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Anime where the main character is a noble is a trope that doesn’t get much exposure compared to others. While there are a lot of elements of nobles and nobility in many mainstream series, having the main character as one is often ignored or doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Regardless, as happens with the vast majority of genres, styles, and approaches to the medium, there are a lot of great and underrated anime where the main character is a noble. This list, in no particular order, shows five anime that deserves a watch or a rewatch.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series mentioned herein.
Black Butler and four other anime where the main character is a noble
1. Code Geass
Set in a futuristic time, Lelouch vi Britannia is the son of the ruler of the Britannia Empire, Charles. Lelouch has sworn to take revenge on Charles and his family after his mother was assassinated, and Charles showed no care for her. While this is an anime where the main character is a noble, Lelouch plots and fights against the Britannia Empire for most of the story.
Code Geass combines great mecha action with a lot of manipulation, subplots, moral debates, politics, and many other elements that make it one of the best anime series of all time. And Lelouch, with his charm and intellect, is definitely one of the biggest selling points of the series.
2. Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc and the Alchemist Knight
Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc and the Alchemist Knight is one of the most underrated anime where the main character is a noble. Set in the historical period where England and France were in conflict during the Thousand Years War, this is an alternate reality where magic and alchemy are real and to the service of many characters in the series.
In this context, Montmorency is a knight and the son of a noble, with goals and aspirations of becoming an alchemist and finding the Philosopher’s Stone. But after his loved one dies during a battle, things take a turn for the worse, and his real journey begins.
3. Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World
Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World plays with two classic tropes of the medium: one in anime where the main character is a noble, and another one related to reincarnation.
The story’s main character dies after trying to stop a crime from happening in Japan, but he reincarnates as Cain, a noble in a family set in a world where magic is real. In the series, Cain is gifted with special abilities. It’s a classic Isekai and done with great care and fun.
4. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is another example of anime where the main character is a noble. This series also happens to be a retelling of the classic 1844 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. That alone makes Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo a unique example on this list.
This story takes the basic structure of the Count’s revenge plot, including his raising through the ranks until becoming a full-time noble. But there are a lot of different changes, including the fact that the series is mostly told from the perspective of one of the sons of the Count’s enemies, Viscount Albert de Morcerf.
5. Black Butler
Set in Victorian-era London, Ciel Phantomhive is a 12-year-old noble whose family was attacked by an unknown group, killing his parents and his dog, Sebastien. He is later sold to slavery and goes through many awful experiences until he manages to execute a ritual to summon a demon, which forms a contract with him while killing the rest of the cult that captured him.
In the aftermath, Ciel goes back to society with this demon disguised as a human, who the former called Sebastien, like his dog. This results in him taking his father’s position, which is dealing with a lot of mysterious cases that Queen Victoria has deemed very important and dangerous.
This story can be quite grim at times and bizarre at others, but Black Butler has its charm and feels like a late 2000s product of the medium, with all the ups and downs that entails. However, the relationship between Ciel and Sebastien is quite interesting, and the way that Victorian-era London becomes a center of gothic horror is also very enjoyable.
Anime where the main character is a noble is a very interesting trope because it plays a lot with the idea of classes and manipulation among their peers, and vengeance is usually thrown into the mix. It is an approach that has produced a lot of high-quality anime, even if they don’t get much mainstream attention.
