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 3: The Firing Chamber
By John Huxley
20th May 04  Episode Summary WARNING: may contain spoilers Episode 10: The True Noir Hired to kill a corrupt cop, Mireille and Kirika are surprised to find that their target has already been assassinated by an unknown killer. Receiving payment for a job they did not complete, it is obvious that the killer's motives could not be for profit alone. Undeterred, noir head to eliminate their second target: a judge who was an aide to the deceased cop. Little do they know the judge has been informed of noir's plans and he's ready and waiting for them to make their move. Episode 11: Moonlit Tea Party The elusive Soldats surprise noir by asking them to meet with a representative for reasons unknown. After their first meeting is cut short the representative falls foul of the mysterious assassin called Chloe, acting under orders from Altena. Things take a turn for the bizarre when Chloe turns up at Mireille's doorstep for a nice cup of tea... Episode 12: Assassination Mission Before heading home to Altena, Chloe must assassinate a former general of the cold war. Now retired and living the life a recluse in the Swiss Alps, the general invites his would-be killer for a walk, despite knowing full well that Chloe intends to kill him as he is familiar with the working of the Soldats. During their hilltop stroll the retired general is attacked by several gunmen working under orders from his old arch rival before Chloe jumps to the rescue. Naturally, she only saved him so she could kill him... Volume Review The third instalment of the lady-with-guns anime has arrived with three new episodes and a brand new character. The first episode on the disc, episode ten, introduces us to the purple haired Chloe, an assassin sent by Altena to liaison with noir. Her relationship with Mireille and Kirika is understandably shaky at this early juncture, having killed their target before them and proclaiming herself to be �the true noir'. Nevertheless, the threesome find time for a quick chat and a cup of coffee during the second episode, a string of events that suggests she is not the mortal enemy that she first appeared to be. The situation surrounding Chloe and Altena is cryptic at best. The implication is that Altena is a powerful figure who is at least knowing of the situation surrounding Mireille and Kirika, if not pulling the strings from afar. Chloe appears to be Altena's lapdog, although their relationship is far more affectionate that master and slave. All this is merely speculation on my behalf, as neither Altena nor Chloe are exactly forthcoming with personal details. I'd go as far to say that both characters are strangely absent, almost depressing in their lack of distinguishable attributes. I can understand that these characters will be fleshed out over time in order to keep things suspenseful, but right now - they're boring. Yes, Mireille and Kirika aren't exactly miss personality 2003, but they have a vibrancy in their design that has kept my interested for at least nine episodes. Which goes some way to explaining my slight disappointment with this volume of Noir. The shift in focus from the duo of Mireille and Kirika to the lone, sullen Chloe left me cold. Another reason for my disappointment was the lacklustre action. The first episode contains the best of the volume, even if it isn't comparable to the action seen earlier in the series. Much of this early success can be attributed to the semi-realistic behaviour of the two main characters and the story that surrounds and enhances the action itself, neither of which is evident here. The action scenes appear slapped-on; a last minute afterthought to appease fans, and the gunplay is little more than a few shots and a bit of blood. Having said all that, there is still a lot to like about Noir. The action is far from appalling (it merely fails to meet the high standards set by itself) and the new character adds variety if nothing else. The locations remain suitably exotic and brilliantly realised, the almost anal attention to detail doesn't go unnoticed and the music is as fantastic as it ever was. It looks pretty nice, too. I have no doubt that Noir will improve upon these three episodes. It's just a question when rather than if.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 5.1 audio, English subtitles, Interview with Houko Kuwashima, Production sketches, Clean opening and closing, Original Japanese promos, ADV previews
Release information: UK release date: 22nd September 2003, ADV
Notes: The most notable difference from past instalments is the interview with Houko Kuwahima, the voice actress for Kirika. It's always great to see interviews with the original Japanese cast because these are people who were working at the heart of the project alongside the directors and the designers. The production sketches return along with the handy dual-language option, and this time we get to see the designs for the new character, Chloe.
Of course, the best feature that I haven't listed above is back and better than ever. This time the insert comes in a six page foldout format with production notes, staff talk and even a couple of cute little drawings of Chloe & Altena's made-up Noir plot and Kirika asleep with her cat. The mystery of the red box that has appeared on the back of the previous two inserts has finally been solved - this volume includes a pair of glasses that can be used to decode the boxes and gain access to the secret easter eggs. A printing problem prevented the previous two boxes from working properly with the glasses, so ADV have supplied us with the codes at their [l=http://www.advfilms.co.uk/noir/extras/index.shtml]Noir mini-site[el].
-- John Huxley 20th May 04
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