Noir

Noir is a Japanese television anime series created and written by Ryōe Tsukimura and produced by Victor Entertainment and Bee Train. Directed by Kōichi Mashimo, the series combines crime drama, mystery, action, and psychological thriller elements. Its central characters are Mireille Bouquet, a Corsican assassin from a powerful criminal family, and Kirika Yuumura, a Japanese schoolgirl suffering from amnesia who possesses extraordinary instinctive killing abilities. After Kirika contacts Mireille with the single remembered word “Noir,” the two women form an uneasy partnership and begin accepting assassination work under that name while trying to reconstruct Kirika’s identity and understand the violent destruction of Mireille’s family. The title refers to an ancient designation associated with two female agents who supposedly “govern death.” Within the series’ mythology, Noir is connected to Les Soldats, a secret organization that has influenced European society and criminal networks for roughly a millennium. The organization claims to have originated as a protective force formed by survivors of an ancient war, but its ideals have decayed into power, secrecy, and manipulation. As Mireille and Kirika investigate their pasts, they become targets in a succession of tests and assassination attempts arranged by competing factions within Les Soldats. Noir was notable for treating its supernatural-sounding mythology largely through the conventions of a grounded criminal thriller. Its settings move between Japan, Paris, and other European locations, while the narrative emphasizes conspiracies, memory, family trauma, organized crime, and the ethical consequences of violence. A third assassin, Chloe, regards Kirika as a destined partner in the creation of a “True Noir.” Altena, a priestess and senior figure within Les Soldats, seeks to restore what she considers the organization’s original purpose through a ritual known as the Grand Retour. The resulting conflict places the three candidates and the organization’s council in opposition. The series ran for 26 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 6 through September 28, 2001. Victor Entertainment subsequently issued the episodes on thirteen Japanese home-video volumes and later remastered the program from its original 35 mm elements for Blu-ray. Internationally, ADV Films released the series in English-language DVD collections in North America and the United Kingdom, while Madman Entertainment distributed it in Australia and New Zealand. After ADV Films’ restructuring, Funimation acquired North American rights and reissued the program through its Anime Classics line, with later availability associated with Funimation’s successor service, Crunchyroll. Music was a major part of Noir’s identity. Yuki Kajiura composed the score, working with vocalists including Yuriko Kaida and Yuri Kasahara and with the group See-Saw. Ali Project performed the opening theme “Coppelia no Hitsugi,” while Akino Arai performed the ending theme “Kirei na Kanjō.” Victor Entertainment released a theme single and three soundtrack albums during 2001. The series’ visual language also gave distinctive attention to firearms: Mireille uses a Walther P99, Kirika uses a Beretta M1934, and Les Soldats agents carry a range of European weapons. Noir was followed by Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja, which together are commonly described as a loose trilogy of Bee Train productions exploring the girls-with-guns genre. Unlike the later series, Noir remains primarily focused on the criminal underworld rather than overt supernatural events. The original anime remains the definitive released television work associated with the title. A proposed live-action adaptation for Starz entered development but was repeatedly delayed and ultimately remained stalled in the reported development period.

Noir was developed as an original anime project rather than as an adaptation of an existing manga or novel. Ryōe Tsukimura created and wrote the series, while Bee Train produced the animation with Victor Entertainment. Kōichi Mashimo directed the production. Character designs were credited to Yoko Kikuchi, Minako Shiba, and Satoko Miyachi; Kenji Teraoka handled mechanical design; and Yuki Kajiura composed the music. The creative team built the show around two contrasting female leads: Mireille, an experienced Corsican professional shaped by organized crime, and Kirika, an amnesiac Japanese teenager whose ability to kill appears to operate independently of conscious memory. The series’ narrative begins when Kirika approaches Mireille with almost no knowledge of her own identity beyond the word “Noir” and her lethal reflexes. Mireille agrees to investigate after recognizing clues connected to the murder of her family. Their inquiry gradually becomes a working partnership, with the women taking assassination contracts while confronting increasingly organized attacks from Les Soldats. The organization’s history, factions, rituals, and attempts to control the title of Noir provide the principal long-form mystery. Chloe, another assassin who uses knives rather than firearms, and Altena, a priestess attempting to revive an older order, expand the conflict beyond the protagonists’ personal investigation. Noir premiered on TV Tokyo on April 6, 2001, and concluded its 26-episode run on September 28 of the same year. Victor Entertainment released the episodes in thirteen Japanese DVD and VHS sets between July 2001 and March 2002. The company later remastered the series from its original film elements and released a Japanese Blu-ray edition in February 2014. The program received international home-video distribution. ADV Films released seven English-language DVD collections between February and October 2003 for North America and the United Kingdom. Madman Entertainment handled releases in Australia and New Zealand. After ADV’s restructuring, Funimation obtained North American rights in 2010 and later issued the series through its Anime Classics range. A Blu-ray edition followed in North America in 2015, and the title became associated with streaming availability on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The soundtrack became one of the production’s most recognizable features. Kajiura’s score uses choral, orchestral, and atmospheric writing to support the series’ European crime setting. Victor Entertainment released the opening-theme single “Coppelia no Hitsugi” in May 2001, followed by two original soundtrack albums and Blanc dans Noir later that year. Ali Project performed the opening theme and Akino Arai performed the ending theme “Kirei na Kanjō.” Mashimo subsequently described Noir and Madlax as parts of a broader creative exploration of the girls-with-guns genre. El Cazador de la Bruja later completed the informal trilogy. The three productions share thematic and stylistic interests but are not a continuous narrative. Noir is the most overtly grounded in criminal conspiracies and European underworld imagery. A live-action feature or television adaptation was considered by Starz, with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert attached as executive producers and several writers involved over the course of development. The project entered a holding pattern by 2012, and Starz stated in early 2013 that it remained stalled because the creative direction had not reached an acceptable stage. No completed live-action adaptation is identified in the cited material.

• 2015

  North American Blu-ray release

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  Funimation releases a North American Blu-ray edition on April 15.

• 2014

  Japanese Blu-ray remaster

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  Victor Entertainment releases a remastered Blu-ray edition based on the original 35 mm materials.

• 2003

  English-language DVD release

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  ADV Films completes its seven-volume English-language DVD rollout for North America and the United Kingdom.

• 2002

  Japanese home-video cycle concludes

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  The thirteenth and final Japanese DVD/VHS compilation is released on March 21.

• 2001

  Japanese television premiere

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  Noir begins its 26-episode broadcast on TV Tokyo on April 6, 2001.

• 2001

  Original soundtrack program launches

  [1]Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org

  Victor Entertainment releases the opening single and the first two soundtrack albums during the series’ broadcast year.

A stylish, adult-oriented anime crime thriller distinguished by female protagonists, European settings, conspiratorial mythology, gunplay, psychological mystery, and an atmospheric orchestral soundtrack.

• Television anime series · 2001

  Noir

  The core 26-episode anime follows Mireille Bouquet and Kirika Yuumura as they investigate their connected histories while working as assassins under the codename Noir. The series blends crime fiction, action choreography, conspiracy, psychological drama, and a stylized European atmosphere.

• Soundtrack album · 2001

  Noir: Original Soundtrack I

  The first soundtrack collection presents Yuki Kajiura’s score for the series, whose choral and orchestral textures became central to Noir’s identity and its tense, contemplative tone.

• Soundtrack album · 2001

  Noir: Original Soundtrack II

  The second soundtrack album expands the musical material used across the anime’s action sequences, character scenes, and mystery-driven episodes.

• Soundtrack album · 2001

  Blanc dans Noir

  The third major soundtrack release, whose title means “white in black,” completes Victor Entertainment’s principal 2001 album series for the anime.

• 2012

  Live-action adaptation placed on holdStrategy

  Background

  Starz had been developing a live-action project based on the anime, with changes among the attached writers.

  Action taken

  Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said the project was in a holding pattern; later writers Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff were brought in to revise the scripts.

  Aftermath

  By January 2013, Starz still described the adaptation as stalled because the project had not reached a satisfactory creative direction.

  Source

• 2010

  North American rights transfer to FunimationM&A

  Background

  ADV Films had closed and undergone restructuring, creating a need for a new North American rights holder.

  Action taken

  Funimation acquired the North American rights to Noir and subsequently handled reissues and later home-video distribution.

  Aftermath

  The series returned to the market through Funimation’s Anime Classics line, followed by a North American Blu-ray release and streaming availability.

  Source

1. 1Noir (TV series)en.wikipedia.org