Noblesse - Episode 1 Recap

The Fall 2020 anime season debuted Korean action series Noblesse from studio Production I.G. The first episode begins with a soldier named Alpha 13 in the jungle during the middle of the night calling for help to a communication base. The rest of Alpha corps, all other 324 men, have been killed by the enemy. He reveals that the enemy is Union, just as the communication base explodes. Then Union’s Kranz jumps out from the shadows and stabs Alpha 13 to death. Elsewhere in the jungle, more soldiers try to rescue scientists but are quickly dispatched by two sinister-looking men named Shark and Hammer. A flying drone, operated by Tao at his computer console, scouts the area and gives direction to Union’s sniper, Takeo, riding in a helicopter. Takeo quickly kills another half dozen soldiers upon exiting the chopper. The professional killers regroup and Kranz states the location of their next mission - Japan.

 

In Japan, we see Tashiro Yusuke and Kase Manabu walking to school in the morning. Yusuke’s arm is noticeably in a cast. At the school’s entrance, the two boys meet a security guard, M-21, for the first time. Although the boys had met M-21 not long ago during his battle with Jake and Mari (watch Noblesse: Awakening), their minds had been wiped, and they don’t recall the experience.

 

Rai and Franken observe the boys from the window of the school director’s office. Franken has a flashback to a conversation with M-21. It’s then that M-21 reveals he, Jake and Mari were experimental subjects from Union. Since M-21 defied that organization and has nowhere left to go, Franken offers him a chance to stay with Rai and Franken, as well as a job acting as the school’s security guard.

 

Rai heads to his classroom and joins Yusuke and Manabu. He and the other boys all draw on Yusuke’s cast. After school, Yusuke and Manabu invite Rai to Manabu’s home to play games. But they remember that Rai doesn’t own a cell phone to keep in contact with the school director, Franken. Rai, having been asleep for over 800 years, is still learning about things like phones. On the school’s roof, Rai requests his servant Franken to give him one, which Franken immediately agrees to do.

 

The next day, a number of thugs burst into the school looking for Yusuke. They begin to harm the campus’ students. M-21 sees this but doesn’t want to intervene, as it would draw attention to him. Although Yusuke intervenes instead, he is soon overpowered by the lead thug. Finally, M-21 steps in and proves that he is leaps and bounds stronger than the leader, which scares the hooligans off.

 

Later, M-21 reminisces about a talk he had with M-24. The two vowed to live like normal humans and find their real names.

 

Somewhere in the city on a building rooftop, the killers from Union muse about their new mission. And elsewhere, two whitehaired figures are revealed for the first time.

(image source: Amazon)