Comic Books Magazine

Wolfsmund Vol 2 Review

Posted on the 12 November 2013 by Kaminomi @OrganizationASG

Wolfsmund Volume 2Title: Wolfsmund (Ookami no Kuchi: Wolfsmund)
Genre: Action, Historical, Fantasy
Publisher: Enterbrain (JP), Vertical Inc (US)
Artist: Mitsuhisa Kuji
Serialized in: Fellows!
Translation: Ko Ransom
Original Release Date: October 29, 2013

And in this Volume of Wolfsmund, it’s reached the point where you’re either going to be with Wolfsmund for the long haul or you’re going to drop this immediately. Why exactly do I say that? Because this is probably the most disturbing manga volume I’ve managed to read all year. Why exactly is it disturbing when A) you already know it’s going to be brutal based on its first volume and B) surely it’s a good reflection of its setting and how incredibly painful and trying those times were? Sure, but in Volume 1 it was established it would go in a direction where rebels, suspected rebels, or foolish people would attempt to try and get past Wolfsmund, and most importantly, try and outwit Wolfram, only for them to fail for one reason or another and meet their death in awful fashion. Volume 2 instead manages to have seemingly unnecessary infighting, the torturing of a child in a manner I’ll explain a bit later but it’s pretty contemptible, and an even more upsetting conclusion that only managed to piss me off. And yet, all those issues can be perceived as a good thing for Wolfsmund, and that’s what makes me feel conflicted about this series.

The crux of Volume 2 involves 4 new people: the first arc (which takes two chapters) involves a couple named Hans, an old publican, and Eva, better described by the villagers as “unhinged, arrogant, selfish, and vain.” In an attempt to impress and satisfy his wife, while also wanting to be pleasured by her at some point, he rats out vital information of rebel activity to Austrian forces, which exposes the rebels to savage beatings and him getting lots of money to buy his wife whatever she wants. Unfortunately, Eva makes a mistake in exposing her elegant gifts to a town that’s not all that rich and is monitored by the Austrians, and now both Hans and Eva are on the run from the rebels. The second arc involves Cedar (the mother) and Juwel (the child), two dancing street performers who end up attempting to go through Wolfsmund at the request of a Bishop. This ends up getting them inspected in the worst possible manner, and only manages to let Juwel escape Wolfsmund…or so they think.

I should probably get this out of the way early: I still like this manga. Although, and that’s especially thanks to Volume 2, I really, really want to see Wolfsmund and Wolfram just go down in a heap of flames. The fact that a manga can inspire this much seething hatred out of me, and compel me enough to keep track of all the little events that have taken place to ensure this happens (for example the Signet Ring that did make it past Wolfsmund in Vol 1 thanks to a bit of trickery), means it’s doing something right, and that’s probably because it’s crazy as hell. There doesn’t seem to be anyone that’s safe in this manga, and there’s no restrictions on how you get killed (it is a Seinen after all). It also has a pretty major twist at the end that makes you wonder who’s going to do what in Volume 3 (being a bit coy with this, since this would be a spoiler), and I have to find out what happens there. And overall, everything that takes place in this volume is something different compared to Volume 1. I was worried that it would resort to the same old “oh whoever gets caught gets tortured and stuff”, and instead it’s someone different that ends up doing the killing and torturing part.

*Spoilers NOW*

But I literally could only go “Wow”, “Why”, and “What the hell” at how exactly this was different compared to Vol 1. All the implied sex in that volume? Well, you get to see it in Vol 2, and there’s a good portion of it here, so make sure you don’t bother reading this in a public place. It’s in both arcs, one where Hans and Eva have sex (and are subsequently interrupted by not so Austrian people), and one when Cedar has sex with the bishop. There’s masturbation in this volume (and it’s done by Hans), and you get to see that too. It’s not something I expected to see, let me just say that. You then have what actually managed to make me squirm (and the last time that happened was never. I’ve read stuff like Lychee Light Club and Velveteen and Mandala, but each established their fetishes) when Wolfram told his soldiers to inspect Juwel’s vagina with a spoon. (It was also done to Cedar). Now, in addition to being pretty uncomfortable, it also makes me worried Kuji’s going the torture porn route. That’s dangerous since it almost essentially means the author will do whatever floats his/her boat, and sacrifices just about everything else (story, characters, etc). At this point, it can only mean it’ll be more of the same, and not done to imply how much more we should hate Wolfram. I think that was already accomplished.

*Spoilers END*

In a sense, I should have seen this part of Wolfsmund coming in my direction. The warning signs were there, but I didn’t think it would turn out in the manner that it would. And yet, despite how disturbing it was, I’m going to believe this was intentional, to get that hateful reaction out of me. For some though that’s unacceptable, so this volume will test you on whether you want to continue with the series or not. But in the end, I still have to see what’s going to happen next. I can only blame Kuji for torturing me so.


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