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61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great value for money? Yes. Remastered? No., February 14, 2009
This review is from: Berserk Complete (DVD)
I've uploaded some scans of the discs and cover/case onto Imageshack (I can't upload onto Amazon yet for some reason). Why? Because the disc artwork is, quite frankly, wonderful.
Discs 1 & 2: http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8559/b1cz3.jpg
Discs 3 & 4: http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9803/b2vn9.jpg
Discs 5 & 6: http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3209/b3fh9.jpg
Case/Cover: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4645/12787150rz1.jpg
Now, as you can probably see by viewing my scan of the cover/case, the six discs are fitted in a standard sized DVD case. I never thought I'd live to see six discs fitted in a case so small but I have. Four of the discs go on the left and right sides of the case and the remaining two go on a piece of plastic that was fitted onto the spine of the case. The discs fit in nicely but it doesn't seem like much of a box set. At least the cover looks vastly superior to the cover of the old budget Berserk set...
My main complaint isn't with the cheap case, though -- it's with the video quality. On the back of the case it's pointed out that the series has been "beautifully remastered from film." This is confusing because there's little to no difference between the video quality on the old Berserk DVDs and the video quality on these 'remastered' DVDs that my eyes can see. When I watched both versions of episode 1, the only real difference I saw was that the Japanese Berserk logo didn't flicker during the opening on the 'remastered' DVD. Hardly worth re-buying the series for!
There are minor changes included, such as Japanese text replacing English text during the opening and some subtitle changes, but nothing major enough to warrant re-buying the series if you already own it. To be honest, the only impressive thing about this re-release is the new disc artwork, which is vastly superior to the old disc artwork. Even the DVD menus and extras are the same as before.
It's 100% worth buying the series for amounts as small as £17.99 (PlayUSA) if you don't already own the series on DVD because Berserk is up there with the best anime has to offer. But, aside from diehard Berserk fans, for everyone else it'd be a waste of money.
I'd normally continue beyond this point, explaining why Berserk is in my top 10 anime list, but it's an old series and there are plenty of reviews out there that highlight its many qualities. So, instead of rambling on, I'm going to just say that you MUST watch Berserk if you're an anime fan, or even if you're simply a fan of dark fantasy.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Berserk rocks, and the new set has better audio/video (see note), March 22, 2009
This review is from: Berserk Complete (DVD)
Just to give people who are unfamiliar with Berserk an idea of what to expect, I like to compare it to Lord of the Rings. Both series have a medieval setting (knights, castles, etc.), supernatural elements, endearing characters, and a great story. Here is a quick introduction to the story: A long war is being waged between the nations of Midland and Chuder. A mercenary named Guts is forced to join the Band of the Hawk, a seemingly invincible army of young mercenaries that has allied itself with Midland. The Hawks are led by Griffith, a brilliant military strategist who wears a necklace with a strange egg-shaped trinket. Griffith values Guts, but the female commander Casca wishes that he had never joined the Hawks.
I like the structure of Berserk. There is an emphasis on continuity. Every episode picks up right where the last one left off, and themes such as friendship, identity, and ambition are revisited throughout the series. The dynamic between the three main characters (Guts, Griffith, and Casca) is intriguing, and it evolves over time.
A caveat (or two or three)...the first episode of Berserk only makes sense in hindsight because it offers a glimpse of the future. The entire anime is a huge flashback. So if you don't like the first episode, don't worry. Just keep watching! Also, the anime ends with a shocking cliffhanger. Fortunately, the story continues in the manga. And finally, the series is quite bloody. Of course, the manga is FAR more graphic.
I highly recommend this anime series. It's incredible.
Note: The video and audio have been improved for this new release. Media Blasters is currently hosting a video that clearly demonstrates the superiority of the new release's video. Check it out (http://www.media-blasters.com/berserk/trailer/berserkcomp.mov).
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a first buy, but not a re-buy, March 11, 2009
This review is from: Berserk Complete (DVD)
This box set is a slight improvement on the previous releases, but only just.
The image is supposedly progressive scan, though watching the "Box of War" version and this one back to back, I'm noticing no difference, even during "fast" scenes. This series may just be too slow moving for progressive to matter. The colors are slightly brighter. The amount of grain seems to be the same, though its slightly more noticeable due to the brighter colors. I have noticed some spots/specs in the new release that I don't see in the old, though its difficult to tell if they are all additional spots or just a different pattern. The image is supposed to be sharper also, but I noticed no difference here. The new release has not altered the image jitter problem.
Both soundtracks have fixed numerous minor audio artifacts. The English soundtrack is supposed to be synced up a bit better, but I haven't found a problem spot in the old release to match against. All discs have stereo Japanese sound. The subtitles are edited for a better translation and corrected spellings. (I prefer voice dubbing to subtitle reading though, so I cannot comment on that matter).
Also to mention is that the opening and closing credits have been replaced with their Japanese originals. This wouldn't be a problem for me except the original opening uses a large ugly font that covers most of the screen (the original closing has its own issues). In addition, the opening and closing credits now default to subtitles on, despite the fact the songs are (sort of) in English. So, yeah, lots of text everywhere.
The chapter stops have been altered slightly. The mid-show break now stops after the two title cards instead of between them.
As mentioned in other reviews, the discs have full-color, full-disc art printed on them. All six discs come in a single package about 1.5 the width of a single DVD case. Two discs overlap and attach to the inside of each cover and on one side of a leaf attached to the spine. Personally, I would have happily payed them the whole $.25 of extra costs for a regular slim-case release.
If you don't own the series, this is a good purchase largely due to its lower price. If you do own the series, I can only recommend repurchasing if you're a Japanese audio fan and were unhappy with the quality of the subtitles and mono tracks (and even then, I'd think it'd be a hard sell).
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