Noir ( 2001-04-06 to 2001-09-28 )

     I've complained a couple times a 12-14 episode series should have been extended to 24-26. But this is the first time where I thought an anime should've been limited from 26 episodes to 12-14. I found the animation unimpressive because the color is so dull and washed out for a post 2000 anime. Heck even Hellsing and Cowboy Bebop looked better than this and they were made in the 90's. Noir would have been so much more awesome if the animation had the same style as Texhnolyze or Monster where it was mostly dark and gritty, with crisp colors. The lack of blood was disappointing, since you would think an anime about assassins would have at least blood spots from gunshots, but it didn't. It's hard to tell where the person is shot when there is no blood spot and even from a simple stab there was still no blood. The best part of the animation was the hand to hand combat; it was very swift and smooth.

     I didn't like the opening music but did like the closing. I also like the majority of the background music, but I thought a few of them were better suited for a fantasy anime and some of them sounded awfully like the ones in .Hack//Sign. I thought the story was good, but nothing really special. Two people meet, finds out secrets of their past and finding out they were somehow linked together in the past and that was basically the story.

     I couldn't really get into Noir because It felt like for the first three quarters of the anime the story wasn't going anywhere and when that happened you would think Bee Train (the makers of Noir) would at least develop the characters. But Bee Train didn't do a good job at developing the two main characters because they didn't even surround them with a supporting cast. For example in Shingetsutan Tsukihime there are two main characters, six supporting characters and this was in 12 episodes. With just two protagonists and no one else to support them, Noir got stale real quick.

     Noir is basically about assassins, friendship and girls kicking ass. If you want to watch an anime about assassins, then watch Gunslinger Girl. If you want to watch an anime about friendship go watch Gungrave and if you want to watch girls kicking ass then go watch ROD TV or again Gunslinger Girl. If you have watched all of them and still have the craving for these three genres, then you might want to check Noir out. Up next s-CRY-ed.

Animation: 6.5/10

Sound: 7.5/10

Story: 7.5/10

Enjoyment: 7/10

Fav. Episode: 13

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