Berserk follows the story of Guts, an incredibly strong mercenary who fights battles for pay. He eventually meets a man named Griffiths, the leader of a mercenary group called Band of the Hawk. The story documents Guts joining the group, and the many tales of battles and wars the band of the hawk face, which all go towards Griffiths' trying to accomplish his dream.
Berserk opening episode starts off (and I don't know if this is a real word) in an anti clockwise cyclical nature, in that it goes from present, to past (which is most of the story) and then back to the present again, which can be confusing for an opening few episodes, but is very integral later on. What makes Berserk interesting is it's genre in comparison to the morale of the story. For a mythical, medieval hack and slash styled show, it would be expected to have a simplistic message so the watcher isn't put off by complex drivel. However, Berserk concentrates on people dreams, and how, as humans, trying to convert a dream into reality is one of the things we seek out the most. It's philosophy at its finest, identifying and pondering on one's own existence in the terror that is war, which offers a clever juxtaposition in the circumstances. However, it also looks at how hard striving to make one's dream become reality really is, the sacrifices made, the obstacles they face and the burden people go through can be overwhelming for anyone, but to reach their destined fate is worth it. This therefore gives a real world account of why people give up on dreams, only for them cling onto someone else's, as 'fate' would have it that their dreams are nothing but fantasy.
But, the show isn't without some drawbacks. The handling of the ending felt distant with how the show had been built up beforehand. Although the mythical side of the show, such as fighting monsters was reoccurring and integral, it made the end of the show detached from the rest of it. Also, considering the anime which came out in 1997 and the manga is still ongoing, it could've continued on for longer, but only one arc has been animated. This eventually lead to the ending leaving more unanswered questions.
Mid 90s animation wasn't anything great to shout about, and it's clear from Berserks how much animation has moved on from 17 years ago, such as more fluid fight scenes and clearer, more defined picture quality. Berserk contains none of this. It's bloody nature of killing, with blood constantly splurting out does look very silly too, but, if you can look past the animation woes for it's story, you could end up enjoying it.
Berserk shines in creating 2 well anchored main characters in Guts and Griffith's. Guts, the caring tragic hero, who struggles to find his own path in life and Griffiths, a man whose ruthless in achieving his fate. Both characters are very much 'cut from the same cloth', so similar in many ways such as being brilliant swordsman. Furthermore, both are developed over the course of the whole anime, leading to better explanations of how they are as people. Guts has the conscience, he's more caring for his comrades, whereas Griffiths is more narrow sighted and is more focused on using others to propel him closer to his dream. Other characters like Casca and Judeau of the band of the hawk are also important, Judeau bond between Guts is very pleasant to see develop. It's the same with Casca, the female commander, who also is struggles in finding her own path.
It could be said that some characters are less developed than others. Each character stated above have their own reasons for why they joined the band of the hawk, and why they help Griffiths. But, although some get reasonable screen time, they lack importance.
The OST is very fitting to Berserk. It's uplifting, almost 'sweeping' style orchestral music is very much the sort of thing you wouldn't mind to listen to whilst contemplating your own existence. Although it was limited, it still made emotional scenes that bit more emotional and fighting scenes that more epic.
To conclude, an anime 17 years young gives a brilliant answer to the question; What is the meaning of life? Berserk believes it's to follow your dreams, and make it become the reality you wished for. A stunning show that I recommend highly.
