Newbie Berserk Discussion Thread

[killxo]

i watched all of the berserk anime ahwile ago, and man some sweet shit ( manga is obviously better, but animation is more fun to watch regardless if alot of plot is taken out ). it was first time i'd actually seen it, even tho i've read some of the manga. but around the point where Griffith was tortured by the guy in the basement of that one castle ( sorry dont know names :X ) , and when he looked all frail and dead, i got like totaly sucked in. especially when his necklace, pardon again for not knowing the name , cant think of it atm , moved and eyes started to bleed as did his. such an amazing climax, prolly the best i've seen in any anime i've watched ( sept maybe ghost in the shell, huge fan of that ). but oh god lol i died at the ending when guts was pinned down watching caska get raped and suddenly he like yelled and the screen goes white and im like " FUCK that was the last episode! "

so yeah its a shame really that the anime was cancelled due to funding i think, i read it on a website once.

downloading hawks mangas atm, even tho i know what happens up till the start of vol 14, still good to see the extra stuff some of you have said is in the manga as the anime has left it out. cant wait to read it

cant wait for more of it to come out! thanks for creating an awesome forum . dont find good stuff like this often.

[Aetherfukz]

I still today cannot understand why they never made the last anime episode. Wikipedia says funding issues prevented it. But Berserk is one of the, if not the, best selling manga in japan. So why had they funding issues with such a good franchise when there's like 500 episodes of crap like Yu-Gi-Oh and such?

One last episode would have cleared so much up for the anime viewer: How Guts became the black swordsman, what happened to Casca, and such things. Well the only good thing about the anime ending is that it is such an unbelievable cliffhanger that the moment you see it you have to get the manga to read on what's happening after the last scene.

[Death&Rebirth]

I still today cannot understand why they never made the last anime episode. Wikipedia says funding issues prevented it. But Berserk is one of the, if not the, best selling manga in japan. So why had they funding issues with such a good franchise when there's like 500 episodes of crap like Yu-Gi-Oh and such?

One last episode would have cleared so much up for the anime viewer: How Guts became the black swordsman, what happened to Casca, and such things. Well the only good thing about the anime ending is that it is such an unbelievable cliffhanger that the moment you see it you have to get the manga to read on what's happening after the last scene.

If you think a bit on those words you will know why.
Berserk manga might sell well (not as well as the mainstream titles that populate Shonen Jump, per example) but that doesn't mean that all the money gain will be directed to producing anime. Actually in most projects, manga creators are consultors or advisors in the anime series and are generaly there because of copyright issue. Botherline is, Berserk is and was a very mature title and it was aimed to an age restricted audience. To think that NGE, fristly, only was show by a syndicated Tokyo channel at midnight, you only might imagined what ordeals had the producers have to acomplished to obtain a channel and time slot to air Berserk anime. Moreover it was never a anime that would profit a great deal that would allow more to be produced.
Would suffix one more episode to please fans? Of course not. Even if they would made the "26 th", we would have this conversation because "they didn't show what happen to Ricket" or "it was so inconclusive it was need another episode to give a better image of it". I, for once, even if the end was not intentionally there, i think it was well acomplished. It does show the path from "Guts" to "Black Swordsman", which was what the initial motive. It's not close nor it need to be while the manga was and still is being release with Young Animal (if i'm not mistaken with the anthology's name) and to allow a future (although very remote) second season.

Better to end in that cliffhanger that to have a very bad and speedy end like Gantz had, just to cite a more recent example.

[Rolos]

I totally agree with you.

Personally, I would have never started reading manga, which I considered only for kids and retards (What an idiot!! ), if I hadnt stumbled on the Berserk anime. When I saw the last episode it was like
Luckily, an unknown benefactor (I saw this word on Half Life 2, hope it fits in the context) had posted the manga along a set of pretty cool berserk wallpapers and I downloaded the 13th volume on a "what the hell, lets give it a try" whim (That phrase made sense, right?).
When I regained conciousness I had read the 32 volumes available at the time and was craving for more....

Well, thats how I became a Berserkoholic. Now,going back to what I intended to say from the very begining (man, I really need to learn how to focus when writing )........Lots of people got to know the manga because of the clingy end the anime had.

Making a new end (or completing the original) would make no sense.....it would be expensive, difficult to air (alternative = broadcast?) and just plainly stupid.

Pd: Hey Prince, good one. The cat picture I mean. Fucking hilarious. Got anymore of those? Could you please upload the "Who Fucking cares" one again?
I lost mine and google failed miserably when I tried to find it again.....

[Death&Rebirth]

Actually i also saw first the anime but it was unintentional.

I remenber being told by my circle of friends to read Berserk that there was nothing like it and i was "meh...some other time". Another friend of mine got me the anime and i started seeing it just to see what was the fuss all about. I remenber felling disappointed after watching the first episode and though to myself "ok...it's just a medieval story about some angry dude waving a giant swords and slashing his enemies. Oh...with a cannon in his left arm. So what's the deal with this to make every one go crazy about it...". Then i warched the rest of the series in one weekend and i was blown away. The anime was in fact good and i decide since i had nothing better to do to dl the manga. At first i decide only get the Takubon releases, and i read those and i cursed my inaction of jumping to this before when my friends told me so. The manga was much more phisical and emotional visceral and we were still with the Golden Age arc. Then i get to read what happen after the eclipse and it started to grow strong on me to the point to when there wasn't more takubon releases avaiable i had to turn to EG scanlations for more.

Now, besides dling the EG release (and the "taku", when Hawks decide to) i buy the volumes every month (well guarded by my Puck replica in my room). I don't know really if it was the anime that make me turn to manga instead or if by seeing the anime first created a good impression about the medium. In thruth i'll never know. I know that sooner or later i would get to the manga (indenpendently of seeing or not the anime first).

[Rolos]

Takubon? WTF is that? And as far as I know the Hawks scanlation team died in a plane accident in the Bermuda Triangle......

[Aetherfukz]

Typically, manga are first published in phone-book-sized weekly or monthly anthology manga magazines (such as Afternoon, Shonen Jump, or Hana to Yume). These anthologies often have hundreds of pages and dozens of individual storylines by multiple authors. They are printed on very cheap newsprint and are considered disposable. A tankōbon collects chapters from a single series and reprints them in a roughly paperback-sized volume on higher quality paper.

In English, while a tankōbon translation is usually marketed as a "graphic novel" or "trade paperback," the transliterated terms tankoubon and tankobon are sometimes used amongst online communities. Japanese people frequently refer to manga tankōbon as komikku (コミック, komikku?), from the English word "comic".

The term may also refer to the format itself — a comic collection in a trade paperback sized (roughly 5" × 7") book (as opposed to the larger 7" × 10" format used by traditional American graphic novels). The tankōbon format has made inroads in the American comics market, with several major publishers opting to release some of their titles in this smaller format. This format is also called "digest format" or "digest size."

Wikipedia how I love thee!

[Rolos]

aaaaaah.....so you mean the small ones. I have volume 3 on that format and it sucks!!!
I had to use zoom all the time and the quality was so incredibly crapy I almost decided to give up reading the Pre-Golden Age Arc.

Luckily for me, I got it on the big nice format some time later, though it was in colombian spanish, which uses lots of slang phrases that are hard to understand for us non-tropical south americans.

Yet, one question remains unanswered..... Is the Hawks scanlation team really alive?
Did they come back from the dark corners of existence where thay have been trapped (or so the rumors said) for so long?

Not that I really care, but Im bored without my Berserk dosis and I wouldnt mind learning more while I wait for the next release....

[psi29a]

aaaaaah.....so you mean the small ones. I have volume 3 on that format and it sucks!!!
I had to use zoom all the time and the quality was so incredibly crapy I almost decided to give up reading the Pre-Golden Age Arc.

Tanks are actual paper print versions (the full volumes) and it does not suck as they are a lot better than the format we scan off of which consists of toilet paper quality from YA.

Anything you find online where you have to "zoom" is technically illegal anyway. In which case the scanner and quality of the scan are at fault for sucking, not the tank (source material) itself.

We at EG insist that anyone that reads or keeps up with our releases to purchase the tanks (or volumes as it known here) from Darkhorse.

Yes the hawks are just fine, they only release volumes (or tanks), EG on the other hand only deals with episode/chapter releases from YA. So while we release every 2~4 weeks, Hawks releases once a year if that because of how infrequent the tanks/volumes are.

All these questions/answers and more can be found in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) thread.

[Rolos]

I cant buy the Tanks, here we only have a few manga specialized shops and Berserk is not available there.
I know because I checked. And sorry DarkHorse, but im not willing to spend ridiculously high amounts of money importing the Tanks from USA.

May be I will ask some of my ilegal inmigrant relatives to send the the tanks to me......lol just kidding.

[psi29a]

As I said, it is highly encouraged that you do.

Ebay and Amazon.com are perfect places to do so.

As to the topic at hand, tanks/volumes are always better quality than what comes in YA. We just have access to good scans/raws sometimes and Eldo/Mune are awesome at making toilet paper look like pure gold.

[Tonbo]

I finally caught up on all the Berserk chapters and I just have to say...

when did Berserk become a harem manga?

[Aetherfukz]

Berserk a harem manga? Well the very first page of the very first volume depicted Guts banging a demon whore, so...

[War Machine]

I cant buy the Tanks, here we only have a few manga specialized shops and Berserk is not available there.
I know because I checked. And sorry DarkHorse, but im not willing to spend ridiculously high amounts of money importing the Tanks from USA.

May be I will ask some of my ilegal inmigrant relatives to send the the tanks to me......lol just kidding.

You know, the Spanish version of Berserk released by "MangaLine ediciones" is sold around here a little cheaper than the English version and you might find it where you live or at least be able to import it at a lower price. I buy the Darkhorse releases from Amazon.com at 11 dolars, but the MangaLine releases are sold at about 8 dolars, which really sucks for me because now I have to keep paying the higher price for my collection.

[Death&Rebirth]

I cant buy the Tanks, here we only have a few manga specialized shops and Berserk is not available there.
I know because I checked. And sorry DarkHorse, but im not willing to spend ridiculously high amounts of money importing the Tanks from USA.

May be I will ask some of my ilegal inmigrant relatives to send the the tanks to me......lol just kidding.

You know, the Spanish version of Berserk released by "MangaLine ediciones" is sold around here a little cheaper than the English version and you might find it where you live or at least be able to import it at a lower price. I buy the Darkhorse releases from Amazon.com at 11 dolars, but the MangaLine releases are sold at about 8 dolars, which really sucks for me because now I have to keep paying the higher price for my collection.

I was going also to suggest that about Mangaline. I live in Portugal so basically any manga or anime i buy, it's imported. Anime comes mostly from UK and Spain via Amazon.co.uk or DVdgo.com and Manga i buy from a Comic store that deals with imported stuff. also i suggest visiting Bookdepository.co.uk they have free shipping to almost every country now and they are very reliable bunch (i also use them for my manga needs).

If everything fails sometimes you have great deals at abebooks.com or amazon market place.

[Tonbo]

Berserk a harem manga? Well the very first page of the very first volume depicted Guts banging a demon whore, so...

Hehe... no, that's just porn. I meant like Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina, or Ranma 1/2 where the main character is surrounded by girls who all want to get with him and the guy is totally oblivious.

[Rolos]

Well, I think its around the Lost Children arc. That Jill was desperately trying to get some, but in the end she didnt have the guts to follow Gutts.
(he, that sounded wierd)
Inmediatly after that happened, we witnesed Farneze, the most disturbed chick I have ever seen in a manga, starting to feel "urges" in Gutts presence.

With the appearance of Caska and the prostitutes at the Rebirth arc, the fate of the manga was sealed. It became a Harem manga like no other, the one absolute.

Though the fate of Berserk was already sealed, we all saw how Gutts struggled against the never-ending attempts of Farneze to join Gutts and Caska. Of course, it was futile. A single fish jumping (or swiming) against the current cant change the river s course.

The moment Farneze was accepted, the last traces of hope for monogamy flew away just like dust in the wind. We have all been witnesses of the exponential growth of Gutts harem since then.

So....whats the lesson here? If you dont want your manga to become a Harem manga, you will have to decline each time a sadomasoquist girl offers herself to the band your main character leads.

(re-reading this makes me wonder if it should have been better to post it on the stupid theory post)

Pd: Thanks to everyone who showed me alternative ways to buy the manga, i will try some of them, this time may be i will be able to get it!!!
May be.....may be...the "reading the manga while looking over my shoulders because i dont want my little sisters to get a glimpse of Caska being raped " times are over!!!

[Seraph]

Pd: Thanks to everyone who showed me alternative ways to buy the manga, i will try some of them, this time may be i will be able to get it!!!
May be.....may be...the "reading the manga while looking over my shoulders because i dont want my little sisters to get a glimpse of Caska being raped " times are over!!!

you worried about caska scene when there is mad orgy

[Rolos]

i think it was pretty obvious that what i didnt my sisters to see were the scenes of extreme sex and violence we all love.

[dialdfordesi]

I'm putting this here because I just feel weird about making this a topic.

I was reading over volume 30 of Berserk and the duel between Guts and Serpico showed me something: Guts is like Griffith.

While Serpico fights Guts he has an internal monologue saying how Guts has changed everyone in the group, and it's quite the same way the old members of the Band of the Hawk felt about Griffith. Maybe I'm inferring too much into the monologue but since Guts has changed his crew, they may be drawn to him as the old members of the Hawk were drawn to Griffith. If they are so alike, then, how come Griffith sacrificed the Hawk and is a God Hand and Guts is a mortal?

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is what the fundamental difference between Guts and Griffith is. This difference would be the reason why Guts is the protagonist and Griffith became the antagonist. Furthermore I believe that it would also show what Kentaro Miura believes to be the defining trait of humanity. I guess I've always been interested with discerning a fundamental truth about humanity from Berserk.

[Tonbo]

While Serpico fights Guts he has an internal monologue saying how Guts has changed everyone in the group, and it's quite the same way the old members of the Band of the Hawk felt about Griffith. Maybe I'm inferring too much into the monologue but since Guts has changed his crew, they may be drawn to him as the old members of the Hawk were drawn to Griffith. If they are so alike, then, how come Griffith sacrificed the Hawk and is a God Hand and Guts is a mortal?

Warning: Stupid Berserk Theory

Guts will get his chance to make the same choice as Griffith and make a sacrifice to obtain his revenge and take Griffith's place in the God Hand. That's why they keep reminding us he has a behelit (an Emperor behelit too). I think you're right that Guts and Griffith are very similar. Only the choices they make will decide whether they are any different.

If there is a consistent theme about the nature of humanity in Miura's work, it is that unbridled human ambition drives his universe. People are either your stepping stones or you might as well bend over and get stepped on. Guts is kind of softening up and showing us the value of real human connections, but in the end he will still have to make the choice to save them and take it up the rear or sacrifice them to his dream.

[The Prince]

Sorry....Double post.

[The Prince]

While Serpico fights Guts he has an internal monologue saying how Guts has changed everyone in the group, and it's quite the same way the old members of the Band of the Hawk felt about Griffith. Maybe I'm inferring too much into the monologue but since Guts has changed his crew, they may be drawn to him as the old members of the Hawk were drawn to Griffith. If they are so alike, then, how come Griffith sacrificed the Hawk and is a God Hand and Guts is a mortal?

Warning: Stupid Berserk Theory

Guts will get his chance to make the same choice as Griffith and make a sacrifice to obtain his revenge and take Griffith's place in the God Hand. That's why they keep reminding us he has a behelit (an Emperor behelit too). I think you're right that Guts and Griffith are very similar. Only the choices they make will decide whether they are any different.

If there is a consistent theme about the nature of humanity in Miura's work, it is that unbridled human ambition drives his universe. People are either your stepping stones or you might as well bend over and get stepped on. Guts is kind of softening up and showing us the value of real human connections, but in the end he will still have to make the choice to save them and take it up the rear or sacrifice them to his dream.

I don't know man.

We all know in Griffith's case, taking it up the rear and pursuing one's dream aren't mutually exclusive.

[Istvan]

Guts will get his chance to make the same choice as Griffith and make a sacrifice to obtain his revenge and take Griffith's place in the God Hand. That's why they keep reminding us he has a behelit (an Emperor behelit too).

Uh, sorry no. Guts has a "normal" behelit, that he got from the Slug Count. It is not an Emperor behelit. Also, it has been explicitly stated that Guts can't make a sacrifice, because he's been branded. It can't happen.

If you're going to post a Stupid Theory, there's a thread specifically for those.

[dialdfordesi]

Well, after thinking about the fundamental differences between Guts and Griffith, I think the quality that makes Guts the protagonist and Griffith the antagonist can be shown by why they fight, post eclipse. What does Guts fight for? He fights for revenge. Griffith fights so he can have a kingdom.

In essence Guts fights out of love for his comrades and for Caska, while Griffith fights for his personal gain. According to my previous post, this quality is what defines humanity. Could it be as simple as love, though? If you look at what Idea says, it can be inferred. Idea was created by mankind looking for a reason for bad things happening--essentially hate. Since Guts is fighting the minions of the Idea, he has to be a champion of the direct opposite of Idea: a champion of the "light" emotions, the penultimate one being love.

I'd like to see some opinions on my assertions. I've had a few before I typed this up, so I'd like to see where this opinion does not hold true.