Noein

Posted Saturday, May 17, 2008 - 11:44 by animesempai

Summary:

Summer break means fun and relaxation for many sixth-graders in Hokadate, but for Yu it means intense studying and cram school forced upon him by a mother obsessed with seeing him test into a middle school in Tokyo. Even his friends are ultimately not allowed to visit him lest he be distracted. But strange things are afoot surrounding him and especially his best friend Haruka, with whom he has considered running away. Ghostly images appear and vanish before her and time occasionally stops around her as individuals claiming to be from another dimension seem intent on kidnapping her. They claim she is something called a Dragon Torque, which is critical for stabilizing their own dimension in a future time frame, and indeed Haruka does seem capable of manifesting such an item, one linked to a mysterious entity known only as Noein, and using some incredible powers. What's more, one of the images claims to be an alternate future version of Yu, and not all of them seem to agree on the proper course of action; some want the Dragon Torque dead instead

Story: 8.5

The series isn't all about its action-laden sci-fi elements, however. Much of the content focuses on the very ordinary activities and circumstances of 6th grade kids, whether it's a slapfest between two girls provoked by jealousy over a boy, experimenting with a Ouija board, going out “ghost-hunting” over summer break, or dealing with a friend who's become a virtual prisoner due to his enforced studying and cramming for an upcoming entrance exam. The extreme stress Yu is being put under, and the negative effect it's having on him, lends a darker and edgier side to what is otherwise occasionally light-hearted slice-of-life content. His prominent use of a utility knife only furthers the impression that he is a boy on the edge, and the alternate-dimension man named Karasu, who claims to be a future version of Yu, isn't helping matters by telling Yu that there's nothing he can really do to protect Haruka or keep her from fading away, but hey, he should try anyway. Further making things interesting is the insane Atori, another of the Dragon Cavalry who comes to believe that Haruka, as the Dragon Torque, would be better off dead than captured.

Animation: 8.5

A lot of CG work has gone into this one, whether it's animating vehicles and water waves, depicting a giant Ouroboros-shaped portal, animating a giant alien ship, or playing around with its frequent perspective-shifting shots. The 2D animation is good enough that normal movements look smooth and lend effect energy to its dynamic, high-strung fight scenes. The 2D/CG integration isn't flawless, but it's one of the better efforts to date outside of a Gonzo production. Kudos to Satelight for producing one of the year's more distinctive and memorable looks.

Music: 9

The fully orchestrated musical score certainly doesn't lack for dramatic flair during the more dramatic scenes, even slightly overdoing it at times. The opener and closer are both pleasant enough numbers but neither is especially memorable.

Characters: 9

PRESENT TIME: Haruka Kaminogi --- In the present timespace, Haruka is one of the protagonists of the anime. In this timespace, she was a typical elementary school student before a ghost hunting trip led by Miho led her to meet Karasu for what she believed to be the first time, although she had previously seen him on a church steeple. Y? Goto --- In the present timespace, he is Haruka's classmate and one of the protagonists of the anime. He, unlike other students, is being forced by his mother to go to cram school in order to pass a provincial enrollment test and go to a Tokyo junior high. As a result, he has little time for anything but studying. He initially tries to run away with disastrous results, and later has a blowup with his mother. Once the pressure is relieved, he realizes that he needs to take the exams because he has no special talents. Ai Hasebe --- In the present timespace, she is another of Haruka's classmates, and one of her best friends. She is an expert in soccer, and she has a crush on Isami that doesn't initially seem to be reciprocated. When Isami gives Haruka the same gift he gave Ai, Ai becomes briefly angry that she's shown no special affection. Isami Fujiwara --- He is another one of Haruka's friends in the present timespace. He lives with his brother and grandmother, as their parents both died. He appears to be tough on the outside but has a fear for ghosts, and he is constantly nagging Y? about being a "mama's boy" and never doing anything but study and go to cram school. Y? and Isami are very close, with Y?'s angsty, doubting nature offset by Isami's laid-back personality Miho Mukai --- In the present timespace, she is a close friend of Haruka, Y?, Isami and Ai. Even though she believes in aliens, ghosts and the like, a surprising fact is that she is sometimes right in her theories of alien abduction. She develops a bond with Atori when he loses his memories, who at first thinks she is his sister. When Atori shows signs of relapsing into his prior psychotic behavior, Miho starts sobbing and threatening to not speak to him, which restores him to normal. IN THE FUTURE: Karasu --- He is Y? in a future timespace, La'cryma, and is one of the protagonists of the anime. However, though his mission was to find the Dragon Torque, Haruka, Karasu had an alternate reason as he removed his pipeline to remain in our timespace as Haruka's protector. In his timespace, he failed to save Haruka from death, and thus swore to protect the Harukas of other timespaces from anyone or anything Fukur? --- He is Isami in the same future timespace as Karasu. He also became a Dragon Knight. Unlike the tormented Karasu, Fukur? managed to keep his sense of humour and laid-back personality, and his motto seems to be "Don't worry about it." Being Karasu's best friend, Fukur? failed the mission to kill him when he was declared a traitor; deciding instead to aid Karasu. However, Noein killed Fukur? after Haruka changed the future she saw in which it was Karasu who killed him. Fukur? is a close friend with the future Ai, and expresses his wish to see her one more time as he dies. Noein --- He is the eponymous antagonist of the anime, initially appearing as a floating mask over a spectral body, occasionally revealing himself to "rescue" Haruka and eliminate anyone who interferes. But in reality, Noein is another Y? from a different timespace where he survived the car crash that killed Ms. Yukie, Isami, and Ai, he had to endure watching a bloody Haruka be killed in the ensuing explosion. Unable to bear the pain of losing Her, Noein decided to look for a new Haruka in a different timespace only to find that every Yu in the other timespaces suffers the similar pain of losing their respective Haruka, and that each timespace was filled with pain, death and sorrow. As a result of this, Noein decided to converge every timespace to stop all the pain and sorrow, creating Shangri'la as the first step of his plan: To use the Dragon Torque's power to erase all existence and start things anew.

Overall: 8.75

What really distinguishes Noein from other series is its look. Character designs step beyond typical anime stylistic elements, creating designs that are sometimes familiar-looking but more often very distinctly different, especially in the way lips are drawn for women and cloaked figures of the Dragon Cavalry; Atori's appearance in particular is an embodiment of his mental instability. The styling at times gives a distinctly manga-art feel, as if the artists were just directly animating manga panels rather than redrawing them, and this is furthered by regular use of manga-styled shading lines on character's faces. This effect is doubtless intended to give a feeling of how the Dragon Cavalry members are disconnected from normal reality when they move to the current-time dimension, and if that is the goal, the series succeeds at it quite well. Noein does have enough going on to draw one in and hold one's interest. It is not a series you can watch idly, as it is a bit deeper and a lot more involved than it may appear to be at first. An interesting visual style, edgy action scenes, and distinctive characters all contribute to an opening volume well worth checking out.