Guts' Childhood in Golden Age I

[Walter]

As of yet, there have been no visuals to indicate that Guts' childhood will be in the first movie, or in the saga at at all. The earliest footage we've seen in the trailers, commercials and all promotional material is from the Bazuso fight, which takes place years after his sequences with Gambino. If this holds true, do you think cutting Guts' childhood out of the movies is a necessary evil in order to condense the rest of the story?

 

[Xem]

I went with option 3, I could see it edited in cleverly throughout the series, either in Guts' reflecting on his past and/or with his conversations and opening-ups to Casca.

Ironically I'm about to start a poll of my own.

 

[Walter]

I went with option 3, I could see it edited in cleverly throughout the series, either in Guts' reflecting on his past and/or with his conversations and opening-ups to Casca.

That's hardly a solution though. If they chose to show the story chronologically by starting with the Golden Age, why then suddenly use time-skipping at a later point in the saga to highlight Guts' past? Anyway if it is indeed cut out, it begs the question if they'll even bother with Guts' flashback in volume 9 to Donovan and Gambino, or any of his other flashbacks to his childhood.

Removing it here at the beginning just makes a mess of things, I think.

Ironically I'm about to start a poll of my own.

Well I guess I beat ya then?

 

[Xem]

That's hardly a solution though. If they chose to show the story chronologically by starting with the Golden Age, why then suddenly use time-skipping at a later point in the saga to highlight Guts' past? Anyway if it is indeed cut out, it begs the question if they'll even bother with Guts' flashback in volume 9 to Donovan and Gambino, or any of his other flashbacks to his childhood.

I do agree, I was going to post about this in the "big thread" yesterday but chose not to. Basically I feel like showing his childhood is important in the beginning because it sets up Guts' personality; who he is before he meets the Hawks, why he has such a huge sword, why he's a loner, emotionally defensive, etc... it even starts the whole "being able to somehow survive in spite of the odds" thing that Guts has goin' on also.

I chose 3 because I could see it done in a manner that perhaps lends itself to a trilogy format more naturally... sort of. As long as it's nothing like how they handled in the '97 anime which was sloppy and confusing and still left out many major events (Donovan being the big one), and even changed how Guts got the horizontal scar on his nose.

Basically I chose 3 because I think it's possible to do it some justice that way, much like how we learned about Casca's past.... I guess....

Well I guess I beat ya then?

Probably for the better?

 

[jackson_hurley]

I voted for number 3 though I was hesitating for number 2 also. I could see them do something similar to what the 97 anime did (even though I'd rather see the whole thing in the good order like in the manga). The same thing goes for the black swordsman arc. We didn't see any parts form the beginning if I'm not wrong. But like someone posted in the main thread : we saw only a trailer and we don't know if they are gonna show it at all in the movie so the best option (even though if that one is a long one) is to wait and see the movie I guess. It would suck if none of these parts of the story would be shown. At least I'll always have my manga to read when I want to see these great parts. or I could simply flip the pages quickly and imagine it was an anime!

 

[Gobolatula]

I voted for RUINED. I'm sorry but it would be a complete horse shit move if they left out his childhood. I've worked really hard to suppress my rage about the lack of Black Swordsman material. I don't care that they'll probably show the Black Swordsman stuff AFTER the eclipse. I prefer the story as it should be told.

 

[Griffith]

I voted for RUINED. I'm sorry but it would be a complete horse shit move if they left out his childhood.

At first I read that line as "a complete horse shit movie", which is relevant because I voted #2 since I've pretty much already accepted that's what this is going to be as far as I'm concerned. So, the lack of Guts' childhood probably won't especially bother me among everything else. Think of it this way: Guts' childhood is being spared.

I've worked really hard to suppress my rage about the lack of Black Swordsman material. I don't care that they'll probably show the Black Swordsman stuff AFTER the eclipse. I prefer the story as it should be told.

You can probably just watch the original anime's adaptation of The Black Swordsman arc, they managed to reduce it to a single 20 minute TV episode with some "minor changes." Admirable.

 

[Walter]

Fascinating results so far! I'm still laughing at the one guy who voted for the running time option. If not Jezza then who?

...we saw only a trailer and we don't know if they are gonna show it at all in the movie so the best option (even though if that one is a long one) is to wait and see the movie I guess.

Yeah, it's still a presumption that they're skipping the childhood sequence. But any hint of those scenes have been conspicuously absent from trailers, CMs and promotional art. They could still feature it in the opening moments of course, but I'd be surprised at this point.

It would suck if none of these parts of the story would be shown. At least I'll always have my manga to read when I want to see these great parts. or I could simply flip the pages quickly and imagine it was an anime!

If that's the case, it's not a faithful adaptation of Berserk. It shouldn't even bear the name Golden Age, since the first episodes of that in the manga are centered on Guts. This would become merely Band of the Hawk: the anime.

 

[jackson_hurley]

brrrr don't make me imagine that! haha I'm still gonna watch it anyway. If we can get it in canada.

 

[IncantatioN]

Choosing between options 2 and 4, I went with 2.

 

[Xem]

Out of curiosity, those voting for 2, would rather not see it at all then added in later? Even if they managed to do it justice somehow later on (it can't be impossible..)?


That surprises me a bit.

 

[Th3Branded0ne]

I chose 2. I just feel they are calling it "faithful", and only showing stuff they thought it would seem relevant( I wonder if they as Miura what parts they could take out). I don't know if it's part of marketing, or know that their Japanese audience is more lenient as long as they see something on the big screen. Eventhough , WB is behind the project, I wonder if it's going to be released overseas? I hope it does come not just here, but many other countries.

 

[Walter]

Those who are choosing Option 2, aren't you're basically saying that you'd be okay with a stick-figure presentation of Berserk, as long as it's animated? What if further, more drastic cuts are revealed (though I can hardly think of something more drastic than cutting out the main character's childhood...)

I chose Guts' Childhood as a specific example of the potential changes, but I think it's given us a good idea of where many stand on the issue of alterations.

 

[BayJumper]

I voted for choice #4. And unlike how the OLM had it with the '97 series, Studio 4°C is virtually unencumbered as far as the amount of existing original story material to adapt from goes (36 tankobon vs. measly 13 that OLM had to make do with). Also, since it's going straight to the theater instead of airing on TV, the usual network censorship rules doesn't apply here. So there's simply no logical excuse whatsoever for the Studio 4°C to make changes or cut anything out.
However, after watching all the available trailers and CMs a few more times over, I still am more willing to believe that Guts' childhood just might be retained in the upcoming new movie, and that one of the main reasons why that part of the story has not appeared so far in any trailers is probably due to the purposes of marketing to mainstream audiences. I'm sure that by now everyone here has noted how all of the movie trailers and other promos that have been released so far, they're all, in fact, heavily concentrated on the Hawks' glorious and happier times; i.e - their epic victories on the battlefield, the camaraderie and friendship between Guts and Griffith, as well as his budding romantic relationship with Casca. I'm certain that the execs at Studio 4°C saw how a more positively upbeat promotional campaign that is mostly focused on the better times of Guts' life may be more appealing in the general public's eye than say.... gloomy and dour trailers that are interspersed with footage of nearly-dead baby Guts hanging from his dead mother's corpse by an umbilical cord, followed by Guts being physically and verbally abused by Gambino and it all finally drawing to a conclusion with Guts kicking and struggling trying to escape from Donovan's clutches.
So yeah, have faith guys. Don't judge the book by the cover just yet, especially since that TV trailer depicts less than 2 minutes' worth of footage off of what is probably a 1 and 1/2 to 2 hour long movie.

 

[Walter]

I'm sure that by now everyone here has noted how all of the movie trailers and other promos that have been released so far, they're all, in fact, heavily concentrated on the Hawks' glorious and happier times; i.e - their epic victories on the battlefield, the camaraderie and friendship between Guts and Griffith, as well as his budding romantic relationship with Casca. I'm certain that the execs at Studio 4°C saw how a more upbeat promotional campaign that is mostly focused on the better times of Guts' life may be more appealing in the general public's eye than say.... gloom n' doom trailers

These statements only hold true in the newest trailer. The original trailer depicts many other scenes not directly associated with those glory days. We're shown the Skull Knight, the old woman in the city. And including the promotional art, we've also seen Griffith as a child and Casca as a child.

But not Guts...

especially since that TV trailer depicts less than 2 minutes' worth of footage off of what is probably a 1 and 1/2 to 2 hour long movie.

That's a rather obtuse statement. While we may have only seen 2 minutes of footage if you add up each second shown, we know quite a bit more than 2 minutes of the content of the upcoming movie. We've seen dozens of excerpts from key scenes. Through these small pieces we can see the overall picture. We should probably list all the scenes we know of out somewhere. It'd be a pretty significant list...

Still, I'd rather conversation here stay on the course of Guts' childhood and not diverge into general project stuff. There's almost 20 pages of that in the main thread.

 

[Griffith]

Out of curiosity, those voting for 2, would rather not see it at all then added in later? Even if they managed to do it justice somehow later on (it can't be impossible..)?


That surprises me a bit.

Hello my name is indigo bersrkfilm, iah vae grate mvoies i want to give you but not at at once, i like to give you the good parts later just give me your info and tranfer numbers and i will senf you the good parts as soon as not imposible. Thanks you!


Anyway, your perilous optimism aside, options 2 and 3 aren't mutually exclusive, so you're misrepresenting things. That doesn't surprise me.

 

[Xem]

Hello my name is indigo bersrkfilm, iah vae grate mvoies i want to give you but not at at once, i like to give you the good parts later just give me your info and tranfer numbers and i will senf you the good parts as soon as not imposible. Thanks you!

Sent.

Anyway, your perilous optimism aside, options 2 and 3 aren't mutually exclusive, so you're misrepresenting things. That doesn't surprise me.

So.... ?

 

[Gaahl]

As one oh those who voted for #2, here's my justification:
#1 Seems unreasonable. The childhood would not take that long.
#3 Implies that the neglection of the childhood can be remedied at a later point in the first place, and I don't see how.
#4 It would take more to ruin the film for me. I would like it less, that's a given, but to ruin it for me, they would have to mess up animation, music and pacing or add original scenes no one asked for.
#2 Is pretty much how I feel about it. As long as the rest of the movie is good, I could live with it. That's important though: The rest of the move better be really good. Cutting a major part of the story means that every slip up thereafter weighs even more, and slip up too often and the movie is indeed ruined.

 

[Walter]

#3 Implies that the neglection of the childhood can be remedied at a later point in the first place, and I don't see how.

Hear, hear... So far we have 14 votes in favor of fixing it "later" yet no graceful solutions offered.

 

[Griffith]

So.... ?

Gaahl put it all nicely, but regarding your misrepresentation I'll reiterate that option 2 isn't an active vote against restoring that material later, just passive acceptance of its absence. For me it's because I'm not counting on any deus ex machina should our concerns be validated.

 

[DirectDK]

I'll go with Gaahl's format!

#1 Silly to neglect this simply because of time constraints. As Gaahl said already, it wouldn't add too much to the running time so if this really were the case it wouldn't be justifiable.

#2 I almost agree with this, but the way it's phrased, it sounds like I'm blindly saying "I don't care as long as I see Berserk again!" And with a story element such as this, I do care.

#3 Obviously, I wouldn't prefer to have them add this story element later on in the trilogy, but if they somehow manage to weave it in in a great way, then yes, I'd be okay with it. I won't pass judgement against it until I watch all 3 movies.

#4 It won't ruin the experience for me. There are so many reasons why I love Berserk, that I don't expect these movies or anime to ever tug on every heartstring that I have attached to this series. So yes, the story element will be sadly missed, but it's not a deal breaker.

On a side note, (I know this thread is just speculation), but I do have a gut feeling it will be in there. I really just don't think Gut's childhood is necessarily trailer material, more specifically, theatrical trailer 2's material. With the narration, and the focus of this recent trailer, they were going for the unique relationship that Guts and Griffith share, with sprinkles of emotional camaraderie. I agree that the poster doesn't show anything in regards to Gambino, but I still am not going to count it out. Anyways, I'll just keep the faith!

 

[Xem]

Hear, hear... So far we have 14 votes in favor of fixing it "later" yet no graceful solutions offered.

Honestly I have no idea on how to begin trying to "fix it" later, it's perfect as it is and I wouldn't even dream to think about being able to do it better.

That said.

I still don't think it's impossible given the change of medium that somehow the events that take place in the Golden Age at the beginning, namely speaking of that which happens before the fight with Bazuzo, could be placed within the rest of the arc. The idea that it would always be a reflection of sorts and not ever jumping forward is a good start. Also seeing as how it's pretty safe to assume the Black Swordsman Arc is being left out of the trilogy, the Golden Age isn't being looked at as flashback anymore from the standalone perspective, it's easier to do a flashback without getting too messy or convoluted.

That's as far as I'm gonna go at attempting that train of thought. I feel dirty.

I never thought about it before but the flashbacks that Muira uses in the Golden Age arc are actually flashbacks within flashbacks... kinda cool.

Gaahl put it all nicely, but regarding your misrepresentation I'll reiterate that option 2 isn't an active vote against restoring that material later, just passive acceptance of its absence.

Ah, I find it's absence unacceptable.

For me it's because I'm not counting on any deus ex machina should our concerns be validated.

Me either, hopefully we're all just jumping the gun on all of this.

 

[Griffith]

Ah, I find it's absence unacceptable.

So do I really, but if I've already given up on the movie that can't ruin it for me.

Me either, hopefully we're all just jumping the gun on all of this.

Yeah, I can't adjust my expectations fast enough.

 

[Xem]

Hah! Nice, for some reason it really was bothering me.

Honestly I'd rather the whole trilogy just be scenes we haven't seen animated than skip or move anything, clever or not, the manga is really the only true and trusted way of following the series. The trilogy is just a different, or bunch of different, artist(s) interpretation of it.

 

[Truder]

I dont like any of the options either, and the only way option 3 would work is if they were to reveal his entire childhood during Guts and Casca's intimate moment.


I think they will show his childhood in the first movie.

or they might end up doing this:


-Starts off at the Hill of swords
-Guts sees Griffith on the hill looking all fabulous
-Guts goes apeshit and runs at Griffith full speed
-Guts swings his sword at the screen and fades to white all you hear is "GRIFFIITTHHH!!!!"
-People new to berserk would think "why ever would that big fella be mad at that innocent looking white haired lady?" they ponder
-We are then transported to where Guts fights Bazuso and so begins the movie.

(I figured that scenes from the CM's were going to be in the first movie, but that would also mean that Skullknight would make an appearance)

I'm sure if they were to do this people would rage
not Griffith (the admin) though, seeing as how he's gone from raging at the changes-> to accepting it-> to not caring what the hell they do anymore. Soon he will break like Casca did.