Noblesse (manhwa)

Noblesse (Korean: 노블레스; RR: Nobeulleseu) is a South Korean web manhwa written by Son Jeho and illustrated by Lee Kwangsu. Noblesse was first posted on WEBTOON on 30 December 2007, and was concluded on 7 January 2019; it was among the first webtoons to receive an English translation at the launch of WEBTOON in July 2014. It has been adapted into a South Korean animation in 2015 and an original video animation (OVA) in 2016, and an anime television series by Production I.G is set to premiere in October 2020.

Noblesse
Cover of Noblesse volume 1 featuring Rai
노블레스
(Nobeulleseu)
GenreAction, comedy, mystery, supernatural
AuthorSon Jeho
IllustratorLee Kwangsu
Webtoon
service
  • Naver Webtoon (Korean)
  • WEBTOON (English)
Original runDecember 30, 2007 – January 7, 2019
Volumes6
Original video animation
Noblesse: Awakening
Directed byShunsuke Tada (chief)
Kenichi Matsuzawa
Written byShun Fukudome
Music byYoshihiro Ike
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed byCrunchyroll
ReleasedFebruary 4, 2016
Runtime31 minutes
Anime television series
Directed byYasutaka Yamamoto
Written bySayaka Harada
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original run October 2020 – scheduled

Plot

Noblesse is about a powerful noble - Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (referred to as Rai) - who has been asleep for 820 years with no knowledge of mankind's advancement and scientific successes. At the start of the webtoon, Rai wakes up in an abandoned building in South Korea,[1] and starts to get used to the modern world. He goes to a school, where he reunites with his loyal servant Frankenstein. With Frankenstein's help, Rai enrolls into high school and inadvertently befriends athletic teenager Shinwoo, computer geek Ikhan, and Shinwoo's crush Yuna, and a few others. Noblesse follows the group's often dangerous adventures against a secret organization while uncovering Rai's past.

Characters

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (a.k.a. Rai)

Rai is a very charming, elegant, and mysterious Noble. He has no knowledge whatsoever of the 21st century, and will often become lost and confused especially with regards to modern-day technology (such as using a cell phone). He is often used as the manhwa's comic relief with his love of ramen, the errors he makes with technology, and his terrible sense of direction. He had fallen into a deep slumber for 820 years, and had woken up in an abandoned building in South Korea. After seeing what most of the humans on the streets were wearing, Rai took on the uniform of a student from Ye Ran High School, which is under the administration of Frankenstein, and inadvertently followed the students there.[2] He currently resides with Frankenstein. He is shown to be extremely powerful with the ability of mind control, along with a technique called "Blood Field," which is capable of erasing all traces of its victims' existence. Although he seems cold on the outside, Rai has shown an incredible depth of personal understanding and compassion, regardless of species, origin, or past grievances. Rai is extremely handsome and possesses a youthful appearance, scarlet-red eyes (a common trait among pureblood Nobles), beautiful jet black hair and a quiet disposition and he is usually seen wearing the Ye Ran High School uniform and a silver cross earring on his left ear (a gift from the previous Lord and an item that seals away the majority of his power). It seems that if Rai uses his powers extensively, his overall health and well-being deteriorate, as seen after the battle with the DA-5, although Rai said that it was nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, Frankenstein knows that his master needs time to fully recover his old strength. However, as said by Regis, even in his current state Rai possesses an enormous power comparable, if not superior, to that of the current Lord. During the confrontation between him and the Lord (during the Lukedonia Arc), Rai has shown superiority over the lord. Rai demonstrates his absolute governance over blood by creating powerful blood fields with perfect form without the use of an apparent soul weapon. Gejutel, an ancient advisor to Lord, explains that Rai's soul weapon does not materialize as a weapon; Rai's blood and soul is his soul weapon. Noblesse is the title of a single Noble (Rai), and was later adopted by Nobles as the name of their race, (some time after Rai went to sleep). In their society there are two beings who are held in high esteem: one is the Lord who rules with authority, and one is the Noblesse, with strength above all others, who watches over and protects the Nobles. The previous Lord left his soul weapon in the shrine of Reijar as a gift (although Rai cannot use Ragnarok because he is not related by blood to the previous Lord). Rai is shown to have relinquished his ownership of Ragnarok so that the current Lord can complete her soul weapon Ragnarok. Rai's power consumes his life force when used. Frankenstein finally gets Rai to take a short hibernation, but as soon as he wakes up, he uses a great amount of power.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein is Rai's devoted servant. He supports Rai whole-heartedly and calls him "Master".[1] He had tried searching for his master after Rai disappeared and eventually went into seclusion to search for Rai privately. Frankenstein is the principal/director of Ye Ran High School, which he founded so that if Rai should return, Rai would be able to live a normal life. He was stunned to find Rai in his school office after Rai had woken up and assumed the uniform of the school's students. Frankenstein is immensely powerful. When he caused a disturbance in the world, the previous Lord sent two clan leaders (the Kertia and Landegre clan leaders) to capture him. Frankenstein is the only human to be acknowledged by the previous Lord because he exceeded human limitations and acquired power by his own means. Later, however, his powers had been sealed away by Rai due to misdeeds committed in pursuit of scientific knowledge and power. Frankenstein is a very cheerful person, but becomes quite serious and calculating when the situation calls for it, although during battles Frankenstein has shown a sadistic side. He is extremely organized and loathes messiness (especially in his house). Like Rai, he is very compassionate towards human beings, especially the students in his school. Frankenstein is an impressive scientist, who has researched human modification. All the research done was recorded down in his diaries, however one diary is now in the possession of Dr. Crombel and another in possession of the Union. His research is responsible for many of the advances humans made with modification. He was very familiar with the previous Lord, whom he calls "old bugger." Frankenstein is actually human;[3] gaining his strength and knowledge of human modification not by experimenting on others, but rather only on himself. Frankenstein has possession of Dark Spear, a human-created weapon modeled after Nobles' soul weapons. He created it from souls and Central Order knights who were experimented on and therefore bear a grudge towards Frankenstein. Consequently, Dark Spear constantly wishes to devour him.

Han Shinwoo (spelled Shinwu in English)

Shinwoo is an energetic and athletic teenager with bright red hair. He is always seen with a bandage over the bridge of his nose. He is well-known within the city for being skilled at martial arts and feared by gangs. He is on par at fighting the top level trained agents of the Union, those who have not been transformed. He fights the infected guy and causes very serious damage to him while receiving no significant damage from him. Shinwoo is often shown sleeping (and drooling) in class and slacking off. Though he is shown as a lazy student, he is very courageous and would protect his friends at all costs. Shinwoo is shown to be popular among the student body of Ye Ran High and other schools due to his superior fighting skills. At the beginning of volume 4, he was scouted by KSA to become a modified human because of that very reason. Shinwoo is hinted to have feelings towards Seira, who displays favor for him.

Woo Ikhan

Ikhan is Shinwoo and Yuna's childhood friend. He is extremely skilled in technology, especially computers and games. He has been shown in the series to be a highly skilled hacker. Ikhan has short brown hair and glasses and is 157 cm (5.15 ft) tall. He has a height complex, being so short, but has found some comfort in meeting Regis, who is about the same height. He has started to become infatuated with their friend Sui Lim. His computer skills showed to be his utmost talent and became useful in certain situations. He protects the intel of the local police manned by his uncle, in which the situation led him to meet the Union's assassin member: Tao. This talent of his also attracts the attention of the Korean government, as he was enlisted as a candidate for KSA recruitment.

Suh Yuna

Yuna is Shinwoo and Ikhan's childhood friend. Yuna rejected Shinwoo when he confessed to her two years ago. Yuna accidentally becomes the target of the infected guy when their paths cross one night. Yuna is a friendly, ordinary and sensible young woman, demonstrably more level-headed than her friends, who tend to sedately sit out, be amused by and often reminds them of the mundane reality behind their dramatics. When she and Rai are introduced to video games, she apparently is quite competent despite it being her first try. It has been hinted that she has a crush on M-21 after he becomes a guard at her high school.

Lim Sui

Sui is a pretty popular pop idol who is studying at Ye Ran High School. She first appeared in chapter 94 of the series; she returned to school after doing her concert. Sui is friends with Ikhan, Shinwoo and Yuna; she is always shown hanging out with the group. She later joined Shinwoo and the others in visiting Frankenstein's house regularly.

Nobles/Noblesse

The Nobles are a race of nearly immortal, elegant and powerful beings. Although occasionally referred to as vampires, they are not in fact vampires. (Though they do have some of the traits typically thought of as vampiric traits, such as near immortality, exceptional speed, strength, and endurance, as well as the ability to create infected ("mutant") humans that are the true source of the vampire lore. Nobles do not require blood to survive, whereas the mutants do.) Due to their inability to ignore the slaughter of the weak, helpless humans, they have been guarding the latter against predators since ancient times. "Noblesse" was the title given to only one person, Rai, but the Nobles adopted it as the name for their race some time after Rai entered his long sleep. Pureblood Nobles seem to share crimson red eyes and a common power of mind control.

In this series, the concept that we know of as "Noblesse Oblige" (a French term meaning "nobility obligates", implying those with power have the obligation to use it to help those without) historically stems from the behavior of the Noblesse (Rai), who protected the weak. People from the Union have thought Noblesse to be beings at the top of the race of the vampires. It is later known, however, that "vampires" are what humans perceive to be infected beings created when Nobles "awaken" humans and those humans share the power to create other vampires. These "infected" are often understood to be less sensible, often relying on instinct in the consumption of human blood.

Animation

2015 animation

The first animated version of Noblesse was revealed at the 17th Bucheon International Animation Festival. Its screening time was 37 minutes.[4] It was produced by Studio Animal,[5] a South Korean animation studio, and the animation was first released as a DVD by Woongjin Thinkbig Funnism on 4 December 2015,[6] while its VOD service started later on 4 February 2016.[7]

Cast

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel was voiced by Shin YongWoo

Frankenstein was voiced by Kim SeungJun

Muzaka was voiced by Choi Han

The Previous Lord was voiced by Um SangHyun

Ashleen was voiced by Kim HyunJi

Maduke was voiced by Oh InSeong

Gejutel K. Landegre was voiced by Jang Kwang

Lagus Tradio was voiced by Kang GuHan

Roctis Kravei was voiced by Jung HoonSuk

Urokai Agvain was voiced by Kim DongHa

Zarga Siriana was voiced by Choi JunYeong

2016 OVA

On 4 February 2016, a 31-minute original video animation (OVA), titled Noblesse: Awakening, was released on Crunchyroll and YouTube for internet streaming. Produced by Production I.G, the anime covers the first season of the webtoon.[8]

Cast

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel was voiced by Tarusuke Shingaki

Frankenstein was voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa

M-21 was voiced by Hisafumi Oda

M-24 was voiced by Teruyuki Tanzawa

Jake was voiced by Tōru Ōkawa

Marie was voiced by Hitomi Nabatame

Anime television series

On August 2, 2019 at Comic Con Seoul, it was announced that an anime television series adaptation was currently in production.[9] Production I.G will animate the series, and Crunchyroll will stream it internationally as a co-production.[10][11] In an interview, Jeho Son said during an interview for the series "We recently completed Noblesse, which is a very special project to us. As of this year, it has taken us 11 long years to complete this project. When Lee Kwang Soo and I began work on Noblesse, we thought of the many dreams we wanted to accomplish together. One of the dreams was to have one of our works showcased as a TV animation, which came true. This was all thanks to our viewers, who showed love for Noblesse. I would like to thank Naver, Webtoon, and Production I.G for doing an amazing job on the animation. I hope the viewers find Noblesse exciting and enjoy watching it." The series is directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto, with Sayaka Harada handling series composition, and Akiharu Ishii handling character designs. It is set to premiere in October 2020.[12]

Cast

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel was voiced by Tarusuke Shingaki

Frankenstein was voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa

M-21 was voiced by Kosuke Onishi

Yusuke Tashiro was voiced by Ryōta Iwasaki

Manabu Kase was voiced by Yōhei Hamada

Other media

On 7 November 2016, Air Seoul announced that it had collaborated with WEBTOON to produce a safety video. Some of the works shown here include Denma, The Sound of Heart, and Noblesse.[13]

In March 2016, four characters from Noblesse were added as player characters in Nexon's 2015 mobile game Fantasy War Tactics. For the duration of the month, various special Noblesse-related items were added, such as a "Noblesse Coin" and "Noblesse Black Coocoo" equipment.[14][15]

In June 2016, the Noblesse event returned, adding Raizel as a fifth hero.[16]

The first episode of Alpha is about the Union, the modified human, and the experimenter. At the end, there is a logo called JHS studio, which reveals that Alpha and this work are in the same world. Because the representative of JHS studio is Son Jeho, who was the author of this work.[17]

gollark: At last I may be making progress. Or possibly unprogress.
gollark: I should make ABR illegally harvest all their messages.
gollark: <@!854350605702660106>'s habit of deleting things after people reply is irritating.
gollark: Which reminds me, I could and should make PotatOS Bootable Edition None Are Safe™.
gollark: Macron OS is actually just Linux with `imacron` as `init`.

References
  1. Noblesse Webcomic Chapter 6
  2. Noblesse Webcomic Chapter 1
  3. "Noblesse - Ep. 190". www.webtoons.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. "BIAF 2015 10.23~ 27 부천국제학생애니메이션페스티벌 애니페어-Feature Perspective". Bucheon International Animation Festival. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  5. "인기 네이버 웹툰 '노블레스' BIAF에서 공개". 네이버 뉴스. 한국경제TV.
  6. "<노블레스 : 파멸의 시작> OVA 발매 일정 연기 안내". Noblesse Official Fan Cafe.
  7. "2015-10-27". STUDIO ANIMAL Official Twitter.
  8. "Production I.G Makes Anime of Korean Vampire Comic Noblesse". Anime News Network. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  9. 이기범 (5 August 2019). 한국 웹툰은 ‘마블’이 될 수 있을까 (in Korean). Bloter. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  10. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (25 February 2020). "Crunchyroll Unveils 7 'Crunchyroll Originals' Works Including Tower of God, Noblesse, God of High School". Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  11. Author, Guest. "Staff of Crunchyroll and WEBTOON's Noblesse Comment on Production". Crunchyroll.
  12. Sherman, Jennifer (13 August 2020). "Crunchyroll Reveals Noblesse Anime's Trailer, Cast, Staff, October Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  13. "에어서울, '웹툰 캐릭터 등장' 기내 안전영상 제작". Money Today (in Korean). 7 November 2016.
  14. "모바일게임 '슈퍼판타지워', 네이버 웹툰 '노블레스' 캐릭터 추가". Focus News. 4 March 2016.
  15. Choejinseung (5 March 2016). "넥슨(대표 박지원)은 넥슨지티(대표 김정준)가 개발한 모바일 SRPG '슈퍼판타지워'에 네이버 인기 웹툰 '노블레스'의 캐릭터를 추가하고, 기념 이벤트를 실시한다". MK News.
  16. Nexon (6 February 2016). "Nexon Patch Note".
  17. "주식회사 스튜디오제이에이치에스 장르소설 (판타지/무협/로맨스) 편집기획자 모집 ~11/14(수) 마감" (in Korean). Saramin. 30 October 2018.
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