As I'm going to be the first to give some love to your review, not a bad job.
Berserk tv Review
This is a tale of friendship, betrayal and lots of bloodshed, a tale of a young mercenary named Guts...
From the moment he was brought into this world from his dead mother's womb, he has constantly been forced to fight, never owning a single friend in his life. That is, until the day he barely survives a battle with a huge armor-clad warrior. After receiving his reward, Guts leaves and finds himself ambushed by a bunch of mercenaries belonging to the "Band of the Hawks". Little did he know that after battling it out with their skillful leader, Griffith, he would serve under the very man that would one day become his most trusted friend. The tale of Guts has just begun...
Story & Characters
The story was phenomenal. At times it may have been a little hard to follow, but every aspect of the story was incredible. The character development, and the plot of the story seem to have come more from a novel than a magna. It has a very classic Shakespearean/Hamlet feel to it. For some reason, it has a kind of tragic feel to it to me--granted, all of Griffith's men have come out of everything okay so far, but with so much carnage and death, you have to wonder how much time it'll be before the axe drops... I've got to say, though, there's some of the stupidest stuff thrown in here as well...you have people who can't take hints to save their life (maybe it has something to do with the intended audience--Americans are well-versed in medieval-type hints, while Japanese may not know as well?)... Also has the distinction of having the most badly botched assassination scene I've seen in all of Anime... In other words, while the story is really fairly engaging and interesting, there's some stuff that's just *so* out there, sometimes even absurd, that it makes the whole show...well...I find absurd stuff like that rather humorous, but it might just irritate others...
Rating:
Art
Bonus points for pretty well shaded naked bishonen. Griffith is the absolute opposite to Gatsu, a situation which has the potential to develop into something interesting. Gatsu is definitely designed with more of the guy's perspective in mind, as are most of the other characters. I did like the fact that Kyasuka was designed more like a warrior and less like a Shonen/Seinen anime female. It is rather interesting, and almost irritating at times that all of the supposed "bad guys" are so obviously bad and/or stupid that there is a definite lack of question as to who will win.
Rating:
Sound
Certain parts of the soundtrack did not seem to fit particularly the introduction. The overall sound was great, the moans and death laden cries of the men fallen on the field were very believable even though it was an animated series. The dub is flawed, at best. Some of the voices are just not serious enough or sound a little too jokey and foppish to really be considered adequate. Gats sounds a little young and not harsh enough; Caska is a bit too bitchy. Griffith, one of the few well-cast voices, still flubs some of his lines with poor acting choices and bad inflection. The outtakes, included on the DVD, are absolutely hilarious and worth listening to even if you don’t watch the dub. Furthermore, there’s an interesting video interview with the producer of the series, who has a few interesting things to say. He also states that he’d like to work on a sequel, something that would be welcomed with open arms by the fan community.
Rating:
Presentation
Well, for once, they DID make a guy who wields a big sword and actually looks like he could carry it! Unfortunately, I prefer the slimmer guys (I think they're MUCH cuter!). So no extra points for HIS character design, although he grew on me. Interesting was that they actually had a slim guy (Griffith) naked for about five minutes in episode 4 (strategically shaded/limbs strategically placed so that we couldn't see the..well...you know). I thought it was funny (and kind of interesting); he wasn't ugly, although he acted as if he had a thing for the main character...but you could just HEAR the seats in the auditorium squeaking because everyone else was fidgeting uncomfortably. I thought my roommate was gonna die from the 'ickiness...' (Me, I'd much rather see a strategically shaded man than a naked woman...)
he only flaw with the series is the absolutely infuriating cliffhanger ening. At the climax of the series, it just sort of ends. There are rumors of a second series being planned, which would be fabulous, but nothing has been confirmed. Even with the cliffhanger ending, Berserk is hands down the best anime I’ve ever seen. Anyone even remotely interested in anime should make a point to see it.
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.1667 (above average)
Reviewed by abetterreality, Dec 27, 2004
Comments
-
UberDog Mar 23, 2015
page 1 of 1 1 total item
Only members can post replies, please register.