Berserk

[The_Blue_Rider]

Recently I started reading a neat little manga by the name of Berserk. It is now my favourite manga of all time, and yet although I find it so interesting I dont usually hear people talk about it whenever manga pops up in a conversation.
So fellow escapists has anyone else here discovered Berserk? And if you have what was your reaction to it, did you love it as much as me, or did you hate it from the very bowels of hell?

Also if you clicked here not knowing what berserk is then I'll give you a short Summary.
Berserk is about a man named Guts who wields a huge sword(roughly 7ft) and slays demons using the violent methods possible, while this may already sound pretty cool the actually story of berserk is fantastic with a huge scope that encompasses many themes such as why do we put faith in a higher power, friendship, betrayal, and a few others.

Yes I did make this to shamelessly advertise Berserk

 

[Gigano]

I've heard of the Animé version of it, and intend to watch it at some point. Don't plan to read the (or any) Manga though. Sounds like a good gritty and brutal dark fantasy sort of story, which aren't all too common these days.

It'll make a nice contrast to Slayers it seems.

 

[Broady Brio]

As Lanipator put it;
"GORE! GORE! BLOOD-TITS-GORE! GIANT AX-SWORD! You see that demon? NOT NO MORE HE'S FUCKING DEAD! AH! BLOOD! GORE! AHHHHHHHHHH!"

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/tfstar/outsideot/7747-berserk

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I've heard of the Animé version of it, and intend to watch it at some point. Don't plan to read the (or any) Manga though. Sounds like a good gritty and brutal dark fantasy sort of story, which aren't all too common these days.

It'll make a nice contrast to Slayers it seem

The anime's quite good, but it stops roughly half way through the series, so you dont get to see a lot of the really interesting bits, it also ends on the saddest part of the whole series

 

[Con Carne]

I've never read the manga, but I loved the anime. The biggest difference is the lack of the character "Puck", ( a freind who read the manga told me)
But I actually have a tattoo of Guts fighting a werewolf on my back.

 

[Popadomus Ohio]

i have a friend who is reading it and it looks really good.

 

[Werekettle]

I have no idea what you're speaking of.....
There was also a video game made for the PS2, but it didn't see much light outside of Japan I believe

 

[artemkin]

One of my favourite anime, but as Broady Brio put it the manga was waaay too

As Lanipator put it;
"GORE! GORE! BLOOD-TITS-GORE! GIANT AX-SWORD! You see that demon? NOT NO MORE HE'S FUCKING DEAD! AH! BLOOD! GORE! AHHHHHHHHHH!"

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/tfstar/outsideot/7747-berserk

 

[Casual Shinji]

I just read the whole thing a few weeks ago and it's probably one of the best dark fantasy stories ever made.

Though, it did kinda loose some of its edge during the Fantasia Arc and I didn't really like the inclusion of the Berserk armor. What made Guts such a great character was he had no magic or demonic power, he just had total commitment and an unbreakable constitution. But with the Berserk armor he just becomes another super hero-type guy.

But like I said, it's still one of the best comics I've ever read. It does seem to have a lot to say about religion and the many different ways people choose to respond to it. Like how Caska basically worships Griffith as if he were a messiah wich in turn conflicts her feelings for Guts.

Oh, and Nosferatu Zodd and The Skull Knight are ofcourse the most badass motherfuckers ever to grace the printed page.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I just read the whole thing a few weeks ago and it's probably one of the best dark fantasy stories ever made.

Though, it did kinda loose some of its edge during the Fantasia Arc and I didn't really like the inclusion of the Berserk armor. What made Guts such a great character was he had no magic or demonic power, he just had total commitment and an unbreakable constitution. But with the Berserk armor he just becomes another super hero-type guy.

But like I said, it's still one of the best comics I've ever read. It does seem to have a lot to say about religion and the many different ways people choose to respond to it. Like how Caska basically worships Griffith as if he were a messiah wich in turn conflicts her feelings for Guts.

Oh, and Nosferatu Zodd and The Skull Knight are ofcourse the most badass motherfuckers ever to grace the printed page.

I can see where you're coming from with the Berserker armour, but it makes sense to have as Guts is starting to fight things that are god like in power, it also plays into Gut's character as well, he's fighting to protect the ones he cares about with no regard for his own well being

 

[Casual Shinji]

The anime's quite good, but it stops roughly half way through the series, so you dont get to see a lot of the really interesting bits, it also ends on the saddest part of the whole series

You mean the whole sacrificial ceremony, huh?

That part was like Bambi's mother's death,...but for adults. I'm never reading that chapter again.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

The anime's quite good, but it stops roughly half way through the series, so you dont get to see a lot of the really interesting bits, it also ends on the saddest part of the whole series

You mean the whole sacrificial ceremony, huh?

That part was like Bambi's mother's death,...but for adults. I'm never reading that chapter again.

Whats even worse is that you knew that something like that was going to happen

 

[Frequen-Z]

Where can you read it online? It was taken off my favourite sites and don't really know which ones have all the chapters.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Where can you read it online? It was taken off my favourite sites and don't really know which ones have all the chapters.

Heres the URL for a site that has every chapter to date
http://www.mangareader.net/96-1121-1/berserk/chapter-1.html
Also it calls the first 33 volumes, chapters by mistake

 

[Daipire]

Berserk scores really highly on Myanimelist, so I'd say a lot of people have heard of it.

I doubt I'd read it though.

 

[Frequen-Z]

Where can you read it online? It was taken off my favourite sites and don't really know which ones have all the chapters.

Heres the URL for a site that has every chapter to date
http://www.mangareader.net/96-1121-1/berserk/chapter-1.html
Also it calls the first 33 volumes, chapters by mistake

That'd probably be why I couldn't find it anywhere. I always saw a giant void between Chapter 33 and 300~ so I assumed the sites were missing over 200 chapters.

>_<

 

[Casual Shinji]

I can see where you're coming from with the Berserker armour, but it makes sense to have as Guts is starting to fight things that are god like in power, it also plays into Gut's character as well, he's fighting to protect the ones he cares about with no regard for his own well being

Yeah, I know.

Like I said, it's not like it's gotten worse, it's "edge" is just a little bit gone. Also Guts himself seems to have become a little bit more TLC-ish eventhough the woman he loves has a shatterd psyche and is afraid of him.

I also felt that Farnese's darkside was a little to easily forgotten. I liked the fact that she was basically a good person, but that there was something terribly twisted about her sense of reason and justice. And at the beginning of the Fantasia Arc they just seem to sweep it under the carpet and never mention it again. I really liked her for the basket case that she was, but now she's just another "shy person who needs to find the courage within herself".

I did really like the entire philosophy behind the workings of magic in the Fantasia Arc, though. Better than anything J.K. Rowling ever wrote.

 

[Owlslayer]

I've read it, it was really good. Gory, very very very very very very very gory, but good.
Very gory. Gore.

But yeah, i liked it quite a bit, it is interesting.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Whats even worse is that you knew that something like that was going to happen

OoOoh, yeah I know.

But that entire prologue with The Band of The Hawk was so well written that you almost forgot about it completely. Making us fall in love with all those characters...and then......*sniff sniff*