Noblesse Chapter 215 Review

[Jammin]

Back to the standard review format this week, more or less. No character spotlight this week for the usual reasons.

Now onto the review!

Chapter Summary

Christmas is...nice.

This week starts out with the doctor, whom I have dubbed Robotnik, wondering why the emergency alarms are going off and why the building shook; and, right on cue, Yuri and the Cerberus people waltz into the lab like the own the place. Robotnik objects but they brush him aside saying they have the directors "approval". Through a short flashback it's shown that in reality the told him, they were going to do what they like and he can't do anything to stop them; but that he was welcome to try. The pasty faced director didn't like that too much, understandably, but was impotent to do anything about it.

Meanwhile back at casa de Frankenstein, they are going over how they will handle the expected increase in KSA attention. Regis and Seira are tasked with guarding Shin Woo and the others. While the rest of RK-4 is to continue monitoring the KSA as the have been. Everyone agrees but M-21 seems distracted.

Frankenstein tells M-21 that he shouldn't beat himself up over it, but he continues to dwell on his mistake of using his strength. Frankenstein then explains to him that if he had lost, even intentionally, he would have been "offended", and that as long as Frankenstein is personally seeing to their bodies losing is unacceptable(and the same applies to Tao and Takeo). He says this with the classic murderous emphasis we all know and love.

As they all process Frankenstein terrifying declaration, Raizel chimes in with some sagely wisdom...

"Not every result can be the one desired. Trust in your own judgements and actions. That is enough."

The following evening M-21 is patrolling the grounds and Yontsu and Sangeen make there move. Decked out like ninja's they enter the school in order to give Yontsu the chance to confirm M-21's abilities. Yontsu approaches M-21 masked and by herself, a second fight seems eminent.

Back at casa de Frankenstein. Raizel asks about the conditions of Takeo, Tao, and M-21; clearly concerned for them. Frankenstein assures him that their conditions have been much improved in his care. When that doesn't seem to entirely ease Raizel's mind. He explains that RK-4 in actuality means, Raizel's Knights. Showing that, though they were never given a choice about the experiments that gave them power, they have chosen for themselves to use that power in honor of him; which makes Raizel blush.

Chapter Review

Stalking is illegal you know.....

Substance
These Cerberus people have apparently never heard the old adage "'You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar", because Yuri and this Rasta-guy are like the ultimate D-bag duo. They continue to bully the KSA while the agency can't do much more than just sit there and take it. Which is going to make for huge trouble with Yontsu should she witness it, I don't think her sense of justice will allow her to stand idly by.

I liked the how this chapter addressed the undercurrent with M-21 of "Should he have fought?" or "Should he have rolled over?". It made clear that, although Frankenstein may have encouraged restraint, he had not meant for them them to do so regardless of the situation. In the end both Raizel and Frankenstein are placing the decision of when to fight and when not to in each individual's hands. And that trust will allow him to be a lot more free and genuine in his response to Yontsu's provocation.

Which brings me to the impending showdown. I'm very interested in how Yontsu is going to go about this. I think the way this plays out is going tell us a lot about who she is, both in terms of power and core personality. If she is who I think she is, then this battle could foster a respectful understanding between the two of them because, while they may stand on different sides here, they are similarly honorable people.

Presentation
Art looked about on the low side of average to me. Good expressiveness from the typically inexpressive M-21 but in terms of detail and just basic artistic layout it looked a little rough.

Pacing was fast but mostly good, though I didn't like the transition between the casa de Frankenstein meeting and M-21's night patrol. It seemed a bit to sudden to me. I would have liked it better if they placed the scene at the end in there to break it up a little more.

A building concern for me on that character side of things is the presentation of Yuri and the Rasta-guy. That pair's douchebaggery is coming across as a little overdone. I assume it's in an effort to highlight the difference between people like Frankenstein and M-21 who use their power serve people and people like these union guys who use their power to dominate them, presenting two sides of "royalty/nobility"; but even when viewed in that light I think it's going a little overboard.

Final Rating
Lots of good stuff in what was a fairly short chapter. It's unfortunate that some presentation issues held it back.

I give this chapter a 3 out of 5

My Predictions

• Yontsu will come out of this fight with a positive opinion of M-21 and knowledge of his powers.

My Previous Predictions(Current Record 6-6)

"The Union guy with the cigarette is going to turn out to be evil, and most likely one of Crombell's men."
I'm calling this one false. I held on as long as I could but this guy is acting way to much like Kakashi to be evil.

• Rael will lose his next battle to the RK-4.
• I think Lee Youn-In is going to be more than just a soon-to-be-forgotten sub-character. I suspect she may have a role in the plot.
• The female operative from the Union will eventually end up on Raizel's side, like M-21 and the others.
• Rael will show up at Raizel's school seeking revenge on him and his human friends.
• The Agency Director is evil(obviously).
• Na Yontsu will get mixed feeling about recruiting Shin Woo and Ikkan.
• At some point, when dealing with the Agency, Seira will fail restrain herself.
• Raizel will ultimately choose to use himself up completely in order to help his friends.
• The trainees that disappeared are dead or worse.
• Frankenstein will expel the agents from the school but they will not give up pursuing Shin Woo.
• Cerberus will find out the KSA's secret.
• Na Yontsu will fight Cerberus.
• These union people will be a legitimate threat to Frankenstein.
• M-21's confrontation with Yontsu will lead to the KSA discovering his background
• The Rastafarian Cerberus guy with the temper is going to be the first to get killed.

Thread Question of the Week

How do you think round 2 between Yontsu and M-21 will play out?

[Charlie]

Awesome Review again Jammin.

Yontsu will come out of this fight with a positive opinion of M-21 and knowledge of his powers.

Lets see, regarding your prediction, I think it will be interesting if that happens. I'm looking forward to what happens next week. Although, there might be a small chance the fight may last longer than one chapter. I see a couple possibility out there which I believe I mentioned in the chapter discussion thread.

Thread Question of the Week

How do you think round 2 between Yontsu and M-21 will play out?

I'm very curious about this outcome. I think she will find out rather quickly that M-21 is not a normal human, like her and Sangeen. The question that I have which remains is that I wonder what will happen next?

[Monsterguy]

Splendid as always !!!

Thread Question of the Week

How do you think round 2 between Yontsu and M-21 will play out?

I believe M-21 would avoid Yontsu's attack and unintentionally grab her brest, then he would get a hammer on the face from Yontsu and the fight would be over...

Well it would be funny this way, even I would lose in a fight like that...

I also believe that M-21 will show her only his enhanced strenght, but not his transformation thuz:

"No, he'll manage to hide his power and his past as a Union agent."

With this I should also add that in my opinion Yontsu will only hear how union people betrayed M-21, but she will not hear his "entire" story, becouse M-21 wouldn't trust her untill he would not realize she does not have a clearance to get the info about M-21 as a test subject. At the end M-21 will slowly start to take Yontsu's side as he would see how must she bow to union people. Yontsu not used to that kind of behaviour (people taking care of her) will kick M-21's ass again...

PS: With this kind of development Franky sure wouldn't be happy(more evil aura from Franky, and more focusing his experiments on M-21)...

[Wowzers]

A building concern for me on that character side of things is the presentation of Yuri and the Rasta-guy. That pair's douchebaggery is coming across as a little overdone. I assume it's in an effort to highlight the difference between people like Frankenstein and M-21 who use their power serve people and people like these union guys who use their power to dominate them, presenting two sides of "royalty/nobility"; but even when viewed in that light I think it's going a little overboard.

I've been wondering a little about this as well. I think they have suspicions about the KSA and are investigating them and not just the hole in the ground. From their point of view, the KSA is operating in the same country as Crombell was, so some of his people might be working there. Also! If you remember from chapter 205 both Frankenstein and M-21 were able to sense that Sangeen and Yonsu were enhanced humans.
Do you think Yuri or someone in Cerberus was also able to sense that they were enhanced when they were assigned as their guides in chapter 211? Might explain how they are behaving if they think they have discovered enhanced humans where there isn't supposed to be any.


Getting back to the Yonsu vs M-21 fight...

I would almost like to see this: RK-4 handles the two intruders in a very conventional way. While M-21 is occupying Yonsu and Sangeen's attention, Takeo uses tranquilizer darts on Sangeen then Yonsu. They both wake up in jail and have to call the KSA to get out.

[phio_chan]

Yes, another review~

I liked the how this chapter addressed the undercurrent with M-21 of "Should he have fought?" or "Should he have rolled over?". It made clear that, although Frankenstein may have encouraged restraint, he had not meant for them them to do so regardless of the situation. In the end both Raizel and Frankenstein are placing the decision of when to fight and when not to each individual's hands. And that trust will allow him to be a lot more free and genuine in his response to Yontsu's provocation.

Which brings me to the impending showdown. I'm very interested in how Yontsu is going to go about this. I think the way this plays out is going tell us a lot about who she is, both in terms of power and core personality. If she is who I think she is, then this battle could foster a respectful understanding between the two of them because, while they may stand on different sides here, they are similarly honorable people.

I completely agree. I am actually quite curious about what M-21 actually wanted to do back then and now, for the next fight with Yontsu. Back then he actually didn't wish to fight; he simply wanted them to go, not to bother with the school anymore, since Frank had said that he didn't want to see them anymore, so what he did was actually out of defense. I wonder if he would take offense this time. ^^

How do you think round 2 between Yontsu and M-21 will play out?

I don't know, can't be sure. Yontsu would surely try maneuvers which would require M-21 to reveal his true power, risking her own identity leaked, even though she wears that mask. M-21, on the other hand, already knew who Yontsu is, so I wonder if he would take this lightly or not. After all, they have already known that their identities can't be leaked to anyone that easily.

Do you think Yuri or someone in Cerberus was also able to sense that they were enhanced when they were assigned as their guides in chapter 211? Might explain how they are behaving if they think they have discovered enhanced humans where there isn't supposed to be any.

Interesting. That might also be why they decided to pay a visit to the lab. It is of course natural that they checked the facilities of their new HQ, but there is a possibility that they 'sense' enhanced humans there? I wonder.