Noein - The Complete Series (DVD, 2008)

Noein is very common. Got it at a sale at Borders.

Plot: Noein is, as agree with other reviewers, a very weird and sometimes confusing anime to watch and understand. The story takes place during summer vacation at a coastal city where Haruka and friends are running around and having fun expect for Yue. Yue's mother is overprotective of her son and makes him study for her safety. Out of this, Haruka convinces Yue (I can't remember) to go on nightoutting to look for ghosts that have been spotted in a local graveyard. However the kids get more than they bargained.

They met a postapolyatic future group. They have a connection to the past but they argue over what to do with Haruka. Haruka haves a mystic necklace called the Dragon Torque which is able to stop the timestream or change it. Some members of the group want to off her to save their future, while others think she doesn't have anything to do with the future and leave her alone, or protect her to save their future. But most of the characters are used as pawns by the deity known as Noein, who finishes to destroy all of reality. The characters struggle to save the present timeline and all realities of the timestream.

Art: Art is very good for the Nice character designs and computer graphics. But from the box set art in back, I thought it would be a very violent anime. It is not really but adds to the confusion. When it gets weird with the art is with the Aeon Flux-looking future characters/monsters of the story. Though not bad, some of it gets really outageous (like future Ai) but it does add to the creepiness of the dysutopia that the future is in.

English voice acting: Perfect. Nothing is mismatch or sound bad for it.


Good or bad: Noein is a enjoyable anime that makes you want to see the end. It does give the feeling of freshness with its unusal plot but most of the sci-fi time travel themes are nothing new to the genre. What gets confusing is with science talk (which they use to make as a joke in the series but anyone is use to sci-fi should know what they are talking about in layman themes. However the writers fail to examine some of the jokes in the shows (such as the cat in the box) which should have been confusing by some viewers of what it means. Action is good through (alot of butt-kicking moments and energy blasting attacks all around.

Also some plot elements were very confusing and not dealt with properly (such as the origin of the Dragon Torque or why Haruka is allowed to wield it? Why does the pink/red haired future woman not the younger pink haired girl. It could have been pretty obvious).

I would have it to stay it is between good and average with average a strong tendacy towards about average due to the weirdness.