Noblesse ep 12 – Burning Suits and Throwing Gauntlets

Most shows are done for the season or at least wrapping up. But not Noblesse. This hard working little series isn’t only on a few days before Christmas but it will also be back next week. I’ll be honest, it’s throwing off my schedule just a bit.

But it’s worth it. Now I’m not saying Noblesse is a work of genius and an unmissable piece of art. But I am saying that I have fun with it. Even an episode like this week, which wouldn’t normally be my thing, just flew by in the blink of an eye.

Isn’t Blood Witch a cutie I really like it.

One thing I will say is that Noblesse actually has some pretty solid fighting animation. Hair and clothes flap about with movement and wind. Proportions remain very accurate. It’s quite impressive once you notice it. And it does make sense that the production would have invested in animation since there’s a lot more action than I thought there would be.

Just mindless action isn’t always my cup of tea. But it can be fun. Especially when it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. I had a great time watching the three humans bring their skills together in order to fight a Noble. It was a little reminiscent of home alone but everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time and in the end, no one got seriously hurt! Just boys being rowdy, you know!

I must say, I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to see more of Seira’s fight. It was over way too quickly. And after that power pose she struck in the last episode, she didn’t seem to have had the power to back up her presence. Even if she still lost in the end, I guess I wanted to see her get a few more good shots in there.

Or maybe I just wanted to see her beat up Rael. This whole mess is his fault after all. Then again, he’s not exactly in a super enviable spot either.

Frankenstein remains the great wild card in this whole story. Is he human? Was he ever? Exactly how powerful is he anyway. Why would he be the one thing that would stop the Lord from getting to Rai? I always thought Rai was at least a little more powerful than Frankie but this episode is making me doubt that.

Well, either way, Frankenstein did manage to impress his motley crew. They were all so proud of their boss. It was pretty cute.

I knew that the Lord was all p-oed about her promotion above all else. So I was happy to get confirmation. But I couldn’t help but notice that no one denied that Rai had put the previous Lord to sleep. Simply that, that wasn’t the reason Rai was being persecuted by the current Lord. I mean, no one confirmed it either. It’s still a possibility.

Anyways, let’s talk about the most important part of the episode. The after-credits tag! Don’t get me wrong, Rai making a glorious last-minute entrance with his awesome white mafia suit burning away into an awesome black rich goth suit, really rocked. It was a great “yeah!” moment. Like things are about to get real. And a pretty cool visual effect for a character that hardly ever moves.

But all that coolness went right down the drain when they showed us Rai doing his cocky walk and flashy burning suit deal to an empty room after going into the wrong room. (which made it even better!) First, does his suit unburn or is he actually wearing like 34 layers and it’s a good thing he didn’t get more lost or he would be naked now? Cause my headcanon is that even though they only showed one, he totally walked into at least half a dozen empty rooms before finding the right one! Maybe he needed to find a bathroom between each to change again!

So guys here’s the plan. We all go and spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our presents. Then we all meet up right back here next year for the last episode of Noblesse!