Noein Volume 4
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   191 of 390 readers found this review helpful.

Ah… another edition of the heralded Noein series. It came through like a breath of fresh air. Once again we follow Haruka and company as they travel through time trying to save the past, present, and future. Haruka finds herself trapped in a pervasive endless loop where everything he encounters can not only impact the future, but the past as well.

I don’t want to delve deep into the actual story here, pretty much anything I would reveal would be a spoiler. But I do want to mention that whereas volume 3 left me with a million questions, volume 4 answered. Haruka is also known as the “Dragon Torque” which basically means she is able to see all the multiple universes. This volume dives heavily into why that is, and sheds light on the mysterious “Dragon Warriors” finally.

As in volume 3, the universe is at war. War overshadows this series so tremendously that if you felt the need to apply labels I would consider it a war movie. As always the animation and artwork is spot on. You could watch this on mute and become blown away by just the visuals. The special effects actually look drawn instead of computer generated.

The artwork may suck you in, but what keeps you here is the story. This is honestly one of the best series I’ve seen in ages. The story is very adult in nature. Not in the pornographic way, but in a complex way that cartoons tend to stay away from. This show doesn’t talk down to you and act like only six year olds watch it. This movie expects you to have a certain amount of cerebral function and it makes no apologies for it.

Having only seen volumes 3 and 4 thus far, If I had to pick I would give the nod to volume 4. Although I loved volume 3, a lot of it left me very confused. There was no explanation as to what happened in volumes 1 and 2 and I was left using a lot of guesswork. Volume 4 dove into about every topic I had questions about and fully brought the series full circle.

I also rather enjoyed the soundtrack this round. It was a nice mix of club/rock/jazz that of course fit the series to a tee. I would expect that the last edition had virtually the same soundtrack as this one, but I didn’t notice it as much. This seemed to have more impact and style.

I tried as hard as I could to find fault with this series, and I just can’t do it. If there is any negativity it’s the fact that some parts do tend to drone on a little bit longer then necessary. But that is such a minor infraction it is hardly worth mentioning.

Sure this review seems to more an advertisement then objective review, but that’s honestly because it is virtually perfect as far as anime is concerned. I cannot stress enough how good this series is. I’m sure like most people you waste too much money on DVD’s, well it’s about time you started getting quality video. Before you buy the next 70’s TV show movie remake, you better reach for this first.

Added:  Monday, June 18, 2007
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