"SYNDUALITY Noir" is the anime title of Bandai Namco's new IP "SYNDUALITY" series. The game is scheduled to be released as a third-person shooter called "SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada," and is a prequel that depicts the events 20 years before the anime. This sci-fi robot anime is set in a post-apocalyptic world and is planned to be adapted into various media mixes. The first season will air from July 2023, and the second season is scheduled to air from January 2024. In this article, we'll take a look back at each episode that aired in the first season!
Episode 1: A Look Back at My Name Is...
The story is set in the year 2242. Surface civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic disaster known as the "Tears of the New Moon," driving humanity underground. However, following the collapse of the underground city-state "Amasia," people returned to the surface and formed settlements known as "Nests." The surface world is infested with strange creatures known as Enders, and despite the harsh conditions, they survive on AO crystals, an energy resource. Kanata, one of the Drifters, an adventurer mining AO crystals, discovers a humanoid named Magus, equipped with a dual-thinking AI and lost his memory, while searching an abandoned museum with his trusty older brother Tokio.
Ep.1 Part 2
The Magus Kanata discovered lacked its normal functions and was essentially useless. Kanata named the Magus Noir. After investigating, he discovered that Noir's limited functionality was not due to a malfunction. Meanwhile, a group of strange creatures known as the Enders attacked the Nest. Kanata also pilots the bipedal mecha "Cradle Coffin" and sets out on a mission, but without Magus to assist him and with inexperienced piloting skills, he barely manages to move it. However, when the normally sloppy Noir pilots the Coffin, it's revealed to have incredible combat capabilities.
Review of Episode 1
This is a mecha anime, and apparently a game set in an earlier timeline will also be released. It appears the series also serves as a promotional tool for the game. The robot is called Cradle Coffin, and its design resembles a cockpit with limbs growing out of it. Similar mecha designs would be found in Koubu and Votoms from Sakura Wars. While there's a lot of technical terminology, it's a common setting in sci-fi and robot anime, so it's easy to understand. I've probably seen or heard of the Magus concept in Five Star Stories, and the AO Crystal setting somewhere. The worldview is similar to that of Gurren Lagann.
Review Part 2
The story begins with the protagonist Kanata meeting the amnesiac girl Magus and Noire. Noire is an amnesiac, poorly expressive, innocent female humanoid, and completely useless. While Magus is supposedly built to be able to do anything, Noir's not quite like that. She's a bit of a clunker and cute, but she's extremely capable in combat. Our protagonist, Kanata, is a bit of a scumbag at piloting in the early stages, so we're looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Episode 2: Looking Back at My Master
Noir has lost all of her memories. In an attempt to retrieve them, she revisits the museum where she was sleeping, but the only clue she has is an old-fashioned digital camera. However, she can't figure out how to retrieve the data from that camera. In the end, they return home with no clues, but then they find Lange, a former Nest Drifter, and his partner Magus, Dolce, visiting Rock Town.
Ep.2 Part 2
Ellie had asked Kanata to join her team, Aventure, but he had repeatedly refused. However, Lange revealed that he had actually failed the recruitment exam. Lange then tried to persuade Noir to kidnap and sell her off. Kanata and Tokio attack Lange and try to recapture Noir, but Lange's carrier is accompanied by another Magus, the diva Ciel.
Episode 2 Review
Ellie, Kanata's childhood friend, seems to have always liked him. However, she's a tsundere loser heroine. A girl like this in a robot anime might be a bit dangerous. Please don't die protecting Kanata. Food in this world is highly artificial, created using devices like 3D printers, and raw vegetables seem to be a rare commodity. The rain contains highly toxic substances, suggesting serious soil and water pollution. While the country appears to be highly civilized, it seems as though people have almost forgotten how to use digital cameras and washing machines, devices commonly used in modern society.
Review of episode 3: Behind the Mask
Tokio kindly takes Kanata to the pleasure town of "Desire Nest," where he's about to take the first step toward adulthood. However, upon learning this, Ellie, pale-faced, chases after Kanata, trying to stop him from taking the step toward adulthood. Along the way, Ellie and her friends encounter the mysterious Magus "Schnee." Meanwhile, Kanata encounters a mysterious man wearing a black mask in the brothel's waiting room.
Episode 3 Part 2
Just before Kanata attempts to climb the Adult Stairs, the Enders attack the Nest, rendering the Adult Stairs nonexistent. Ellie and Ange fight back with the Cradle Coffin, while Kanata reunites with Noir, who has come looking for them, and reunites with Ellie. However, a medium-sized Enders appears, putting Kanata in a pinch. Then, a mysterious white Cradle Coffin appears and quickly annihilates the Enders. The passengers were a man in a black mask and a Schnee.
Episode 3 Impressions
Ellie once again pulls off her tsundere losing heroine move! Tokio introduces Kanata to an adult club, but it ends in failure. This kind of plot twist is common in robot anime, and it usually ends in failure. However, there are some works out there that haven't ended in failure. And then there's the masked man, a staple of robot anime. It's a given that masked characters are usually important characters. And they're usually strong and shady. The man in the black mask was a bit shady, but like Michael, he somehow seemed both capable and incompetent.
Episode 4: Looking Back at Wild Daisy
With Noir's capabilities, Kanata was able to compete with the Enders. However, Kanata felt he needed to improve his own piloting skills. So he headed to a valley where Enders infested. However, his lack of skill forced him to struggle against the tire-shaped Enders. Then, intruders appeared: the well-built Drifter Claudia and Flam, a Zero-type Magus like Noir.
Episode 4 Part 2
With the help of Claudia, Noir embarks on a mission to mine AO crystals without turning the daisy colony into a battlefield. Noir interacts with Flam at the daisy colony, where fragments of her lost memories are resurrected. During the mission, Kanata and Tokio hold back the Enders, while Claudia mines. Kanata successfully neutralizes and destroys the Enders with a tactical approach that makes the most of his tools. However, Claudia escapes, hoarding the AO crystals that were promised to be shared. Kanata's Cradle Coffin didn't have a name, but Noir named it Daisy Ogre.
Episode 4 Review
Robot anime has many different types of protagonists, but Kanata, like Sei Iori from Build Fighters, starts out as a weak character. With the option of Noir, he can fight properly, but Kanata himself is an inexperienced pilot and struggles even against weak enemies... Then, characters named Claudia and Flam appear. I thought they were kind older sisters, but they hog the results like Fujiko Mine. However, Kanata's lack of skill allowed him to show strategic skills, such as taking advantage of the terrain and switching weapons during preparatory stages. This type of protagonist is also interesting.
Episode 5: Looking Back at Drifting the Maze
After Claudia took all of Kanata's share, Claudia appears before him again. Claudia tells Kanata that the key to becoming a stronger Drifter is to deepen his bond with Magus. She then introduces him to the labyrinth ruins of "Fez," where he can quickly deepen his bond. At Noir's strong request, Kanata decides to go to Fez, but there's also information that there have been frequent attacks by Type Zero Magus.
Episode 5 Part 2
After arriving in Fez, Kanata and Noir are attacked by unknown assailants. It turns out to be the perpetrators of the recent spate of Type Zero Magus attacks. Kanata is tricked, and once again, it's Claudia who has framed him. Kanata finds himself in a difficult situation, but Tokio, Ellie, and Michael arrive to rescue him. Kanata challenges Claudia, who framed him, to a one-on-one fight to make amends.
Review of Episode 5
Noir heard that connecting with Magus is important to becoming a stronger Drifter. She tries to connect with him by imitating Kanata's behavior, but that's not what it means. Noir has become a natural at being cute. And when Noir, who interpreted connecting with Magus as becoming a married couple (but didn't actually understand what it meant to become a married couple), announced that Kanata and he were married, Ellie was left speechless. Ellie's losing heroine moves have become a natural. Kanata is tricked by Claudia once again. This time, he manages to get revenge. The mysterious organization targeting the Type Zero Magus still has a motive unclear.
Episode 6: Dice is Cast
Tokio and Kanata get caught in the rain on their way home from work and end up at the gambling town of Baccarat Nest. Baccarat Nest is a town where anything and everything is a gambling opportunity, and Tokio heads out into the night. At a lounge in the town, Kanata reunites with Ciel, a Magus whom Noir met during Lange's career. Ciel was a popular singer and performed on stage. Later, Kanata reunited with the mysterious black-masked man and his partner, Schnee, whom he met at Desire Nest at a gambling hall.
Ep.6 Part 2
Around that same time, Lange, a former Aventure drifter, barely made it to Baccarat Nest, their current base. Lange tricked Ciel into signing the owner's deed, and held a Cradle Coffin battle royale with Ciel as the prize. Kanata also participated in the battle royale to save Ciel. They manage to win easily until halfway through, when Lange and his gang burst in after they've exhausted themselves.
Review of Episode 6
The setting is the gambling town of Baccarat Nest. There, they reunite with Ciel, who appeared in Episode 2. Ciel is the popular diva Magus. A blonde diva character in a robot anime... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, but she's not that noticeable. When the villains, Lange and Dolce, first appeared, I thought they'd be villains like Gian, but they're actually Team Rocket. If only there was a Meowth character, it would have been perfect. But before we knew it, the Pokemon anime has moved on to a new generation, and it's a little sad to think that we'll never see them again.
[SYNDUALITY Noir Season 2] A Look Back at Season 1
This time, we're looking back at episodes 1 through 6 of Season 1 of the anime "SYNDUALITY Noir," which will begin its second season in January 2024! It feels like it's been a while since we've seen such an exciting robot anime, and in addition to Season 2, a game adaptation is also on the way! It's currently streaming on YouTube, so check it out if you're interested!
