Anime. It’s a silly form of Japanese animation that is either a parable on becoming an adult or some show about a young boy with mental deficiencies and enough raw power to rival the gods of any pantheon. And then, there’s Berserk. It’s an anime series that is equally legendary for being downright brutal, unforgiving and more nihilistic than David Lynch’s high school diaries. Berserk is what happens when you take a medieval survival-horror and have it slashed to ribbons with a sword that is too damn massive even for Final Fantasy characters to wield.
You watch Berserk, and you’re never the same person again. The source material, a manga series from Kentaro Miura, has been running since 1989 and was eventually adapted into that infamous 1997 series that ran for 25 episodes. If that was your first taste of Berserk, it had plenty of sub-plot cut out, but the core storyline of the warrior Guts and his neverending quest for vengeance against his former brother-in-arms Griffith was still intact.
A more intact series that reset the tale would appear in the form of a trilogy of original video animations, a strange blend of 2D animation and 3D characters that was dubbed the “Golden Age” arc from 2012 through to 2013. It was more faithful, but only a short taste of the 37 volumes of story that have been cranked out so far.
Now, Guts is making another comeback in a new series that will follow the infamous “Black Swordsman” as he cuts his way through demons and humans alike.
That looks…frightening. Remember, Guts is just as much of a monster as the demons that he slays, albeit one that happens to be on our side. Miura himself will serve as an executive producer when the series debuts in July on Japanese TV screens. And I’m feeling a bit berserk with excitement for it. As long as the new series is unapologetically violent and free-handed with demonic dismemberment, violence and decapitations that is.
Last Updated: March 31, 2016
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
April 1, 2016 at 11:01
YES! Oh please let it go further than the ending of the first series!
BRING ON THE VIOLENCE!
This is the first anime I have been excited for in years!
Christina_Puck
April 1, 2016 at 18:40
It actually takes place after the events of the original series (and movies), so no worries about that. 🙂
XtraTrstrL
April 3, 2016 at 19:46
Yeah, I hope it starts as close to the end of the 25 episodes as possible. Basically the beginning of the Berserk World. I never could get into those manga, mainly cuz it was in Japanese, but I’m not a comic book type person to begin with. So, all I know of the Berserk world is what I played in the old Dreamcast game, the lil bit in the 25 episodes, and the PS2 Japanese port I played on a modded PS2 back in the day. I just hope it skips over very little time period as possible so it’s as smooth a transition as possible with little to no gaps. I also hope it stays more faithful than the original 25 episodes that supposedly changed certain things and left out lots of stuff.
Christina_Puck
April 4, 2016 at 23:57
Well, I know it’s gonna be a followup to the movie series. The movies basically cover the same content as the original 25 episode series, but the movies go a few minutes longer. The anime stops during the eclipse, while the movies show a little of the aftermath as well as a short look of Guts in the Black Swordsman outfit, which is where this anime starts off. It will begin with the Black Swordsman Arc, which was the beginning of the manga, but immediately after the events of the original anime.
If you’ve seen the original anime, and played the games, you’ll be fine.
XtraTrstrL
April 7, 2016 at 04:07
Awesome! Thanks!
Chris Bower
April 5, 2016 at 01:34
Susumu Hirasawa is doing the music too this is like a dream i cant believe it!!!! You cant do Berserk without Susumu Hirasawa his music brings it to life man!!! I just have to stay alive now until my brain absorbs it so im not leaving the house this year then!