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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
Really Great product and I decided that this would be when I dived down in the series to check what the fuss was about and not regretting it so far, the story is engaging and the art is really good
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a fine read, but I don’t really understand the hype yet. I can see some potential for greatness, but this first volume just seems grim for grimness sake, without having anything insightful to say about the dark sides of humanity. I think the art style is nice, but a lot of times the anatomy and perspective seems “off”. I’ll give the second volume a try, to see if it might change my mind.
To lazy to rate it on a volume by volume basis. On a whole it’s art is some of the best manga can get. Most of it is 4 golden age is of course a 5
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Berserk looms pretty large among the influences of some of my favorite creators and works, so it's been an object of curiosity for me for a long time. I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in.
I think its opening is a little rough, a little bit too abrasive for its own sake. There's an edgy sensibility in the opening chapters that I found tedious, even if some of its more gruesome panels are well-executed gut punches. There's likely also a degree of acclimation that I needed to pass through so I could start to understand what it was doing.
However, as the story picks up steam into the end of the Black Swordsman arc, and with just a toe into the Golden Age arc, I already find myself much more interested than I was at first blush. There's a sense of mystery to unravel and the world's bleakness is more affecting once Guts begins to have an overt place in it beyond just being an impudent badass.
I think its opening is a little rough, a little bit too abrasive for its own sake. There's an edgy sensibility in the opening chapters that I found tedious, even if some of its more gruesome panels are well-executed gut punches. There's likely also a degree of acclimation that I needed to pass through so I could start to understand what it was doing.
However, as the story picks up steam into the end of the Black Swordsman arc, and with just a toe into the Golden Age arc, I already find myself much more interested than I was at first blush. There's a sense of mystery to unravel and the world's bleakness is more affecting once Guts begins to have an overt place in it beyond just being an impudent badass.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Berserk is probably one of the first major animes I watched as a kid. Between Guyver and Dragon Ball Z getting pushed here as a child I stumbled upon Berserk in the 90's as a kid. Fell in love with the anime right away and watched it a few times growing up. HOWEVER the manga I stopped reading around 20 and just never went back to it. Now because it was bad, I still collect the series, I just didn't start reading them again.
Then I saw these Deluxe books coming out. I very rarely buy books again that I own. Even when it released I kind of ignored it. But then walking through books a million I saw this and I was blown away. The size of it, the hardcover...the feel. It was like screaming for me to purchase. But 50$ is a hefty pricetag. So I went online, saw they were doing buy 2 get 1 free, and then had a 20% off coupon for books a million this week and so I bought berserk deluxe volume 1-6 for half the prices they normally are.
Anyway you're like "James, I don't care why you got it. Is it good?" Well the point I was making is it's good enough for me to rebuy, so yes...it is that good.
See, Berserk is a dark series. Filled with dark themes, and I'm talking Rape, incest, mutilation's, child murder, and much more. So it is NOT for everyone and that's okay. It never really needed to be. Even drawn in the 80's all these years later the art is fantastic.
Guts starts his adventures on the first page fucking a demon. Just when the demon goes to kill him he blasts her face off. This sets the tone right away. Gritty, fucked up, and a world filled with loss. We then Meet Puck, a elf, who helps guts in the adventure. Luckily Puck gives some much needed humor inbetween the darkness of the series. The first arc here is mostly focused on learning the world and why it is filled with demons, meeting guts main enemy Griffith, and then ending the book with the Golden Age Arc which covers Guts childhood and this is the first maybe 9 years of his life, leaving it off with a horrible cliffhanger (Not bad, but terrible what happens).
While not the strongest arc it is a wonderful showcase to the art, action, and brutalness of the series. While the only negative of this arc is it is a little action heavy not getting TOO big of a story yet. It also shows more tender moments that you'll get later on. If you love Dark Fantasy and you've heard about Berserk, THIS is the version to pick up. Pages double the size and they look amazing. A 4 out of 5.
Then I saw these Deluxe books coming out. I very rarely buy books again that I own. Even when it released I kind of ignored it. But then walking through books a million I saw this and I was blown away. The size of it, the hardcover...the feel. It was like screaming for me to purchase. But 50$ is a hefty pricetag. So I went online, saw they were doing buy 2 get 1 free, and then had a 20% off coupon for books a million this week and so I bought berserk deluxe volume 1-6 for half the prices they normally are.
Anyway you're like "James, I don't care why you got it. Is it good?" Well the point I was making is it's good enough for me to rebuy, so yes...it is that good.
See, Berserk is a dark series. Filled with dark themes, and I'm talking Rape, incest, mutilation's, child murder, and much more. So it is NOT for everyone and that's okay. It never really needed to be. Even drawn in the 80's all these years later the art is fantastic.
Guts starts his adventures on the first page fucking a demon. Just when the demon goes to kill him he blasts her face off. This sets the tone right away. Gritty, fucked up, and a world filled with loss. We then Meet Puck, a elf, who helps guts in the adventure. Luckily Puck gives some much needed humor inbetween the darkness of the series. The first arc here is mostly focused on learning the world and why it is filled with demons, meeting guts main enemy Griffith, and then ending the book with the Golden Age Arc which covers Guts childhood and this is the first maybe 9 years of his life, leaving it off with a horrible cliffhanger (Not bad, but terrible what happens).
While not the strongest arc it is a wonderful showcase to the art, action, and brutalness of the series. While the only negative of this arc is it is a little action heavy not getting TOO big of a story yet. It also shows more tender moments that you'll get later on. If you love Dark Fantasy and you've heard about Berserk, THIS is the version to pick up. Pages double the size and they look amazing. A 4 out of 5.
I originally read this due to it's influence on Dark Souls, a little obsession of mine. What could I have pictured? Certainly not this. This is one of the darkest things I've ever read. Demons, monsters (both human and not), and the macabre. I'm excitedly nervous about breaking the seal of volume 2!