New Berserk animation project confirmed

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Aazealh

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DirectDK said:
Interesting, not sure why they would open 2 separate Berserk twitters.

Berserk_project is controlled by Young Animal and used for more than just giving news about the film. Clara_de_Porras is likely used by the "Berserk Film Partners" (those interest me more than Warner Bros, by the way) and appears to be some sort of roleplay account to tease the launch of the movie. By the way, there seems to be the title of the first movie at the bottom of the website: Berserk - Golden Age I - The Egg of the Supreme King, along with the mention of a "road show" (meaning a nationwide release apparently).

I guess we probably shouldn't expect to see the Black Swordsman arc in there.

DirectDK said:
As for Studio4C's message, I'm wondering if anyone can give a more accurate translation other than google? I get the general idea of what they are saying, but am wondering if there is anymore said in between the lines... Particularly about the line "TV footage also now talking about the CM last year, "Berserk"". I'm curious to know what that line really means.

It's nothing, they're just saying Berserk was talked about a lot when the CMs were released last year. At the time they were frustrated they couldn't say more about it. They've been working hard and still are, etc.

DirectDK said:
It's truly going to be nerve racking until the day we finally see the film. Because the potential is sooooooo great. High production values, big name studios, TONS of manga story to adapt... the outside world is ready for Berserk. Let's just hope they don't f* it all up. As I do with many things, I'm going to hope for the best.

Amen to all that, though my nerves are never racked. :badbone:
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
If this gets worldwide theatrical release, even if limited, they'll get my ass on a seat, even if the movie turns out to be Berserk: Battlefield Earth.
 
Thanks for the info Aaz! By the addition of 'I' in the title, I'm hoping they split the Golden Age in 2 (or more) parts in order to cover all the bits of the manga, I'm really hopeful with all the positive energy around!

Wherever this is playing, I know I'm gonna be there opening night :zodd:.

Gobolatula said:
See, I set certain events to get antsy over. Little things. Like, right now I'm excited tomorrow I'm getting YA with the full article and stuff. Also, I'm really looking forward to the 15th when the site launches and possibly a teaser trailer is released. After that, I'll be looking forward to the following Friday when the new Berserk episode is out. Then hopefully 2 weeks later there'll be another. Then soon, the next volume will be announced probably. Then I'll buy the volume. Etc

Run to your local store and pick it up now! I just got an email from the Kinokuniya around me that they have my copy, so I'm gonna head there after work *high five*
 

Aazealh

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IncantatioN said:
By the addition of 'I' in the title, I'm hoping they split the Golden Age in 2 (or more) parts in order to cover all the bits of the manga, I'm really hopeful with all the positive energy around!

That would be the natural deduction, yes. However I'm not sure that will be enough to cover everything that's in the manga (think about how long it took the TV series in spite of the content it omitted). It already looks like they'll be skipping the Black Swordsman arc, for one thing.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
By the way, there seems to be the title of the first movie at the bottom of the website: Berserk - Golden Age I - The Egg of the Supreme King, along with the mention of a "road show" (meaning a nationwide release apparently).

I guess we probably shouldn't expect to see the Black Swordsman arc in there.
Aazealh said:
However I'm not sure that will be enough to cover everything that's in the manga (think about how long it took the TV series in spite of the content it omitted). It already looks like they'll be skipping the Black Swordsman arc, for one thing.

Well, so much for all those good vibrations. With all that manga to animate it's too bad they've committed to the portion of the story we've already seen animated, and which is material better suited to a longform format like a series, in lieu of starting at the beginning and the arc best suited for a stand alone feature film, The Black Swordsman. I just hope they're true to their word to eventually do "everything," though honestly that seems unlikely at this point if they've somehow got Guts and Griffith dueling in the first movie. *grmble grmble* :azan:
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Aazealh said:
By the way, there seems to be the title of the first movie at the bottom of the website: Berserk - Golden Age I - The Egg of the Supreme King, along with the mention of a "road show"

Black Swordsman arc still not getting any love... :( Unless they'll tell the story chronologically, which i highly doubt.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
NightCrawler said:
Black Swordsman arc still not getting any love... :( Unless they'll tell the story chronologically, which i highly doubt.

Yeah, at this point I'm hoping it's such a success they go back and do the Black Swordsman stuff out of "excess."
 
There's still a chance it could be chronological. They may be just covering the Golden Age arc in several films in order to gain attention and momentum to an unknowing crowd, since I think the Black Swordsman arc may not stand out quite so well as a one-off film in theaters from a company perspective. For all we know it could be split up into a trilogy.
 
Aazealh said:
By the way, there seems to be the title of the first movie at the bottom of the website: Berserk - Golden Age I - The Egg of the Supreme King

I guess we probably shouldn't expect to see the Black Swordsman arc in there.

MMMMMMmmmm the biggest revelation so far. Interesting. Well, as Incantation pointed out, the "I" signifies the first of a series, so at least we can logically say that they don't plan on squeezing the whole Golden Age into one movie. Can a 2 hour film squeeze everything from Young Guts meeting Young Griff to the point he leaves the Hawks? Sounds very ambitious. We shall see. 2 hours is roughly equivalent to 6 standard anime episodes (like 20 minutes each if you don't count the intro/outro/previews). The pacing of the first anime took 18 eps of Golden Age story to get to point in time when Guts leaves the Hawks. So we are looking at 3 times the pacing. This is all speculation of course... Maybe this movie won't even get to that scene. Maybe that scene is in "Golden Age II" or "III"? Yes, I'm trying my best to stay hopeful!

In regards to the Black Swordsman arc. Truly a bummer. Yes, maybe they'll end up adapting the anime in chronological order instead. I do hope they don't omit it completely. Sadly, one can assume they made the call of starting with the Golden Age because of money / business reasons. People like us SK.net'ers are certainly the minority. Starting with Guts and Griffith and the Band of the Hawk is what the majority of Berserk fans (in the anime world of course) are familiar with. For advertising and promo reasons, I'm guessing this is the main reason why they are starting with this. However, perhaps with the TV/OVA launch (or whatever it is) that occurs after the movie, will go back to the Black Swordsman arc? Still hoping...

JezzaX said:
There's still a chance it could be chronological. They may be just covering the Golden Age arc in several films in order to gain attention and momentum to an unknowing crowd, since I think the Black Swordsman arc may not stand out quite so well as a one-off film in theaters from a company perspective. For all we know it could be split up into a trilogy.

Yes, what ^^^ said. I think a movie trilogy of the Golden Age would be heavenly.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
DirectDK said:
MMMMMMmmmm the biggest revelation so far. Interesting. Well, as Incantation pointed out, the "I" signifies the first of a series, so at least we can logically say that they don't plan on squeezing the whole Golden Age into one movie. Can a 2 hour film squeeze everything from Young Guts meeting Young Griff to the point he leaves the Hawks? Sounds very ambitious. We shall see. 2 hours is roughly equivalent to 6 standard anime episodes (like 20 minutes each if you don't count the intro/outro/previews). The pacing of the first anime took 18 eps of Golden Age story to get to point in time when Guts leaves the Hawks. So we are looking at 3 times the pacing. This is all speculation of course... Maybe this movie won't even get to that scene. Maybe that scene is in "Golden Age II" or "III"? Yes, I'm trying my best to stay hopeful!

You've hit the nail on the head though! If that footage they keep featuring of Guts and Griffith dueling is from this upcoming film, it's already game over for an unabridged adaption unless they get really avant-garde with the timeline and presentation. As you demonstrated above, it certainly couldn't be done in chronological order without MAJOR cuts then.

DirectDK said:
In regards to the Black Swordsman arc. Truly a bummer. Yes, maybe they'll end up adapting the anime in chronological order instead. I do hope they don't omit it completely. Sadly, one can assume they made the call of starting with the Golden Age because of money / business reasons. People like us SK.net'ers are certainly the minority. Starting with Guts and Griffith and the Band of the Hawk is what the majority of Berserk fans (in the anime world of course) are familiar with. For advertising and promo reasons, I'm guessing this is the main reason why they are starting with this. However, perhaps with the TV/OVA launch (or whatever it is) that occurs after the movie, will go back to the Black Swordsman arc? Still hoping...

I understand that, and I'm hoping that they're so committed to this that they're planning to have Berserk releases out the wazoo in the next decade so it doesn't matter what they put out first other than getting the ball rolling. Still, the length and pacing of the Golden Age arc simply doesn't lend itself naturally to feature films, so how they handle that will make or break this right away from a completest standpoint. I'd feel much more confident about their intentions if they'd announced a Black Swordsman film to be followed by a Golden Age series of some kind.
 
Griffith said:
they get really avant-garde with the timeline and presentation.

do not want!

Griffith said:
they're so committed to this that they're planning to have Berserk releases out the wazoo in the next decade and so it doesn't matter what they put out first other than getting the ball rolling.

do want!
 

Walter

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Warner Brothers Animation's involvement is actually very telling, to me. Studio 4C and WBA have partnered together in the past, and their works have been US releases, including The Animatrix, Halo Legends, and Batman: Gotham Knight. This bodes well for us U.S. Berserk fans, I'd say.

And yeah, the title, Berserk - Golden Age I - The Egg of the Supreme King does sort of say almost everything we need to know about this movie's focus. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended with that duel between Griffith and Guts.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Griffith said:
Still, the length and pacing of the Golden Age arc simply doesn't lend itself naturally to feature films

Yes!

Those first 3 volumes would work far far better as one movie. I don't get it man, i'm kinda pissed at this wasted opportunity.
 

Aazealh

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JezzaX said:
I think the Black Swordsman arc may not stand out quite so well as a one-off film in theaters from a company perspective.

I don't think you could make a convincing case for that thought of yours. The Black Swordsman arc is probably the only part of the manga that lends itself to a stand-alone feature film.

DirectDK said:
Well, as Incantation pointed out, the "I" signifies the first of a series, so at least we can logically say that they don't plan on squeezing the whole Golden Age into one movie.

You know I love you man, but I don't think the expression "no shit sherlock" has ever been more apt.

DirectDK said:
Starting with Guts and Griffith and the Band of the Hawk is what the majority of Berserk fans (in the anime world of course) are familiar with.

I doubt there are many Berserk fans left in the anime world compared to the guys who've been buying the manga for the past 10 years. But yeah, no doubt those "anime fans" just want to see the same segment of the story again. Sound reasoning.
 
Skull Knight's in one of the promos too, so MAYBE it doesn't end where Guts and Griffith have their duel (!) unless that promo clip's for part II already (ha ha!).
 
Aazealh said:
I don't think you could make a convincing case for that thought of yours. The Black Swordsman arc is probably the only part of the manga that lends itself to a stand-alone feature film.

I would have said the opposite. The lack of the key characters from the Golden Age wouldn't lend itself too highly to a fresh, new audience (I'm keeping in mind that comment Miura made recently about introducing a new generation) as people wouldn't see the great depth that Berserk goes into within that one film. People not familiar with the series would simply sum it up as "an angry man with a sword fighting demons for a couple of hours", not taking into account the real bulk of why Guts is doing what he's doing. For people into action and disgruntled fans of the series thirsty for something to be animated correctly, yes it works beautifully. But from a studio perspective, they would want to keep the established Berserk fans happy and also introduce a new audience to what is arguably the most popular and vital arc of the series without clouding their vision.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
IncantatioN said:
Skull Knight's in one of the promos too, so MAYBE it doesn't end where Guts and Griffith have their duel (!) unless that promo clip's for part II already (ha ha!).
Well, one of the promos also features Griffith in his angelbird armor with the little wing shoulder, so I think it's safe to assume that some of the stuff they did for the promos aren't necessarily for the 1st movie.
 

Aazealh

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JezzaX said:
The lack of the key characters from the Golden Age wouldn't lend itself too highly to a fresh, new audience (I'm keeping in mind that comment Miura made recently about introducing a new generation) as people wouldn't see the great depth that Berserk goes into within that one film. People not familiar with the series would simply sum it up as "an angry man with a sword fighting demons for a couple of hours", not taking into account the real bulk of why Guts is doing what he's doing.

That's not true. The Black Swordsman arc is the perfect introduction to the series in every way one can think of (which is why the author made it so). It introduces a lot of key concepts as it goes along, all the while hinting at deeper motivations behind Guts' actions while it introduces the character, which culminates with his meeting with the God Hand in volume 3 and the flashback of his talk with Griffith. The Golden Age arc is then a natural transition. I don't see how any of the characters introduced during the Golden Age arc are essential to the discovery of the series by a fresh, new audience. And that's because they're not essential, of course.

Meanwhile, starting the story directly with the Golden Age arc means a lot of key elements (apostles, beherits, the brand, the sacrifices, and in general the world Berserk takes place in) are withheld from the viewer. Said viewer is therefore a lot more likely to be perplexed when he's exposed to more of the series, which is highly undesirable. Like I said, you just can't make a good case for it.

As for doing the series in a chronological order, it wouldn't be much better than completely ignoring the Black Swordsman arc, simply because that's not how it was meant to be experienced. The volumes are in the order they are for a good reason. Please don't tell me I'm going to have to post examples.

JezzaX said:
But from a studio perspective, they would want to keep the established Berserk fans happy and also introduce a new audience to what is arguably the most popular and vital arc of the series without clouding their vision.

They said the adaptation would be faithful. So far it's not going too well. That's not what I call keeping the established fans happy. As for the Golden Age arc, it's not any more vital than the other arcs, and certainly not more representative of what the series is about. You speak of clouding people's vision but it's clearly your own vision that is clouded right now.
 
Gobolatula said:
Well, one of the promos also features Griffith in his angelbird armor with the little wing shoulder, so I think it's safe to assume that some of the stuff they did for the promos aren't necessarily for the 1st movie.

*sigh* ... good point.

JezzaX said:
I would have said the opposite. The lack of the key characters from the Golden Age wouldn't lend itself too highly to a fresh, new audience (I'm keeping in mind that comment Miura made recently about introducing a new generation) as people wouldn't see the great depth that Berserk goes into within that one film. People not familiar with the series would simply sum it up as "an angry man with a sword fighting demons for a couple of hours", not taking into account the real bulk of why Guts is doing what he's doing. For people into action and disgruntled fans of the series thirsty for something to be animated correctly, yes it works beautifully. But from a studio perspective, they would want to keep the established Berserk fans happy and also introduce a new audience to what is arguably the most popular and vital arc of the series without clouding their vision.

Actually the current fan base (excluding purists) think Berserk in a nutshell is all about Guts kicking ass and being a badass, other than the fact that there's copious amounts of blood involved. It's the primary thing that I know people (who I've met at Otakon the past 3 years) relate to from the conversations I've had with em. So, the Black Swordsman arc would fit perfectly in that regard making sure the regular fans come back and it's also a win-win for purists because it's the right way to start the series of movie projects.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
JezzaX said:
People not familiar with the series would simply sum it up as "an angry man with a sword fighting demons for a couple of hours", not taking into account the real bulk of why Guts is doing what he's doing.

You're probably thinking (and wrongly!) like the studios. I guess it's a generalized idea...
I can't think of any other way to start Berserk than with the foundations, the catalysts, the motivations and the basic themes that are ALL done in the Black Swordsman arc. But Aaz explained it far better than me.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
I wonder how much Miura is involved in this. I wonder if he's thinking, "Wow, here we go again," sending script corrections back to the studio, scripts covering the same area as they covered before. Revisiting the same arc. Must be either tiresome or hopefully a welcome blast-from-the-past for him.
 
Aazealh said:
That's not true. The Black Swordsman arc is the perfect introduction to the series in every way one can think of (which is why the author made it so). It introduces a lot of key concepts as it goes along, all the while hinting at deeper motivations behind Guts' actions while it introduces the character, which culminates with his meeting with the God Hand in volume 3 and the flashback of his talk with Griffith. The Golden Age arc is then a natural transition. I don't see how any of the characters introduced during the Golden Age arc are essential to the discovery of the series by a fresh, new audience. And that's because they're not essential, of course.

Meanwhile, starting the story directly with the Golden Age arc means a lot of key elements (apostles, beherits, the brand, the sacrifices, and in general the world Berserk takes place in) are withheld from the viewer. Said viewer is therefore a lot more likely to be perplexed when he's exposed to more of the series, which is highly undesirable. Like I said, you just can't make a good case for it.

As for doing the series in a chronological order, it wouldn't be much better than completely ignoring the Black Swordsman arc, simply because that's not how it was meant to be experienced. The volumes are in the order they are for a good reason. Please don't tell me I'm going to have to post examples.

They said the adaptation would be faithful. So far it's not going too well. That's not what I call keeping the established fans happy. As for the Golden Age arc, it's not any more vital than the other arcs, and certainly not more representative of what the series is about. You speak of clouding people's vision but it's clearly your own vision that is clouded right now.

Oh don't get me wrong, as a Berserk fan, I would love to see it done exactly as the author intended and from a selfish point of view, I wouldn't want it any other way. What I'm talking about here is a pure business point of view for a studio. The Golden age arc appeals to a more broad audience upon first glance due to the familiarity of the characters to those who are aware of the series but have never invested time in it and the naivety of those who aren't familiar with the story. It's not my vision that is clouded as such, but a portion of the general public who have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to newly introduced media to their brain, that the studio are trying to tap into to make more money. A Berserk fan is going to pay to watch the film regardless of what content they use, but when it comes to a newbie, it seems like they would want to grab their attention by other means and choose a part of the story that they believe would gain more interest.

To iterate. No Aaz, I wouldn't need you to post examples as I agree with you when it comes down to Berserk as a series, the Black Swordsman arc is the correct introduction, but as a theatrical release (especially if it's done as my hope of a trilogy) there would be a far greater impact on those who aren't Berserk fans by giving them a more drawn out story with characters they can develop an emotion for across more than one film and that is something I'm prepared to grasp and understand, even if I dislike the approach they are taking.
 
X

Xem

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Hope for the best, expect the worst. That's been my perspective going into movies for a long time now, and Berserk will be no exception. It'd be nice after the movie's over if I don't have to turn to my friends and explain shit...

I'd like to at least just say, "You'll have to wait to find out!"... but it looks like I'll be saying, "Read the damn manga fools." as usual. Though I suppose I'd be saying that anyway. :serpico:
 
As a berserk fan, I want them to start from Black Swordsman arc. Someone called 'Black Swordsman arc' one-dimensional, and I partially agree.
The Golden Age arc is deeper and indeed more catching, and if they want to get Berserk fan base widened, they should start covering from Golden Age arc
so no problem here
 
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