I'm eighteen years old. I've only recently started reading seinen manga. That said, being an avid writer myself, Wolfsmund is loaded with cliche-breakers, very strong and likable characters, realistic conflicts, and nice artwork. Nearly every annoying thing about manga is eliminated. However, eliminating those annoying things can make a story much less cheerful.
Every pair of characters so far has been very likable. Even the two who were arguably the most conventionally evil, I could sympathize with. They had motivations, flaws, and personalities deeper than the usual cardboard cutouts you get in manga. That kind of character development is essential to attach the readers' emotions to the characters. It's very refreshing and provides a pleasant surprise.
Wolfsmund approaches the horrors of war and presents them as realistically as possible. Rebels are caught, tortured, and killed. Even the women and children--another thing most manga won't touch on. The "bad guys," while unfortunately not nearly as justified in their actions as the rebels, actually think things through. They don't make exceptions when it comes to executions--they execute pretty women, too. The main antagonist is actually a pretty crafty guy. While I obviously don't find him likable, I see him as an adversary who the heroes and heroines will have a legitimately hard time challenging and bringing down.
I don't see the one-sided presentation of the antagonist to be a bad thing. In fact, after reading the latest chapter (4), I realized that the author does acknowledge that real life is vastly more gray vs. gray than black vs. white (good vs. evil). So, then, he must acknowledge that the conventionally evil character is, in fact, only conventionally evil. And, honestly, there are people in the world (especially back in the dark ages, I'd imagine) who are legitimately evil by most standards. Even then, it's not some shallow, poorly thought-out world domination scheme that the antagonist works toward: it's order. And, in a way, peace. He eliminates rebels quickly and effectively. He's probably the best "bad guy" I've seen in manga, giving a real sense of insurmountable evil.
Now that I've got that over with, let's talk about the whole tragedy thing: yes, Wolfsmund is the single most depressing manga I've ever read. There's not a shred of hope, anywhere. Unless there's some revolutionary plan in the works, I just don't see the rebels winning, and by extension, I don't see any of the good, likable characters surviving. But that's war. Rebellions generally don't end well; you only hear about the ones that do (see: American Revolution). When I'm reading this, I want to help the protagonists because I genuinely sympathize with them, and, for once in manga, I don't want to see them die.
Back to that "hope" thing I mentioned earlier:
Everybody who witnesses the tortures and executions is horrified. This merciless, cruel punishment is stirring up unrest behind the scenes. In reality, I do see hope. In particular, there's one black-haired woman who is present through the first three chapters who seems on the verge of rebellion. In one chapter, a fourteen-year-old girl is shown hanged (not a spoiler--she wasn't a character). If that doesn't provoke civil unrest, I don't know what would. In this manga, it's subtle, but there is hope. I don't think the current tragedy will continue forever. While I do predict a bittersweet ending, I trust that the author knows what he's doing from the remarkable writing quality he's displayed so far.
All in all, I'm impressed by this manga. I'd like to hold it up as a shining example of how to write good tragedy. That last word is key, though. This manga is tragic. It's sad, it's horrifying, it's depressing, and it's all written by a competent writer, making the emotional response even stronger.
Wolfsmund is the first manga I would actually advise anyone under eighteen not to read. It had nudity, but said nudity is never exploited. It has sexuality, but again, it's never exploited. The real reason I'd only recommend this to mature adults is its darkness. Yes, it's extremely well-done, but I mean it when I say you probably don't want to read this until you're an adult.
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