×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Übel Blatt – Episodes 1-2 Review (Premiere Screening)




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1196
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2024 4:45 pm Reply with quote
I just want to say that, as far as I know, Übel Blatt is NOT "Evil Blade" in German, but "Nasty (not good, unhealthy) Leaf".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Philville



Joined: 20 Aug 2022
Posts: 163
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2024 8:18 pm Reply with quote
kgw wrote:
I just want to say that, as far as I know, Übel Blatt is NOT "Evil Blade" in German, but "Nasty (not good, unhealthy) Leaf".


I am a German speaker, and this is correct only insofar as you are using the modern sense of these words, where übel can mean unpleasant and Blatt means leaf. However, das Übel is an archaic form of "evil" (usually referred to as das Böse today, although das kleinere Übel is still used to mean the equivalent of the expression "the lesser of two evils"), and Blatt can refer to Klingenblatt, which is a "blade".

Back when I was reading the manga in French, I was also a little surprised about the title and the note explaining that Blatt is a medieval Germ term for "sword", although I have personally never seen the term used in reference to anything but the blade itself (and it is far more common to simply refer to this as [Schwert-] Klinge today). So I suppose it's just one of those cases where a Japanese artist thought that foreign words sounded cool and conveyed an aura of mystique, and it certainly is fitting for the atmosphere and setting of the story.

Anyway, I'm curious about this adaptation. I remember a time when Vinland Saga and Übel Blatt made several lists of Seinen manga that desperately deserved an anime adaptation, and of course we really can't complain about the treatment the former has received in anime form. I never actually finished reading Übel Blatt but I remember the sex being toned down significantly after a while to the point of almost disappearing, with Shiono explaining in interviews that it wasn't any longer central to the plot and that he didn't want it to feel gratuitous. I don't know if the sex ever made a comeback in later chapters, but I'm sad to hear that the violence has been toned down considering this is adult dark fantasy to begin with.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3842
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2024 11:54 pm Reply with quote
Looking forward to checking this out, though hearing it's been toned down is disappointing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
prime_pm



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2375
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 12:00 am Reply with quote
Not a prude, but even I'm glad that the sex and nudity had been cut out of this adaptation, as I too felt it a tad gratuitous, even misogynistic, at times. And moreover not integral to the plot. I only hope that the dark fantasy aspect is kept in check throughout the series; I remember that in the manga it became more lighter toned after the author's hiatus/time skip.

Not to make a Dragon Age reference, but it started turning into Veilguard.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ktarf



Joined: 30 Jun 2024
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 3:45 am Reply with quote
prime_pm wrote:
Not to make a Dragon Age reference, but it started turning into Veilguard.

Woah, does it really decline that bad? That's a damning statement.

Anyway, a highly censored adaptation has no reason to exist, especially a cheap looking one like this, so I'll just read the manga.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group