Noir (TV series)

Noir

Company type	Anime television series
Industry	Animation, Entertainment
Founded	April 6, 2001 (2001-04-06)
Founder	Ryōe Tsukimura
Key people	Kōichi Mashimo (director), Yoko Kikuchi, Minako Shiba, Satoko Miyachi (character designers), Kenji Teraoka (mechanical designer), Yuki Kajiura (composer)
Products	Anime television series
Parent	Victor Entertainment, Bee Train

is a Japanese anime television series comprising 26 episodes, conceived and scripted by Ryōe Tsukimura, with production by Victor Entertainment and Bee Train. The direction was led by Kōichi Mashimo, featuring character designs crafted by Yoko Kikuchi, Minako Shiba, and Satoko Miyachi. Mechanical designs were handled by Kenji Teraoka, while the musical score was composed by Yuki Kajiura.

Following Noir, two thematic successors—Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja—were released, together forming a trilogy centered on the "girls-with-guns" genre.

Globally, Noir was distributed on DVD by ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom, and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand. After ADV Films ceased operations, Funimation Entertainment secured the North American licensing rights in 2010.

Plot

The narrative centers on Mireille Bouquet, an assassin from Corsica, and Kirika Yuumura, a Japanese assassin suffering from amnesia, as they pursue revelations about their histories. Although their connection initially seems tenuous, accumulating evidence uncovers significant links between them.

Adopting the codename "Noir," they collaborate on assassination missions while Kirika gradually recovers her suppressed memories. They are persistently targeted by Les Soldats ("The Soldiers"), a clandestine group responsible for creating and formerly controlling "Noir." Each encounter with Les Soldats challenges whether Mireille and Kirika deserve to carry the title "Noir."

Characters

Kirika is a Japanese high school student afflicted with amnesia who partners with Mireille in Paris. Her memory is limited to the word Noir and her inherent proficiency in combat. Producer Shigeru Kitayama intended Kirika's design to convey a "sweet and fragile" appearance.

Originating from an influential Corsican crime family, Mireille was trained as an assassin following a devastating attack that left only her and her uncle alive. Kitayama envisioned her character as "a lithe female panther." For the English dub, ADV Films chose not to assign Mireille a Corsican accent to prevent audience confusion.

Chloe is an expert assassin favoring knives over firearms and, like Kirika and Mireille, is a contender for becoming Noir. She admires Kirika's exceptional abilities and believes they are destined to become Noir together. Chloe is also the preferred character of composer Yuki Kajiura.

Altena commands Les Soldats and perceives the organization as having been corrupted by avarice and power. Her goal is to restore Les Soldats’ original mission through reviving Noir. Altena leads a medieval lifestyle at "The Manor," the sacred site of Les Soldats situated on the France-Spain border, where she has raised and trained Chloe.

Setting

In contrast to its spiritual successors Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja, Noir concentrates on the criminal underworld rather than supernatural elements. By episode four, it is revealed that Rosaly Hammond, a fifteen-year-old student born on August 2, 1994, situates the story approximately around 2010–2011.

Les Soldats

("The Soldiers" in French) represents a covert organization within Noir. Established roughly a millennium ago by survivors of a catastrophic war, Les Soldats originally sought to defend the vulnerable and exact vengeance. Kirika discovers that during the late tenth century, Les Soldats exerted influence across all social classes, including involvement with the Greone mafia family founded two centuries before the series' present timeline.

By the conclusion of the series, Altena reveals that Les Soldats have fallen victim to the very greed they once opposed, mirroring the corruption prevalent in the world itself.

The group has fractured into two factions: Altena’s loyalists and an opposing body known as the Soldats’ Council. Altena’s adherents often appear disguised as nuns or as villagers possessing formidable combat skills. She resides in an uncharted manor near the France-Spain border—referred to as "the place which has been forgotten by time"—surrounded by a village dedicated to its protection.

The Soldats’ Council resists Altena’s intent to resurrect True Noir through the Grand Retour ritual and comprises five members. One member named Remy Brefford operates out of Paris and extends an invitation to Mireille to join their ranks.

Men dressed in black suits frequently attempt to eliminate candidates for Noir; however, their allegiance remains ambiguous. Altena manipulates all factions involved—particularly Chloe, Kirika, and Mireille—deceiving even her closest confidants regarding her true objectives. While ostensibly supporting Chloe and Kirika as candidates for True Noir, Altena’s actual plan involves Mireille and Kirika dismantling Les Soldats entirely. Nevertheless, Mireille refrains from targeting the Council directly, preventing Altena’s plan from fully succeeding.

Noir

The term Noir, which means "black" in French, represents the pair of maidens who preside over death within the narrative. Their likenesses are featured on Mireille's father's timepiece and within the churches of the Soldats. Within the realm of the underworld, Noir embodies Europe's "One Thousand Year" darkness. Altena’s backstory reveals that after the collapse of the Soldats, two hands remained on the surface, assigned to recover the maidens known as "Noir." The ceremony to become Noir takes place beneath Altena's estate, inside a subterranean temple designed to resemble ancient Greek architecture.

The contenders for the title of "Noir" include Mireille Bouquet, Kirika Yuumura, and Chloe. Mireille was foretold to be overlooked, whereas Kirika is anticipated to become the True Noir. When one candidate is eliminated, the remaining two vie for the position of Noir.

Production

Director Kōichi Mashimo conceived Noir and Madlax as components of a girls-with-guns trilogy, eventually confirmed with a third project that evolved into El Cazador de la Bruja.

For Mireille’s firearm, a contemporary gun was preferred, resulting in the selection of the Walther P99. Kirika’s weapon was chosen to evoke a traditional European style; after evaluating options such as the Walther PPK and Glock 26, the Beretta M1934 was finalized. European firearms were designated for members of Les Soldats: elite assassins clad in black suits wielded the then-new SIG Pro 2340, while lower-tier operatives carried older models.

Producer Shigeru Kitayama highlighted that Kotono Mitsuishi’s casting as Mireille continued their previous collaboration from Excel Saga, where Mitsuishi voiced the main character.

TV airings and home video

The 26-episode Noir anime series was broadcast on TV Tokyo in Japan from April 6 through September 28, 2001. Victor Entertainment issued DVD and VHS collections across 13 volumes between July 25, 2001, and March 21, 2002. In Japan, Victor Entertainment later remastered the series using original 35mm film sources and released it on Blu-ray Disc on February 19, 2014.

Soundtrack

The music for Noir was composed by Yuki Kajiura, with lead vocals by Yuriko Kaida, secondary vocals from Yuri Kasahara, and contributions from Kajiura's band See-Saw. The anime features two theme songs: an opening track by Ali Project and an ending theme performed by Akino Arai.

Victor Entertainment distributed one single and three soundtrack albums. The single "Coppelia no Hitsugi" was released on May 23, 2001. The first two soundtracks—Noir: Original Soundtrack I and Noir: Original Soundtrack II—were made available on June 21 and October 3, 2001, respectively. The third album, titled Blanc dans Noir (〜黒の中の白〜|Kuro no Naka no Shiro|White in Black), came out on November 7, 2001.

International release and distribution

Following nearly a year of anticipation through hints and announcements, ADV Films launched the English-language release of the series across seven DVD compilations from February 18 to October 28, 2003. The initial volume contained five episodes, while subsequent volumes held three or four episodes each. Additionally, the first episode was included as a DVD insert in the January 2003 edition of Newtype USA.

After ADV Films ceased operations and underwent restructuring in 2009, Funimation Entertainment (now operating as Crunchyroll, LLC) secured North American distribution rights. Funimation reissued the series under their Anime Classics label on August 9, 2011, followed by a Blu-ray release on April 15, 2015. The show is currently accessible for streaming via both FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll services.

Prospective live-action adaptation

A live-action version inspired by the anime has been proposed by the cable channel Starz. Among the executive producers are Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, recognized for their work on series such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. Initially, Stephen Lightfoot held the roles of executive producer and writer, but Sean Jablonski later took over these responsibilities.

In March 2012, Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, mentioned that the production was temporarily paused, referring to it as "a bit of holding pattern." Subsequently, writers Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff were brought on board to revise the scripts. Despite these efforts, by January 2013, Albrecht confirmed that the project was still at a standstill due to creative difficulties.

Critical reception

The anime Noir has garnered favorable reviews from critics. In 2001, Newtype placed it second in their top ten anime list, while it also secured a spot within the top three on Japan's Anihabara! ranking that same year. In June 2002, readers of Animage voted Noir into a tied 10th place among the best new anime releases of 2001. Josh Mohs of Active Anime lauded its blend of mystery, action, and drama, emphasizing compelling character dynamics and the director’s daring ambiguous conclusion despite some early pacing concerns. Jeremy Conrad from IGN praised its elegant fight sequences, well-crafted character designs, and a soundtrack reminiscent of Éric Serra’s style, though he pointed out slower pacing in later episodes.

Both Kirika and Mireille were recognized as among the top ten female anime characters by Newtype in 2001. Ten years later, Theron Martin of Anime News Network assigned the series a B+ grade, acknowledging it as a landmark title that reshaped the "girls with guns" genre through its sleek narrative and memorable female leads. He highlighted standout episodes and an unforgettable musical score but criticized repetitive action scenes, inconsistent animation quality, and a lack of blood despite numerous casualties. Martin also observed that the English dub cast matched well with the original voice performances.

Diane Tiu from THEM Anime Reviews awarded Noir 4 out of 5 stars, praising its storyline, character development, soundtrack, and the chemistry between the main duo while questioning the absence of bloodshed and how effortlessly the protagonists handle combat. Enoch Lau shared this rating, complimenting the animation quality, visuals, narrative depth, soundtrack, and action sequences but noted slow pacing and bloodlessness as minor issues. Both reviewers concluded that Noir distinguishes itself as a stylish and innovative action-drama anime.

External links

• Official website of JVC
• Official website of Funimation Entertainment