Berserk

What are you living for? This is the question posed by Berserk, pitting humanistic free will against nihilistic predestination. More intimately, this is the battle of human suffering in the wake of divine fate and the ambition of one's fellow man. Set in a medieval world of strife, vast green lands and blue skies obscure the supernatural demonic powers lurking in unseen shadows. One man named Griffith, graceful leader of the notorious mercenary group Band of the Hawk, stakes everything on a fate he means to forge for himself at any cost, and as he shines ever brighter the shadows nearbygrow ever darker. Ultimately, this is the story of those who are caught up in his conquest—the conquest of their hearts, of the kingdom of Midland, and of his own destiny. One of those people is a young man called Guts, who we find introduced as The Black Swordsman. Along the way we'll find out how he came to be a warrior more powerful than any other human, with death more than just nipping at his heels from his very birth. He isn't merely your average war-torn soul—he embodies the desire to live on the battlefield, choosing to relentlessly face his fate head on and swinging a sword that might as well be a tombstone as tall as a man. His dogged ferocity endears Griffith, compelling him to draw Guts into the Band of the Hawk. Here he also meets Caska, a dark and fiery-tempered woman second only to Griffith in terms of skill and leadership; second to none in terms of honor and loyalty. And thus our tale truly begins. It is a story about a world full of evil and brutality, of dreams and despair, where people struggle to find themselves in the midst of it all and define the meaning of their existence. Friendship and love are slow to come, but when it's there it'll bring tears to your eyes, for the relationships forged in Berserk are more meaningful than almost any you'll find in anime. You will soon learn that there are no limits to Griffith's ambition, nor to his charisma. A leader that seems to grace his era as if stepped right out of a painting, his Band of the Hawk serves him faithfully, offering their own hopes and aspirations to his "bonfire of dreams"—for simply being near him seems to promise glory. He is also in possession of a strange relic—an egg-like pendant bearing ominous notions... Berserk is not for the faint of heart (or the very young), brimming with violent battles and head-to-head confrontations resulting in dismemberment, bodies sliced entirely in two, blood and entrails by the bucketload, and some very intense sexuality including rape and molestation. The quality of the animation here varies somewhat from time to time, but it is always good enough, and frankly needs no real mention because it is so overshadowed by every other quality here. That said, there are some pretty stunning moments of gorgeous animation—particularly during the action scenes—but most will likely think it looks somewhat bland by today's standards. I urge you not to let this deter you. I'll make note of the music, since that is certainly one of the most enjoyable things about Berserk. Some viewers might recognize Hirasawa Susumu's very distinguished sound from other anime like Paranoia Agent and Paprika, and it is all extremely memorable. You will find yourself whistling along when "Forces" chimes in, and various other tunes are used to delightful effect, heightening the emotional impact of already emotional scenes. Berserk's finale is one of the most notoriously shocking cliffhanger endings in anime history. The story arc covered by the anime is known as the "Golden Age" of Miura's manga, encompassed by volumes 4-13. One might even advise a newcomer to skip the first episode (a flash-forward that takes place beyond the ending) and save it to watch after the 25th, but this might not even be necessary—anyone who is truly drawn into this tale will feel compelled to read the manga afterward. This is such a layered and powerful story, filled with so much ugliness and beauty, that you will almost inevitably be drawn in. Berserk is a true classic.

Story: 10/10 Did you get the meat for my dog, boy!? Berserk is an amazing anime. Although I heavily disagree with starting the first episode in a time line after the last episode in the series as it has discouraged more then a few people who I have had to set strait. After you get to the meat of the story, and the relationships between Guts, and the other members of The Band of the Hawk you will find yourself in a late night cram session feeding your brain with episode after episode of Berserk. All in all this anime has everything I wanted. Friendship, love,betrayal, and a lot of blood and gore to set the pace. All set in a very adult, and mature tone. The best part is it's is all done correctly. Animation: 10/10 Dark, gritty, detailed, and a lot of mis-placed body parts. Could you ask for more? The character animation is superb to say the least. It's more like a coalition of different styles. Makes all the main characters seem unique, and sets the world up with a more realistic feeling. Sound: 8/10 Only reason I didn't rank this a 10 is because of the opening, and ending theme songs. Which are pure crap. In no way do they fit the world, and the feel behind this anime. Not to mention they are terrible to begin with. However my DVD remote has a very useful skip button on it. Anyways the music that plays during the the show was truly a work of genius. It sets the tone for The Band of the Hawk and their rise to glory, and makes the whole project seem epic in nature. Character: 10/10 Get in tha choppa! Most of the characters' past development is heavily focused on Guts, while the other main characters get only a few spot lights on their history. However the feel that Berserk provides with all of the characters during their present life as mercenaries is very amazing. Facial expression, past experiences you see from watching it, and monologues mix well together to give you a true insight into everyone's mind, and current thoughts. Overall it is something great to experience and if you enjoy a more adult themed setting there is no way you can let this one pass you by. I bought on DVD to check it out, and after I finished it I went directly back to the store, and bought the rest. You won't be disappointed, and if you do buy the DVDs you get one of the greatest bonus' ever. Outtakes of the voice actors are all absolutely hilarious.

Review by theme analysis: There are three major themes that mark this series: (1) MEDIEVAL, (2) GORE, and (3) PHILOSOPHY. This is why I think this is a great series: this combination of themes, which is already rare in anime, are very well incorporated together as a complete story. The (1) MEDIEVAL theme brings the setting of the story. creating an atmosphere where the gore and philosophy can develop together. This also sets the pace of the story based on the technological circumstances of medieval culture. The slow nature of this large-scale medieval story allows enough time to unravel the deep characters. The (2) GOREtheme accents the philosophy, reinforcing characters and foreshadowing the character progression by their behaviour in battle. This is a real treat to see the battle behaviour contrasting with the respective characters you've watched develop (Most notably the main protagonist). The (3) PHILOSOPHY theme is a major feature to the characterization in the main characters. The characters and their actions are defined by their varied internal philosophies. With a very distinct difference in character philosophies and a heavy story focus on them, central story events are marked by relationships between these philosophies. General review: SOUND: At first glance, the soundtrack seems to be lacking with only 11 songs (Including intro and outro). However, the placement and feeling (And sometimes repetition) of these soundtracks is well done, giving the story great fluidity and emotional propulsion. Voice acting and sound effects are well done, even on dub. Voice acting most notably reflects the characters well, save for some of the demons. ART: A rough art technique is used in this series, with unique design. Both of these accent the themes by reinforcing and elevating the serious nature of this anime (As opposed to the chibi art design). At times there is an over usage of scrolling single pictures in place of animation, which works as both an advantage and disadvantage. The advantage: it is reflective of the pacing of the anime. The disadvantage: it can be too slow (Especially in the beginning when the story is slower). STORY, CHARACTER: Probably the greatest strength of this anime are it's story and characters. The story and characters grow simultaneously making the world of Berserk very lively. Most of the typical anime cliches are steered clear of here (with the exception of one blatant one), which really improved the effectiveness of the story and characters. With a unique and lively world, Berserk captures a lot of realism for an anime. OVERALL, ENJOYMENT: This is definitely not a lighthearted anime. It can be embraced to the extreme of obsession (Like me) because of the interesting, deep perspectives that operate in the story. The good development quality only makes it further enjoyable. But this anime is truly for a certain crowd because of its extremely deep nature and depictions of extreme brutality. This is going to be a 'hate it or love it' sort of anime. (Updated August 2008: Touched everything up a bit; explanations should be clearer now. =] Thanks for all the positive feedback.)

JUST a masterpiece ! A superb balance of everything! I don;t have the words to describe it! Everything is perfect - from the animation, through the marvellous soundtrack (a excellent work from Susumu HIRASAWA - Paranoia Agent, Paprika - just can\'t describe the emotional feeling from the music ) and finally to the magnificent story! Yosh, let\'s cut the story into pieces -> everything is so simple , but PERFECT! 3 main charecters - Guts (The Black swordsman), Griffith and Casca. Guts is out to get the King of a country called Midland. Simple enough to be perfect, as i said. OUTSTANDING plotline and magnificent twistswithing the plot itself! The superb story is represented with a far more great animation. The art itself is just a masterpiece, nothing less ! The atmosphere is shady, black and full of depression! What else ? The animation is based on new sequences for every hack&slash or action move (not like the one pan-camera for the action scenes in other animes ). This gives a great opportunity for different camera angles -> that in the genius hands of Shichiro Kobayashi (Angel\'s egg), Tokuhiro MATSUBARA (Pokemon -hehe..), Yuriko CHIBA (Code Geass,Planetes, work on Eureka 7 too) set on a pedestal the Art! Oustanding emotional feeling you can get just by watching. (the blood makes you sadistic >:) JUST A MASTERPIECE!) But when you mix the animation with the perfectly made sound - your head swims ! The soundtrack is just as black and depressed just like the art! It\'s the PERFECT symbiosis between them! But the only thing that lack\'s the number of the OSTs. For 25 episodes there should be at least 1-2 more tracks. I\'m fed up with the op & ending. But afterall they are Great! The sounds when Guts slashesh horses,monsters and people is just as oustanding like the animation - you can only listen the perfectly made voice-acting and you\'ll be overjoyed ! The voice-acting is casted by professionals. Nobutoshi Hayashi\'s as Guts make the character development even better! He\'s staff in Fate/stay night, Air, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Initial D, Get Backers, Inu Yasha, Naruto, Shaman King and many many more. But as i said earlier - there are 3 main personages. Toshiyuki Morikawa\'s (lets say \"Devil May Cry\"as Dante and stop here...) as Griffith and Yuko Miyamura\'s as Casca (lets say also Neon Genesis Evangelion as Asuka and as performer of the ED song). It appears they are not just mere professionals...They are given a great role for the anime. The emotional relationship between the characters is deep and complicated. Great job with the flash-back episodes and development of the personality. Bow to the Outstanding coolnest of all the deeply spirited personages. It\'s like watching real live relationship! Can\'t describe it... :( The enjoyment is far beyond exceptional! I was in deep depression after the anime. It took me around 2 days to recover! THIS IS \"Must Watch\" TITLE! For all anime fans out there - the overall score is OUSTANDING! You must not miss this! It\'s definitely NOT a waste of time.