Noblesse: Season One by Son Jae Ho

Title: Noblesse (Season 1)

Author: Son Jae Ho

Format: webcomic

My brain's a little muddled, but let's see how well I can do this. To start, Noblesse originally is a Korean webcomic. Manhwa, if you prefer. Since then, it's progressed quite well, and I believe the creators have published the story into volumes. (Don't quote me on that.) 

Noblesse is a complex story that revolves not necessarily on one protagonist, but a group of them. We first meet the core of the "group" within the first few pages of the first chapter: Rai. His name doesn't get revealed until a little later, by which we as the audience finds out that "Rai" is more like his nickname, bestowed upon him by three Korean high school students who are right away added to our protagonist bunch. 

Though the story does seem to center around the school environment at first, as Rai explores a world he has -- until now -- been oblivious to, it is not really a high school based story. Noblesse doesn't focus on classes or school drama, etc. that's often seen in Japanese manga/anime. In fact, the school is merely a starting point and neutral meeting ground for some of the series' main characters to come together. 

Speaking of characters, another person to add to the bunch is the handsome principal: Frankenstein. Franky is the loyal servant of Rai, who has a mysterious past that whispers of the immense power he holds. For years upon years, Franky has been looking for Rai, uncertain of what happened to him after he disappeared from their mutual home. 

While there are many questions about what happened and why Rai was missing, very few get answered as events take a dramatic turn. Of course, if you have protagonists, you have to have antagonists. For Season one (which happens to consist of 92 chapters total), these villains come in pairs, in two waves. 

We learn a little bit more about the world that these characters live in and get a hint of the powers that they hide from the public, human eye, as supernatural people come to cause havoc. The first pair, who only go by code names M-21 and M-24, seem to be searching for something. There is suspicion that they're looking for Rai. 

This spells trouble, not just for Rai and Franky, but also those who they associate with. The innocent will always get dragged into dangerous situations whether they like it or not, and the unfortunate coincidence of their acquaintance with Rai and Franky lead the three high school students (Yoona, Ikhan, and Shinwoo) to become victims of circumstance. 

When the three students get into trouble, Rai and Franky take a step forward to save them. The battles and confrontations that take place as the students run into trouble again and again give light to the powers that Rai and Franky have, making it clear they are anything but normal humans. If humans at all. 

Noblesse is full of action and fighting scenes that raise the tension with every progressive chapter that takes place. As a webcomic, it's expected that scenes will take a while to finish, but if you're reading the season all at once, it's hard to notice. 

The colors and dramatic actions that are drawn out are wonderful to stare at. The artists do a fantastic job using a blend of lights and darks to represent day and night, as well as adding a unique flare to certain powers. The lines are very delicate as well, precise and detailed with every frame that is drawn and colored. 

Despite the comic being full of pretty people, masculinity is not lost on the men, and the women are not overly sparkly or beautified. Take, for example, Franky. He's very pretty for a man. Long flowing blond hair and a perfect smile worth plastering on a poster. But even though he's got a pretty face, he has nasty secret that makes his personality very twisted. I wish I could say more, but that would be spoiling. 

I have to say, my favorite character in Season One is Frankenstein. He's complex and very dark. He has many layers and wears many faces. At times, you can't help but laugh at him. At other times, you want to take a step back and shudder at the things he can do and the things he says. 

Season One barely scratches at the surface of this universe. It's a fairly good setup and introduction to what Noblesse will be like later on down the road, and leave the reader curious and hungry for more. More knowledge, more action, just simply more more more. I give it two thumbs up. 

Overall: 4.5 out of 5