Berserk

[Hawky Blue Eyes]

An extremely common recurring question in regards to the manga series is "What is up with the hiatuses?" Berserk often seems to come out 4 chapters at a time, and then take a multi-month break.


Miura does not take 4 month vacations and then pump out 4 chapters in 4 weeks, followed by another 4 month vacation.

Miura draws four chapters, then YA publishes those four in a row, followed by hiatus. While those chapters are running, he is already working on the next one. Miura draws on a more or less monthly schedule and is constantly working, but YA is semi-monthly (2x/month) so we get the false impression when a backlog of Berserk appears at once.

He's monthly-ish, the publication isn't.

Also, due to redundant conversation, this thread will be closed during the hiatuses. If you have information on an impending new release, just PM one of the mods or admins, specifically RobbyBevard, and he'll reopen the thread.


original post

Hidden:

This manga gotta be one of the most violent manga around there, but it has an awesome story and extremely cool characters. I did see the anime, though didn't like it as much as the manga. Too many changes to the story and censoring if you ask me, not to mention that in only covers part of the ongoing manga. Anyone here sharing that opinion?

[Captain Panda]

Honestly, I preferred the anime version. It may not have covered everything (nor could it have, since the manga's still going), but what it did cover was pretty much PERFECTLY executed and just was far more interesting and capitvating. The manga's pretty good too, though it's got a few notable flaws that keep it from being one of my all-time favorites.

[Yoska]

It's one of my favourites, the youth part is the best. I haven't been so much into the latest development but so far Vritannis has been good. However I haven't seen the cartoon yet and, well, I really don't think it could offer anything the comic already has but I might eventually end up watching it for fun. Miura's such a slowpoke though.

[PirateFetus V.2]

i've heard a lot of good things about this, i'll have to go check it out

[TheUprightMan83]

This is my second favourite manga. I also really enjoyed the anime, but just not as much as the manga.

[Captain Kuro]

I like the anime and manga. The anime was really good I thought, even if it only covered a part of the story. I agree with Captain Panda that is was very well executed.

But I also like the manga a lot as well. The characters are very interesting (Serpico is one of my current favorites, and I can't wait to see what happens with some of the others like Silatt and the Archer guy - Irvine/Arwin/whatever his real name is).

Edit - I'm only up to volume 27 though.

[Hawky Blue Eyes]

Well I guess what you prefer usually depends on what you got to see first. I read the manga before the anime, so naturally I don't like it when one of my favorite manga's get changed in anyway for whatever reason in the anime version. They left out a great deal in the anime to your imagination, which was made explicit in the manga. The violence in the manga is excesive but it does serve a function. It shows the in what world Guts is living and how far he will go to reach his goal (not to mention to show of what a badass he really is).

@ cap'n panda: I'm actually curious what flaws the manga has in your opinion.

@ cap'n kuro: can't find any more (which means I could help you out since I've read untill the current volume 29) or haven't catched up your reading yet?

[JEECE]

i didn't see that anime but the manga is awesome :D
and is volume 28 out?

[Captain Panda]

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 21 2005, 03:22 PM
@ cap'n panda: I'm actually curious what flaws the manga has in your opinion.

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Well, since you asked, you deserve an answer, now don'cha? Anyway...

1)It tends to drag, especially during battles. Particularly during the second Eclipse and the battle with Mozgus, but really in general...a lot of the fights have a tendency to take 2 or 3 more chapters than they really need to.

2)Miura seems scared to death to really include any exposition. He avoids actually really explaining anything important pretty much all of the time. Heck, he even cut a chapter out of the collected releases because he felt it "explained too much". Mystery and suspense is one thing, but the feeling I get while reading Berserk is not so much "Wow...what is up? I don't know!" and more "I really SHOULD know by now, but don't, and that's annoying".

3)Somewhat tied into the previous point: I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE the Skull Knight. He has no real role in the series outside of saving Guts ass when Miura's written himself into a corner, but despite showing up relatively often, and seeming to have the good guys' best interest in mind, he never offers up anything more than the most obtuse hints (a result of Miura's being scared of exposition), which means that his only real role is as a deus ex machina, which annoys the hell outta me.

4)Guts is a rather boring character. He gets better occasionally, but then just falls right back down. He doesn't really develop...he just kinda moves in circles. We already know pretty much everything about him (which isn't much), and he tends to wear his heart on his shoulder, so there's really just interesting about him. There ARE interesting characters (Griffith, Serpico, and Farneze are my favorites), but Guts is just too dull to be the MAIN character, in my mind.

That's pretty much the long and the short of it. Keep in mind, I still like the series overall (though I'm a few months behind on the manga releases, as I got kinda bored with it, and am waiting for more in order to marathon a bunch at once), it's just not necessarily one my absolute favorites, for the reasons detailed above.

I felt that the anime really just related the emotion of the characters and the story in a more interesting and sympathetic manner (albeit, I will mention, that I'm speaking of the English dub of the anime...the Japanese version had some really lousy voice acting, which killed it as a whole). It does leave some things out, but most of those things are just extra fight scenes which, while cool, are not necessary in the overall scheme of things. People also complain about the anime's ending, but I didn't mind it too much. A little more closure would've been nice, but wasn't really necessary, IMHO.

[Rody]

I do have a questoin about it.
I've watched the anime till chapter 8, and I do really liked it.
The manga isn't available around here. (too bad)

But, my friend who owns all the episodes, told me the anime doesn't have really what we would call an ending.







DUNNO BUT, PROBABLY SPOILER:




SPOIL


SPOILING







SPOILEEERS



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He said, the anime begins with the ending, and the manga it's actually more understandable.
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END of the possible Spoiler.

[Captain Panda]

Rody: The anime, for lack of a better way of describing it without spoiling something, ends on a cliffhanger. There's no real transition between episode 25 (which is the last one) and episode 1 (which actually takes place LAST, chronologically). As a result, people tend to be disappointed with the ending. However, while the series doesn't explain the trip from point A to point B (which the manga does), it does resolve all the issues it presents, if that makes any sense.

[Kaizoku-Ou]

i love and own the berserk anime, and i love and have read much of the manga, and i think berserk should get a season 2, i think that the anime is more fun whereas the manga is much more interesring, but boring.

[Hawky Blue Eyes]

@jeece: there at volume 29 right now

@Rody: the manga starts the same, mind a few changes. The manga picks up the story in the present time where the anime stops.

@captain panda: you surely are entitled to you opinion, though I don't share it. Compared to other manga, the fights don't really seem to be dragged too long. It's true though, that there that much of the plot is still shrouded in mysteries. Well at least to a certain extend. The story of Guts has been revealed, there's a big hint given on the identity of the skullknight and it's clearly exposed why he collects the behelits. The interesting thing about berserk is how the story evolves along the way, including the main character Guts. It start's out as man out for vengance deal, but that changes later on (I don't want to spoil too much though, so if you read like say the 10 last volumes then you know what I'm talking about).

[Captain Panda]

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 22 2005, 04:45 PM
I don't want to spoil too much though, so if you read like say the 10 last volumes then you know what I'm talking about.

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Don't worry much about me. I've read everything except the latest few chapters (I stopped around the time Ishidoro was fighting the pirates).

[Captain Kuro]

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 21 2005, 04:22 PM
@ cap'n kuro: can't find any more (which means I could help you out since I've read untill the current volume 29) or haven't catched up your reading yet?

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I haven't really looked very hard, but I haven't been downloading them lately. I used to check out the raws on the SK forums, but it took too long because of my slow connection (the raw scans were usually really large). And I haven't found any torrents for later volumes.

I intend on later buying the Japanese volumes of 28 and 29 though, but not anytime soon.

[Yoska]

Originally posted by Kaizoku-Ou@Feb 22 2005, 08:51 AM
boring.

A bit off topic but I've encountered this a lot in anime and manga community and I've been thinking about this for a while. What divine force makes people read and watch boring comics and cartoons ? If something bores me, even for a little bit, I'll drop it.

I don't dare to touch the subject of the cartoon while I haven't seen it yet but if it's like Captain Panda said I suppose perhaps the series would be better off without a sequel. A good amount of the anime fans could be seriously disappointed in it, not because of the quality but just because Berserk would never be the same anymore. If it's not broken - Don't fix it. Nevertheless the best part of Berserk's already animated. Volumes 4-9 (from Donavan raping Guts into the sex act of Casca and Guts) are incredible. I keep re-reading that part in once in a while and I doubt if Miura is ever able to pull anything as good.

Spoilers ahead, stop reading it if you aren't familiar with the comic. Captain Panda raised interesting topics and I want to spent a few words on those. I can't say whether Miura's not explaining enough is a bad thing or not but I personally often prefer author not trying to explain all and leaving gaps for readers to fill. Perhaps there will be time when everything is exposed but I'm more comfortable with not going in to too much details. Berserk is slow, that's for sure. I enjoy the pace (I'm a bit slow guy too) and I believe it's nice when the author isn't making any haste and it's fitting for the charastics of the series. Yes, this can be annoyance in action scenes and it does backfires more often than it should but I can live with it. I adore Skully, every story of this caliber needs it's mystery guy. LORT had Gandalf, Berserk has the Skull Knight. I thought the relationship between him and Flora was an exciting additon and yet gave more questions. And like how he abuse Guts, he helps him but at the same time he guide Guts into direction the best for his agenda against the Gods Hand. I like Guts too. His character has experieced some good and likely character development and I feel sympathy for him and his motivations. I also feel curiorisity of how he will handle the revenge, it seems like step by step he's losing his reasons and he's getting new friends around him.

More spoilers. I have been really found of the Kushan story line and of the Neon Band of the Hawk. Taking along magic still feels a bit alien for me, even though it was a logical next step I can't but question whether if it was a good decision. The Berserker armor's an awesome addition though, it makes a good use of Guts inner wickedness and the wolf. And the little kid, Casca look-alike, did really impressed me too. A clever twist by Miura I've to say and the family scene of Guts, Casca and the kid was really cute and well done. I've enjoyed the current arc a lot. Sonja's little duck tale touched me.

Sorry, pardon my long reply :P.

[Captain Panda]

Originally posted by Yoska+Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Yoska &#064; Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'>A bit off topic but I&#39;ve encountered this a lot in anime and manga community and I&#39;ve been thinking about this for a while. What divine force makes people read and watch boring comics and cartoons ? If something bores me, even for a little bit, I&#39;ll drop it.

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I pretty much agree. Sometimes I&#39;ll give something that&#39;s boring a little bit more of a chance if it&#39;s particularly easy to acquire more, or if I hear good things about it, but honestly, I usually still end up disinterested.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
Spoilers ahead, stop reading it if you aren&#39;t familiar with the comic. Captain Panda raised interesting topics and I want to spent a few words on those. I can&#39;t say whether Miura&#39;s not explaining enough is a bad thing or not but I personally often prefer author not trying to explain all and leaving gaps for readers to fill. Perhaps there will be time when everything is exposed but I&#39;m more comfortable with not going in to too much details.

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The problem I find with Berserk isn&#39;t that things are left hanging, per se, but the fact that Miura seems to be deliberately avoiding explaining things when the opportunity to do so presents itself. I agree that some air of mystery should be preserved, but at the same time, there&#39;s no reason to dance around exposition that would make the series a more full experience, which is sort of the vibe I get from Berserk.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
LORT had Gandalf, Berserk has the Skull Knight.

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The difference, IMHO, being that Gandalf hung around with the heroes, was generally helpful and tried to explain why things weren&#39;t going well (and what needed to be done), and didn&#39;t just appear out of the blue when someone needed to save Frodo&#39;s ass from the Ring Wraiths.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
More spoilers. I have been really found of the Kushan story line and of the Neon Band of the Hawk.

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Hell, in that regard, I agree 100%. Miura should just drop the Guts side of the story and focus on them completely. :P
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The Berserker armor&#39;s an awesome addition though, it makes a good use of Guts inner wickedness and the wolf.

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The Berserk armor is something I honestly really hate. It feels more like random "power up" than anything else, albeit with a drawback. But if I want to see people risk their lives for a few minutes of power, I&#39;ll read Naruto (not that I have anything against it either, mind you, it&#39;s just that it has its own style, while Berserk has its own, very different style, and they shouldn&#39;t necessarily mix).

[Hawky Blue Eyes]

You arguments are well taken, but doesn&#39;t that count for nearly any long running manga that takes itself serious. Oda does the same thing, basically. Keep moving around the big mysteries, sometimes solving a smaller one and at the same time adding 2 or 3 more to it. So I don&#39;t consider it really a bad thing. The story of Berserk evolves throughout the volumes. It doesn&#39;t stick with a the quest for vengeance formula till it get&#39;s borring and therefore some questions are no longer valid to be answered when the time arises.

I do have to admit that I had some problems accepting the use of magic, but at least it is incorporated well into the overal theme (though it kinda feels strange to have cute witches in a story that is full of ocultism at its worst). The berserk armor is a nice addition, though I think it&#39;s introduced to early. Guts hasn&#39;t really had a fair chance to determine whether he&#39;s able to defeat Griffith, but Miura probably will come up with something else at the time.

The skull knight might seem to come out of the blue, but hey in nearly any story people just happen to be at the right time and the right place (or the wrong) to further develop the plot. He does have an acceptable reason to be there at the right times; he is/was collecting behelits and the 5 god hand are his enemies.

[Yoska]

And so, it's revieved. By the way, there are two different Berserk threads, perhaps they should be melted together...

The Kushan war has officially began! Yesh, and with gore . But what's more interesting, Guts's past as the Raider Commander is about to be revealed. I have enjoyed the series during this arc far more than what I had in a long time, it's been more like it used to be.

[Zephos]

2)Miura seems scared to death to really include any exposition. He avoids actually really explaining anything important pretty much all of the time. Heck, he even cut a chapter out of the collected releases because he felt it "explained too much". Mystery and suspense is one thing, but the feeling I get while reading Berserk is not so much "Wow...what is up? I don't know!" and more "I really SHOULD know by now, but don't, and that's annoying".

he left that chapter out because it was too..... heavy for that point in the series. The Idea is like God in the Berserk world. Its not something he thinks we should know too much about yet.

3)Somewhat tied into the previous point: I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE the Skull Knight. He has no real role in the series outside of saving Guts ass when Miura's written himself into a corner, but despite showing up relatively often, and seeming to have the good guys' best interest in mind, he never offers up anything more than the most obtuse hints (a result of Miura's being scared of exposition), which means that his only real role is as a deus ex machina, which annoys the hell outta me.

Really? Without SK Gutts seems pretty hopeless.
SK plays a role that shows that the Godhand and them are not invincible. He's the sign of hope, considering how hopeless Gutt's goal is....we need him.

He also seems to be like Gutts himself.
With Void as his Griffith.....
The circle man, important plot point.





As for my take on the series...

Black Swordsman arc: Yawn...... but the art and world were interestingly fresh, so I kept reading.

Golden Age arc: Incredible, really damn incredible. Only volume 11 lagged, but its suprise ending was worth it.

Retribution arc: Lagged alot, but was overall very interesting, Mozgus is the creepiest dude ever.

Millenium Falcon: Han Solo's excellent ship.

And a great arc so far, I'm lovin the Neo-Hawks Kushan war... I'm at Vol.26 right now......waiting.....waiting....