×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Die Wergelder GN 1




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Utsuro no Hako



Joined: 18 May 2012
Posts: 1032
PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 10:28 am Reply with quote
Amazingly this isn't the most sexually graphic manga released in the last month. That honor goes to Inio Asano's A Girl on the Shore, which, though not violent, is more disturbing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AiddonValentine



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 2201
PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:17 pm Reply with quote
Ah Samura, a man who somehow manages to do stories with graphic violence, brutal rape, and unflinching grittiness but never comes off as puerile, misogynist, or mean-spirited. He's like Quentin Tarantino in that he's legitimately trying to test the limits of the audience. Most people who engage in that are, of course, just idiots who should rightfully be called out for trying to get away with exploitative crap but Samura is the .01 percent that is doing that, mostly because he's actually a good writer.

Anyway, definitely going to have to pick this up now that it's translated. I have every one of this English-translated works to date and I'll be damned if my collection is incomplete.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
CoreSignal



Joined: 04 Sep 2014
Posts: 727
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:31 pm Reply with quote
I just finished reading it and I thought it was pretty good. Like the review says, that 'M' is no joke. Even as a Berserk fan, I found parts of Wergelder to be pretty extreme, particulary the sexual violence and some of the bondage stuff. Also, I definitely noticed the censored image too, and honestly thought it was a printing error at first but I don't feel like it's a big deal that it was censored. Especially if Samura himself made the decision.

I thought the story was a little hard to follow at first because of all the yazuka politics in the first half but it starts to make more sense later on. There's also some (dark) humor as well, some of the banter between the characters is pretty funny .The appeal for me so far are definitely the badass girls and just seeing how the story plays out. Like the review says, I also feel that Samura at times is riding a fine line between female empowerment and female exploitation. For better or worse, some of more graphic parts feel like it's shock value to make their backstories more tragic.

In some ways, Die Wergelder is kinda like Crying Freeman with girls as the leads, which isn't a bad thing at at all. Samura's art is excellent as usual, especially the character designs for the women and the fight scenes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Great review! The plot sounds interesting in spite of its violence. I wonder if all that graphic art will keep it out of public libraries.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group