2020 · 13 episodes · Action / Supernatural / School / Vampire
Introduction Cadis Etrama Di Raizel — Rai, to his friends — is not a normal vampire hero. He is the Noblesse, a pure-blood noble whose duty is to protect all other nobles, and he has been asleep for 820 years. When he wakes up in modern-day South Korea, the world has phones, schools and instant noodles, and he understands none of it. His servant Frankenstein, who waited for him all this time, now runs a high school — and quietly puts his master in a classroom. The anime is by Production I.G, released as a Crunchyroll Original in 2020, from the hit Korean webtoon by Son Je-ho and Lee Kwangsu, which ran from 2007 to 2019.
The good stuff Rai himself is the hook: a quiet, soft-spoken gentleman with the power of a natural disaster, doing his best to live a normal school life. Watching this ancient being learn small human things — friendship, loyalty, ramen — while monsters and secret labs circle around him is a strange, sweet mix. Frankenstein steals every scene he is in: part butler, part mad scientist, part proud parent. The fights, when they come, are stylish and bloody, with red energy tearing across the screen. And under all the action sits one warm idea — even someone who has lived for centuries can find a new family worth protecting.
Where to start If you can, watch the short ONA 'Noblesse: Awakening' (2016) first — this series continues right after it, and the first episode makes much more sense with it. Then watch these 13 episodes. If the story grabs you, the full webtoon is the complete version: the anime only covers a small early part of a very long comic.
Before you jump in Be honest with yourself about the pace: 13 episodes trying to cover a huge webtoon means the story moves fast, and some parts feel rushed — fans of the comic complained, and they have a point. There is also no season 2, so the anime ends with the bigger story still open. Go in for the mood, the characters and the fights, not for a finished tale.
Who is this for? If you like elegant vampire stories, overpowered but gentle heroes and found-family feelings — plus a bit of high-school comedy between the battles — Noblesse is a cozy weekend watch. If you need every question answered by the final episode, read the webtoon instead.
Why it belongs on our shelf
Because quiet power is rare. Rai never shouts, never shows off — he just sits down, eats his ramen, and ends fights by standing up. In a shelf full of loud heroes, the calmest man in the room earns his place.