Anime Berserk (2016)

[THM Nindo]

Psh. That was me til episode 3.

Should I bother continuing with the show though? I mean, I thought it was OK until episode 3 which had 0 remedying qualities (imo at least), but 4 had pretty much everything I hoped would be there so I dunno. Originally, I was just going to watch the show and THEN read the manga, but now I feel like even though doing that would make the anime more enjoyable, it'd kinda spoil the manga for me...

Honestly... read the manga.
This anime is not totally shit, but aside from episode 4 and 5, this anime is really bad compared to the manga.

 

[Dragoon]

Your description of it actually made me want to watch it more, but yeah, I'll watch it after I'm done with the manga.

Maybe the dub will be out by then too.. I can't wait.

Nothing to debate, dude. Manga was always the right choice...I thought you were done with the manga already btw

 

[SonOfDaws]

Welp, I guess that answers that lol

Still surprising to see so many posters I recognize on here though

Nothing to debate, dude. Manga was always the right choice...I thought you were done with the manga already btw

I kinda slowed down a bit, but I'm almost done vol 30.

 

[jakensama]

This is an abomination, and absolutely unacceptable. We have tons of crappy generic anime that get great studios and big budgets, even ones based on video games. Moe, all types of nonsense. Here we have a one of a kind manga, that boasts some of the greatest art ever, that is dark and ultra violent and super original and it gets this terrible low budget treatment. With a good studio and big budget this could have been a huge hit, there is nothing like it.

It deserved the treatment FMA Brotherhood did for the FMA manga, or Attack on Titan did for the manga. Berserk has a massive following not only in Japan but in the West too, I don't see why it has to get shafted so badly.

 

[Demonspeed]

The camera work is in this episode was horrible... This is usually not good but still, it reminded me of the first episode.

This week's episode was better than last week's. The best moments Guts's entrance at the end along with Isidro and Puck interactions.

 

[POW]

The funny thing is the 2012 Golden Age Arc OVA also used 3-D animation mixed with 2-D but it was done very skillfully and looked great IMO.

This 2016 TV show uses a low budget 3-D style. The old 90's version looked like dog crap.

I'm not sure why they can't give the tv show proper respect and there is so much content they could do it seasonally to cover different arcs

 

[Dragoon]

Imo if they were going to half ass it- why even try? I wonder how this studio got the right to make the berserk anime... was miura that desperate?

 

[xi0]

Imo if they were going to half ass it- why even try? I wonder how this studio got the right to make the berserk anime... was miura that desperate?

Because they know people will buy potential merchandise and the anime could sell Blu-Rays. The Berserk franchise has a lot of older fans, it isn't the same when some new series from a shounen magazine gets an anime and doesn't sell BDs at all because the target audience doesn't have as much money or the fans aren't as hardcore. Anything with Berserk on the title is probably going to make a shitload of money, regardless of it's quality.

 

[Dragoon]

Because they know people will buy potential merchandise and the anime could sell Blu-Rays. The Berserk franchise has a lot of older fans, it isn't the same when some new series from a shounen magazine gets an anime and doesn't sell BDs at all because the target audience doesn't have as much money or the fans aren't as hardcore. Anything with Berserk on the title is probably going to make a shitload of money, regardless of it's quality.

I somehow doubt even the berserk fanbase will buy anything related to this crap. I feel like I'm watching a shounen with toys as the characters. Their movements are so wonky and laughable... and that *CLANG* sfx they used for the dragonslayer sounds hilariously sad... tho maybe you're right and the more obsessed/mature fans will still take what they can get. It doesn't really feel like berserk to me tbh

We can agree that what the majority of berserk fans like about it is the story telling, yes? Well this feels like a creepy kiddy toon/anime with some edgy story parts. Not the mature, tragic and dark-epic that berserk is

 

[xi0]

I somehow doubt even the berserk fanbase will buy anything related to this crap

Well, I think it's been rather popular in the West here, compared to the kind of attention anime usually gets. I see a decent amount of more "mainstream", "nerd" (cringe) outlets covering it like EmergencyAwesome, etc. (Not that that's an indication of quality or anything).

Just saying, it's probably a safe bet to make money

 

[Shinsatsu]

[...]I feel like I'm watching a shounen with toys as the characters [...]

The latest episode was disgustingly "shounenny" awful

 

[THM Nindo]

Last episode was pretty good overall.
It did feel a bit shonen because of Isidoro, but it's fine.
It's not like it was like that all the time, and Isidoro only has 2 or 3 shining moment in the whole manga, so...

PS: The soundtrack is amazing. I love that intro!

 

[Nii]

^ "Hai Yo" is the single best thing about this anime

I think the real problem actually is the content. It's so brutal, grotesque and deals with so much potentially juicy and mature stuff, that it's hard to find sponsors who actually are willing to support this work. The Golden Age arc is one thing, as it stills features a lot of rather "normal" stuff if you exclude the Eclipse and a couple of other scenes, but after that it really turns into insanity more often than not.
I'm sure they still could do better, even with the limited amount of money they have, but for now I'm happy that we get an anime at all. Others might disagree, but for me it's quite the nostalgia trip and reminded me how insane(ly good) Berserk is, even if the direction and animation often is subpar at best. It's probably annoying for most of us, but I don't think we will get anything better. If we actually get another season I hope they will change some of the staff though, someone who can handle the low budget a bit better.

 

[POW]

They would have been better off making each major story arc as a couple of high quality OVA. Then they take their time in between each episode release which builds anticipation and gives the manga time as well.

I mean look what they do with Gundam Origins spacing out the release over several months but it's higher quality

- I think 3 OVA's about 2hr long each could easily cover the Black Swordsman & Conviction arc, maybe minus some unimportant side stories like the "Misty Valley" (Fake Fairies) and instead adding more depth into the initial Kushan invasion and take over of Windham which was not covered in much detail.

OVA 1 = covers The Black Swordsman Arc which would include the slaying of the female apostle, meeting Puck, Snake Baron , The Count & finally meeting the Godhand .

OVA 2 = The Conviction Arc part 1 which covers the intro Gambino flashback, Holy Chain Knights, Conrads plague, meeting Ishidro, Expanded Kushan Invasion & ending with Guts meeting Skull Knight.

OVA 3 = The Conviction Arc part 2 which cover the story arc from St Albion up to Griffiths Rebirth which is pretty long, boom roll credits !!!

Now with a 4 month wait between each release and high quality animation doesn't this sound better than cheap animation tv series,

 

[Dragoon]

They would have been better off making each major story arc as a couple of high quality OVA. Then they take their time in between each episode release which builds anticipation and gives the manga time as well.

I mean look what they do with Gundam Origins spacing out the release over several months but it's higher quality

- I think 3 OVA's about 2hr long each could easily cover the Black Swordsman & Conviction arc, maybe minus some unimportant side stories like the "Misty Valley" (Fake Fairies) and instead adding more depth into the initial Kushan invasion and take over of Windham which was not covered in much detail.

OVA 1 = covers The Black Swordsman Arc which would include the slaying of the female apostle, meeting Puck, Snake Baron , The Count & finally meeting the Godhand .

OVA 2 = The Conviction Arc part 1 which covers the intro Gambino flashback, Holy Chain Knights, Conrads plague, meeting Ishidro, Expanded Kushan Invasion & ending with Guts meeting Skull Knight.

OVA 3 = The Conviction Arc part 2 which cover the story arc from St Albion up to Griffiths Rebirth which is pretty long, boom roll credits !!!

Now with a 4 month wait between each release and high quality animation doesn't this sound better than cheap animation tv series,

Imo the lost children arc was pretty good and I hate when they didn't outright skio things- they threw it in completely reversed giving it seemingly proper context but actually skewing the source. (Ex) the pug apostle wasn't part of the demon/dogs but was guts opponent to which guts needed a more powerful/sturdy weapon which became the reason for guts to wield such crazy-ass sword (dragonslayer) not like how the anime just has him wielding it from the start.

As for your opinion on how to handle the anime- we all have our own little perfect "vision" but I'd most certainly take yours over this shipwreck.

It truly is sad when concepts that don't even try to be original/interesting get insanely good treatment while a dark classic like berserk which is as good as old epics of back in the day (shakespeare, etc... albeit different mediums) don't receive equally good treatment. Berserk has its many exaggerations ofc but overall it's an amazing story with lots of... "soul" put into it

 

[xi0]

I don't know exact figures on how well the Golden Age Arc did financially, but why would they make an OVA for the series for each arc when they could just do movies? An anime series on TV is cheaper to produce, plus you can charge even more money for advertising/sponsorship, which doesn't exist in the same way for an OVA.

I mean, this isn't really about what would be best for doing justice to the story, it's about money. It seems like they're trying to piggyback off of the old manga audience who've always wanted an animated continuation since the original anime and the new audience created from the movies, while spending less money on the product in order to maximize profits. The problem is that the cut corners aren't hid well, as well as some inexplicable changes to the story.

 

[Nii]

For those interested, there's a preview of Susumu Hirasawa's Berserk songs, which get released on September 14:


And the first song is almost 2 minutes of "Ashes", the best track in the current anime

 

[smokeesid]

People should enjoy the show instead of finding reasons to bemoan about it. I see the show and become pleased by seeing some of the manga's scenes perfectly being copied, in motion and in color. If we could stop finding the reasons to disapprove then perhaps we will notice something likable

 

[llamapie]

People should enjoy the show instead of finding reasons to bemoan about it. I see the show and become pleased by seeing some of the manga's scenes perfectly being copied, in motion and in color. If we could stop finding the reasons to disapprove then perhaps we will notice something likable

Even if I wasn't a die hard Berserk fan, I would find it really hard to enjoy. The production value as a whole is complete crap. Everything from sound design to the camera work and even to the choices of how they depict the story is awful.

 

[Demonspeed]

Nothing stellar but the episode was enjoyable. I love all the Serpico scenes regardless of the animation.