Ahh, made it. I haven't been around the forum lately; mainly for reasons which involve me playing Diablo 3. Nothing else to say really.
So onto the review!
Chapter Summary
*whispers* "Come on guys start humming that theme song I wrote!"
This week begins with Frankenstein training to better control his dark spear in a secret room, presumably located somewhere below his house, which he created to avoid his master's notice. As he does so, a mysterious voice from the darkness curses him. He seems to have great difficulty and lets out a burst of dark power and leaves him holding small ball of darkness. After he's done he looks pretty exhausted and he thinks of how he regrets having to do...whatever it is he's doing.
Meanwhile upstairs Tao, Takeo, M-21, Seira, and Regis are all discussing what it is they should do now. Takeo takes the lead eventually and essentially says that if the opponents that will come are too strong then he will die, but that's something he's fine with; and that he will stay. The others all seem to agree.
As Frankenstien returns, Raizel looks his way which seems to unsettle Frankenstein. The idea that that Raizel knew out what he had been doing in that room causes him to seem genuinely afraid. Then he notices that Raizel wasn't looking at him at all but rather at the RK-4 and Seira; who are standing behind him.
They tell Raizel that they have decided to stay and that this is a decision that they made knowing all the risks. M-21 then goes on to tell him that they were told about his condition and wants to know why he keeps using his power knowing that brings him closer to death. Raizel answers him that, essentially, if giving up his life is the price of keeping their lives safe he considers it more than worth it.
Then Tao takes over and gives an old fashioned and slightly goofy oath of fidelity on behalf of the RK-5. Which causes the others to give him some puzzled looks as they work out that he made Seira No. 5 all on his own. The others are shocked that Tao would just draft Seira in like that but her only question about the whole thing is "Do I have to wear the mask?". Then Tao drops another bomb when he tells them all that No. 0 will be Frankenstein. They stand there in shock of a moment before asking Tao if he had lost his mind. Seira though, just wants to know if she can pick her mask's color.
Chapter Review
Slight art mistake or tiny Regis sitting on Franky's shoulder? You decide.
Substance
There were only really a couple of points worth noting this week.
Everybody is staying, which was expected but still welcome. Raizel now has his own official knights, thanks to Tao's hilarious insanity. This cements all of the RK-5's roles going forward and puts a renewed focus on the need for Tao, M-21, and Takeo to grow stronger.
Frankenstein also seems to be up to something. Probably trying to regain complete control of the Dark Spear but it's impossible to be sure with the limited information we have. Probably the most telling thing about what he's doing is that he's hiding it from Raizel. Which means what he's doing is either dangerous, something he's ashamed of or both.
Presentation
I'd rate the art below the Noblesse average. Fairly low detailed and nothing in the way of fancy touches or memorable panels. Only one true art mistake though, the one above, and it's fairly minor.
In terms of pacing, it was a bit slow which is fine This is the time to let things settle properly to allow for a good transition into what comes next. An unfortunate issue though is that the chapter was rather short and when you combine a short chapter with slow pacing the end result tends to wind up feeling a little thin. Which I felt happened a little bit here.
Final Rating
A slightly below average chapter, and probably the last of the chapters focused on smoothly closing out big "Cerberus arc". It was also fairly short and slowly paced resulting less content than fans might be used to.
I give it a 2 out of 5
My Predictions
- We'll see Raizel's schoolmates next week.
My Previous Predictions(Current Record 16-16)
The RK-4 will not leave Raizel, they are his knights after all.
Correct. Crawled my way back to 50%, WOOHOO! Three cheers for mediocrity!
- 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.
- Raizel will name Shin Woo his successor; resulting in him inheriting the title and power of the Noblesse.
- 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.
- Raizel will ultimately choose to use himself up completely in order to help his friends.
- The trainees that disappeared are dead or worse.
- The Union was originally created by the Traitorous Nobles.
- More traitors than just Roctis are in league with the Union
Thread Question of the Week
What do you think the odds are Tao is having RK-5 uniforms made?
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