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Not much more to say. I blazed through it in about half an hour and my appetite is only just whetted. Alright, I've used up my monthly GR allotment of exclamation marks. Most series get better as they go on, but the truly epic length of Berserk, now over 37 volumes and counting, has yielded a huge leap in artistry. The quality of the art in the last three-quarters of the series is light years ahead of the relatively crude renderings of volume 1, and there's been a gradual refinement to Miura's storytelling that comes with maturity, greater complexity and restraint, letting the tension build, much sharper character development and pacing. The review and stars are for the entire series Vol 1 - 40. I'm currently on *Vol 31* and will update this review/stars as I move forward. Some minor spoilers towards the end of the review: The Fantasia arc marked another major turning point of the series. If Lost Children and Conviction were the age of darkness, this was the beginning of the age of misguided light. Griffith changed the world in truly remarkable ways, both fascinating and terrible.
The Manga is a lot more intense, it's more graphic and doesn't really worry about pulling punches. Hell, the very first panel, Guts is banging a demon slut...and it only gets worse better from there. Just as the arc was heading for a climactic buildup to the finale, it ends on a tearjerking cliffhanger that serves as the untimely ending of the series as a whole. It’s a shame that Miura’s masterpiece wasn’t able to be finished, but he’s created the most influential manga of all time that heavily impacted millions of readers and thousands of artists all over the world. Guts is an unstoppable badass, but he constantly suffers and contemplates his meaning in life. His sheer strength and relentless rage can’t hide the wounded little boy deep inside him. Casca is more fierce than most male soldiers on the battlefield and she has an attitude to match, so when we see her more feminine and loving side it makes her complex journey of self-realization all the more powerful. Griffith is a godlike war hero that millions of people worship, yet he has the deepest flaws, insecurities and inner darkness than any other character in the entire series. Most of all, they’re painfully human. These three represent the absolute best and absolute worst in all of us. That’s what makes them equally compelling, empathetic and utterly repulsive at times. Hellraiser + Conan the Barbarian + Game of Thrones + Ash vs Evil Dead + Elric of Melnibone + Macbeth = Berserk. Medieval kingdoms, big swords, frenzied warriors, gore, nude, sex, intrigue, betrayal, demons, a quest for vengeance. Berserk is the encapsulation of the best parts of dark fantasy. You know how nowadays everything gets compared to Dark Souls? Even Dark Souls took heavy inspiration from it, if that is any indication for how well executed it is.I will go as far as say the 90s anime adaptation is the best version of them all. Sure, the budget wasn’t the best, but for the material it covered, it was even better than the manga. Created by Kenturo Miura, Berserk is manga mayhem to the extreme - violent, horrifying, and mercilessly funny - and the wellspring for the internationally popular anime series. Not for the squeamish or the easily offended, Berserk asks for no quarter - and offers none!
With Berserk, be it through the comic format, through the epic/heroic genre adopted - and largely subverted here -, or with the spirit of Nietzsche and the absurd, I reacquaint myself with a fictional world where, grim, merciless and bloodthirsty as its characters may be, the lines and parts feel quite clear-cut, the questions coarse and blunt but definitely posed, and the problems however unsurpassable - are defined and faced right away. It also shows that Guts still has a human side. Despite how broken and full of hate and bloodlust he is, he still cares for Jill and throws himself in harm's way multiple times to protect her. Considering how tragic and terrifying Guts's childhood was, it's not too surprising that he would have a soft spot for kids that also happen to be suffering from abuse.Overall an explosive arc that’s equally horrifying and beautiful. It has one of the most satisfying reunions and redemption plots of all time.
There's something special in this weird little medieval-fairy-tale-Europe-as-imagined-by-20th-century-Japanese that kept me reading. A whiff of Nietzsche and Sartre and Kierkegaard, a promise of complexity and depth hiding behind the simplistic tale of an unlikeable protagonist's journey of revenge, despair and brutality toward self-knowledge. It's cringy, stereotypical and very much rooted in the '90s but there's earnestness and some emotional truth in this ugly, depressing tale that makes me read on.Bloody gory dark fantasy. But don't underestimate this manga. This manga is not only selling gory scenes, but also there are some good promises in setting and characterizations. I don't know how the promises will be delivered, this series is still ongoing. When I write this review the series has been running for around 27 years. The first arc is only the tip of the iceberg of a very complex, dark and violent tragedy. If you find yourself to be not too impressed with the first volume, I highly recommend reading until at least volume 4 before deciding if this series is for you or not. The first three volumes serve as an interlude to help prepare you for the atrocities to come and may seem somewhat underwhelming in terms of plot, but believe me when I say the payoff is highly rewarding and memorable. In 1990, a sequel is made to Ourou entitled Ourou Den (王狼伝 ōrō den, The Legend of the Wolf King) that was published as a prequel to the original in Young Animal Magazine. In the same year, the 10th issue of Animal House witnesses the first volume of the solo project Berserk was released with a relatively limited success. Miura again collaborated with Buronson on manga titled Japan, that was published in Young Animal House from the 1st issue to the 8th of 1992, and was later released as a stand-alone tankōbon. Miura's fame grew after Berserk was serialized in Young Animal in 1992 with the release of "The Golden Age" story arc and the huge success of his masterpiece made of him one of the most prominent contemporary mangakas. At this time Miura dedicates himself solely to be working on Berserk. He has indicated, however, that he intends to publish more manga in the future.
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