Noir  Recommended
Publisher
ADV
Director
Koichi Mashimo
Production
Production IG, TV Tokyo, Victor Entertainment
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2001
Noir Volume 2: The Hit List
By John Huxley
20th May 04  Episode Summary WARNING: may contain spoilers Episode 6: Lost Kitten Noir arrive in Russia to assassinate an ex-KGB officer who ordered the slaughter of the Tashkil ethnic group, their employers for this mission. Having abandoned the KGB, the officer now atones for his sins by selflessly helping the community. The people around him regard him as a saint figure and know nothing of his tainted past as an aide to genocide. It should be an easy job, but Kirika foolishly lets herself become attached to the seemingly gentile man. Episode 7: The Black Thread of Fate We join our deadly duo in the deserts of the middle east following a botched assassination attempt on a local revolutionary leader. Despite making the kill, Kirika is wounded and loses her student ID card, revealing her 'identity'. Seeking revenge, the remaining revolutionaries capture the injured and incapable Kirika and hold her prisoner under the pretense that she is related to Noir. Little do they know that Noir is two people, and she is one of them... Episode 8: Intoccabile Acte I New York. Noir assassinate a mafia don, hired by someone within the organisation. The don's father calls for his granddaughter in this time of crisis, otherwise known as the fearless Intoccabile. Killing her grandfather as she did her father before him, she heads up the operation to hunt down the hired killers Noir. Armed with three of the mafia's best at her side she lures Noir in to a trap by killing their employer. But will they be able to take down the mafia's most feared killer? And why is Mireille so scared of Intoccabile? Episode 9: Intoccabile Acte II Moving to Sicily, Intoccabile once again lays in wait for Noir. They have no choice but to oblige; she may not have seen the face of Mireille, but she certainly knew her as a child. Played in flashback, this episodes reveals the relationship between the two and draws to a close the two-part story. Volume Review Another four episodes, another four missions for our beautiful yet deadly assassins (well, not quite, as the last two episodes are part one and two of the same story). Mireille and Kirika are still trying to dig up clues about their past, taking jobs as they come. Obviously they don't meet with much success at this early point, although we do get to see the face of the mysterious clergyman for the first time (even if Mireille doesn't). Although the action in these four episodes never quite reaches the heights the first five had to offer, it nevertheless remains to be the main draw for the series, with some great set pieces and situations created by the excellent scripts. The scripts really are excellent. The first episode, set in snowy Russia is low on action but high on drama. For the first time we see Kirika display her emotions for anyone but herself and her own strife. This is a welcome relief from the usual hardened killing machine routine, but it doesn't last long. By the next episode she's back to slitting throats and shooting up bad guys. Mireille also shows some weakness in these episodes; in the Intoccabile Acte part I & II she is visibly shaken by the appearance of an old acquaintance and unable to pull the trigger as she knows she should. These frailties, however subtle, give the characters a human touch that was absent from the first five episodes. I hope to see more of the same in the future (as long as it doesn't get in the way of the action too much). Noir has a habit of feeding you the over-arching story in drips and drabs, sometimes related to the episode, sometimes not. Either way, it kept me watching for the 100 or so minutes it took to view these episodes. I'd recommend you do the same.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English subtitles, Japanese and English audio, Production sketches, Clean opening and closing, Original Japanese promos, ADV previews
Notes: This is very much the same as the last DVD, only with fewer production sketches to match the lower episode count. Again we have the four page insert with lots of useful information such as production notes. That red square..it's here again! Can someone please tell me what it's for? It's driving me nuts! Anyway, the picture and sound quality are very good. Some of the scenes look simply beautiful. God bless the miracle of DVD.
-- John Huxley 20th May 04
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