By
Julie Gray
January 23, 2007 - 21:03
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| Noein DVD Cover |
Noein or (pronounced No-e-in) is a science fiction/fantasy story about two teenagers, Haruka and Yuu who are reluctantly thrown into a war without even realising it. This war is no ordinary war with guns and bullets. This war is waging in an entirely different dimension in time. Yuu is also completely unaware that one of the visitors from the other dimension is none other than himself – 15 years in the future!
That may be a little confusing but after watching the first couple of episodes, you begin to see the story unfold and the pieces of the puzzle come together. ‘No-e-in’ translated in English means “To your other self”, an entirely fitting title for this anime. Haruka and Yuu are two emotionally charged and endearing characters who take us through their epic journey of self discovery, with a little bit of space and time travel thrown in.
Although Yuu comes across as a rather despondent child, as the anime progresses, we begin to realise why Yuu is so withdrawn. Haruka, however supportive of her friend, is going through some major troubles of her own. She has now started to ‘see’ things she can't explain and has no idea what is happening to her.
Without giving too much of the story away, everything comes together in the form of a dragon torque or necklace which has an inexplicable link to both Haruka and Yuu. Even though it takes a few episodes for both of these characters (and us) to realise where the story is headed, it’s pretty clear from the start that their lives are in danger and they only have each other to rely on.
So far, Noein contains all of the aspects that make an entertaining animated movie; well developed characters, a fast paced and action packed plot and beautiful, detailed animation. The main characters of this story, Yuu and Haruka, act as the vehicles that carry the story through each episode. And even though the concepts of the story seem somewhat far-fetched, there are many scientific explanations for some of the events that occur. Noein has a lot of depth which gives it an unusual appeal.
With a great cast of characters and voice acting talent (both Japanese and English) we think that Noein will be a great success and we look forward to watching the rest of this entertaining anime when it's released on DVD.
The Noein television series originally screened in Japan in late 2005 and aired right through until early 2006. The series is 24 episodes long. This DVD has five episodes in total and also features bonus extras such as original Japanese promos, alternate openings and on location segments with one of the Japanese voice actors and the director, Kazuki Akane.
Animation: 9/10
Story: 9/10
DVD Features: 8/10
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