Summary
One of the two main characters of Tite Kubo’sBURN THE WITCHis the cool, calm and collected Noel Niihashi, a young Witch and partner of Ninny Spangcole. While there’s not much we know about Noel’s past, theBURN THE WITCHmovie gave us enough of an insight into the character’s basic abilities and personality, as well as her position asthe series' blue ogrecomplementing Ninny’s “red ogre” personality.
Like Ninny, there’s something about Noel’s personality that is reminiscent of characters from the parent series,BLEACH, so here’s a breakdown of the character that is Noel Niihashi.
RELATED:How Are BLEACH & BURN THE WITCH Connected?
Deadpan
With her jet black hair and overall appearance, Noel appears to be designed after quintessential designs of Japanese characters in anime; however, she is canonically not Japanese according Ninny. She is; however, a big fan of anime and Japanese culture in general, with her phone ringtone being the originalDragon Balltheme. She chose the name “Noel” because it’s a popular girl’s name in Japan, supposedly, and it’s possible that “Niihashi” is a fabrication as well. She also likes wearing a school uniform when she’s on the job because it makes navigating a lot easier – people take one glance and make assumptions about who she is, so she never has to explain herself. Noel has avery stoic, deadpan kind of personalityand this is reflected in pretty much everything she does. There are only a few times when Noel’s blank face has been significantly twisted by emotion, the most notable of which being the time she destroyed the newly replaced Wing Bind sign after realizing that Osushi was actually a Dragon that had absorbed much of Balgo Parks' lecherous personality, which made her furious.
Unlike Ninny, who is more passionate about the boost to their reputation that comes from a job well done, Noel is more interested in the money, and this makes her susceptible to jumping into reckless situations. She also lacks any interest in progressing beyond the Pipers, so on various levels, Noel can be considered to be a character whose eccentricity is sometimes mistaken for being enigmatic when in reality, Noel is very open about the things she cares about and likes. In her off time, Noel can be a lot less serious and even cheerful, spending most of her time reading the newspaper and gardening. We also know very little about Noel before or after the events ofBURN THE WITCH, and have only seen her interactions with characters introduced in the film thus far. On some level, Noel’s appearance and personality are reflective ofan early Rukia Kuchiki, complete with an obsession with a specific concept (Rukia loves bunnies), combined with aspects of Byakuya’s stoic persona.
Abilities
As a Piper, Noel has access to her own Witch Kit, which like Ninny, takes the form of a magical weapon that resembles a small musket; but with its teal affectation and trio of discs at the end, it has a rather futuristic appearance. While it looks rather cute, Noel is capable of immense destruction and with her Absolute Dragon Shatter ability, she can blow away a Dark Dragon in a single shot. Like Ninny, Noel has a Dragon mount, and it is a Broombuggy called Wordsworth.
In addition to enhanced speed, durability, and strength, Noel also has a strong grasp of magic and can cast powerful spells without an incantation. This even includes high-level magic likeMagic #75: Gatling Claw, which she used to protect Balgo Parks from a rampaging Dark Dragon. Together with Ninny, Noel is able to cast a spell like Magic #68: Supernal Jail to subdue a fully evolved and molted Cinderella; which is one of the legendary dragons given the names of fairy tales that are known as the Märchen.
High-Speculation
We know nothing about Noel except what she allows us to know, and that leaves a lot of space to speculate about what theBURN THE WITCHnarrative will try to do with her character. There is one strange thing about Noel’s appearance that might be significant later – the horn-like accessory or protrusion that she has emerging from her left temple. The world ofBURN THE WITCHhas long been confirmed to be the same world asBLEACH, and within the story we are introduced to the concept of people’s composition being altered by contact with Dragons, turning them into Dragonclad as seen with Macy Baljure and Balgo Parks.
Given that it’s a felony to be such, the two are under protection by Wing Bind, and it may be a possibility that Noel is not 100% human. The Dragonclad are not quite human any longer; while the exact nature of Dragons is also still up in the air considering that some aren’t necessarily malicious – meaning that they may or may not be Hollow-like in nature. This thought stems from thepresentation (and utmost importance) of composite beingsthroughout theBLEACHuniverse, and it is possible that the reason why we don’t know much about Noel Niihashi is because the whole person is some kind of fabrication. Basically, the fact that there is a lot to be reconciled with theBLEACHuniverse (assuming that everything somehow does considering that Wing Bind is the West Branch of Soul Society) and Noel’s identity is one thing that needs further explanation.
