To get the obvious out of the way, the anime in animated in CG and it looks terrible. Unless you are Marty McFly traveling through time or a person who think Reboots is the pinnacle of CG animation, that CG is obviously sub par. All the character models looks awkward and unnatural. They all look like those human models in early 2000s games where video game developers haven't seen to get the gist of how a human model should look like. The fame rate for this show is so low. It looks like it's running at 15 frames per second as if this is some cheap TV stop motion movie. And what with the weird line shading over everything? I guess it is there to make it look more like the manga. But it just makes the show fall even deeper into the uncanny valley.
Many anime fans think that a fully CG anime is an inherently bad idea. However, that is not true. I know that Japan can make a fully CG anime look good (checkout Appleseed or Avent Children). However, the problem I see with these new 3D anime like Sidonia and Berserk 2016 is they are using CG as a cheaper alternative to 2D animation. CG can look good, but it requires a lot of money and time. This show and all the CG anime in the same vein have none of these traits and that's why these shows looks terrible in comparison to 2D anime.
Plus, the directing doesn't help hid the crummy animation. There are many panning and rotation shots that doesn't fit the anime. Many basic film making techniques like color theory are completely ignored. A lot of shots are complete overkill and unnecessary making many scenes nearly incomprehensible.
The music is also terrible. Remember the bizarre yet engaging Susumu soundtrack of the 1997 anime, with amazing tracks like "Forces"? This show have none of that. None of the tracks are memorable or fitting. There are many metal tracks that do not fit the tone or atmosphere of Berserk. And did a 5 year old craft the sound effects? The sound design is piss poor. The most obvious example is the sound effect for the Dragon-slayer. The Dragon-slayer tearing through soldiers and Apostates should be bad ass. However, the sound effect they gave it sounds like someone hit a stop sign with a shovel. It sounds dumb and out of place.
The most offensive aspect of this anime is how it handles the story and characters of Berserk. While the animation and sound makes me want to bash my head in the wall, but I could forgive Berserk 2016 if it was a faithful adaption. But no such luck, and the story and characters are completely neutered.
While I have mixed feeling about the Black Swordsman and Conviction arc of Berserk, they do have there good points. However, the anime fail to capture any of these highlights. The Black Swordsman arc is completely glossed over to quickly in the first episode to get to the Conviction arc. And even that is complete rush though at a break neck speed since there are only 11 episode to depict it. Because of the rushed pacing, all the characters feel like caricatures of there manga counter parts. Important details and backdrops to characters are completely dropped, making many of the characters feel empty.
Also this anime cut out many parts from the manga. I can understand to a degree why studios cut out parts from the source material such as time constants. For example, the original 1997 series cut out the skull knight even though he is important in the manga. Even though I was disappointed they cut him out, I can understand why decided to cut him out. That series was completely focused on the Golden Age arc and he was not need in that arc.
But in contrast, the arcs and story beats that the 2016 series takes out are necessary for the arc they are adapting. The Rosina arc and the Post Eclipse arc are completely excluded from this series even though they are important to understand post Eclipse Guts. And characters and parts from later volumes are included in this series for no reason. For example, Isidro appears in the bar scenes in the first episode though he shouldn't appear until several volumes later.
To sum it up, Berserk 2016 is a tragedy. There is nothing redeemable about this show. The animation is terrible, the sound is terrible, the writing is terrible, everything is simply terrible! It feels like I am looking into an infinity of terrible. I couldn't even push myself to finish watching this show, and considering that I sat through Akame ga Kill and GATE, that is saying something. I only got to episode 6 so I don't know how they handle the remaining part of the Conviction arc. And honestly, I don't really care. There is nothing that the series can do to redeem itself to me. So whether you are a Berserk fan or not, the only advice I can give you is to avoid this show at all cost. If you want get into Berserk, either watch the 1997 series or read the manga.
