Post by Ed CryerThe comments you're making now are about translating between languages in
general. You never get that word-for-word resemblance. You have to give and
take. Different languages have their peculiarities and idioms.
I'm sorry about that. I guess I just wasn't thinking. Thank you.
Post by Ed CryerI'd refer you to the comment made above by John Sullivan. And take a look at
the "Dies Irae" on the webpage I've given you.
I have. It has too many similar lines to "Salva Nos" to not have been
the inspiration for it. =) I've put all of the information presented
in this thread into a semi-organized message and posted it to a "Noir"
Yahoo! Group.
Post by Ed CryerThe music of Verdi's "Dies Irae" is famous from the score of lots of horror
films about the supernatural; just like the opening of Carl Orff's "Carmina
Burana". This seems to be the key to understanding this.
Ooh, I've heard "O Fortuna".
Post by Ed CryerI downloaded the music and I've kept it on my desktop. Normally I'd have
erased it by now, but I play it occasionally. I quite like it. I'm also
intrigued by it being the music to a Japanese film with the French title
"Noir"; its having Latin lyrics associated with the good old battle between
good and evil; and it ends with what sounds like a plane crashing.
I'll have to listen for that. I hadn't noticed. Usually, I stop it or
rewind it when the electric guitar comes in.
Post by Ed CryerI think you owe us a bit of a telling of what "Noir" is all about. I'd be
pleased to know.
It's an anime series - 26 episode long. It's about 2 female assassins,
Mirielle Bouquet and Yumura Kirika. Both have amnesia - Kirika to the
point that she has no idea who she is. She contacts Mirielle and sends
her a sound file with a haunting melody (that Mirelle somehow
recognizes) along with the message: "Come make a pilgrimage for the
past with me".
Mirielle goes to Japan and meets Kirika. Kirika has a pocket watch
that plays the melody. Both girls (Kirika is a teenager; Mirielle is
in her early 20s) are attacked. They manage to kill all of the men.
Kirika is upset that she doesn't feel any sadness over it and doesn't
know why.
After talking for a while at Kirika's house (which isn't really her
house; she woke up there one day with her school uniform hanging on a
stand and a student ID in the pocket), Mirielle takes Kurika back to
France with her.
Mirielle agrees to help Kirika find out about her past, but then
she'll have to kill her (for knowing what Mirielle does for a living).
Kirika looks forward to that moment.
Mirielle then sets up her website (No, I don't get it either) and
names the 2-girl team "Noir".
I've got only the first DVD (first 5 episodes) so far. Mirielle and
Kirika do a few murders for hire, and they slowly realize that someone
is hiring people to lure Noir into traps - without telling them who
Noir really is (the people are always surprised).
At the end of episode 5, Mirielle and Kirika learn that the mysterious
group is called Les Soldats.
"Noir" is a beautifully animated series and shot in widescreen.
Some people have some complaints about the series:
1) A lot of footage is reused. In one review that I read, it said that
the creator may set a record for reused footage in an anime series. So
far, it's not too bad, but we'll see. One person wrote online that
some rules for a "Noir" drinking game would be to take a drink every
time a flashback is shown or "Salva Nos" is played, which is pretty
much the girls' "killing theme" (when it comes on, you know people are
gonna die) and is also used in the next episode previews.
2) Mirielle and Kirika are very cold and methodical in their killing.
Some people think that this is way too unrealistic.
3) Both girls are amnesiacs, making them pretty much blank slates.
That, combined with their coldness, according to some people, make
them unable to carry an entire series.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
I'm going to order the rest of the series soon.
Mark