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




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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".
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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.
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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
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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.
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ktarf



Joined: 30 Jun 2024
Posts: 45
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.
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ScruffyKiwi



Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 710
Location: New Zealand
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 6:32 am Reply with quote
ktarf wrote:
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.


A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!
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GrimLegend



Joined: 07 Oct 2024
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 8:26 am Reply with quote
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
ktarf wrote:
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.


A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!


I agree that much of the nudity feels unnecessary and is a product of its time. However, in the manga's defense, it is set in a medieval period, which may explain some of its context.
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ktarf



Joined: 30 Jun 2024
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 9:37 am Reply with quote
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!

Not everybody has your exact tastes, so don't speak for everyone. I haven't read it so I don't have an opinion on the specific matter, but that's not even the point. Adaptations should always be faithful and respectful to the original work, whether you personally like it or not.
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Hopeless Weeb



Joined: 10 Oct 2022
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:11 am Reply with quote
ktarf wrote:
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!

Not everybody has your exact tastes, so don't speak for everyone. I haven't read it so I don't have an opinion on the specific matter, but that's not even the point. Adaptations should always be faithful and respectful to the original work, whether you personally like it or not.


Some of the best adaptions are nearly divorced entirely from the source material while just adapting what's on the page is how we've gotten some of the worst ones in history, repeating "adaption should be 1:1" as a mantra for different entertainment media is simply ignorant to the reality of the situation.

Like do we in 2024 really need to see it animated how the ostensible female lead, who's clearly a teen or younger, of the first part of the story nearly get raped, witnesses the gory murder of her assailants, and then is raped by protagonist who goes down on her crotch? Leave the ick of the early 2000s in the early 2000s, god damn. . .
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GrimLegend



Joined: 07 Oct 2024
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:28 am Reply with quote
Hopeless Weeb wrote:
ktarf wrote:
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!

Not everybody has your exact tastes, so don't speak for everyone. I haven't read it so I don't have an opinion on the specific matter, but that's not even the point. Adaptations should always be faithful and respectful to the original work, whether you personally like it or not.


Some of the best adaptions are nearly divorced entirely from the source material while just adapting what's on the page is how we've gotten some of the worst ones in history, repeating "adaption should be 1:1" as a mantra for different entertainment media is simply ignorant to the reality of the situation.

Like do we in 2024 really need to see it animated how the ostensible female lead, who's clearly a teen or younger, of the first part of the story nearly get raped, witnesses the gory murder of her assailants, and then is raped by protagonist who goes down on her crotch? Leave the ick of the early 2000s in the early 2000s, god damn. . .


Yea....I think you're misremembering the first part quite a bit. I
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GrimLegend



Joined: 07 Oct 2024
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:28 am Reply with quote
Hopeless Weeb wrote:
ktarf wrote:
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
A censored version has every right to exist. All the rape in the start of the manga is just ick. Character A gets introduced. Ohh he's bad as he’s just finished raping some girl to death. Character A gets killed next few chapters. Repeat for the next 3 baddies!

No one wants to see that sort of crap!

Not everybody has your exact tastes, so don't speak for everyone. I haven't read it so I don't have an opinion on the specific matter, but that's not even the point. Adaptations should always be faithful and respectful to the original work, whether you personally like it or not.


Some of the best adaptions are nearly divorced entirely from the source material while just adapting what's on the page is how we've gotten some of the worst ones in history, repeating "adaption should be 1:1" as a mantra for different entertainment media is simply ignorant to the reality of the situation.

Like do we in 2024 really need to see it animated how the ostensible female lead, who's clearly a teen or younger, of the first part of the story nearly get raped, witnesses the gory murder of her assailants, and then is raped by protagonist who goes down on her crotch? Leave the ick of the early 2000s in the early 2000s, god damn. . .


Yea....I think you're misremembering the first part quite a bit.
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ktarf



Joined: 30 Jun 2024
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 11:38 am Reply with quote
Hopeless Weeb wrote:
Some of the best adaptions are nearly divorced entirely from the source material while just adapting what's on the page is how we've gotten some of the worst ones in history, repeating "adaption should be 1:1" as a mantra for different entertainment media is simply ignorant to the reality of the situation.

Like do we in 2024 really need to see it animated how the ostensible female lead, who's clearly a teen or younger, of the first part of the story nearly get raped, witnesses the gory murder of her assailants, and then is raped by protagonist who goes down on her crotch? Leave the ick of the early 2000s in the early 2000s, god damn. . .

You know you can just simply... not watch it, right? Nobody is forcing you, while you apparently want to force everyone else to not have what you don't like. I wonder why is it so difficult for many of you to respect the diversity of art and let others enjoy what they enjoy.

And I absolutely believe that adaptations should be faithful. If you're going to do what you want, do something original, without butchering someone else's work.
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Hopeless Weeb



Joined: 10 Oct 2022
Posts: 47
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 3:26 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Yea....I think you're misremembering the first part quite a bit.


Ah yes, I'm splicing the first scene with the second from chapter 1. The girl didn't witness the murders nor did those soldiers try to rape her, only the MC did.
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Essedess



Joined: 03 Jan 2024
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2024 6:44 pm Reply with quote
I'm OK with rape in a dark revenge fantasy story. And there is one villain where I hope they don't remove that aspect of his character. But to be fair, in the beginning of the manga there was a LOT of it. And I know that, realistically, in that kind of setting, it would be rampant. But it removes the shocking aspect of it if it's done over and over again.
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