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What did you think of this episode?
5Loved it!
69.1%
47
4Liked it!
23.5%
16
3It was OK
2.9%
2
2Disliked it
4.4%
3
1Hated it
0.0%
0
Average 4.6
68 votes
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Apr 19, 2010 9:23 AM
#1

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Jun 2009
15302
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
Pretty good episode, all things considered. Still I find the ones before this less than stellar, but I hope the show keeps it up after this.
"Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job."

- Geralt of Rivia
Aug 19, 2010 11:37 AM
#2

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Aug 2008
537
Pretty sad though interesting, nonetheless.
Oct 3, 2010 10:58 PM
#3

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Aug 2010
79
This episode kind of confuses me, where are they going with this?
Jan 22, 2011 1:21 AM
#4

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Mar 2010
489
Great episode, no one knows what is right and what is wrong. I kind of felt sorry for Nazarov, despite things he has done.
Mar 15, 2012 4:26 PM
#5

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Feb 2012
1918
Ishikatsu said:
Great episode, no one knows what is right and what is wrong. I kind of felt sorry for Nazarov, despite things he has done.


The episode did a good job of framing him as sympathetic, but ultimately, he's nothing but genocidal. I feel sorry for young Nazarov, who had to watch his family die, but I can't feel sorry for adult Nazarov or even elderly Nazarov (who Mireille even said was being selfish in his atonement).
Feb 2, 2013 6:42 PM
#6
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Aug 2012
536
damn that was fucked up... im upset
Feb 26, 2013 1:24 AM
#7

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Sep 2009
36
All I could think of at the end was, "What happened to the kitty? Poor little guy."
Mar 12, 2013 9:39 PM
#8

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Sep 2011
10430
Good episode, hopefully it keeps it up.
Aug 18, 2013 12:44 PM
#9

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Sep 2012
2258
That must have been tough for her. This is the first time I notice her smile, when she sees the cat. This is also when i first notice feelings as well as emotions. Great episode.
Oct 30, 2013 12:59 PM

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Jun 2013
240
Good episode. The vicious circle of hatred...
Nov 22, 2013 2:35 AM
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Nov 2013
171
Great episode.
I hope the show will keep up this level of quality,
the previous episodes were starting to bore me.
Mar 2, 2014 2:57 AM

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Sep 2013
16130
Every episode is even better than last, what is this

I swear this show has the best OST I've heard, it's godly even in Kajiura standards...

If it keeps this level, I might have to add this to my top 5
Aug 18, 2014 2:16 AM

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Dec 2013
422
German Dub sounds so weird
Jan 14, 2015 3:02 PM

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Jan 2010
7191
I've heard many things being touted as dark before, and I've seen many of them as well. As such, I've come to dislike that word, as it's become an umbrella term for anything that happens to deal with death or suffering.

Then comes along Noir. This show is not fun or exciting. It's depressing, but not without reason. Full of death, but not full of blood. Full of violence, but it's quick and unsavory. It's quiet, but because of that, every gunshot seems to echo within the void the show has created. It has repetitive imagery, but it's used to substitute dialogue, leaving everything implied through its art and music. There's probably some deeper themes later in the show, but for now, I'm liking how it's solely dealing with the characters' feelings, thoughts, and morals.

There's nothing great to this episode as far as plot development goes, and the setup here is really simple. Yet, I don't think I've seen this before: an order to assassinate someone who is terminally ill. The dialogue of this episode was cursory and general, never revealing anyone's true thoughts. Perhaps in another show, this would have been obvious, but the main characters here are just so damn stone-faced.

In another show, there would have been screaming, crying, complaining, arguments over moral ambiguity, or at the very least some monologue over the events. Here, we get nothing. After all, there is nothing, just as it should be. Noir really portrays assassination not as dirty or bloody, but simply unpleasant.

I think my only criticism with this episode, as well as the series thus far, is the background music. Rather, I think this show needed more silence. Yuki Kajiura is just too much. She builds tension amazingly, but this show isn't high tension. It's heavy like a thick fog. That might be a problem though, as it seems like nothing can really come close to endangering the main characters. Still, this show has been quite the experience thus far. My only hope is that it doesn't devolve into anything related to the occult or mystics, as I wouldn't want the show to change its setup.
Mar 31, 2015 10:43 PM

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Feb 2015
87
This was a filler episode but the story development in this episode was so done nicely that you could care for Nazarov. I hope they continue with this kind of quality.
Aug 6, 2015 11:52 AM

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Jul 2009
3344
Great episode!

Though the contract was simple. It just shows no matter how hard you try to repent for your sins, someday you will always face judgement either way.

Also Yuki Kajiura also did Xenosaga Ep II and Ep III!! So that's why the OST is very similar here.

Next episode will have full gun battles. Can't wait for the next episode!
Jan 8, 2016 5:33 PM

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Feb 2013
6196
Boring episode. It's too bad about the old guy, but a job is a job.
Feb 25, 2016 4:45 PM

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Jul 2015
4904
The best episode (so far at least) imo
Jul 4, 2016 7:24 AM

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Jan 2016
1343
Nice to see some development from Kirika's character. She was like a badass hitman with total lack of emotion or facial expression. I get it that it was to make her "empty" due to her loss of memory, but seeing her caring about someone other than Mireille makes me excited to the next episodes
Aug 12, 2017 5:36 AM
Nekogirl~

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Mar 2014
3005
MostCuriousThing said:
Ishikatsu said:
Great episode, no one knows what is right and what is wrong. I kind of felt sorry for Nazarov, despite things he has done.


The episode did a good job of framing him as sympathetic, but ultimately, he's nothing but genocidal. I feel sorry for young Nazarov, who had to watch his family die, but I can't feel sorry for adult Nazarov or even elderly Nazarov (who Mireille even said was being selfish in his atonement).



i just feel sry for the cat


Sep 14, 2017 12:17 AM
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Jul 2018
564074
Great episode...poor old man. He deserves to die but unluckily for him, he was killed by Kirika
Nov 6, 2017 3:00 PM

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Aug 2015
508
I'm impressed by how well Kirika's internal conflict was handled with such little dialogue. Definitely the best episode so far.
Jan 6, 2018 3:38 AM
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Oct 2017
13
Moral ambiguity. One could make a case either way.

1) The man has repented of his crimes and done his best to make atonement. He's dying anyway, so killing him is rather pointless. Let him die at his own pace.

Or ...

2) Some crimes are so heinous that no atonement is possible. If Josef Mengele, after escaping from Germany, did volunteer work in a Jewish nursing home, would that make up for what he did at Auschwitz? One thinks not.

In the end, a choice had to be made. Our gals do seem to have some scruples about the cases they take; but in this case the morality is clouded at best, so one may as well do what the client wishes.
Nov 16, 2018 1:59 PM
The Shrike

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Nov 2009
11583
Fantastic episode. It's done with so little dialogue and unecessary information. Just so well done.
"Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii

There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov

Sep 25, 2019 4:11 PM
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Jul 2018
564074
You know, I'm not sure if this has to do with taking long breaks from watching anime recently, but I sort of lost interested in watching this show. I thought it seemed cool at first and I loved the music, but I honestly feel like it's a bit too slow-paced and I'm just not invested enough with the characters or story. I really think I'm gonna drop it, since this series is really not doing much for me at this point.

Personally, I think Noir would have been better off either as a short OVA or a movie. It has some really cool things about it, such as the music and atmosphere, but I think making it 26 episodes sort of made the pacing a bit too slow for me.

Ah well, I'm sure other people would be able to enjoy this show, but it's really not for me.
Mar 7, 2020 3:21 PM

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Aug 2017
186
I liked the episode quite a bit. As was mentioned, it seems like a filler episode (IDK, I've never read the manga, if there is one) but it inserted emotion and nuance to Kirika (and, given that I lost my own cat recently, I felt sorry for the little one) as well as a little info about the main characters (I may be wrong but, I understood that "Les Soldats" are in fact Kirika and Mirelle).
May 8, 2020 11:26 PM
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Jul 2018
564074
This is by far my favourite episode in the whole anime (though episodes 3 and 4 are pretty close). I just love the moral ambiguity in this anime and I don't think that I have ever seen anything like it since.

Dec 14, 2021 6:45 PM
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Dec 2015
407
Got the emotions going in this episode
Mar 15, 2022 9:45 AM
Supreme Tsundere

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Nov 2012
4244
This episode was amazing.
First episode of the anime was promising, but since then it has missing the mark (episode 4 was really good), mainly since I couldnt give a shit for the characters neither the plot.

But this episode had me sheding tears by the end, I think the old man and the cat were the starts of this episode, and they brought change upon Kirika, even if so slightly.
The cat was so cute, tbh at the start I wanted her to adopt him, but then it is shown gramps was already taking care of it, and more scenes came that actually make me sad for the position he ended up.

The scene when she opens the door and is snowing, when the cat looks up to her, breaks me every time, like he was asking what she was doing there (unware of it all), but gramps knew it, and I think he was waiting for it, he wanted it.
Sad to see the kitty is now alone, poor kitty... really depressing episode, seeing the old man closing his eyes, like saying he was ready T_T.

And this was clearly hard for Kirika to do too, this is development I wanted her to get, and Canta per mi was on point! Having first listening to this, and many other OSTs from Kaijura 9 years ago, of course I wanted to watch Noir, and this scene was perfect for one of my favorite tracks from the composer.

9/10 easily, shame I dont think the rest of the series will reach close to this again, episode 6 nonetheless will forever be engraved in my memories, from the very best scenes from Noir and its loving OST.


cupc said:
Every episode is even better than last, what is this

I swear this show has the best OST I've heard, it's godly even in Kajiura standards...

If it keeps this level, I might have to add this to my top 5

Most episodes thus far were a tad boring, so there is zero competition from this episode, I really doubt the anime keep this level of quality too.

MostCuriousThing said:
Ishikatsu said:
Great episode, no one knows what is right and what is wrong. I kind of felt sorry for Nazarov, despite things he has done.


The episode did a good job of framing him as sympathetic, but ultimately, he's nothing but genocidal. I feel sorry for young Nazarov, who had to watch his family die, but I can't feel sorry for adult Nazarov or even elderly Nazarov (who Mireille even said was being selfish in his atonement).

He was genocidal, dunno what you were looking, but it is clear he felt guilt from his past and this is his way to attone and struggle with that pain, all humans are selfish with their desires, there is nothing wrong with him being selfish, in wanting to attone, his actions in late life managed to brought up a better world for those around him, that doesnt erase the stain of his sins, but there is NOTHING wrong with being selfish in feeling the need to attone.
Calling the current him genocidical is having blinds in the eyes.


EricaN said:
Moral ambiguity. One could make a case either way.

1) The man has repented of his crimes and done his best to make atonement. He's dying anyway, so killing him is rather pointless. Let him die at his own pace.

Or ...

2) Some crimes are so heinous that no atonement is possible. If Josef Mengele, after escaping from Germany, did volunteer work in a Jewish nursing home, would that make up for what he did at Auschwitz? One thinks not.

In the end, a choice had to be made. Our gals do seem to have some scruples about the cases they take; but in this case the morality is clouded at best, so one may as well do what the client wishes.

I dont think we have seen the same episode, to me it was clear that, yes he was attoning for the rest of his life, but he was also tired of living in this pain and facing his sins, what Kirika did was hard to her, NOT because the moral ambiguity but simply, she wanted to let him live a bit longer.
She did not want to kill in the end, but realized he was suffering more being alive, and that dying from his illness was too taxing, what she did was a small mercy here, she put an end to his life, ending the suffering.
I really think he was content and accepting, he prefered to die like that, not wanting to face a slow torturing death, and she gave him that, but her hesitation during the process really showed some great development itself.

It was hard to watch, but I m can come to terms that this is what gramps wanted, that he finally found piece, no matter his begginings and being made a victim, he still sinned and it is clear to see this eaten him inside, as it should, and Kirika was the salvation to his suffering, to find peace.

Again, it breakes my heart to see the kitty caught in the crossfire, a theme that seems very prevalent is how these assassinations affect those that knew the targets, from their perspective, their worlds loses people they care about due to Noir, and will never be the same again, death is undefeatable.





FEELS
(pity the show will probably never reach close this peak ever again)


PlaycoolMar 15, 2022 9:48 AM
Jun 1, 2023 7:01 PM

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May 2021
4237
Heartbreaking episode 😿😿😿
Sep 1, 2023 4:30 PM

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Feb 2015
212
Really a hidden gem so far. The Dostoevsky reference, with the kitten acting as the innocent Prince Myshkin, really portrays the whole tragedy of the story perfectly. Our female leads are far from innocent, and yet - just like the poor kitten - they are sitting inbetween other powers above them, haunting and hunting them to every corner of the world. They all are part of some sort of chaotic fractal, being slowly, yet certainly, devoured by darkness.
Apr 28, 11:04 PM
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Nov 2021
9
They showed that family photograph like 7 or 8 times.
Jul 15, 8:23 PM
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Dec 2020
2
Greattttttttttttttt

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