Alright, I'm not a big anime watcher, and I've never read a manga all the way through, so when my friend told me I had to watch Berserk, I was skeptical.
Then we watched the first 9 episodes of the anime. Holy crap. I love Berserk.
I'm excited for the movie too, though I know I'm gonna be comparing it to the anime constantly. I'm not a huge fan of the CGI-infused look, but we'll see.
Same friend showed me the first volume of the manga, and...it's something else.
It's about Guts, who's a demon hunter with a giant sword and a metal arm with a cannon in it. The anime is a flashback to his younger days, showing how he began fighting demons and got to where he is now.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
It's a European Midieval anime about a mercenary group.
The anime mostly follows their rise and the occasional weird stuff that happens to them.
Of special importance is the main character Gutz who had a pretty fucked up child-hood and is now a muscly sword swinging bad-ass who leaves corpses just about wherever he goes.
The leader of the group has his bishonen looks only out matches by his ambition. Despite his effeminate looks, he also tends to leave a pile of corpses wherever he goes.
The rest of the cast is pretty solid as well.
So, you have good characters, an intriguing plot, decent art, and lots and lots of killing complete with Monty Pythonesque blood sprays.
The manga has a bit before and after the ark where it's more high fantasy and VERY grim-dark.
Watched more of it tonight. Only three episodes to go.
Maybe it's because we marathon'd it (in between a very ill-advised viewing of Rankin-Bass' The Hobbit) but I felt that after they win the war, things get painfully slow. Lots of political drama and philosophizing, which was a mixed bag because the political drama was pretty much the same as what we got before and the philosophizing was pretty much new.
I was actually getting used to it, then Guts cut a bunch of dudes, and I realized you can't replace Guts cutting a bunch of dudes.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
Watching him do his murder machine thing is definitely a big draw.
A high point for me is when he duels Griffith for the second time and Guts finished the duel in a single blow. It puts into perspective just how strong Guts is. Considering the body count does not stop from getting higher, it's really hard to use that as a way to gauge his strength.
My favorite part might be when Guts runs Griffith's torturer through with his sword, through the door.
That said, finished watching the series last night. My thoughts, rendered with the aid of The Lion King 2:
Seriously, holy crap. Now there's a way to end a series. I felt that, while the introduction of the demons was pretty sudden, it gave a lot of good insight into Griffith's character. Kind of a, "Look how you got here; do you think it will get any better?" moment that worked really well.
So, yeah. Berserk. It's good.
Now I'm really anxious to see the new movies and how they compare to the series, but I kinda wish that they would've started where the series left off...
I've been reading the manga. Got to the bit with the trolls, and now I'm taking a break until I can scrap together the money to get the next few volumes.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
"My favorite part might be when Guts runs Griffith's torturer through with his sword, through the door."
Oh man, especially when that dude is ranting about how the door is four times thicker than normal and how they'll never break out and Guts cuts him off mid-sentence by plowing through the door sword first as if it was made out of papier-mâché, or Raditz.
The ending sure is something. Berserk the manga basically starts out like the first episode of the Anime, goes deeper into that part of the story then the series, does the whole flashback thing, then continues past the point the anime lets off and you figure out where Guts got all his cool gadgets and giant fucking sword.
The manga series is also still going. The anime probably barely scratches the surface of the series.
It's been going on since 1990, so there's a ton of volumes.
^^ The anime is pretty awesome overall, even if it slows down to a glacial pace just before the end. I haven't read the manga so I dunno how it compares.
I do have to wonder what's been going on inside Kentaro Miura's head for the past 22 years though. Some of the things in the anime...it's scary stuff, and I'm told it's toned down.
So, those movies that they're releasing? JuMer got his hands on the first one, along with subs.
My feelings are...mixed.
Let's get this out of the way: The CGI looks pretty crappy at first glance but becomes tolerable, and what traditional animation there is, is pretty great. Overall good stuff in the visuals department, even if Griffith now looks like Andrew Hussie's female clone.
Now, the story...if you've seen the show, you'll know this movie like the back of your hand. It's only an hour and fifteen minutes, so it plays more like a highlights reel than anything else. You don't get to see what made the Band of the Hawk so respected. You don't get to see Griffith and Guts' relationship develop, and Casca is barely a presence. Thankfully, this means less Corkus too.
Die, Corkus.
The fight with Zodd looks great but just sort of happens; the political power play I complained about before speeds by faster than you can say "behelit."
I get the feeling this movie was made for people who've seen the show/read the manga and nothing else. Well, that's cool, but we already know this story.
I loved Berserk too. One of the first anime series I saw aboot 7/8yrs back. I remember thinking "Holy shit Guts kicks ass". I'd love to re-watch it as the details are hazy, I remember the last few episodes felt rushed, shame really, it would probably be one of the greatest animes I'd seen otherwise.
Comments
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
Same friend showed me the first volume of the manga, and...it's something else.
It's about Guts, who's a demon hunter with a giant sword and a metal arm with a cannon in it. The anime is a flashback to his younger days, showing how he began fighting demons and got to where he is now.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
Maybe it's because we marathon'd it (in between a very ill-advised viewing of Rankin-Bass' The Hobbit) but I felt that after they win the war, things get painfully slow. Lots of political drama and philosophizing, which was a mixed bag because the political drama was pretty much the same as what we got before and the philosophizing was pretty much new.
I was actually getting used to it, then Guts cut a bunch of dudes, and I realized you can't replace Guts cutting a bunch of dudes.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
That said, finished watching the series last night. My thoughts, rendered with the aid of The Lion King 2:
Seriously, holy crap. Now there's a way to end a series. I felt that, while the introduction of the demons was pretty sudden, it gave a lot of good insight into Griffith's character. Kind of a, "Look how you got here; do you think it will get any better?" moment that worked really well.
So, yeah. Berserk. It's good.
Now I'm really anxious to see the new movies and how they compare to the series, but I kinda wish that they would've started where the series left off...
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
I do have to wonder what's been going on inside Kentaro Miura's head for the past 22 years though. Some of the things in the anime...it's scary stuff, and I'm told it's toned down.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
My feelings are...mixed.
Let's get this out of the way: The CGI looks pretty crappy at first glance but becomes tolerable, and what traditional animation there is, is pretty great. Overall good stuff in the visuals department, even if Griffith now looks like Andrew Hussie's female clone.
Now, the story...if you've seen the show, you'll know this movie like the back of your hand. It's only an hour and fifteen minutes, so it plays more like a highlights reel than anything else. You don't get to see what made the Band of the Hawk so respected. You don't get to see Griffith and Guts' relationship develop, and Casca is barely a presence. Thankfully, this means less Corkus too.
Die, Corkus.
The fight with Zodd looks great but just sort of happens; the political power play I complained about before speeds by faster than you can say "behelit."
I get the feeling this movie was made for people who've seen the show/read the manga and nothing else. Well, that's cool, but we already know this story.
I do wish it'll end, though. I think it's been going on for more than ten years at this point.
Wow.
Comic strip cartoonists, this also means you.