Berserk (1997)

Berserk, despite the negative attention it's gotten from fans of the original manga, is among the most entertaining animes I've ever seen. Like most anime (specifically, the kind geared towards men, so looks elsewhere for the anorexic, wide-eyed lolis with their hands on their hips) it's very gorey and the main character is extremely overpowered. But that doesn't change the fact that it posesses a lot of potential. I was personally surprised with the sub-plot elements that cover life and following one's dream. But don't be fooled, this is a very graphic piece of work and focuses more on what your typical blood-soaked, Evil Dead watching horror fanatic would prescribe himself after a long hard day of chainsaw mauling. Yeah, it's that damn gorey.

The story involves Guts, a boy who we witness being raised from the battlefield wielding a sword twice his size since a very young age. After being taken under the wing of a bloodthirsty and crazed warrior, Guts kills his father figure in an attempt to defend his own life. Charged with murdering him, Guts sets out to pursue a life of killing for cash, so to speak. He spends his life doing this until he reaches his mid-teens, and then joins a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk, where we meet the two supporting characters, Griffith and Casca. Though Wikipedia doesn't seem to agree with me, as they consider them to be more main characters.

As I've said before, this is based on a manga series (which has reached up to 33 volumes in Japan and is still being published) and takes place durring the "Golden Age" story arc, covering volumes 4-13. I've only read a little bit to brush up on Berserk's source material and to find out what happens after the show's rather inconclusive ending. All I can say is the manga is as dark as it is perverse and extremely violent. The anime, however, doesn't do the best job of representing this, which could be the reason why the ending caught so many people off guard. Without spoiling much, Guts isn't given any sort of resulution or justice. In fact, all supporting characters are killed off in Hell as their leader sacrafices them for an ultimate power. The author must have been a big Hellraiser fan, because the apostles at the end of the anime resemble some of Clive Barker's creatures almost perfectly.

I've read rumors regarding the ending, such as the lack of budget that wouldn't allow the studio to make a 26th episode or just the idea that the ending is meant to be abrupt and depressing. Either way, I was left wanting more justice for Guts and the manga, though explaining much more on the point, really doesn't provide much more of a happy ending. The overall differences between the anime and manga wouldn't have made a sebsible ending anyway. Regardless, Berserk is more of a prequel to the Guts we see in the manga which has always been a pretty kick-ass anime character. I'd definetely recommend the first 23 episodes to any fans of big swords, gore, and the lack of physical humor that most anime is now plagued with. As for the remaining two episodes, only for those who really want to witness something fucked up.