Noir - episodes 14 to 16

Noir is an amazing beast. The appearance of Chloe and Altena gave the impression of being the series' vitality, then they all but disappeared and the strengths of Mireille and Kirika became more apparent.

A bouquet of flowers for Mireille was wonderful, with more insight into Mireille's past than there ever has been, and the idea that there is more to her life than killing jobs - her own social life has been mentioned before, in tragic circumstance, but this episode shows her radiant and involved. The fact that the series' situations and perspectives can change so frequently and seamlessly is a marvel.

The other two episodes were The Cold Blooded Killer story. Shaoli had a beautiful design reminiscent of Takada Yuzo or Fujishima Kosuke. Unfortunately acte II simply couldn't seem to keep up the character model quite so well and she lost some of her detail. However, on the whole the action sequences were impressive. As always, anime lends itself to scene changes because it costs nothing to affect a battle in Taiwan. This was all tied together by Chloe's return, and the tantalising words that she says to Kirika.

Once you're in Noir, you're in.