Noein, Vol. 3 DVD: Review By Mushy

Noein, Vol. 3 places viewers in a battle between dimensions. It forces Karasu to look at the dimensions of Yuu and Haruka, which seem seem to be coming under the spell of a force known as Shangri-La. Seizing this opportunity, it seems that if this force can be opposed than the people involved will be able to change their fates which already seem predetermined.

Coming at viewers with unique characters and a different perspective, Noein, Vol. 3 is a very original look at the idea of human destiny. How much can we affect our own lives? Is everything predetermined to the point that we have no say in the outcome? What happens when we try and alter our existence? These are the ideas that are at work here and while this volume doesn't seem to try and answer all the questions that it poses, where it really works is showing off the vagaries of what happens if you don't act at all.

There are very big ideas at work in Noein, Vol. 3. In this day and age of disposable media, leave it to an animated cartoon to show us how we can shed light on and ultimately reveal our better selves.

Storyboard to Screen

I enjoyed this section a lot because it was interesting getting to see the drawings and then the final product. I was also struck by the fact that the storyboards themselves weren't too much different than what this show ended up being. Also, I love looking at pencil drawings simply because I have an interest in drawing myself. These types of renderings seem to really tap into the ideas and inspirations that go into creating shows like this in the first place.

Still Gallery

On Location With Japanese Voice Actor and Director

These things are always fun for me because I love seeing how the characters are created by the people giving them life. I don't think people realize that voice actors have to be really good in order pull off their roles. They've got to have the right elocution, the right emotion, the right everything because they are creating an image of someone based on how they talk. This segment was interesting because we get to see the collaboration and then we are also shown the completed portion of the show.

Widescreen. This show looked unbelievable. Aside from the animation seeming to have been bolstered by the compression process, I was very impressed by how well the colors held up here. There is a great deal going on and sometimes that got to be a tad too much for me, but for the most part everything that happened in this show really seemed to service the story in a positive way. With all the action going on and the use of dark almost dreary colors, I could have forgiven this DVD if things hadn't been top notch all the time. Lets just say that Noein, Vol. 3 needs to be forgiven for nothing.

Dolby Digital. The audio on this DVD was probably the only thing that I found lacking. I just don't care for the scores on most cartoons and sadly that's no exception here. The dialogue itself was fine (if not a tad too weighty and whispery in parts), but I just wish that the actual score was cooler. However, I never heard any audio hits and I actually didn't even have to turn up my set that loud to hear what was going on.

Utilizing a lot of black and green (very reminiscent of The Matrix), this front cover features characters in cloaks, and other type of iconic artwork from this show. The back features some more Noein imagery, a tiny description of what this volume is about, a Special Features listing and some minor system specs. While I wasn't particularly taken aback by this packaging, I know that fans of the show most likely will be.

In all honesty, a class on Quantum Physics and Multiverses probably would have helped me understand the goings on of this show a little bit more. It wasn't that Noein, Vol. 3 was so over my head (although it would probably have helped to be a bit more familiar with the series), it's just that there are lot of things at work here. This story seems to be mirroring our culture. With all the media, politics and world affairs affecting our lives, it is amazing that society is allowed to function. The world is a truly crazy place and I give this series a lot of credit for trying to understand that a little bit.

The characters are all fairly well defined but what was really amazing was the animation. I love how anime isn't ever afraid to go for it. It's as if it doesn't adhere to normal animation rules. I know that anything can happen with animation, but that seems to be a theory more than it's something that's put into practice. Maybe that's why a series like Noein, Vol. 3 works? It shows us what's possible when we're not afraid to do the impossible.