Übel Blatt

I will never forgive animation "enthusiasts."

Ubel Blatt is a phenominal dark fantasy about a guy trying to kill 7 other guys who pissed him off 20 years ago. The side characters are fun, the plot is pretty straightforward, and the comedy is also pretty on point, even if more than a little dark. The score isnt great, but I really dont care too much.

But the problem I have with the reviews this anime seems to be getting are the outrageous insults to the animation of the show, claiming that it makes the adaptation of a good story unwatchable. THIS IS NOT TRUE. The animation ... is more than fine, and you should never let something so silly get in your way of a good fantasy such as Ubel Blatt.

The plot is interesting and has good potential. Dark fantasy.
but the way they handled the manga is a disaster. There is no plot, they jumped into it all of a sudden. You don't understand the characters or the concepts. There was literally no unity in the plot. As someone who can't read manga, it was very difficult to follow the events, people and concepts.
I progressed by reading what I could find while watching to understand.
And the anime quality wasn't good either.
I didn't read the manga but it's an interesting plot but the way it's handled is terrible.
And it's 2025 and the nudity issue is still ... being carried out through female characters, let's accept the big characters to some extent but the Peepi character is basically a child and the way he's dressed is disturbing.
I didn't understand what's the point of showing the event that started everything so little and diving into the events without explanation. How the lead character was saved, what happened to him, what he turned into, there is nothing in the middle. And the bad characters; I didn't understand why these characters were sent for that mission in the first place. For example, the second bad guy who was killed didn't even know how to use a sword.
And I don't understand why the lead actor gets emotional while killing these scoundrels.
Only good thing this anime is the opening theme. The opening theme was very good, it was a nice song and it has lyrics that fit the lead character very well. I never skipped the intro.

ÜBEL BLATT – Review

Übel Blatt is what happens when a dark fantasy world promises depth, betrayal, and vengeance — but delivers it through a fog of uneven storytelling and underwhelming execution.

Story
Years ago, the mighty Szaalanden Empire sent fourteen legendary warriors to fight a powerful threat known as the Wischtech. Only seven returned. The official narrative branded the others as traitors and glorified the survivors as national heroes — “The Seven Heroes.”

Two decades later, a mysterious, youthful swordsman named Köinzell begins hunting these very heroes. His identity is obvious from the start, and his mission is as personal as it is political: to unveil ... the truth buried under years of lies and imperial propaganda.

The premise sounds excellent — a revenge tale that challenges heroic mythmaking. But the anime adapts this with breakneck speed and minimal care. Key events are rushed. Emotional beats are glossed over. Political intrigue is hinted at, then dropped. What should be a slow-burning unraveling of truth becomes a montage of vengeance with little narrative glue.

Worldbuilding
The world of Übel Blatt has the bones of something great: a decaying empire, corrupt nobility, feudal power structures, and morally gray institutions. There are monsters, magic, and twisted remnants of war — but almost none of it is explored in depth.

Everything feels like set dressing. Locations are vague. Social dynamics are barely present. You're told about the empire’s corruption, but rarely shown how it affects actual people. It’s fantasy without texture.

Characters
Köinzell is an archetypal dark hero — quiet, ruthless, and scarred. He should be compelling, but the anime never gives his trauma or personality time to breathe. His emotional range jumps from rage to silence with no transitions.

Supporting characters are forgettable, and the villains (the so-called heroes) are mostly cartoonishly evil or generically smug. None leave an impression. When side characters die, it's hard to care — they barely existed to begin with.

Animation
Visually, Übel Blatt struggles. CGI dominates action scenes, but instead of enhancing fluidity, it breaks immersion with stiff, awkward movements. Sword fights feel weightless and mechanical. Impact is completely lost.

Character animation lacks nuance — faces are static, body language limited, and emotional scenes fall flat. Backgrounds vary wildly in quality, some richly drawn, others nearly blank. The color palette is dark (as it should be), but the lighting is poorly handled, making many scenes murky rather than atmospheric.

Sound
Voice acting is mixed at best. Köinzell’s VA sounds appropriate but lacks emotional depth. Supporting voices swing between overacting and lifeless delivery, adding to the show’s tonal inconsistency.

The opening theme (“Zainin” by GARNiDELiA) is solid and sets the tone, but the ending theme (“Stella”) feels oddly mismatched. Background music exists but rarely elevates a scene. Ambient sounds feel generic, and action scenes lack the punch or tension needed to draw the viewer in.

Enjoyment
I wanted to like Übel Blatt. I really did. I waited for the full season to drop and sat down expecting intense drama, moral complexity, and grim fantasy themes. Instead, I got a fragmented, emotionally distant adaptation of a story that clearly deserved more time and care.

Pacing is erratic, the storytelling shallow, and the visual presentation fails to bring weight to key moments. I never fully connected — not to the world, not to the characters, not even to the revenge. It all just… passed by.

Final Verdict
Übel Blatt had the ingredients to be a standout dark fantasy anime: betrayal, empire, vengeance, and myth deconstruction. But in practice, it feels like a trailer for a better show. It's too compressed, too lifeless, and too careless to leave a lasting mark.

You might still watch it if you're morbidly curious or just want to see how bad a good premise can go. But fans of quality storytelling — even within this genre — will likely walk away disappointed.

Recommended for:
✔ Viewers with extremely low expectations for dark fantasy
✔ Die-hard manga fans who just want to “see it animated” no matter the quality
✔ People curious enough to finish it simply because they’ve started it

Avoid if:
✖ You expect quality storytelling or emotional depth
✖ You care about consistent animation, pacing, or character arcs
✖ You want your grimdark to have actual bite, not just aesthetic noise

Breakdown:
Story: 5
Animation: 4
Sound: 5
Characters: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Overall: 4.5/10