Noir (anime)

The series takes place around 2010 ^[1] and is dedicated to two hitmen working under the code name “Noir” . Both girls have a strange past, however, the closer the plot moves to the denouement, the more gloomy details come up that present them in a completely different light.

Mireille Bouquet - a young Corsican living in Paris and known as perhaps the most reliable hired killer in the world. One fine day, she receives an email invitation to “make a pilgrimage to the past” from Japanese schoolgirl Kirika Yumura . Moreover, the attention of Mireille Bouquet is captured by the audio file attached to the letter and reproducing the melody that she heard only once in her life - standing over the bodies of unknown parents who were killed in early childhood.

Fueled by curiosity, Mireille meets Kirika, however, before they manage to start a conversation, a group of armed men attack the girls, who, however, die as soon as possible from the hand of a seemingly harmless Japanese woman who demonstrates almost superhuman fighting skills. As it turns out later, Kirika suffers from complete amnesia , and the only thing she remembers is her previous name, Noir, and Mireille's contact details. All the rest of the information about her and her past, including her current name, was carefully faked by someone.

Kirika asks Mireille to help her regain her lost memory, thereby restoring the picture of her past. Since the Corsican has her own interest in this - the killer of her parents was never found - she agrees, but on the condition that when their goal is achieved, she will kill her new partner, who knows too much about her. Kirika immediately accepts the condition, and soon they begin to execute orders for the killings under a new code name - thereby “Noir”.

The plot of the series describes the confrontation between two hired killers and a secret organization that calls itself Les Soldats (from the French - “soldiers”), associated with their duet with an initially incomprehensible mystical connection. Yes, and the title “Noir” itself, as it gradually turns out, has its own dark history ... In parallel, there is a less obvious, but no less significant for the plot development of the relationship between Mireille and Kirika, which many anime lovers regard as the most successful aspect of the series.

As the ANN reviewer notes, at first glance, Noir looks like a mixture of The Matrix , Key the Metal Idol , and Evangelion . However, a more detailed analysis turns out to be only a stereotypical work about big eyes, big breasts and big pistols. Although the scenes of cruelty are well drawn, the speech animation, according to the reviewer, will cause the viewer only a heavy sigh - only his mouth moves, but the rest of the characters' faces remain motionless. At the same time, the reviewer notes the quality of the musical design of this anime ^[2] .

In Noir there are only four characters (all four are young women ), which can be safely ranked among the main characters. Moreover, two of them appear only in the second half of the series and therefore do not demonstrate such spiritual development as the other two, and only in one case, the audience receives comprehensive information about the heroine's past. All of the above has been repeatedly criticized by the critics of the series to its creators, since in anime series this attitude to characters is extremely unusual.

Kirika Yumura ( 夕 叢 霧 香 Yu: Mura Kirika ) is a Japanese schoolgirl who, for unknown reasons, has lost her memory until very recently. Whether Kirik Yuumur is her real name or is it the same fabrication as the other available information about Kirika’s life is unknown, she herself is convinced that in the past she was called Noir. At the beginning of the series, she meets Mireille Bouquet, the only one whose name she remembers from a past life, and goes with her on a “pilgrimage to the past” in order to regain her memory. Having completely entrusted his fate to the young Corsican Mireille Bouquet, who promised to kill her, Kirika gradually begins to establish relations with her. But at a certain point it turns out that it was she, Kirika, who killed Mireille's parents, completing the next stage of training in order to prepare her from her infancy for the role of “True Noir” - an impeccable duet of killer girls, the most effective power tool in the hands of Les Soldats.

Seiyu : Hoko Kuwashima

Mireille Bouquet ( ミ レ イ ユ ・ ブ ー ケ Mireille Bouquet : ke , Mireille Bouquet) is a young Corsican, the heiress of the once powerful clan in Corsica, who remained an orphan in early childhood. Together with her uncle, Claude Bouquet, the only surviving member of her family, she moved to Paris, where both became killers. The killing of parents left a serious trauma on her psyche, so she grabs at the slightest chance to find out the true background of this crime, agreeing to help Kirika. However, when the truth is revealed to her - that her parents, who refused to part with her daughter, who also had the potential to become part of True Noir, were killed by Les Soldats, she faces a dilemma, for to kill Kirika, the murderer of her family, as promised, Mireille by that time no longer able to. Often referred to as the “Corsican Daughter”.

Seiyu: Cotono Mitsuishi

Chloe ( ク ロ エ Kuroe , Chloe) is a mystery girl who appears in the second half of the series and calls herself "True Noir." A little childish, but possessing fighting skills to match Kirika, including incredible skill in throwing knives , replacing her with firearms , Chloe was brought up by Altena from childhood and therefore is fanatically devoted personally to her and Les Soldats. Being the third contender for the role of True Noir, she witnessed the murder of Mireille's parents and since then has been deeply admiring Kirika, gradually developing into almost romantic feelings .

Seiyu: Aya Hisakawa

Altena ( ア ル テ ナ Haruten , Altena) is, in fact, Chloe's adoptive mother and a very high-ranking person in the ranks of Les Soldats, living in the so-called. "Mansion", a sacred territory for its organization somewhere in the mountains on the border of France and Spain . In early childhood, she remained an orphan during an unnamed war (possibly in one of the “ cold ” micro- conflicts ), after which she was raped by a passing soldier. This trauma greatly influenced her belief that if excessive love can kill, then hatred can save lives. In particular, this was expressed in her decision to conduct the Le Grand Retour (from French - “The Great Return”), the reformation of the society Les Soldats with the aim of returning it to its original medieval form. To this end, she chose three newborn girls, one of whom was to die at the hands of the other two, thereby forming the “True Noir”, whose appearance will be the beginning of the Reformation.

Seiyu: Tarako Isono

1. Virgins with black hands ( 黒 き 手 の 処女 た ち kuroki te no shojo-tachi )
2. Daily bread ( jap. 日 々 の 糧 hibi no kate )
3. The game of killing ( 暗殺 遊戯 са Ansatsu Yu: gi )
4. The noise of the waves ( Japanese 波 の 音 by us but from )
5. Soldiers ( レ ・ ソ ル ダ re soruda )
6. Lost Cat ( Japanese 迷 い 猫 Mayoi Neko )
7. Black thread of fate ( я 命 の 黒 い 糸 ummey but chicken ito )
8. The untouchable. Act 1 ( Japanese イ ン ト ッ カ ー ビ レ （acte I） intocca: bire (act I) )
9. The untouchable. Act 2 ( Japanese イ ン ト ッ カ ー ビ レ （acte II） intocca: bire (act II) )
10. Real Noir ( 真 の ノ ワ ー ル sin no nova: ru )
11. Tea by the moon ( jap. 月 下 茶宴 茶宴 gecka no chien )
12. Ordered to kill ( Jap. 刺客 行 sikakuko :)
13. Hell season ( jap. 地獄 の 季節 jigoku no kisetsu )
14. Bouquet for Mireille ( ミ レ イ ユ に 花束 を mireyuu no hanathaba )
15. Lady is death. Act 1 ( Japanese 冷眼 殺手 （acte I） reagan sassyu (act I) )
16. Lady is death. Act 2 ( Japanese 冷眼 殺手 （acte II） reagan sassyu (act II) )
17. Return to Corsica ( コ ル シ カ に 還 る Corusica nor Caeru )
18. My darkness ( jap. 私 の 闇 watashi but yami )
19. Two hands of a soldier ( ソ ル ダ の 両 手 soruda no ryo: te )
20. Sin in sin ( Jap. の の 中 の 罪 tsumi no naka no tsumi )
21. Morning in the Dark ( 無 明 の 朝 mumyo: but asa )
22. At the end of the journey ( 旅 路 の 果 て tabiji no hate )
23. Feelings for the last flower ( Japanese 残花 有情 zanza ujo:)
24. The Return of Darkness ( 暗 黒 回 帰 Ankoku Kaiki )
25. Abyss of Hellfire ( Jap. 業 火 の 淵 go: ka no futi )
26. Birth ( Japanese 誕生 Tanjou:)

Opening topic : “Coppelia no Hitsugi” ( コ ッ ペ リ ア の 棺 Copperia no Hitsugi , “Coffin of Coppelia ”)

Performed by Ali Project .

Covering topic : “Kirei na Kanjo” ( 奇麗 な 感情 Kireina kanjo:, “Pure emotions”)

Text, music and vocals - Aquino Arai . Arrangement - Hokari Hisakaaki .

All the musical compositions used in the series were released on two CDs of the official soundtrack . The third album, “Blanc dans Noir” (from French - “White in Black”), on two discs, contains various variations of already familiar melodies and several new ones written by Kadziyura, but not used in editing. Also on the third album is another Ali Project song “Aka to Kuro” ( Japanese 赤 と 黒 Aka to kuro , “Red and Black”) , which, according to unconfirmed rumors, was predicted in the opening of the series.

In October 2010, the American television company Starz announced its intention to make an anime-based feature film. Executive producers were Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert ( Xena is the Queen of Warriors , Legend of the Seeker ) ^[3] . In June 2011, filming began ^[4] . The action of the series was postponed to the 60s, the plot is noticeably changed. In addition to Mireille (her last name in the series Dubois) and Kiriki, there are several in the foreground, most of them male characters ^[5] .

• Kirika Yumura
• Madlax
• El cazador

• Official site (Russian)
• Official website
• Official site (Japanese)

• Anime Noir (anime ) in the encyclopedia of Anime News Network