Noodle

Character Information

Birth Name: Unknown

Also Known As: Noodle • ヌードル (Nūdoru) • 大阪 武士 (Osaka Samurai) • Asian Axe Princess • EatMyRocketLauncher (Gamer tag) • The Scholar (The Last Cult) • Nödel

Gender Female

Age 35

Born 31 October 1990 Osaka, Kansai, Japan

Affiliation(s) Gorillaz

Occupation(s) Guitarist • Songwriter • Super Soldier (formerly)

Instrument(s) Guitar • Vocals • Melodica

Years Active 1998–2006 • 2012 • 2015 – present

Nationality Japanese

Religion Buddhism and Shinto

Sexuality Unlabeled

Visual Information Species Human

Eye Color Black Green (de facto)

Hair Color Black (Phases 1 & Phase 4, with dark blue highlights during Phases 5–6) True Purple (early Phase 2) Indigo (mid–late Phase 2) Medium Blue (Phase 3) Orange (Tranz) Red/Magenta (Phase 7) Pink (a Phase 7 TikTok)

Height 1.57 cm (5' 2")

Background Information Creator(s) Jamie Hewlett & Damon Albarn

Voice Actor(s) Haruka Kuroda (speaking, Phase 1–4) Haruka Abe (speaking, Phase 5–present) Miho Hatori (singing, Phase 1) Rosie Wilson (singing, DARE)

ヌードル, better known as Noodle, is the official guitarist, occasional backing vocalist and youngest member of British virtual band Gorillaz.

Her singing voice was provided by Miho Hatori during Phase 1 and by Rosie Wilson during Phase 2, and her speaking voice was provided by actor Haruka Kuroda from 2001 to 2017 and from 2018 onwards by Haruka Abe.

When first conceptualizing the depiction of a guitarist for Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett initially considered depicting her as a 17-year-old adolescent girl carrying guitars, but Damon Albarn noted that the idea was too similar to what Jamie usually draws and suggested that Jamie create "something different". Taking Albarn's advice, Hewlett came up with the first official Noodle, a 10-year-old Japanese girl, while the original design was made into a separate character, named Paula Cracker, who, in Gorillaz' fictional universe, was the band's first guitarist before Noodle.

Hewlett has stated in interviews that Noodle is his "favourite person to style", and is the one whose appearance has changed the most throughout the years, starting off as a pre-teen and currently standing as an adult woman in her thirties.

Miho Hatori was suggested as the singing voice of Noodle by producer Dan the Automator, who had previously worked with her for a track by Handsome Boy Modeling School.[5] Her vocals for the song 19-2000 were sometimes provided by Humanz collaborator Kilo Kish (from the track Out Of Body) when the song was performed on the Humanz Tour. DARE, the second single off of the band's second studio album, Demon Days, is by far the most famous Gorillaz song to feature Noodle as the lead vocalist, in which her vocals were provided by Roses Gabor. In 2016, Gabor re-recorded her vocals for DARE for a version of the song called 'Dare (Hold it Down)' recorded by English artist DJ FrictioW, which was approved by Albarn.

During Phase 1, Noodle had little knowledge of the English language and spoke exclusively in Japanese until Phase 2. When she first started speaking English, she spoke the language with a rather distinctive Japanese accent that has gradually lessened as she got older, with her accent sounding more British as an adult. Noodle regularly switches back and forth between English and Japanese in conversation, speaking in a regional dialect called Osaka-ben

Noodle is a short and thin Japanese woman with short hair and almond-shaped eyes. Her skin generally has a warm olive tone and she tends to wear only a small amount of makeup, which usually consists of painted fingernails and eye shadow. Noodle's hair is almost always kept short and has been depicted in various different colors over the years: pure black during Phases 1 and 4, indigo or dark purple during Phase 2, medium blue during Phase 3, dyed orange during the music video for Tranz, dark blue during Phases 5 and 6 and dyed red during Phase 7.

Throughout Phase 1, Noodle was designed with exaggerated stereotypical Asian features such as her skin tone, overbite, and exaggerated epicanthic folds, although this element of Noodle has been mostly eliminated since Phase 2, though making a brief return during Phase 6. In Phase 2 art, Noodle's eyes were frequently covered by her hair, and most Phase 3 artworks portray her wearing a butterfly mask that covers her face. When Noodle's eyes in this era were sometimes designed without epicanthic folds, they were pitch black and appeared to be hollow. She appears to have the largest wardrope out of all Gorillaz members, as following Phase 1 she was rarely ever shown to repeat an outfit.

Noodle has shown herself to be very pensive and reflective over the years, often contemplating on the state of the world around her, a trait shared with fellow bandmate Russel, especially in interviews promoting the band's second studio album, Demon Days, which she wrote mostly all by herself. She is generally introverted and usually most at peace when residing in her own space. She started as a timid person during Phase 1, as she was still a kid and not yet too familiar with the English language and celebrity life, but became more confident in her public appearances as time went on. Although Noodle is generally reserved and collected, she has sometimes displayed occasional irritability and impatience when interacting with some of the other band members, especially as a teenager. Having her privacy invaded has been proven to be a major pet peeve. For 'Phase 3, Noodle was completely silent and did not speak a word of dialogue, even after reuniting with the other band members in late 2010, as she was still recovering from her recent traumatic experiences, mostly involving The Black Clouds.

Noodle is a martial arts expert who often effortlessly partakes in dangerous action stunts with ease, and has been described as "kick riffmeister" and an "Asian axe princess" by the band. She is a Buddhist and has mentioned having a particularly strong zen-bond and brotherly-like relationship with bandmate 2-D. As a millennial, Noodle has shown herself to be tech savvy and in-tune with current trends while still being interested in more esoteric media. She often offers words of enlightenment and philosophical phrases, and has shown herself to be wise and intelligent, showing interest in a vast array of areas, from poetry to engineering.

As an adult now entering her early thirties, despite still being the youngest member of Gorillaz, she has been displayed as being one of the more emotionally mature members of the group, to the point of referring to herself as the "big sister" of the band, as she often protects the other band members when they are in danger and comforts them when they are distressed.[8] This aspect of Noodle is displayed in the Song Machine episode Aries, where Noodle abruptly stops her ride and expresses a concern for 2-D (who is riding with Murdoc) to Russel via a text message in the middle of a race between the band members. In the cover art for Aries, Noodle attempts to pull Russel off of Murdoc after he beats him up for injuring 2-D. She also demonstrated concern for 2-D's well-being during Phase 7, when he was simultaneously being held under the influence of The Forever Cult and used by Murdoc as a servant to his own cult.

Noodle was born in Osaka, Kansai, Japan on 31 October 1990. She spent a portion of her childhood in Japan as a subject of a classified Japanese super soldier project under the management of the Japanese scientist, Mr. Kyuzo.

Noodle and twenty-two other children were trained for the sole purpose of fighting as soldiers for the Japanese military and government. After the children were deemed too dangerous and unstable for combat, the project was scrapped. Mr. Kyuzo was then ordered to dispose of all possible traces of the failed experiment, as well as its participants.[9] Kyuzo killed the twenty-two child soldiers, but was reluctant to kill Noodle. Deciding to spare her, Kyuzo placed her in a state of amnesia through the use of verbal commands. The phrase used to place Noodle in her state of amnesia was "Ocean Bacon". After temporarily clearing her memory of the project, Kyuzo smuggled Noodle to the United Kingdom and falsely reported her death to his superiors.

Noodle arrived at the doorstep of Kong Studios in 1998, in a FedEx crate. Once the crate was taken inside, Noodle sprung out of the box and performed a guitar solo (which 2-D described as being "brilliant" as well as sounding like "200 demons screaming in Arabic"). She ended her solo with a twenty-foot high karate kick and saying a few words in Japanese before bowing and saying the word "noodle." This earned her the name "Noodle" (her only currently known name) and a spot in the band as lead guitarist, replacing Paula Cracker.

Phase 1: 1998-2002 Noodle was about ten years old in this phase. She mainly played the guitar, but also provided vocals for the debut album, most notably in the single 19-2000. In numerous idents and music videos alike, it became obvious that Noodle was talented at much more than just music. She is also proficient at martial arts. During this phase, she could not speak English yet, except for a few phrases or slang. As such, during interviews, she would often talk exclusively in Japanese (as shown in The Apex Tapes), and in the rare occasion in which she spoke in English it would consist mostly of slang, interjections, catchphrases or repeats of what the other band members were saying.

Post-Phase 1 to Pre-Phase 2: 2002-2004

After the band's abrupt breakup, Noodle travelled back to Japan by herself to learn about her forgotten past. During her stay, she visited a sushi bar in Osaka where she heard a waiter tell the bar's chef that he needed an order of "Ocean Bacon." Upon hearing the phrase, Noodle simultaneously regained all memories of her previously concealed past (which included her ability to speak fluent English as well as every other known foreign language). After her sudden revelation, she returned to Kong Studios, which had fallen into a state of disrepair during the bands' absence. She also discovered that the studio had become infested with hordes of undead zombies. Using Kong's security surveillance room as a "safe house," Noodle slowly cleansed the complex of its unwanted inhabitants, although the band never came back. During her stay at Kong Studios, Noodle laid out the concept plans for the 2005 album, Demon Days. After completely ridding the building of the zombies, Noodle embarked on a mission to reunite with her bandmates.