Review of Synduality: Noir

Nothing of note happens in this show. The mix of CG and "traditional" animation is awkward and unappealing. Unnecessary musical performances by an idol-like figure are positioned within episodes at random - this seems to be a marketing stunt if I had to wager a guess. The partners that accompany each mech pilot are slaves. They might be "robots", but they have zero distinguishing features from their human counterparts except that they are required by some sort of hardware-bound contract to obey their owner's command. Things get even more strange when it is suggested that humans can have sex with these contract-bound characters. The titular character "Noir"is the main character's co-pilot. An amnesiac, she is about as literal of a blank slate as possible and does nothing for the majority of the show's run despite the story being centered on her. The few moments where she actually takes center stage can be amusing at times given her ignorance and rote delivery, but the majority of her behavior is informed by what she sees happening right in front of her, which involves repeating lines said by other characters or inappropriately parroting something out of context.

A good amount of time is spent worldbuilding but very little of it is utilized in a meaningful way. It is hard to say when the show really "starts" because it so frequently seems to be going somewhere only to wrap up the story and pivot back to neutral, thus making the worldbuilding largely filler because none of it plays a role in the story at large.

The show is largely inoffensive. You can watch it while eating lunch or checking email without worrying about something important happening; you will not "miss" an important story beat because none exist.