Voting Round 1 Berserk vs. Boku no Hero Academia

[Aizen]

That's entirely fair. Even if you take Beserk as it is and expect no further chapters to come out it's a great series. I can definitely see how the argument could be made that it measures up to Boku no Hero's potential just based on that alone. I tend to lean the other way though. Incomplete character arcs are always less than they could otherwise be in my books.

We can't know if it will ever end either, I suppose, but Berserk's hiatus chart kind of speaks for itself. It's not impossible Muira could come out with a full 24 issues next couple years and hit the finish line but the trend has been going in the other direction for the last 10 years now. We haven't even had consecutive chapter releases in 5 years.

So I'm not holding my breath on that.

I won't disagree with you on many of those points. Fact is as a hardcore Berserk fan, you have to come to peace with the very real possibility of it not finishing at all. So obviously people will be split on that and that's fine.

To me, this matchup really is what style you prefer, Shonen or Seinen, because if you actually match them up past that preference, I don't really see how it is even close. Artwork goes to Berserk easily. Characters have more depth and characterization by a mile. The themes are far more in your face and meaningful, and the plot is far less formula based. As I said in my initial post, MHA is a good shonen series that does genuinely try to create some new paths, but its impact and actual value to the medium is not even remotely on the same level as Berserk. So by all means if you like Shonen and the style that those series tend to follow then MHA is your ticket, but if you are comparing them on a pound for pound basis, I really don't see this as a close contest. To be fair that is the very nature of Shonen and Seinen, you won't see that type of depth as commonly in the Shonen demographic (which is the reason I prefer Seinen by a large margin in general). That's just my view on it though, I am sure many would disagree with some of that.

 

[Demonspeed]

I can't compare All Might with Guts. It's not possible for me. It's like comparing Apples to Oranges that originate from an alternate dimension. Gotta say this though. Guts, Farnese, Isidro, Schierke, Serpico. Those are best of the best character wise.

Too bad their story will never be completed which devalues them all slightly. Also.. Guts X Farnese 4ever!

(All posts about Berserk need to be follow with this phrase.)

But Guts is the struggler! He always does his best and goes PLUS ULTRA!

 

[The President]

That's entirely fair. Even if you take Beserk as it is and expect no further chapters to come out it's a great series. I can definitely see how the argument could be made that it measures up to Boku no Hero's potential just based on that alone. I tend to lean the other way though. Incomplete character arcs are always less than they could otherwise be in my books.

I mean to be fair, BnHAs potential is at best, Naruto level IMO. And thats only if it finishes stronger then Naruto did while maintaining its current consistency till the end (since as strong as BnHAs start is, Narutos was still stronger). Whereas Berserk at this point in time has arguably surpassed Naruto by a tier or two, not having that conclusion will bring it down but not to that extent.

We can't know if it will ever end either, I suppose, but Berserk's hiatus chart kind of speaks for itself. It's not impossible Muira could come out with a full 24 issues next couple years and hit the finish line but the trend has been going in the other direction for the last 10 years now. We haven't even had consecutive chapter releases in 5 years.

To be fair, Miura is only 51 and writers usually go into their 60s so Miura has over a decade left in his tank, technically. And I'm inclined to believe that miura is enjoying the last remaining years of his golden years and will go back to Berserk full-time once he settles down. Though that might be wishful thinking. I don't think Berserk has long to go either, a few more (2-3) Fantasia long arcs before the finale.

 

[Skylent]

I won't disagree with you on many of those points. Fact is as a hardcore Berserk fan, you have to come to peace with the very real possibility of it not finishing at all. So obviously people will be split on that and that's fine.

To me, this matchup really is what style you prefer, Shonen or Seinen, because if you actually match them up past that preference, I don't really see how it is even close. Artwork goes to Berserk easily. Characters have more depth and characterization by a mile. The themes are far more in your face and meaningful, and the plot is far less formula based. As I said in my initial post, MHA is a good shonen series that does genuinely try to create some new paths, but its impact and actual value to the medium is not even remotely on the same level as Berserk. So by all means if you like Shonen and the style that those series tend to follow then MHA is your ticket, but if you are comparing them on a pound for pound basis, I really don't see this as a close contest. To be fair that is the very nature of Shonen and Seinen, you won't see that type of depth as commonly in the Shonen demographic (which is the reason I prefer Seinen by a large margin in general). That's just my view on it though, I am sure many would disagree with some of that.

I don't know, I tend to prefer shonen over seinens and I voted Berserk. However as you pointed out, I think this has something to do with the formula (which is not seinen or shonen dependent to me).
The reason I tend to prefer shonen is that, many seinens insist upon itself () and have a tendency to" overwrite "the characters. I mean, they try to add depth to the characters for the sake of depth rather than making them appealing. Also, several are guilty of this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarknessInducedAudienceApathy

Anyways, I voted Berserk because I think it's general level is clearly superior to bnha in term of ambition. Bnha is good but it still lacks stature, scale or whatever imo.

 

[Demonspeed]

I tend to prefer shonen in general too. Demographics don't really matter it's all about the entertainment.

I voted Berserk. When I compared Guts to All Might I was not trying to bash All Might BTW. I was comparing their mental strength. What happens in Berserk is far too dark compared to the events in BNHA.

All Might is a great character and my favorite mentor archetype. The most lovable character of the series IMO .

 

[Spirit]

Well damn. BnHA is one of my favourite modern Shounen and one of the better Shounen manga out there.




But this is Berserk we're talking about here. I can't put it's prestige into words. A legend. That's basically all I need to say in order to give it my vote.

 

[Aizen]

I don't know, I tend to prefer shonen over seinens and I voted Berserk. However as you pointed out, I think this has something to do with the formula (which is not seinen or shonen dependent to me).
The reason I tend to prefer shonen is that, many seinens insist upon itself () and have a tendency to" overwrite "the characters. I mean, they try to add depth to the characters for the sake of depth rather than making them appealing. Also, several are guilty of this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarknessInducedAudienceApathy

Anyways, I voted Berserk because I think it's general level is clearly superior to bnha in term of ambition. Bnha is good but it still lacks stature, scale or whatever imo.

Fair enough, and as @Demonspeed points out it is all about enjoyment at the end of the day, but I would argue they do matter somewhat. I mean manga do try and an appeal to a certain audience. Shonen being mostly teenagers and Seinen adults. So you are gonna see differences there. I think Seinens are far more varied and diverse, mostly because they are free from the constraints of having to censor and not write certain content. Not all of them are grimdark like Berserk or TG either. You have historical style manga like Vinland, Kingdom, and Vagabond too. Then you have comedies like OPM or Grand Blue as well. Obviously, Shonen has some diversity as well with series like AOT, HxH, and FMA, but even in those, the use of tropes and young immature MC's does have its effect to some degree imo. This is a preference thing though, so I won't go any further with it. Point is not everything is 100 percent, I only meant that in general the matchup does come down to a style difference is all.

 

[desin24]

This is both tough and easy at the same time. I love both series and Berserk is in my personal Top 5 favorite stories of all time while BnH is Shounen's saving grace after since they ended Toriko and many other long running series.
Nevertheless since I gotta choose, it's Berserk. Reading Berserk for the first time ewoked emotions like only very very few other stories. Also Guts is just the goddamn manliest man to ever man.

 

[senjuclan]

berserk of course
the last 20 chapters of BHA was so so so boring the mangaka lost his way in the series
i think he didn't know how to deal with the manga so he give every thing in the first 100 chapter

 

[Jammin]

To be fair, Miura is only 51 and writers usually go into their 60s so Miura has over a decade left in his tank, technically. And I'm inclined to believe that miura is enjoying the last remaining years of his golden years and will go back to Berserk full-time once he settles down. Though that might be wishful thinking. I don't think Berserk has long to go either, a few more (2-3) Fantasia long arcs before the finale.

Yeah but when you go through the math it's starting to look pretty rough.

He's been working on the Fantasia arc for around 7 years. And assuming it's length will ultimately be similar to the other 3 arcs in Berserk the shortest of which is like 70 chapters. He's halfway done. Halfway done...after 7 years. But it gets worse if you extrapolate that out.

Assuming Berserk has two more relatively small arcs left until the end. That would mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 180 chapters left(using his shortest arc 70ish chapter arc as the average). The fastest he could possibly go is 24 chapters per year, something he has never done. That would take him 7 and a half years. Assuming he goes at his more recent Falcon arc average, which 12 per year, he'd be done in 15 years.

If he goes at the current pace he's on, he'll to get that done in approximately 35 years. He's 51 now. So that would mean he would have to finish Beserk at the age of 86. Which is... not likely.

To finish Berserk he's going to have to really go hard at it really soon and every year older he gets the less likely that becomes.

 

[xi0]

This competition is full of manga finished and unfinished. Whether a series will remain unfinished or not doesn't really speak much to the work's quality to me. It can, of course, be why you might not want to pick it up and become invested in it though.

Just strikes me a bit odd to treat something like Berserk differently than One Piece, for example.

 

[The President]

YAssuming Berserk has two more relatively small arcs left until the end. That would mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 180 chapters left(using his shortest arc 70ish chapter arc as the average).

Ive been informed that hes actually about 75% done, so he has more like in the ballpark of 80-90 chapters left. Meaning we are actually closer to the final arc then I previously thought.

The fastest he could possibly go is 24 chapters per year.

You mean 12 right?

 

[Brandish μ]

Berserk may never be completed. I just deny the possibility in my own mind

For the purposes of this war, the deplorable chapter rate costs Berserk a little bit. It's not the be-all-end-all imho. There's so much more going for it...

Then again I think Deadwood is one of the best TV shows ever and it got cancelled S3...

 

[Jammin]

Ive been informed that hes actually about 75% done, so he has more like in the ballpark of 80-90 chapters left. Meaning we are actually closer to the final arc then I previously thought.

The only thing I've heard like that is when Muira said it was about 60-70% back when he started the Fantasia arc

You mean 12 right?

No, I mean 24. 2 chapters per month was the original release schedule.

 

[The President]

The only thing I've heard like that is when Muira said it was about 60-70% back when he started the Fantasia arc

Yep, and at this point it would be hovering around 70-75%. Meaning there isn't that much left to go. Its certainly doable.

No, I mean 24. 2 chapters per month was the original release schedule.

Thats news to me, all the better then.