Noein: Mô hitori no kimi he

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.

Well, I have to say that I actually did enjoy a lot this series.

It starts really strange, so don't worry if you don't get whats happening in the first few chapters, I actually was about to stop watching it which would have been a huge mistake. I never thought I was going to enjoy it this much. I read in a review that the first 15 chapters were the good ones and that the rest didn't matter. I personally feel the exact opposite. I thing you need to give the series a couple of chapters before you really get into it. One of the aspects I liked the most was the animation. Maybe some people don't like it because it's really odd... however this is exactly what I liked, It is completely different to the animation you normally see. Fighting scenes are really well done and character development is also good. Both the Opening and the ending are cool (specially the opening, which I also found strange.

Apart from all the technical aspects, the story is really interesting although I found some of the quantic explanations rather boring (maybe physicists like it). Anyway, I don't know if you'll find this comment useful or not.... I just wanted to tell you that I liked this series and that I think anyone who likes anime would find it pretty enjoyable.

I'm not an anime fanatic so my list of anime series Iike is short. As an animator I tend to like the higher budget shows like Akira. Most are so crudely animated it's painful to watch. I almost didn't bother with this series for that reason. However, the story captivated me. I knew it was going to be difficult to follow until more of the future plot line had been exposed and so far, I'm not disappointed.

Animation The only reason I'm going to this much depth in my review of the animation is because other reviewers didn't feel qualified to make comments. As an animator I don't feel much more qualified but like most animators I'm stubborn and opinionated when it comes to my trade. Take with a grain of salt. Obviously my taste in animation is a bit different than the style represented here, so I'll do my best. To poke at those Sins committed in this film that are basic to any animated show. Animation is, after all, a form of acting and a story telling tool. The way it's drawn and timed can impact a story just as much as a actors reading for a voice or editing does. I want to get this out of the way first. The line work is intentionally rough and I really like the sketchy look of the show. It has an unfinished, raw quality that influences your reaction to the characters and gives the show a more honest impression, if that makes any sense. The lack of polish let's you feel that the characters are more personal and believable. The one thing, and it's a big thing, is they extended this rawness to the frame count as well. Here it has the opposite impact on the story, making it feel cheap and rushed. There are entire fight sequences that are around 12 frames per second or much less. Often to the point it looks more like an animatic (placeholder) than a finished product. I had a difficult time watching those sequences. Over all the show stays around the 12 fps range, which is really a shame. This story deserves better. It's obvious this is where the shows budget hit hardest. I especially dislike the exaggerated reactions (screaming, crying, anger) that are often the hallmark of anime. I expect them in anime but the bad frame rate makes it seem as if they were cheating or trying to avoid working on something difficult to animate, and in the end made me feel the people with the money were stingy or didn't get the story well enough to invest in it properly. I've seen work come out of high school art departments that were far better. I hate when things are handled so carelessly. It's an insult to the audience.

Audio I hope someone can clear this up for me. why is it that anime has such horrible over acted voices? At first I thought that it was intentional from the start. A trademark if you will. Then I got Akira on laser disk and watched the program in it's original language. The acting was subtle and very well done. The English translation, however, was loud and horribly exaggerated. It was like someone trying to talk to a hearing impaired individual. I felt as if they think American audiences are dumb so they scream at you instead of acting naturally. For example, a bar scene at the beginning of Akira, a patron leans back in his chair and yawns. In Japanese, it's a normal, somewhat subdued yawn. The English track the guy leans back and in a very loud exaggerated voice goes ERRRR YAAAAWWWWWNNN! AHHHHH It bugs me. Badly. Am I just missing the joke here? Story professional complaints aside, I found myself unable to turn off the player and go to bed. The characters are charming and easily identified with. I wasn't happy with the explanation of quantum theory but it was one of the better attempts at a very difficult to grasp concept. I felt they brushed over important concept and focused on less important ones. The explanation of "entanglement" confused me and I understand the theory! They Have an animation depicting Schrödinger's cat. Rather than explain that theory they used a more convoluted example of sand on a beach, all the while using boxes holding the cat rather than sand. I found the description confusing and far less effective than if they had just stayed with Schrodinger's Cat.

The concepts around quantum mechanics is what make the story hard to follow at first. Eventually you get it just because the events around the characters.

I was enamored with all of the characters. The lady with the southern accent cracked me up. I grew up in Texas so the accent was a bit hard but it coming out of an anime character was jarring to say the least. Ioved it.

This review sounds far more negative than I intended. I have very positive feelings toward the show and highly recommend it. It's entertaining and has a unique take on a common sci if element in today's shows. It is creative and refreshing. I agree with all the other reviews. Don't give up after only a couple of episodes. You won't be disappointed. That being the common theme in other reviews. I really don't see many people doing that though. After all, none of us did, and Im not even that much of a fan. Not to mention animation problems that made my eyes bleed. If I can enjoy it that much then you should love it.

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 sci-fi anime throws up many quantum physics/mechanics concepts and if I hadn't watched it through fan subs with easy to understand footnotes, I would have been really lost in my understanding of the overall setting of this show.

I would have enjoyed this anime more if I could understand the quantum science explanations (I still don't after watching it again), but there is one thing I'm very sure about this show and would like to say to those thinking of watching this anime: the ending is quite satisfying for me. There is no cliff-hanger or anti-climax. The ending has a kind of heartwarming and peaceful feel to it.