Creative Staff
Story: Tappei Nagatsuki
Illustrations: Shinichirou Otsuka
Translation: Kevin Steinbach
What They Say
Long ago, in the kingdom of Lugunica, there was a great war between the royal military forces and the demihumans. A hero was born on that battlefield–the Sword Demon, Wilhelm Trias. This is the story of that legendary swordsman–and the woman he loved.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This time around, the focus is squarely on looking back on Wilhelm’s past, which was originally touched upon in volume 7 of the main series. Whereas there such elements were more a footnote, though, this time around his military exploits are front and center. And this really is the core strength of the book, as we get to see him grow and change most vividly through his interaction with the characters around him. That’s shown clearest in his relationship with a boy by the name of Grimm. At the very start, Grimm is a coward terrified of death, and Wilhelm simply can’t stand him. Yet over the course of the book they both grow greatly, and by the end you can truly feel the bond between the two of them.
Now, naturally due to the military focus, we also get a lot of attention placed on the other side of the civil war too, the demi-humans. And this is… perhaps the most interesting element, as it’s one that can’t be really resolved here and honestly isn’t. The whole conflict is driven at its core by the demi-humans growing sick of racism, with their twin leaders representing different parts of how to resist that, one being a pragmatist seeking primarily for the peace, while the other lets his rage drive him to want to burn down anything and everything. It’s not super subtle, mind, but it is a definite key theme here, and I do enjoy reading about the characters. Plus, you know, bonus points for making the snake-man be the proud and noble warrior, as it’s nice to see the book avoid playing to preconceptions when it’s, you know, talking about racism. But then there’s the tricky fact that obviously the state of things in the present day still have that racism, so it isn’t something that can be resolved here, and the demi-humans are effectively just merciless stomped into the dirt at the end of the day. In other words, there’s not really much of anything optimistic to be had on that front here. Oh, and we have the mysterious characters of a female Roswaal of that time and a little girl witch called Sphinx who actually just straight up leave plenty of loose ends dangling. It’s actually surprising to see a book like this not wrap up neatly, and I’m curious as to how those matters will be followed up on, to be honest.
The funny thing, ultimately, is that we DO actually get the romance between Wilhelm and Theresia running throughout the book. And I mean, it does indeed remain a good tale, mind you, but if you’ve been keeping up with the main series, I’d say it’s actually the weakest part of the volume solely because it’s kind of something you’ve already seen. Largely, it just retraces the steps from the flashback in volume 7, and though it does flesh stuff out, it’s mostly the same here as it is there, to be blunt. Still, that’s less an issue with the book itself, and it’s not like it’s frustrating ground to retread or anything, of course.
I will note here that I actually read volume 7 first for review, and checking the Japanese release dates, this indeed came out second to flesh out that story, but in English the release order was flipped. That said, regardless, there is enough overlap between the stories that whichever one you read second will feel like a retread of this content. However, as I mentioned above, this does not feel like a particular complaint to be raised against the actual quality of the book itself, and so I am simply mentioning it rather than actually holding it against the volume in terms of rating.
In Summary
While the last EX volume focused primarily on Ferris and Crusch, this time around we get a look back at Wilhelm’s past. While that previous book worked exceptionally well on its own, I would say this one is just a bit hampered by its connection to the main series, in a way. Things just feel less conclusive because they CAN’T be concluded here (or in some cases purposefully leave dangling ends), and one plot through the book is largely a retread of scenes we’ve more or less already read in a previous volume, just fleshed out a tad. With all that in mind, though, what’s new here is certainly good and appreciated. The flashback from volume 7 already gave us a good feel for Wilhelm’s character, but now he and the cast around him truly come to life, and it makes for a rousing read. I do wish it didn’t feel so restricted, ultimately, and I think that holds it back from getting top marks all around, but it’s still definitely more than worthy of a read, with a ton of great scenes and characters.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: N/A
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: March 27th, 2018
MSRP: $14.00