fcole - 2016-11-06 06:13:32

As a reader of the manhwa, what disappointed me most about this OVA was that it was not the first episode of a full season adaptation of Noblesse.  A close second: I didn't like how rushed and truncated the story was.  The story as told in the manhwa is really good, and this anime didn't do justice to the richness of the original.

On the other hand, this was a really epic 30 minute condensed version of the first major arc, and in spite of the disappointments, I did enjoy it. The story is accessible even for viewers who have zero previous exposure to the series. 

This OVA probably does a very good job of what it seems to be doing: drawing attention to the Webtoon version.  If you're not yet a reader, watch the OVA, and if you like what you see, you'll probably enjoy the Webtoon.

dorn - 2016-02-17 05:01:42

I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty shitty adaptation, and the reason is because they tried to squeeze 100 chapters into 30 minutes. As a result there are so many things that were rushed through and omitted that it's really its own story. These issues include:

1) Zero character development: We learn absolutely nothing about Rai or Frankenstein or the Korean children, or really anything about the antagonists at all.

2) Lack of setting details: We know that Rai wakes up after 820 years. We know that there are some special beings in the world, but it's never explained where they come from or why anyone is fighting against each other. We are never told who the Organization is or why they're evil. For all we know, they could be the good guys. And we don't know why Frankenstein is a principal of a middle/high school.

3) Omission of content: As I've stated before, there's about 100 chapters of Noblesse that were omitted from this OVA, and that's where all of the author's writing and humor are. One of the most fun things about reading Noblesse was all of the fine details that the author put into creating the setting and the characters. And they really do have a lot of personality. In these chapters, major details that were omitted from the OVA are present and explain all of the questions that people might have had from watching the OVA, including 'What is the Organization?', 'What is Rai?', 'What is Frankenstein?', 'What happens to the children?', etc.

4) Sound Quality is unbalanced. The sound effects are way too loud and the voices are way too quiet. Yes, it is subtitled, but without sound, it breaks the immersion.

5) You have to watch this edge-lord:

What this OVA did do spectacularly however was the animation, all of which was fluid and well done. The special effects were very good looking and the character design was pretty much spot on. The environments were well detailed and dynamic as well, which speaks volumes when compared to other anime.

So all in all, it's not really the best. You would be better off reading the manhwa.

borer.madonna - 2016-02-13 03:26:03

This (a little rushed) OVA is based on the original webtoon and while it misses some parts, I can't agree with some folks complaining so much about what I believe is a fantastic OVA. I can see how a lot of you expected something a little different, I even share the very same disappointment, but I just can't agree with the negativity that will almost certainly (and unfortunately) turn off a lot of people who have not yet read the toon.
They might get the wrong idea!

In all honesty, you kill the franchise with your misplaced focus.
Who says the adaption needs to be 100% in sync with the original?
Would you rather get another pointless OVA with no story?
What is the point in having the full story crammed into a 25 minutes OVA and why does it need to be 100% identical? Why don't you appreciate it a little more and be fair with your complaints?

Buy it and you might eventually end up seeing a movie or a series released.
The OVA is at least consistent and a good introduction to the franchise.
Speaking of which, ask yourseves:
"Is it a good introduction to the franchise or is it too derivative?"
I do not believe the latter is the case, not for a second.

To me and a friend of mine who's watched this with me and never read the webtoon,     it is a good example of a well-made OVA that you can follow and understand without having read the toon. It made him want to know more and that is what this is about.
Some of you are so radicial in your thinking and unwilling to accept a spectrum in that you only see the point in front of you. 
Enjoy and appreciate the work put into this, even if it is not what you expected.  Nobody tells you to not be disappointed— base your review on the OVA because that is what this is (foremost) about; don't make the webtoon the base for your review, it is just an element. You will only make a lot of people turn away from the franchise and I doubt you want that(?).
Of course, as a fan I may not be satisfied with the OVA, but I let others decide for themselves and to be fair, it is a great OVA. I mean, really, think for a second.
Go, get a smoke... come back, sit down, inhale, exhale... be open-minded.
~can feel the otaku hate floating my way~
... D...dd...don't let the hate flow thru you!

About the OVA

A great story with moments of
KYAAA!
OMG!!!
I can't take it no more!!! ~asthma attack~ 
Badass! 
WTF! ~pillow punch~

hassan61 - 2016-02-10 00:05:37

I'm personally a big fan of the Noblesse Manhwa and have been for a long time, so I'm probably a little biased since I'm very excited for anything related to this fandom.
I liked the OVA although, like it was a bit rushed. They left a lot of stuff out, especially the small funny things that I love. Mostly all the small fun things Rai do and people's reaction to that (like Rai being lost, or people trying to find out who this elegant dude is). They left out a bit of the cool fighting and story related stuff too though, and some of the OVA might be a bit confusing if you haven't read the Manhwa. 
It also annoyed me a bit that everybody, even the-bottom-of-the-food-chain of the Union M-21 and M-24 apparently already knew about the top-secret ("True") Noblesse. 
However, I still think it was very good. Good animation, and just a few of the scenes is in my opinion even better than the original. I also understand why they rushed it (That they already knew about the Noblesse saved some time and explaining as well). When they only had a single OVA in mind, while also wanting to show enough of the material to make it interesting, they kinda had to cut all the "unnecessary" parts. 
So with that in mind I actually think they did a splendid work of some of my favourite readings.
I also hope this means that anime-makers out there are starting to open their eyes to Manhwa (or even Manhua) as source material, instead of "just" Manga. There are some really good stuff out there that is Manhwa and Manhua (IMO). In the end I'll give 8 for the story, which I think was very good, but I miss comic and at least one of the cool fights (Between M-21 and Frankenstein, well if you can call that a fight). The explanation of why M-21 and M-24 suddenly is on Rai's side, protecting the kids, and other things that is explained in the Manhwa and that the viewer wouldn't know. 
9 for animation, it was really great, as I said sometimes even better than the original. However that were a few times when it looked a bit weird, maybe that's just me?
7 for sound, I think it deserved a better soundtrack, but it was still good. 
Again, I'm probably biased, but I love the characters. There are a lot of good ones in Noblesse, many of which isn't even introduced in the OVA. At least one, M-21 to be precise, isn't very fleshed out in the beginning (which the OVA covers) but you really get to see him grow later on in the Manhwa (and not that far after this really). You don't really get a chance to get a feel for the character in just one OVA, so it's a bit hard to judge on that. What you do see of the main characters though, I think is pretty good considering how much they have to introduce in just 30 minutes. If it was the first episode of a full anime though, you could be looking forward to a lot of great "rounded" characters. In the end I give 8, I judge mostly on what they did with the little time the had but also keeps in mind that if they had animated more of the story we would have seen little snippets and revelations of the great characters along the way. 
Well this must come as no shock, my personal enjoyment is 10. I really loved it, although there was a few things that I wished were different. It didn't really affect how happy I was to finally see this, and how great it was made with what time they had though.
Overall I would say 9, since it really is that good (no matter what other people might disagree). It is a shame it is "only" an OVA though, I would have really loved a full out anime (and if I was lucky a long one with multiple seasons :P ). If you don't mind reading (I know some don't like to) and you liked what you saw, I really think you should pick up the Manhwa. This is just the beginning it doesn't even begin to cover all the awesomeness that is Noblesse. 
Lastly, to anyone who liked this I would reccommend watching Noblesse: Pamyeol-ui Sijak (Noblesse: Beginning of Destruction) a prequel to the Manhwa. It shows stuff that has only been talked and hinted at in the manhwa, and really explains some of Rai and Muzaka's conflict (as far as I know it is canon). I loved both.

meredith12 - 2016-02-09 02:15:51

Yes, i read the webtoon but really it's not a bad anime at all. Like yes i do noticed that it missed chunks of the actual webtoon and there were a lot more funny parts in the webtoon. But they tried they're best to fit as much crucial parts otherwise we'd get a pretty useless ova. However, It didn't take away much of my enjoyment. The fights reminded me a lot of Fate/stay night, very well done. Animation and voice actors were great. There isn't much to judge really since it was only 30 minutes of content.

But really? are the other fans really THAT butthurt other this ova? Giving it a 0.5? I'd say this ova gave people who never heard of noblesse an gateway to go ahead and read the webtoon. I'd only wish that it was properly done as an anime. Then they'd probably wouldn't place 50 chapters in one ep like the ova.

ygusikowski - 2016-02-08 22:23:55

As an avid reader of the noblesse webtoon, I am utterly disappointed.
As previously mentioned in another review, this adaption rushed through the first season in 30 minutes. 

THIRTY FUCKING MINUTES.

It's pretty self-explanatory but I will say it anyway. DO NOT WATCH THIS ADAPTION IF YOU HAVEN'T READ OR HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT NOBLESSE. 

As for the animation, it was splendid, just how I imagined it would be.
Also mentioned in the previous review, Rai' blood field..... dear god help us all.

kharris - 2016-02-07 09:26:25

As a Noblesse fan, I'm disappointed.
I wish I never had come across this adaption.
I wish they never had made this adaption.
I wish they hadn't crammed almost the entire first season into half an hour.
I'll be lying if I say Production I.G "Tokyo Ghoul"-ed Noblesse: Awakening. It's worse than that. It's almost like Adaption ga Kiru.I know the chapters are extremely short, but that's still 78 whole chapters. And they omitted so much information (obviously)!
If they were going to do an OVA, why the heck did they bother with Noblesse?
The only thing I found good about this is the voice actors of Raizel and Frankenstein, and that's not good enough.
The action scenes were done well and in exchange, Raizel's Blood Field was ruined.
The humor is lost.
Everything's ruined.
As a Noblesse fan, I'm utterly, truly disappointed.

PS Those who have read the webtoon and haven't watched this sh*t yet, don't watch. Just continue reading. And those who haven't read the series and want to check out the anime first, DON'T. Just read the webtoon if you want.