Wolfgang (ヴォルフガング) is a Western Yōkai and a member of Backbeard's army that appears in the 2018 anime adaptation.
Appearance[]
Wolfgang's human form has a muscular build with tan skin, long brown hair that reaches his neck and pointy ears. He has a thin mustache and goatee, his eyes have pale yellow sclerae and blue irises. He wears a maroon suit with matching pants, a brown long sleeved, collared shirt under his suit, with a red necktie, a brown belt and a pair of brown shoes.
Wolfgang's werewolf form has a lithe build with maroon fur and a brown cross-shaped patch on his chest. His body becomes more animalistic, gaining wolf-like features, such as having a muzzle, ears on top of his head, longer arms and legs with white claws at the end of each digit and a long voluminous tail that becomes bright red by its tip. He has blood red eyes with blue irises and thin slit pupils. The only article of clothing left is his pants, which are now tattered and only reach to his thighs.[1]
Personality[]
Wolfgang is a serious, businesslike individual, who seldom expresses emotions. He acts very polite and well-mannered with Adèl and Agnes, giving them the suffix -sama, and acts courteous while launching his challenge to Kitarō. In the heat of the battle however he is quick to shift to a more callous, cruel persona, taunting mercilessly anyone weaker than him, prone to killing and maiming on a whim and unable to let a loss slide without returning with a vengeance for a rematch. Wolfgang is as cruel with weaker, lesser beings, as he is deferent with individuals stronger than himself, or simply loyal to Adèle and Backbeard enough to curb his feral instincts.[1]
History[]
2018 Anime[]
Pre-Series[]
In the Malay Penninsula after Agnès' Mother performs the spell to cast the Brigadoon Project, turning all the human inhabitants into Yōkai, Wolfgang slaughters numerous Yōkai who rose against the Western Yōkai from taking over their country.
Wolfgang claims to have been enough close to Agnès' family to know how Adél, Agnés and their mother were a close knit family before the latter death.[1]
Series[]
Episode 27: Wolfgang is the first of the Western Yōkai sent by Adél to search for her sister Agnès and the Ring of Arcana.
He manages to track Agnès in the Forest, where he interrupts a summit between Kitarō and Miminaga. There he traps the Kitarō Family in a magical trap given by Adél, and politely asks Agnès to return home and side with Adèl, but shows a cruel, callous side of his personality as, made aware of Miminaga's presence, he cruelly slays them in front of Kitarō calling them trash for having been unable to defend Malaysia from his earlier actions.
When Kitarō frees himself, he asks his name and challenges the whole Kitarō Family in a duel, effortlessly dispatching them and offering to dig a grave for Kitarō, inscribing his weakness and lack of usefulness for the next generations to read: when Agnès returns telling Kitarō that western werewolves are weak to silver bullets, a wounded Wolfgang flees, deeply saddened and betrayed by Agnès actions.
Again healed, he asks Adél to let him return to the GeGeGe Forest, enacting his vengeance on Kitarō: Adèl tells him how Backbeard ordered her to go personally in Japan, bringing him, Victor Frankenstein and Carmilla with them.[1]
Episode 28: Unable to let slide his earliest loss, Wolfgang tracks personally Kitarō, revealing in the process how, under a night of full moon, his powers are so amplified to become functionally immortal, able even to shrug off his ancestral weakness and avoid being mortally wounded by silver bullets.
However, an enraged Kitarō, further fueled by Agnès western magic and the sheer rage for seeing the GeGeGe Forest ruined by Western Yokai and Neko-Musume trying to fight Wolfgang alone, manages to injure him enough to stop his advance.
When Agnès turns the Ring of Arcana against the Western Yokai, Wolfgang is again ordered to flee.[2]
Episode 35: Upon tracking the Ring of Arcana in Chōfu, under Mana's possession, Backbeard orders Adél to summon her followers: Wolfgang is one of those attending the summon along with Carmilla and Victor Frankenstein [3]
Episode 36: Wolfgang is sent to pursue and capture Mana, stripping her of the Ring of Arcana to enact the Brigadoon Project. Despite trying to scare her into submission by turning into his werewolf form, he's subdued by Konaki-Jijii's stone powers, and immobilized under his immense weight.[4]
Episode 37: While Backbeard is almost managing to turn Japan into his Backbeard empire, surrounded by humans turned into yōkai, Wolfgang manages to free himself, turning the fight with Konaki-Jijii into a fisticuffs between his wolfman's punch and the latter stone punches. When Backbeard is destroyed by Kitarō however, he flees and teleports to an unknown place.[5]
Final Chapter: Nurarihyon Arc[]
At Backbeard Castle, Wolfgang watches as Victor tries and fails to resurrect Backbeard, complaining that it is his job to revive their master. After his short tantrum, he and Carmilla notice a Japanese Yokai in the room. He jumps to attack him only to be stopped by Shu-no-Bon who speaks of a gift. He is order to draw back, as Carmilla is curious about it. With the energy of Fuji, he watches as Backbeard resurrects, bowing in honor of his return.[6]
Powers and Abilities[]
Claws: Wolfgang is able to utilize his claws in both human and werewolf form, able to retract them at will.[1]
Werewolf Form: Unlike most werewolves depicted in the series, Wolfgang's base form is a human and is able to turn into a werebeast version. In his werewolf form, Wolfgang is stronger and more durable, enough to break Nurikabe to pieces by a single punch, lift Konaki-Jijii and counter effortlessly Kitarō and Neko-Musume. While the traditional werewolf is able to transform only under a full moon, Wolfgang can, under duress, transform himself at will.[1]
- Regenerative Healing: While in his werewolf form, Wolfgang is able to heal any wound inflicted by any means that is not a silver bullet. He can shrug off multiple hits by Kitarō's finger gun by healing rapidly every wound.[1]
Lunar Empowerment: Wolfgang has stated that while under a full moon, werewolves are invincible, able to disregard the usual weakness of silver bullets. However, Kitarō is able to injure him enough to force him to back off, suggesting that while a full moon boosts his stamina and durability, it is not enough that he is utterly invincible.[2]
Equipment[]
Magic Stones: Wolfgang was given these Magic Stones by Adél when he was tasked to bring Agnès and the Ring of Arcana back to her.[1]
- Dispelling stone: Used by Wolfgang to dispel Agnès' spell of mimicry.[1]
- Barrier stone: By squeezing a red stone Wolfgang was able to imprison the Kitarō Family within a transparent glowing red cube. It is noted by Agnes's disbelief when Kitarō destroyed it in one hit, that it has rather strong properties.[1]
- Teleportation stone: By squeezing a blue stone Wolfgang was able to teleport back to the castle.[1]
Legend[]
Wolfgang is inspired by the legend of the werewolf, also known as the lycanthrope (greek for Human wolf), a western belief, present since ancient times, that a human being can, by magic or because of a curse, turn himself into a wolf. Also, in the Middle Ages werewolves where often associated with witches, thus explaining Wolfgang's role as Adél's right handman and trusted henchman.
Also, Wolfgang bears many traits taken from the modern renditions of the myth: as the Werewolf of London, his human form is an elegant gentleman with a dapper suit. As the werewolf in The Wolf Man movie of 1941 silver can negate his physical attributes, and as the werewolves since Frankestein Meets the Wolfman full moon empowers him.
However, as the werewolf in the obscure movie Cross of the Seven Jewels, Wolfgang doesn't need a full moon to transform, and actually can shift at will from his businessman-like human form to his werebeast form.
References[]
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Leader | Backbeard |
Original Team | Dracula • Witch • Wolfman • Frankenstein |
2018 Team | Adél • Carmilla • Wolfgang • Victor Frankenstein |
Young Generation | |
Main Team | Dracula III • Zambia • Wild |
Allies | Youaltepuztli • Balmond • Gorgon • Golem • Count Dracula |