Anime with Film Noir Influences

[villainy vs heroism]

Hello, everyone.

As an animesuki new-kid-on-the-block, I'd like to extend my apologies before hand if proper conduct and form doesn't include making one's first post a badgering suggestion post. xD

But either way, here I am. Hello and it's nice to meet you all.

Now dish.

I'm on a major film noir tear at the moment, and am looking for animes that are noir-influenced, whether that means they are gritty and stark, or simply take place in a 30's detective world of men in fedoras and women with red lips, or any combination/augmentation thereof.

I already know Cowboy Bebop, Big O, Baccano! (favorite of mine; watch it), Ghost in a Shell, and "Detective Story" from Animatrix were certainly noir-influenced, and I enjoyed them all. So have I seen the whole spectrum, or can anyone think of any others?

Thanks!

[Autumn Demon]

I don't exactly know what film noir is, but maybe the anime Noir would be like it?

[jedinat]

You might take a look at Nijuu-Mensou no Musume. If nothing else it seems to be in the right era.

There was this thread a while back... may be slightly helpful.

[villainy vs heroism]

Oh, that's right. There's always Noir. But I'm not so into yuri. And I don't know if that's really noir. >> But thank you, Autumn!

Oh, no, jedinat. That's actually quite helpful. Thanks very much.

[MuraKami]

Maybe you might check The Skullman and Speed Grapher. If neo noir-influenced themes like, hm, cornered individuals count, Texhnolyze (which also contains a dark and expressive graphics).

[Navel]

According to this wikipedia entry on Film noir, it's pretty hard to say what belongs to the noir style and what not. So... what exactly are you looking for ?

In my case, I'd definitely say Big O and A Detective Story (the Animatrix short) are noir anime, but I wouldn't be so sure about Cowboy Bebop or Baccano. I guess the "private eye" and "femme fatale" in a heavy mystery setting is what makes it "noir" for me !

And no, Noir certainly doesn't have a noir style in my view.

[SeijiSensei]

Probably the closest thing I've seen of late is Yakushiji Ryoko. The main character is a 30-ish female detective who works, and flirts, with her male subordinate. The show is worth watching for the interactions between these two; the plot itself is less compelling.

The anime Abenobashi Magical Shopping Arcade consists of a series of genre parodies including one that's explicitly set as a film noir. It's one of my favorite episodes of that show. Boogiepop Phantom might also fit your request in terms of style. Sometimes it's so darkly lit I have a hard time seeing what's happening on screen!

A couple of recent entries in the mystery category might also seem fitting, like Shion no Ou and Moryuu no Hako. Like Nijuu Mensou the latter is set in the early fifties.

[Matrim]

Oh, that's right! There's always Noir. But I'm not so into yuri. >> But thank you, Autumn!

Noir is not much of a yuri series, unless one wants really badly interpret it that way. Now if you don't want yuri subtext, you might want to steer clear of it.

I am not perfectly sure what actually qualifies as film-noir but you might want to try the following:

Perfect Dark (a movie)
Moryuu no Hako
maybe Red Garden as it takes place New york and has many dark moments and moral ambiguity but it also some comedy and heartwarming stuff.

[villainy vs heroism]

Originally Posted by Navel

According to this wikipedia entry on Film noir, it's pretty hard to say what belongs to the noir style and what not. So... what exactly are you looking for ?

If nothing else, something that generally fits into (or is a play on) the general 30's or 40's American time-setting. You basically hit the nail on the head with "Detective Story," thought I find it really hard to imagine their being many more animes which are that obviously noir. Detectives, cases, people in trenchcoats ducking down alleyways - ya know.

Thank you for all of your help, everyone.
I certainly didn't expect so much input!

[TinyRedLeaf]

In that case, like others have suggested, I think Nijuu Mensou no Musume would fit what you're looking for.

All in all, a very interesting request. Noir has not been very heavily represented in anime, unlike in American cartoons. This particular genre has been heavily influenced by Lupin III and Detective Conan, which tend to be detective parodies rather than hard-boiled noir. I don't know of many recent detective shows, unless you count Monster and Witch Hunter Robin as well. (Neither are very noirish, and are more like thrillers instead; Witch Hunter Robin, in particular, was heavily influenced by Nikita.)

I'll be watching this thread.

[Navel]

Yes, no more noir anime I know of, either. And it's no surprise considering that, for instance, Big O received almost no interest in Japan. If it were not for CartoonNetwork paying for most of the production, that show would have never seen a second season. The series got shortened to 13 episodes after having aired in Japan, and if it were not for the success on the international markets (read US), a second season would not have happened. Details on Wikipedia.

Disparate elements from the "noir" style can be seen in other productions, without them being completely "noirish".

Perfect Blue, that was mentioned above, has a mystery setting, murder cases, the main character is being hunted and there's no apparent suspect, keeping the story on the edge. It also deals with amnesia, flashbacks, uncertainties on the truth of one's memories. So yes, there's some "noir" techniques there. It's not set in the US, or the prohibition period either, but in today's Japan and with pop idols. A great anime from Satoshi Kon.

Skull Man is a detective story, too. It seems to involve some sort of superheroes in the beginning, and the mystery is being investigated by a journalist and his aide. Again, the noir-ish atmosphere is given by the mystery which shrouds the strange murders in that alternate history of the end of WWII. I really liked the series, but I know others haven't really felt the same way.

Texhnolyze, this one could be said has plenty of elements from "noir" movies: dark lighting, flashbacks that disrupt the normal flow of the story, a corrupted society, a sort of "femme fatale" and a main character that seems to not fit the rest of the world. However, this is a scifi/cyberpunk anime with a dystopian setting more than a noir anime.

Kaze No Youjinbou, now one anime that not many people have seen. This is a detective story. True, it's set in Japan, but it has the right ingredients: it starts with the disappearance of a train carrying gold and of its guards. If only for the motif of the story, and it already fits those old noir movies which bordered horror stories on long train voyages. But the story really starts with the son of one of those guards coming to the city where the train seemed to have vanished. And the people here are full of mysteries, everybody seems to be holding something secret, and he has to slowly progress from one clue to the next, like a private eye would do. It doesn't involve supernatural being, superheroes, or anything that would break the suspension of disbelief. It's a great detective story, featuring real human beings with real human motifs. Definitely one of the anime to see, even though it's not all "noir" either (there's no predominance of night settings, mostly everything happens during day time, no interesting light plays, no unexpected camera movements, it's the story and the pacing that's noir-ish).

That's about everything I know. There are some other anime with noir elements, but they're more in technique rather than plot. Like: Metropolis, Jin-Roh, Sennen Joyuu.

How about Batman, the cartoon ? The one from the 90's, not the Batman Kids (or something like that) that I have seen more recently. I remember it was much superior to the Batman movies, and its characters and the camera certainly had a noir feel to it.

[Megatronium]

Check out Ergo Proxy. It's bleak with a future/postapocalyptic setting. The animation is really good too, if I remember right there is some cel shaded and CG stuff too. If you try it, be sure to watch past the first few episodes since it starts reaaaaaally slow but picks up after that.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

In that case, like others have suggested, I think Nijuu Mensou no Musume would fit what you're looking for.

All in all, a very interesting request. Noir has not been very heavily represented in anime, unlike in American cartoons. This particular genre has been heavily influenced by Lupin III and Detective Conan, which tend to be detective parodies rather than hard-boiled noir. I don't know of many recent detective shows, unless you count Monster and Witch Hunter Robin as well. (Neither are very noirish, and are more like thrillers instead; Witch Hunter Robin, in particular, was heavily influenced by Nikita.)

I'll be watching this thread.

I'll second the Nijuu Mensou no Musume - perhaps better known as "Daughter of Twenty Faces" and Monster. Daughter of Twenty Faces is set in 50s Japan and the main character is a 13-ish year old girl who succeeds mainly through wit rather than strength, so it's not totally noir-style, but it's close and a very well executed show. Monster doesn't exactly fit the bill for noir either, but it's stylistically not far off and is widely considered one of the best mature, adult oriented animes around - just remember it's a bit time commitment, since it's 74 episodes. You'll need to pace yourself to avoid burnout.

[villainy vs heroism]

Wow, these sound great. Thank you for all your help, everyone.