Noein: Mô hitori no kimi he

I want to agree with the prior review wholeheartedly, but I have to point out that GONZO didn't have anything to do with this series (a notable omission from the staggering number of studios in the credits). The production company was Satelight.

"Noein" is an unconventional looking anime, but the story is rock solid all the way through, and it builds up from a slow beginning into something really wonderful and compelling and unique. It's rare these days to find a show that the creators obviously spent so much time and effort on. The quality of the production is staggering, especially the animation. Highly recommended.

To me Noein (Pronounced 'no-ay-een', sounds a little like "No Pain" but with the 'P' dropped, spelt in Japanese as ノエイン no e i n) is Undoubltably the Greatest Anime Series Ever!!! Yes you heard me! "The Greatest Anime Series Ever!!!", better than cult classics like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Camploo, Ergo Proxy, Afro Samurai. Bettar than ever popular favorites like Fullmetal Alchemist, Claymore, Bleach, Naruto, Love Hina, Death Note (Only the Manga could top this), Ghost in the Shell, Fruits Basket, D. Gray Man, Code Geass, etc.

It also happens to be one of those series I'm self obsessed with, while everyone else around me doesn't really know about it much, so I'm the only person that loves it. I myself may sound self obsessed but I still hold true to this belief. Everything about this series is just wonderful, it pretty much outshines anything you may of ever seen. I remember on my first viewing of this series I was hooked and just couldn't wait until the next episode came. Primarily a Science Fiction Series, its also got a lot of Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Mystery, Humour and Charm. Viewers are just pulled in to this unique and amazing story across time, space and dimensions.

The Story has two settings; One is in the distant future where a violent battle between the two dimensions La'cryma (Protector of Humanity) and Shangri'la, bent on the annihilation of all time and space. It is here a group of time travelling soldiers known as Dragin Knights are dispatched through space and time searching for something called the "Dragon's Torque", which holds the key to stopping the invasion of Shangri'la.

Now onto the present, or in most cases the mid-noughties, in the town of Hakodate located on the southern tip of Hokkaido, Japan (Yes a real city). Lives a young 12-year-old girl named Haruka, she lives quietly with her divorced mother; who makes her living as a comic artist, while Haruka's father is a Quantum Physicist in Tokyo. For a while she and her best friend Yuu are contemplating on running away from home. But while its their last year of Primary School and the Summer break is looking bright, Yuu must prepare for a high school entrance exam and won't be able to see or play with his friends. It is on one fateful night that the both of them come across one of the members of the Dragon Knights named Karasu (crow in Japanese). He believes that Haruka is the Dragon's Torque and claims that he is in fact Yuu 15 years in the future.

Thus begins the mysteries and battles across time and space. The Sci-Fi elements of the series are the core to the series, how it works? and what roles does it play? Its incredibly thought provoking; the mysteries, the scientific ideas of time travel and philosophical elements destiny, choice and existence. That is the driving power of the series, viewers will be incredibly rewarded if they keep up with every episode, facing full on twist and turns.

Viewers spend a lot of time with the main characters that you can also think of them as your old school friends or best friends. I should mention a few more from Hakodate; along side Yuu and Haruka the gang also includes Miho; a smart, nerdy and passionate young girl whose obsession with paranormal phenomena like Ghosts and UFOs seems to drive them mad even if they don't really think she is. Ai; Haruka's most respectable friend, tall, very athletic, and head strong at times, she's also very caring and has a crush on Isami. Isami can be seen as 'the-cool-kid' very good at sports, charismatic but also dim witted at times, he cares a lot for his friends and has a crush on his teacher Miss Yukie; whose also surprisingly close to the gang helping them out in times of need. Yuu's mother; Miyuki plays a key role along with Haruka's mother; Asuka. There's also common appearances from Tokyo physicists Uchita and Koriyama investigating Hakodate for particle and quantum signs. The rest is for the viewer to discover.

The Animation is Superb, The settings are richly detailed with colorful and eye catching visuals that really draws viewers into the world. Some of the battle sequences have a combination of traditional anime techniques and CGI, incredibly unique in every way for a full scale impact.

Voice Acting is good, I've mostly watched it in English which was pretty impressive, its got several names other anime viewers will recognise; Melissa Fahn (Ed from Cowboy Bebop), Yuri Lowenthal (Suzaku from Code Geass, and others. etc) and Crispin Freeman. However I didn't like their pronunciation of Noein (as no-ween, pretty lazy and uncool if you ask me), that aside the voice acting is watchable on both sides. Check the DVD for some Hilarious random funny English out-takes.

The Soundtrack almost sounds like something you'd expect from a Studio Ghibli film. Its really that with a mix of epic orchestral scores and harmony. The Soundtrack is definitely one of my favourite anime scores, an unusual mix for something like this but aces it perfectly to capture the mood and drama of the of the entire series.

I highly recommend this Gem of Noughties anime, It shall never be forgotten and remain a cult classic for years to come and will always hold a special place in my heart. If Donnie Darko was a big mystery beyond its time, you haven't discovered the marvel Noein has to offer. Get your asses round to buying this and I'm sure you'll never forget it. Whether your a Sci-Fi fan or not Noein is for You.

Plot: 8.5/10 -- Rich in detail and very complex. The idea of different universes existing for every choice, with the you in that universe going down a different path, is truly fascinating.

I have to mark it down a little because of the slow pacing and unexplained elements of the story. However, I'm sure someone who has a better understanding of quantum physics would add 0.5 to this rating.

Characters: 9.7/10 -- Watching the main characters develop in Noein is different than in any other anime I've watched. You see how they *possibly* look and act in the future throughout the show (sometimes even more than one possible future version), which creates thoughts and shows the characters from different angles.

My favourite characters were not the main two (Haruka and Yuu), my favourites instead being Ai and Isami. It's both funny and cute seeing them try to hide their feelings for each other as the series progresses, Ai being a fiery red/orange-head and Isami being your average male - Unable to pick-up on signals. Isami's character is probably my favourite due to the future versions of him shown.

The only real bad character point I can think of is Yuu's character - He gets quite annoying with his attitude. The annoyance is worsened by slow plot progression.

Art: 9.5/10, Animation: 9.5/10 -- I can't rate art and animation accurately since I know nothing about it.

Noein looked amazing and fairly unique to me from the moment I first saw it. The start of the show showed that it obviously had quite a big budget, combining CG with excellent art and animation. The show kept up the high quality visuals until the end, although the less important episodes didn't get the attention the more important ones did.

Sound: 9/10 -- I'm probably being quite harsh here - The soundtrack is outstanding. The the choral battle/action music really gets you excited, the dramatic music does its job, the cute/funny music is fun to listen to... It's all great. My only reason for not rating higher is because there aren't too many tracks I'd want to listen to when not watching the series.

Total: 9.2/10 -- All in all, an amazing series. This is a series every anime fan should watch.

This Anime is very enjoyable! The only problem was that I probably wouldn't watch it again because it was confusing and hard to follow.

I also would have liked to learn more about the original characters, and I wish they spent more time developing them, in their own reality.

I also felt like the artwork started to get sloppier on the forth disc...might even get worse haven't finished it. I liked the computer animation but it didn't make up for this. A little bit more detail would have been nice.

Also it seemed like everything was taking place in a really small world. I didn't get the feeling that they lived in the same world as me, and they did. I had a slight claustrophobic feeling.

Overall though it's still one of my favorites.

GONZO did it again! Noein, which was created following the success of GONZO's retelling of Gankutsuou, is a truly mind-altering experience. Kazuki Akane is the creator, he is well-known for his directorial work on the brilliant Vision of Escaflowne series.

Noein is a beautiful series. The plot leans heavily upon principles of Quantum Physics. There are billions of versions of yourself in alternate dimensions. Haruka, a tween girl, finds herself pulled into a battle between the dimensions of Shangrila and Lacryma as Shangrila pursues the destruction of all existence and Lacryma tries to stop them. The key to this is the Dragon's Torque and it is Haruka's good fortune to find out that she's it. Emotions run high as characters meet future alternate versions of themselves as well as confronting images of themselves in the past.

I just can't hype this series enough. The music is beautiful... running from heavy chants for the battle scenes to light-hearted music for the children in the present day scenes. GONZO also pushed their animation to make some of the battles almost completely RAW in how the line work is animated. The characters are interesting in their realism in such unfortunate circumstances... but good as GONZO is, they always have that one blonde crazy guy like usual to entertain the viewer.

If you liked Gankutsuou you will like Noein as well... get the first DVD, you won't be disappointed!