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A dimensional war is being lost. The dimension of La'cryma
is fighting to save the earth but is loosing to the Shangri-la
dimension. Their last hope lies fifteen years in their own
past with Haruka and the recovery of the Dragon Torque...
Noein,
directed by Akane Kazuki, originally ran for twenty-four episodes
in 2005. To be honest, whist it's a good show, it throws you
straight into the action without any explanation - meaning
that a lot of what happens has to be taken on faith until
more information is provided. It makes for quite an unsettling
experience. For most of the earlier episodes you have absolutely
no idea what is happening. People fight and you have no idea
who they are and things go weird for no apparent reason. It's
great to look at, but utterly confusing. Thankfully, if you
stick with the show, it all slowly starts to make sense.
Disc
one contains episodes one to five, as well as three clean
opening and a closing sequence. The gem on the first disc
is a kind of fifteen minute travelogue with the director and
one of the female Japanese voice actors who travel to Hakodate,
the town in which Noein is set. It's an unusual extra but
a great one none the less.
There's
a smorgasbord of audio options with both Japanese and English
stereo and 5.1, with subtitles. The 5.1 is impressive, especially
in the sequences using the full orchestra, it brings a cinematic
feel to the show. The show is presented in 16:9 anamorphic
widescreen. Disc two contains exactly the same episodes as
disc one, though with DTS audio tracks and a bunch of trailers
for five other shows.
Episode
one, Blue Snow, and it is summer break. Haruka thinks
that she is seeing ghosts, something is defiantly wrong when
your world goes all weird and neon. Worse yet, her friend
Yu is a troubled teenager who thinks he is going mad. Around
the school there is a lot of talk about ghosts and men dressed
in black capes who disappear. The kids decide to investigate.
Sounds like a great idea, until Yu and Haruka are confronted
by a dark spectre. Meanwhile, a pair of operatives is tracking
the trans-dimensional anomaly.
Runaway,
and it is the day after the revelation that the weird dude
(that everyone is seeing) is actually Yu from fifteen years
in the future. Yu is still being pressured by his mother to
cram for exams he doesn't care about. Yu and Haruka decide
to run away from home; Haruka to find her divorced father,
Yu to get away from a mother devoid of emotion. On the mountain
top they start to see the past, future and present all at
the same time.
In
Hunted, Yu and Haruka are being hunted by, as yet,
unnamed bad guys. A lengthy fight and flight ensue, which
is infused with real tension and excitement. Eventually Yu's
future self turns up to rescue them, but can Yu get over his
natural cowardice to save his own skin?
Friends,
and Haruka find herself caught between the two trans-dimensional
forces. It finally dawns on Haruke that, whoever the creatures
are, they are not after Yu after all. The confrontation draws
the attention of the agents, who nearly run Haruka over.
Both
discs end with the episode And Then, by which time
the show has given up enough of its secrets to make the audience
feel that they are getting to grips with the overall concept.
Finally the penny has dropped and even Haruka's friends are
starting to understand that weird things are happening around
her.
The
show is a little odd, the backgrounds have depth and detail,
the CGI is impressive. So, why did Kishida Takahiro, the character
designer, have the main characters drawn, initially, with
so little shading or detail? It's not as if they are not distinctive,
it just looks like they should be in another show and then
bang in the next scene they are fully detailed. The show seems
to have as many styles as it has scenes. Although it's annoying
at times, it's a great way of keeping the audience unsettled
and glued to the show.
If
you're willing to put a little effort into following the show
you'll be richly rewarded. Sure, it's a little different,
but then after watching a slew of repetitive fight shows this
is like a breath of fresh air. Pity about the repetition between
the two discs though.
Charles
Packer
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