Customer Reviews

Berserk - War Cry (Volume #1 with Episodes 1-5 and Collectors Case)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Kento Miura's original Manga 'Young Animal' is the basis of this series, an uncomfortable, gritty story of medieval warfare and magic, which rarely holds its punches. In keeping with the manga, which is still ongoing, this series plays hardball with the viewer's sensibilities continually confronting us with a very realistic view of the horrors of warfare even as it spins out its noir fantasy.

As many Anime series do, the first episode, 'the Black Swordsman,' is really from the middle of the story. Our first view of Guts, a hair-trigger killer with a sword the size of a sidewinder missile, is as he enters a town terrorized by a demonic overlord who feeds on human terror and misery. The town's garrison is compose of criminals who think nothing of torturing children, but the Black Swordsman steps in - to late to save the town, but in time to challenge the author of all the misery.

In the next four episodes, the story returns to its beginning, and we meet the young Guts and see him starting out as a foundling tagalong to a mercenary band. His childhood is every bit as grim as one might imagine, as he is force to kill his leader and then flees from on battle to the next. Finally, he comes against the Band of the Hawk and its leader Griffith, and for the first time in years is overmastered by a swordsman. Griffith sees the real value and strength hidden in the young warrior and is determined to add Guts to his troop rather than kill him.

Griffith's effeminate appearance hides a tough warrior and a proven battle master. When he finally penetrates through the layers of emotional protectiveness that Guts hides behind a strong and mutually agreeable relationship develops. Guts has troubles adjusting to this new, and disciplined, military unit, but he gradually earns the admiration of almost all of them, including the thorny Caska, a woman who is fiercely loyal to Griffith and his belief in destiny.

For all its violence, 'Berserk' strikes many sympathetic chords. It isn't mindless violence, there is an underlying plot, and the production values and artwork are excellent. Dialogue displays an unexpected complexity that signals almost from the beginning that this series is something special. Keep in mind that it deals with some controversial issues, and is aimed at a mature audience.

I can best compare this series to Record of Lodoss War, but with much more violence and adult themes than Lodoss War had. This series is definately not for children. The story is of a mercenary named Guts and set in a world similar to Lodoss War, but with fewer fantastic creatures and different odd races (most all of the characters are human, with a few exceptions). Do not expect to see a bunch of elves and dwarves and dragons, the non-human characters are few and far between through the first 5 episodes.

One hilarious bonus feature on all of the Berserk DVDs is the Outtakes. Basically, it is a series of line reading errors placed over the same scene in the original anime scenes. Watch them after viewing all of the episodes on the DVD so that you understand the context, but they are truly hilarious. It's very different than those "outtakes" on other animated DVDs, which are actual added scenes.

This is an excelent series; any anime fan should buy it.

Someone may find the subject matters in Berserk difficult (child abuse, rape, insanity, homosexuality, just to name a few), and someone may find that creater of the series has little to no affection toward the character; however, that does make Berserk one of the most mature fantasy series on the market.

Inevitably, there are some typical fantasy cliches in this series, yet those cliches are actually Western fantasy story cliches instead of those hyper anime kiddy fantasy show cliches (slayer series came to mind). There are absolutely no annoying magical creature in the show (not in the TV series anyway...) and important character(s) do die in the series. The animation of the show is nothing to write about, and there are quite a few still frames due to budgeting constraint. Nonetheless, it does get the job done and convey the story to its audiences.

Finally, the most important note of all... THE MANGA SERIES THAT THE SHOW BASED OFF OF IS NOT OVER YET. Since they did not animate the series past volumn 13 (there are 22 volumns so far) the end of the animated series is a giant cliffhanger. There are talks of making a new series (or actually, finishing making it), but there is nothing concrete about that rumor.

Not having a resolution is a horrible thing, because you do want to know what is going to happen to Gatts, Caska, and how big Gatts' sword will get eventually. But you wouldn't regret getting to know them.

This anime is based on the still ongoing manga works of Kentarou Miura. This anime series covers manga's 1 to the mid point of 13. That manga series that is still unfinished is actually up volume 22 at the moment. Hopefully after it's completion non japanese readers, will be able to see it's ending with a 2nd anime series.

This is one of the deeper anime's you will find. The story is very involved, the characters are well developed and the situations are very extreme. This is not a story that anyone would want spoiled for them before they saw it, so I will spare potential buyers from any dissapointment :). I will just say, after seeing animes like NGE, cowboy bebop, Trigun, Kenshin, Escalfowne, and many other well done shows, this anime took a huge jump to #1 on my list.

Just to add, this anime is not for the weak of heart, the hero of the story doesn't take prisoners, and the color red flows strong :) Enjoy.

This is one of my all-time favorite animes, but before I get into that, I'd like to address a few things here:

1) Griffith is NOT gay.

2) If you absolutely loved Record of Lodoss War, you probably won't like this. No inane love triangles, plot that drags ooon and ooon, or loads of magic. If you liked Army of Darkness, the video game version of this series, dark/mideval/character study stuff, and good 'ol fashioned booty kickin', you'll probably like this. I recommend this for anime fans who want a little more from their TV than just episodic bleh. And don't think this is a guy show either, I'm a girl and I love it!

3) If you don't like the first episodes, it gets better.

4) In my opinion, this series stands on its own. It surpasses sword-and-sorcery... it shouldn't be lumped together with others like that.

Berserk is not your average anime (no grotesquely huge eyes, cat girls, or perfect hero). Lots of carnagae, a little conspiracy, a big betrayal, a few monsters, and a sprinkle of romance focused on a main character that kicks a ...load of booty. Some people just don't like him, but he has to be my favorite male anime character. His struggle to find his own purpose in life, his own dream, is fascinating. The other characters in this series stay with you also. The overly ambitious Griffith. Casca, striving to find her place at Griffith's side. The kind-hearted Judeau, resentful Corkus, and all-around awesome Zodd.

In conclusion, I'd recommend this series to anyone who is not squeamish, likes mideval fantasy and/or character studies, and is over the age of sixteen.

Dude, just buy it.

Recently, I've been getting more and more interested in the art of anime. Anime is exciting, thrilling, deep, and even disturbing at times. Anime also has the undeniable power of telling an interesting story. I picked up "Berserk 1: War Cry" because it looked like something that was promising. After watching all of the first disc, I immediately ran out of the house to pick up the next two volumes and plan on getting the last remaining three very shortly. "Berserk" is a dark and haunting series that doesn't hold back for one single second.

The town of Midland is covered in darkness and evil as it is controlled by a treacherous king. Things change one night when a stranger by the name of Guts comes to town with vengeance on his mind. He fights with a sword that is twice his size and has uncontrollable urges of rage that gets the best of him. One thing is for sure as this exciting series begins; Guts is willing to wage a one-man war against the one who has done him wrong no matter what the cost.

The first episode deals with what's going on in the present while the other four deal with the past and history of Guts. While it's hard to know exactly what is going on with only the first five episodes, they are extremely involving and exciting. I found myself watching all five episodes in a row and wanting to watch more. I always admire stories that deal with flawed heroes, as those are the ones you can relate to the most. By no way is Guts a superhero by any means. He has demons and flaws, just like everybody else. While his strength and will is incredible and sometimes over-the-top, we buy into it because the character of Guts is portrayed with real flaws and emotion. So long as you can create a believable main character, everything else is fair game.

Be warned; this is no show for children. Just from seeing the first five episodes, I can already tell that it's only going to get darker and more disturbing. The episodes contain strong and brutal violence, extreme amounts of blood and gore, nudity, and dark and disturbing themes and imagery. The DVD contains outtakes, production sketches, trailers, and an art gallery.

"Berserk 1: War Cry" shows a promising and exciting start to a dark and haunting series. I cannot wait to watch the others and anticipate that it will be time well spent. If you're looking for some good and dark anime with interesting characters, "Berserk" might be something that you'll want to check out. Be sure to watch all five episodes before making any conclusions as to if you like what you're seeing. The "Berserk" series has a powerful start--can't wait to see where it's going to take me next.

To appreciate Berserk, I think it is necessary to understand that it is based on an on-going comic series in Japan. In Japan, each "chapter" of any comic is published in numerous weekly or bi-weekly comic magazines, each geared to a certain audience. It will come no surprise to any reader of the comic that Berserk is published in a bi-weekly comic magazine called "Young Animal". Young Animal is largely an adult oriented (as in nudity & sex) comic magazine and therefore you have to realize that Berserk was never intended to for an young audience. Trust me when I say that the anime does not even come close to portraying the graphic sex and violence that can be found in the actual comic.
However, Berserk is not a comic carried by either sex or violence but rather the depth of its story. Berserk is about the tale of the protaganist, Guts, living in a period of times that can only be equated to mideval England. There are no guns (but there is gunpowder) and largely there is supposed to be no magic, e.g. fairies, dragons and such. The story revolves around the growth and adventures of Guts, providing deep insight and detail from the time of his birth, his life as a mercenary, all the way to his fateful meeting with Gryphus and Gryphus ultimate betrayal of Guts (this is not a spoiler).
To compare this animation to the Record of Lodoss Wars would be a mistake as this is a far darker anime. This is a dark fantasy with a slight romance. Themes of homosexuality, rape and violence permeate the comic and to a lesser extent the animation. However, these themes are not used to to shock or carry the story but are actually worked in quite seamlessly.
My first criticism against the anime is that it does not go all the way in capturing the dark feel of the comic. Of course, even though it was a "midnight" anime, that can only be expected.
My second criticism is pretty much along those lines in that the series ends prematurel but that probably could not also be helped.
Overally, I would recommend this animation for a more mature audience as the story line is truly gripping and Guts is simply a "cool" protoganist. However, for those who have the option, I would recommend reading the comic book even before.

Berserk: the immortal sodier tells a story of a one-armed wandering swordman, Gatts, who possesses incredible physical strength and gory past. The plot of Berserk is not what you would find in conventional anime or manga. Here, you're not going to see a wizard smite dragons with magic. In contrast, the setting of berserk, in spite of being a fantasy advanture, is very realistic. There is no sorcerer or magic sword anywhere. The concept of a "dragon slayer" here is just a big blunt sword that so heavy that it would crush anything in two within one strike. However, the essence of Berserk is not about killing monster but rather the achievemnet in complex development of characterization. Something that has rarely been equally achieved by manga or anime.
!!SPOILER!! :Gatts, as a child born amid the fierce fighting of medival battlefield, has to struggle to learn how to fight in order to survive in a cruel world. He becomes a strong warrior and later join the Band of Hawk which is led by Griffith, a charming mercenary leader. By following Griffith, Gatts has experienced the glorious moments in his life. The Band of Hawk is invincible. They keep on winning and the unbreakable friendship between the two has firmly formed. However Griffith's unfathomable ambition leads to the destruction of the Hawk. And when Griffith decides to choose path of his dream before friends who would fight and die for him, the bond of friendship is forever turned in to hatred and despair.!!END OF SPOILER!!
I find the plot of Berserk so perfect that it could have easily become a bestseller novel if it were written as novel at the first place. This is no silly cartoon! The story, however, based originally on manga written by Kentarou Miura. To my dismay, the anime series only span up to around volume 13-14 of manga version (currently achieved the 22nd issue). Thus, the more exciting part of the story is left out just like that. Well, at least until somebody makes a sequel series which is unlikely...The only problem of this anime is that it wasn't produced on very high budget which is a shame. There are a lot of budget saving techniques here and there and that is why I give it only 4 stars. It may sound weird but I have to say that action in the manga look much more power than in the anime. I only wish that one day it may be remade as a high budget movie or OAV.
Anyway, that was just a tip I tried to give for those who are interested in manga format but cannot find it outside Japanese version. Overall, this is a brilliant series which worth checking out. If you are thinking about picking it up, please don't hesitate to do it right away.

The only way I can describe the Berserk series is RIDICULOUSLY INCREDIBLE! The depth of the story and the characters' design and development is unmatched by almost any other anime series. It deals with dark issues that from child hood molded Guts (or Gatsu to some) into a warrior with a will power that far surpasses that of any ordinary man. I've already purchased the Japanese version and I can truely say the dialogue is very well done in the English translation. This is easily one of THE best DVD's that I own. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

This anime is one of the rare ones out there.
Great story, plot, characters, and animation flow together to create masterpiece.
This series tackles things that American animation won't DARE touch. Child rape, rape, political schemes, and more.
Every episode is packed with gore and blood, so don't buy this unless you're ready for heavy duty violence.

Gatts, a dark swordsman with one eye and one arm with a HUGE sword and demonic mark of his neck, scours the world in search of revenge and demons. This anime series is his story, his past, a huge flashback telling how he got to where he is.