Übel Blatt

Übel Blatt (ユーベルブラット) is an ongoing seinen manga series created by Etorouji Shiono, and is currently running in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine. So far 10 volumes have been published in Japan with Volume 10 published on September 25, 2009. Übel Blatt has been translated into French, getting into the top 15 list for manga in France at number 11.

Plot
The story of Übel Blatt takes place into a medieval, fantasy-like landscape. It follows the steps of Koinzell, who appears to be nothing more than a mere half human child most distinguishable for the scar over his left eye. He is on a quest of revenge against those who betrayed and killed him and now call themselves the seven heroes of the land.

Beginning some twenty years prior the start of the manga, the story narrates on how Koinzell, then named Ascheriit, was a young, prodigious swordsman whose skill granted him the fabled title of Blatt Meister (literally Blade Master), and whose deeds made him one of the fourteen youths chosen by the ruling emperor of the Empire of Szaalenden to venture into a dangerous quest to defeat a powerful enemy invader, known as the evil nation of Wischtech, of whom the many powerful engines of destructions and dark sorceries made a dangerous foe. Each armed with a lance blessed by the emperor himself, and thus known as the Fourteen Lances, the young chosen traveled far into the enemy's wasted landscape, losing three of their ranks to the perils of the land, until they arrived into a forest where seven of the eleven remaining youths decided to forfeit their mission, fearing for their lives. Nevertheless, Ascheriit and three of those still bent on following the Emperor's will continued, and incredibly succeeded in their deed, returning victorious. It was then that the seven who were left behind ambushed their comrades and massacred them. Back home, they told the Emperor that the four they killed turned traitors against them, and after dispatching them the seven completed the task. Thus, they were hailed as heroes and dubbed the Seven Heroes, while the four who were killed became symbols of treachery and received the spregiative moniker of Lances of Betrayal.

Thus, the story tells of the voyage of Ascheriit, who indeed survived the slaughter and vowed to take the head of his traitorous companions, now powerful nobles and warlords hailed as saviours by the people.

Main Characters

 * Koinzell (ケインツェル): Koinzell is a new name taken by one of the falsely-labeled Lances of Betrayal, Ascheriit. Back in his youth he was an orphan who was accepted as a student in Ms. Glea's school of swordsmanship where he accomplished such feats including almost learning of the infamous Black Wing sword technique after seeing the swords forms only once on his first day there. Showing such promise made him the new heir of the title of Blade Master, an ancient honor for those deemed true master swordsmen. He then became one of the fourteen youths chosen to carry the Emperor's spears and end the war with Wischtech, and was also one of the four to accomplish their mission only to be betrayed and brutally murdered by their fellow companions, those who became known as the Seven Heroes. After having his left eye gouged out by Glenn, his best friend, and his body minced to pieces, he was left for dead but managed to survive by feeding on a fairy, which regenerated him at the expense of mixing his human blood with that of the faeries, thus giving him the appearance of a human-fairy child hybrid with feminine facial features, pale hair, skin and red eyes. Koinzell is regarded as one of the best fighters in the series, due to not only to his swordsmanship, which include the fabled Black Wing, but also because he can create massive black chain-swords from his right wrist. He is shown to be usually cold, ruthless, and even brutal when hunting down those who betrayed him. He can however be very caring and often puts himself at great risk or harm for others for who considers friends of those who he believes is just in their cause or act. That is due to that although revenge motivates him, he is still the hero which he was before being betrayed by his friends. He is empowered by the twin moons of the world, and if too fatigued he shrinks into a disheveled child fairy until recovered.


 * Ato (アト): The third princess of the Kusharundo clan, she is a young human girl who dresses as a man so as to fight on the front-line with her brother Klato, whom she looks up to. After the latter's death at the hands of Koinzell when Klato's mind and body was altered by the Fake Güsstav and becoming a hideous monstrosity, Ato vowed to avenge him by taking Koinzell's life, though she always failed due to her inferior skills with the sword. In time, she accepted that what Koinzell had done was an act of mercy, and came to respect him greatly, striving to get his acceptance and approval, though in doing so she put herself into perilous situations due to excessive recklessness. In one such occasion Ato was mortally wounded and, shocked by how much she truly cared for him, Koinzell saved her by giving her his blood, which healed her and turned her into a human-fairy hybrid, just like Koinzell himself. Currently she is traveling with him in his quest for revenge.


 * Peepi (ピーピ): A young elven girl and the only survivor of the village Miruel-Mirael, which was laid to waste. She tried in vain to pass the frontiers that divided the Empire from the bordering countries by smuggling herself, but was captured and almost put to death until Koinzell showed up and, to save her without bloodshed, addressed her as Peepi and claimed to be her brother. Since then, Peepi has been how the girl was referred, and her real name is not yet known. Being so young she is prone to cry, but she also has considerable inner strength and also showed talent in summoning magic. A recurring joke about her is that she often ends up dressed in revealing clothes, stating how she would like to wear something less provocative.


 * Vid (ヴィド): A smuggler and acquaintance of Altea, he initially showed up to help Peepi and Koinzell as they were questioned, and escaped with them to the Empire after the destruction of the border fortress Heaven's Lance. Older brother of princess Sharen of the Kusharundo clan, after saving her sister from one of the Seven Heroes, Schtemwolech, he decided not to follow Koinzell and instead return to his country, though he promised assistance to Koinzell.


 * Altea (アルテア): A smuggler of Heaven's Lance and owner of an underground tavern, she is close friends with Vid and took an instant liking on Koinzell after he was introduced to her, in that he had to have sex with her to pay for their smuggling across the border but was interrupted by an attack from a group of warrior monks leading to the destruction of Heaven's Lance. She stayed with Koizell's group and crossed the border when on a quiet night in a gathering point in the territory of Mollan in a large encampment just outside the city limits of Ahadod-Shado city both she and Koinzell finally settled their previous interrupted business. After an incident with the white right-wing army in charge of the people's safety of the of the territory she ended up in the free city of Jullas-Abllas where she became the new leader after the city was besieged by one of the Seven Heroes, Barestar.

The Fourteen Lances

 * Elgunaha (エルグナッハ): Elgunaha is a close friend of Koinzell, and he is the first of the fourteen swordsmen to die. He casts a spell on himself, which turns his body into stone and creates a wall separating part of the world from the other. The wall, called the "Heaven's Lance" is destroyed by Koinzell, after making his final peace with Elgunaha.

The Seven Heroes

 * Schtemwölech (シュテムヴェレヒ): One of the original Fourteen Lances, he was one of the seven that massacred Ascheriit and his three companions and returned as heroes, thus becoming one of the fabled Seven Heroes. A mere thief before being chosen as one of the Fourteen, he was good friend with Ascheriit, but after becoming a lord he sought to be one forever by sick use of Wischtech sorcery and medical experiments, which had hundreds of women with fairy blood drained and minced so as to keep the body of Schtemwolech from aging. In his quest for immortality he tried to use even Köinzell due to his human-fairy nature, but was beaten and massacred. He was the first of the "Heroes" to fall.


 * Barestar (バレスター): Another of the Fourteen Lances who turned traitor against Ascheriit, before he was sent to the Emperor as one of the Lances he was the son of a powerful merchant, the youngest of three brothers. Insecure and inept in dealing with business, he was instead chosen as an envoy to the Emperor due to his considerable physical prowess. He also was a friend of Ascheriit, and the only one with Glenn to understand what the brutality of their acts would bring upon them all. Still, after becoming a hero, he started living lavishly, consumed by anger and envy against Glenn for not being granted constructions of war airships, and secretly turned his fortress into a flying castle armed with Wischtech engines of destruction. After Schtemwolech's death he grew increasingly paranoid and fearful that even the slightest thing could be an attempt to his life. In the end, his own men betrayed him, a fact that finally drove him completely insane. Seeing such a thing, Koinzell killed him while in his stupor, as an act of pity.


 * Glenn (グレン): One of the most prominent of the Seven Heroes, so much so that he was nominated envoy of the Emperor himself to deal with the increasingly preposterous acts of Koinzell. In the days of the Fourteen Lances they were good friends, yet Glenn secretly despised and envied Ascheriit greatly due to his superior swordsmanship and his calm behaviour. Out of the Seven Heroes, he apparently is the only one who recognized the brutality of their treason and did not fear eventual retribution, though he also stated that their punishment was the very fact that they became heroes, being burdened with the welfare of the whole Empire not only as nobles, but as symbols for the people. He was killed outright by Koinzell during their second meeting, after sparing his life in their past encounter.


 * Lebelont: An ambitious and powerful "hero" of the empire. Lebelont has managed to effectively usurp the throne through various powerplays and is now the unofficial ruler of the empire due to his position as head of its armed forces. Is show to be a potent mix of ruthlessness and cunning and is beginning to seem to the current antagonist of the series. He has recently declared war on the Weisstech after publicly executing ten of their kind. He has three children to an unknown mother, each as brutal and perhaps more so than their father.


 * Güllengurv


 * Nirgenfeled


 * Ischüdien

The Lances of Betrayal

 * Kfer -


 * Güsstav -


 * Krentel

Szaalenden Empire

 * Emperor Largor the Third


 * Ikfes (イクフェス): Son of Ikfes and slave knight serving under Glenn, his swordsmanship is almost on the same level as Koinzell. He's been studying under Ms. Gleaa for 5 years and was told if he killed the Hero Slayer, he'd regain his title as Imperial Royalty. He has a little brother. He is the empire's most skilled swordsman and is said to be the next to inherit the title 'Blatt Meister' after Ascheriit. Ikfes confronts Koinzell after he slays Barestar and the two engage in a brutal sword fight. Ikfes acknowledges Koinzell's skill with a sword but still believes his skill is superior. The battle ends however, when Koinzell uses the 'Black Wing' techniques, the ultimate skill only a 'Blatt Meister' would know, to shatter Ikfes' sword and injure his arm. His defeat causes Ikfes to become more obsessed with defeating Koinzell. It has been revealed that Ikfes is related to one of the Four Lances of Betrayal, which is how he lost his status as imperial royalty. He was given Ascheriit's Fairy Stone Sword by Glenn, whom he stole from Asceriit after betraying and murdering him. During their second duel Koinzell once again uses Koku-Yoku and injures Ikfes in doing so. Ikfes blames Kfer's, revealed to be his father and is Koinzell's friend, sword technique which he acquired as the reason for his losses. Koinzell tells Ikfes that Kfer's technique was incorporated into Koku-Yoku, the Blatt Meister's technique, and that he should not be ashamed of himself and his family. Ikfes then uses the technique on Koinzell and defeats him but does no kill him and instead says that he still wants to learn things from Koinzell. Lebelont, however, uses the flying castle's main cannon and presumably kills Koinzell.


 * Ms. Gleaa (グーリェ): A swordsmanship teacher at "The Mansion of Swords", she's spent 20 years rebuilding the reputation of the school after Ascheriit was labeled a traitor. She taught Ascheriit and hates Glenn for killing him. Glenn has told her of his murder of Ascheriit and the other Lances of Betrayal, but he does not reveal the truth of what transpired, claiming he murdered them for the empire. She wished that they could have at least preserved their names as heroes rather than calling them the "Lances of Betrayal".

Order of the Seven Lances

 * Rozen (ロズン): Rozen is an officer of the Order of the Seven Lances, the personal unit of Glenn. He and his retinues help Koinzell, until learning of his true nature. Rozen overheard Koinzell's secret, that he is Asceriit and the true lances of betrayal are the seven heroes. However, Rozen does not agree with Koinzell's mission of vengeance because he believes that no matter if the seven heroes truly were betrayers the empire's stability is built around the "Seven Heroes". He is often conflicted because he has heard the true story about the supposed Seven Heroes and Lances of Betrayal. His attendant, Schemle a young women with glasses, is extremely skilled with the longbow and specializes in delivering arrows with explosive arrowheads.


 * Elseria Rahnclave (エルサリア・ラハンクレーブ): The daughter of the imperial elector Aleczalt Rahnclave and a knight of the Seven Lances. She first meets the main character, Koinzell, at the town of Jullas Abllas. It is also there that her view of the once traitor and enemy to the empire changes into something more. The Rhanclave family is one of the ten families that have the power to elect a succeeding emperor. It is also said that the Rhanclave family is over 1000 years old and specializes in fighting. She also has a strong sense of justice as her reason for joining the Seven Lances was only to protect the people and the emperor.


 * Daliste (ダリステ): A knight of the Seven Lances who follows Elseria. This knight specializes in the use of chains or ropes(wires) to inflict damage or capture his enemies. So far, not much is known about this character.

Others

 * Gerapen (ゲランペン): Pago's brother(not by blood), he thought he was helping people move to a new village but in truth they were being killed by Pago. Lost the will to live and was seemly killed in chapter 36 by the castle crushing him. He reappears in the eighth volume (the series begins with volume 0), with a parasite from his brother attached to him.

The Black Wing Army
A rebel army in borderlands near Wischtech, the army is lead by four former landlords who were veterans of the Wischtech war who lost their lands after defending it from rival warlords but were accuse of the starting the border disputes and losing their lands. Embittered, the former landlords regroup their armies with Wischtech magic and weapons and took the names of the Four Betrayers to gain support. Under their tyrannical rule, the Black Wing army, pillage, slaughter and raped any civilians and Empire loyalists they found. But their reign ended after Koinzell fought against them.


 * Fake Kfer - Fake Kfer is a massive brute who merely loves killing and raping women without any feeling for others. He attacks without concern even with his own troops. He wields a massive mace and rides an equally large horse whom he loves more than anything else. Both he and his horse were killed by Koinzell.


 * Fake Güsstav - A large woman and cruel magic user who likes to see men running in fear and dying horribly. A narcissist, she likes young, beautiful boys and brainwashes them and performs cruel and morbid surgeries by adding animals parts on them with one of the victims being Ato's brother Klato. Like the Fake Kfer, the Fake Güsstav does not care about her troops and even kills them personally if they try to kill a pretty boy she fancies. When she first encounters Koinzell, she wants to make him one of her toys and even tries to rape him but Koinzell uses that to his advantage to escape his constraints and in the process cuts her face. Enraged, she transform using Wischtech magic into a hideous beast but is killed by Koinzell.


 * Fake Krentel


 * Fake Ascheriit

Reception
In France, Übel Blatt has been awarded the Japan Expo Award 2008 in the seinen category.