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Noein, Vol. 5
There are only a few anime on the market 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. Fortunately this befuddlement gives way to amazement because all around this is a top-notch show.
Directed by Kazuki Akane and Kenji Yasuda this 24 episode series uses a breathtakingly original art style filled with dramatic sketchy marks and wild animation to tell its story. While the series is complex the plot can be summarized simply by saying that it focuses on the lives of some children. Warriors from a futuristic parallel dimension come back to nab one girl in particular in an effort to save their world from being destroyed. That's kind of it in a nutshell but to be fair that summary doesn't do Noein justice.
Haruka is basically the normal school girl she is insinuated to be when the series starts. Unfortunately things are about to get weird for her very soon. A shadowy figure appears one night while her friends are looking for a ghost and a mysterious person tries to kidnap her. We soon learn that these black-clad visitors are explorers of sorts from a different timeline and dimension. They have come back in time to capture Haruka because she is something called The Dragon Torque and has the power to save their timeline. It would seem that a creature known as Shangri-La is threatening their world and this unwitting little girl is the key to redemption.
In the previous volume Haruka was left wandering between a series of dimensions that were close to her own. You could say that she was soul searching because it helped her discover who she was in relation to everything that was going on. It also brought the scope of quantum reality into play and gave us more of a glimpse at Noein and his unique sense of villainy. Aside from some necessary and finely tuned character development Kuina the Dragon Knight revealed his true nature and attempted to capture Haruka to gain admittance into Shangri-La. Some more exposition happened and plenty of things shifted as the series began its run to these four final episodes.
Given how impressed I have been with Noein I simply do not want to spoil much of anything from this last volume. Each time I sat down to watch the show I was treated to many surprising moments and thusly I feel that as a viewer of this fine program, you should be too. The unconventional storytelling and unique source material make for an interesting show and it's one that will draw you in as the final moments begin to pass you by. I will say that a big part of what goes on here is the further development of some secondary characters and most of the main cast.
Like the alternate realities that make up the backbone of Noein's plot, there have been many branching storylines running parallel to the main conflict regarding Haruka. In this volume we finally get to know more about her father and the Magic Circle Project which really puts many things into perspective. It helps to start the etching of the finale in stone and paints a picture of things to come. I don't want to say that I felt the actual ending was predictable but I have to admit that it seemed unavoidable.
Leading up to the final moments Noein and Haruka have a lot of stuff going on between them. The future of all dimensions is laid out on the line and the question of survival comes down to the choices made today. This has been a common theme throughout the show though thankfully it has never felt preachy in any way. Because of this last sprint towards the finish line Noein does head down some paths that you can see coming. I wasn't disappointed in the least and to be quite honest I don't feel that there could have been another ending for the series. I suppose part of me was hoping for something more grandiose thanks to what I came to expect from the previous 20 episodes of the show but what's here suits things just fine.
From the beginning to the bittersweet end, Noein was a hell of a ride. Manga did an amazing job with the presentation of this fresh and thought-provoking show and if you haven't seen it, you're missing out. I can't recommend this series enough.
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 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 only thing you're going to find on this volume of Noein is an image gallery and clean animation. It's somewhat disappointing from the perspective of someone who has become a fan but I suppose there just wasn't a big call for supplemental material for the program.
It's rare when an anime is released and every volume makes the series better and better. Noein is one of those exceptional gems. The story is so well-crafted and presented that you'll want to watch it again and again just to let everything seep in. In my reviews for previous volumes I stated that this was one of the top three shows currently on the market. Now that the final installment has arrived I still back that claim.
It's so rare when a series engages you in such a powerful fashion. Everything from the characters to the story has been perfectly paired with an imaginative art style and fantastic technical presentation. As the final episode came to a close I felt like I had just turned the last page of a classic book. My mind whirled as I came to terms with everything that transpired and I was left with the strong itch to go back and watch the show again to ensure that I missed nothing. You simply can't say no to Noein. Highly Recommended
Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!
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