Helck (manga)

Helck is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nanaki Nanao. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Ura Sunday website and MangaONE service from May 2014 to December 2017, with its chapters collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. Shogakukan published 12 new edition volumes that feature color pages from the original series run and new covers from April 2022 to July 2023. Viz Media has released this edition in English since January 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by Satelight aired from July to December 2023.

Plot
It has been three months since the Demon Lord was defeated by a lone human hero. While the humans celebrated their victory, the demon realm quickly organized a tournament to choose their next Lord. One peculiar contestant quickly rising up through the tournament is a human hero named Helck, who claims to hate his own kind. Vermilio the Red, one of the Four Elite Lords overseeing the tournament, immediately suspects Helck of being a saboteur and tries to rig the following matches into games of skill, but Helck continues to win. Vermilio soon finds out that Helck is a wanted criminal in the human realm, suspected of killing his brother, who happens to be the legendary hero Cless, the one who killed the Demon Lord. Vermilio still wants to know, what is Helck's true motivation for entering the tournament? What happened in the human realm over the past three months? And what are these mysterious winged soldiers now threatening the demon realm in place of the humans?

Characters

 * Helck (ヘルク)


 * Vermilio (ヴァミリオ)


 * Azudra (アズドラ)


 * Hon (ホン)


 * Asta (アスタ)


 * Ista (イスタ)


 * Kenros (ケンロス)


 * Hyura (ヒュラ)


 * Dorshe (ドルーシ)


 * Rococo (ロココ)


 * Piwi (ピウイ)


 * Cless (クレス)


 * Alicia (アリシア)


 * Rafaed (ラファエド)


 * Mikaros (ミカロス)


 * Shalamy (シャルアミ)


 * Edil (エディル)


 * Zelgeon (ゼルジオン)


 * Haraoul (ハラオル)


 * Elise (イーリス)


 * Witch (魔女)


 * Narrator (ナレーション)

Manga
Written and illustrated by Nanaki Nanao, Helck was serialized in Shogakukan's Ura Sunday website and MangaONE service from May 5, 2014, to December 18, 2017. Shogakukan collected its chapters in 12 tankōbon volumes, published from August 2014 to May 2018. In April 2022, Shogakukan began publishing new edition volumes that feature color pages from the original series run and new covers.

In June 2022, Viz Media announced that they licensed the new edition of the series for English publication since January 2023. In July 2023, Shogakukan Asia announced that they also licensed the series for publication in Southeast Asia.

A spin-off manga titled Piwi: Fushigi na Ikimono was serialized in MangaONE from July 16 to October 8, 2018. It has been collected into a single tankōbon volume, published on November 12 of the same year.

A related manga titled Völundio: Divergent Sword Saga began serialization in Ura Sunday and MangaONE on August 31, 2020. It has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes as of February 2024. The series is licensed digitally in English by Comikey.

Anime
An anime adaptation was announced by Nanaki Nanao on February 14, 2022, which was later revealed to be a television series. It is produced by Satelight and directed by Tatsuo Sato, with scripts written by Toshizo Nemoto and Mitsutaka Hirota, character designs handled by Yoshinori Deno, and music composed by Yoshihisa Hirano. The series aired for two continuous cours from July 12 to December 20, 2023, on Nippon TV's AnichU programming block and other networks. For the first cour, the opening theme is "It's My Soul" by Hiroki Nanami, while the ending theme is "Statice" (スターチス) by Saji. For the second cour, the opening theme is "Help" by Aimi, while the ending theme is "Hikari" (ヒカリ) by Kanoerana. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series and is streaming it on Hidive.

Episodes
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 * episodes  =
 * EpisodeNumber      = 1
 * Title              = Helck the Hero
 * TranslitTitle      = Yūsha Heruku
 * NativeTitle        = 勇者ヘルク
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Naomichi Yamato
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Kagetsu Aizawa
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|7|12}}
 * ShortSummary       = After the death of a local demon king, the Empire begins a tournament to select a new demon king for the region. Participants typically include demons of all talents, however this around a human hero named Helck appears. While the demon audience is not bothered by a human participating, Vermilio, one of the 4 Heavenly Kings, specifically is wary that such a powerful human is attempting to win the competition.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 2
 * Title              = Anne from Management
 * TranslitTitle      = Un'ei Sutaffu no An
 * NativeTitle        = 運営スタッフのアン
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Takaaki Ishiyama
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Hiroshi Hara
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|7|19}}
 * ShortSummary       = Vermilio goes undercover as "Anne" and intentionally has the tournament management try to sabotage Helck at every round of the competition. However Helck overcomes every challenge with ease, be it a cooking challenge where Vermilio herself was judging or a horse race where Helck was not provided an effective mount. Hyura becomes suspicious of Anne's identity and Kenros is further befriended by Helck throughout the competition. The competition ends early without a victor as a nearby castle is under attack, it is determined the winner of the final round will be the person who defeats the human attackers.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 3
 * Title              = The Unknown Enemy
 * TranslitTitle      = Michi no Teki
 * NativeTitle        = 未知の敵
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Masayuki Iimura
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Kagetsu Aizawa
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|7|26}}
 * ShortSummary       = Asta, a demon spy, is investigating the human kingdom. She is enjoying the lush vegetation and pretty landscapes, however she finds the kingdom to be barren of humans. Helck, Hyura, Kenros, Dorshe and Vermilio, who is undercover as "Anne", are on their way to the castle, they run into a number of strong monsters. Helck and Vermilio easily dispatch of the monsters and the group has a meal together. They eventually arrive at the castle and come across the winged soldiers sieging the building, Hyura suddenly has her arm sliced off by one of them.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 4
 * Title              = Shock
 * TranslitTitle      = Shōgeki
 * NativeTitle        = 衝撃
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Makoto Sokuza
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Manabu Yukawa
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|8|2}}
 * ShortSummary       = Hyura is down and Helck helps protect her by calling out the winged soldier's name "Edil". Helck and Edil have a conversation and the fight continues after, Vermilio has no issues with the winged soldiers and Hyura recovers her arm through regeneration. Although the winged soldiers are mostly defeated, they manage to open a gate near the barrier stone of the castle and in the process of opening the gate they send Helck and Vermilio to a remote island.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 5
 * Title              = The Remote Island Village
 * TranslitTitle      = Kotō no Mura
 * NativeTitle        = 孤島の村
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Yasuyuki Fuse
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Hiroshi Hara
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|8|9}}
 * ShortSummary       = Hon reports to Azudra that Vermilio has gone missing leaving him in shock. Vermilio is trying to determine on the island how far she is from the empire, however is running into trouble determining the distance. She comes across a small green bird named "Piwi" and Helck who appears to have prepared food and shelter. Back in the Empire Azudra orders a search party to look for Vermilio and Helck, he uses a spell that pinpoints people's locations on a map, however it appears to him that Vermilio and Helck are outside of the range of mapped territory. Back on the island, Helck and Vermilio learn there are other inhabitants on the island and they are set to meet the chief.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 6
 * Title              = Invasion
 * TranslitTitle      = Shūrai
 * NativeTitle        = 襲来
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Masayuki Iimura
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Kenji Setō
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|8|16}}
 * ShortSummary       = Vermilio and Helck head to the village chief, Vermilio is apprehensive as he seems threatening at first, however it turns out that he and the rest of the village are peaceful and friendly. After a feast together, Vermilio learns of a great witch who may be able to tell them how to get back home, however she is behind a barrier and they will have to wait for her to come down from the mountain. Helck and Vermilio have a conversation regarding their goals and Helck confirms that he is willing to fight humanity. Back in the empire a large number of winged human soldiers are attacking, however Azudra defeats them easily with his giant root attacks.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 7
 * Title              = The Human King
 * TranslitTitle      = Ningen no Ō
 * NativeTitle        = 人間の王
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Satoshi Ōsedo
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Dashiyo Hatsumi
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|8|23}}
 * ShortSummary       = After Azudra easily captures the winged soldiers, Hon explains that Azudra's ability is to control the roots of all trees in the Empire. A large number of winged soldiers from a far away distance begin firing arrows, however instead of focusing on the demons they are killing their own soldiers to the shock of Azudra and the other demons. Hyura mentions that this occurred the last time they had engaged the wing soldiers as well, Azudra questions one of the winged soldiers who gloats that they will not die but simply be resurrected to fight again. Back in the human empire the winged soldiers who were killed respawn in the castle in front of the human king, they brief the king on their progress. After this discussion Azudra back in the Empire explains to his team that while the winged soldiers are relatively weak, they actually pose an incredible threat to the empire if they continuously resurrect and continuously get stronger through combat, eventually they will become the greatest threat the Empire faces. Azudra makes the decision to reinforce castles that the winged soldiers are likely attack and to personally help in the defense, he also sends a number of items to Vermilio's location through a gate, however these items are eaten by Piwi and never reach her.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 8
 * Title              = Back to the Continent
 * TranslitTitle      = Tairiku e
 * NativeTitle        = 大陸へ
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Tōru Hamasaki
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Tatsuo Sato
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|8|30}}
 * ShortSummary       = The great witch visits the village but Vermilio misses them, however the witch was told of their situation and she understood their needs and provided permission to climb the mountain to reach her. Once they reach the witch, the witch appears strikingly similar to Vermilio. She tells them to head North West to get back to the continent and what steps they should take to navigate the ocean, she also warns Vermilio that Helck is incredibly dangerous. After a short while Helck and Vermilio have retrieved an animal that will help them with navigating the ocean and they have put together a small boat. They get on the boat and Piwi decides to accompany them despite the dangerous of their journey, while they are heading off they run into a thick fog and a massive octopus like creature appears.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 9
 * Title              = Barbarians of the Tothman Tribe
 * TranslitTitle      = Banzoku Tōsuman
 * NativeTitle        = 蛮族トースマン
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Yasuyuki Fuse
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Noriaki Saitō
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|9|6}}
 * ShortSummary       = Helck attempts to fight the Octopus, however it is quite durable against physical attacks, eventually Vermilio gets the boat free from the whirpool but they lose Helck who gets pulled under the water. Vermilio eventually reaches the continent but is upset at what happened to Helck, but when she walks onto shore Helck is standing there with a goal sign shocks her. She asks Helck to explain what happened and he tells her that he got free of the Octopus and simply swam to the shore. While heading deeper into a nearby forest they are apprehended by barbarians who work for the Erille kingdom, the princess of the kingdom condemns the barbarians and tells them to free the three they apprehended. They explain due to the actions of another faction their own kingdom is facing ruin. The Tothmans who are the other faction appear and threaten to kill all the remaining members of the kingdom of Erille, Helck and Vermillio defend the kingdom and easily defeat the Tothman soldiers. The king of the Tothman then engages the two in combat but is also easily defeated, he is enraged at his loss and suddenly transforms into a much more powerful being.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 10
 * Title              = In Pursuit of a Map
 * TranslitTitle      = Chizu o Motomete
 * NativeTitle        = 地図を求めて
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Masayuki Iimura
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Manabu Yukawa
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|9|13}}
 * ShortSummary       = While the transformed Tothman king is significantly stronger than before, Helck and Vermilio still defeat him with relative ease. On his defeat all the people of Erille transform back to their regular appearances freeing them from the status the Tothman imposed on them. After celebrating their victory, the two head off to a nearby town. In the new town they find a map that could help them get back home, however the seller charges an extortionate price for the map forcing Vermilio and Helck to get creative to find the cash for it. Helck gets involved in a cooking contest, defeating the contest favorite in a very close match and winning the grand prize. After purchasing the map they decide to move on towards the demon continent, however a local musician warns them that the path they are taking will lead to a run in with a warrior of darkness that could potentially kill them.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 11
 * Title              = The Troubadour's Song
 * TranslitTitle      = Ginyūshijin no Uta
 * NativeTitle        = 吟遊詩人の唄
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Ken Morita
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Noriaki Saitō
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|9|20}}
 * ShortSummary       = While they have successfully obtained a map, the musician lets them know of the dark warrior in the region they will have to transverse in order to get back home. Helck and Vermilio move on towards the path on the map despite the dangers and run into a warrior of darkness. They engage the warrior in a battle and for the first time Helck is severely injured and Vermilio is backed into a corner, Helck eventually gets incredibly mad and unleashes his full power and terrifies Vermilio who manages to get him under control. Once the warrior is defeated they move towards what appear to be abandoned ruins and the warrior explains his history. He tells the two his real name, which was Augis and explains how the kingdom he fought for summoned dark warriors in order to fight a great threat and how the dark warriors could not be controlled and brought the kingdom to ruin. The musician the pair had talked to earlier, Iris, shows up and explains that Augis is her older brother and she thanks them for defeating him, she sings him a final song after which Augis gives his weapon to Helck and moves on.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 12
 * Title              = The Spirit of Faith
 * TranslitTitle      = Shinjiru Kokoro
 * NativeTitle        = 信じる心
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Tsuyoshi Yoshimoto
 * WrittenBy          = Toshizo Nemoto
 * Aux2               = Hiroshi Hara
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|9|27}}
 * ShortSummary       = Azudra and his forces manage to defend Urum castle from the human army and capture some human soldiers without killing them. Asta observes the defeated humans back in their capital and notices that they are getting stronger and better at observation, given this she has to be even more careful than she was before. Helck and Vermilio set up camp, Helck shows her a broken blade called the "hero killer" which he states that she should use to kill him if he loses control like before. Vermilio refuses to take the blade, however Helck says he will explain his story and history, after which she can decide her answer.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 13
 * Title              = With Younger Brother in Tow
 * TranslitTitle      = Otōto to Tomo ni
 * NativeTitle        = 弟と共に
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Yasuyuki Fuse
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Tatsuo Sato
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|10|4}}
 * ShortSummary       = Helck begins recounting his past to Vermilio, in a flashback Helck is shown with his younger brother Cless, protecting him from abusive noble children. He explains that they lost their parents to monsters and had moved to the city to find work, except there were no jobs for two children that paid a living wage. Due to Helck's hero powers, he was fine with abuse from nobility, he recovered from all injuries shortly after they were inflicted, his goal was to make sure Cless at least had a tolerable childhood. One day Cless gets very ill and nobody is willing to help, Helck falls into despair and is about to lose it, except a young blonde noble girl listens to Helck and takes Cless to her dad who brings in a renowned doctor to treat him. Cless recovers and 15 years later he works as a captain in the military, Helck works as a construction worker.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 14
 * Title              = The Mercenaries
 * TranslitTitle      = Yōheidan
 * NativeTitle        = 傭兵団
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Tōru Hamasaki
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Akari Ranzaki
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|10|11}}
 * ShortSummary       = Helck continues his flashback and explains that due to the increased monster threat, he also joins the military alongside Cless, they run into new world creatures but manage to defeat them. Helck explains how he met Edil and Alicia which led to them partnering up in a mercenary group. Despite the very determined defense of the kingdom, the sheer volume of monsters continued to threaten its existence, eventually they made the decision to send a party to the demon kings castle to defeat him. Vermilio notes in present time that this analysis was incorrect, as the demon king and his castle were actually delaying the monsters from leaving the demon continent. Cless and his party manage to defeat the demon king, but Cless comes back in a horribly injured state and is bedridden. Defeating the demon king, as Vermilio noted, lead to more monsters attacking the kingdom and this time Helck went to the demon kings castle under the assumption the demon king had come back to life.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 15
 * Title              = The Power of Heroes
 * TranslitTitle      = Yūsha no Chikara
 * NativeTitle        = 勇者の力
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Ken Morita
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Satoshi Ōsedo
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|10|18}}
 * ShortSummary       = Helck invades the demon kings castle, he runs into Azudra and begins battling him, he asks Azudra why the demons continue to send monsters towards the human kingdom. Azudra tells Helck that this is not the case and that the demon army actually is stemming the flow of monsters passing through the continent. Azudra explains that the demons should be stemmed in the future once a new demon king takes over the castle and even gives him a notice about the new demon king contest which Helck eventually participated in. Helck goes back to the kingdom but he does not tell anyone what he learned, because he knows the human side will not accept it. He witnesses humans torturing three captured demons in a public square, he intervenes saying it was barbaric to do this. The three demons some how transform into greater monsters, but the winged soldiers appear and easily defeat them. The noble who saved Cless's life in the past appears and tells Helck that demons cannot be trusted and tells him that the greater demon empire needs to be destroyed, he explains that they will awaken more humans to the power of the winged soldiers to do this. Helck is unsure who to trust, Azudra, or the noble, however another man approaches Helck and tells him that he fought alongside Cless, he asks Helck to help him.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 16
 * Title              = The Truth Behind Awakening
 * TranslitTitle      = Kakusei no Shinjitsu
 * NativeTitle        = 覚醒の真実
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Makoto Sokuza
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Noriaki Saitō
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|10|25}}
 * ShortSummary       = The man who accompanied Cless was named Zelgeon, an infantry commander. He explains to Helck that the awakening process is not what it seems and is very dangerous, he also explains that all who have gone through the process have lost their sense of self and free will. He states that the kingdom plans on casting the spell on everyone that is not nobility and enslaving the entire kingdom into a forced army. He tells Helck the spell caster Mikaros and the hero Cless both need to be defeated to prevent this plan, he explains to Helck that Cless is not aware of the plan and what it entails. Helck also tells his mercenary allies what Azudra told him, while they are not fully convinced, Alicia agrees to keep an open mind. The group infiltrate the castle and approach the nobles to ask them to give up the plan, the nobles refuse, the mercenary group try to attack the nobles but the human king orders them all to kneel and they all kneel immediately. Helck however is unaffected and breaks the grip the human king has over his allies. the king brings out Cless and orders him to attack everyone. Alicia manages to break Cless out of his controlled state using the hero killer sword, however Mikaros manages to steal the sword from her.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 17
 * Title              = Traitors
 * TranslitTitle      = Hangyakusha
 * NativeTitle        = 反逆者
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Masayuki Iimura
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Masayuki Iimura
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|11|1}}
 * ShortSummary       = Mikaros now wielding the Hero Killer sword, asks Helck to work with him, but Helck refuses. Mikaros attempts to kill Helck with the sword, but Cless intervenes and cuts off Mikaros's arms. Cless has temporarily broken out of the king's control, but the king regains his hold over Cless and tells him to kill Helck. Cless approaches Helck but defies the king's controlling ability and instead wounds himself lethally and says goodbye to Helck. After witnessing this Helck is incredibly enraged and the power unleashed from him threatens to destroy the whole kingdom, his allies manage to calm him down but he passes out. Later he wakes up in a cave wondering where all his allies were, he learns from bounty hunters that he was wanted for betraying the kingdom with a huge price on his head. Helck realizes there is a chance his allies are still alive and so he rushes towards the kingdom with the intent of saving them.
 * LineColor          = 50A489
 * EpisodeNumber      = 18
 * Title              = Smile
 * TranslitTitle      = Egao
 * NativeTitle        = 笑顔
 * NativeTitleLangCode = ja
 * DirectedBy         = Sō Toyama
 * WrittenBy          = Mitsutaka Hirota
 * Aux2               = Tatsuo Sato
 * OriginalAirDate    = {{Start date|2023|11|8}}}
 * ShortSummary       = Helck defeats the bounty hunters and arrives to save Alicia, he is angered by their poor treatment of Alicia despite all she did for the kingdom. He asks her to come to the demon empire, but he learns the awakening has already started and is spreading through falling snow, Alicia and the regular civilians are all transforming. Alicia asks Helck to kill her so she does not transform into a monster, however Helck is unable to bring himself to finish her off. They have a final talk where Alicia asks Helck to smile for her and so he smiles despite everything and walks away.
 * LineColor          = 50A489

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Reception
In 2015, Helck placed eighth in the first Next Manga Award. In 2017, the series placed fifth in the male category of the Hyakuman Hito ga Erabu Hontō ni Omoshiroi WEB Comic wa Kore da! polls. The series' prequel, Völundio: Divergent Sword Saga, was nominated for the Next Manga Award in the web manga category in 2022 and placed 18th out of 50 nominees.