Executive Summary
- Noblesse captivated audiences as a pioneering manhwa within the WEBTOON sphere, yet its influence has been surprisingly muted in recent years.
- The series experienced multiple adaptations into animation, including an Original Net Animation (ONA) and a television series, reflecting its widespread appeal.
- Despite its legendary status, Noblesse struggled to cement its legacy within the animation landscape, forgoing opportunities for a more extensive series and enhanced franchise recognition.
Launched in 2007, Noblesse was among the first acclaimed manhwa on Naver Corporation’s WEBTOON platform, and it gained traction with its official English translation as Line WEBTOON debuted in 2014. Although many fans of the genre may now overlook this series, particularly with the current popularity of numerous manhwa adaptations, those who experienced its twelve-year run until 2019 recognize it as a beautifully illustrated dark fantasy narrative with the potential for substantial impact—a forerunner in Crunchyroll’s ventures into manhwa-inspired animations.
Operating as one of the earliest examples of the burgeoning trend surrounding anime adaptations of manhwa, Noblesse was a significant part of the shifting dynamics in the comic industry, much like today’s popular series such as Solo Leveling. Regardless of its past acclaim, it now stands in relative obscurity, raising questions about its apparent decline. What caused this phenomenon?
Overview of Noblesse
Synopsis and Background
The narrative of Noblesse centers on Cadis Etrama di Raizel, affectionately known as Rai, a noble vampire who awakens after an 820-year slumber in a desolate South Korean structure. Upon awakening, Rai discovers a world transformed by humanity’s advancements in technology. With little comprehension of this new era, he finds solace in his loyal servant, who is covertly functioning as the headmaster of Ye Ran High School. This connection allows Rai to attend school under the guise of a student.
Throughout his journey, Rai befriends several students, including the athletic Shinwoo, tech-savvy Ikkhan, and Shinwoo’s crush Seo Yuna. Their friendship draws them into perilous encounters with supernatural threats as they delve into the mysteries surrounding an organization known as “The Union, ”which harbors dark ambitions linked to Rai’s lineage.
| Noblesse Anime Adaptations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Studio | Runtime | Year | Director |
| Noblesse: Beginning of Destruction | Studio Animal | 38 minutes | 2015 | Unknown |
| Noblesse: Awakening | Production I. G. | 31 minutes | 2016 | Shunsuke Tada, Kenichi Matsuzawa |
| Nobility (TV Series) | Production I. G. | 13 episodes (23 minutes each) | 2020 | Shunsuke Tada, Yasutaka Yamamoto |
Noblesse has seen several adaptations into animated form, starting with the 37-minute “aeni”titled Noblesse: Beginning of Destruction, produced by Studio Animal in 2015. This adaptation was showcased at the 17th Bucheon International Animation Festival. The following year, the acclaimed Studio Production I. G.produced Noblesse: Awakening, a 31-minute ONA released on platforms like Crunchyroll and YouTube that presented an abridged retelling of the source material. This served as a precursor to the twelve-episode Noblesse television series, announced at Comic Con Seoul in 2019, which aired from October to December 2020.
The Evolution of Korean Comics
Noblesse’s Impact on Contemporary Manhwa
The announcement of a televised anime adaptation for Noblesse was monumental, as it represented a significant advancement for manhwa within the animation industry. At that time, television adaptations of manhwa were an anomaly. The roots of manhwa adaptations can be traced back to the early 2000s, exemplified by Blade of the Phantom Master in 2004; however, it wasn’t until around 2007 that the webtoon format began to gain serious traction.
During this pivotal growth in traditional manhwa, the online genre surged in popularity, notably with the emergence of the “scrolling format.”The establishment of Naver in 2005 coincided with the rise of online manhwa alongside its traditional counterparts, creating a competitive environment where both platforms enjoyed remarkable success.
For instance, Jeon Geuk Jin’s martial arts masterpiece, The Breaker, made its debut in Daiwon C. I.’s Young Champ magazine in 2007, featuring black-and-white art that followed the conventional left-to-right reading. Simultaneously, the launch of Noblesse marked a significant chapter in this era of transformation.
Understanding the “Failure to Launch”
A Former Pioneer in the Shadows
It may seem paradoxical to label a series as prominent as Noblesse a “failure to launch”; however, the series’ journey should have culminated in a devoted long-term animation adaptation. Considering the cultural significance it held for modern manhwa and its striking visual artistry, it stood as a compelling counterpoint to the more somber themes explored in The Breaker during that time. Effectively, the Korean comic industry was embroiled in a crucial struggle between traditional narratives and modern storytelling, mirroring the wider “Great Battle Between Analogue and Digital”that shaped the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The missed opportunity for Noblesse to achieve its rightful place as a universally celebrated cultural touchstone becomes evident, especially when juxtaposed against its competitors. Since the end of its anime run in 2020, the talk of a follow-up season has been conspicuously absent, compounded by the series’ unsatisfying conclusion. This void has since been filled by emerging titles like Solo Leveling, which are now thriving on the pathways that Noblesse initially paved.
Leave a Reply