Binging on Noein
So, having attended a lecture on substance abuse this morning, I have decided that anime has special effects on my nucleus accumbens (pleasure center of your brain) and that Youtube is a most generous, and thus evil, dealer.
Did I not just watch a 24 episode show over the span of 3 days? Yah. Braincrash.
Now, if I didn't write anything about this, it would be a shame--all those hours of input has to result in some output, right? So, in summary--
Noein: Not the best, but certainly better than most.
I won't attempt to describe the plot for you, since, like almost all anime, it sounds like someone wrote it on crack. Suffice it to say that the show is of the sci/fi variety with a whole lot of pseudo-science and... fiction. It involves the Many Worlds Interpretation, Hunt's uncertainty principle (yay AP Chem!), and even mentions Schrodinger's cat (meow?). There is the token teenage-girl-who-has-the-power-to-alter-the-universe, her eccentric friends, the cool-morose-angsty hero, and a mysterious, glowing villain. The parallel-worlds aspect of the show (as well as the organic-mecha they employ, and even the main-boy-character's hairstyle) reminds me of Rah Xephon, though as a whole I feel that Xephon is more character driven, and, well, better done. The episode themes vary between "let's use superpowers to solve slice-of-life issues!" to "oh noes the fate of the universe is at stake, must save it by proving friendship!"
Joking aside, the variety is actually not a bad thing, and the plot is generally quite suspenseful and keeps one clicking on the "next segment" button. However, seeing that Noein is a more serious series which focuses on relationship themes, it would have helped if the characters were more sympathetic and multi-faceted. Frankly, I never really warmed up to the leads and found them quite boring. What saves the show are the more colorful side characters as well as their potential fates. Also (not that this would make sense if you haven't seen the series), can I just say--it TOTALLY not fair for an awkward middle school boy to have to compete for a girl's affection with his handsome, melancholic, superpowered 27-year old self. Totally not fair. Especially if the older version wears a cool looking black mantle.
In terms of production aspects--the background score is very pretty and epic, and the studio seems to have spent big bucks to plant some pretty 3D elements into the show. However, the quality of the 2D drawings varies considerably, even when they're not trying to prove a point by animating battle scenes with the moving-manga-style (now, now, while this may have been a creative, well intended move to illustrate the psychotic nature of the characters and the battles, it seemed gimmicky to me--if only because I have seen this strategy employed in other shows). I didn't mind this too terribly, but it was irksome. I guess sometimes, I just want a nicely, prettily, traditionally animated anime that relys on plot and characters to shine, not stylistic tricks.
Haha, it seems like i'm focusing quite a bit on the negative, so you're probably wondering, "what's good about this show?" I must say that I enjoyed trying to keep one step ahead of the plot to guess the identities of characters and what's to come. I also liked some of the existential questions that come with this interesting thought experiment of the Many Worlds Hypothesis and time travel. Although some of the slice-of-life issues were solved with tacky "A Christmast Carol"-esque methods, they kept the show somewhat grounded in reality. The feminist in me also enjoyed the fact that although the male leads kept insisting that they must protect the heroine, it is the heroine that ends up saving them in most instances with her superpower (although, the superpower only seems to eminate mysteriously from her subconsciousness, but that's a philosophical discussion for another day).
So yeah, if you're looking for something to burn a few hours or a weekend, Noein's not a bad choice. There are definitely better things out there, but this is one of the few decent "serious dramas" I've seen lately.
Did I not just watch a 24 episode show over the span of 3 days? Yah. Braincrash.
Now, if I didn't write anything about this, it would be a shame--all those hours of input has to result in some output, right? So, in summary--
Noein: Not the best, but certainly better than most.
I won't attempt to describe the plot for you, since, like almost all anime, it sounds like someone wrote it on crack. Suffice it to say that the show is of the sci/fi variety with a whole lot of pseudo-science and... fiction. It involves the Many Worlds Interpretation, Hunt's uncertainty principle (yay AP Chem!), and even mentions Schrodinger's cat (meow?). There is the token teenage-girl-who-has-the-power-to-alter-the-universe, her eccentric friends, the cool-morose-angsty hero, and a mysterious, glowing villain. The parallel-worlds aspect of the show (as well as the organic-mecha they employ, and even the main-boy-character's hairstyle) reminds me of Rah Xephon, though as a whole I feel that Xephon is more character driven, and, well, better done. The episode themes vary between "let's use superpowers to solve slice-of-life issues!" to "oh noes the fate of the universe is at stake, must save it by proving friendship!"
Joking aside, the variety is actually not a bad thing, and the plot is generally quite suspenseful and keeps one clicking on the "next segment" button. However, seeing that Noein is a more serious series which focuses on relationship themes, it would have helped if the characters were more sympathetic and multi-faceted. Frankly, I never really warmed up to the leads and found them quite boring. What saves the show are the more colorful side characters as well as their potential fates. Also (not that this would make sense if you haven't seen the series), can I just say--it TOTALLY not fair for an awkward middle school boy to have to compete for a girl's affection with his handsome, melancholic, superpowered 27-year old self. Totally not fair. Especially if the older version wears a cool looking black mantle.
In terms of production aspects--the background score is very pretty and epic, and the studio seems to have spent big bucks to plant some pretty 3D elements into the show. However, the quality of the 2D drawings varies considerably, even when they're not trying to prove a point by animating battle scenes with the moving-manga-style (now, now, while this may have been a creative, well intended move to illustrate the psychotic nature of the characters and the battles, it seemed gimmicky to me--if only because I have seen this strategy employed in other shows). I didn't mind this too terribly, but it was irksome. I guess sometimes, I just want a nicely, prettily, traditionally animated anime that relys on plot and characters to shine, not stylistic tricks.
Haha, it seems like i'm focusing quite a bit on the negative, so you're probably wondering, "what's good about this show?" I must say that I enjoyed trying to keep one step ahead of the plot to guess the identities of characters and what's to come. I also liked some of the existential questions that come with this interesting thought experiment of the Many Worlds Hypothesis and time travel. Although some of the slice-of-life issues were solved with tacky "A Christmast Carol"-esque methods, they kept the show somewhat grounded in reality. The feminist in me also enjoyed the fact that although the male leads kept insisting that they must protect the heroine, it is the heroine that ends up saving them in most instances with her superpower (although, the superpower only seems to eminate mysteriously from her subconsciousness, but that's a philosophical discussion for another day).
So yeah, if you're looking for something to burn a few hours or a weekend, Noein's not a bad choice. There are definitely better things out there, but this is one of the few decent "serious dramas" I've seen lately.