Title: You'll love it, enough said.
About the Anime: Born beneath the gallows tree from which his dead mother hung, Guts has always existed on the boundary between life and death. After enduring a terrible childhood, he spends his adulthood in brutal combat, pitting his strength against others in order to build his own. Life is simple enough for Guts until he meets Griffith, the inspirational, ambitious, and beautiful leader of the mercenaries, the Band of the Hawks. When Guts loses to Griffith in a duel, he is forced to join the group, and, despite himself, finds a sense of camaraderie and belonging amongst them. However, as Griffith leads his soldiers from victory to victory, the bloody wars and underhanded politics reveal a side to him that nobody quite expected. Can Guts, a simple warrior, defend those who have come to mean the most to him, all the while struggling not to lose to the darkness he has carried with him his entire life?
Story 8.5/10: While I would have liked to begin with a witty, intellectual line about how great Berserk is, I just couldn't find the right words to do it. For some reason, Berserk defies any attempts at clever analysis, meaning that I'm left with no option but to say it how I feel: Berserk is hands down one of the best anime around. It may not turn out to be one of your top favourites; it may put you off with its dated appearance; and heck, its final episode is likely to leave you royally pissed. Regardless, I'll bet you any amount you name that it will still knock your socks off.
As unfair as it seems in hindsight, Berserk's opening scenario of innocent tavern girls getting bullied and monsters terrorising villages reminded me too much of some of the demon hentai I've come across. Needless to say, my expectations of Berserk thereafter hit rock bottom; by the end of the first episode, however, I had changed my mind all over again. What I discovered was that while the setting looked like a shit idea, the character and plot developments were something else altogether. Gatts' encounter with the demon lord in the first episode instantly raises the question of how a man could be so remorseless, and the subsequent flashback begins the epic story that provides the answer.
What is surprising about Berserk's plot is how well its various elements come together: take the story of a man who wants greatness at all cost; add a corresponding tale of a man who thinks of nothing but fighting his next battle; stir vigorously with demons and gore; sprinkle some ingenious military-political manoeuvres on top, and what you get is a potent blend of fantasy action. Moreover, Berserk has a knack for pacing and structure; just when I think the messianic plot themes and cataclysmic battles couldn't be more melodramatic, Berserk presents a touching flashback during which the characters reveal something interesting about their pasts. I'm not usually a fan of flashbacks since they interrupt the flow of a story, but in Berserk's case, they feel more like a vital part of the experience than a convenient plot device. For example, the story of Caska's first encounter with Griffith had me glued to the screen as intently as any of the scenes of clashing armies and monster fights. In fact, Berserk had me so engrossed that every episode felt like it ended ten minutes too early.
This only leaves one glaring problem, namely the fact that it doesn't end. I can't emphasise this strongly enough, but Berserk comes to the kind of screeching halt that could feed a rant for pages and pages. The anime covers perhaps a quarter of the manga's plot, and to make things worse, it stops halfway through an arc! Even pre-warned I still wasn't prepared for just how abrupt the ending turned out to be. For many, the disappointment will be acute; and for that kind of pain, I can only recommend the manga as a cure, which continues with the same (if not better) level of quality.
Animation 7/10: Apart from the extravagant monster designs, Berserk's concept looks lifted straight out of some generic high fantasy novel; with knights in full armour, moats and castles, shining fairies, and swords aplenty, there is really nothing too exceptional about Berserk's European universe.
At its worst, Berserk suffers from an impoverished budget, which is evident considering the frequent use of still shots and the low number of frames in some of the action scenes. I have never been particularly bothered by either of these flaws if the story is good enough, and in that regard, Berserk more than compensates.
Problems aside, some of the character concepts are pleasantly surprising; Griffith's icy appearance, Caska's unusually dark skin, and Gatts' rippling build and oversized sword are instantly eye-catching. Also, while the action sequences may not be much more than adequate when compared to more recent anime, I do like their gritty approach to violence.
Sound 7.5/10: Berserk's soundtrack is not particularly varied; almost all of the intense scenes with a score use only a slight variation of the same theme. However, the little there is makes for a pleasant listening experience and never gets old despite the repetition. Besides, the lack of variety is probably due to the fact that Berserk relies far more on natural background noise to create tension.
Although faced with a script that is occasionally laden with cheese, Berserk's Japanese voice actors still manage to deliver some truly emotional dialogue. For instance, the villains issue macho threats and chuckle with nefarious delight, but the protagonists tend to have serious tones which are full of subtle nuances. Notably, Griffith has a softer voice than I expected, although it fits his cool, intelligent demeanour like a glove and even makes him seem doubly sinister on occasion. Predictably, the American cast are only half as good; I could only stomach a few episodes of their daytime drama acting. If possible, avoid them at all cost.
Characters 9.5/10: What is impressive about Berserk is that it has no weak cast members to speak of; not one of them falls short of delivering a convincing performance. Granted, the stock characters such as Princess Charlotte remain far less developed than the protagonists, but they still manage to fit the story to a tee. As for the central characters, they are unexpectedly complex and emotionally engaging on every level:
Gatts is a traditional tortured hero type who carries the burdens of a dubious origin and a disturbed past. What makes him a great lead character despite being a stereotype on the surface is that he embodies, in the bluntest way, what makes a person likeable; he has a raw, honest personality which, despite his reticence, still comes across as touchingly vulnerable. Besides, he may not be people-friendly, but he kicks a lot of arse and he saves people, and he does it all with a sword twice his size.
Griffith, as far as the anime is concerned, is probably Berserk's strongest standalone element (in the manga, Gatts is definitely more interesting). He is beautiful like an angel and radiates the kind of charisma that moves armies and topples kingdoms; what's more, he is inhumanly cunning and generally the kind of character you can fall for over and over again. However, the guy is also undeniably fucked up. As Griffith leads the Band of the Hawk to glory and wins hearts as well as minds, there is always an element of doubt concerning his true intentions; of course, this only serves to make him all the more engaging.
As the only female to have a significant role, Caska exceeded my initial expectations; she doesn't have big tits or bare long legs, and she has both common sense and superb fighting skills. Intelligent, a leader within the Hawks, and harbouring an intense loyalty to Griffith, she is a character with a distinct purpose. Caska's only downfall is that, as the series progresses, she gets forced back into a predictably misogynistic role.
With regards to the supporting cast, the members of the Band of the Hawk are easily the most memorable, with Judeau ranking as my favourite; whilst he may be young and have relatively little screen time, his wisdom and perceptiveness when it comes to his comrades is refreshing. Corkus, on the other hand, is another great character whose relentless dislike of Gatts provides for some much-needed comedy; I also like the fact that he adds a more pessimistic nuance to the Band of the Hawk dynamic. All in all, these are the kinds of characters for which I harbour deep nostalgic feelings; their strong personalities and intricate development makes them difficult to forget.
Overall 8.5/10: The villains can be cheesy; almost every scene involves someone getting gutted or having their limbs chopped off; and the demons tend to eat people just for the heck of it. All of this would usually result in an anime that is mediocre at best and probably doomed to obscurity. However, Berserk's superb character development and uniquely messianic plot makes it not just an accomplished piece of fiction that somehow survives its terrible ending, but an undeniable masterpiece at that.
~WhiteBakemono
