Possessing extensive publicity and emulating the French-born school of bleak, gritty cinema from which it takes its title, Noir got attention in America long before it was licensed by ADV Films. Yet with great hype comes great backlash, and Noir was either a stylish action saga or vapid, wearisome tripe, depending on who you asked. Now that I’ve seen it, my own opinion, as it often does in cases like this, lands somewhere in the middle.
As a professional assassin, Mireille Bouquet (try to devise a more French-sounding name, if you can) is evidently so used to the craft that at first she thinks little of an anonymous proposal e-mailed to her one day. However, the message emits a tune that’s somehow familiar to Mireille, causing her to follow its trail to Japan. At a specified meeting point, she encounters one Kirika Yumura, a morose, whispering schoolgirl who looks fairly ordinary until some suit-wearing thugs unexpectedly show up and prove otherwise, as the girl kills almost all of them within minutes.
Taking Kirika in, Mireille learns that the girl has no memories, save those of the word "noir" and a fraudulent family life which vanished overnight. As this intersects with some important piece of Mireille’s own history, the two assassins arrive at a partnership founded, strangely enough, on the understanding that Mireille is willing to kill Kirika if the need arises. Together, they take on typical assassin’s contracts, all the while nearing the secrets of their lost lives.
Much like Pulp Fiction's vision of its genre-referencing namesake, Noir tries to back up its titular promise with a generous helping of nihilistic tones and violent flair. Mireille and Kirika’s dialogue is pretentious, brooding, and set against a measured cinematic mood that’s amplified by the show’s choice of a widescreen ratio. The inevitable shoot-outs benefit from clever staging as well as a pulsing, chanting soundtrack that somehow doesn’t get old, even after appearing in all of the first five episodes. Director Koichi Mashimo (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Sorcerer Hunters, and .hack//SIGN) seems to know just how far pulp storylines can push a viewer’s suspension of disbelief, and he instills a selective denial of realism into each episode. It’s a technique that had me raising an eyebrow at a few implausible scenes, but I can’t fault the payoff. As far as suspenseful gunplay goes, Noir proves as satisfying as one could hope for.
Still, a decent noir tale also requires some semblance of depth, and Kirika and Mireille’s story doesn’t fulfill this part of the bargain. Each episode on Noir’s first volume introduces a different set of villains, but they seem little more than targets for the female assassins, and it’s almost tiring by the fifth time that a group of moderately armed criminals is efficiently dispatched by the lethal duo. The only possible moment of empathy comes in the fourth episode, when Kirika and Mireille set after a corrupt company bigwig who’s halfway nice to his estranged teenage daughter, and therefore not one-dimensional in his evilness.
It’s banal, but this could conceivably be interesting if Kirika and Mireille weren’t such bland characters. Though Kirika’s meek voice and indecipherable glances give her a haunting air, her tabula rasa mindset robs her of all but the most basic traits. As a long-time assassin, Mireille would have a better chance at developing a personality, but she’s never particularly spirited, insightful, or evocative of any other adjectives that a half-intriguing heroine would invite. And though her hidden past is the crux of Noir’s storyline, it ultimately isn’t all that fascinating or unique of a premise.
Series creator and writer Ryoe Tsukimura seems intent on letting the show glide through pointless episodes, and somehow, this doesn’t heighten suspense as much as it reduces things to shallow chaff. The primary villains, spotted in the opening animation, don’t even appear until the seventh or eighth episode, and even with them on stage, there’s still a ready host of generic bodyguards and hitmen to serve as bullet storage. Noir plays out like an action film unevenly spread across 26 television-friendly pieces, with plenty of filler both unnecessary and unsatisfying.
All the same, Noir receives excellent treatment from ADV Films. Monica Rial, best known for timid-voiced roles like Excel Saga’s Hyatt and Gasaraki’s Miharu, is a perfect fit for Kirika, and apparent ADV dub newcomer Shelley Calene-Black does a stellar job with Mireille, playing her at the ideal point between sensual and icy. There’s no cause for dub fans to resort to the Japanese language track, but if they do, they’ll encounter first-rate performances from Kotono Mitsuishi (Misato in Evangelion, Excel in Excel Saga) as Mireille and Houko Kuwashima as Kirika.
For all of the show’s inanities and disappointments, Noir has some nice moments of disillusioned fluff, leaving me to conclude that the greatest flaw of the series may be its inexplicable reputation as the next Cowboy Bebop. Look no further than the smooth surface of Noir, and you’ll find equally superficial entertainment. You just won't find much worth talking about.
C+
