What I just finished watching and what I thought about it 2 (USE SPOILER TAGS)

[LinkSword]

Originally Posted by Surise

Well, I guess I'm being stupid for expecting Berserk to be a stand-alone series rather than a way of merchandising the manga. Why didn't they cut off after the wrap-up and then give it their own ending rather than making people pay for something incomplete? There are plenty of anime series that are based on a manga but in order to do justice to the viewers the anime starts to live its own life in order to gain a proper conclusion. That's what I expect when I pick up an anime, a complete stand-alone series that doesn't need the original manga to support itself. Silly me.

And what I'm saying is that the Berserk anime is a complete stand-alone series that doesn't need the continuation from the original manga to support itself, since it covers a whole arc with a strong thematic conclusion and what's next in the manga won't bring you any more immediate satisfaction regarding that storyline because, as I said, timeskip, then it moves on to Guts massacring unrelated monsters.

Hell, I'll even say that the Golden Age arc covered in the anime is the best material Miura has ever offered. I could have refrained from picking up the manga and I'd be just as satisfied with the way the end of the storyline was handled.

And no, you can't have Berserk ''live its own life'' in the last episode to have a ''proper conclusion'' and expect something other than absolute bullshit.

So what? Suddenly Guts goes ultramegasuperhuman and kills every last Apostle standing, takes the woman and eats a choco cake back at home? PLEASE. He's defeated, betrayed, powerless. Caska has been raped by the shadow of his old friend right before his eyes and every other comrade he had has died suffering.

There is nothing he can do there, he hits the limit of his capacities as a human before even taking the first step. So the only thing left for Guts is go away, grow physically and mentally, start off with enemies of his league, and find people who'll actually help him get stronger. Meaning something you can't do in one or two extra episodes, nor in twelve. Anything that wraps up the story happily for Guts after the Eclipse other than this is a load of BS, and if you're going to say ''it doesn't have to be a happy ending'', save it, because that's exactly what you already got.

What I'm saying here, long story short, is that you didn't dislike the lack of an ending for the whole storyline the anime covered, but the ending itself. So my point is don't go making a narrative mess out of a delivered, complete climax just because you can't accept a bleak outcome as such.

[Surise]

Originally Posted by LinkSword

And what I'm saying is that the Berserk anime is a complete stand-alone series that doesn't need the continuation from the original manga to support itself, since it covers a whole arc with a strong thematic conclusion and what's next in the manga won't bring you any more immediate satisfaction regarding that storyline because, as I said, timeskip, then it moves on to Guts massacring unrelated monsters.

Hell, I'll even say that the Golden Age arc covered in the anime is the best material Miura has ever offered. I could have refrained from picking up the manga and I'd be just as satisfied with the way the end of the storyline was handled.

And no, you can't have Berserk ''live its own life'' in the last episode to have a ''proper conclusion'' and expect something other than absolute bullshit.

So what? Suddenly Guts goes ultramegasuperhuman and kills every last Apostle standing, takes the woman and eats a choco cake back at home? PLEASE. He's defeated, betrayed, powerless. Caska has been raped by the shadow of his old friend right before his eyes and every other comrade he had has died suffering.

There is nothing he can do there, he hits the limit of his capacities as a human before even taking the first step. So the only thing left for Guts is go away, grow physically and mentally, start off with enemies of his league, and find people who'll actually help him get stronger. Anything that wraps up the story happily for Guts after the Eclipse other than this is a load of BS, and if you're going to say ''it doesn't have to be a happy ending'', save it, because that's exactly what you already got.

What I'm saying here, long story short, is that you didn't dislike the lack of an ending for the whole storyline the anime covered, but the ending itself. So my point is don't go making a narrative mess out of a delivered, complete climax just because you can't accept a bleak outcome as such.

No, I cannot see the ending provided as a proper ending. And no, a "proper ending" doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a happy one. I'll say it anyway because in no means can I see this one given as an ending. An ending is something that wraps the story up and leaves the viewer with the feeling that at least for now there's nothing more to see. Yes, you could argue that in given circumstances there was nothing else to see, but I personally would have liked to see

Guts fighting his way out after losing everything or getting killed.

If you know anything about storytelling you know that the climax is never counted as the ending unless there's a continuation to expect. Well, in rare cases maybe but even then I expect the ending to somehow wrap up the story. I know plenty of series with a crappy ending that have left me satisfied. Hell, I would've been happy with

Guts losing everything and getting killed OR escaping alone and losing his sanity.

No choco cake in sight. But I guess it's just a matter of taste, then. From your point of view, I was unhappy with the ending but to me, the ending never came and the series was rudely cut off with a cliffhanger. I have a right, just like you, to interpret the series as I like, and my interpretation is that the series doesn't have an ending. Technically, yes, the series ended somewhere but it doesn't fill the requirements I have for something that could be called a proper conclusion. This is, as everything else I wrote in my review, a subjective point of view. If you don't have a problem with the way Berserk ended, good for you mate.

[valondar]

First, you're both right. LinkSword has a point that it does work as an ending and that continuing a little into the manga material would have been less satisfying and Surise is right that they could have changed the ending to make it more definitive

like Guts dying

and in general the practice of adapting mangas and leaving the ending out is just annoying.

I believe the ideal solution would have been a longer animated adaptation of the manga, which would have avoided the ending problem entirely.

I'm just glad that that is what we appear to be getting.

I mean Berserk isn't like Claymore or Zipang or [insert favourite anime adapted from manga that will never get a proper ending]; I think they want to at least try to adapt the entire thing this time through.

[BrainBlow]

Originally Posted by valondar

I agree that in general the anime industry practice of animating incomplete manga and then leaving us hanging, usually with no animated conclusions at all (or a made up, bad ending like Claymore's) is frustrating but it's never going away. People want to get the adaption out when a manga is still popular, and when a manga is still popular it's usually still ongoing.

They can't all be Monster.

Yeah, but Haruhidamn if it doesn't suck...
Soul Eater ?
The original Hellsing anime?
Gantz ?
Blue Exorcist ?
And many more.
Axed in their prime. And so horribly too. It often seems like the creators are unwilling to try to end the animes in a way that would make future seasons possible in the event that the series sells well.
In cases like Blue Exorcist that is just fucking indefensible!
You axe an ongoing franchise when the manga is topping the fucking charts?! Were they high?
That's as fucking stupid of the sort like when Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in the LOTR trilogy because he thought the character wasn't big enough.
Idiot.

I am reminded of Durarara!!
I hear the anime strays somewhat from the Light Novels, but at least they didn't put a freaking cap on the ending that basically screams "nothing more to see!"
And Durarara!! is probably not going to get a second season.

[Surise]

Hmmmm.. Apparently we get a brief epilogue after the last ending credits (I never made it past them) in which

"a healed Guts leaves Godo's house to have his revenge on Griffith" (copied straight off Wikipedia)

If that is the case, I need to admit I was wrong about the series lacking something counted as an ending. Satisfying? Dunno, I'm too lazy to go see it right now.

And in case people are wondering, to me an ending is something that takes away the tension in the climax and moves away from the so-called "highest peak" of the series/movie or whatever, during which the tension is in its highest. This can be a happy ending, or someone dying, or countless other things. It doesn't have to give away everything or anything in that matter, but I feel like I've been cheated on if the creators don't provide anything after the climax, even a brief epilogue. You can call me narrow-minded but that's what I expect when I hear the word "ending".

[captaincrunch]

Originally Posted by Surise

Berserk

...ex-fucking-cuse me? Berserk, did you son of a mother duck just drag me through 25 episodes and then dare to actually leave it hanging without any proper conclusion? In the middle of the most exciting thing happening, in the middle of the most dramatic cliffhanger there is in the series? I'm mad! I don't want to watch full series and then at the last minute be told "well, go read the manga coz I ain't got time to animate any more for ya". I had heard that Berserk lacked a proper ending but I thought they wouldn't dare to actually cut off like this.

Well, let's look at the series aside that. The characters.. I hate to admit that in this series there was only one character I really enjoyed throughout and that was Griffith. I loved his design, his voice actor, his personality and most of all his ambition. Even during the last few episodes I couldn't bring myself to hate him.

Though, his insanity was kinda creepy to watch.

The other characters.. Well, I didn't downright hate anyone but I felt the urge to slap Caska every now and then. Overall I had a huge problem with the design of these characters. They were rough as expected from a medieval shounen series, but something about their looks just put me off big time. Especially Guts, but I have a problem with overly muscled characters in general. My inner shoujo-fangirl detests them. Otherwise, I didn't think that Guts was that strong a character. I stood for him alright but I won't remember him as one of the greatest main characters I have encountered. He got overshadowed by Griffith, even when we saw Guts alone, I was always wondering where Griffith would be.

The love story between Guts and Caska was nice enough, I bought it and I liked the fact that it wasn't left at the "Ranma stage" where there's something there between the characters but the creators don't ever let anything too serious happen.

The story was actually rather innovative and something I hadn't come across before. It kept me interested, I liked seeing the bunch climb the ladder so to speak, I actually found myself boyishly cheering at the overly explicit scenes and gory fighting scenes. And this is actually one of the rare anime series that has actually crept me out. The last three or so episodes (you know what I'm speaking of if you've seen this) made me downright anxious and I was almost scared. Uncomfortable and kinda crept out but unable to look away if you know the feeling. They built the tension in the last climax really nicely, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. And then.. They just ended it. I'm so frustrated atm, I just want to slap whoever cut the finances/decided that Berserk wouldn't be continued.

About the animation.. Well, let's say that to me it was obvious right away that much money wasn't put into this series. It took me some time to get used to the kinda bad quality of the animation but I got over it soon enough. It is the sad truth that this has not aged very gracefully but once I got adjusted, I didn't mind it as much as I initially thought. The colours were rather nice and some designs, mainly

the ones given to the monsters/demons/whatever they were

were neat (AND FREAKING CREEPY!). I absolutely adored a couple of themes from the soundtrack as well.

All in all, Berserk hit bulls-eye with a few things. Unfortunately, it screwed up at least as much. But what can one amazing character, brilliant yet incomplete story, some nice designs and colors and a couple of amazing tunes give this gloriously frustrating mess?

Only 3/5, unfortunately.

Just considering space with the spoiler tags, the REAL spoilers are inside spoiler tags inside these spoiler tags :D

If you liked it at all, I highly recommend you pick up the manga. It's absolutely amazing.
Even if you don't like manga - still, give it a shot. It's beyond epic.

Hell, the artwork alone makes it worth reading.

[Lithium]

Kuragehime
was a pretty entertaining show about a girl and a guy who likes to wear dresses. To me however, the real highlight is the story surounding Shuu. It was more entertaining than the main plotline imo. At any rate, if you watch this expecting romance you'll probably be left dissapointed as it has your typical inconclusive anime romance ending, the real story is about the characters coming to terms with their personality and individuality versus society at large. For that reason, it's almost like a girls/more lighthearted version of "welcome to the NHK"

4/5

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!

was a pretty entertaining show, but the ending seemed a tad rushed.

3.5/5

[Surise]

Originally Posted by captaincrunch

If you liked it at all, I highly recommend you pick up the manga. It's absolutely amazing.
Even if you don't like manga - still, give it a shot. It's beyond epic.

Hell, the artwork alone makes it worth reading.

So I've heard. I could give it a shot depending on how easy it's to find (meaning as books, not online, I can't stand online reading).

[valondar]

Lithium - Kuragehime being basically NHK for girls is part of the reason I enjoyed that so much.

Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey

Good timing, eh?

Guts spends the entire film working through the logic of what Griffith said last time: His only definition of a friend must need be an equal. In a film series that's adapting a ridiculously long running manga, and the middle film of an arc trilogy, it could be easy for this film to just feel bogged down in a sequence of events, but Guts figuring out what he wants to do and realizing at last he really does need to leave the Hawks provides at least some overall story specific to this film.

Griffith remains the largely opaque and preternaturally calm conniver - although losing Guts shows how much he mattered to him when he just snaps and has to take something - in this case, unwisely, the King's daughter - just to keep his mind off that loss. But it's the loss of a posession Griffith mourns, his inability to see an underling as a friend is precisely why that came to pass.

Casca gets more to do this film than I remember her doing last time. Mostly it's warding off violent assault from Lord Adon, succeeding as the new commander of the Hawks, and having a decidedly complicated relationship with both Guts and Griffith. It's a thankless world for a woman to live and fight in, and in the battlefield the rape threats of enemy commanders, and in court she worries her musculture makes her ill fit for fine dresses. If Guts is looking for a purpose, Casca is only has a place within the Band of the Hawk, where she is respected and admired by those she commands - and yet, Griffith remains aloof and unattainable for her.

Like with the previous film, Doldrey tends to paint its antagonists in the most comic of lights. Lord Adon and Gennon are little more than ridiculous caricatures motivated by boorishness, stupidity and lust, Boscone looks better mostly by comparison, he is more sensible than Gennon (not hard) but there's not anything more to him. The Band of the Hawk themselves have their moments in Midland's capital - Corkus particularly - but fade into the background during the actual campaign.

While the heavy use of CGI can still be noticeable, it generally looks excellent (and slightly better than the previous film). Billowing dust clouds, sand-coloured rock fortress, and multiple vivid battle sequences (even a brief sequence that acknowledges how medieval sieges actually worked before returning to the focus on powerful leaders and expendable supernumeraries). Any doubt of the benefit of this being a film series rather than a TV series may be dispelled with those incredible fight sequences.

Music is a step up from last time, even lacking any Hirasawa. The score can be epic and sweeping, but they know when to change gears giving us a brooding guitar piece at a key moment, and a more introspectively classical piece at one of the more uncomfortable moments in the film.

So, all in all, it's another solid blood soaked action hour and a half. If you're a Berserk fan you'll watch it regardless of what I say, and if you're not, I'd recommend watching at least the first Arc film before you check it out. I don't think it'll bring anyone around who didn't like the first movie, but if you enjoyed that have some more.

Oh and: Reasonably graphic sex scene in here. Don't say I didn't mention it.

[coffeebreath]

Originally Posted by Surise

So I've heard. I could give it a shot depending on how easy it's to find (meaning as books, not online, I can't stand online reading).

It's licensed by Dark Horse so should be pretty damn easy to find.