Animanga/Anime| Information
|
is a
Science Fiction Anime television series directed by
Kazuki Akane and
Kenji Yasuda and produced by
Satelight . The series is 24 episodes long.
The English version is being produced by
Manga Entertainment . Four volumes have been released in North America. The fourth volume was released on
June 26 ,
2007 , and one more volume is planned.
The . The Australian Digital Channel
ABC2 started broadcasting the series
August 21 2007 at 7:30 pm.
Fifteen years in the future, a violent battle using fictional technology takes place between two "timespaces": La'cryma, that protects humanity, and Shangri'la, that plans the annihilation of all space and time. The key to stopping Shangri'la's invasion is a mysterious object known as the "Dragon Torque." A group known as the Dragon Cavalry is being sent through space and time to find it. In the present, twelve-year old Haruka and her friend Yuu are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Cavalry named Karasu. He believes that Haruka has the Dragon's Torque and claims to be Yuu from fifteen years in the future.
Noein features the concept of time as a dimension which resonates with other time spaces. Haruka's , which affects this, takes the shape of an
Ouroboros .
Noein thrives exceptionally in the many theories of
Quantum Physics . Particularly, it puts forth the concept of
Everett 's
Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI), which is seen that the universe is branching off into a series of infinite probabilities.
However, Noein also includes the theory of the
Copenhagen Interpretation , which suggests that an observer or measurement is important to determine the decoherency of the probability. In the anime, Haruka, the lead character, has the power of "observer-status" in the multiverse, thus enabling her to determine the outcome of an event just by "looking" at the event itself.
Also, in one episode, Uchida candidly explained to her bodyguard Kooriyama about the
Schrödinger's Cat , whereby the observer only determines the death of the cat when he opens the box. She also mentioned the famous phrase "God does not play dice", as quoted from Albert Einstein.
While the Many-Worlds Interpretation suggested the idea of a diverging time-space, the anime also featured a probability where a converging time-space occurs, as has been deliberately induced by the main antagonist, Noein.
''Note that
Hakodate , the main Present Timespace setting of Noein, is a real city, in the Hokkaido Prefecture of Japan, and its appearance plus many features were replicated with uncanny detail in Noein. A special feature of the Noein DVD series goes through this matter extensively.''
- , in the present Timespace , is the protagonist of the anime. In this timespace, she was a typical elementary school student before a ghost hunting trip led by Miho led her to meet Karasu for what she believed to be the first time. During the encounter, Atori attacked Karasu; while watching, she gained a faint awareness of her existence as the Dragon Torque. She is the victim of various attempts by the Dragon Cavalry to use her to protect La'cryma from Noein and Shangri'la.
- is Haruka's mother. She is often spaced out; for example, late in the series, she doesn't realize her daughter has disappeared until her whole house vanishes. She was once best friends with Yuu's mother, but their friendship eventually started to fall apart when Yuu's grandmother died; after Haruka and Miyuki visit the past, her friendship with Miyuki re-affirms itself.
- , Haruka's father, is a prominent scientist in the field of quantum physics and one of the founders of the Magic Circle Project, which aims to control the flow of spacetime. He is divorced from Asuka, Haruka's mother, but still maintains a close relationship with Haruka. After learning of the danger the Magic Circle Project poses, he joins Ryouko and Kyouji to try and stop its activation.
- , in the present timespace, is Haruka's classmate. He, unlike other students, is being forced by his mother to go to cram school in order to pass a provincial enrollment test. He appears to be physically weak and isolated, but later on he develops deep affections for Haruka and would do just about anything for her.
- is Yuu's mother. At the beginning of the series, she is very strict about Yuu's school work. Later, it is revealed that she wanted Yuu to be just like her sister who had passed away and was very successful at everything before her death. After she pushes Yuu as far as to run away with Haruka, she comes looking for her son and Haruka eventually uses the Dragon Torque to send Miyuki back in time to where she resolves her worries about her mother never loving her. After this, her attitude to Yuu's studying changes, and she even goes as far as to say he doesn't have to take the entrance exams if he doesn't want to.
- , in the present timespace, is another of Haruka's classmates. She is an expert in soccer, and she has a crush on Isami. In one future timespace, she is a respected soccer player, but damages her foot to the extent where she has to have it amputated. After becoming depressed, she almost commits suicide by jumping off of the hospital roof, but is saved by Isami. In Karasu's timespace, Ai and Isami are still close.
- is Haruka's friend in the present timespace. He lives with his brother and grandmother, as their parents both died. He appears to be tough on the outside but has a fear for ghosts, and he is constantly nagging Yuu about being a "mama's boy" and never doing anything but study and go to cram school. Yuu and Isami are very close. In one future timespace, Isami becomes a delinquent after his grandmother dies and is separated from his brother. After a fight with another gang, he ends up losing an eye while trying to protect his friends, who consequently abandon him. With not much to live for, he was about to put a knife in the guy who slashed his eye, before the present timespace's Yuu came along and told him he was the only one who could save Ai from killing herself. In Karasu's timespace he is a Dragon Knight by the name of Fukurou, who decides to help Karasu protect Haruka just before he is killed by Noein.
- , in the present timespace, is a close friend of Haruka, Yuu, Isami and Ai. Even though she believes in aliens, ghosts and the like, a surprising fact is that she is sometimes right in her theories of alien abduction. She develops a bond with Atori when he loses his memories, who at first thinks she is his sister. In one future timespace Miho is depressed as she has no friends; everyone hates her because she is rich. After spending two weeks locked in her room she develops some sort of psychosis, and does not even recognise her own mother. In the end it is Atori who saves her.
- is a quantum researcher for the Magic Circle Project. Initially, her research involves a lot of chasing after quickly-disappering phenomena and seems fruitless, but after she and Kyouji meet the Dragon Cavalry, she discovers that the Magic Circle Project, if successfully activated, would annihilate all of existence; she is then determined to stop it at all costs.
- is Ryouko's partner, acting as her driver and bodyguard while she resarches quantum phenomena. He doesn't understand the bulk of Ryouko's work, asking for simplistic explanations here and there, but he sticks around her anyway.
La'cryma exists as a timespace 15 years into the future. There, all beings were transformed into quantum beings at a macro level due to an incident that occurred in the past. A group, known as the Dragon Knights, exists to protect La'cryma from invasion from Shangri'la and to enter into other timespaces to find the Dragon Torque. There were originally more 'birds' (each is named after a bird), but it is suggested most were rejected by various timespaces causing them to die. Each Knight has access to various weapons formed from their 'layze' (apparently their bodies in quantum states can be transformed for a limited period of time). These weapons are known as Spin Weapons.
- is Yuu in a future timespace, La'cryma. He is a Dragon Knight whose mission was to find the Dragon Torque, Haruka. In his timespace, he failed to save Haruka from death, and thus swore to protect the Haruka in the present timespace from anyone or anything. Karasu's spin weapon consists of several black whip-like threads that he can control. With them, he is able to create shields, grab distant objects, and cut through most anything. He has also been seen using blasts of built up energy. The spirals on the arms of dragon knights can also become swords, Karasu and Fukurou are seen using this weapon while fighting in episode 12 for a short while. ''Karasu'' is the Japanese word for Crow .
- is Isami in the same future timespace as Karasu. He also became a Dragon Knight. Being Karasu's best friend, Fukurou failed the mission to kill him when he was declared a traitor. Fukurou was eventually killed by Noein, after Haruka changed the future she saw in which it was Karasu who killed him. Fukurou is a close friend with the future Ai, and expresses his wish to see her one more time as he dies. Fukurou's spin weapon appears to be simple energy blasts. He is also one of two 'birds' seen transforming his body into a large quantum beast to fight the invaders from Shangri'la. ''Fukurō'' is Japanese for Owl .
- is another Dragon Knight. Although he seems totally against other Dragon Knights, he's also a loyal knight who tried to achieve the same goal with a different method. After betraying the Dragon Knights in an effort to destroy the Dragon Torque, he cuts his pipeline, thus becoming trapped in Haruka's timespace. Eventually he loses his memory and for a while seems completely innocent and harmless. He first thinks that Miho is his little sister, a girl called Sara. They develop a very deep bond which seems to change his final personality, as he fights to protect the children in Haruka's timespace, even when his memories come back. His real name is Al, and he later reveals that his sister died by stepping on a mine. Atori's spin weapon seems to be based in lightning attacks. He can charge and release large blasts. He is also one of two 'birds' seen transforming his body into a large quantum beast to fight the invaders from Shangri'la. ''Atori'' is Japanese for Finch .
- is a Dragon Knight who turned her love toward Karasu to hatred due to his betrayal. She has hatred for Haruka as well for supposedly turning Karasu against her. Kosagi's spin weapon appears as a bow-like device bursting from her right arm and can fire energy blasts. ''Kosagi'' is Japanese for Egret .
- is a Dragon Knight who mastered the technical side of the future timespace. Although he's weak in combat, he's proven to be an invaluable member of the knights. He was one of the Dragon Knights who left La'cryma to fight with Atori. Tobi has not shown any spin weapons, though it is assumed he has one. ''Tobi'' is Japanese for Kite .
- is another Dragon Knight who accompanied Atori and Tobi in leaving La'cryma. After removing his pipeline, he remarked that if he would disappear in a peaceful timespace then he would be happy. Fukurou and Karasu travelled to Haruka's timespace to pursue them, and when Atori ordered Isuka to destroy Haruka, Karasu was forced to kill him. Isuka's last words were that he could now be at peace. Isuka's spin weapon consists of him charging energy into his fists and unleasing a blast of energy shaped like a fist towards his target. ''Isuka'' is Japanese for Crossbill .
- , another dragon knight, fell in love with Kosagi, but his affections were not returned. Eventually, his body decayed and he died due to his obsession with going to Shangri'la, after taking the Dragon Torque there. Kuina has not shown any spin weapons, though as he appears to be the leader of the Dragon Knights, it can be assumed his is quite powerful. ''Kuina'' is Japanese for Rail .
- , La'cryma's Ai, works as a medical officer in the Dragon Cavalry base.
- Lily is Miho's daughter in La'cryma and helps Haruka when she asks for a route to the surface, and finds a place for Haruka and Yuu to hide when the Dragon Knights are after them. Miho is blind in La'cryma, so Lily acts as her eyes.
- (pronounced /ˈno.iːn/ in English and /no.ˈe.in/ in Japanese) is another Yuu in another timespace, and the main antagonist in the anime. After watching Ms.Yukie, Haruka, Isami, and Ai die in a car accident, he couldn't bear the pain of losing Haruka. He decided to look for a new Haruka in a different timespace only to find that every Haruka was making every Yuu suffer in every timespace; she was constantly dying and he could never save her. As a result he decided to converge every timespace and stop all the pain and sorrow.
However, both Karasu and Yuu come to realize that that Noein is nothing like them, as he had forgotten Haruka and their past. In the end, they both denied Noein's existence, and so he ceased to be.
- are the residents of Shangri'la. They desired to live in a peaceful world with no violence. They discarded their bodies and lived merely as coinciousness with Noein choosing not to follow pursuit. They appear to be able to take a limited form of a metallic dragon shape with one ribbon like arm that ends in a hand.
- appears only to Haruka as an old man with a wide brim hat that covers most of his upper face with the exception of one eye. He gives useful, but cryptic, advice as well as warnings to Haruka. Near the end of the series he transforms into the Ouroboros.
