How To Get Into Berserk

Berserk is a legendary manga that has spanned over thirty years and 40 collected volumes and is withal going strong to this day(despite all the hiatuses). Considered by many to be the greatest manga always fabricated , it's definitely series creator, Kintarou Miura's magnum opus. The story of Berserk perfectly balances action, drama, philosophy, and superb grapheme development, but be brash it's not for the faint of heart.

If y'all're thinking of jumping into the series, I would highly recommend you offset with the manga as that is the definitive way of consuming this astonishing story . Miura'southward art, pacing and panel design is astounding in every aspect of the word. Nonetheless, if yous're an anime-only person and you lot're wondering with which out of the three anime adaptations to start with this is the guide for you . Here yous will find the right guild in which to sentinel the Berserk anime adaptations along with info on what each does correct and wrong.

Watch the Berserk anime adaptations in release order

This watch order is the best manner to enjoy the anime for newcomers and here is why!

Berserk (1997)

This is the beginning(and possibly the best) anime adaptation of the original series. It's but 25 episodes and quite like shooting fish in a barrel to skim through . Although the director of the anime took a minimalistic approach in retelling the story, it works surprisingly well. Many of the bigger, static landscape shots correlate perfectly to their manga counterparts. Of class, this anime is not as detailed equally the manga(just what is!) but you tin't actually judge it for that.

If I accept to be frank, this adaptation has aged quite finely and tin can still be enjoyed today in 2020 , 23 years afterwards its initial release. Just what about its story, does it exercise the source material justice?

Without going into spoiler territory, Berserk (1997) covers the entirety of the "Golden Historic period Arc" and small parts of the "Black Swordsman Arc". Information technology's a fairly faithful accommodation, although there'southward one big plot point that is skipped over. In this version of the anime, Puck is never introduced. Now this doesn't hinder the "Gold Historic period Arc"(where the character is introduced) much, it does, yet, lower the quality of the story in the "Blackness Swordsman Arc". This is mainly due to Puck playing a vital role in that one.

The sound blueprint and English dub of this anime are very enjoyable . It'due south i of those rare occasions where the dub even rivals the original vox work. The soundtrack is very memorable with its minimalistic just haunting production.

Overall, Berserk (1997) is non to be skipped.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 2012-2013

If the proper name of this anime adaptation sounds familiar, it's probably because the arc it covers is the same every bit the 1997 anime. So what's the difference? Why remake something that was close to perfect, to begin with?

Well for starters, unlike the first anime, this one comprises of three characteristic-length films .

Berserk: Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King
Berserk: Golden Age Arc II - The Boxing for Doldrey
Berserk: Golden Age Arc III - The Appearance

The animations style in these movies is a mix of traditional digital animation and CGI. Although certain scenes look polished and well crafted, there are many that feel rushed and have janky 3d animation.

Since these iii movies condense 24 episodes worth of content, a lot of the story feels rushed. Many great scenes are skipped over in this adaptation, however, there are some extras hither, which were not present in the 1997 anime. Also, there'southward less censorship in the movies of both gore and sexual scenes. And information technology should go without saying that the blitheness is way more fluid compared to the static images of the offset anime.

So is this one worth watching?

Well perhaps, as information technology adds new pieces to the puzzle with its extra story beats. Withal, go into this ane only after watching the original, as that one is more well-crafted.

Regarding the dub, it's still pretty practiced.

Berserk (2016)

Bersek (2016) consists of 24 episodes and starts off where the first anime and the movies left off. So this adaptation covers function of the "Blackness Swordsman Arc" and "Hawk of the Millennium Empire Arc" and all of the "Conviction Arc". A lot of material from the manga is skipped in this one and the story is presented in a dissimilar way. Nevertheless, that's not this version's greatest shortcoming, every bit to put information technology bluntly, this anime accommodation is downright abysmal .

The blitheness is about entirely in hideous 3d , seriously, this is some of the worst CGI used in anime, period. The action is presented under different weird angles and the sound mixing sounds like somebody throwing cutlery.

A lot of this is due to the studio producing the anime, not being qualified enough and not having enough time to nowadays a finished and polished product. Yous tin can bank check this video out for more details on the product of this accommodation.

So should you lot watch this one?

Well, yes and no. If you're a manga reader and just wanna check out the anime adaptations, definitely skip this one. Nevertheless if you lot're an anime-only fan and really desire to know what happens on after in the story, then maybe give it a shot . Who knows, you might end up liking it.

Watching the Berserk anime in chronological society

I don't recommend watching the Berserk anime adaptations in chronological social club unless yous've already seen them before. If that's the case, knock yourself out!

So here's the chronological order:

Showtime with episodes 02-25 of the 1997 anime
Sentinel the terminal 52 minutes of the pic "Berserk: Golden Historic period Arc III - The Appearance"
Check episode i of Berserk(1997)
Watch episodes 1-24 of the 2016 version of the anime

Need to talk to someone from our staff? Or maybe y'all're simply looking to chat with agreeing people involved in the anime and manga community? Well and so, why not head downward to our Discord server !