The new Berserk anime series

[Jandau]

As you may or may not know, a new Berserk series was in the works for a while now. And the first episode has come out, so I'm curious as to what all of you think about it...

For those of you who have no idea what Berserk is, it's a (very) Dark Fantasy manga. Pretty good, but more importantly, quite influential both in manga/anime and in gaming. For instance, the Souls series is VERY heavily influenced by Berserk, and it's pretty easy to see traces of it elsewhere. There was a single season Anime following the initial story arc in the 90-ies, and more recently a trilogy of animated films retelling the same story. This new series continues where the series and the films left off.

So how is it? Honestly, I'm not impressed. First of all, I'm not too concerned about how close it sticks to the source material, I'm more interested in it being good in its own right. And the first episode isn't selling me. The writing is questionable and not much really happens. But worst of all, the animation is kinda bad...

Berserk is using a CGI animation style that's been growing in popularity in recent years for anime. Now, I accept that it's a fairly new development and it's still finding its legs, but this incarnation of it just looks janky. I don't hate it on general principle (like many people seem to), I loved Knights of Sidonia, a series that used that style to great effect. What's worse, the Berserk film trilogy also relied on that style, though not so heavily, and it worked pretty well. However, the new series just looks stiff, faces look like mediocre PS1-era cinematics and overall the visuals just don't work for me.

So, the writing isn't good, and the fights are badly animated. Not really a solid first showing for the new series, at least in my opinion. And that saddens me. Berserk is a great story and I was really looking forward to having more of it brought to animation. Well, maybe it'll pick up later on, but so far it's not looking good.

 

[Kitsune Hunter]

While I did go into it with low expectations knowing full well that it would be in CGI, and while it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it's still not good. I just don't get the logic behind using CGI in anime nowadays, it just looks awful and distracting and that was one of the biggest criticisms with the films. So why was the solution to ignore the criticism and make the whole damn thing in CGI, I just don't get it.

Also they skipped out on a lot of content as well such as the Snake Baron, Slug Count and the entire Lost Children arc, it just leaves me thinking that things are not looking good for this anime and as a Berserk fan, it's just depressing at this point that we have yet to get a decent adaptation.

Although this video sums it up nicely

 

[stroopwafel]

I enjoyed the first episode. Wasn't really special but it set the scene. I'm not the biggest anime fan so I don't really know how it holds up compared to other shows but I think the animation was quite good. The mix of CGI and hand drawn animation was really well done(espescially the fight of Guts against those skeletons was pretty cool).

The story in Berserk is highly imaginative and creative pulp and I think after just one episode it's too soon to decide the new series isn't going to deliver. Atleast that first episode seemed to closely follow the manga where it left off after the Eclipse.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I was wondering when someone will discuss this.

Yeah this one flew over me as I was unaware of the new series until recent. Likewise I was impressed with it.

I know the films used some cgi but the series is 100% cgi! I was expecting more like the film or the first animated series. Also I thought the violence was tone down since I know how gory the series can be or did they went with Attack on Titan route by toning the violence and gore down?

Lastly the music was a dissapointment, ok the openning was ok but the ending not so much. It was only the preview clip music that I liked the most since it was similar to the film and the first animated series!

For those who haven't seen previews of it

 

[Erttheking]

Not a fan. They're rushing it WAY too fast. In the first episode they crammed in Puck, Ishidoro, the HICK order, the monk and his daughter, the tree from the Lost Children Arc, and I am pretty sure they just skipped the Female Apostle and the Baron (Granted I think we'll also miss Jill almost being raped, so it's not all bad). The animation is ass, Guts beating up a couple of people isn't as impressive as him cleaving someone in half, I don't like the idea of the HICK order looking like Renly Baratheon's Rainbow Guard...all in all it was kind of a let down.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

URGH! Berserk just can't seem to catch a break with animated adaptations can it? The original series was plagued by shit animation. The movies were plagued by shit animation and condensing the story into cliff notes. And this is plagued by shit animation, condensing the story, and HORRENDOUS music to boot! What in the hell were they thinking? Berserk isn't a series where some fucking metal or techno track starts playing in a fight scene. The previous adaptations at least had that right (well, most of the time anyway).

Spoiler: This is the kind of music Berserk calls for

It's not that hard goddammit! Grim, sombre and melancholic is the way to go. Berserk isn't a series where the action is supposed to be "badass", "so hardcore" or "woah man", as can be evidenced by the slo-mo and how the camera in this version swooshes around and zooms in and out like it's being directed by Zack Snyder! It's supposed to be intense, horrific, desperate and disturbing.

Spoiler: To me, this is the frame that most captures the essence of the fighting in Berserk

See how Guts looks? Unprotected, covered in blood, without even a weapon, yet he still presses on, struggling for his life, against foes beyond his ability in a land beyond his comprehension. He's not thinking about amazing techniques or looking cool or badass, but reverts to a feral state where naught but survival matters.

And they even included the "it was too big to be a sword" bit. Have these people no idea at all what they're even doing???? It's a fucking show, not a manga with text boxes.

As another thing I'm a bit confused now. The animation style and even the music are clear indication that this is supposed to continue from the movies, but as far as I remember the third movie didn't include Casca's miscarriage after they wake up at Rickert's. So it showing up now is just a "err, what?" element without even having the mystery, since if these are supposed to be a follow up to the movies, we already know Guts' backstory, and thus there's no "who is this guy, why is he like this?" to it.

Not impressed in the least, but I'm willing to give it a chance.

 

[RaikuFA]

At least we have the game to look forward to, right?

 

[hermes]

Not a fan.

The combination of CGI and that sort of slow animation turned me off almost immediately. It was like everyone was walking underwater... it just felt amateurish.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

At least we have the game to look forward to, right?

Well, since this release coincided with the release of a new chapter (I KNOW RIGHT!!!), this might signify the stars aligning once again to allow a few chapters to release in the close future before Miura gets bored again.

The animation is ass, Guts beating up a couple of people isn't as impressive as him cleaving someone in half...

Not only is it not as impressive, them not featuring the Snake Baron actually detracts from the scene. In the manga Guts killing the guys in the tavern is supposed to be a provocation to lure him out, signifying Guts' ruthlessness and willingness to get to his goal by any means necessary. Here he just knocks the guy's teeth out before he even finishes his sentence, thus turning the scene into just a random act of assholery.

It's almost paradoxical at this point how the quality of animated Berserk adaptations seems to be in inverse proportion to their production budget.

 

[Casual Shinji]

So Berserk still can't get a good animation studio on this shit, huh. Meanwhile Parasyte and One Punch Man are actually getting things done.

Is Berserk just not well known in Japan anymore, that it can only get these kinds of adaptations?

It's almost paradoxical at this point how animated adaptations of Berserk only seem to get worse when people throw more money at them.

Makes you wonder what the buget was, seeing as it looks like something they had a bunch of interns whip up.

 

[gritch]

I just finished the first episode. I'm a huge fan on the manga but I'm really not a fan of this. I'll probably give it a few more episodes to try to win me over because I'd really like to see a good adaption of Berserk but I have very low expections. The animation is really not that good but what really was irritating me was the pace and how they messed around with the timeline. I'm fine with them introducing Isidro earlier and I knowledge when making an adaptation it's necessary to make alterations but these don't seem to help in anyway.

Why did Guts come into a bar and beat up a bunch of mercs? Just thirsty. Who are these mercs? Just some guys. Why do they matter in the story? They don't. Just going to get eaten by some monstrous trees. By cutting out the snake baron they strip out a lot of context to the whole scene and given the preview it looks like they're skipping over the snake baron completely? We still haven't established what sort of character Guts is at this point or even what his motivations are. What the hell was the point of this bar scene? We were introduced briefly to Isidro and Puck and had Guts beat up a few nobodies. Is this adaption suppose to be for people new to the franchise or people familiar with it already? I don't think it works in either case.

It seems to be going at a brisk pace which I can appreciate but it's cutting out character establishment and motivations to do so is more a detriment than anything.

The carriage scene could have been a great way to set the tone and establish Guts as a character. If you wanted to change the order of the source material make that the first scene. Cut Puck from it completely. You establish what kind of world Berserk takes place in, what sort of person Guts is, and include a nice fight scene to get people intrigued. Instead we got... this.

That fight was not really exciting and what was with the sound effects? It sounded like someone was slamming two pipes together. Okay steel on bone - that'd probably make a unique sound even if I don't think it matches the sound they're using but they use the exact same sound when he kills Collette. I don't normally notice this stuff but this was really jarring for some reason. And how did Guts get away from the tree? Did he fire his cannon? I had hard time telling which I shouldn't. Him using that hand cannon was always a spectacle in the manga. Even when he shout it into the sky at the end of the scene I was underwhelmed.

it just felt amateurish.

This probably sums up my rant. The story composition, the dialogue, the sound design, the animation - it all comes off as amateurish. I'm not impressed.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Is this adaption suppose to be for people new to the franchise or people familiar with it already? I don't think it works in either case.

Considering the opening is a recap of the Golden Age Arc, the animation style, and the music that plays during the dream sequence I'm assuming this is meant to be a continuation of those movies we had a few years ago. But it fails even at that, since it introduces elements that weren't established in the films (the Demon baby), re-establishes elements that were already established (the Brand) and doesn't really inform us of what Guts has been doing since the end of the last film. It's actually astonishing that after three years they actually seem to have doubled down on exactly what the movies were criticized for the most.

 

[gritch]

Is this adaption suppose to be for people new to the franchise or people familiar with it already? I don't think it works in either case.

Considering the opening is a recap of the Golden Age Arc, the animation style, and the music that plays at certain points I'm assuming this is meant to be a continuation of those movies we had a few years ago. But it fails even at that, since it introduces elements that weren't established in the films (the Demon baby), re-establishes elements that were already established (the Brand) and doesn't really inform us of what Guts has been doing since the end of the last film. It's actually astonishing that after three years they actually seem to have doubled down on exactly what the movies were criticized for the most.

I actually haven't watched the movies. Not really sure if I want to if this is the kind of quality I might expect. I'm of the impression an every adaption should strive to try to stand on its own. I should be able to watch this first episode and without any outside information know what Berserk is about. I can't do that here.

I think I like the manga to much to be a fair judge on this show though.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Not only is the animation shit, but I really don't care for the character designs, either. I mean, I get that Griffith was supposed to be effeminate and look like a pretty boy, but the new art style literally makes him look like a woman with a penis. The old show gave him some masculinity, at least.

As for CGI in anime, it almost never looks good. They try to match the CGI framerate to that of the 2D cells and it looks awful. I think the only show that mixes the two well is Gundam The Origin. They at least match the visual style of the CGI to that of the regular animation, and they don't slow down the framerate either.

 

[DoPo]

For those who haven't seen previews of it

Spoiler: [ Click Here For A Free Preview ]

Hmm, if that animation is representative of the actual anime looks, then, dare I say this - I like the visual style.

OT: Actually, I wasn't aware that there was a new anime in the works. Sadly, it seems I shouldn't really bother, either. Maybe it will improve with time? Who knows. Chances are slim, but still.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I actually haven't watched the movies. Not really sure if I want to if this is the kind of quality I might expect.

The third one (Descent) is the only one I'd recommend, and even then mostly for the Eclipse, which is what the original show only dreamed of, both in terms of animation and graphic content. Aside from that they're pretty insipid fare, and the CGI looks like shit.

snip

Whatever else can be said of the Evangelion reboot, they're perhaps the best example I can think of that blends CGI with hand drawn animation really well. Mostly because it's only used in wide shots where it's either showing something with no human characters, or is so far away it's hard to tell the difference. It also helps that the CG is used to render only non-human objects, like ships, Angels and technical devices. In the movies and this new series it's beyond jarring when the closeups are remarkably more detailed and look a lot better than the full body shots.

 

[gigastar]

Im thinking ill stick round for a couple more episodes to see if either the animation improves or i get used to it.

So until then i guess.

 

[crimsonspear4D]

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH, why can't Berserk ever catch a break? It's hard to admit that 90's animation is starting to look better than current gen.

Either way, the thing about Berserk that drew me was the dark story and the badass characters, so it isn't really a serious strike against it. I'm willing to forego all that as long as in its core its still the anime I know and rant over.

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

To make matters worse, it looks like they're fast forward to the end of the Lost Children arc next episode, with Guts fighting the HICK order. The only reason they were able to capture him in the manga is because he was half dead from fighting Rosine, and even then he killed quite a few of them. Even if Azan and Serpico are kickass fighters, there's no way in hell they can take on an uninjured Guts without a terrain advantage.

 

[Seanfall]

Snip

To make matters worse, it looks like they're fast forward to the end of the Lost Children arc next episode, with Guts fighting the HICK order. The only reason they were able to capture him in the manga is because he was half dead from fighting Rosine, and even then he killed quite a few of them. Even if Azan and Serpico are kickass fighters, there's no way in hell they can take on an uninjured Guts without a terrain advantage.

Wait their skipping the Lost Children? But that was one of my Fav arcs. and yeah...no way they can take a full power Guts.