Rating: 
Summary: Two Maidens Who Govern Death
Review: A friend of mine once told me that he was tired of anime with cutesy sidekicks, aliens, magical girls, giant robots, and ancient monsters. He wanted to see something that was realistic, without all the comic relief common to other shows. I showed him Noir. It's a Japanese show set mostly in France featuring music sung in Latin to a techno beat. If that's not polyculturalism, I don't know what is. It begins with Mirielle Boquet, an assassin for hire, and a young girl named Kirika Yumara. Kirika, it seems, has no memory of her past, and is being hunted by a group of relentless killers. She seeks out Mirielle, the knowledge of the other woman in her head for some reason.
It soon becomes clear that whoever erased Kirika's memory also trained her to be a professional killer. And while Mirielle is talented and professional, Kirika can kill her opponents as easily as she can breathe.
The only bit of information in Kirika's head is a verse from an old tome, "Noir, it is the name of an ancient Fate. Two maidens who govern Death. Their black hands protect the peace of the newly born."
Dubbing themselves Noir, Mirielle promises to help Kirika uncover her past, in an effort to unlock the secrets of her own. .
Beautifully scored music highlights the poetry in motion of their missions, as Noir seeks to learn the truths of their past and come to terms with it. Credit where it's due, there is almost no blood in this series, despite the high body count. It's also a thinking person's anime, as you struggle to collect the clues and figure out the mysterious plots.
Included are a pair of decoder glasses to decypher a riddle on the back of the DVD insert. For those who like their anime realistic, their action fast, and their senses dazzled.
Rating: 
Summary: A series definitely worth watching
Review: This is the story of two assassins entangled in mystery. It slowly unravels itself as the episodes go by. Pictured in anamorphic widescreen and English/Japanese 5.1 Dolby mixes, this is the way the aninme should be experienced. The transfer is nearly flawless. And so is the anime. The style of music, art, and character development is superb. However, I must take off one star for a couple of reasons. The amazon.com review is truly exaggerating about the same scenes popping up, but it does happen. And it is quite annoying in some cases. The dub is not recommended. Both of the main characters barely even speak louder than a whisper, and they lack the emotion of their Japanese counterparts. That's about it. The content of this DVD is about PG-13. Even though there is a lot of killing, all of it is completely bloodless. Some mild language, no sexual content. For a series about assassins, it's pretty clean. Check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: Grows more interesting with time
Review: After a second full viewing, I'm forced to conclude that Noir may have a deep and meaningful embedded/interlaced/concealed plot. For example: Why is Mireille the only person in the Noir universe permitted to kill Kirika at any moment? If I'd had the right childhood training, I'd have immediately understood that Kirika possessed the true heart of a Samurai, and had completely embraced the life-role of a sworn retainer to Mireille from the moment they first met. This one twist...once made clear to me...affected my perception of all of Kirika's following actions. There are more than a few perception-changing twists lurking within this series. To me, these make Noir into an interesting and entertaining piece of work. That being said, I found the re-use of many brief non-action segments to be maddening. (How many times do we need to see someone picking grapes?) This series would be even more enjoyable if there were fewer repeated scenes. Overall: The artwork is wonderful. The music is superb. I like the restrained use of physical ability. None of the action sequences require much effort in order to suspend disbelief. The weapons are frighteningly realistic. I'd like to give it 4.5 stars, but the system demands either 4 or 5. Very well...I'll give it a 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughts for those looking to start this series...
Review: I have the boxed set for this series and have watched a little more then half of it so far. This review, then, is the review of someone who has started the series and, having not finished it yet, is giving his opinion on it thus far. Overall, I have found Noir to very well done but not really too enjoyable. I love the artwork and feel of the series, which fits very well with its plot and setting. The basics of the plot and setting are that two assassins, obviously the two girls that are featuresd everywhere on the box and dvd cases if you haven't already guessed, flit about Europe doing hits for mysterious employers, all the while attempting to reconcile their pasts and figure out the mystery that is surrounding them, the mysterious organization known as the Soldats, and the legacy if the maiden assassins named Noir. While very original, this ends up turning into a rather slow, boring, and a somewhat emotionless anime. While the two assassin women are nice eye candy and the action scenes can occassionally be exciting, too much of this anime is spent with the girls sitting around various places thinking or talking quietly about their next job or one of the mysteries they are trying to figure out at that moment. In general, I would say at least half of this series is very very quiet and actionless. And you can forget about emotion or dramma too. The two assassins are virtually robotic in the range of feelings and expressions they show. Heck, they generally express the same emotions when shooting someone as when they are eating something or sitting around doing nothing as usual. Comedy is also absent completely from this series, with not a ingle laugh or joke being present in all of the first 4 dvds. So what, you may ask, is the point of this series if there is little action, no humour, and no emotion or drama? Mystery and philosophy seem to be about it. The entire anime, up to the point I've seen, seems to rest entirely on figuring out who the Soldats are and the assassins moping around trying to get to grips with who they really are themselves. In the end, I think this anime series could be really enjoyable for some, but its defenitely not for everyone. If you feel like a quiet, deep, and srtistic anime series, then you won't go too far off the bat with Noir. If you're looking for a rush, Noir will probably not do it for you.
Rating:
Summary: A God-sent series
Review: Noir is one of the best girls & guns series up to date. With such a mysterious connection between characters, it is a change from the dutiful protagonists who are pure and good. With an inspirational soundtrack that goes with it and scene after scene of eye opening action, I reccomend this DVD to anyone who likes action anime.
Rating:
Summary: A difficult start, but avoids the "Ship of Fools Syndrome"!
Review: First I couldn't say that this would be everybody's type of anime. If you like fan service, comedy, or romances look elsewhere immediately. Despite fan fiction sites, that would turn the affection between the two principals into Lesbian subtext. It's not about that kind of relationship either. Noir is more about style than plot, although it does have a plot. These early episodes take a while to draw your interest. I put the first DVD into my player, and watched most of the way though episode one a number of times. I kept getting distracted, and losing interest. I was hoping this was not one of "those" series, that I just can't stand watching. I call it the "Ship of Fools Syndrome", based on my experience with that highly rated, but overlong movie. I tried to watch the Ship of Fools no less than a dozen times, mainly because it's supposed to be a great movie. To this day, I still have never been able to sit through more than an hour, and cannot recall anything that happened in that overlong, black and white film. Fortunately, Noir escaped that fate. I finally watched beyond the first episode, and the series started to grow on me a little. The introduction is a little strange; a smallish, Japanese schoolgirl with amnesia, sends an E-mail, and musical message to a highly accomplished, female, professional assassin. Questions abound as to why she sought her out, how she knew to attract her attention, (somehow piquing the interest of something in her forgotten past). The little Japanese girl is an incredibly talented killer in her own right, and seems to have a lot of people trying to kill her for unknown reasons. The girls form an uneasy, temporary alliance, and start calling themselves Noir. Noir apparently refers to a legendary pair of assassins from French history. Mireille Bouquet, the contract killing professional, is from Corsica. She agrees to take on the little girl, who may or may not be named Kirika (from a school ID card in her possession). When she finds out some answers, she promises to kill her. Together they begin taking on some of Mireille's regular contract jobs. The second episode just demonstrates the incredible efficiency this pair has in their profession. Its action for the sake of action. On about the third episode, some of the series plot starts to unfold, the mission is compromised, and we learn how really good Kirika can be as a killer. The final two episodes in the first five, show more about someone else working in the background, to set up this new incarnation of Noir. I will repeat this anime is more about style than plot, and the action does become enjoyable. The music is excellent, it reminded me of the style music in .hack//sign, but somehow seems much better. Beware, the music often plays in the background, long after watching the series you'll find it playing repeatedly in your head. Art and animation are very good especially the action sequences. Some of the details were a little off. I found it interesting, that they both observed the Japanese custom of removing their shoes at the door, even though Mireille is a Corsican who lives in Paris. The good news here is, after a slow start, I leave the first five episodes wanting to see more.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Hey this dvd is simply awesome. the music fits so well with whatever scene is playing. it has great animation. One thing i did not like was that their voices were so soft that i had to turn on the english subtitles to find out what they were saying!
But overall a very awesome anime i recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: tudah of iraq
Review: Noir is a diamond in the ruff. Do not let the first volume steer you away from the rest of the series. The plot thickens in the 2nd volume. I gave it 4 stars only because it takes a while for the series to stop focusing on their cold blooded skills and focus on the real reason you are watching. And that is, a clue as to who they are, how their past is linked, and why the powers that be are playing with there lives? So stay tuned!
Rating:
Summary: Noir can be passed up, but doesnt have to be.
Review: It's a little more mature than Najica, but also a bit slow and plodding. I'm not saying that Noir should be passed up, in fact I'd suggest buying it, but not perhaps as your first choice when building a collection. The one thing which this series has that makes it stand out is the sheer cold-blooded manner in which the two protagonists kill. They have character and personality but also regularly gun down people in such a cold fashion that you are compelled to puzzle over just how these two could have gotten to this point. And that is the whole hook - two cute (of course) girls (of course) who assasinate their targets without pity. Even in mainstream Hollywood do you rarely find scenes quite so merciless. Not outright evil, just cold-blooded. I'm not saying this is good or bad. It IS different, in a series that without it would be terribly drab. So final analysis - Noir is overrated, but not by too much, and it has it's moments. Just don't buy it for your brooding teenage daughter before she goes to gun-camp...
Rating:
Summary: A interesting start...
Review: Mireille Bouquet is a professional, an artist that ranks as one of the best, one of the most skilled of any in her line of business. She is an assassin, polished and experienced. But even the smartest of hunters sometimes become the hunted.
Kirika Yumura, a young Japanese girl, has no knowledge of her past, yet her body is as deadly and as dangerous as Mireille's. She also has no idea why she has the pocket watch, the one that plays a song that Mireille remembers from her past, a past she wishes to forget.
One girl without a past and one woman who runs from it. Where will they end up?
The anime is well made, well crafted. The characters, their expressions, their actions, their lines are all carefully directed and controlled. Nothing is wasted, from the settings to the title of each episode. Most everything was realistic - no aliens, no monsters, no energy swords and no fan-service.
But I do have a few complaints. For a anime called Noir, about assassins and mystery, the action is kind of slow and uninteresting. Also I was not "DRAWN" in by the plot or "captivated" by the women. I may or may not continue to buy DVDs from the series.
The extras on the DVD, the information filled fold-out and the pair of 3-D glasses that came with the DVD, were all very nice and showed that a lot more thought were put into the extras than with most DVDs.
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