Having recently played through both Dark Souls and Bloodborne recently, I felt the need to explore the source material which is the Berserk series. Anyone who is familiar with both franchises will immediately spot references left and right coming from the weapons such as the Greatsword, to enemy designs suchas the wheel skeletons and the Capra Demon, to items such as the Behelit being similar in appearance to the ever-popular Red-Eye Orbs which are used for invasions. As such, I chose to jump straight into the series through the most popular method which was the original 1997 anime.
For those who are unaware, Berserk tells the story of Guts and his journey with the Band of the Hawk as they fight in the 100 year war between the kingdoms of Midland and Tudor. Along the way, there are several twists and turns ultimately culminating in what can easily be described as the single most shocking ending in anime history. Overall though, what really sells the series is the writing and the overall development and relationships that these characters have with one another. As result these characters feel unique and like actual people with genuine flaws. Guts is an unstoppable badass who makes a habit of going through and mowing down any enemy that's in his path but he has trouble connecting with people. It's pointed out at one point that he has spent his whole life fighting that he has no idea how to do anything but fight. Casca is another good example of a deconstruction of a basic character type as while she is painted as the warrior woman, the show isn't afraid to paint her in a more vulnerable light. Finally, there is Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk. While he is portrayed as being calm and collected and a brilliant strategist, he is also shown to be quite a sadist and he will frequently go out of his way to commit rather questionable actions.
The supporting cast is all incredibly likable and serves to further enhance the world and give more credibility to the world. The best characters are easily the other members of the Band of the Hawk, all of whom play off of the strengths of the main characters. The villains, meanwhile, are a bit of a weak spot of the series. The generals of the Tudor empire, while entertaining, are fairly one note and while one character in particular who I dare not spoil alludes to bigger things sadly doesn't get enough screentime to really do anything.
Music is another thing the series does incredibly well, especially in terms of setting the tone. The downside is there only about songs total. The upside is that they are all used to the fullest extent possible. Susumu Hirasawa, the composer for the series, really did an outstanding job with the series as he did not hold back and whether it is the soothing melody of the song "Guts" or the ominous nature of the song, "Behelit", it all fits the mood perfectly. The only complaint I have in terms of music is the opening. While the song itself isn't terrible, it is incredibly ill-fitting Engrish along with images which consist of Guts posing for the camera as if he were on the cover of Vogue. Contrast this to the more somber ending which has images of the main characters going by slowly, as if to foreshadow the fate of the Hawks.
If there is one downside, it's that the show's animation budget is pretty abysmal. The uses stills and reuses animation cycles as a means to save money and it's pretty obvious to see where the show cut corners wherever it could. In some scenes, however, it actually serves to add significantly to the atmosphere while in certain battle scenes it makes them awkward and disjointed.
One final issue I have is with characters that were cut which pretty much ended up shooting this adaptation in the foot. In the first episode, Guts ends up saving a young woman from a couple of soldiers. However, in the manga, he ended up saving an elf named Puck who becomes instrumental to the plot of the series. While some might argue that this was purely for stylistic reasons, this also meant that the series could not grow beyond the first 26 episodes that aired. The second character who was cut was an even worse choice was an even worse choice to cut because by removing him it opens up multiple plotholes towards the end of the series.
Ultimately though, despite all of my nitpicks, this a fantastic series that no one should pass up. Currently, the best place to watch it is YouTube, though it's looking to be re-released later this year on Blu-ray in anticipation of the new series which is set to cover the Black Swordsman Arc. Tune in Next week for my next review when I'll hopefully have my review of Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze up.
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