Guts' Childhood in Golden Age I

How would you feel if they cut out Guts' childhood sequences from the first movie?

  • Necessary to meet running time

    Votes: 9 10.7%
  • It would bother me, but I'll take what I can get to see Berserk animated

    Votes: 18 21.4%
  • Uncomfortable, but okay if they remedy it in later movies

    Votes: 30 35.7%
  • It would ruin the experience for me

    Votes: 27 32.1%

  • Total voters
    84

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Deci said:
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.

That's probably the healthiest way to look at it whether one likes it or not. The problem is the sweeping sentiment to legitimize it as some worthy counterpart or desired result of the manga, like it's God's gift to Berserk or some kind of successor, when good or bad it's really just its own enterprise ancillary to the manga. That can easily get lost in the excitement and inflated purpose of a feature animation, even for longtime fans, so that for many, especially those introduced to Berserk through it, this is unfortunately going to be IT. Hopefully, it results in those initiates being introduced to the manga as well, but realistically it's still too bad how many will confuse this with the be all, end all of Berserk. So even though I know it's not something to be taken too seriously, I still do because I know others will. But, it's a sideshow; not the destination, not even the journey.

Truder said:
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. :schnoz:

You've stumbled on the perfect metaphor for where I fear this is headed. The manga is Griffith, the saga project is Femto, and we're Casca:

sagaproject.jpg

Some of you will no doubt enjoy this anyway. Oh, and those sneering monstrosities at the top? The producers.
 
I voted for option number 4. I can't see how they will tell the story with no background information about one of the main characters. If they leave his childhood out, i'm going to go through the whole movie thinking "meh" all looks so shiny and new ... but where is Gambino, how did guts get there ?

Edit :
Griffith said:
...especially those introduced to Berserk through it, this is unfortunately going to be IT. Hopefully, it results in those initiates being introduced to the manga as well, but realistically it's still too bad how many will confuse this with the be all, end all of Berserk. So even though I know it's not something to be taken too seriously, I still do because I know others will. But, it's a sideshow; not the destination, not even the journey.
I agree with you 100% Griffith. I'm trying to introduce Berserk to some friends of mine and my brother. I bet that if the movie is OK, they will tell me something like, yes Berserk is cool you were right, but it's going to stay to "cool" nobody is going to bother reading the whole thing. I seriously don't expect it to be so mind blowing like the manga.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Griffith said:
But, it's a sideshow; not the destination, not even the journey.

I think that's the best way to think about it. I'm excited for the film, despite many of my reservations, but in the end, it isn't Berserk. It's simply an adaptation. Will it be enjoyable? I hope so. If not, I'll be disappointed, but I'll get over it, because I have the real thing on my shelf: the manga.

I voted for option three because I want to remain hopeful that Guts's past will make it to the films in some way, whether its through multiple flashbacks, or one big flashback later on. Do I think that's the best way to handle it? Of course not, but I think it'd be extremely insulting to the original material not to have it at all.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Deci said:
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.

What about his nightmare after Griffith wounds him (while Casca keeps him warm)? What about when he remembers his childhood before and after the assassination scene? What about his dislike of being touched and his choice to never stick in the same place for too long? These can't be "cleverly edited", because they were already cleverly sprinkled all over the Golden Age arc. I'm sorry to tell you guys, but option 3 is just bullshit. A lot of scenes would dramatically lose of their effectiveness.

Deci said:
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.

It wouldn't be any better than that. Might even be worse.

Gobolatula said:
they'll probably show the Black Swordsman stuff AFTER the eclipse.

I wouldn't call it probable at this point. It's possible, nothing more.

Th3Branded0ne said:
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.

Remember when the director said he wanted to make something that depicted young people fighting in harsh times as a way to appeal to modern Japan's youth? I think it strongly shows in the material we've seen so far.

Th3Branded0ne said:
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.

They've made some efforts, albeit relatively few of them, to promote the movie to an international audience. I'm sure they'll try to reach as many people around the world as they can.

Señor Caudillo said:
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).

Your continuous and baseless worship of the people who worked on the TV series (which includes both OLM and VAP, for your information) is just repugnant. They had to "make-do" with 13 "measly" volumes? How's that relevant in any way here? We're talking about Guts' childhood...

Señor Caudillo said:
Also, since it's going straight to the theater instead of airing on TV, the usual network censorship rules doesn't apply here.

Uh huh, it's a well-known fact that theatrical releases don't cater to age ratings. :schierke:

Señor Caudillo said:
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.

Because that's the only way any footage of his childhood could have been shown. :schierke:

Gaahl said:
#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.

From what we've seen it's pretty much a given that they're adding new stuff.

Joe Chip said:
one of the main characters.

The main character.

frankencowx said:
I don't think it will stop me from enjoying my popcorn.

Nothing will, in a way. I mean personally I'd enjoy just watching Guts do sword moves alone like what we're shown in the trailer, or Zodd tearing through nameless soldiers, or pretty landscapes, etc. But because I can enjoy that doesn't mean my critical evaluation of the movie won't suffer from its flaws as an adaptation.
 

NinjaNuts

every wise man was once a young fool
Hey guys, longtime lurker first time poster. anyway i went with number 2 originally but the more i thought about it i think i'm more in line with number 4. i would find it unacceptable to completely leave out guts childhood as it has so many implications on his later life.
 
X

Xem

Guest
Random speculation on a possible route the animation team might take with Guts' childhood and the beginning of Golden Age I.

In the trailers we've seen some scenes that take place during battle but we can't really place them in the series. Possibly they will show some of Griffith and the Hawks' accomplishments before they meet up with Guts as well! I know I'm going off into optimistic la-la land a bit, but I don't think I'd be too upset if they did that, however unlikely it is.

Also, if they did something like that then it's still highly possible they'll skip Gambino and the rest of his younger years, leaving that for future flashbacks still. It'd be swapping out Guts story for the Adventures of Guts and Griffith. :sad:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Deci said:
In the trailers we've seen some scenes that take place during battle but we can't really place them in the series.
That's not necessarily true. I can place most of those scenes.

Possibly they will show some of Griffith and the Hawks' accomplishments before they meet up with Guts as well!
How would that make any sense? The significant parts of Guts' childhood take place before the Hawks were a viable army.

I know I'm going off into optimistic la-la land a bit
There's nothing optimistic at all about what you've described. A whole new fictional back story for The Band of the Hawk? No thanks...
 
X

Xem

Guest
Walter said:
How would that make any sense? The significant parts of Guts' childhood take place before the Hawks were a viable army.

Yes I wasn't thinking we'd see those parts, those would still be seen in flashbacks.

Really Guts fighting with a mercenary band or two, or hearing rumors of the Hawks shortly before meeting them accompanied by scenes with Griffith and the Hawks earning their reputation. Basically a new introduction to the protagonist and the characters separate from one another to better grasp how Guts' changes everything..

Really trying to find a comfortable perspective to look at this angle of history rewriting the team behind this saga is possibly taking.

There's nothing optimistic at all about what you've described. A whole new fictional back story for The Band of the Hawk? No thanks...

I got ahead of myself with making it seem like I might prefer something like that happening. I actually thought about editing my post but I was headed out the door earlier, but honestly I managed to not be totally upset about the idea... somehow. I definitely do not prefer it. I hope that's obvious and clear.

Once you start making small changes to something it's not long before it accumulates into something rather large, not news I know. So this SAGA Edition™ of Berserk might not include certain vital bits of story, characters, and plot development at all, or they could be changed tremendously, so all sorts of possibilities come into play.

I think they're worth exploring, though I understand not wanting to or seeing the point as well.

One point to take notice of is The 97' anime started the Golden Age with Guts fighting Bazuzo, if they leave Guts childhood out, do you really think they'll start out this Golden Age the exact same way?

Hmmm? :griffnotevil:

This story could start out with the Hawks, and not Guts, it's really not that far fetched an idea at all once you consider all the options that are potentially available. Having the viewer switch between the two is something Miura actually uses nowadays in the story, so it's not new to Berserk, and it would let the audience see their crossing paths as a result of predestined consequence - which it actually is.

I'm not trying to re-write the story, I'm just speculating on possibilities, however unlikely they hopefully are. Thankfully and hopefully.

For instance, try to think of a good situation in which Guts puts a white feather on his cloak (assuming he even does it), how it affects the story, characters, relationships, etc. Every time it affects something, it's a change or addition that could possibly be original material.
 

NinjaNuts

every wise man was once a young fool
i feel like not including Guts childhood is going to make future scenes with Casca less powerful. Personally i would not want a new backstory on the Hawks before they met Guts considering this is Guts' story. In all honesty i wish the guys making the movie started it off where it should with the Black Swordsman arc.

Aazealh said:
Welcome aboard!

Thanks!!
 
B

BloodyDevil

Guest
Hi everyone !

This is my first post ! I followed your discussions for many years and now I want to participate in them when I can ^^

I hope they won't cut Guts' Childhood since it is a very important part of Guts' life. So, if they don't put it in the first movie, I hope they will include it in the next movie. Otherwise, I would be very disappointed >__<
 
Guts Childhood needs to be added to the first movie in DVD/Blu-ray release. They can't cut essential stuff and say they are staying close to the manga. Yes they added essential Berserk characters in Golden Arc but doesn't mean they should cut the main character's storyline.

Movies should run 90-120 minutes for full experience and good story-telling. Rushed story content will mess up the story in long run.

> Lack of essential scenes and terrible animation will destory it for sure. This can be fixed if they want to do it. :sad:
 
At this point I am hoping they work the entire childhood sequence into Guts' and Casca's love scene right after he starts to strangle her, getting caught up in a flashback himself. I can't think of any other place they might try to fit it in, and I do hope it makes it in somewhere before the eclipse.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Joey said:
Yes they added essential Berserk characters in Golden Arc but doesn't mean they should cut the main character's storyline.

They haven't added anything essential.

Jaze1618 said:
At this point I am hoping they work the entire childhood sequence into Guts' and Casca's love scene right after he starts to strangle her, getting caught up in a flashback himself. I can't think of any other place they might try to fit it in, and I do hope it makes it in somewhere before the eclipse.

Would not make it up for failing to include it properly. When Guts & Casca make love you're supposed to be reminded of earlier events, not to witness them for the first time. It would obviously lose a lot of its power in that context.
 
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