Noir Vol. #7

By Paul Jacques     June 02, 2004
Release Date: May 17, 2004



What They Say
In a place forgotten by time, the darkest ritual of the Soldats has begun. At long last, all of the mysteries that set Mireille and Kirika on their journey have been answered. However, there is one question that has yet to be decided: who will live and who will die? Four deadly women come together for the ultimate battle in the seventh and final volume of NOIR.

The Review!
The final three episodes of intrigue, death and girl power, where finally, all is revealed.

Audio:
Perfect Dolby surround sound reproduction on both the English and Japanese sound tracks. I alternated the sound track between each episode, no problems detected ,and both tracks are well voiced by the VA cast.

Video:
Crisp, clean and widescreen- what more do you need?

Packaging:
The front box cover has Mireille and Kirika facing each other in the style of the Noir maiden symbol. The rear box cover has six stills, two form each episode; Also included is a two page insert which has a somewhat repetitive ?thanks? from the director, and some questions (but no real answers) about the nature of Noir; The disc itself is printed with the Noir Maiden symbol of black on a dark background (the black within the black ;-).

Menu:
The menus are presented in slightly off centre angle, giving the feeling of a foreboding corridor. Selection speed was quick and at no time did I have resort to pressing the Root button to get me out of there.

Extras:
The Production sketches are good, and last around 4 minutes, although using the Alternate angle tends to obscure the drawings. Clean open and close are always welcome. And of course the jewel in the Extra?s crown are the interviews with the English VA; Monica Rial, Hilary Haag, Shelly Black and Tiffany Grant.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review will contain spoilers)
Episode 24 starts with Kirika being welcomed ?home? by Chloe and Altena at the ancient Manor. You can clearly see that Kirika has changed, there is a certain steely almost menacing look in her eyes now. We get a potted history of the Noir girls upbringing, no specifics, but enough for us to realize that Altena intended their lives to hard.

We realize that Chloe is in awe of Kirika, and she holds her with the highest regard and love. Kirika, in return, is somewhat cold and perhaps a little bitter about her situation, not the least of which is because she inadvertently inspired Chloe to be a killer. And so we see that the Kirika- Chloe relationship is the opposite of the relationship that Kirika had with Mireille at the start of the series.

The rest of the episode concerns the efforts in preparation for the Grand Retour, which means that Altena will become the head of the Soldats. Also we get a definition of the meaning behind the ?sin within the sin? statement, so go slow here if you still haven?t worked it out. The episode finishes with Mireille just arriving at the Manor.

Episode 25?s introduction speech - ?Noir, it is the name of an ancient fate?.? ? is different, indicating that not everyone thinks that Noir are a peachy-keen bunch of people!

Finally the Grand Retour preparations are completed. Mireille cocks her weapon, as she isn?t happy about what Noir had done to her parents in the past. It looks as though the Soldats have an extra guest for the ceremony and she only wants the main course. The only question on our lips is how Kirika will react to Mireille gate crashing the party? Well, Kirika is none to happy about freeloaders and so we have a shoot out between Kirika and Mireille in the old ruins, with Chloe joining in later. Only the fight changes direction, and soon it?s Kirika and Chloe attempting to kill each other. In the end, it is Chloe?s jealousy that is her undoing.

The final episode starts with the Noir monologue being spoken by Mireille and Kirika together (this is no accident). Then we see Mireille and Kirika talking, and we can see that Kirika has regained her softer look, as she tends to her friend?s wound. Meanwhile the male leaders of the Soldats journey to the Manor, in order to witness the Grand Retour or the death of Altena at Mireille?s hand. Eventually the girls re-arm and then set off to finish cleaning house. Of course Altena and her comrades are none to happy about the change of situation and so they put up a strong defense.

After many shell cases litter the floor we find Altena, Mireille and Kirika down in the heart of the Manor. Altena has drawn them there to test their resolve and enact the final ritual. This final ritual seems to involve someone killing Altena, and she seems very concerned that she dies by Noir?s hand in that scared place. Once again we gain a small insight into the hard childhood that Altena went through as she explains what it means to be Noir. In the end Kirika rejects Altena?s ideals of what Noir is. This leads to Altena?s death, and very nearly Kirika?s death as well.

The final scene we see the triumphant girls walking away form the Manor with a smile on their faces- they will live their life as they see fit. As for the final two (different weapons) gunshots that are then heard in the dark, well who knows what that means? And the gunshots aren?t the only questions that go unanswered, but hey, you can?t have everything wrapped up with a pretty pink bow.

In summary-
Noir has been an outstanding series. The characters are interesting but a bit unidirectional. There were times that I wanted to punch Mireille in the mouth for constantly saying that she was going to kill Kirika when it was all over- needless peril statement.

Most episodes had just the right amount of action to keep you satiated whilst throwing in enough story to keep you wanting more. And it was all done in the best possible taste, with no tacky fan service. The musical score is first class, and it is this that is very much the trademark of the series. All-in-all Noir lived up to it?s name by taking the concepts of professional assassins, religion and the nature of man and shaking it around for 26 dark episodes. This series should adorn every serious Anime fan?s shelf, whether they are male or female fan.

Features
Japanese 5.1 Language ,English 5.1 Language ,English Subtitles ,Interviews with English-language voice actors ,Production sketches ,Clean opening and closing animation

Review Equipment
JVC 28" Pure Flat Wide Screen TV, Pioneer 454 Progressive Scan code free DVD player, Logitech Z-680 THX DD/DTS receiver & Speakers. Secondary equipment, 21? Sony Trinitron monitor, ATI 9700pro & PowerDVD v4, Creative Audigy 2 & headphones