YMMV / Helck

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is Helck really as nice as he acts? For some Helck's hatred of humans seems to contrast his overall kind personality. Given the life he has had some fans wonder if he would actually choose an alternative course of action that doesn't lead to humanity's extinction. The manga actively encourages readers to be uncertain about Helck and which way he'll go, though the precise spin on it changes as the plot continues and more is revealed. Chapter 69 more or less puts the theory to rest, by showing that it's not that Helck wanted to kill all the humans, it is that he had given up all hope that they could be saved; luckily Anne reignites that hope.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Pretty much everything about Helck after his past is revealed, from his tiny sword to his constant smile.
• Ho Yay: Edil's admiration for Helck can cross into this trope from time to time.
• Iron Woobie: Helck has had one hell of a hard life, but it never managed to really dent his overall kind and humble personality.
• Memetic Mutation: It was supposed to be a gag manga.^note  The manga started as something of a gag manga with frequent jokes at Helck's insane power, but later chapters went heavy on the sadness of Helck's life
• Nightmare Fuel: The forced Awakened human's transformation is a horrifying and painful sight. Their muscles grow to groteque proportions as their skin turns gray and their faces turn featureless while they scream in pain. Helck wasn't kidding when he said they were not human anymore. It's even worse for humans who do have potental, as they retain their personality even as the transformation corrupts it into the King's puppet.
• Shipping:
  • Anne/Helck is popular, though it's equally, if not more, popular for them to just be friends.
  • Helck/Alicia became really popular during Helck's backstory.
  • Edil/Hyura, due to a rather large amount of tension that even gets commented on In-Universe.
  • Anne/Helck/Alicia is popular for some people due to how Anne and Alicia are important to Helck respectively and Helck himself doesn’t prefer one over the other. There are, however, two problems with this pairing. The first problem is how Anne’s relationship with Helck is more defined by friendship rather than romantic love. The second problem is how although Alicia has shown romantic interest in Helck, Helck doesn’t really have a romantic interest in Alicia given how he can be dense despite caring for her a lot. And given how this manga isn’t focused on romance, many pairings aren’t certain.
• The Un-Twist: Long before it's revealed in-universe it was really really obvious to any reader that the sole female Winged Warrior attacking the Demon World was actually Alicia.In fact, she draws the half-broken Hero Killer sword in her very first appearance revealing her identity right there, though it's easy to miss if you're not paying attention.

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