There are only a few anime out there that set out to screw with your mind right from the very beginning. With a wildly different art style and a plot rife with dimensional shifting and time travel, Noein weaves an astounding tale that leaves you bewildered. Right out of the gate this show is about as surreal and unique as it gets and from the very first volume these truths are evident. Noein justice.

In the first volume we met most all of the players and were introduced to this strange show with a blaze of dizzying twists and turns. At the center of everything is a young girl named Haruka and little does she know things are going to go from bad to worse. She's your typical teenage girl and has a loyal gang of friends who accompany her wherever she goes. When rumors start flying around about a ghost being seen in town she and her friends go to investigate.

They, or more importantly Haruka, discovers that the ghost is actually a man from another dimension. At first he seems hostile and will stop at nothing to get his hands on the girl. While the first volume progressed we learned that Haruka was something called the Dragon Torque and the La'cryma dimension needs her to save themselves from Shangri-La. As the volume progressed we learned that this robed man, Karasu, is actually a futuristic alternate version of her best friend Yu. Talk about a trip.

Karasu was joined by a band of other travelers (sometimes called Wheelers) from La'cryma and they essentially join forces to get Haruka. One of them went rogue and a very impressive fight ensued that led up to Haruka being taken back into the other dimension at the end of the volume. That's right where things pick up in the second installment's first episode.

When the two arrive in La'cryma they are surrounded by Dragon Soldiers. Karasu is imprisoned and debriefed after being presumed confused and mentally unstable. Haruka finds herself being incarcerated in a different manner. She's locked into a room and treated to food and medical attention but this is basically a padded cell with little leg room. She (and we) get the rundown as far as the differences between her world and dimension where the place is called La'cryma. It takes a while for it all to sink in but it's not until she seizes an opportunity to escape that the realization of what's going on really hits home.

La'cryma is a city miles beneath the planet's crust which has become infested with monsters. The people life like refugees and everything is pretty drab which makes Haruka long for her home and friends even more. Subtleties such as children of her alternate dimension friends make the experience more surreal and definitely added some weight to the background of the plot.

As the volume progresses more residents from La'cryma make their way to Haruka's original dimension. We learn yet more about what's going on and some of Shangri-La even shows up to wreak some havoc. Each episode on this disc offers a great amount of continuity and with each passing second of Noein I find myself getting more and more drawn to it. This is one of the freshest shows that I have seen in a long time and it is one that definitely messes with your mind.

If you like your anime unique and powerful Noein is constantly proving itself to be just that with each and every episode. The show can best be summed up as "surreal". When I tested the first volume of the series I was left with open questions and had to ask myself if I felt the series was headed in the right direction. After seeing the second volume I think it's safe to say that it is. This batch of episodes answers many of those questions that I had and really furthers the plot satisfactorily. Chalk me down as being on the edge of my seat waiting for the next volume.

There's just something about seeing anime in anamorphic widescreen that makes the experience seem like so much more. With the recent production date Noein is truly a work of art both in design and presentation on DVD. The wildly different style that it's presented with makes an impression but it's the virtually flawless transfer that seals the deal. The color palette is vibrant with great contrast and very little grain to cloud things. Despite some slight aliasing here and there thanks to the computer generated effects this is one of the most impressive shows that I have seen in a while.

The standard in anime seems to include stereo version of an English and Japanese dub. Noein goes beyond that and includes a 5.1 selection for both languages as well. The quality is top notch with a decent channel spread and use of the appropriate speakers when need be. There are points in this volume where the soundstage becomes very immersive. When Haruka travels to the heart of La'cryma amidst pounding and whirring machinery each channel comes to life. The battles also provide a welcome amount of base and separation.

There are plenty of points where Noein gets cerebral and somber and it's these moments that the show maintains itself on the front channels with dialogue. Both the English and Japanese 5.1 selections offer this immersion while the 2.0 stereo offerings obviously offer a much more limited experience. English and Spanish subtitles are included on this disc.

The first volume of Noein had some interesting features but the best was easily one that included Voice Actor Kudo Haruka and Director Kazuki Akane taking a tour of Hakodate. The second installment of that feature arrives and it's very similar in style to the first one. This is a nice promotional piece and fun to watch if you liked the show but doesn't necessarily have that much to do with the series' development which is disappointing. The only other feature this time around is a collection of headshots and a quote from each of the characters.

Noein's second volume does a much better job than the first as far as explaining what's going on here. Sure the concept is still out there and there are moments that boggle the mind but with ten episodes under its belt this is proving to be a very fresh and adept series. A fantastic technical presentation helps convey the moodiness of the anime and the art style simply explodes at times. If you're looking for a unique series with a lot of twists and memorable characters this is definitely one to check out. Highly Recommended

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