CHLOEEEEEEE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

This is around the time when Noir's plot starts to pick up.

Some general things first:

• The sountrack of Noir is really damn good. I wanted to listen to is some more so I searched it up on Youtube. Turns out it's composed by Yuki Kajiura, which is a name I instantly recognized because she is responsible for the soundtrack of Madoka Magica, one of my favourite anime soundtracks ever. Explains the pmmm vibes I got for sure.
• I will say though, she did improve between the osts. I like the Noir soundtrack a lot but there are a few janky bits the pmmm ost doesn't struggle with.
• I had a lot of fun watching these episodes, the plot is interesting and the more "episodic" segments don't feel jarring to watch. I'm starting to like Kirika and Mireille a lot.
• But the biggest reason for my interest is Chloe. I can't explain why, she doesn't get to do much yet. I dunno, she is just really charming to me.

Onto the episode by episode notes:

Ep. 11

This episode sets up the whole grand retour plotline, we see Atlena is planning something that Soldats is not too happy about. Also we get to know more about the book the photocopies are coming from.

I really like Chloe, I like that we get to see a show of her wardrobe only for her to pick the same wack ass outfit every time. Also the fact that she asks Kirika if she can keep the fork. What a weird little critter honestly.

The whole time her and Kirika are talking all Mireille could think is "What the fuck are these kids doing". She ends up giving in in the end.

Ep. 12

This episode is a oddity in that Kirika and Mireille don't appear at all. It's just Chloe and Atlena. It's a nice episode, we get to see a little bit of their dynamic. She does seem to care about her but Chloe might just be a tool for her too. It's a bit early to tell.

She is... I don't wanna say unmotivated but she is uninterested in the missions she is given. She cares about the integrity of it but she isn't interested in why she is given them. She isn't like "How dare you betray our organization bla bla"

Chloe's loyalties lie in Atlena only. She doesn't seem to care about Soldats, but she is interested in the Grand Retour, since the plan involves her.

Ep. 13

I wrote my thoughts in a seperate post like this:

I expected the painter to be one of Noir's targets or something because that's what happens with anyone who Kirika interacts positively with, thus why Mireille told her not to talk to him. But when he got shot I realized it was so he wouldn't get caught up in their mess and die. It's genuinely sad, you can tell at the end she is saying that from experience. Kirika was really happy to spend time with him, her face lights up. Something like picking up hobbies and making friends would mean a lot, especially to someone who doesn't have any idea who they are. Really nice episode overall

It was always present but after this episode you become on edge every time Mireille or Kirika i teract with a friend, expecting them to die. It does happen with George later on.

Ep. 14

There is some nice writing in this episode. Mireille denies her uncle could lie to her only for her to lie to him after. If she has things she would keep a secret surely her uncle must too.

There is definitely symbolism with the flowers but I am not smart enough to figure it out.

Ep. 15-16

• Wild to me that Mireille and Kirika actually listened to Soldats. What if they hijack tour plane on your way to Vietnam or something? I don't think it's worth the risk.
• The combat in this show is really lackluster. Maybe I am just not getting it. The henchmen are a joke, beating them is not fun to watch for me. And it drags on for so long too. I do like the shorter action sequences though.
• It's funny that they say the poison the killer lady uses is "lethal to normal humans" and do not elaborate on that. Is she not human. What does this mean.
• These episodes make me think Atlena does care for Chloe and isn't just putting on an act. Otherwise it makes no sense she would be fond of her in her inner dialogue and watch over her. She won't see that so why bother acting?

Ep. 17

The reveal that Mireille's parents were killed by Soldats was not surprising but I wasn't expexting them to be part of Soldats. We get to learn a lot about Mireille and Kirika's past but I don't have anything particularly interesting to say so I will skip that.

Apparently, her parents betrayed Soldats to protect her. But she had a brother didn't she, who got killed with her parents. Does that mean there is something special about Mireille?

Ep. 18

In every story with a duo protagonist there comes a time where the duo "breaks up". I wouldn't call this an arc since it's the span of an episode but yknow.

Losing my shit at crying Kirika she looks so much like the crying cat image here. How can you be so horrible to a face like that Mireille.

I get the sense Chloe doesn't give two shits about Mireille and only decided to tell Kirika about her because her dying would make Kirika upset. In a similar way to how Homura treats Sayaka, I guess. And she is right that it would make her upset. She is dependent on Mireille since she is the only person she actually knows. And I don't think Mireille realises that until the end.

The end of the episode was really cute. I am really starting to get attached to these two.

I expected the painter to be one of Noir's targets or something because that's what happens with anyone who Kirika interacts positively with, thus why Mireille told her not to talk to him. But when he got shot I realized it was so he wouldn't get caught up in their mess and die.

It's genuinely sad, you can tell at the end she is saying that from experience. Kirika was really happy to spend time with him, her face lights up. Something like picking up hobbies and making friends would mean a lot, especially to someone who doesn't have any idea who they are. Really nice episode overall

I really love her France Shirt dhshbd

I figured stopping at Chloe's introduction would be the best idea. From what I know this should be when the main plot picks up.

First, the bad:

• The first episode was really jarring to watch. The cuts were awkward, the music was too loud at parts and certain scenes dragged out for too long. Maybe this is just me, but I didn't realize the music was coming from the watch until the end of the episode, which made things really confusing.
• From then onwards isn't like this. Maybe I just got used to it, but the cuts didn't feel jarring and the flow between scenes was smooth enough.
• There is a lot of reused animation, which is fine for the most part. It's not as elegant about it as shows like Utena but it's not a big deal.
• What annoys me is sometimes the plot will screech to a halt to show you a flashback you have already seen before. Personally, I'm fine if a conversation is just one still frame or made of reused animation. The flashbacks and the occasional training is clearly there for budget reasons and nothing else. That's why it takes me out of the story sometimes.
• Kirika and Mireille don't have much going on. They are pretty bland which makes it hard to care for them. The "I will kill you when this is over." thing is the most interesting bit. There is still plenty of time to develop them so I'm not that bothered about it.
• The show feels rather empty at times, if that's the word. It feels like nothing is happening. For example: the information we get about the main mystery is not enough to make any conclusions or draw connections, so whenever a new development happens I can only think "Oh, we learned this now". We don't learn anything about what our protagonists are like either. The quiet moments are great for that, but I still feel like I know nothing about them.
• I don't mind the censorship but it can be really funny sometimes. Kirika will get hit but her arm will look completely fine, making it impossible to tell how bad she was hurt until she reacts.
• When I started episode 7 I genuinely though I skipped an episode. They don't make it even slightly obvious that a time skip happened.
• This one is really stupid: I can't seperate Mireille from Misato in my mind. I'm sure Noir fans are annoyed by the comparison by this point but I'm really trying guys (ﾉД`)

Okay,, we can get to the good stuff now:

• The atmosphere is great. The backgeound art is lovely and complements the animation well. They definitely achieved the aesthetic they were going for.
• The soundtrack is pretty nice. Again, adds to the atmosphere.
• Kirika especially can be super clever, making the fights fun to watch (only about 50% of the time though)
• The composition of the shots draw your eye to the focus well. It's a good way to make shots interesting with a small budget.
• It's fantastically homosexual, while also not being about romance at all. All the notable characters are women. That might add to the yuri vibes I guess.
• I liked Silvana. She is one of the few side characters that have anything going on. Her relationship to Mireille is intriguing to me, they have met only once. But it's clear their one interaction has left a big inpression on not only Mireille but also her, especially since they were kids at the time. Her pulling out a knife and cutting the crown off of Mireille when she says she is scared tells us everything we need to know about her.
• There is also something to be said about the crowns. Mireille's innocence being destroyed by Silvana. It's important to Silvana that she has control, removing the crown she gave to Mireille is a way for her to feel superior, I guess. Even at a small age.
• Mireille is still scared in their final confrontation, but she fights anyway.
• I am very interested in Chloe because clearly, the two maidens who govern death are suppose to be Kirika and Mireille. However, she is insist she is Noir. I imagine things will go south when she realises that's not the case. (I doubt it's the case). The woman we see is most likely using her and Chloe is dependent on her validation. That's what I am guessing.