Noblesse ep 9 – Raizenstein

A few days ago my Twitter timeline exploded because of the Supernatural finale and the Spanish version. It was all a big thing. And although I haven’t watched Supernatural in years, I did end up watching this awesome Sarah Z video on it and now I think I’m an expert. Also, this week’s Noblesse made me think of it!

There are going to be Supernatural spoilers in this Noblesse episode post. That fact alone should give you an idea of what you’re in for, in case the title didn’t do it. I’m saying, it’s going to get weird…

I tried adding random captions…

For those of you not up on your Supernatural tea, let me try to recap everything that’s happening as quickly as I can. The sitcom has been airing for like 15 years and for about 12 of those there have been some heavy romantic insinuations between two of the main male characters without anything explicit ever being shown. Now I stopped watching the series not that long after the introduction of that second character so I don’t know how much of it was wishful thinking from the fans, but I have seen tons of clips out of context and there do seem to be some honestly romantic coding there.

Well the show just finished and in one of the final episodes one of the characters does directly announce his love but is then immediately killed and no actual resolution of that relationship, one way or another is ever reached. And fans went bonkers!

I have been watching anime for long enough that queer bating just sort of rolls off my back. Same-gender characters being very affectionate and longing without it ever becoming anything more is par for the course and honestly so common that I hardly even notice it anymore. I’m also just not a person who enjoys shipping in general. This said Raizensteinn is totally a thing, right?

Raizel and Frankenstein’s first meeting already looked like something out of a RomCom but they really turned it up a bit this week. Raizel immediately came to Frankie’s aid, no questions asked. The latter decided to stay and keep him company for 5 years out of his own will. And that blood pact ceremony might as well have included rings and a veil.

But Noblesse isn’t supernatural. For one, they haven’t baited the audience for over a decade. Also, there’s something very romantic about Raizel to begin with. Unlike other Nobles he doesn’t seem very driven by passion at all. Personally, I’m fine with these slightly hoyay moments. They make me smile. I don’t need any more than that.

I do sometimes worry that anime fans downvote the show because of moments like that though. Noblesse seems to be the worst received of the Crunchy x Webtoon collabs by far and I think that’s a real shame. It has a lot of elements which I find fantastic and even if this story and characters aren’t your cup of tea – which is fine, I do honestly think the writing is quite good. I would like to see more of the show and of the author.

I realize that me calling attention to it might not be doing the series any favours but I also think anyone who reads these posts isn’t going to blindly downvote the series.

As for the episode, it was a mix of non-sexy fanservice with some pretty solid world-building. I was very happy about it and I look forward to returning to my doofuses next week. Now I can’t say that I completely understand why Raizel and Frankenstein are so devoted to each other but it doesn’t matter. These episodes made me feel their connection. And it created an image of a much more mutual relationship than I had previously assumed which was nice.

Once again, Raizel is established a special and powerful even among Nobles which makes me curious. The flashback also stopped before we learn anything of Raizel’s seeming exile. That’s another blind spot that leaves me full of questions. The previous lord seemed fairly positive towards Raizel, unlike the current one.

There are a full 4 episodes left of Noblesse, which means we can get a lot more story in. Everything is pointing towards an open war between the Nobles and Rai’s little group. Which sounds like more memory erasing for the humans. And I do think that the series would have enough time to get that arc in if they want to. Let’s see how things go.