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 Berserk

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BigO
Chūnin
Chūnin
BigO


Male Number of posts : 330
Age : 43
Registration date : 2006-07-10

Berserk Empty
PostSubject: Berserk   Berserk Empty15/07/06, 12:39 pm

Title: Berserk

Story: 10.0
Character: 10.0
Value: 10.0
Enjoyment: 10

Best manga ever.

At first, the design and paint is just nice. But at last volumes is the best detailed painting I have ever seen.
The story is the best, and keeps going better in each volume.

Recommended 100%

The only thing that can be a disadvantage for someone, might be because is a bit gore, or darkness, for some people Smile
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Tomato
Hokage
Hokage
Tomato


Male Number of posts : 1188
Age : 113
Location : Fire Country; Hidden Leaf Village
Registration date : 2006-05-31

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PostSubject: Re: Berserk   Berserk Empty02/09/06, 04:48 pm

Based off of the first twenty volumes. This review may seem spoiler-esque but a lot of things happen over the course of the manga, and I'm pretty sure none of this stuff will spoil it at all for you.

Berserk takes place in an uncensored and gruesome medieval setting manga with the familiar aspects of swords and armors, calvary, infantry, roman catholic church, etc. Fairly common and distributed throughout it are numerous large battles, castle take overs, aristocratic and royal politics, etc. However, beneath this initial impression, Berserk is a story about one man's violent struggle to live. Labeled as cursed boy from the beginning seconds of his life (he is found in a pool of his own mother's blood who is hanging from a tree above), Gatts defines himself through the countless violent battles he is engaged in.

Gatts lives by the sword. He sheds off all human warmth and is extremely sensitive and weak to any one physically touching him. His only father figure betrays him in the beginning and Gatts refuses any emotional attachment. Until he becomes part of the Band of the Hawks. Here, despite his initial refusal, Gatts becomes accustomed to interacted with other people - an interaction that goes beyond the depth of a sword cutting through one's head. We begin to see some light within his heart that perhaps is representative that human life as a whole isn't half that bad. Despite the cruel murders and countless bodies that pile up, perhaps these light-hearted moments make life worth living.

However, things are not as simple as it seems...

I love Gatt's character. He is so awesome and brutally strong - fighting through 100 men alone with his humungous sword- but in the end he is still weak inside. I found that despite the mystical and magical elements to Berserk, that the story follows along realistic lines of progression. Gatts, Griffith, Caska... the Band of the Hawks... and everyone else... all seem to have a realistic personality that when fused together through their interaction, makes the world of Berserk come alive.

I've read this manga twice and the second time was effective as the first. Despite knowing what would happen, the gruesome events that take place never fail to shock me. Gatts's will to define himself and to follow his own dream is effective each time through. What happens to Caska, too, never fails to impress and shock me. However, one thing that I did not quite like about Berserk is that basically all the character development relies on Gatts. Because Griffith is supposed to be some sort of representative of destiny or fate, he is quite a weak character. Caska only serves to bring some sort of humanity into Gatts - her and the rest of the Band of the Hawks. The aristocrats, royalties, etc. themselves too are extremely one sided. They - unsurprisingly - represent the evil, arrogant, selfish, and greedy nature of humanity. So are only left with Gatts to be our hero. Our hero to shed some light on humanity and to show that it is worth living, despite being perpetually chased by demons.

Another theme too commonly found in many manga/anime mediums is that children are portrayed as pure, honest, unresponsible for whatever they do, etc. There's like some sort of weak spot in Gatts everytime he sees a kid, or a childish-appearance adult... it is almost as if its saying that human hope lies in purity, innocence, or something. He always has to save the kid, he always has to have the kid feel awe towards him... even Caska ends up becoming some sort of kid like mentality.. repressed back to some sort of purity I guess.

As a whole, Berserk doesn't have much of a storyline. Aside from an interesting historical setting, the events that actually happen are few and far between (the fights). We have various demons that pop in and out, we have various key battles won, we have various key character being introduces. There really isn't that much in terms of a clear progression of events. Gatts doesn't really know what he wants to do and things basically flow along... just occuring here and there. Perhaps this was done on purpose to show that Gatts is following fate or destiny? Furthermore, far into the later volumes, we still do not have a clear idea of the forces that Gatts is up again. Demons. Fate. Destiny. That's the mantra that is pounded into our heads from the beginning... that's all we are told. Well, I guess this is a show not tell type of story telling and all I can do is wait to see how things unfold.

After the initial tornado that cause Gatts to be branded, the story of Berserk basically takes a new direction. However, instead of fighting alone - he somehow manages to get a following of some sort. Each have their own dreams, but again, Gatts is our hero and everyone else seems to be accessory to that fact. Either way, Berserk is still a great read and definitely a very enticing and original world. Each manga frame is definitely worth looking over. The art is great and extremely detailed and does not disappoint.

Berserk is one of those great mangas out there that one cannot miss. Although it is a bit gruesome and violent, the killing isn't without a purpose. Berserk is about Gatts survival in the world where he is doomed to be sacrificed and his fight against this destiny of his.
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