Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try to check them out.
donone : By the way what is Rkova, and... is the Fist of the North Star movie like Berserk, because of the blood and death--or does it also have a good story line.
Otohiko To answer your question, I liked Noir for the following reasons, in no particular order.
1. The music
2. The pacing of the show (it was slow yet deliberate, when delivering the plot, but the action was fast, furious and really cool)
3. I liked the main characters and their motives (searching out their past). I like how, even though they are assassins, they don't just kill their is thought and emotion that goes into their work (you see this almost every episode).
4. I liked the idea of how fate tied in with the story and how the story gets deeper as you go along (the twists and turns are nice, and definitely not forced).
5. The english voice acting is great.
6. The direction is terrific, the pacing of the shots and how they are thought is usually excellent. The pillow shots and emotion shots are particular well done. The use of flashback in my opinion is not overdone like it is in some shows, instead each time a flashback occurs you know more information and thus see the flashback in a different context.
7. Don't go flaming me for this, but in a strange way this show reminisces of Evangelion (though certainly not as crazy in the end).
8. I feel that the story is a good one and feels complete (though there is room for a sequel)--highly doubt this will happen, I can always dream (still waiting for Berserk too).
Anyways that's that.
I checked on Amazon and here is a quote from their review of Madlax compared to Noir:
As both characters are complete ciphers, Madlax is more oblique than Noir and even less entertaining. A more imaginative writer and a more skillful director might have worked the diverse elements into an intriguing story, but Kuroda and Mashimo leave the viewer adrift in a sea of portentious bilge. (Rated TV 14: violence, nudity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon
and a quote from a reviewer:
...However there is one major thing that keeps Madlax from being Noir the Sequel. Noir was stylish and good... very good. Madlax.... not so much!
thoughts??