Ahhh, I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this.
FUN FACT: Berserk is Amazing!
Also, FUN FACT: Water is Wet.
I realize I am completely biased in my assessment as I have pronounced my love for Berserk multiple
times in the past.
But I’m not a complete fanboy.
I’m not yet caught up with the manga, like so many other manga, and apparently that’s
blasphemy.
Either way, Berserk has returned to us in all its majesty.
And I’m here to try and answer the question of whether or not it’s worth watching.
But since my answer to the question should be apparent by now, I’m going to state it
here.
Is Berserk (2016) worth watching?
Well, if you are actually asking that question then the answer is probably no.
Because I would assume that you are only asking it under two circumstances.
1) You’ve never watched Berserk, in which case, don’t watch this yet, and go watch
the TV series from the 90’s instead.
I guess technically you can watch the remake films from the last number of years and that
will technically do you fine, but I’d still highly recommend the original series over
any of the films.
The second possible circumstance is that you’ve seen the original Berserk and/or the films
and were somewhat indifferent towards them, but you are now wondering if this new series
will be worth your time.
Chances are that it won’t be.
I very much doubt that this new Berserk series will have anything that strays too far from
the original material and what everyone considers to be the essence of Berserk.
If you’ve already found yourself indifferent to it, then this will have nothing in it to
change your mind.
At least I very much doubt it will.
We’ve only seen a few episodes, so some weird bullshit could happen, but I doubt it.
But for everyone else, is Berserk (2016) worth watching?
Well you already know the answer and that answer is yes.
There is so much about the Berserk story and the characters that mesh so beautifully with
traditional fantasy.
Berkserk is a breath of fresh air, as well as, you know, an intake of blood, gore, and
3D ANIMATED TITS.
For me, what has made these first 4 episodes of Berserk so entertaining is really just
being able to watch Guts on screen again in something that doesn’t just rehash the story
I already know from the 90’s series.
Yes, I know I keep bashing on the films, but there was so much about them that disappointed
me.
The 3D animation never sat well with me, there was the loss of Susumu Hirasawa as the main
composer, (though he did compose the piece Aria for the films, which is a brilliant song
by all rights), and then there was the fact that everything in it story-wise I had already
seen animated before, thus I’ve been partially blinded by nostalgia I suppose.
Haven’t even watched the third film, though I probably should.
Granted it’s just the eclipse and I could probably recreate that at home by throwing
a live chicken into a blender and then dumping the remains out on my lawn on a moonlit night,
then all that would be missing is the red light.
So I could grab a film filter and hold it up so that it colors the moonlight beaming
down on the dead, mangled, bloodied corpse.
Ta-da, instant Eclipse.
Now if you thought that description was a bit too graphic for your tastes, then you
obviously have no idea what the Eclipse is, and you should go watch Berserk.
NOW, back to this series!
While the upsides to me are obvious – the return of Guts, the action, and just the setting
and atmosphere that comes with Berserk, *heavy intake* ahhhh, it’s just addicting – this
adaptation does have its downsides, particularly with the animation.
I already mentioned that I wasn’t a fan of the 3D animated portions of the Berserk
films and that same style is brought back for this version.
It probably wouldn’t be as constantly jarring to me if they actually, you know, stayed consistent
with it.
While the majority of the series is animated in 3D, every once in a while we get some very
well-animated 2D cuts.
For me, this only continually highlights the differences between the two, and it doesn’t
help me when I’m trying to get over it.
Ultimately, it’s my main sticking point.
But if I can manage to get over it, then everything will be fine.
If I can’t, well then my enjoyment of the series will surely suffer.
On the plus side though, I do think the music is much better this time around, which I didn’t
expect considering it is the same composer from the films that I didn’t like.
Fun fact though, he’s also the same guy who did the soundtrack to Evangelion.
Take that as you will.
I guess the final worry I have is that, well, I’m used to not having Berserk.
For me, it’s been years, but this truly has awakened my addiction for the series and
I know it’s not going to end well.
Firstly, because Berserk is well known for bad endings (see: the Eclipse), but also because
the manga is not yet finished.
And if the manga is not finished, then the anime will not finish the story for it.
So when it’s over, well, there will still not be a definitive ending and then I’ll
just be in withdrawal again.
Not looking forward to that, but it is inevitable I suppose.
I could just not watch this series and get the withdrawal over with now, but if I’m
going to suffer regardless then I at least want to enjoy this series while I can.
So what about you guys?
What do you think of the new Berserk so far?
Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and while I can’t stop you from spoiling
anything from the Golden Age Arc, please keep potential spoilers to THIS series out of the
comments for those who have not yet read the manga.
This is the part of the video where traditionally I would have told you the series is unlicensed,
but in this case it actually has been licensed.
By Crunchyroll.
Oh yeah, not just for streaming (which is what they usually do), but full on home video
release.
I’ll be damned.
They also grabbed a bunch of shows from last season and are even dubbing Kabaneri of the
Iron Fortress, so there is also the potential that they will be dubbing Berserk as well.
I will be a giddy fan boy if they get the majority of the original cast back instead
of recasting everything, if for no other reason than a potential continuation of the famous
Berserk Dub bloopers.
That would be so perfect.
So yes, Crunchyroll has the series licensed and it’s currently available on their website
for streaming.
Free trial for their premium service and all that is in the description as usual, which
will be required to watch the series as it airs.
Thank you for joining me on this First Reaction.
If you like this sort of thing, hit the like button to let me know.
And if you have a suggestion for what you think I should talk about next, let me know
down in the comments, though chances are I’m doing it anyway.
And until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and others, Stay Frosty.