ridiculous rating

A Disappointing Continuation

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Dont watch the dubbed version. Get the original japanese with subtitles or you will ruin it. This was hands down, one of the best animes ever made. And that is despite the fact that it had limited funding and the animation was not the best. The story telling is superb as you follow the lives of a group of mercenaries who rise to every challenge they are hired to do no matter how improbable. It centers on three main characters, a cold and calculating leader (Griffith), his loyal lieutenant (Casca) and the hot blooded warrior (Gutts) who wanted no part of joining them but was indentured to them via a reckless bet. You also get to know a bunch of minor characters who are important to the mercs.You follow them around for 24 episodes (note that 1st episode is misleading) as the commander tries to build his own army and build his own kingdom. But this is not a happy hero show, its a bit more realistic. There is plenty of satisfying fighting but also awkwardness, tragedy, espionage and luck (both good and bad). In many ways the story makes a great effort to make the show believable and you wont see any clean cut heroes in this one. Yet you still can understand them even when they do wrong. You will run into some demons and magic here and there but it is not the focus of the story which is why I say the 1st episode is very misleading since it makes you think that its a show about the supernatural. This show is a lot like Game of Thrones and predates GoT by more than a decade. Like GoT it has supernatural elements but they are not really the focus. The focus is on the characters and their struggle and I argue the characters here are much better.

This is my first review and no I was not compelled to write this review because Berserk is the greatest ever series I ever watched, frankly it's not but it's not too far away from that either. The main reason for this review is Berserk's beautifully unique, character driven and powerful storyline that left an lasting impression on me. When I completed the series the immediate feeling was that it was a decent anime and nothing more, but after a few days everything started to sink in and I began to appreciate the full depth and complexity of the story. The series gradually grows on you.At first look Berserk seems full of action and gore, but that's just on the surface, the story is more about friendship, love and betrayal. The crude nature of the series might be a bit too much for some people but is completely justified for the era Berserk is based in. One of the things that I like most is that the series never waste too much time on developing supporting characters and utilizes that time to give unbelievable depth and understanding of the three main characters(Guts, Griffith and Caska) and their complex relationships so much as that you can feel their pain and understand their actions. The music is just superb and complements the plot and characters completely and adds to the already heavily emotion packed series. The only flaw is that the climax leaves a few things unexplained but not like Evangelion(thank god).Berserk is an absolute classic and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for some serious and emotional entertainment.

I had discovered this series a few days ago and having watched all 25 episodes I thought I'd leave a review here.The series tells the story of Guts, a lone mercenary with an over-sized who joins the mercenary group Band of the Hawk after being defeated by its leader Griffith. Guts lacks any ambition, he fights because it's all he knows what to do. Whereas Griffith dreams of having his own kingdom, which leads to his downfall.The romance between Guts and Casca is well done. During the series, the two learn to set aside their differences on the battlefield as well as respecting one another. As we learn about Casca, we care for her as Guts does.The character development in the series is also good. We learn more about the characters' motives. This includes Griffith's ambition (he is shown to be willing to have sex for money to fund the group), Guts' heroic actions (he saves Casca despite not getting on with her initially) and Casca's initial hatred of Guts (she envied the attention Guts gained from Griffith).On a personal note, I enjoyed the music. The opening theme, while inappropriate considering the anime's content, is catchy.The weakness of the series lies in the production. The corners that were cut to produce this quicker and cheaper are obvious and can be distracting at times.At the time of making this series and writing this review several years later, the manga (which I plan on reading) was not finished. Because of this the series doesn't have a complete story and ends abruptly which will leave viewers disappointed. The final scene has Femto (Griffith in demon form) raping Casca in front of Guts. The post-credits scene and the bulk of the first episode show events after this but their escape is not shown. There is no satisfying conclusion. There is a revived series which does continue the story but as far as I've heard is nowhere near as good as this series.Overall, I'd recommend this series, the strengths outweigh the flaws. But a warning, the series is for mature audiences only as it contains some graphic violence and some nudity. It is not recommended for the faint of heart.8/10.

Where should I start. This anime is... it is everything. I have never felt something so strong for anything I have ever seen before... It is hard to explain but I will try. When I see Berserk I see a boy (Guts) who I can and do want to relate to. The power and character is just... great. I get dragged into this character, and I just don't want to leave. The two first episodes can be a bit confusing because they are from a later stage of the manga, but unfortunately they stopped making this series after "season 1". But then it all starts, Guts is young and a fighter at heart. And this is harsh times. The journey he sets out on is a great one. And all the characters he meets are all so vel made and played that you start caring for all of them. When I see Berserk I get very emotional. When the sweet music starts to play in some scenes I get tears in my eyes when I know what lays ahead. And when the last episode has spun I feel empty, like there is no more to care for... This may sound a bit wired but that is how I feel for this great series. I have read the manga to (as far as it has come by now), but the anime is even better for me. I watch it in English because I think they have done a great job dubbing this. Enjoy!