Berserk
| Berserk | |
|---|---|
 Don't fuck with this guy. | |
| Original Manga | Kentaro Miura |
| Director/Artist | Naohito Takahashi |
| Format | Anime (TV), Manga |
| Made By | Oriental Light and Magic, VAP |
| Episode Length | 24 minutes |
| # of Eps/Volumes | 25 (Anime) 32 (Manga, ongoing) |
Contents
Genre
Drama, War, Medieval, Action, Fantasy
Sum it up in a Sentence:
Berserk tells the tale of Guts, a man with one eye, a metal arm, and a gigantic sword called The Dragonslayer who is swept up in many matters, be it war, romance, or demons and dark forces.
Main Description
Berserk is a dark tale set in medieval times. The story begins by giving you a glimpse of what is to come, then spends 12 volumes explaining how it got there. The focus is on the main character, Guts. It is extremely dark and gruesome, with high amounts of violence and depravity in order to highlight the evil of the time. It is a tale of vengeance and the struggle of a lone man against casuality and fate.
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Personal Opinions
Elentor
While the anime is pretty "meh" and incomplete, the manga is one of the best, if not the best manga there is. Although Berserk is the epitome of the Dark Fantasy, it's very adult-themed and deals with strong subjects such as religion, existentialism, free will vs. causality, etc. Think of Berserk as the Game of Thrones of the manga world - A good, solid dark fantasy story that is never going to get finished.
Crazed_Capybara_Rider
Simply the best manga I've ever laid eyes on. Exquisite detail of everything, awesome amount of fighting for my testosterone fueled mind, and an incredible story are only some of the reasons I love this series. You really get a feel for everything that's happening. And Miura is a man who has done his homework. Many of the weapons, terminology, and even clans of people are all right out of the history books, but with an amazing Mirua spin to them. Witchcraft and demons, blowing stuff up and cutting everything in to pieces, what's not to love. My suggestion to you, should you choose to watch/read this, is to watch the 25 anime episodes first and then read the manga. That way, when you get to episode twenty five and start screaming "WHAT THE FUCK" so loud it wakes your block up you can pick up a book and keep going.
Totalizator
While i never read the manga, the anime is pretty bad. Square-jawed hero defeats monsters, has a mysterious, horrible past and on top of it all is poorly animated, bad enough to disqualify Beserk as an action series. I had high hopes for this anime based on the good opinion it seems to have but despite my best efforts i just couldn't make it past episode two, it was THAT bad. If you're looking for a nice action, medieval/fantasy anime i really have to suggest looking elsewhere.
Zorak
The manga is fucking incredible. It is one of the most mature, deep stories I've ever seen in a manga format. It's depraved, it's violent, but it has a deep plot that actually has what one could call LITERARY value. If you like good manga, READ THIS.
NeverRamza
I saw someone describe this once as Lord of the Rings except without all the gay elves but instead loads of hideous demons that want to most likely rape and kill everything. The series follows the main character Gatts (Guts?) as he forms relationships and just barely defeats incredible odds while everything else around him gets sacrificed. The anime is good although it cuts out some cool stuff at the end and then just... ends. The manga though is amazing and needs to be read. The manga can probably be considered worthy of reading to even non-anime fans as it's just that damn good.
Exxxxxx
Possibly the greatest manga ever created. Seriously. When I first started this manga, I thought it was going to be pretty average. Boy was I wrong. You pretty much get to see the entire back story of the main character, Guts and see him grow and how he deals with things. Usually by hitting them really hard with a sword. Aside from an exceptional story, the artwork is top notch. I don't even know how it's possible to fill a page with that much detail. Do not skip this manga, start reading it immediately.
AnonSubHuman
I bought the Box of War which was the entire twenty-five episode animated series on a whim several years ago. By the time I got to the end, I was possessed to continue, and because I didn't give up I discovered the manga. If you can see the anime first, and enjoy it for what it is, as Miura described, a synopsis of The Golden Age and the days of The Band of the Hawk, then I highly recommend it. It will make discovering everything the manga contains to be that much more fulfilling. Puck is the best character, Guts is a close second.
