Forum Settings
Forums
New
What did you think of this episode?
5Loved it!
44.7%
119
4Liked it!
35.0%
93
3It was OK
13.5%
36
2Disliked it
4.9%
13
1Hated it
1.9%
5
Average 4.2
266 votes
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Pages (3) [1] 2 3 »
Dec 11, 2012 11:10 AM
#1

Offline
Jan 2008
1274
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
What a disappointment. Gory action scenes couldn't save rushed, and partially changed plot. Not to mention CG still looks like a horse dung. I don't know whether it was a special feature of the bluray edition but censored nude scenes take the cake for being one of the most ridiculous 'overlays' ever. They could've at least done it with style, pixelated or something.

There's some character development, if miniscule, but they've done quite well considering it's a 80 minute feature. Music certainly helps but it's not a top notch ost though.

Overall, mediocre all the way. Three highlights, for me, are two battles (forest, and for Doldrey) and Griffith's madness towards the end.

6/10 , shamefully


"There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
which leads to an unknown, secret place."
Dec 11, 2012 10:21 PM
#2

Offline
Jun 2011
611
A lot of CG this episode. Two battles and the dance. The animation is well done overall, but I didn't like the art in particular. (Movie 1 was so long ago I forgot what it looked like). I really like the dance scene. The movements, the SHADOWS. Oh, for once, shadows move in anime.

[The following interpretations come from someone who has not read the original material]
So, this episode is basically the action before the climax(?) Summary: battle > battle> Guts leaves > Griffith gets capture > trailing end. Leaving the end like this doesn't make me want to watch the next episode.
I don't exactly remember the last movie clearly, so pardon me for asking dumb questions. Casca asked Guts about what he is fight for, did this have to do with Guts leaving. Why did Guts leave anyways? I couldn't quit understand his reasoning. Now Griffith, just by watching this episode, I couldn't quit figure out how Griffith view Guts. What is his feeling towards Guts? He wants/needs Guts for his goal? For his own sake? I hope I can figure this out later on.

Lastly, it's the censoring that everyone is crying about. Yes, the censoring on nudity is very bad. Not sure if it was in the raw, or the Chinese sub group (MGRT & 幻之字幕组) added it themselves.
Dec 11, 2012 10:28 PM
#3

Offline
Jan 2008
1274
Shih said:
Why did Guts leave anyways? I couldn't quit understand his reasoning. Now Griffith, just by watching this episode, I couldn't quit figure out how Griffith view Guts. What is his feeling towards Guts? He wants/needs Guts for his goal? For his own sake? I hope I can figure this out later on.

Lastly, it's the censoring that everyone is crying about. Yes, the censoring on nudity is very bad. Not sure if it was in the raw, or the Chinese sub group (MGRT & 幻之字幕组) added it themselves.


From what I remember from the manga and was said in this animation, Guts was a vagabond type and after capture of Doldrey this lifestyle was no longer possible. In short, a lone swordsman best describes him at this point of the story.

Griffith uses everything for attaining his own goal (little flashback when he receives the Behelit, he aims at the top - royalty). As shown in this movie, he lost it when his favorite chess piece had left.

Censoring is allegedly only in the Chinese version. We shall see if it's true when other rips arrive.


"There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
which leads to an unknown, secret place."
Dec 11, 2012 11:01 PM
#4
Offline
Oct 2010
5252
Shih said:


Why did Guts leave anyways? I couldn't quit understand his reasoning. Now Griffith, just by watching this episode, I couldn't quit figure out how Griffith view Guts. What is his feeling towards Guts? He wants/needs Guts for his goal? For his own sake? I hope I can figure this out later on.

Lastly, it's the censoring that everyone is crying about. Yes, the censoring on nudity is very bad. Not sure if it was in the raw, or the Chinese sub group (MGRT & 幻之字幕组) added it themselves.


Guts left to find his goal in life, you said you don't remember the first movie, but in the end scene of the first movie griffith is talking to the princess about the qualities of person that he would consider a friend and equal. Ultimately he says a friend is someone who has a goal of his own and anyone else is merely a comrade, upon hearing this (griffith didn't notice they were there) guts came to realization that griffith did not consider him a true friend and equal despite what they had been through, so he left to find his own goal in life. (this is only from the manga and first movie, I haven't seen the second one).

Additionally griffith believed guts to be "his" because of the duel they had in the first movie where guts would pledge loyalty if he won. This is why they fought in the second movie, so guts could free himself from that bond, but because guts has a better aptitude for fighting, all those countless battles allowed him to surpass griffith's ability and he wins.
Dec 12, 2012 2:33 AM
#5

Offline
Oct 2008
1007
Damn, you guys are ruining my excitement.
Waiting for subs.
Dec 12, 2012 7:11 AM
#6

Offline
Jul 2009
538
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.
Dec 12, 2012 8:00 AM
#7

Offline
Apr 2008
904
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.
Dec 12, 2012 8:14 AM
#8

Offline
May 2012
86
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


thanks god
now i don't have to see this bastard's face again
http://myanimelist.net/character/58301/Foss

Guts, known as the Black Swordsman, seeks sanctuary from the demonic forces attracted to him and his woman because of a demonic mark on their necks, and also vengeance against the man who branded him as an unholy sacrifice. Aided only by his titanic strength gained from a harsh childhood lived with mercenaries, a gigantic sword, and an iron prosthetic left hand, Guts must struggle against his bleak destiny, all the while fighting with a rage that might strip him of his humanity.
Dec 12, 2012 8:39 AM
#9

Offline
Apr 2008
904
paladin2050 said:
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


thanks god
now i don't have to see this bastard's face again
http://myanimelist.net/character/58301/Foss



WTF, we(me) I wanted to see him. He's is important and the movie would be better.

Studio 4 takes really us for stupid. It is so shame for the manga which is exceptional
Dec 12, 2012 11:59 AM

Offline
May 2012
86
KiraYoshikage said:
paladin2050 said:
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


thanks god
now i don't have to see this bastard's face again
http://myanimelist.net/character/58301/Foss



WTF, we(me) I wanted to see him. He's is important and the movie would be better.

Studio 4 takes really us for stupid. It is so shame for the manga which is exceptional

I hate him in manga and anime

--------------------------------------
Well Since no one posted pictures yet, I'll start with mine
Guts x Griffith

--------------------------------------
Skull Knight

--------------------------------------
Serpico & Farnese & Azan
anyone notice them?

--------------------------------------
Puck

--------------------------------------
God Hand
paladin2050Dec 12, 2012 12:03 PM

Guts, known as the Black Swordsman, seeks sanctuary from the demonic forces attracted to him and his woman because of a demonic mark on their necks, and also vengeance against the man who branded him as an unholy sacrifice. Aided only by his titanic strength gained from a harsh childhood lived with mercenaries, a gigantic sword, and an iron prosthetic left hand, Guts must struggle against his bleak destiny, all the while fighting with a rage that might strip him of his humanity.
Dec 12, 2012 12:03 PM

Offline
Apr 2008
904
paladin2050 said:
KiraYoshikage said:
paladin2050 said:
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


thanks god
now i don't have to see this bastard's face again
http://myanimelist.net/character/58301/Foss



WTF, we(me) I wanted to see him. He's is important and the movie would be better.

Studio 4 takes really us for stupid. It is so shame for the manga which is exceptional

I hate him in manga and anime

--------------------------------------

Serpico & Farnese
anyone notice them?



You can hate him, but he is important for the scenario. I am outraged to see Farnese and Serpico. They are not even supposed to be there
Dec 12, 2012 12:06 PM

Offline
May 2012
86
You can hate him, but he is important for the scenario. I am outraged to see Farnese and Serpico. They are not even supposed to be there


They are trying to say there will be a second season
the current Berserk anime didn't contain anything from the manga that proves a second season
paladin2050Dec 13, 2012 2:13 AM

Guts, known as the Black Swordsman, seeks sanctuary from the demonic forces attracted to him and his woman because of a demonic mark on their necks, and also vengeance against the man who branded him as an unholy sacrifice. Aided only by his titanic strength gained from a harsh childhood lived with mercenaries, a gigantic sword, and an iron prosthetic left hand, Guts must struggle against his bleak destiny, all the while fighting with a rage that might strip him of his humanity.
Dec 12, 2012 12:28 PM

Offline
Apr 2008
904
paladin2050 said:
You can hate him, but he is important for the scenario. I am outraged to see Farnese and Serpico. They are not even supposed to be there


They are trying to say there will be a second season
the current Berserk anime didn't contain anything from the manga that proves a second season

and were you stalking me or something? you took 20 seconds to reply


It's just a coincidence that I post a few minutes after.

What you do not seem to understand is that I hate movies for various reason. I do not know if you know, but ticket sales and the Blu-Ray sales are very bad in Japan for Berserk movies. I doubt that is a sequel with the studio.

Berserk is not for a movie format. The length of time is not enough. The animation is awful and it's a shame for the manga.

They also cut a lot the discussion while under the shelter(Guts and Casca)
They cut the discussion between Guts and Casca (bondfire of dream)
No Zodd
The ball scene is the most disappointing. It totally changed and it is one of the best in the manga, but the anime has destroyed it.( no attempted murder on Griffith)
There is no discussion between Guts Judo and carcus

They even dared to change the behavior of Guts for the ball
Dec 12, 2012 1:07 PM

Offline
May 2012
1
CriticalShock said:
I'm a little disappointed, especially because they left out this:


How dare they? that was one of my favorite scenes from the manga, shame on you Studio 4 (or whatever the name). I agree with KiraYoshikage, these movies sucks, Berserk deserves better, much better.
Dec 12, 2012 3:17 PM

Offline
Aug 2008
2139
Well let's be fair...they are trying to tell a tv series worth of story in 3 movies...how good did you guys think this adaption would be (hell 25 episodes wasn't even enough to tell this whole section).

It's like expecting the evangelion movies to be any good. The movies are just fanservice for the fans and nothing more.
Dec 12, 2012 3:45 PM

Offline
Apr 2008
904
hyperknees91 said:


It's like expecting the evangelion movies to be any good. The movies are just fanservice for the fans and nothing more.


Like I said, Berserk is not good for a movie format. For Fan? I F''''' love the manga, but when they cut the best epic scene from the manga, it is really bad.

So how do you think than manga fans will react? If you read the manga, you know that the drawing is extraordinary. It really is a shame to see how they transmit the work of Miura. We can say without embarrassment, this are not fan of Berserk that made the movies

At the beginning of the project, we all wanted it to be as faithful as possible to the manga. The anime of 97 was successful on the level of psychological development, but it has to deviate when Guts left the Hawk


The result of the first film, it was said that it was too short and psychological developnent almost nonexistent. The second movie was even worse. they cut key moments in the manga. They dared change the ballroom scene. This is unacceptable.
Dec 12, 2012 3:51 PM

Offline
Apr 2009
432
I can understand why they wanna rush this material though. I remember Hellsing: Ultimate did the same thing, they're blasting through the original source material, because most people have either read the manga or seen the original anime, and wanna naime some new material.

They basically wanna hurry up and get to The Black Swordsman Guts.
Dec 12, 2012 4:03 PM

Offline
Aug 2008
2139
KiraYoshikage said:
hyperknees91 said:


It's like expecting the evangelion movies to be any good. The movies are just fanservice for the fans and nothing more.


Like I said, Berserk is not good for a movie format. For Fan? I F''''' love the manga, but when they cut the best epic scene from the manga, it is really bad.

So how do you think than manga fans will react? If you read the manga, you know that the drawing is extraordinary. It really is a shame to see how they transmit the work of Miura. We can say without embarrassment, this are not fan of Berserk that made the movies

At the beginning of the project, we all wanted it to be as faithful as possible to the manga. The anime of 97 was successful on the level of psychological development, but it has to deviate when Guts left the Hawk


The result of the first film, it was said that it was too short and psychological developnent almost nonexistent. The second movie was even worse. they cut key moments in the manga. They dared change the ballroom scene. This is unacceptable.


Trust me I agree, when looked at critically..it's a giant mess.

But I think it's for the people who have already read and already know the psychological development. It's basically like the Unlimited blade works movie for FSN. You watch it to see the action scenes animated and really nothing more (though they were lazy in that department).
Dec 15, 2012 4:08 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


I've read the manga, multiple times in fact. Do you really think they could include EVERYTHING that happened in the Golden Age in a trilogy? I understand why they have to cut parts.

My main frustration comes from the fact they decided they wanted all 3 movies out within a year. What a terrible decision by somebody. I really don't understand the thought process for these movies at all bar the obvious emphasis on the relationship between Guts and Griffith. Sure, this is an important aspect, but Berserk has so much more that made it brilliant. The relationship between each and every character is what puts Berserk a step above most other manga of the same kind, not JUST the somewhat cliche betrayal story.

But that's what makes a good movie, and that's what they have decided to focus on. Their loss - Berserk fans are going to be more upset than anyone. We have been asking for another anime adaptation for an incredibly long time and they really have exploited that wish.
Dec 15, 2012 5:00 AM

Offline
Apr 2008
904
Psychodrake said:
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


I've read the manga, multiple times in fact. Do you really think they could include EVERYTHING that happened in the Golden Age in a trilogy? I understand why they have to cut parts.
.


I know it, but the cutting is done very badly. They had things they could not cut and they did it anyway. Seriously, we can be anticipated the length of film. It is even obvious. You think 1h to 1h30 is enough to make a trilogy of this magnitude.

Berserk deserves much better and those who do not know the manga do not know what they are missing. The budget has been poorly managed. The choices they have made are definitely failure and they lack of professionalism.

The choice of studio was bad. They had better studio that could make the movies. This studio is not made to do this kind of project. There are many anime mindfuck and little project i and what's more, they did not have the budget to do the project of Berserk.
Dec 15, 2012 5:55 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:
Shame to hear about the censoring and stuff. Seems like they haven't taken the project particularly seriously and just wanted to get to the good parts.


What, they cut the most important scene. There is no Queen and no Foss. Everything happens at ball is false. Seriously if you really want to know Berserk, read the manga.


I've read the manga, multiple times in fact. Do you really think they could include EVERYTHING that happened in the Golden Age in a trilogy? I understand why they have to cut parts.
.


I know it, but the cutting is done very badly. They had things they could not cut and they did it anyway. Seriously, we can be anticipated the length of film. It is even obvious. You think 1h to 1h30 is enough to make a trilogy of this magnitude.

Berserk deserves much better and those who do not know the manga do not know what they are missing. The budget has been poorly managed. The choices they have made are definitely failure and they lack of professionalism.

The choice of studio was bad. They had better studio that could make the movies. This studio is not made to do this kind of project. There are many anime mindfuck and little project i and what's more, they did not have the budget to do the project of Berserk.


The fact that the first movie was only an hour long really disgusted me. Too many important scenes were just not present. The pacing itself was fantastic and the film opened and ended spectacularly - But the imbetween was barely representative of the manga.

It's a damn shame.
Dec 17, 2012 10:00 AM

Offline
Apr 2009
432
I actually watched the first movie BEFORE reading the manga, and I kept telling my brother how bad the movie's narrative was(He was up-to-date on the manga at the time). It's just one scene after another!

Even me, who was a a first time Berserker at the time, and had a really hard time trying to understand this movie, because even I could tell there was a lot missing.

Then I picked up the manga :).
Dec 17, 2012 4:52 PM

Offline
Sep 2011
3235
KiraYoshikage you are absolutly right these movies are an insult to the manga. Its unbelievable that they cut so many key moments of the manga in the movie. Especially the bonfire/dream speech, which explained the reason why guts wanted to leave. Also the random cameos by Farnese and Serpico which didn't make any sense if you've read the manga.

I knew from the moment I saw the first trailer for the first movie that these adaptations where going to suck. I still had hope that maybe it was just a low budget but very good adaptation, but oh well....Thanks to these crappy movies I doubt we will ever get a proper Berserk anime. Honestly I would have preferred a semi-censored episodic anime adaptation like the 97 series instead of these movies. That's a much better format to tell this story. If they ever do a proper adaptation they should start the series from vol.1 and on wards they shouldn't cut anything out.
Dec 17, 2012 5:33 PM

Offline
Apr 2011
1149
Just watched the Raw, seems like it was the censored Chinese version. I hope there's a version without all the gratuitous censoring, the version of movie #1 had no such white-outs over Casca's naughty bits. Was surprised by how fast they accelerated the story, pretty much all the court intrigue was cut out and replaced with a single ball. I'm a bit frustrated because it showed how Griffith was increasingly using Guts as a personal assassin to eliminate his political enemies, and how ruthless Griffith was becoming in pursuit of his dream. Also where was Skull Knight? Isn't he supposed to have shown up by then? Ah well, I did enjoy the random cameos (Serpico and Feyrese (sp?), and Puck in the cage). I heard the movies aren't doing all that well in Japan so we might not get anything past these 3, but I'd love to see the manga further detailed past the Eclipse. We already saw all this already, after all. Anyway, amazing and brutal action, though I was surprised that Zodd didn't toss Guts a sword when fighting the Black Rhino guy.

Can't wait for subs!

7/10 (so far, may go up or down once I see the dialogue)
Dec 19, 2012 4:49 AM

Offline
Feb 2011
113
Decided to watch the RAW, because I'm just that hardcore.

A brief summary of what I thought of the second movie. Either the CG blending has improved, or I've gotten used to it. And like the first movie, more enjoyable that what I had imagined, and even more so than the first. The first movie was in my opinion just a good movie, this one however I found to be great. The removal of certain plot elements didn't really bother me, because the pace was great and it really made the film look like Berserk can really work in a movie format. Basically, I considered this movie to be an improvement over the first movie. It was a really enjoyable experience and I'm really psyched into watching the third movie.
I'm a douche. Deal with it.
Dec 19, 2012 3:51 PM
Offline
Jul 2007
275
I really enjoyed the movie, but I would not have come to that opinion with the manga fresh in my mind. Fortunately, I did not read this thread till after I watched the movie. So barely remembering the manga, the movie was overall a very good watch. But for ****ing god's sake, why do they have to use that UGLY CGI??!!! WTF are they thinking?!! They zoom up on their faces and it looks like a videogame. My eyes just could not take it, and I would breathe a sigh of relief when they switch it back to normal animation. Some scenes were beautifully animated, while others were ugly as s***. Plus, there's the ridiculous 2 frames/second in the flashback scene; I guess they think these movies will stand out as some unique, classic work of art. (Never in my book cuz of that ****ing ugly CGI.) In the end, it is just a disgrace to be so unfaithful to the source material and not animate it properly. I would still recommend the movie, but only if you have not read the manga or forgot enough of the manga to not nitpick at every little line and scene they left out. These movies are good as standalone pieces when not compared to the manga.
eraltergDec 19, 2012 4:19 PM
Dec 20, 2012 4:21 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
4805
The did cut a lot of important stuff in the movie, I also don't like the animation much, there's some scenes that are like a GTA game, but I liked the movie, it was worth watching, the sex scene between Griffith and the princess was well done and it also reminds me of how much he 'feels' for Guts ;)
Dec 20, 2012 6:26 AM

Offline
Jul 2011
17
Not as good as the first movie as it has lost some sense of direction but overall enjoyable (coming from a fan). We've seen an animated Golden Age Arc in the past, this sort of feels like a recap to me, but don't worry newcomers, it is still very accessible. ;)

It does skip some great scenes from the manga and original TV series, but they are not as important as some will say. A lot of fans will be complaining but I am not too annoyed about it. People who are new to the series will have a blast though. It's sort of like the first 10 or so episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist where they quickly go through the already animated material so they can get to the new stuff. (pacing becomes better)

I'm confident that the third movie will improve upon this one, since the direction should be less chaotic and the main characters will be at the center of it all. It's no longer the war that the Band of the Hawk has to deal with... I am patiently waiting for the later arcs too, just remember to support these movies so it can happen, buy the DVDs and stuff ;)
Dec 21, 2012 1:53 AM

Offline
Sep 2011
383
The movie was enjoyable no complaints here.
Dec 21, 2012 2:04 AM
Offline
Jan 2012
3
Hmm, maybe I'm not as strict as some of you when it comes to animes/ovas sticking to it's manga counterpart but I really like this movie. Still, at the same time I'm pissed off and mad, not for myself but for Kentaro. Because his manga don't get the appreciation it deserves. Berserk has some of the most detailed art I have ever seen in an manga, and to have such CGI ish art in the OVA feels like the studio not giving Berserk and it's creator it's due respect. These OVAS in my opinion should each have been atleast three hours long each to completely and satisfactorily tell the Berserk story. Also, it should have one of the most brillant and mind-boggling art and animation ever used on an anime ever. About 4 times better than Fate Zero or even Hellsing Ultimate art. Without atleast that, this adaptation fails to really showcase the grand scale of the Berserk world, maybe you think I'm asking too much but I feel Berserk deserve atleast this. But instead we get this, I won't even complain more but I like it for myself, enjoyed it for myself, and found it an reasonably good adaptation for myself. But for Kentaro, and for Berserk, I find it a tragically wasted remainder of what could of been.
Dec 21, 2012 12:50 PM

Offline
Jun 2010
1134
I agree with Neizaru.

I am not expecting much from the third movie, either... But I wonder how they are going to continue.
Dec 21, 2012 3:19 PM

Offline
Aug 2008
2139
Quite honestly I don't see the fuss. It's an abridged movie series, of course they are going to leave out scenes.

But anyways this movie was pretty well done. The focus on griffith, guts and casca was much better done than the first movie for one thing. And it was just better structured (having a beginning, middle and end...while the first series is just a bunch of events strung together). The CG is ugly like the first movie, they really should have used ninja storm graphics and just improved the framerate for the scenes that used it..but the fights were still kinda cool so I won't complain too much.

Obviously I'd recommend the TV series or Manga over it any day, but it still manages to make the characters deep and interesting and with good chemistry (which is kinda funny because they are portrayed a bit more simply). Really wish they would've spent more money on these movies but ahh well what can you do, hopefully these movies are doing well enough for a true blackswordsman arc.
Dec 21, 2012 3:52 PM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
Okay, so I've watched the movie now and want to put forth my own opinion.

This movie moved FAST. The first half was practically unstructured. The 100-man fight and the battle of Doldrey felt like afterthoughts. This is a shame considering the movie is called the Battle of Doldrey. I'm glad to see some tactics and some Guts slaughter, and I did enjoy these scenes for the most part, however, some parts skipped are inexcusable, such as Zodd not appearing during the fight with Boscone and the whole flashback with Griffith and the old guy. Man, I loved the scene where Zodd throws his sword to Guts. I'm really sad that the scene is absent.

The 100-man massacre. I don't know where to begin. It's like they forgot that a sword like Guts's has some weight behind it, or specifically, the animators. The sound design remains superb throughout the movie, impacts feel strong and violence is always boosted by the sound of crushing and squelching, but the way Guts moved during this scene felt very un-Berserk like, at least, it felt more Black Swordsman and less Golden Age. It was clearly rushed and the fact that the big fellow with the ball and chain was absent is a clear indication of that. It was still kind of cool and got the point across.

The second half of the movie was superb. A few gripes - No assassination attempt on Griffith and no conversation with Judeau before Guts's departure. Not sure what they were thinking there, but I really liked the actual departure scene.

The sex scene was good. The animation was maybe a little TOO good. Like, why couldn't they spend some of that animation budget on FIGHTS. Whatever the reason, the scene really highlighted Griffith's emotional state. Constant flashes of Guts and the Behelit really worked powerfully. I'd argue it's the most powerful scene in the movie, and I doubt many people would argue with that point considering it was pretty much faithful to the manga. My only gripe was Charlotte's VA going a little ott. A little too squeaky.

The ending left me wanting more, which is always a good thing for a movie. I want to see the Eclipse. The preview was creepy as hell and that's what I want. The tone of the movie really shifted powerfully by the end and it looks like many things avoided in the anime series are being covered. This is a good thing, as we already know about Foss for instance, but anime watchers have no idea who the Skull Knight is and were left hanging in the Eclipse.

Shit is getting real. Movie was decent. It certainly isn't anywhere near what I want from a Berserk movie series but I feel that it isn't as terrible as some make it out to be. It isn't a masterpiece, which is what we expect from Berserk. It feels like a pretty recap.

EDIT: I had hoped Wyald's face would appear in the preview but it just didn't. We see some scenes of the carriage and the Band of the Hawk escaping soldiers but never any sign of the apostle himself. I imagine we'll see the same cop-out as we did in the anime series here.
PsychodrakeDec 21, 2012 4:03 PM
Dec 21, 2012 5:18 PM

Offline
Sep 2008
1104
I don't understand all the hatred here. Sure, many things were missing (fight with Boscone, whole sword thing, HUGE cameo which HAD to happen and didn't) and many corners were cut, but I don't think this movies are meant to be really 100% like manga is.
Oh, make no mistake, I'd love it if they were, but it's impossible to make it with the duration they're going with. 90min for all those chapters? Not gonna happen. Something had to go. A shame? Yes, but that's how it goes.

Hell, I started with berserk when over 200 chapters were out, I loved anime adaptation of it and that's why I started reading. Boy, was I surprised how many little details weren't in anime version. But did I like it? Hell yes.
So if someone finds this movies good (and many will, as it's not bad, it's really decent as a movie) he might go to manga next. If I were to see these 2 movies, and soon the 3rd, knowing what's gonna happen in 3rd and how it's gonna end, I'd jump on manga straightaway.
So, even with all corners cut, details left out, movies on it's own are gonna attract more people to manga (first adaptation is almost forgotten by now), and that's actually good, as it gives even more hope that eclipse part is gonna get animated one day.

But that's just wishful thinking, I doubt they're gonna animate it. But hey, a man can dream, right?
Dec 22, 2012 2:24 AM

Offline
Oct 2008
1007
Well, much like the previous movie, a lot of things were skipped that were even covered by the tv series and that's too bad. But they do include some minor things that the tv series didn't (like how the King feels about his daughter). And I liked how Guts saw Farnese and Serpico at the party and then showed Puck as well, even though that was sort of a cheap trick to pander to us manga readers. But I still liked it :)

Besides I think we have to give Studio 4c credit for at least trying to make another Berserk adaptation.
Dec 22, 2012 4:50 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
I can't get enough of Pippin's shouting in this movie I've got to say, especially when the Midland army ambush them and he warns the Hawks, burst out with laughter at the most inappropriate moment.
Dec 22, 2012 5:45 AM

Offline
Apr 2008
904
Psychodrake said:


EDIT: I had hoped Wyald's face would appear in the preview but it just didn't. We see some scenes of the carriage and the Band of the Hawk escaping soldiers but never any sign of the apostle himself. I imagine we'll see the same cop-out as we did in the anime series here.


There will be no Wyald in the third movie. This is just to take away your false hope

I don't understand all the hatred here.



It is far simple, the manga is better to infinity and the movies are a shame for the manga.
KiraYoshikageDec 22, 2012 5:49 AM
Dec 22, 2012 6:51 AM

Offline
Feb 2008
4350
Meh. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it was bad, but it was pretty mediocre all around. CG ruined most of the fights and the pacing was so ridiculous that the whole movie felt more like a montage of events rather than an actual progression. A faster pace is expected from a movie format, but many important and fundamental scenes were removed and not even suggested at. I'm not so sure what the point of these movies is when it's significantly worse than the TV anime which covered the same content.
Dec 22, 2012 7:04 AM

Offline
Mar 2010
181
Well I liked it pretty much but I don't nitpick for details, I can stand cgi, I put a lot of attention to sound effects, and I know that movie length and budget are limited.

PS And also I watched Hobbit movie today, after that - berserk adaptation feels like most faithful adaptation ever.
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick
It can pierce through dust
No matter how thick...
Dec 22, 2012 7:05 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
KiraYoshikage said:
Psychodrake said:


EDIT: I had hoped Wyald's face would appear in the preview but it just didn't. We see some scenes of the carriage and the Band of the Hawk escaping soldiers but never any sign of the apostle himself. I imagine we'll see the same cop-out as we did in the anime series here.


There will be no Wyald in the third movie. This is just to take away your false hope


All of my tears. I want that shit animated god damn it.

Veronin said:
Meh. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it was bad, but it was pretty mediocre all around. CG ruined most of the fights and the pacing was so ridiculous that the whole movie felt more like a montage of events rather than an actual progression. A faster pace is expected from a movie format, but many important and fundamental scenes were removed and not even suggested at. I'm not so sure what the point of these movies is when it's significantly worse than the TV anime which covered the same content.


It's essentially just Berserk if you cut all of the depth. Politics, religion, tactics and strategy, complex character relations and so on. Imagine if none of this was present in the manga and it was just focussed solely on Guts, Griffith and Casca. They cut scenes that they deem unimportant for those relations alone. That's what the movies are, and why they're so weak. Berserk is amazing because of the depth.
PsychodrakeDec 22, 2012 7:08 AM
Dec 22, 2012 4:39 PM

Offline
Feb 2012
6711
It was alright overall, not too bad, or too good, just as it's supposed to be, after all, this isn't a Lord of the Rings movie type, with length of 2 and a half hours so that they can include everything from that manga part in here, they had to throw something out, so they can focus on something else, like the assault on Doldrey was really good, and Guts vs 100 soldiers was awesome, the end clash between him and Griffith was really well done as well.

So yeah, I really enjoyed it, nothing to b*tch about in particular, looking forward to the 3rd movie.
Dec 22, 2012 4:55 PM

Offline
Jan 2012
2608
I think the movie was rushed but still rather good. Loved the animation, fights looked amazing. Still I can't understand why they simply don't continue the story instead of redoing it. In any case, I really enjoyed the movie.

Dec 23, 2012 9:51 AM

Offline
Sep 2008
1104
Neizaru said:
Sloppy work like this supposed to bring more fans to the manga? Unlikely.


A friend of mine saw these 2 movies and he loved it. Some people just have lower standards and some people, mind you it's mostly those who didn't read manga, think it's not that bad.

I'd say biggest problem is actually within us, manga readers, who, for once, hoped to see a good adaptation with all the qualities berserk has to offer, and it has a lot to offer. We didn't get what we wanted so we complain and find flaws even where there are none.
Yes, this movie has cut many corners, yes, this movie dropped MANY important events from the manga, but from movie only perspective it didn't do it. Things missing are VERY important when taken from manga point of view, but from movie perspective they don't even exist.

Why did Gutts actually leave Band of the hawk? Politics? Complexity? Not important.

Again, it's true that many who only watch the movie will hate it because it's just, as you said, random violence, but there are actually people who like that, strange as that is. Many of those will maybe come to manga and not like it because, hey, there're actual things happening there, not just blood and gore (though, to be honest, it prevails :D).

Most important thing, I'm not defending this movie. It's not very good. It's horrible adaptation, but it's also not the worst thing ever like many have been saying. From manga pow it's worst thing ever, but doesn't have to be to others not familiar with it.
And come on, berserk tv show came out 15 years ago, even this kind of adaptation is gonna attract new people, I bet there're even those who didn't even know about berserk before this.

To use most overused phrase: Only time will tell.
Dec 23, 2012 10:12 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
538
Neizaru said:

Sloppy work like this supposed to bring more fans to the manga? Unlikely.


This is actually not true. I'm watching the movies with a couple of friends who have never read the manga, and they're really enjoying the movies. Admittedly, I fill in the blanks for them such as Guts' backstory and a few of the skipped scenes, but they enjoy the movies more than I do for sure.

The movies do actually look really nice. The backgrounds are incredible, some you only see for maybe 10 seconds, most of the CGI scenes are faster moving so your eyes don't settle, so they definitely knew what they were doing. I won't argue the CGI looks good - It doesn't. You can see the polygons, clipping and so on without really looking too closely. It could be better.
Dec 23, 2012 3:41 PM

Offline
Feb 2008
4958
So they rushed quite a lot, yet they had enough time for tits haha. Oh god.

The CGI was as bad as in the first movie, but this time we got a lot more of it. The pain. The gore was hilarious, like watching those old school OVAs.

"Your sight, my delight. Will you marry me?"
Dec 23, 2012 3:56 PM

Offline
Jun 2011
1568
i loved the movie .. even tho there's Many important things cut out :p
but i don't mind, cuz they don't have enough time/duration to cover every single detail.

Guts vs Boscogn WAS EPIC (specially the soundtrack)
Guts vs Griffith was awesome

CGI : i think i get used to it :p it's a little bit better than the first movie.

and Finally, Huge LOL @ Griffith x Princess - scene xD

Can't wait for the third movie ..
Dec 25, 2012 12:06 AM

Offline
Mar 2011
97
The CGI was pretty obnoxious in places, but I can live with it.

Runtime is still far too low. This film and the last film combined take as long to watch as only, say, three Game of Thrones episodes. The missing scenes this time (Griffith bathing flashback where his history with the Baron is pre-established, the campfire scene where healing fairy dust is pre-established, Griffith' poisoning and burning of the queen, Guts getting caught before he leaves town and talking in the tavern)... unlike the epic battles cut from the first movie, these aren't that expensive to animate. The film suffers from their loss.

Also, kind of a dick move to have Griffith steal Judeau's rescue of Casca. I guess the screenwriters only thought of him as someone useful.

See the cameo at 57 minutes in? There's one more person to be disappointed at the lack of burning buildings that night.

Edit:
I mas meaning to say something positive. Berserk is great at this point, and there were times when this film captured that. The adaption is good enough that I can see a glimmer of what it could have been with just a little more.
Guns47Dec 25, 2012 12:22 AM
Dec 28, 2012 9:54 PM

Offline
Feb 2008
1230
Alright, I read the manga and I like these movies, You guys have to understand that they were being rushed to make these so the animations probably going to be super choppy at best.
I also like the fact that they added Puck, that was nice.
Dec 29, 2012 9:13 PM

Offline
May 2010
2559
Hmm they skipped and altered some of the scene but I guess it's fine since it won't affect much to the story

And I can't believe it Serpico & Farnese & Azan&Puck actually showed up and they sort of have seen each other with Guts before, I kinda like this "meeting" !!!

Overall I think it's not bad so it's a 8/10
Dec 30, 2012 5:00 AM
Offline
Dec 2012
1
A few months ago when the first movie was released i was lucky enough to see all three movies in one sitting. Someone uploaded the berserk movie on anime-season. The three movies where not separate but just continued straight after the other. It was Basically one big long movie and of course it was taken down within the same week.

I loved it, i didn't mind the CGI at all. However i do have one complain. Why in the second move did they remove and replace so many scenes what were already made and replace them with something else. I mean in the one i watched they did include zodd throwing guts the sword and samson fighting guts. They changed a few scenes that didn't need changing. They also mate the guts vs 100 men scene much shorter.

I only watched it again because i was thinking of buying the movies because i enjoyed them. But i changed my mind. If the extended version i saw does come to dvd then im getting it.
Pages (3) [1] 2 3 »

More topics from this board

» “Memorial Edition” TV edit announced

ItzElite - Jun 20, 2022

11 by Obahoru »»
Aug 10, 2022 5:21 AM

» Anyone know anything about Berserk Golden Age Arc II & III?

dvsgrace - Jan 15, 2013

27 by EvenJellyOn »»
Apr 9, 2015 7:34 AM

» Berserk Movie II: the Battle for Doldrey --- not subbed yet? D:

TheMail - Nov 16, 2012

48 by Strife91 »»
Jan 13, 2013 6:52 PM

» Is my player lagging?

Wilio - Dec 24, 2012

2 by AironicallyHuman »»
Dec 27, 2012 1:22 PM

» 6.23.12 Release?

ghritke - Jun 23, 2012

13 by Blacksatanman666 »»
Oct 21, 2012 11:53 PM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login