Übel Blatt

Episodes 1-2

Fans of dark, epic fantasy rejoice, for Etorouji Shiono's long-running, 24-volume manga, Übel Blatt has finally scored an anime adaptation! It originally ran from 2004 until 2019, so a delayed adaptation airing in 2025 is certainly unexpected, though may have something to do with marketing synergy for 2024 sequel manga Übel Blatt II: The Knights of the Deceased King. I know many avid readers were both surprised and delighted when this anime was announced, and now no doubt harbor anxiety about whether the show will do their beloved, edgy drama justice. Based on the quality of these first two episodes… I'd say things are looking fairly positive.

I'll admit now that I've never read the original manga, so I'll be tackling these reviews from the point of view of a complete Übel Blatt newbie, though I've enjoyed plenty of other anime and manga in the genre, such as Berserk – by far the most obvious point of comparison. Maybe if I enjoy the anime enough, it will inspire me to pick up Yen Press' recently published and very handsome-looking English-language hardback deluxe omnibus edition of the first three manga volumes.

Übel Blatt is set during the year AD (Anno Dunatto) 3992, in a Germanic-inspired land filled with brutalist medieval architecture and anachronistic futuristic technology, like flying airships. Everything and everyone has German names, including protagonist Köinzell, nations Szaalenden and Wischtech, plus even episode titles like DURCH BURCH and UNTER MORGEN MONDEN. Twenty years previously, the emperor of Szaalenden sent fourteen warriors to battle enemy nation Wischtech, but only seven returned.

Of the fourteen, three died in the line of duty, and only four completed their task, before their murder by the remaining seven warriors who waited behind, then betrayed them. These seven treacherous warriors then falsely claimed their fallen former comrades' victory, declaring themselves “The Seven Heroes.” The show's first scene is a flashback to AD 3972, with these “heroes” ruthlessly slaughtering one of their allies, blood spurting from his eye socket. Clearly, Übel Blatt starts as it means to continue.

Now the Seven Heroes' country is renowned as a peaceful utopia that draws refugees from far and wide to attempt to sneak through its tight border control, in search of a better life. It's at the walled border, controlled by a corrupt monastery, that we meet a diminutive pink-haired elf-girl, whose failed attempt to stow away in a carriage almost leads to her execution. Rescued by a slightly-older-looking half-elf boy, Köinzell, he pretends she is his sister, spontaneously naming her “Peepi,” and name she vociferously objects to. We don't seem to learn her real name.

Köinzell's apparent youth belies his incredible combat proficiency, and some of the best scenes in these first two episodes feature him messily but efficiently dispatching waves of enemies to a blood-soaked grave, using his prodigious skill with blades. He's driven by revenge against the Seven Heroes for some reason, and flashbacks in the second episode suggest he's in some way linked to one of the warriors they supposedly killed. I suspect his mysterious true nature will be explained somewhere along the way, but in flashback, his identity “Aschriit” is a human boy, a different race, so is this some kind of reincarnation revenge tale?

So far, Köinzell's only faced up against a fairly stereotypical corrupt monk (who reminds me a little of Father Cornello from Fullmetal Alchemist) and his army of cross-eyed, faceless, metal-masked mooks. There is little nuance to the monk's characterization; he's just a greedy guy who guards the border because it enriches the coffers of his monastery. Köinzell's allies are similarly thinly-drawn at present. Poor Peepi mostly exists to be in danger or humiliated – at one point because her clothes get wet and filthy, she's forced to change into a very skimpy, completely age-inappropriate outfit, which feels unnecessarily creepy.

People-smuggler Altea's outfit is also on the practically-lingerie side of impractical, while all of the men are very thoroughly clothed. It's not a deal-breaker, but it strikes me as more than a little prurient. She does run a drinking establishment though, so perhaps she doubles as an exotic dancer? Nothing else could explain her bizarre attire. Eyepatch- wearing Wied, another smuggler, is a standard rough but vaguely heroic character who saves Peepi's life on a couple of occasions. Of the central quartet, Köinzell is by far the most interesting. I particularly like his absurdly long braids that are tied to daggers at their ends. Don't they cut his legs as he walks?

The first episode's climactic battle against a generic monster drags a little – it's not as exciting as it should be, which doesn't leave the most positive of first impressions. Thankfully, the second episode's face-off against a tattoo-faced hired mercenary is far more interesting. He wields a cursed sword that emits paralyzing screams from the poor tortured fairy bound to its hilt, the existence of which triggers Köinzell's tears of anger. It seems this is a fantasy world where the powerful prey on and profit from the weak, hopefully a fertile ground for a good old satisfying revenge fantasy.

In general, the second episode shows more promise than the first, as it begins to flesh out the world and its characters, providing intriguing backstory and more capital-F-Fantasy. Köinzell ends up riding a flying dragon by episode's end, just after he's just magically destroyed a huge stone structure – The Thousand Stonespears – by liberating the petrified corpse of his former comrade bound to it, using his magic sword. That kind of large canvas madness is the kind of anime fantasy I can get my teeth into. I do wish the aesthetics were a little more high-end, befitting the grand nature of the narrative; the character art in particular is a little too generic anime in design, plus the fight animation could be smoother and more detailed, but I'm glad we're not facing a Berserk 2016 level of disappointment. This seems like the kind of story that would have benefited from a Frieren or Delicious in Dungeon level of prestige production, but that's sadly not quite what we have here.

I've heard the first few manga volumes feature some uncomfortable scenes involving rape and sexual assault, but so far this has been absent from this adaptation. I'm not necessarily adverse to such material in fiction, as long as it appropriately serves the story, and characters are treated with respect, not merely for audience titillation. If the adaptation continues to avoid the inclusion of these scenes, I guess it begs the question of how necessary they were in the first place? Only time will tell, I suppose.

Rating:

Episode 1: 3.5

Episode 2: 4