Forum - View topicÜbel Blatt (TV).
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Gina Szanboti
 Posts: 11730 |
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For someone seeking eternal life and youth, Schtemwolech sure has let himself go. He looks nothing at all like the bishie bandit he once was. Köinzell looks more like his former Aescheritt self, and he even switched races.
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Edjwald
 Posts: 1957 |
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@Harleyquinn - I wasn't aware the manga had lots of sex scenes...considering how dark and violent this show is, I kind of think most of them were probably of a nature that I'm just as glad the anime decided to skip them.
And donsidering that Koinzell's allies have personally just seen one of the seven sacrificing young maidens for his own dark purposes, I don't think they'd have too much trouble accepting that the story about the "Traitorous Lance" has some holes the size of meteor craters in it. I think the fact that Koinzell has turned into some kind of cackling maniac with a giant homicidal starfish growing out of his back would be a bit more concerning. I think the dark dungeon settings and atmospheric music and art style do a lot to compensate for the lack of a big animation budget. I'm enjoying this show a lot though I've started watching it and Tasokare Hotel on Saturdays, for time reasons and because they don't go with the relaxing vibe I'm going for on Friday afternoons. I like to watch a pretty wide variety of anime, but going straight from the two leads having a cute date on Welcome to Japan Ms. Elf and then watching elf maidens getting tortured on Ubel Blat would be a bit of a vibe kill. @Gina Maybe living off the absorbed essence of tortured elf maidens causes water retention and bad skin? |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24637 |
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 I hear ya on the mix of tones would be quite jarring. Gina, I had the same thought as you did... clearly being a Magnificent Bastard is not conducive to maintaining a youthful glow.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1957 |
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The other question I have is...the dark wings and the sinister starfish battle attack are apparently separate from any needs for "Moonlight" power. Is our young/old MC some kind of yin/yang of dark and light curses and blessings held together by willpower?
I was going to edit that typo "donsidering" but I kind of like it. I've been considering and I'm done. Donsidering. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11730 |
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It's not even his skin or jowls. What the hell happened to his nose? I can't keep these consonant-laden names straight, so I actually went back to make sure the guy in the flashback with the tiny ski-jump nose was the same flat-faced guy they were now confronting. Other than dark hair, the two character designs have nothing in common.
This is a fault in either the manga or the anime. I've often been impressed by artists who draw characters as children, teens and adults, and you can still tell they're the same person (e.g., see Free!, FMA). Given how there's still a basic "anime eye" look, I marvel how you can still tell with nearly imperceptible differences in eye shape (obviously, this does not apply to anime that suffer from same-face). Does that make sense? |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1957 |
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Makes sense to me, but that's not necessarily a reliable barometer
Of those things you mentioned, it's the same face syndrome that can really drive me crazy. There are some anime where I literally can't tell some supporting characters apart, and the main characters are mostly differentiated by their hairstyle. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3054 |
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#7
As expected, Koinzell going berserk turns the tables on Schtemwolech, and there's poetic justice in seeing the false Hero lose a limb like Aescheritt did during his human death before being cut to pieces. Since the finale is carried over from the previous episode, it is what comes after that defines the episode rather than Schtemwolech's end. The episode title is "the empty coffin". Actually, there are two of them. Because of Aescheritt's rampage, the underwater lab and its secrets are lost to the floodwaters. And with it goes any chance of the Landgrave's subordinates learning the true nature of the master they loyally served. The adaptation is not perfect, but this is one of those episodes where it does a good job in conveying a simple point: Koinzell and party's biggest obstacle isn't the six remaining heroes, it's the historical narrative they brought home after their betrayal which is so deeply imbedded within the realm that the truth of what really happened will never ever see the light of day. For all of Koinzell's exploits prior to the assassination, it all counts for nothing as everyone only knows him now as the hero slayer (conveniently the episode title for next week). The remaining ladies have all joined Koinzell in his quest, which is good for him since another suicidal solo attack like the one he tried against Glenn and the other six when they first reunited will definitely see him killed. They aren't as good as he is in combat, but they are willing to keep him company and that alone is a small positive for Aescheritt's already impossible quest. Wied will serve his liege, but as long as Aht is by Koinzell's side there remains a tie which binds them and Wied will have to pay back his debt one way or another in the future. Because the adaptation tends to omit explaining some details in favour of keeping things moving, casual viewers may never find out why Koinzell turns into Chibi Koinzell after going berserk. Certainly a useful trump card to have, but it's clear he can't do it when and where he chooses and repeated transformations might prematurely end his quest. Glenn is most likely already regretting his rash choice of pardoning Aescheritt when he had the chance to kill him. Too late for regrets, but if Rozen briefs him on who Koinzell is it remains to be seen if Glenn will recognise him for who he really is. After all, it took Schtemwolech quite a while and even he claimed to have been close to Aescheritt before the betrayal. Unlike Schtemwolech, I expect the remaining six not to be caught with their pants down, so Koinzell and company might well try a stealthier approach if they find their next quarry. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1957 |
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There's always a weird, sick feeling when a beloved public figure turns out to be much different in private life. A lot of time institutions will try to protect a powerful figure's rep to keep people from losing faith with the organization or movement that the person was associated with, and it's always with the argument that revealing the truth will do more harm than good.
The flip side of that is, people will also try to take one bad apple and use it to argue that the whole orchard is rotten. In any case, there was a definite sense of one arc ending and a new arc beginning with this episode. I'll miss Wied, and I was kind of hoping Scherzan (sp?) would become a new part of the ensemble, but least we got Peeps and Bazonga, Queen of Bikini back. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24637 |
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One down and six to go
blood's gonna flow, flow, flow! It's true that the Goldilocks Girls (too young, too flat, JUST RIGHT!!!) won't be much use in combat, but at least they'll be able to make sammitches, fluff his pillow, rub his neck, fetch his slippers and other useful tasks. And JUST RIGHT!!! can take care of certain of his... *needs*, amirite??? Sexist, sexist, sexist, but baby you know I'm the bestest Anyway, after wobbling for a while this show seems to have regained a bit of its balance. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3054 |
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#8
I was wondering how the adaptation would set up the hunt for the next target in Koinzell's hit list. With the adaptation's usual habit of compressing as much as possible into a single episode, this one didn't do too badly. As a casual viewer, I can safely say I've learnt enough of the background behind Koinzell's next target (a womanising coward served by thugs and sycophants with a habit of killing random prostitutes), the current state of the empire now that Koinzell has made a name for himself and what Koinzell and his party are up to after last week's finale. The opposition arrayed around Koinzell and party isn't as straightforward as Schtemwolech's coterie of loyal underlings. The most influential traitor Glenn has sent his knights to aid with the hunt, and unlike Koinzell's current target he uses talent ranging from skilled warriors to influential diplomats. Rozen may be conflicted about killing Koinzell, but his colleagues are very keen on making a name for themselves and serving their country. The ending scene where Koinzell is confronted by the four so soon after their commission begins is definitely forced, but it does move the pacing alone and little time is wasted wondering how Koinzell is going to break out of the siege. Even if Koinzell kills or subdues the four Knights sent against him, he still has to escape the city without triggering an imperial manhunt. He's already shaken off his party members in an attempt to gather intelligence incognito, but they'll want to keep up with him despite the state of alert. He'll have his hands full with the pursuers so once more they'll be forced to fend for themselves while trying to track him. Pacing wise there's too much to take in for a cliff's notes episode, so all the more reason for interested viewers to look up the source material I suppose. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3054 |
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#9
Although the adaptation takes the cliff's notes approach to adapting its source material, sometimes it gets the balance between exposition and action right and viewers forget how much is skipped because of how much action is on screen as a distraction. This week is one of those episodes, with Koinzell and Aht taking on the four Knights dispatched by Rozen occupying much of the screentime. The remainder has exposition, and done succinctly and with minimal waffle. For the exposition, learning a bit about Glenn's background is interesting because despite his cover story about Aescheritt, he was most likely telling the truth about why he chose to cut him down. As alumni from the same academy, Glenn must have found it intolerable that someone so much younger than him could have acquired the title of Blade Master AND accomplished with three others what the eleven were tasked to do. No doubt he's ambitious, but unlike his more corrupt peers Glenn is much more formidable as he has talent to match his ambition. Whether or not that ambition will grow unchecked into something more is another matter, but for now the empire he serves is fortunate he's not dissolute like his deceased peer and Barestar. The seven heroes are properly rolled off in a list this episode, and most of them have typically long German compound names making them hard to remember. At least Barestar's is shorter and easier to pronounce. Since he's so paranoid, he's decided to intervene in the siege which inadvertently spares Koinzell and Aht as the Four Knights' painstaking preparations to subdue Koinzell by taking advantage of his intrinsic nature are wrecked by the breach. Not sure how Aht is going to survive more serious wounds, but her intervention buys Koinzell enough time to escape and fight another day. In an interview showcased on this website the animators mentioned a story arc about the Hall of Blades which this adaptation will cover. Koinzell certainly treasures his old training grounds and the instructor who raised him, and he would be heartened to know she never lost faith in him. Glenn came up with that cover story as a way of relieving the strain she'd been living under learning about Aescheritt's betrayal with another more palatable lie, so at least she won't need to continue believing the boy she raised was a traitor. I don't know what circumstances will force Aescheritt to revisit his old hunting grounds, although Glenn's pet swordsman might well play a role since Aescheritt's title as Blade Master has remained unclaimed since his death. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24637 |
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That was kind of lame. I always dislike when characters act stupidly as Aht did the first time she "helped" Koinzell. It should have been clear to her that all she could do is get in his way, but the story demanded that she be there, so it uses her devotion to him as the contrivance to make it happen. Then he gives her one piece of advice, "Keep your eye on the enemy" which I would have thought might have been the very first thing even a complete novice swordperson would learn and that instantly turns her into a much more effective warrior? Yeah, okay.
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