil, sin, guilt, despair and redemption. The show that came to mind when I watched the last episode was Haibane Renmei. On the surface, Ryoe Tsukimura's violent inversion of the Coppelia story and ABe's story of the afterlife could not be more different. Ultimately, though, the theme is the same: nobody is beyond redemption.
While Noir's greatest virtue is the script by Tsukimura, it also benefits from good voice acting and production. Kotono Mitsuishi is best-known as a specialist in silly roles, notably the title character in Excel Saga, but as Mireille she turns in a convincing performance in a role without a single laugh. Houko Kuwashima brings what life is possible to the withdrawn, monosyllabic Kirika. The music, mostly by Yuki Kajiura, is generally melodious and fits the action well, and the sharply contrasting opening and closing themes both suit the story in their different ways. The character design and art are well-done. Many shortcuts are taken with the animation, but it's done well where it counts.
Noir requires some patience. The pace initially is slow. Tsukimura and company make extensive use of flashbacks and recycled footage, and you repeatedly see motherly Altena tending her grapevines long before you hear her speak. Wounds don't bleed. Although enough people are killed over the course of the series to furnish a minor war, there's hardly any blood. At the beginning of the story, Mireille seems to be several years older than Kirika, but later it's implied that they are about the same age.
Mireille wears one of the shortest skirts I've ever seen, but otherwise there's little fan service.** Neverthless, because of its level of violence, Noir is emphatically not for kids. For anyone college age or older, however, it's one of the very best.
*I haven't seen many examples, but I would be surprised if there are any others of comparable quality.
**There is some nudity and sexual content in the penultimate episode, but it's important to the plot and tastefully handled.
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Text copyright © 2005 by Don McClane