Manga Review – Ubel Blatt Vol 2 by Etorouji Shiono (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: May 19, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0316340397
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd volume in the Ubel Blatt series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

“After decades of anticipation, Köinzell finally squares off against the first of his former, traitorous comrades, the “hero” Schtemwölech. Without the moons to fuel his strength, though, is he up to the task of dispatching this formidable opponent? More importantly, should he prevail, is he prepared to face the wrath of an empire robbed of one of its beloved knights of the Order of the Seven Lances…?”

This is the second Omnibus volume in the Ubel Blatt series. I continue to feel a bit mixed about this series. The illustration is amazing and I really enjoy all the awesome action scenes. However there are soooo many characters and places we jump between, it’s hard to keep track of everything. I feel like I only half understand what is going on every time I pick up one of these books.

This series would really benefit from having a couple pages of characters pictures with a short explanation of who they are at the front of the book. A quick synopsis of “the story thus far” would also be incredibly helpful.

The story is fairly simple at its core. Koinzell is off to kill the Seven Heroes of the realm because they betrayed him way back when. Of course there are a whole bunch of complications and politics surrounding this story that make it much more complex. In this book Koinzell kills the first “hero”, Schtemwolech, and then starts to try to go after the next hero.

This is for mature readers only; there is a lot of nudity and explicit violence in these books.

Overall this was a well done fantasy manga. The illustration and world-building are amazing. The book could really benefit from a character guide and “story so far” section; there are just too many characters and the story jumps around too much. I struggle to follow what exactly is going on at times. In the end the frustration of reading this series is out-weighing the amazing illustration…so, I don’t plan on continuing it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge