Set during a time that very much resembles Europe during the Middle Ages, Berserk is a story of
revenge set in the castle town of Midland. Recently, the town has seen the rise of a wicked king, who
uses demonic minions to control and victimise his subjects.
However, when a lone soldier enters the town calling himself the Black Swordsman and armed to the
teeth, many sense that the king's days of unchecked oppression are over. Soon, the Black Swordsman is
plying his trade by hunting down the king's evil servants, giving no quarter, and preparing to exact
his vengeance on the king.
(Source: MVM Entertainment)
A complete story. The characters, the art style, the sound design, the music, the tone and the plot. All nailed down to a T. Although I started with the anime rather than the manga, I feel as though I got the most complete parts of that manga condensed into this well-presented package. It made my heart race, pulled on the strings but ultimately left me wanting more. Of course I will end up reading the manga because of how much of a masterpiece this show was which I guess is the goal of an anime adaptation. The first episode did a successful job of establishing the badassery of Guts and his huge sword, and really that would be all that I would need to be hooked. It gave me enough intruige to watch the whole 25 episodes, just through sheer force of the main character Guts. And so to talk about the plot. Firstly, the plot. I know that the manga continues on after this and just the fact that this entire show (or season I guess) is dedicated to how Guts turns into who he is and what he's motivated by allows me to understand the character and the journey he has been on so that I can appreciate his further adventures in the manga (when I read it) so I feel as though this anime has done a good job at establishing that for me. This story is not only driven by Guts' background story and motivations, but also the overarching plot and interpersonal relations that the show itself plays with over the course of the whole series and with perfect pacing at that. It starts off developing its characters with the brash Guts against the seemingly angelic Griffith and his pack of mercenaries. Establishing them as enemies, then friends, to which they distance and become sort of enemies again. This progression between the two 'main' characters allows for the entire story to be driven forward and not stay in a state of stagnant filler and the anime just trying to bide time. The cohesive flow of episodes allowed me to continue on without becoming bored with what the show had to offer. Just the fact that the scale kept increasing and increasing and that the stake just grew exponentially allowed for there to be a real sense of danger for the characters over the entire series and didn't leave me bored. Of course in the manga this entire show is only one arc, but I think that it was perfectly conclusive and would allow me to just get into the actual adventure that the manga had to offer. Not only was I driven to continue watching this show by the two 'main' characters (and I would say that they are somewhat the main driving forces of the show to some degree) but that acceleration from them was also propelled by the wonderful supporting cast all of which felt real. The most important aspect of a character for me is one who feels like I am able to know them through the anime itself via what it shows me. Rather than being told who the character is and what they're driven by, I like a character who shows me who they are and what they're about and I feel as though Berserk allows for me to feel what the characters are feeling throughout the entire show. Casca, Guts, Griffith, Rickert, Pippin, Judeau and even Corkus bounce off of each other and help to establish the heart and soul of the mercanary band. Just being able to witness their growth throughout the entire show warmed my heart and I didn't want it to end. Even the men under Guts' command helped to realise the characterisation and personalisation of the show as a whole, with Gaston's admiration never failing to have me smile a little. All of that and yet. They all die. This show empties you, after filling you with the personalities of interesting characters and motivations it empties you. It flips this all on its head and runs with an even darker tone than it had already established. Although the series does progressively get darker over the 25 episode run, the last few episodes really do make an impact and I have never felt so alone and so empty just seeing Guts hopelessly held down by the Apostles and emotionally tortured by Griffith's rape of Casca. All the life sapped out of the characters in the favour of a new plotline, though it is intruiging, it hurts a little. This is not to say that this is a bad decision moving forward, if anything it motivates me to see what the manga has to offer in terms of characterisation. And in saying all of that, it would most likely prove that the characterisation is very strong, making me care about the stakes and the danger that is posed to the cast many times throughout the show. From that, the art style. Although this is an anime from the 90's and I'm usually about that fluffy 2000's style of moe and happiness. This roughly edged and worn art helps to not only give the show a bit of timelessness but also assists in the conveyance of the show's sombre and dark tone overall. The hand-painted backgrounds and the hyper detailed pan shots really show the care put into this show and makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable. It reminds me a little bit of how timeless Cowboy Bebop is. From this, the sound and the music help to drive home that heavy feeling art style in such an impactful way. From heavy clangs of metal to the sound of flesh being impales, all of it assists in evoking in me the dark tone of the show as a whole. And the music, used in crucial moments with particular tracks honing the polish of scenes further than they are with the art style. Overall, I would like to read the manga which I've heard is even better than this anime. 10/10, complete in every aspect and does an honourable job in adapting a long-form manga into a digestable single season to get me hooked.
As far back as anyone can remember, the land of Midland has never been peaceful. It’s unclear how long the Hundred Year war lasted, with kings waging war against each other for territory, and a number of uniquely named mercenary bands fighting on their behalf, but the casualties have been many, and the conflict has only recently appeared to be resolved. You would think that the end of this war would bring piece to midland, but you’d be sadly mistaken, as the rise of a cruel demon king has led to the earth being invaded by terrifying monsters, the likes of which not even the darkest imagination could comprehend, and whom hunger for the blood of men, women and children. It’s a dark time for the human race, one where death waits around every corner, and any given person can become the dripping dinner of a demon at any given moment. We live at their whim. We are their cattle. Among us, there is only one human the demon scourge fears. One they’ll try to kill at any cost, as they know full well he’ll do the same thing to them. That man is named Guts, and the demons are right to fear him. Towering over other men, covered with battle scars and always ready for a fight, he is almost literally a killing machine. With one eye, a prosthetic arm chock full of demon-killing weapons, and a giant 400 pound sword resting on his shoulder, he travels midland looking for demons to slay. Sadly, he’s not motivated by the survival of the human race… He’s killed more than enough humans to be considered a demon himself. It’s revenge that he thirsts for, and his target is the herald of the apocalypse himself, the Demon King Griffith. See, this isn’t a story about the demon-infested world, but of how that world came about… And these two have a history spanning several years. Once upon a time, Guts was just a wandering soldier, bouncing aimlessly from battle to battle, sort of like a mideval Ronin Warrior. It was his chance meeting with a young Griffith, still just a brilliant, strategic genius leading a fledgling mercenary group, that would entangle his destiny with what he could not have possibly predicted would be the end of the world as we knew it. It’s been around twenty years since this series came out, and in that time, there’s been an ever-present demand for a new adaptation to be released. There have been a few reasons for this, and I’ll get to one of them later, but the other one… and perhaps the more persistent one… Has to deal with the animation quality of this initial adaptation, and just how dated it looks due to the technical and financial limitations of the time. The truth is, however, the animation in Berserk was bad even back when it came out, and it had it’s pedigree to blame for it’s disaster. It was animated by a company called Oriental Lights and Magic, yes that’s an obvious Star Wars pun, and not only was Berserk their fourth series, but their only other major claim to fame was… You’re not going to believe this unless you already know about it… The Pokemon anime. Yup. They had just gotten started animating the Pokemon anime about six months prior when they decided to try their hands at one of the most infamously mature and intensely beloved manga properties of all time, and God help me, they tried. I’ve talked in the past about how low-budget anime productions can use a lot of tricks to hide the weaknesses that such a restraint holds over their productivity, and how more experienced observers can pick out these techniques. With Berserk, however, even the greenest of viewers can spot the corners being cut. Right in the first episode, the onslaught of a struggling human settlement is portrayed by static images being either panned across or zoned in and out of while the music plays. The static images look good, like high qualities paintings depicting the horrors of war, so it’s not like any of it comes off as an eyesore, but it does sort of defeat the purpose of animation, which is a word that’s defined as movement. The speed lines are even worse, as they really do drag down the action of a series that’s mostly famous for it’s action. Dialogue scenes are often reduced to a series of talking heads, and when they don’t have any shadows to play around with, these issues are embarrassingly exposed. So of course, new adaptations came. People got what they wanted, and in a weird sort of twist, they’ve only served to make the original series look better. Yeah, an anime whose visuals were already on the low end of the scale back in the late nineties looks better now than it did when it was new. Thanks to the new adaptations, it’s aged miraculously well. Part of this is due to the new adaptations looking like complete ass… The movies in particular employ extravagant CG, and while it obviously had a lot of money poured into it, they just look ugly and clumsy as a result, with a serious case of Uncanny Valley plaguing all of it’s characters. I haven’t seen the new series, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not that different. A quick comparison between movies that spend a lot of money haphazardly, and a series without much money that had to be responsible to make ends meet, Berserk has actually managed to develop a certain kind of nostalgic charm and respectable sincerity to it’s plethora of visual issues. I won’t go as far as saying that it looks good, but it’s hard to look at the amount of effort and artistry they put into it without cutting it some serious slack. So the visuals are a mixed bag, but you know what definitely isn’t? The soundtrack. The music in Berserk is almost as famous as the show itself, and with a composer like Susumu Hirasawa behind the wheel, it’s not hard to see why. In addition to Berserk, Susumu has also done the scores for several Satoshi Kon projects… And that alone is a high praise. While his contributions to The Berserk franchise may not be as deep or cerebral as those, they are some of the most epic, powerful orchestrations you’ve ever heard from the medium. The over-all aesthetic of the soundtrack is something akin to what you’d hear in a really inspired opera about King Arthur… Fantasy, destiny, war, the rising tension of a battle that’s about to start, the inner conflict of deceptively complex characters, and none of it sounds like it was just picked for the sake of sounding good. for a few examples, a tune like Behelit is subtle but bone-chilling, while Guts’ theme song, which you’d expect to be some sort of roaring metal anthem, instead sounds like you just entered a fairy sanctuary, and it’s used in scenes where’s he’s most at peace, and we get to see who he is behind the carnage. The most famous track from this show is without a doubt Forces… Okay, well, the God Hand Remix is the one people seem to hear the most often, but the original track is still the most popular from that release. While there are other tracks that feature vocals, I’m pretty sure forces is the only one outside of the OP and ED to feature actual lyrics. The most famous part is the chorus, which awesomely belts out the phrase HAI EEE YAI FORCES a few time before lapsing into instrumentals, but the interesting this about that is that you never hear this during the series. The song plays once in one of the early episodes, but cuts off right before the chorus can hit. I’m not sure what the history behind this song’s usage must be, but it is weird that the most famous 16 seconds of Berserk’s soundtrack don’t actually make it into the show. To give the opening and ending themes a quick mention, they’re okay. I initially didn’t like Tell Me Why by Penpals, I felt it was too light and upbeat for the material, but it’s grown on me recently. The ending, Waiting So Long by Silver fins, I’ve always been cool with. It’s a cool ending. The English dub is… Good. It’s not particularly remarkable, as almost everyone across the board does their job competently, with only one or two performances standing out in one way or another. Mark Diraison does a perfectly fine Guts, and while his acting is never bad, the best thing you can say about him is that he has the right voice for the part, as he plays the character with a low, gravely tone that makes him sound appropriately tough. He used pretty much the same voice in his other major role… Oh good lord. He played Zoro in the 4Kids One Piece dub. Moving on, as you damn well should after learning something like that, Carrie Keranen is amazing as the Hawk’s sole female warrior Casca, whose interactions with the other main cast walk a tight rope between her strengths and weaknesses, as she speaks forcefully and proudly as a leader, yet still insecure and full of longing for her unfulfilled ambitions and desires. They’re both better than Kevin T Collins, who plays Griffith in a very hit-or-miss fashion. He has his moments of brilliance, and can be downright chilling even at his charismatic best, but can also sound stiff as a board inbetween. Those three make up the majority of the show’s dialogue, but there are also a lot of memorable performances in the supporting cast, as well. Rachel Lillis plays a charming, naive young princess who catches Griffith’s eye. Veronica Taylor plays the child version of Griffith, who shows up once in a surreal scene towards the end. I was a huge fan of Mike Pollock in this show, as he plays a recurring antagonist General named Adon, who’s just an arrogant loudmouth over-all, but still manages to become a fitting arch-rival for Casca. It’s very likely he was typecast, as he also played Eggman in a lot of Sonic properties. Famed Goku actor Sean Schemmel takes on several roles, including a low-level hawk member, and if I’m being honest, most of his best lines are bloopers. Actually, speaking of bloopers, those are totally a thing, and while you can find a ton of them on each individual disk, you can find the entire set on Youtube. If you’ve ever wanted to hear Guts do a Shwarzenegger impression, Casca rant in a lisp or Griffith bust out in all his showtunes glory, I highly recommend checking them out. Berserk is not the only anime in history to be granted a do-over. I feel like this is kind of obvious, but one of the most notable examples is Fullmetal Alchemist, which carried a lot of the same complaints that Berserk did… Mainly, though, it was too different from the source material, and people wanted to see a more faithful adaptation. As we all know, Brotherhood came out to monstrous fame and adoration, while surprisingly, Berserk seems to have had the opposite effect. The movies, as much as people praised the first one, and the 2016 remake, which I’ve pissed people off by calling Berserk Brotherhood, is popularly considered an actual dumpster fire. I have not seen it, but I’ll take their word for it until I finally do. But all of this does raise a very interesting question: If the original 1997 series had so many shortcomings that people demanded a do-over, why are there so many people who still consider it the best version? I mentioned earlier how it’s animation has aged better than anyone thought, but I think there’s more to it. One of the first problems you’ll hear from people with grievances over the original series is how incomplete it is. Now I’ll be blunt, I’ve only read the first seven volumes of the manga… Give me a break, I’m not a huge manga reader, and there’s like hundreds of volumes… But it’s not hard to see their point, especially since the prologue in the manga was way longer than the one we got for the series before it went back in time for Guts’s origin story. There are other things that were cut, and other changes that were made for the sake of streamlining the story, and while this may be considered a mild spoiler, they cut a part of Guts’s childhood where his guardian sold him for a night with a grown man, who raped him. I don’t think this is a particularly bad cut, though. The story works just fine without it, although it does sorta rob him of a connection he shared with Griffith and Casca. The more obvious change, however, is that the story doesn’t properly end. After a huge climax, it leaves off on a massive cliffhanger, wrapping around to the prologue that we’d seen in episode 1. I don’t personally mind this, but we’ll get to why in a moment. And if you think the removal of Guts’s pedophilic abuse scene means the series was toned down in any way, you’re fairly well mistaken. I haven’t read much of the manga, so it’s hard to say how far the story truly went with it’s content, but Berserk rests firmly as one of the most R rated mainstream anime in existence. It has just about everything you could want in a mature title, such as blood, gore, sex, nudity, uncompromising violence… It’s oddly light on foul language, I noticed… And it presents all of it with no shame or hesitation. Now, some of you may be asking, so what? The movies did this too. Well, yeah, but here’s where I’m going to be a bit prudish… No matter how far the 1997 Berserk’s content went, it was always, well, tasteful, which is quite a bit more important than you might realize. A long time ago, I ranted hard on Blood C over it’s violence and depravity, and it wasn’t because I have a problem with gore or anything, but because I had a problem with how it was used, and how the series was basically just a vehicle for gore porn. But leaving the blood splatters behind for a moment, let’s talk about what’s possibly the most controversial and divisive element in any media, nudity. This has always been a weird element in anime, as producers will happily use it to titillate audiences, but they have to bend over backwards to avoid showing certain things… So you get weird compromises like convenient censorship and straight up nipple-free Barbie-doll bodies. You get situations like Sankarea, where it’s okay on some characters but not others. Berserk has nudity, but it never goes too far in either direction. It doesn’t bother censoring anything(unless it had to legally), and it also doesn’t create situations like endless showering and bathing scenes just to push out more flesh coverage. If it’s in the story, it happens, and not one single fuck is given as to how you feel about it. If you’re offended, you know where the fast forward button is. If you’re turned on, you know where the pause button is. It’s not there to please or shock you, it’s part of the story… And that’s how Berserk is about everything, really. Every single second of this anime is important in some way. Every conversation, every fight, every death(even those involving nameless soldiers and mercenaries), every second of sex and inch of flesh, every single second of material has a direct purpose, such as establishing mood, developing characters and their relationships, communicating details to us, furthering the story and even foreshadowing later events. This is in stark contrast to the Golden Age movies, who valued spectacle over story, and would often gloss over important events in order to, presumably, ‘get to the good parts.’ Like, there’s a moment where Griffith, depressed, making a huge mistake by sleeping with someone he should have stayed away from. The series made no bones about what was happening, but only showed you what you needed to see in order to follow what was happening and appropriately fear the outcome. The movies straight-up presented it as a hot, sexy porn scene, completely missing the point to a confusing degree, and to make matters worse, the same thing happened regarding a rape at the end of the third movie. I don’t know which version was more true to the books, and frankly, I don’t care. I’m worried for these characters, so why are you trying so hard to make me jerk off? You don’t need to destroy the tone of the story to keep my attention, and the series knew that. And that’s when mature content becomes a problem… When it’s manipulative. If you write something into your story as fan service, with the effect it might have on the audience as even one of your main intentions, all it will be is fan service. The original Berserk doesn’t give a shit about it’s audience, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. It never tries to shock you, or titillate you, or coddle you, or excite you, it’s focus is squarely on it’s own damn story, which is where it should be. If you need boobs and catgirls to get invested, fuck you. If the material goes too far for you, fuck you. Berserk is the story it wants to be, and while that’s not always the best thing to say about an anime… Garbage that wants to be garbage is still garbage… Berserk legitimately is a great story. And yeah, i know, Berserk doesn’t really have the kind of story I’d normally praise in a review. I’ve made it kind of a theme to talk about metaphors, social commentary, allegories, real symbolic stuff, and as far as I can tell, Berserk doesn’t really feature any of that. It’s a fairly straight-forward story, with everything that’s happening being right there on the surface, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have depth. Whether it was intentional or not, Berserk(at least the parts that made it into this anime) has managed to become something very few anime can actually claim… A Greek tragedy. This ancient style of storytelling takes flawed characters from all walks of life, gives them some lofty ambition to pursue, and then follows them as they put everything they had before on the line, make heavy sacrifices to get within inches of their dream, and then ultimately lose everything when they fail, due in major part to those flaws they just couldn’t overcome. There are countless ways that Berserk stands as the perfect example of this, and it’s unflinching look at pain, suffering and despair only serve to cement it as possibly the greatest Greek Tragedy Anime of all time. There’s also the dynamic between Guts and Griffith in general, which is probably one of the most important elements of the story, but getting into that would be going WAY too heavy into spoilers, so check out Bennet the Sage’s review if you want to know more about that.. Berserk was originally available from Animeworks, with individual DVDs way back in the early to mid 2000s, and a thinpack that was released back in 2009, all of which are currently out of print, but the thin pack isn’t too expensive online, if you’re bent on owning it.. The follow-up movies are also fairly cheap on DVD, but the 2016 remake, which has just started hitting the shelves about a year ago, is still worth a pretty penny. The original manga is available from Dark horse, and yes, i know it’s just 39 volumes, I was kidding earlier. There are also a few video games, including titles for the Sega Dreamcast and the PS4. It’s frustrating to see just how close Berserk came to perfection. Much like the hero of any Greek tragedy, it came so close, only to fall to it’s own undisguised, insurmountable shortcomings. Like I said before, I don’t personally mind the cheap animation, but that doesn’t make it any less of a problem, and it was a driving force behind the demand for a reboot. The same could be said for it’s crippling lack of an ending, and while I think the way it wraps around to the prologue ultimately justifies it, I still completely understand how cheated some people feel over it(Unless the ending of the third Golden Age movie is manga accurate, in which case I can firmly say that I’m GLAD it cut off before reaching that shit). On it’s own, Berserk is still such a thrilling and engaging story that I sometimes have difficulty remember which episode I’m watching, as the story flows so naturally from moment to moment that my mind barely registers the episode breaks. I can’t call it perfect, but I can call it one of my favorites of all time. I give Berserk a 9/10.
“In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental being or law? At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will…” -The narrator/Void Berserk is an adaptation of the Golden Age arc of Berserk, and at its core, this arc is a tragedy. As such, in its nature, to properly tackle what makes it to effective as a tragedy, **I will spoil the series majorly.** The rest of you who know or don't care, band with me, brothers, as we remember this beautiful yet tragic tale… Medieval tales have almost always interested me. I went to medieval festivals in my youth about twice or thrice, and it was always fun, eating turkey legs, seeing jousts, getting a scar on my middle finger at a knife throwing booth...yeah, those were fun times. In World History, one of the most interesting time periods was the High Middle Ages period. Not to say this is my favorite thing to explore, I prefer full blown modern warfare stories and World War history even more, by this has always been interesting to me. One such series has been the pinnacle of greatness in not only storytelling and character writing, but presenting this time period in a fantastical and fittingly brutal stage. Thus, we come to today’s topic: Berserk, or rather, the Studio OLM 1997 adaptation. Let us define what I mean by tragedy. I don't mean the Shakespearean kind about the main character falling from grace and dying thanks to circumstances related to a lesson for the audience, I mean the kind where, like the former example, we are told that the main character goes through hell, but instead of losing his life, it's about seeing how he became the man he is at the start of the series. Hence, episode 1, which has been widely called the weakest and only skippable episode of the show, is actually very necessary. This is a story of honor, deception, purpose, and death, like the time period it presents. I'm sure a number of you were puzzled when I called Episode 1 imperative to the viewing experience, as many people, especially popular reviewers, say to skip episode one. Yes, it only really becomes impactful in hindsight and it doesn’t really stack up to the rest of the series, but it serves an interesting utility that few first episodes serve. That’s why I say, watch it, since it frames the series in a completely different way. Rather than framing it as a simple war story that ends up having a brutal ending out of nowhere, it's one where you see how Guts became the man he is, and eventually you see his team and realize that he doesn't have that anymore, leaving you to speculate and hope that he left and that nothing terrible happened to them. Oh how brutally wrong we were, but like the series itself, how about we rewind a bit… 3 years ago, Guts takes out an infamous warrior and is now scouted by Griffith of the soon to be legendary Band of the Hawk. And now, a journey begins as these men get involved in the 100-year war between Midland and Tudor. The narrative might not seem all that impressive, and instead, rather rudimentary upon first glance, especially when you’re done with episode 1, but the story really unfolds thanks to its characters and how human they feel. Until the episode 10 mark, what keeps the first few episodes interesting is promise. They play hints at bigger plots through memorable exchanges, such as the freakishly intense battle between Guts and Co. and Nosferatu Zodd, a demon and how after Griffith is knocked out, he accidentally reveals a behelet, a sort of necklace we see Griffith show off to Guts in episode 4 after a fun little water fight. They foreshadow big twists and remind us of the tragedy ahead as we interact with these characters who not only behave realistically but either hang around as a general likable member who often has small spotlights in battle and/or one who slowly reveals important bits about himself over time, and while that part might seem basic and that even bad shows get that down, the only reason it truly works here is because of the humanization and harmony these characters all have, carrying us over until the second half of the show, where shit gets truly real. The first sign of trouble in terms of realizing the tragic route the series intends to go is when Guts overhears Griffith talking with the princess about a man’s dream and how he will only truly be friends with a man who also has a dream he will fight for. As a man who has only known borderline meaningless war, this sparks a flame of unease in Guts’ mind. Guts is a brilliant fighter and I love his struggles to fit in with the band and eventually, his quest to become his own man rather than just someone who fights for another’s dream, especially given what we already know about him, but not only does this pit in his stomach last, even after Guts defeats one last enemy commander and Casca and Co. captures a major castle in Tudor which causes an armistice to be held, but after one gloriously sad duel between Guts and Griffith, his journey begins, shocking and dismaying the band, but especially Griffith. Griffith has already been shown to be an ambitious but tragically sympathetic man who not only had fun and had a charismatic and borderline ethereal quality to him (which quickly made him a favorite of mine for a while), but one who found great interest in Guts, much like many of us did, but once his ambitions were somewhat fulfilled and Guts leaves, he loses his purpose and goes mad, coercing the princess into sex, whom he had many pleasant chats with and who admired and had a crush on him. The consequences are horrific, with him being tortured and stripped of even his muscles and ability to move properly for the most part. Then, we get his final decline in his humanity once after a brutal vision, he sacrifices his entire crew to the now awakened God Hand in order to become their leader. Episode 1 is the episode that plants this seed of doubt in our heads, but at the end of the day, it could only end in one way the more you think about it as you advance through the series, especially once you reach episode 22, which is when, after many moments of buildup via Zodd in episodes 6 and 16, demons start showing up and gathering to see the man with the Egg of the King, arriving before him and his now ravaged band after a one year time skip of them getting betrayed after Griffith’s capture. The ensuing spectacle of chaos, bloodshed, insanity, and screams is both horrifying and heartbreaking, as no matter what, we actually got to see so many of the Band of the Hawk interact not only in meaningfully dramatic ways, but in truly humanizing ways that made us care for each of them despite them not being that huge a developed presence such as Pippin, Rickert, Judeau, Gaston, and yes, even Corkus. They manage this through both amazing humanization and how they slowly reveal moments for some of these characters over time such as Corkus initially being a captain of his own bandit team, and Judeau not only being the competent knife-wielding heart of the group but also a man who wants to settle down and have his own business. While we’re at it, let’s get one last major character out of the way: Casca. She’s rather hard to stomach at first, being very, very bitchy and hateful towards Guts out of a combination of jealousy at his kinship with Griffith, but his general attitude and actions towards combat which make him come off as a deranged loose cannon to her. It’s only with her backstory that we see a more sympathetic side to her after she faints in battle over a combination of stress and fever, which Guts helps her through to nothing but scorn on her end. She eventually realizes her love for him, as he does for her, and it does come off as organic, luckily. If only she could get her temper and stress in check from time to time. While she may be my least favorite of the trio, she is still a great character with splendid development that I unfortunately can't help but downplay, which speaks volumes of how amazing Guts and Griffith are to me. Of course, this show isn’t perfect. Many of the villains are just hateful, one-dimensional, noblemen who scheme to get rid of Griffith for being a commoner, while the others are just asshole generals who never really get fleshed out. Not to mention that this show does get a bit carried away with the concept of rape, which can be a turnoff for many viewers, even if the main incident people point to is so effective in its usage that it's honestly praiseworthy. There are minor plot holes as well, such as how we never see how it was possible for Griffith to arrange a fake death and then kill all those who plotted against him in one fell swoop given that we are never given many pieces to really try to figure it out for ourselves, and we never know how Griffith got the ingredients for his switched drink, or how it got switched. Not to mention that beyond one post-credits scene that only shows that Guts did indeed escape the eclipse (which we never know how) and that he finally got the sword we see at the start of the series, the show just ends en medias res. Regardless, as a glorious tragedy and human story, this show shines exponentially. I guess this particular notion may seem iconoclast to some of you given that this anime is often considered to have mediocre at best production values. Well, that isn't really for any animation errors, but for the supposed lack of animation here. I admit, they take a fair share of shortcuts in the animation department, especially early on, and there are some things (like the waterfall in episode 20) that don't look very good. However, the character designs are fantastic and even when we see stills for a brief period used for a collision of something, they always manage to really sell the impact on those shots alone or use the animation to build up a massive impact as well. The artwork is stunning, as it's some of the most consistently detailed of any television production I have seen. Sometimes the movements in a fight can feel rather limited though. There are also slight bits of reused animation early on, which is always a sin, especially after the 80’s, but that goes away quickly, and there is plenty more animation than people give credit for. Another thing good about that is that sometimes they'll hold on one frame just long enough to let things sink in, such as Griffith’s distraught face in episode 19 after losing fights. Another huge reason I rank this section so highly is because this show has some of the best backgrounds I have ever seen, and I am convinced that each of those were not hand-drawn but hand-painted. You can see the luscious detail in each of these and they make perfect backdrops for any given situation. Studio OLM did a surprisingly good job with this one, and so did Kobayashi Productions for the luscious backgrounds. Berserk doesn't have a lot of tracks. Excluding the OP and ED, Berserk has a total of only 9 tracks, hence many of the more memorable tracks get repeated a lot. Even still, the OST by Susumu Hirasawa is among the best I've heard in a long, long time. “Earth” is such a lovely and uplifting tune that makes any triumphant scene 10 times more epic, and “Gatsu” is an amazingly somber and peaceful track that is always used at those calm and human moments to excellent effect. These two pieces alone are legendary, immortalized for how beautiful they are as the former becomes one of the most hopeful and uplifting pieces in the medium, while the latter is one of the most tranquil, etherial, and somber. What stands among them to complete this holy trinity of music is one of the most exhilarating and roar-inducing tracks ever conceived: “forces”! It makes these medieval fights that much more epic and just makes you want to let out a fucking warcry! Unfortunately, the OP and ED do not hold up at all. “Tell me why” by Penpals is laughable, full of quotable hilarious engrish and an opening guitar riff that is insanely off-key. It's certainly a fun song in its own right with tons of quotable lines, but it doesn't necessarily match the show and it probably was not meant to invoke any of this. The ED is also very forgettable, as if it were an afterthought. It's a tone-piece, sure, but nothing really noteworthy. The dub starts off shaky, and there are plenty of mediocre at best minor performances throughout, though luckily, the major characters are decent and some even improve. The only role I recognize is Mike Pollock (Eggman from Sonic) as General Adon, and he has arguably the best performance here. Steve Stanley does do a pretty good job at capturing Griffith entirely though, which is rather odd given that the acting isn't really that great on its own, but it just gels with Griffith so much. Overall, the dub is decent, especially for the time. Despite the first episode not being as incredible as the rest, this series was immensely enjoyable, partially thanks to the amazing OST and the surprisingly good action scenes, but mainly for the awesome cast of characters we embark on this journey with. Said journey makes it all the more depressing when we see everyone but the main trio die a horrific death as Guts and Casca are scarred for life being brutally killed. Berserk 1997 is a glorious and heart-wrenching tragedy, and one of the best stories I've seen in a good while. Its cast is beyond likable and it's nothing less than an epic of medieval proportions. It's surprisingly well put together for what I've heard, and you know what? This show deserves no less, for all of the reasons I mentioned above. Even if you are bothered by the kind of content this anime showcases, this classic is more than worth checking out for the characters and OST alone. It's an epic you won't soon forget. Well, with all that said, I bid you adieu.
#~~~_Berserk: The Golden Age_~~~# ~~~img500(https://i.imgur.com/UsGFF1K.png)~~~ I will try my best to keep spoilers at a minimum for this review. ___Nonetheless, if at all possible, I personally recommend jumping into Berserk while knowing as little as possible. Hence if you still know very little about Berserk overall, I probably recommend not even reading this review and to just dive in.___ __Again, there's really no in-depth spoilers, but I do talk about a lot of things I really love about Berserk 97 and Berserk in general which could very easily spoil the sort of nature of what this series is. So again, if you do still know nothing about Berserk whatsoever, just dive in and give it a try. ~~If you have a fondness for dark and gory action series, that is.~~__ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/ejzoSi0.png)~~~ Whether that's the 97 TV series *(the only TV anime that Berserk ever got, mind you),* the [2012 Golden Age movies](https://anilist.co/anime/10218/Berserk-The-Golden-Age-Arc-I--The-Egg-of-the-King/), the relatively recent [Berserk Musou](https://store.steampowered.com/app/502280/BERSERK_and_the_Band_of_the_Hawk/) game from Koei Tecmo, or hell, just the straight up undiluted [original manga](https://anilist.co/manga/30002/Berserk/) by [Kentaro Miura](https://anilist.co/staff/96868/Kentaro-Miura). Personally, I jumped straight into the manga because a friend had been recommending it to me for years and years. But literally __all__ I knew was that the main guy had a giant sword, and it was apparently quote, ___"super fucked up."___ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/mVahNpZ.png)~~~ _The VERY first scene of the entire manga. With no explanation or context, of course._ And of course when I finally gave the manga a shot in very late 2015, I ended up catching up to the current chapters in a matter of days. And then after a brief recovery period, I proceeded to give the anime a try, confident that since I had already read the manga, the effects would have been diminished... on the second go... ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/EJ7n9Un.gif)~~~ _They weren't._ ...And thus, Berserk was my true yet incredibly rough start in anime and manga. ~~By rough, I mean, there's clearly a reason I don't see many other people who say "oh yeah I started right out of the gate with fucking Berserk."~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/5b5T4z0.png)~~~ ___ #The Best Anime *(And Sole TV)* Adaptation of Berserk# ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/USl2MEv.png)~~~ I think it goes without saying that Berserk 97 is even far more appreciated than ever before due to the last couple of years. The Golden Age films in 2012 by Studio 4°C was the first Berserk adaptation since the [Japan only PS2 game in 2004](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserk:_Millennium_Falcon_Hen_Seima_Senki_no_Sh%C5%8D). I to this day would still argue that the Golden Age movies are just _fine._ ~~Specifically the [third one.](https://anilist.co/anime/12115/Berserk-The-Golden-Age-Arc-III--The-Advent/) The third one is by far the best.~~ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/ViXdumH.gif)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/kL7mtkl.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/uBn3z0f.png)~~~ Sure, they cut out a whole bunch more than the original anime did due to the much shorter length in comparison... Sure, the CG leaves quite a bit to be desired... And sure, it isn't new. It covers only a couple new bits that the 97 anime didn't. ~~Meanwhile cutting a bunch of other stuff the 97 anime did.~~ We don't see much of any of the arc that is to follow chronologically. Weirdly enough on the other hand, the 97 anime actually gives us a sneak peek at least of that part of Guts' life. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/1xPelpC.png)~~~ ___ #The First Episode# ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/GM23H3E.png)~~~ This is a very worthy thing to discuss while reviewing Berserk 97. As I've seen more than a few others to suggest if you watch Berserk 97 to skip the first episode entirely or watch it only after the other 24 episodes. While I can understand the idea, I am staunchly upon the side of watching the first episode and watching it first. Like I really, really, ___really___ love the first episode. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/84boGyV.png)~~~ And I'm not saying that solely because none of the Black Swordsman arc has ever been animated beyond this single episode. I really view the first episode as just a wonderful way to set up the rest of the anime. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/KJ1zhDd.png)~~~ Apart... from a single line that really makes no sense in the grand scheme of things and just feels like something they just threw in there because they had no idea of where the manga was gonna go at the time. ~!img440(https://i.imgur.com/p7cH8iH.png) Granted, this line can easily be overlooked. So much so that I completely forgot about its existence until I rewatched this with a friend.!~ We just start out with this gloomy looking character who very quickly proves that if you cross him, you're probably going to end up having a heap of raw iron slamming through your midsection. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/m2SbG7U.png)~~~ He's on a journey but we of course at the time have no idea what the purpose of said journey is. But we continue to be fed more hints as we're shown him suffering from strange and creepy visions of strange beings and he's being haunted by spirits that claim that this man's flesh is *theirs.* ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/lE75BKl.png)~~~ His blood, his flesh, his bones, his agony, his sadness, his *fear.* ___Everything.___ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/l3w2Zuq.png)~~~ But while this is happening when Guts is just trying to take a fucking nap after walking and killing all day, we are also introduced to very odd and very evil looking Baron. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/JkjtA4c.png)~~~ Who, if I'm speaking honestly here, is a very underrated character as far as the whole of Berserk goes. Sure when you get down to it, he's really just a cannibalistic evil Baron who also happens to be a Snake Apostle. But I fucking love that very first battle of Guts against the Snake Baron. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/knYNrTf.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/NQ7GNwk.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/0wwbVEF.png)~~~ Guts _isn't_ a hero. Guts isn't even particularly a good person. Before this journey we join him in the middle of, he's gone through no short amount of hell to transform into this walking whirlwind of hatred and pure viscera. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/xAlAPnx.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/2ktRbgC.png)~~~ He's the walking tatters of a human being who is now living a life of throwing himself into one hellish battle against monsters after the other, and he can't even get a goddamned night's rest because the nightmares and the spirits will haunt him the moment he shuts his one remaining good eye. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/Bk9s5bv.png)~~~ This is why the first episode of Berserk 97 and the Black Swordsman arc of the original manga worked so much for me. Because I was absolutely riveted and excited to see what fucking happened to result in the creation of a person just so irreparably fucked up. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/BBC19P0.png)~~~ ~~Disclaimer, this is actually from Lost Children but chronologically it's still Black Swordsman Guts. Miura's art has just improved 100% since the last time he drew him.~~ Ah... the first episode... it was effectively dark, grim, and I genuinely loved the battle scene. The voices of the spirits haunting Guts were appropriately demonic, mocking, and scary... and Guts' screams were pained and full of fear... Oh how I wish I could enter a portal to the parallel universe where Pokémon ___failed___ so [Oriental Light and Magic](https://anilist.co/studio/28/Oriental-Light-and-Magic) instead went on with making the fabled and nonexistent Berserk season 2. ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/FkibCel.png)~~~ ___ #The Golden Age# ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/lu4I8WW.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/97jvGHd.png)~~~ How many times have I gone through the Golden Age now? The manga, the anime, the 2012 movies, the anime again _(with a friend)..._ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/hYw0QoI.png)~~~ ...the manga again, the manga a third time _(physical reread)_ and the Berserk Musou game ~~though it primarily uses scenes from the movies for the Golden Age section.~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/Du8bA7f.png)~~~ That's at least seven times. I think the Golden Age is probably one of the more common favorite arcs among Berserk fans. Personally, it's not my favorite... actually, while I'm thinking about it: ~!Conviction (aka the Lost Children chapter specifically) > Black Swordsman > Golden Age > Falcon of the Millennium Empire > Fantasia ___(SO FAR)___ ~~Course, that's just me. I know it's probably fucking considered sacrilege by plenty to rank the Black Swordsman that high but hey a lot of the shit I love about Berserk was established there. AND I'M STILL DYING TO KNOW WHO IS GONNA END UP GETTING THE COUNT'S BEHELIT. IT'S BEEN OVER TWENTY FUCKING YEARS BUT SOMEONE'S GETTING THAT GODDAMNED THING.~~ ~~___MIURA PLEASE.___~~ img(https://i.imgur.com/Tt8orKa.png)!~ However, no matter what way you slice it, the Golden Age is really where Berserk starts. ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/rSqrAAA.jpg)~~~ And I have no doubts that if Miura was given the opportunity to just instantly and effortlessly redo Berserk, he would probably make that so since he now obviously knows where he was gonna take the story. But of course if you remove the Black Swordsman arc where he was still just feeling around, would it even still be Berserk? ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/Fv8IO5T.png)~~~ ~~I've genuinely over the years read multiple people making the argument to outright skip to like the end of volume 3 of the manga. Again, I kind of get the reasoning as far as the first episode of Berserk 97 goes, but *come on.* Please read the manga in order...~~ Hence my whole prior diatribe on the idea of skipping the first episode. It's important to have that... peek, into the things that are gonna come into Guts' life down the road. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/Zsj1uvd.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/8nNB0zE.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/J9vBIF7.png)~~~ And mind you, that very first peek the anime offers you is a whole lot less extensive than the manga's. Really still leaves you wondering how in the hell episode 1 is gonna relate to the rest. Because the Golden Age is just more or less on the surface medieval action. ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/ED8KgRQ.jpg)~~~ It's still the world of Berserk though so it's still dark and bloody and gritty, but you're still really wondering where and when the giant snake monsters are going to come back into play. I know I went all in on talking about the first episode, but... I actually don't want to talk too much about the Golden Age itself. And I know what the header at the top of this review says. It didn't say *The Black Swordsman*, it said *The Golden Age.* ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/OmTqRC6.jpg)~~~ But after experiencing the Golden Age as many times as I have (still nowhere near as many times as the Berserk fans from before I joined the ranks, I reckon), I now see Golden Age as the heart of Berserk. Because again, that's really where it all began. That's where this saga that's been running for over thirty years begun. ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/AnSwcNM.jpg)~~~ ___ #The Soundtrack# Before we wrap up here, you probably already saw this coming as it's not at all the first time I've said it but: #__[Susumu Hirasawa](https://anilist.co/staff/100750/Susumu-Hirasawa) is a musical god.__# ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/0GWvtXI.jpg)~~~ Nine tracks. Eleven if you count Tell Me Why by Penpals and Waiting So Long by Silverfins. - Tell Me Why *(even the people who describe this as terrible still fucking remember it. I unironically fuckin' love it.)* - Waiting So Long *(___GRIFFITH'S FACE.___)* But only nine by Susumu Hirasawa himself. - Behelit *(fucking haunting and probably one of my secondary favorites)* - Ghosts *(literally only used in the first episode and it hurts)* - Ball *(obviously the weakest but it's fine for what it's for)* - Guts *(it's been twenty two years and Guts still has no better theme. ~~Hai Yo? Nah.~~)* - Murder *(the absolute fucking stuff of nightmares)* - Fear *(appropriately named and makes the entrance of certain characters all the more terrifying)* - Monster *(again, appropriately named. Zodd the Immortal!)* - Earth *(one of the less dark or ominous tracks, still very very good)* - Forces *(__HAI YAI FORCES, HAI YAI FORCES__)* __And none of them ever got old.__ Which is fucking amazing because I remember hearing ~~Gattsu~~ Guts and like Behelit *SO MANY TIMES.* And my absolute favorite one which is appropriately titled Murder is probably one of the darkest things I've ever heard off of any soundtrack of anything. It is... the section of the series it goes to *incarnate.* It's just absolute madness and despair and *oh christ.* That's not even to put down what's probably the favorite of the majority of fans. img(https://i.imgur.com/zUN3gZl.png) And apart from the ending previews that plays at the end of episodes, I only remember Forces playing a couple of episodes. And yet even though I said Murder's my favorite, Forces is still probably the one I've listened to the most what with the various remixes and like also the [original song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAM_fhwv3gU) that he turned into Forces with his *goddamned sorcery...* #___If Susumu Hirasawa is not a 100% confirmed musical god, then he is at the very least an ageless music sorcerer, and I hope he makes music forever.___# ~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-et_5qY46rQ)~~~ ___ #Conclusion# Berserk 1997 is a __8.5 out of 10__ or __85 out 100.__ And I don't think there's a lot of room to argue against it being the best anime adaptation of the manga that currently exists at the time of this review. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/OfHWoXS.png)~~~ ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/aoNxbS4.png)~~~ The Golden Age movies have their charm for sure, but 1997 still presents a more complete version of the Golden Age. Sure, the movies expand a little bit past the infamous ending of 1997, but I personally love that ending a whole lot more. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/1WLcN0q.png)~~~ To very briefly and loosely go a bit more specific on things that get cut out: ~!__Both:__ The Kushan (Silat appears in the movies, but the rest don't), the Black Dog Knights, Wyald. The focus for both is the Golden Age, but I'm still gonna include The Count. Granted, he appeared in the actual Eclipse for both. __1997:__ Puck and the Skull Knight. Oh yeah, I remember there being also this weird filler episode with Adon where he's just fucking around for some reason? None of that ever happened in the manga. It just made Adon even more of a clown character rather than a clownish scumbag. The actual moment where Skull Knight bursts into the Eclipse to save Guts and Casca. A very big moment to not include, but can you honestly tell me a better "read the manga" ending than that? Especially since the first thing you see when the ED comes up is Griffith's fucking smiling face. They __had__ to have known what they were doing. __Golden Age movies:__ Snake Baron (including his appearance in the Golden Age). Rosine's Golden Age appearance along with The Count when they spook Rickert. The Queen of Midland's plot to kill Griffith. The Bonfire of Dreams. Gaston's death. Judeau's last words. They include a moment where Guts almost actually strikes Femto/Griffith. Godo. Most of Guts' childhood. There is a very brief flash of the most infamous moment from his childhood in the movies, but the 97 series actually included Guts killing his adoptive father. They include Serpico and Farnese when they didn't need to... and probably more I'm not remembering off the top of my head. Again, this actually is straight from the top of my head. I could be misremembering some of these. The Golden Age is almost fucking seared into the back of my skull at this point.!~ Anyways, yeah. I still love Berserk 1997 to death and still view it as one of the best Berserk adaptations. I mean, it's not perfect of course, but it could certainly be worse. Still... I'm really wondering when we're going to get a new proper TV anime... it's been twenty two years already... ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/IphrWO7.png)~~~
One of the best-selling and most popular manga in Japan, Berserk is perhaps the quintessential action fantasy title. Placed in a medieval setting, it tells the story of Guts, a powerful swordsman who carries a sword that’s as big as he is. The anime focuses on his time spent in the mercenary guild, The Band of the Hawk, and his relationships with the members of the guild during the period of The Hundred Year War. Though the premise itself is straightforward, it is the story that helps Berserk become something truly gripping, allowing Berserk to shine amongst its peers. Arguably the greatest strength of the show is found in its characters. Guts, the protagonist of the tale, first appears as a swordsman with a simple ideology: swing your sword and win battles. But over the course of the show, his character opens to reveal a life riddled with misery and a desire for something more purposeful. These developments are aided by his time interacting with members of the Band of the Hawk, most notably Griffith and Casca. In sharp contrast to Guts’ role as a wandering mercenary, Griffith is a shrewd man with grandiose ambitions. A man born as a commoner, he wishes to have his own kingdom despite the resistance of the nobility. He’s a charismatic individual, playing a variety of roles to accomplish good standings with others while simultaneously concocting the most devious of schemes. Casca is a female knight who forfeited her feminine side to show strength on and off the battlefield. Despite this, she holds Griffith in great regard due to his leadership and for teaching her the importance of fighting during their first encounter. Though many other characters are important to the Band of the Hawk, such as the wise-beyond-his-years Judeau or the snarky Corkus, they are often limited to supporting roles for the 3 characters listed prior. That said, the dynamic range in character growth these three have over the course of the series is astounding. What is thought to be certain can change over a single battle or dialogue, as the characters realize the feelings and hopes of one another. Loyalty and love can be easily traded for betrayal and hatred and vice-versa. Medieval settings are seen quite often in fantasy works, most notably in the isekai trend. It’s a simple setting that opens a lot of opportunity for exploration and world-building. Sadly, it seems to have fallen out of favor with audiences as it has become clichéd. Too many shows have come out with this setting and submit to the usual tropes that were better suited in the role-playing games of old. While Berserk does not eschew these elements completely, it uses them in a much more appropriate way by showcasing the brutality of yesteryear. Several battles are fought over the course of the anime, with seemingly insurmountable odds needing to be overcome by the rogue mercenaries. It is the cunning tactics of their leader Griffith and the strength of their commanders that allow them to be seen as a threat to even the strongest of armies. Yet even during these fights, an ominous atmosphere hangs over the cast. Secret ploys and a slow unveiling of the show’s fantasy themes often make it so there is never a point of safety. These additional burdens serve to further strengthen the cast, allowing them to realize not everything is as it seems. These properties made the show a joy to watch and I was always eager to see what would happen next for the cast of characters. Perhaps the greatest part lies in the show’s twists and turns as a result of these conflicts. Even when things seem to border on ridiculous, there is an organic flow to how events transpire. Characters act accordingly and no one ever says or does anything that would betray their own character – they merely adjust to the current events with a new perspective. Perhaps the opening is true, with its solemn statement of “man having no control, even over his own will” – they are actors in a cruel and barbaric play, forced to adapt to what the script demands. Though the story and characters are rich with complexity and intrigue, I do have some problems with the tale. A very minor one is found in the battles midway through the anime. Though there is some satisfaction to be had seeing Guts massacre a horde of enemy troops, it can occasionally get tiring. Obviously, it is required to continually build up the reputation of the swordsman, as well as provide a harder hitting introspection later in the series, but the “kill ‘em all” approach over an excess of time can become a bit tiresome. Perhaps this could be tied to the animation, as in a manga format, this wouldn’t be as problematic. A more major concern is one that will put me at opposition with the core fans of the series: it’s supernatural themes. Most of the series is that of medieval warfare and customs, with the character’s motivations and ideals serving as an interesting clash to otherwise tired clichés. However, by the end, the fantasy elements become very prevalent, serving to shock the viewer similarly to titles such as End of Evangelion. Though it perhaps is hypnotically horrifying to the fans, I personally do not care for it. Even so, I will admit it is necessary for the story, as the foreshadowing and direction of the story could only lead it in that direction. One element that may be dividing is in the animation. The studio OLM (most famous for their works on the Pokemon series) is behind this production and unfortunately does not show the detail or fluidity that many would hope for in the adaptation. Examples of this can be found in the action scenes, where the intensity is represented by a single drawn frame. That said, it would be hard to show the level of detail that is found in the manga in an animated form for such a studio, so I find the work to be at the very least serviceable. I adore the cel animation and find its desaturated colors to work in the favor of the show’s overall dark and gritty environment. The characters can look a bit off in mid-range or faraway shots, but closeup have good multi-tone shading and detail to give striking character profiles. Though the anime did not receive the greatest production for its time, it still holds a consistent quality through its 25 episodes. Despite the limits of the animation, the sound for the anime is superb. Each seiyuu displays a wonderful breadth of emotions for their characters, from their sorrow to their rage. More key is the OST that provides backing for the adventures of the Band of the Hawk. Each piece provides a mystical quality that entangles the viewer deeper into the story, evoking emotion when the animation cannot. Perhaps the definitive piece is “Gats”, or Guts’ theme. A heartbreaking piece for piano and vocal, it expresses the introspection and the passion of the main characters. The female vocal wails like a siren luring sailors to their death, while the harrowing cry of the male vocal is a haunting yet lachrymose beauty. In sharp contrast, opening “Tell me Why” by PENPALS is a delirious alternative rock anthem. An off-key guitar solo gives way to a slacker vocal delivery that speaks in freeform, stream-of-conscious “Engrish”. It is as disjointed as it is catchy. Even if there’s no relation to the anime promoted, there is a strange bond formed between them. The iconic opening 4 beats will forever be tied to that burning picture of Guts and the many travails he undergoes. Though not as iconic, other pieces like “Behelit” provide a sinister tone to provide mysticism to this dark fable, while ED “Waiting so Long” is a gothic release to the agonizing events in each episode. Overall, I give Berserk a 7.5/10. Berserk is a tale of determination. It is a tale of iron-clad grit in the toughest of conditions. It is brutal and soul-crushing, yet also sweet and sensitive when it needs to be. Regardless on your feelings of its setting or animation, I would advise anyone to at least watch a few episodes to see its strengths in story and characters. Those that already are looking for a dark fantasy or medieval show should definitely watch it, if they haven’t already. Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review. Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
Why is Berserk perfect? Well to start it doesn't care to dance around harsh subjects or deeper topics. Things that lesser anime would take time to develop and establish Berserk just outright asks you a philosophical question before the goddamned opening. A question no human is able to answer. After that it moves on to the opening which can be perfectly summized as the best and worst thing that has ever happened as background footage of mass suicide gets thrown on screen with complete disregard for the readiness of those watching. Others may call this careless, I call it a great way to curate the audience. Berserk doesn't waste it's time over explaining things for the viewers in ways other anime does. People are able to tell whether or not they will enjoy their time watching the show within the first 5 minutes or less. This is all without having even gotten into an episode yet. Chances are if you're here you don't need a summary of the entire series plus an hour long rundown of my life story so to get to the point let's talk about things people don't like about Berserk and why I think they shouldn't be seen as negatives. Much like the opening to the show a lot of what is seen can be interpreted as dogshit to put it bluntly. However upon closer inspection I think you'll be able to find the reasons psychos like me love this show BECAUSE of it's "flaws". To start how about the sound track? Well you should know it's one of the best sound tracks to an anime I've ever heard. On par with the likes of AoT except Berserk only uses two damn songs. The animation can only be described as the highest quality power point presentation I've ever seen. The art looks like it was copied and pasted straight from the Manga because it probably was. The voice acting sounds real like the actors convincing me that these characters exist. This amalgamation of so-called "flaws" is bound to turn most people off, but perhaps for a reason I can't properly explain I seem to have fallen in love with it. Berserk is honestly a gift to humanity in the same way it is a blight on the face of the Earth. Just as many people I talk to seem to hate the series as much as others love it. It has somehow found this harmony within the universe that I couldn't imagine was possible. On another, more serious note. I noticed on repeat viewings you can actually end up sympathizing and changing your stances on the different characters. When I first watched this show I had thought it was pretty black and white with a "good and evil" type deal. Their motivations and actions can paint a different picture when you tackle this show from a different angle, and it's one of the reasons I love to rewatch it so much. TLDR: I could never properly explain my love for Berserk. Is it some transcendental entity or law forcing me to rave about it? Is it like the hand of God choosing what I like? All I know is I have no control, even over my own review.
Due to double friend recommendation, both claiming this to be best anime ever, and seeing most top reviews being 10/10, it's fair to say I had high expectations. Not too high though as I'm generally not very fond of the style of old shows, especially ones old enough to be in 4:3 aspect ratio. I was also told not to watch this in fast forward (advice I gave up on halfway through) and to watch series rather than movies as all the extra details are important to the experience. Rest of the review will contain spoilers. It was watchable for the most part but overall I can't say I liked it. Especially with the way it started improving in the second half I expected at least the ending part to make it all worth it, only for the ending to go batshit insane with what I percieve as torture gorn porn that has no real relevance to the plot. The same theme could have been communicated without all that. Good writing should be about me experiencing the psychological trauma of the character and empathise with it without the need to actually visually see the characters literally tortured for like an hour of my time, an hour I'll never get back. From my understanding, it's a story about following one's own dream versus getting subsumed by someone else's. Or rather a story about consequence of following someone else's dream, and also about how people with greatest power get there by stepping on the corpses of others, using them for their own gain and discarding them when they're finished. I guess this could be considered a deconstruction of the shonen trope of being happy and finding life purpose in merely being a useful tool for someone else. Since this is a staple of japanese culture, it could be considered a criticism of this aspect of culture as well. But unless I completely missed the mark on what this show is about, I'm finding that it does a pretty poor job of doing that. Sure it does it, but it just shows it, gruesomely, with what feels like an excuse for having power fantasy character rack up several thousand kills. Something that just doesn't feel like it belongs with the chosen artstyle and setting which feel all gritty nitty realistic. I suppose this was seen as a good thing since it might have been the first show to merge shounen like power fantasy tropes with realistic middle age setting, subcomunicating that these tropes are legit adult tropes, not only something for children to enjoy. Berserk might be trying too hard to make itself not-a-shounen, perhaps that's what explains all the excessive gore? Experience wise show is best watched at 1.6-2x speed, especially for the modern viewer that has a huge backlog that's only getting bigger, as Berserk is just unbearably slow for the most of its progression and often feels like watching still frames of manga presented on screen. Some of the music is really good and atmospheric, but that means little with show being unwatchable at 1x speed. Some of the still art and framing is pretty decent in a timeless way but that's the best that can be said about visuals. I liked some of the military tactics subplots, which were probably the highlight of the show, though they were just good, not really amazing. I see one of the top reviews suggesting that theme of Berserk is "What are you living for? This is the question posed by Berserk, pitting humanistic free will against nihilistic predestination." Of course that nihilistic view would be bad in every conceivable way, what's there to explore? What are we living for? Guts was living to kill people, it's all he knew how to do, and never thought to try anything else. Show doesn't paint this as a bad thing or even really question it. Griffith just lives to gain power, he suffers a lot and then succeeds, kinda turning evil and sacrificing everyone and everything in the process, and isn't shown regretting it, but is instead shown savoring it. What? Wow. Such exploration of life's purpose. Exploring free will in itself would be an excellent theme, but I saw no exploration of that. There was some demons yelling some nonsense that all is predetermined and all struggles are in vain and such but it's not like that was ever explored in any meaningful way, nor confirmed or disconfirmed. Any actual point raised by determinism doesn't even get a passing mention, not even metaphorically. You'd think that'd be relevant if theme is free will and destiny. I hoped reading top 4 MAL reviews would explain what's good about this show, what it was that I missed, and was disappointed to find they didn't explain anything but gush about liking the tangible details such as setting and characters and philosophy etc... nothing substantial. I'm lead to conclusion that this is a show that aged like milk, show that has been cool in its time for being different and appealed to an aging demographic that grew up on shonens and was craving something in this genre (at least partially) but with a more serious and mature tone. edit: One reader reached out to me pointing out that I'm trying to find a theme in an incomplete story, where anime kinda focuses on the 3rd arc instead of starting properly from the beginning. I was definitely under a wrong impression in this regard, so my take on it isn't exactly fair towards source material given this. But I'll leave the review as it is, since it still paints my subjective experience of this single anime season on its own.
La adaptación de 1997 de Berserk lamentablemente ha tenido una mala fama por la popularidad y alabanzas al manga (el cual no he leído), pero como material individual esta adaptación esta llena de calidad. En primera hablar del apartado técnico, es bastante bueno, la animación pese a lo limitada que llega a ser esta se las ingenia para no ser tan estática, ademas compensa con un gran nivel de ilustración. El apartado sonoro es simplemente magnifico, no solo por lo buenas que son las canciones, sino también el como las aprovecha y lo que significan para la serie, como el tema de Guts que representa bien la melancolía del personaje; o el tema de Behelit que representa lo místico, raro y hasta tétrico del objeto. Hablando mas de la trama obviamente lo mas resaltante es el trio protagónico y sus interacciones, Guts es un hombre que ha sufrido demasiada mierda durante su infancia, nació de un cadaver, tuvo que ayudar en el campo de batalla a muy temprana edad, tuvo que matar a la única persona en la que confiaba, tuvo que criarse solo con el unico objetivo de sobrevivir, hasta que conoce a la banda del halcón y conoce a Griffith, un hombre carismático, fuerte, inteligente y lomas resaltante de este, un hombre con un sueño, sumado al sentimiento de compañerismo y responsabilidad que le ofrece el grupo, Guts se termina quedando en el grupo. Varios años después la banda consigue el respeto de un rey que estaba en plena guerra, y aquí es cuando apreciamos la interacción de Guts y Casca, ambos personajes pese que comparten el mismo grupo y deseo de servir a Griffith, ambos tienen distintas personalidades, siendo Guts mas agresivo y descuidado y Casca siendo mas seria y ¨protectora¨, siendo dos personajes que estan en constante discusión, hasta que en una batalla en la que terminan separándose del grupo, ambos empieza a abrirse y conocerse mas íntimamente, y poco a poco empiezan a enamorarse gradualmente, complementándose el uno al otro. El desarrollo de ambos se da de manera gradual y terminan siendo personajes completamente diferentes a los de su punto de partida, como Casca la cual fue vendida a un hombre que intento violarla, pero después de ser ayudada por Griffith y la banda del halcon, decide unirse a esta y poniendo su felicidad por debajo de la utilidad que le puede ofrecer a Griffith, pero cuando mas interactua con Guts esta en la parte final duda si seguir al hombre que admira, o al hombre que ama, decidiéndose por el amor, por fin teniendo autonomía. El desarollo de Guts en cambio es muchisimo mas complejo, despues de todo lo que sufrio tomo un caracter distante y cerrado hasta que se une a la banda y consigue respeto, una responsabilidad y lo mas importante, compañeros, cosas nuevas para Guts, pero eran cosas que apreciaba mucho, no le importaba morir por Griffith si es que aun estuviera en la banda, pero es cuando despues de matar a alguien por Griffith, Guts accidentalmente escucha esto del mismo Griffith: ¨Desde mi punto de vista un verdadero amigo no se encuentra atado a los sueños de otros. Una persona con el potencial para ser mi amigo debe ser capaz de encontrar su propia razón de vida sin mi ayuda¨, y este se da cuenta, que nunca ha tenido un sueño, el unico objetivo que ha tenido fue el sobrevivir antes de conocer a la banda del halcon, Guts empieza una etapa de reflexion en la que se cuestiona ¨¿cual es el sentido de mi vida?¨, entonces este decide irse de la banda del halcon, decide salir de su zona de confort para buscar su propio significado, el para en un lugar en donde viven un herrero y una niña, en donde se queda a entrenar mientras reflexiona, el herrero le dice que el no es un herrero porque quiera, sino porque es lo unico que sabe hacer, Guts cuestiona las palabras, y de casualidad se encuentra con Casca y la banda, los cuales enstan en un estado deplorable, interactua un poco con Casca y decide ayudarlos a rescatar a Griffitg, y es despues de eso, despues de todo eso, se dio cuenta que en la banda estaba todo lo que buscaba, compañeros, verdaderos amigos, gente que lo respeta y quiere, alcanzando la felicidad por fin. Si han leido bien he mencionado a Griffith varias veces, y cuando lo menciono cuando hablo de Casca y Guts este tiene el mismo rol, es como una blanca ave que ayuda dos personas miserables, las dota de poder y respeto, pero cuando ellos lo abandonan consiguen la felicidad y sueños los cuales cumplir, porque realmente todo lo que acabo de decir es una simple fachada para ocultar al oscuro cuervo que porta el casco como lider de la banda del halcon, porque eso es Griffith, una persona falsa, todo lo que le ofrecio a Guts y Casca solo fueron simples regalos para que lo ayuden a cumplir su objetivo, porque eso es lo unico que le imposta a Griffith, su propio objetivo, y no le importa a quien tenga que sacrificar o que es lo que tiene que hacer para alcanzarlo, ya que el sin su objetivo, no es nada y nadie, y a traves de su carisma, intimidacion e inteligencia logra obtener aliados y deshacerse de sus enemigos rapidamente, todo para Griffith era facil hasta que Guts abandono a la banda del halcon, ya que apate de su objetivo, Guts era la unica cosa que le importaba, ya que este era la unica persona a la cual Griffith pudo ver como un verdadero amigo, asique despues de su partida, Griffith quedo destrozado, y por una mala desicion termina encarselado torturado. Despues de que Guts, Casca y los demas lo rescataran, este se dio cuenta que los papeles se habian invertido para el, ahora Guts era el que tenia todo y el nada, pero lo peor es que Guts no solo tenia todo, sino que tambien cumplio su sueño, y por eso Griffith se quiebra aun mas, hasta que ocurre el eclipse, a Griffith le conseden la oportunidad de cumplir su deseo, acosta de la vida de sus compañeros, Griffith lo cuestiona hasta que en una alusinacion, se dio cuenta que despues de todo lo que habia hecho, despues de construir su camino de cadaveres, ya no podia volver atras, ya no podia redimirce, y por ende, acepta. Y la serie termina alli, sip, no les estoy jodiendo, unos monstruos matan a la banda, griffith viola a Casca en frente de Guts, y despues nos vamos al capitulo uno, en donde Guts anda matando monstruos y la serie termina de forma abrupta e inconclusa, siendo esto el mayor defecto de la obra. Los demas personajes en cambio son mucho menos interesantes que el trio protagonico, pero no resultan ser malos personajes ya que estos agregan al conflicto y arcos de desarrollo de los protagonistas, como Judeau que sirve como una especie de apoyo emocional para Casca y Guts, personajes como Corkus agregan otra vision sobre basar tu vida en el servir a Griffith, ya que este solo se conforma con lo que le da Griffith en vez de buscar su propio objetivo. Los de la realeza son personajes mucho mas simples, pero que igualmente tienen una personalidad definida y cumplen un rol en la obra. Como habran leido mayormente los arcos y roles de los personajes tienen que ver con el tema de los sueños y ambiciones, ya que estos dependen emocionalmente de estos, a traves de este elemento la obra se explaya en varios temas como la determinacion, la ambicion, la superacion personal, el amor, la codicia, la lujuria y de cierta forma el comportamiento del ser humano. La obra deja en claro la importancia de los objetivos, pero tambien la de as relaciones humanas y la importancia de estas. El ritmo de la obra es acorde, nunca va o demasiado lento o demasiado rapido, las batallas son freneticas y cuentan con una decente accion, en cuanto a la trama ¨politica¨ esta bien llevada, con diferentes planes para matar a Griffith, y con planes para matar a los de la realeza para que Griffith escale aun mas en esta. Sin lugar a dudas Berserk pese a su problema con el final, es una obra excelente en todo aspecto, in lugar a dudas una obra que supero mi expectativas con excelentes personajes junto a buenas reflexiones y mensajes, no me cabe duda que es una gran obra y una muy subestimada simplemente porque no es el manga, pero incluso sin serlo tiene un gran merito y una muy buena calidad. __8/10__
Of all the big , beloved manga series, Berserk was always right up there for me for ones that I felt sceptical about the prospect of there being a faithful and great anime adaptation, just because of well, everything about it. The combination of insanely brutal and intense imagery, a clever, nuanced plot where almost nothing can be cut out and still give the same effect, the slower, more methodical pacing it often takes, the obscenely incredible manga artwork, it all just seems like the sort of thing that would make any adaptation strongly pale in comparison. With all this said, I was very pleasantly surprised with how this was handled to the point where I consider it genuinely worthwhile. Watching this reminded me yet again about how well-written practically every aspect of this series is, with everything being carefully considered, either to further push forward strong character development, or one of the many aspects that all culminate in pushing the plot along and justifying what occurs. This careful attention to each minute detail is a large reason why this series works so well, animated or in its manga, as anything that happens will have some significant ramifications down the line and provides a constant sense of intrigue. The characters are easily Berserk's strongest asset to me, managing to be both simple and easy to understand on the outside, yet having great deals of depth to both their motivations and philosophies on the world, with these aspects of themselves always being reflected in the actions they take. This is especially impressive to all watch unfold as these characters gradually warp and have their beliefs challenged throughout, the series never content with simply taking things for granted, instead going the extra mile to better define why these people are who they are, and what causes them to make the choices they do. This culminates in every action being easily justifiable from that particular character's point of view without the need to make any leaps in logic or attribute anything to a mere plot convenience for it all to work out, which becomes more admirable the longer this goes on and the crazier things get. While some people have criticised the art and animation of this, pointing out the obviously low budget and limited animation used during even most of the more action packed scenes, strangely enough it feels as if it works rather effectively here. The character designs themselves are rather appealing for the most part and feel as if they gradually shift over time, particularly with Griffith, who's desperation and increasingly overt megalomaniacal nature is excellent. The changes are subtle enough that it's not instantly noticeable, but over time, many of his friendly looking features morph into someone with a much colder, scarier demeanour as his quest for power turns into a battle full of deceit, treachery and brutality on all sides. Furthermore, the more limited nature of the animation ends up matching the manga's tone rather nicely, everything feeling much slower and more methodical, as opposed to long stretches of high octane action or anything similar, most fights ending in only a couple sword strikes, ultimately highlighting that the characters for the most part are still nothing more than humans, no matter how powerful they may seem. Despite how much greatness is carried over to this adaptation, it's not really perfect either. Just as with the manga, I feel like to get the true experience of Berserk, you need to skip that prologue, in this case, episode 1, as it makes a lot of the ensuing events far more impactful as a result of not knowing what's to come. Furthermore, this opening episode is honestly not too great in general, feels way too slow-paced and doesn't capture most of what makes this series as wonderful as it is, instead feeling like a far more generic fantasy story. It's also really only after the 5th episode that things really get going in general either, as while the stuff to come before is largely competent and sets the stage well, it ends up being a bit dry for the most part as it's right before the main plot points that act as a driving force come into play. Similarly, while the last 6 episodes are excellent in a lot of respects, it definitely feels rushed with how much it left out, even leaving a couple of key plot points that are some of the most pivotal character moments of all, making these last few episodes feel as if they stagnate a bit in certain respects, despite the fact that so much still gets accomplished. The ending of this further solidifies this for me, as the abrupt cliffhanger it leaves the viewer on makes it feel as if the people working on this ended up running out of time and money and had to skim past a lot of parts of things just to ensure that enough was put down to make for a half-decent way to close things off. I think that this all would have worked out much better if this had just ended a bit earlier and spent the time to further develop this part of the show, rather than actually cutting to the intense buildup to the massive event that occurs, would have made for a far more suspenseful and effective execution of this I think, giving more breathing room to truly make that first part of the plot feel like even more of a masterpiece. Hypothetically if this ended up getting another season, it would have given the part of the golden age arc after the time skip much more of an opportunity to shine and develop in a satisfying way that was able to fully paint certain characters in the much darker, more deplorable light that they deserve. Overall, I would definitely recommend this series, even if it's still obviously not the best way to experience Berserk. Amazing writing, appealing art, wonderful characters, and some of the coolest imagery and atmosphere I've experienced, considered a classic for a reason, and an especially important series if like me, you're a huge fan of Dark Souls.
~~~__Introdução__ ~~~ Nesta _review_, irei usar tópicos que considero ser relevantes para serem analisados e que tenham o maior peso na nota. Tentarei ao máximo não dar nenhum _spoiler_, mas recomendo não lerem caso não tenham assistido ao anime em questão ou não tenham conhecido a obra de outras formas. Já adianto que não irei levar em consideração a fidelidade da adaptação do material original para o anime. Só irei comentar o que o anime apresentou em si. Como um bom leitor do mangá original, irei deixar uma parte extra onde irei comentar sobre as diferenças do anime para o mangá, lembrando que isso não vai pesar na minha avaliação. ~~~__Enredo __ ~~~ Pode até não parecer, mas um dos pontos mais importantes do anime são os laços de amizade, especificamente dos dois personagens principais, Guts e Griffth. A forma como a obra trata isso é delicada e vagarosa e, que junto aos acontecimentos, faz parecer que é algo sutil e delicado mesmo levando em consideração o clima da obra. Ambientado em um mundo medieval, o show apresenta vários conflitos políticos e guerras que estão interligados ao progresso das ambições, sonhos e sentimentos dos personagens. Isso é algo que a obra sabe tratar muito bem, mesmo sendo rápido às vezes, ele demonstra uma coesa e complexa explicação para o que está ocorrendo. Elementos de fantasia também fazem parte do show, principalmente elementos mais "_dark_". Esse clima mais sombrio faz todo o sentido quando se é interligado com os eventos futuros e toda a temática da obra. Portanto, em um mundo cheio de guerras, com elementos de fantasia "_dark_", ambições, sonhos e laços de amizade se casam perfeitamente de forma coesa e até filosófica. Todo o ambiente construído para o progresso dos eventos são elaborados e executados de forma satisfatória, algumas delas são mais apressadas, outras são mais delicadas, o que no final gerou um bom resultado. Todos esses elementos presentes em seu enredo encaminhava para um desfecho ótimo, mas que foi estragado pela tomada de decisão de acabar no meio do clímax. ~~~__Personagens__~~~ No que se refere aos personagens, eles são bem carismáticos e apegáveis. A obra, de cara, apresenta aqueles que virão a ser o maior foco dentre os diversos outros personagens do grupo principal. Dentre o grupo, há alguns personagens que acabam se tornando mais destacáveis e aparecem com mais frequência, cada um com sua personalidade diferente. Eles são o que virão a se tornar mais importantes com o decorrer da história. É claro, Guts e Griffth são os destaques aqui. Eles são, de certa forma, únicos, e o que interliga eles também é algo bem diferente do que se é conhecido por ai. A natureza, personalidade e forma de pensar de ambos são um tanto quanto não compatíveis, mas isso é bem trabalhado e se é construído um laço único e belo. Tudo oque se é trabalhado com relação aos personagens é muito bem feito e se interliga diretamente com os eventos que são mostrados mais para frente. ~~~__Produção / Animação__~~~ Por ser um anime já bem velho, sua animação é bem característica daquela época, dando até um clima único para o show. A equipe conseguiu entregar um bom resultado se levado em consideração o porte da obra e também pelos designs complexos e detalhados. Uma característica interessante que se é visto no show, são alguns quadros estáticos que receberam um tratamento peculiar e único. No geral, mesmo com alguns momentos mais estáticos ou com pouca movimentação, o show recebeu um excelente tratamento por parte da produção, e que junto a uma excelente e marcante trilha sonora, entregam uma ótima experiência. ~~~__Conclusão__~~~ Com certeza, isso é um clássico. Tudo o que a obra trata é feita de forma satisfatória, sutil e delicada, e junto a uma estética única, entrega uma ótima experiência para quem está aberto a sentir o que o anime tem a entregar. Uma _vibe_ que só ele consegue proporcionar. Apesar de eu ter falado tão bem dele, não tive uma boa experiência ao assistir, mas sei reconhecer seu potencial. Para uma boa construção da trama como preparação para o palco final, sua conclusão é feita de forma momentânea, esse é o maior pecado do anime. Ele é a melhor adaptação do mangá para o anime, tem suas mudanças, mas soube trabalhar bem com o que apresentou. ~~~__Anime vs mangá (extra)__~~~ Esse tópico não vai entrar na minha avaliação do anime, como deixei claro na introdução dessa _review_. Também irei evitar dar _spoilers_ da obra, mas não recomendo ler para aqueles que ainda não conhecem a obra de algum modo. Como eu já disse, esse anime tem uma boa adaptação do mangá original. Além dele, eu só assisti a trilogia de filmes que também adapta esse arco, mas lá as coisas foram feitas mais apressadas e tem algumas mudanças tanto no mangá quanto com relação a esse anime de 1997. A maior mudança que senti ao assistir, foi a grande censura por parte dos elementos fantasioso que já eram presentes nessa parte da história lá no mangá. Sendo assim, ele cortou, além de alguns eventos, criaturas e monstros. Mas mesmo com toda essas mudanças, o anime de 1997 consegue entregar um excelente resultado apenas trabalhando com o que ele quis trabalhar, e que às vezes eu até acho que ele melhorou em alguns acontecimentos presentes no mangá. Kenpuu Denki Berserk (1997) tem a aprovação de um bom leitor do mangá original.
#~~~__BERSERK__~~~ # ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/6uOZI1A.jpeg)~~~ En tant que grand fan du manga, je me devais de regarder toute ses adaptations animés, en commençant par les films puis la version 1997 (il n'existe aucun animé datant de 2016). ____ - ___La direction artistique___ __Les musiques :__ La bande son est vraiment très bonne dans l'ensemble. L'opening peut sembler hors sujet mais je trouve qu'il colle très bien à l'animé, c'est encore plus le cas pour l'ending, qui nous rend nostalgique lors de son écoute. Les ost sont sympathiques, mais certaines sortent carrément du lot et figurent parmi les meilleurs soundracks, tout animé confondu. On retiendra notamment _Gatsu_ (Meilleur thème de l'histoire), _Forces_ et aussi _Behelit_ . __L'artstyle :__ img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DB9Uh3jUwAAGbZ8.jpg) Sur ce point aussi je n'ai quasiment rien à redire. Les couleurs sont très jolies, on dirait que les décors sont fait avec de la peinture, le tout donnent un charme à l'animé, qui a su se détacher du style très détaillé que pouvait nous proposer le manga. Les chara design sont assez bons dans l'ensemble et font en sorte de rendre hommage à l'œuvre originale, même si de temps en temps la tête des personnages changent d'une frame à l'autre (s/o Casca). __L'animation :__ Même si elle était plus que correcte à son époque, elle a un peu pris la poussière aujourd'hui. Il y a beaucoup de plans fixes pour représenter les combats, souvent dû à la difficulté d'animer la violence de l'épée de Guts. Ce genre de détails sont tout de même rattrapés par la mise en scène qui rend le tout plus dynamique. Même si le manga est plus qualitatif dans l'ensemble, certaines scènes sont sublimés par la version animé, par exemple la discussion entre Griffith et Casca. youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL4VTNqwYJk) (La scène est plus intense en VF). ____ - ___Le respect de l'histoire originale___ Je ne rentrerai pas dans les détails de si c'est une bonne histoire ou non, car pour résumer : c'est __l'âge d'or__ . A mon sens, le meilleur arc jamais écrit dans l'histoire du manga. C'est pour cela que je vais plutot évoquer les différents problèmes que cette adaptation a pu rencontrer au niveau du respect de la trame. (__SPOIL__) - L'enfance de Guts : Dans l'animé, toute la partie sur la naissance de Guts et son enfance avec Gambino est absente, du moins présente que lors de quelques flashback, perdant donc tout son impact sur le spectateur. L'arc du chevalier noir n'est pas adapté entièrement lui aussi, mais je trouve que c'est moins grave. Ils auraient du commencer dès la naissance de Guts, en supprimant la partie flashforward de protagoniste (donc adapter QUE l'âge d'or). - L'histoire de la reine du Midland : Jusqu'au tome 8, l'ensemble de l'œuvre sera adapté sans réel soucis. Cependant, lors de la partie au château du midland, tout ce qui concerne la reine et ses motivations est supprimé, on ne comprend donc pas l'origine de sa haine envers Griffith (pour rappel, elle le déteste car Griffith a fait tuer son amant). C'est un peu plus secondaire mais c'est quand même dommage. - L'absence du Skullknight : Là par contre c'est terrible, que ca soit lors de l'errance de Guts, le sauvetage de Rickert ou bien l'éclipse, il n'est présent nul part. On peut comprendre pourquoi car l'animé a décidé de s'arrêter juste avant son arrivée dans l'éclipse, mais c'est aussi regrettable. - La partie sur Wyald : Je trouve ca compréhensible, vu la violence présente lors de ces chapitres, mais cela restait une excellente partie, très intense et divertissante. Elle a été remplacé par une scène random/20 dans l'animé. - L'éclipse: Ils ont coupés la fin de l'éclipse ?! Certes c'est le genre de fins qui donnent envie d'aller lire le manga mais c'est très frustrant. ____ Pour conclure, malgré ses prises de libertés sur l'histoire, Berserk 1997 reste une très bonne adaptation, qui aurait pu mériter la note maximale si elle avait adaptée toute l'histoire sans couper des moments plus ou moins important. Je recommande de d'abord lire la version papier avant de regarder l'animé, pour profiter au mieux du récit. ~~~img220(https://deathby1kslimes.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/2dcd8e6e4be2145fb96459c8e788a9e2.jpg)~~~ ~~~(You can use google translate) ~~~
__THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!__ ___ __Abbreviations__ sakkan: animation director sou-sakkan: chief animation director ___ The staff working on this really nailed Berserk, and I think, when it comes to the realm of an anime adaptation of this manga, this adaptation comes pretty close to perfection. Since I’ve read the manga a while ago, my memory when it comes to detail is not the best, but what I strongly still remember, and I think many who read it do, is that the manga leaves a lot of impact with its drawings. They’re gritty, extremely detailed and showcase a brutal world where Guts continuously proceeds to fight his own fate. img(https://imgur.com/XJcvYaj.png) Of course, it would be impossible for the anime to replicate all these drawings in their detail, unless they want to make a slideshow, but that’s not what an anime is about. Which is not to say that the drawings in this adaptation are poor, for an anime they are exceptionally good: The designs from character designer Yoshihiko Umakoshi (with assistance by Norihiro Matsubara) are wonderful and detailed, the show also had good sakkans throughout its entire run, under Yuriko Chiba’s and Norihiro Matsubara’s supervision as sou-sakkans, and the show utilized very strongly drawn stills in fights or other impactful scenes to create more tension or leave a stronger impression that way. img(https://imgur.com/8a83R90.png) In addition, the anime was blessed to have Shichirou Kobayashi as art director, who consistently created impressive, wallpaper-worthy backgrounds. It’s unbelievable how good they are. img(https://imgur.com/hzBkImx.png) img(https://imgur.com/4cEJTRD.png) Lastly, the series also had strong soundtracks by Susumu Hirasawa, accompanying scenes perfectly, setting the right atmosphere while also being memorable tracks on their own. Together with the direction, which made use of all these aspects, this adaptation of Berserk in my opinion, managed to create an atmosphere capable of rivaling what the manga does with its drawings. The world and characters felt gritty, it had the same melancholy feel, punches and slashes in fights had a large impact, and the tension, especially in scenes with Griffith, was built up so well. It made me root for the Band of the Hawks again, made me love Guts, Griffith, and the rest of the cast, and created a horrifying experience with Eclipse to end it all. img(https://i.imgur.com/aeopuCk.png) Berserk is probably a manga which will never reach a “perfect” adaptation - But this anime, I think, comes close. About the story itself - it’s as good as ever. While I don’t consider Golden Age to be a masterpiece, it’s unbelievably solid, with strong characters, emotional hooks and setting the right themes for the rest of the series. The anime did it justice, and I was happy to re-experience it again this way.
___CW: Sexual Assault___ __Preface: __ Over a year ago, I embarked on a journey into the dark and twisted world of Berserk. I delved deep into its pages, immersing myself in its violent and cruel narrative. But along the way, I was annoyed, and the weight of my dissatisfaction caused me to abandon it for reasons I will cover later in this review. I closed myself off from it, refusing to entertain the thought of ever visiting it again. However, recently my partner, not having seen or read it before, proposed that we watch the anime adaptation together. Despite my reservations, I agreed, willing to give it another chance. And so, as we journeyed through the series, a sense of worry loomed over me, because I knew the familiar moments that had previously soured my experience would resurface once more. And resurface they did. My partner and I found ourselves echoing the same criticisms, our discontent palpable as we experienced these specific events. Yet this time, my perspective changed. I refused to allow my grievances to overshadow the delicate moments of vulnerability and humanity that permeate the world of Berserk. For it is a tale that encapsulates the essence of survival amidst life's trials, finding solace in the smallest glimmers of light. Perhaps, in some strange twist of fate, my journey with Berserk mirrors the very essence of its message. I despise how certain aspects of the story are handled, but in equal measure, I adore how it unearths those fragile moments amidst the horrors it portrays. My emotions and thoughts regarding Berserk are chaotic, and there will probably be a lot of contradiction and aimlessness in this review. But then again, that is life itself—a messy and convoluted journey. We strive for purpose and meaning, craving a sense of direction, but often find ourselves lost in the tumultuous sea of existence. In these moments, we must grasp the reins of life and steer it forward, even if the path is uncertain. For even the act of crawling, of inching towards a distant horizon, is far superior to remaining stagnant in the shadows. That’s enough for now because I hope to cover as many of my thoughts as possible in this review. --- __Production: __ Right from the start, it's evident that Berserk may not have had the largest budget. However, this doesn't mean that the series looks bad. On the contrary, I believe it looks fantastic. But when compared to other high-profile productions of its time, such as Cowboy Bebop and Turn A Gundam, it becomes very apparent that Berserk operated within certain budgetary limitations. Despite these constraints, the series manages to captivate through the artistic vision of art director Kobayashi Shichirou (Utena, Angel's Egg, and Ie Naki Ko) and the beautifully haunting musical compositions by Hirasawa Susumu (Paprika, Paranoia Agent, and Millennium Actress (Satoshi Kon was a genius)). The art in Berserk 1997 exemplifies the principle of quality over quantity. The attention to detail in the background art is consistently stunning, immersing viewers in a richly crafted world. The character animation, too, shines in moments of dynamic action. One aspect that particularly impressed me was the depiction of swordplay. Given Guts’ enormous sword, there was a risk of the animation appearing awkward. However, the animators skillfully conveyed the weight and momentum of his swings, emphasizing the sheer massiveness of the blade. As it cleaves through enemies, the animation effectively conveys the power behind Guts’ strikes, accentuated by the broad blood splatters that emphasize his destructive prowess. Conversely, when showcasing fighters like Griffith or Casca, the animation adapts to their agile blades and fluid movements, capturing their speed and precision. While there are often clear budget-saving strategies taken in terms of animation, the creators know precisely when to leverage their strengths to create impactful and memorable scenes. img(https://i.postimg.cc/s2NKj2ts/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-16-918563-E6-0008.png) Accompanying this production is Hirasawa Susumu's incredible music. Listening to his compositions is an unparalleled experience in the world of anime, and perhaps even beyond. His sound defies easy categorization, yet it is undeniably exceptional. What sets him apart is his ability to masterfully serve the essence of a movie or show through his expert sense of mood. With his distinct sound, he effortlessly captures the tone of each scene, whether it be a majestic parade through a city, a deeply introspective moment of grief, or a brutal battle during a castle siege. There is a reason why Guts’ theme is so iconic. It perfectly encapsulates the raw emotions of Berserk, flawlessly adapting the essence of the story into musical form. The haunting, reverb-soaked piano and the poignant wails evoke feelings of pain, sorrow, and a glimmer of hope. Much like the many themes explored in Berserk, this song exhibits a duality—a journey into the depths of despair, yet somehow offering a ray of hope. When it comes to bringing a story like Berserk to the medium of anime, there was simply no better choice than the eclectic genius of Hirasawa Susumu to provide the music. His compositions elevate the narrative, enriching the overall experience and immersing the audience in the harrowing world of Berserk. ~~~webm(https://files.catbox.moe/spreko.mp4)~~~ --- __My Chaotic Experience with Berserk:__ img(https://i.postimg.cc/GpQzZQj8/Behelet.png) >“In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control, even over his own will.” - Narrator These haunting words echo at the onset of each of the 25 episodes of Berserk, etching themselves deeply into the viewer’s mind. As the Golden Age arc unfolds, this recurring monologue encapsulates one of its central themes: the eternal debate of human agency versus divine predestination. It is a question that resurfaces time and time again within this narrative tapestry, and one that I intend to explore in detail when its relevance fully unfolds. ___Note:___ Having read the first 200 chapters of Berserk before, I possess an understanding of the narrative changes that have been done. However, in my analysis, I will try to minimize comparisons to the source material. While my intention is to focus primarily on the current adaptation, I acknowledge that certain alterations hold significance and warrant discussion within the context of my analysis. The initial significant alteration becomes readily apparent in the very first episode. The Black Swordsman arc is condensed to fit within the limited time frame of a single episode, aiming to provide the essential elements necessary to achieve a sense of narrative completion by the end of the series. In a brief glimpse, we witness the forging of the Dragon Slayer, swiftly followed by the opening scene where Guts intervenes to rescue a young girl from a group of depraved older men (a recurring aspect that I will be exploring much more later). This introductory episode also offers glimpses of Guts' diverse arsenal of ranged weapons and showcases the graphic displays of violence that will become characteristic of the series. Within the episode's remaining duration, we are introduced to the enigmatic Behelit, the nightmarish world infested with monsters, Guts' internal turmoil stemming from the Brand of Sacrifice, and his unbridled fury upon encountering the mysterious figure known as Femto. While experiencing the entire Black Swordsman arc would undoubtedly provide a more comprehensive understanding of the world and raise numerous valuable questions, given the time constraint of 23 minutes, this episode delivers the essential core elements we need to witness well enough. There are two other significant omissions that I find worth noting, particularly regarding Guts' past. The first, although relatively minor, is the absence of the scene where Gambino brings ointment to Guts after he scarred his nose in a fit of anger. While this may seem like a small moment, its significance lies in how it contributes to the traumatic experience Guts had as a child. When combined with Gambino's later attempt to kill Guts, it intensifies the emotional impact of Guts having to take his life. The omission of this moment of solace somewhat diminishes the depth of Guts' hedgehog's dilemma and slightly hampers his character development in the later stages of the series. However, the removal of the second moment is far more detrimental to the anime. The complete absence of Guts' history of sexual abuse as a child gives rise to numerous issues for me, particularly concerning Guts' subsequent character development, and it significantly amplifies my criticisms of Berserk regarding its treatment of women within the narrative. These aspects will both be explored in greater detail later in this review. One of my most significant grievances with the rest of this show revolves around the character Coborlwitz Adon. As the general of a group of enemy knights, he plays a significant role in many of the earlier episodes of Berserk. Unfortunately, his portrayal in the anime presents several issues that greatly detract from the overall experience. Adon is depicted as a recurring enemy and functions as an irritating gag character. Whenever he appears on screen, the show adopts a goofy atmosphere that feels out of place within the dark and gritty setting of Berserk. While the intention may have been to highlight his incompetence through comedic elements, I consistently found that he disrupted the tonality of crucial sequences and introduced an exaggerated and over-the-top feeling that clashed with the generally grounded atmosphere maintained throughout most of the Golden Age arc. His eventual demise, after a few encounters, removes what I perceived to be the only obstacle to fully immersing oneself in the incredible atmosphere created by this adaptation of Berserk. img(https://i.postimg.cc/26HqRqJ7/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-13-A15-DE261-0001.png) --- __Characters:__ With those aside, when thinking about Berserk, one might be drawn to the manga's breathtaking artwork, reminiscent of the works of M.C. Escher and H.R. Giger. Others may be captivated by the brutal world teeming with bloodlust and fear. However, for me, and probably for most people, the true essence of Berserk lies in its remarkable cast of characters. __Griffith: __ Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk, undergoes a crucial and intricate character arc that explores themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the consequences of the unchecked pursuit of one's dreams. His journey reveals the complexities of human nature and poses profound questions about the nature of destiny and free will. Griffith firmly believes that everyone must have a dream and that mere existence on Earth is insufficient. He possesses an unwavering self-destructive drive to reach his dream, even if it means sacrificing those he loves or resorting to extreme measures. This relentless pursuit sets him apart from others and becomes a defining characteristic of his personality. The existence of the Behelit, a mysterious artifact that plays a crucial role in the story, raises significant questions about the influence of higher powers and individual agency. Throughout the narrative, viewers are prompted to contemplate whether Griffith's success is a result of his own hardened will or if he is chosen by a higher power. This ambiguity adds depth to Griffith's character and fuels speculation about the forces that shape his destiny. img(https://i.postimg.cc/SQ28FdSX/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-19-2-E9882-C1-0021.png) Griffith's longing for a kingdom of his own is driven by self-indulgence rather than a sincere desire to improve the world. The duality between his seemingly childish ambition and his cunning and sinister plotting adds depth and intrigue to his character. It becomes evident in his actions, such as his willingness to consume a spiked drink despite the grave risks involved, all in pursuit of advancing his plans. Griffith's Machiavellian nature is further shown through his calculated actions, such as resorting to kidnapping a child as ransom and manipulating Guts to eliminate anyone who could potentially hinder his ambitions, including former allies who had once aided him in realizing his dream. Amidst his monstrous deeds, Griffith occasionally reveals glimpses of humility and introspection. His sudden question to Guts, “Do you think I’m a vile human being?” exposes a fleeting vulnerability that pierces through his otherwise stoic façade, something that only Guts can pull out of him. While Guts evades offering a direct answer, the mere act of posing such a question suggests that even Griffith, the mastermind behind his own ambitions, grapples with the moral implications of his actions. It signifies a moment of self-doubt and contemplation within the buried depths of his character. Even if Guts had boldly affirmed his belief, it is likely that Griffith would have responded with apathy, yet the fact that he dares to ask reveals a glimpse of something deeper, however subtle. Since their initial encounter, Griffith has regarded Guts not as a genuine comrade, but as the ultimate instrument to propel himself to the pinnacle of success. However, when Guts reveals his intention to leave the Band of the Hawk, Griffith's carefully constructed façade begins to crumble. The realization that he will lose his most formidable asset on the battlefield, and the person he considers closest to being an actual friend, awakens a deep sense of unease within him. In a desperate bid to maintain control, Griffith asserts his possessive nature and plunges into the depths of his character. He challenges Guts to a fateful duel, a poignant echo of their first meeting, laying down the terms: if Griffith emerges victorious, Guts shall remain by his side, but if he fails, Guts is free to part ways. Already shaken by Guts' decision, Griffith experiences a crushing defeat in the duel, leaving him abandoned by his greatest source of hope. img(https://i.postimg.cc/0jRNqpnm/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-19-2-E9882-C1-0019.png) In the aftermath of Guts' departure, Griffith plummets to his most despicable state, resorting to forcibly engaging with the princess in a manipulative attempt to reclaim the path he has lost. This vile act serves as a stark manifestation of his desperation and marks a significant step in his descent into darkness. However, his actions do not go unnoticed, as he is swiftly apprehended by the palace guard, accused of treason, and subsequently condemned to a life of imprisonment in the harrowing depths of the darkened chambers. Within the confines of his cell, Griffith finds himself trapped both physically and emotionally, his once lofty ambitions shattered, and his very essence consumed by the darkness that surrounds him. The excruciating torment that Griffith endures over the course of a year renders him utterly vulnerable, his spirit consumed by the all-encompassing darkness. In this abyss, he loses all semblance of control over the principles and values that once defined him. However, a glimmer of hope emerges as the fateful day arrives—the Band of the Hawk, against all odds, discovers the very depths in which he is held captive, their footsteps echoing through the oppressive silence. As their approach reverberates in his ears, Griffith's mind conjures a vision of Guts, his heart burdened by the realization that his salvation may come at the hands of the very man he holds responsible for his wretched state. In this vulnerable and debilitated condition, Griffith finds himself bereft of agency, unable even to command his own body. The prospect of being rescued by Guts plunges him into an even deeper abyss of despair, an extreme recognition of his powerlessness and dependence on his greatest adversary. They ultimately save him and bring him back to camp in order to rest. In his feeble state, Griffith's mind conjures an alternate reality, one devoid of Guts, where he envisions a life alongside Casca and their newborn child. This revelatory vision unveils Griffith's true perspective on Guts—not as a genuine friend, but as a mere instrument and, potentially, his most formidable threat. Snapped back to the harsh reality of his current state, Griffith, consumed by despair, contemplates ending his own life. Yet, even in this darkest of moments, he fails in his desperate attempt. This failure serves as a stark testament to his complete loss of control over his own destiny, setting the stage for the return of the Behelit—the mystical artifact that heralds the summoning of a higher power. Overwhelmed with terror at the prospect of relying on someone else, especially his perceived adversary Guts, Griffith willingly surrenders himself to the Behelit, forsaking his personal pursuit of the dream and yielding to the whims of a superior force. The eclipse has begun. img(https://i.postimg.cc/W3MvgxmF/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-23-1859-F840-0043.png) As the eclipse unfurls its blood-soaked tapestry, Griffith's gaze falls upon the landscape of lifeless bodies strewn in his wake. It is within this harrowing sight that he reaches a significant realization—an irreversible juncture where retreat and redemption seem inconceivable. Gripped by unfathomable cruelty, he proceeds to offer up the entirety of the Band of the Hawk as sacrificial pawns, their lifeless forms transformed into grotesque stepping stones along his ascension to the pinnacle of his castle's grandeur. With this merciless act, Griffith binds himself to an inescapable fate, intertwining his own demise with the shattering demise of the dream that consumed him. It is within the crucible of this decision that a transformation of unparalleled magnitude takes place: Griffith sheds his mortal form, relinquishing his identity and humanity, emerging as the malevolent entity known as Femto. This metamorphosis is the embodiment of the sacrificial dissolution of Griffith's very essence, heralding the birth of a new entity driven by an eternal and insatiable dream. As the show of Berserk ends, so does the tale of Griffith as we know him. Griffith's character development in Berserk is a nuanced exploration of ambition, sacrifice, and the consequences of one's actions. His transformation and subsequent actions reveal the complexity of human nature and invite contemplation about the balance between individual will and external forces in shaping destiny. __Quotes:__ >"The stronger a light shines, the darker the shadow grows" - Random Soldier This encapsulates the theme of duality in Griffith's character. It emphasizes how his pursuit of greatness casts a dark shadow over his actions and the consequences he faces. >"On the battlefield, one does not die royalty, a nobleman, or a commoner. You die a loser of the battle" - Griffith Highlights Griffith's pragmatic worldview. It underscores his understanding of the harsh realities of their world and the sacrifices required to attain greatness. >"When to go into battle, when to die... That is all up to me," - Griffith Reflects his sense of control and agency. It portrays his belief in his ability to determine his own fate, even in the face of challenging circumstances. __Guts:__ Guts, a man intimately acquainted with the brutality of life, has forged an unbreakable bond with his sword. It has become an extension of his very being, an emblem of his reliance on violence and combat. The blade, eternally present at his side, is a steadfast companion amidst the tumultuous ebb and flow of human relationships. For in Guts' tumultuous existence, one characterized by repeated abandonment and the harrowing trauma of being abused and cast out from his own group in his formative years, he has been thrust into a chilling cycle of isolation and fear. The scars of his past, both physical and emotional, have left an indelible mark on Guts' soul. The sting of betrayal, the anguish of being forsaken by those he once trusted, has seeped deep into the core of his being. Guts' existence is anchored in a relentless cycle of murder and self-preservation. His life lacks the grandeur of dreams or aspirations, as he navigates the world with a singular focus on the present moment. With unwavering determination, he forges ahead, his sword a steadfast companion, ready to defend his own life at any cost. Unlike others, particularly Griffith, Guts is not driven by a long-term vision or a personal flame that ignites his purpose. He stands apart, a solitary figure marching his own path, guided solely by the necessity to survive the immediate challenges that confront him. img(https://i.postimg.cc/qvfxZY2M/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-14-A820-C4-EC-0005.png) Griffith, the magnetic and charismatic leader of the Band of the Hawk, embodies an insatiable ambition fueled by an intense dream. His vision unites individuals under the brilliance of the strongest flame, forging a collective "bonfire of dreams." In stark contrast, Guts stands apart, devoid of such a personal flame. Instead, he resembles a weary traveler seeking solace and warmth at the radiant bonfire without possessing his own intrinsic passion or purpose. This inherent disparity between Guts and Griffith accentuates their divergent outlooks on life, exemplifying the distinct paths they tread. Guts grapples with the isolating implications of the hedgehog's dilemma, a psychological concept capturing his aversion to forming intimate bonds with others. This deeply ingrained fear stems from a haunting history of being hurt and abandoned, leaving him guarded and wary. In the face of adversity, Guts chooses the path of violence and self-defense, displaying a relentless determination to confront and overcome any threat head-on. Rather than fleeing from a confrontation, he would sooner eliminate all opposition, illustrating his preference for a brutal resolution over evading conflict. This defensive mindset acts as a protective shield, shielding Guts from the vulnerability of forging deep connections, as he anticipates and prepares for the potential pain and heartbreak that may accompany them. In times of tranquility, individuals like Guts, whose existence revolves around the skill of wielding swords, are forced to discover alternate means of survival within the sheltered confines of a castle. This fact serves as a powerful reminder of the stark divergence between Guts and Griffith. Guts, having been nurtured amidst the relentless chaos of the battlefield, finds his identity inextricably entwined with warfare. His life lacks the presence of a captivating dream or an aspirational impetus beyond the realm of personal combat. In contrast, Griffith perceives battles as mere stepping stones towards the realization of his lofty ambitions, readily discarding them once their utility wanes. Guts, bereft of an all-encompassing dream, experiences a sense of desolation and aimlessness in the absence of active conflict, leaving him adrift in a void of purpose. An extreme and uncharacteristic sorrow engulfs Guts as he reunites with the Band of the Hawk and valiantly saves Griffith from his tormented imprisonment. Witnessing his once indomitable comrade reduced to a state of unimaginable suffering elicits an emotional response that brings tears to Guts' eyes. The depth of Guts' connection to Griffith is undeniably strong, yet as we, the observers, delve deeper into the intricacies of their bond, a chilling realization begins to take hold. Behind the charismatic facade, Griffith perceives those around him, including Guts, as mere pawns in his relentless pursuit of ambition. Guts' unwavering devotion and loyalty are skillfully manipulated by Griffith, amplifying the complexity and underlying darkness that permeate their relationship. img(https://i.postimg.cc/zfx2LrcX/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-23-1859-F840-0034.png) Even after Guts rescues Griffith and reunites with the Band of the Hawk, an undercurrent of loneliness persists within him. However, when his comrades implore him to remain by their side, expressing their desire to accompany him, a glimmer of truth pierces through the fog of isolation. Guts begins to catch a glimpse of the reality that there are individuals who genuinely care for him, yearning for closeness and camaraderie. Yet, this realization clashes with the scars of betrayal and abandonment etched deep within Guts' being, creating a formidable barrier that impedes his ability to fully embrace these connections. The weight of past experiences haunts him, making it arduous to lower his defenses and allow others into the fortress of his heart. His question, "Why do I never realize what I have until it is lost?" encapsulates the struggle to perceive and cherish the bonds he possesses until they teeter on the precipice of fracture and loss. __Quotes:__ >"I can no longer live this life buried in his dream," - Guts Shows his growing discontent with being a part of Griffith's dream. He yearns to achieve a goal of his own, to stand as Griffith's equal rather than always looking up to him. This desire for autonomy and a sense of personal accomplishment pushes Guts to seek his own path, separate from Griffith's influence. >"Sparks: The light born in the clash when two swords meet. They serve me well. Throughout my life...the moments, and people who have defined me...they have all been illuminated...by sparks." - Godot Godot is a character who plays a slight mentor-like role in Guts' journey, and this quote acknowledges the state of Guts' existence. He sees Guts as a man who is blind to his own destiny, implying that Guts is unable to see beyond his life consumed by violence and warfare. Guts' obsession with battle has overshadowed his own personal growth and potential for a different future. Godot emerges as a person burdened with a predetermined role that has shaped the entirety of his existence from a tender age. The weighty responsibility of steel, an emblem of his craft, was entrusted to his hands even before he could take his initial steps. This lifelong commitment has left him in a state of indifference, questioning whether he genuinely derives enjoyment from his craft. Yet, amidst this apathy, Godot manages to unearth fleeting moments of joy, encapsulated in the mesmerizing sparks that dance and ignite when he hammers the molten steel. These ephemeral sparks serve as poignant reflections of the miniature flames of dreams that flicker within the hearts of individuals. Once again, the timeless question of destiny versus agency resurfaces, prompting contemplation on whether, even within a predetermined path, one can uncover moments of personal fulfillment. This introspection stirs something profound within Guts, compelling him to delve into his own insatiable thirst for battle. He discerns a parallel between the sparks that erupt when weapons collide and the intoxicating rush of vitality he experiences amidst the chaos of combat. However, Guts also recognizes the inherent self-destructiveness of a life entrenched in warfare—an unrelenting obsession that inevitably plunges its pursuers into the darkest depths of despair. In summary, Guts is a character deeply affected by his traumatic past and the fear of abandonment. He struggles to form connections with others due to the hedgehog's dilemma, preferring violence and isolation over potential hurt. Guts lacks a personal flame or a grand dream, living his life in the moment with his sword as his constant companion. His complex relationship with Griffith highlights the exploitative nature of their bond, while Guts yearns for independence and a sense of purpose. Through encounters with supportive individuals like Godot and the Band of the Hawk, Guts begins to recognize the possibility of meaningful connections, challenging his deep-rooted beliefs and encouraging personal growth. img(https://i.postimg.cc/6qXZt7f7/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-20-1-C5-BAC08-0024.png) __Casca:__ Casca is the character in Berserk that I have the most complicated feelings toward. This stems primarily from the fact that she stands as the sole prominent woman in the narrative until after the conclusion of the anime (something that Miura made clear he wanted to change). Through Casca's portrayal, Miura skillfully crafts poignant and multifaceted moments that delve into her relationship with femininity. However, these exceptional instances of character development only serve to intensify the frustrating aspects, leaving me grappling with unresolved feelings. As I continue to write this review, I hope to gain more clarity and come to terms with these conflicting feelings. Casca's character development intricately weaves through her relationships and interactions, offering a distinct perspective compared to other main characters. While their growth often emerges from internal introspection and choices, Casca's journey unfolds through her conversations and connections with those around her. At the core of her character lies an unwavering allegiance to Griffith, born from a desire to repay him for rescuing her during her childhood. This blend encompasses extreme gratitude for his life-saving act, interwoven with a complex tapestry of ambiguous and intricate emotions toward him. Upon joining the group, Casca immediately harbors resentment towards Guts, perceiving him as a disruptor of the delicate dynamic between her and Griffith. This resentment stems from her deep desire to remain close to Griffith and continue repaying him for saving her, highlighting the complex dynamics at play. However, despite her initial animosity, Casca unexpectedly forms a genuine and profound connection with Guts. Through shared experiences and vulnerable moments, they forge a unique bond that transcends their individual traumas and sorrows. Both Casca and Guts have endured immense pain, making it challenging for them to establish meaningful connections with others. Yet, in each other, they find solace, understanding, and the ability to overcome the barriers that once divided them. img(https://i.postimg.cc/RhS0gwTT/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-22-701-B4600-0031.png) Casca's perception of Griffith is elevated to the point of regarding him as a superior being, which influences her relationship with Guts, despite their deep bond. As Guts contemplates leaving the Band of the Hawk and confronts Griffith in battle, Casca is torn between conflicting emotions. It is clear that she desires Griffith's victory to ensure Guts' return and maintain the status quo within the group. However, this internal struggle exposes a betrayal of her own beliefs. By prioritizing Guts' return, she inadvertently challenges the pedestal upon which she had placed Griffith. It becomes evident to Casca that her admiration and supposed love for Griffith had overshadowed the unique connection she had with Guts all along, prompting her to reassess her perspective on the years since she joined the Band of the Hawk. Casca's character journey presents a poignant exploration of individual perspective, intricate emotions, and the multifaceted nature of human relationships. Her growth encompasses a process of unraveling the layers of her own emotions and perceptions, leading her to discover the profound bond she shares with Guts. This transformative journey challenges the preconceived notions of her connections, urging her to question the dynamics of power and agency within her relationships. Through her experiences and interactions, Casca evolves from a character driven solely by an unwavering devotion to Griffith, to one who embraces the authenticity of her truest connections and confronts the complexities of her own desires and loyalties. __Episode 11 Saga:__ This is the messiest part of the review. It began as an analysis of how Casca is portrayed as a character throughout the story, but it organically transformed into a tapestry of character connections, encompassing the main trio of characters. It is basically a stream of consciousness tracing Casca's growth and drawing parallels between her narrative arc and those of Guts and Griffith. Ultimately, it led me to grapple with my perception of Casca as a character. Throughout the story, my opinion of Casca's treatment evolved, resulting in inevitable contradictions by the end. However, upon reading this section, I believe I arrived at a solid conclusion regarding how I feel about her role in Berserk and the themes she brings to the story. Right before the commencement of a crucial battle, an event occurs: Casca begins to experience period pains. It is handled with surprising sensitivity and realism, portraying it as a normal occurrence without any peculiarities or ridicule from other characters. This depiction deserves commendation as it embraces the realities of womanhood, never stooping as low as to make a joke out of it (something I have seen many anime do before). However, as the scene progresses, an unfortunate turn of events unfolds. Casca finds herself pitted against commander Adon, a figure who has consistently been used as a source of jest, frequently fleeing from the Band of the Hawk due to his incompetence. With this background in mind, their encounter commences. The commander does nothing but belittle Casca for her gender, insinuating that her position was only attained through a sexual relationship with Griffith. Initially, this dialogue holds potential, as it sets the stage for a remarkable moment wherein Casca, the formidable warrior she is, can rebut these comments. Throughout the story, she has proven herself as a formidable combatant, with only Guts and Griffith ranking alongside her in battle prowess. However, just as their confrontation reaches its climax, Casca's period pains weaken her, and Guts is forced to intervene, shielding her from the enemy commander's attack. This diversionary action leads to Guts being struck by an arrow, causing both him and Casca to stumble back and tumble off a cliff. Casca falls unconscious and finds herself in a debilitated state, reminiscent of an earlier instance in the series where she tended to Guts and provided warmth during his battle-inflicted injuries in his confrontation with Griffith. The manner in which events unfolded leading up to this juncture left me disappointed, particularly due to the context surrounding this mirrored situation. When Guts faced a similar circumstance, the focus was on his weaknesses as a warrior and his inferiority in comparison to Griffith in that specific scenario. Conversely, the context surrounding Casca's situation centers on her perceived "weakness as a woman" and how her menstrual cycle purportedly caused her defeat in battle. Berserk, as a narrative, delves into the theme of vulnerability and how we navigate it, yet in this particular context, I find it disheartening that the potential for a powerful moment involving Casca was overshadowed by her being derided for her gender and subsequently leading to harm inflicted upon herself and Guts due to her period. ___Addendum:___ Over time, my perspective on this matter has undergone a bit of a change, and while I do hold some same thoughts on some downsides of this scene, I also see the purpose of it in relation to the rest of the narrative. While I will never personally experience the physical pain of menstruation (so I am not exactly sure about the realism of this scene), I now recognize the significance that this moment holds to Casca's character arc in the Golden Age. At this moment in the series, Casca was grappling with inner struggles in relation to her perception of femininity. Her feelings toward femininity and how it related to her own identity were constantly in flux. This specific situation serves as a tangible embodiment of her internal battle, and as her narrative progresses, she gradually grows more self-assured and comfortable in defining herself as an individual. In retrospect, this moment resonates with greater clarity and contributes to the complexity of Casca's journey. (Moving forward, I will refrain from appending addendums to each paragraph and instead allow my thoughts to flow organically. As I reflect on the overall narrative, I will present an ultimate summary at the very end of this section.) After the intense battle, Guts finds himself in a moment of solace with Casca, providing her comfort and support. It is during this intimate moment that he notices her situation and remarks, “So that’s what’s going on. It’s pretty tough, ain’t it? To be a woman.” This acknowledgment reinforces the initial respect shown towards Casca and her experience. Even if I do have some skepticism about how the scene leading up to this was handled, this moment of solace and compassion was quite beautiful. A similar contrast emerges in the subsequent episode, where we are offered a glimpse into Casca's past. Hailing from a poor farming village, she was tragically sold off by her own parents to a wealthy man, who had no virtuous intentions and sought to subject her to sexual abuse. While being transported to the man's residence, he attempts to take advantage of her, violently pinning her down and tearing her clothes. At this moment, Griffith stumbles upon the scene and intervenes by tossing a sword to Casca, urging her to fight for herself. In an act of self-defense, Casca ultimately kills her abuser. This event serves as yet another parallel to Guts, whose own history of sexual abuse during childhood was conspicuously omitted from the show (an omission made by the showrunners rather than Miura). When faced with an attack, Guts, despite his fear, took unwavering agency and fought back, ultimately slaying Gambino. However, in Casca's case, once again, a man assumes control, making decisions on her behalf. Instances like these contribute to the complex nature of my relationship with Berserk. If we were to strip away the gender dynamics at play, the writing here would undoubtedly be deemed brilliant, constructing intricate character parallels and exploring how shared experiences can shape divergent mindsets. Nevertheless, when we consider the context surrounding these situations and the recurring patterns they embody, I find myself disheartened by their frequency and the imbalances they perpetuate. Later in the same episode, it is revealed that Griffith has been engaging in transactions with an elderly man, exchanging his body for money and supplies to bolster his army. This, once again, draws a parallel to the experiences of both Guts and Casca (although, once more, the abuse suffered by Guts and Griffith remains unseen, whereas Casca's is constantly depicted). However, Griffith is portrayed as a character driven by agency and purpose in his actions (though he is still unequivocally being abused here). On the other hand, Casca is consistently compelled to act according to the will of the men around her, rarely afforded moments where she can assert herself in such situations. Furthermore, in the following episode, Guts and Casca find themselves separated. Guts decides to stay and confront the soldiers who discovered them, while Casca opts to retreat and locate the rest of their group for assistance. As Casca runs back, exhaustion takes its toll, causing her to stumble. In this vulnerable state, she is ambushed by a small group of soldiers. Despite her valiant efforts, she becomes overwhelmed by their numbers and her own fatigue. Once again, these soldiers degrade and insult her based on her gender, accompanied by the act of tearing her clothes off. This scene perpetuates the ongoing dichotomy in the story's handling of sexual assault between men and women, wherein the opportunity to expose a woman's body is seldom missed. The next episode begins with Casca fighting back, managing to pierce one of her attackers in the eye with a stick before retreating to recover her sword. However, she is disarmed and faces the imminent threat of being struck by an axe. At the critical moment, she is saved by a throwing knife from Judeau, accompanied by his group of men, who coincidentally stumble upon the scene and come to her aid. Judeau then utters the line, "You better lay off now, because she's the only woman in our troop. It'll cost you." I’m not sure if that second sentence perpetuates what I think it does, god I hope it doesn’t, but either way, this sequence feels distasteful overall. Once again, this highlights a recurring issue of Casca falling victim to men and ultimately relying on "good men" to save her. After being saved by the group, they proceed with Casca to save Guts. But as they stumble upon where he was, a group of hundreds of dead enemy soldiers lie, with Guts reveling in the bloodbath, injured but victorious. He did not need help. After an episode of setup for the next conflict, we are once again thrown into battle. After infiltrating a castle, Casca is yet again matched up against Adon (there is quite a rivalry here huh), and as previous encounters have shown, he has the high ground. She immediately overpowers him and throws him down, putting them on even ground. But Adon doesn’t continue with the fight, instead, he begs her for forgiveness, catching her off guard. Casca being stunned by the performance, gets caught off guard when Adon pulls out a crossbow and shoots her with a poisoned arrow, and he once again continues to berate her for being a woman, saying that if she gave up here and surrendered her body to him, he would spare her. After refusing, she outmaneuvers his attacks and finally takes him down. Finally, we get an unassisted win for Casca. This moment was honestly cathartic, she was finally allowed to show her skill as a fighter and did it without any external assistance. She won all by herself, through entirely her own agency. This moment leaves me conflicted, as Berserk always does. I do not think that this victory completely “forgives” the series of what it did previously in conflicts with Casca, because I think it reached conclusions in some odd fashions before, but it is definitely a step in the right direction for Casca and potentially her character arc. This episode also delves into the situations of Guts and Griffith, further establishing the multitude of parallels between these three main characters. Firstly, Guts faces off against General Boscogne, a formidable opponent who can truly challenge him in battle, rivaling both Griffith and Zodd. During the intense fight, Boscogne manages to snap Guts' sword, leaving him at a significant disadvantage. The scene then shifts to Zodd observing the battlefield, reminiscent of when Griffith came along Casca as she found herself defenseless against the man who purchased her. Similarly, Zodd hurls his weapon next to Guts, providing him with the pivotal moment he needed to secure victory. This establishes an intriguing relationship between Guts and Zodd, as they seem to be neither enemies nor allies (but we don’t get to see any more of this relationship in the anime), and it marks one of the first times where Guts actually needed the help of another in battle. Following Guts’ victory, we witness a confrontation between Griffith and Gennon, who was Griffith's abuser in the past. Nowhere near an even fight, Griffith holds all the advantage, and Gennon is left begging and reminiscing about the "good times" they shared (excuse me while I throw up after typing that). Griffith asserts that Gennon was merely a pebble he used to advance his dream and proceeds to slay him. This completes the trio of parallels between Guts, Griffith, and Casca—they were all victims of abuse during their childhood and have each taken the life of their abusers. However, Guts and Casca acted immediately, while Griffith strategically eliminated Gennon only when he had exhausted his usefulness. Nevertheless, this aspect leaves me somewhat skeptical. Once again, Griffith and Guts were able to overcome their abusers through their own will, without the need for external assistance. On the other hand, Casca remains the sole character who required someone to save her from her torment. Furthermore, unlike the other two characters, Casca continues to be similarly exploited throughout the series, with her suffering and its depiction only intensifying from this point onward. In the subsequent episodes, the narrative shifts away from direct conflict, allowing for poignant character moments that shine a light on Casca's development. One notable instance occurs during a celebratory gathering following a previous battle, where Casca shares a significant moment with Guts. They engage in a conversation about their perspectives on life and the paths they wish to pursue. It becomes evident that a deep bond is forming between them, intensifying the emotional impact when Guts nonchalantly reveals his intention to leave the Band of the Hawk. This revelation deeply affects Casca, as she grapples with the pain of losing someone she has grown increasingly connected to. The following battle between Guts and Griffith serves as a pivotal moment for the two in battle, as for Casca, her devastation reaches its peak when Guts emerges victorious, allowing him to leave the Band of the Hawk. In her anguish, she desperately calls out to him, pleading for him to stay. It is during this intense conflict that Casca realizes the depth of her feelings for Guts, despite the challenges they have faced together along their tumultuous journey. Her mental state further deteriorates when Griffith is captured after his encounter with the princess, leaving her bereft of her two most significant connections and unexpectedly thrusting her into a leadership role within the Band of the Hawk. A time skip reveals that Griffith has been imprisoned and subjected to torture, and the once-pervasive screams from his cell suddenly cease. Casca is devastated by the possibility that he may have perished, adding to her already immense sorrow. In the midst of this melancholy, her camp is suddenly attacked by enemy soldiers. Knocked down and with an assailant poised to strike a fatal blow, Casca finds herself saved by the timely intervention of an ally—Guts. While the trope of a savior may be at play once again, it resonates within this particular context, providing a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness that surrounds Casca. Though I do think an encounter outside of battle could have possibly supplied a more emotionally powerful moment between the two. However, their reunion is not immediately met with joy and relief. Casca is overwhelmed by a storm of emotions, causing her to lash out at Guts. Simultaneously angry at him for leaving and relieved by his return, she tries to start a fight with Guts. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Guts refuses to retaliate, allowing her to stab him. Witnessing the consequences of her actions, Casca undergoes a reflection on her life since the moment Griffith stumbled upon her and bestowed upon her that sword. She has long felt indebted to him, and this indebtedness led her to mistakenly believe she had stronger feelings for him, becoming infatuated with the sense of purpose he provided rather than experiencing a genuine emotional connection. Without Griffith's presence, Casca feels adrift, as if the years spent trying to repay him for saving her have been in vain. This sequence effectively captures the complex emotions intertwining with the unraveling of Casca's character, culminating in a powerful moment. However, it is at this peak of emotional turmoil that Casca declares she can no longer bear it and attempts to throw herself off the cliff. I think this choice by Miura is questionable, as it feels like a manipulative cop-out that detracts from the emotional breakdown of the moment. Throughout the scene, Casca's emotional collapse intensifies, and I feel it would have been more fitting to witness her plain and utterly defeated collapse onto the ground, emphasizing the climactic impact. Ultimately, Guts catches her in her downfall, leading to the same conclusion, yet this alternate decision feels a bit more suitable to me. Regardless, the subsequent scene serves as a fantastic emotional climax. In each other's embrace, they both finally realize their feelings for each other and share a kiss, which evolves into spending the night together and having sex. This marks a significant milestone for both characters. For Guts, it signifies his ability to truly connect with someone, a feat he has avoided since enduring betrayal as a child. However, in the anime adaptation, this moment feels somewhat weaker for him due to the removal of the ultimate source of his childhood trauma. Nevertheless, Guts allowing himself to be vulnerable and willingly surrendering his body to another person is an immense breakthrough. Similarly, for Casca, this moment carries immense significance. Ever since being saved by Griffith, she has struggled to fully come to terms with her identity as a woman. While it does seem that she identifies as a woman, there has always been an uncertainty, a wavering on the brink of acknowledging it. She occasionally remarks that she does not necessarily prefer wearing her armor but recognizes that it provides ease of movement, and she comes off as annoyed by her body when her period pains intensified during battle. There has always been a fluctuation in how she defines her womanhood. However, when she internalizes her feelings for Guts and engages in a sexual encounter with him, she finally embraces herself and seemingly comes to terms with her identity as a woman (it is worth noting that this scene opens up discussions about gender roles, identity, and heteronormativity, but delving into that would extend this already extensive review). This serves as a prime example of how sex can be employed as a powerful and multifaceted tool for character development. Powerful and nuanced moments like these only intensify my disappointment with how a scene later in the series is handled, although I am uncertain if that moment will be featured in this anime adaptation (Edit: it was). After successfully rescuing Griffith and finding a temporary respite, Casca engages in a significant conversation with Guts about goals and the means to achieve them. Guts, having endured a solitary and tumultuous life, adheres to the belief that one must settle their battles alone when they are of their own choosing. This perspective encapsulates his character and resonates with his past experiences. He refuses to entertain any notion of weakness within himself and insists on personally resolving the conflicts he initiates. His distrust of others stems from the hardships he has faced along his journey. However, Casca astutely perceives the flaw in Guts' reasoning. She counters his stance by asserting, "...for us, even if we start something, we can't always finish it. Can you truly meet Griffith's gaze and say that? We are all vulnerable. We seek solace in others and in our dreams." Believing ourselves to be infallible gods is a fallacy. As evidenced by Griffith's own vulnerability, even those we perceive as the strongest individuals are susceptible to downfall. If we shut ourselves off from the support of others and stubbornly attempt to tackle every challenge alone, we are bound to stumble at some point. Our reliance on others is rooted in our nature as social beings. We forge connections, nurture bonds, and extend help to one another in times of need. It is easy to perceive oneself as invincible, but this sense of power is limited to our personal experiences. If we have never truly suffered, it becomes difficult to fathom the depths of our own vulnerability. And when we inevitably encounter failure, our descent will be far more agonizing if we lack the support of those who can uplift us. The final episodes of this series revolve around the Eclipse, an event that has already been extensively discussed in relation to other characters. However, when it comes to Casca, I must express my disappointment in how everything surrounding her was handled during this time. The graphic and exploitative nature, which I found appalling in the manga, was somewhat toned down in the adaptation, but the directorial choices still felt extremely tasteless to me. I have always had reservations about how this particular moment was utilized as a significant plot device to fuel Guts' hatred and revisiting it in this show has done little to change my perspective. The Eclipse perpetuates the trope of using violence against women as a means to propel a male character's narrative, which is both frustrating and disheartening. The impact of this event on Casca's character is overshadowed, and her agency is undermined in the process. I have not read enough of the manga to see how the rest of her character plays out following this moment, but this situation and the story immediately after it has always left me disappointed. __Overall Reflection:__ My perception of Casca as a character has undergone significant evolution since my initial attempt to read Berserk. While many of my criticisms regarding certain events involving her remain, I have also come to appreciate the aspects of her development that truly shine. The exploration of her personal identity and the way her story intertwines with that of the other two main characters exemplify exceptional writing. Casca's internal struggle and her journey to define herself resonates deeply. The portrayal of her battle with personal identity is nuanced and skillfully executed, allowing her character to flourish in unexpected ways. Furthermore, the parallelism between Casca's narrative and those of the other protagonists adds a layer of depth and richness to the storytelling. The interconnectedness of their experiences underscores the intricate web of relationships within the narrative. A significant aspect of my grappling with Berserk lies in its treatment of the themes surrounding the power of sex. On one hand, it can serve as a profound moment of human connection, where consenting characters intimately express their emotions for one another. On the other hand, sex can be wielded as the ultimate form of violence, stripping away an individual's agency and leaving them deeply scarred. This duality aligns with Berserk's overarching exploration of life's complexities, where situations can embody both beauty and relentless horror. At times, I admire how Berserk navigates this dichotomy, but occasionally I am repulsed by its handling of these themes. It is possible to portray these horrific moments in a manner that does not feel exploitative on the part of the author, and I believe Miura achieves this balance on multiple occasions. However, there are instances where it seems that the story delves into exploitation merely for the sake of it. Despite recognizing the flaws in Berserk's narrative depiction, I find solace in the remarkable writing that brings forth the growth and complexities of its characters. This ongoing evolution in my understanding of the characters has ignited a newfound sense of admiration and appreciation for the narrative craft showcased in Berserk. --- __Conclusion/Summary:__ As I conclude my (way too long) reflections on Berserk, I am pleasantly surprised to find myself appreciating it more than I initially expected. While as an adaptation it has its shortcomings, such as omitting crucial character foundations and including tonally conflicting moments, it is likely the best adaptation Berserk will ever receive. Considering these factors, I still believe it to be a rather good adaptation overall. During the Golden Age arc, Berserk takes a seemingly straightforward narrative and weaves intricate character arcs that resonate deeply with my own life experiences. It prompts us to question our control over our lives, explores the complexities of personal identity, and portrays the lasting impact of trauma while emphasizing that happiness is still attainable despite it. Berserk exposes the vulnerabilities inherent in our human condition and reminds us of the significance of those intimate moments that hold great value. As the story progresses beyond this arc, life's cruelties persist, and even worsen. However, Miura aims to convey that this is the nature of life itself. If we remain stagnant, we will only experience unending pain. Yet, if we continue to forge ahead, we will eventually stumble upon opportunities that possess immense worth even amidst the darkest times. When it comes to the story of Berserk, my biggest criticism remains true on a rewatch. In a narrative that portrays both men and women as victims of sexual abuse, it becomes evident that the creators have no hesitation in depicting the tearing apart of a girl's clothes while consistently sidestepping any depiction of abuse suffered by boys. It is crucial to clarify that advocating for the explicit portrayal of exploitation is not my intention here. Rather, it is important to shed light on a pattern rooted in misogynistic tendencies. To me, the need to visually depict such events should not be a prerequisite for effectively conveying the occurrence of exploitation and its impact on characters, regardless of their gender. Berserk approaches the portrayal of sexual assault and the subsequent trauma with a commendable sensitivity in certain instances. However, there are occasions where it seems to indulge in gratuitous depravity without contributing any meaningful substance to the discourse. This duality presents an ongoing situation that I must grapple with should I decide to continue engaging with Berserk. Nonetheless, I believe I can now recognize and appreciate the numerous merits that Berserk has to offer. img(https://i.postimg.cc/MHHnWyjp/SWORDS-Berserk-1997-25-8840-DC1-E-0064.png) --- Wow, I wrote way too much here. Ideally, I could go back and trim it down for conciseness. Nevertheless, I believe that the process of expressing my thoughts on this series allowed me to come to terms with them, and that has its own inherent value. If anyone has taken the time to read through this entire thing – I am sorry lol.