2016 Berserk TV series: Episode 1

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Johnny Apples said:
But going back to Berserk Project, if there was anything that is to blame on Miura's part, then I believe it boils down to this - his personality. Miura's humble, affable personality might have been one of the crucial yet overlooked factors that allowed this abortion of a movie trilogy and 2016 anime series to even come to life in the first place. At a time when firm assertiveness and even harshness was needed, Miura's amiable nature is probably what kept him from putting his foot down and forcing the animation studios to do right by his manga. He could have gave them an ultimatum - either do his story accurately or don't do it at all.

Without speculating too much about how things went down, I think people need to remember that there were no Berserk adaptations for 15 years between 1997 and 2012. When the "film project" started, it was revealed that Miura had received quite a few offers over the years but had turned them all down because they were too shitty. So aside from having been given false promises, there's also the matter of time to take into account. After 15 years, he might have resigned himself to the fact he'd never get an offer with a bigger budget, and that this was his last chance to see more of Berserk get animated.
 

residentgrigo

Excitement and Enjoyment!
That too and an artist has to enjoy on some level to see his life's work come alive. Miura isn´t getting younger but i don´t believe that a long form adaptation that resembles the manga will come from Japan. No adaptation ever properly acknowledged Guts´ backstory and the films didn´t even both with Griffith´s past. The OVA market has been dead since the late 00s and that was our only chance, not that i care. All the big studios as Madhouse would further never touch the IP, too much drama, and just look at their Parasyte. It turned out well overall (the 2nd half is a bit of a rush job with deteriorating animation) but the censorship was severe. Adult Swim can´t even touch the 97 anime. Berserk on regular television is a no go. The mentioned Mushishi was the best anime of the decade but comparing a PG Mono No Aware manga with a hard NC-17 property, well... :carcus: .

I don´t want to blame anyone though. The new show ain´t the worst anime 2016 has to offer and i survived some of the worst US comic adaptations of all time to now reach the current Valhalla.
The situation is what it is and interventions from any side can only mess with the larger IP. God Eater (never saw it) won´t win new investors after being janked from tv. I don´t care who is responsible (i still insists that we are watch a sales pitch), i just want the weeks or maybe even months to pass without drama that can harm Miura´s working relationship with YA and move on. The best Berserk adaptation remains the theater in your mind.
@Scorpio +1
 

Scorpio

Courtesy of Grail's doodling.
I only just recently saw (most) of the movies and I can't believe that they have already been one-upped in terms of shittiness. I was mulling over posting my thoughts about them, but it's been a few years since they were released and they're so entirely forgettable I didn't see much point.

This, however... This. This is so in your face terrible it will be branded in my memory, and I'll likely have to struggle with it for the rest of my life.

My quicktake: Ugly, repugnant 3-D models they didn't even bother to swap out on close ups; some of the jankiest animations I've ever seen, both animation and 3-D model-wise; a hyperactive sweeping camera that never stays fucking still (maybe to try to hide their terrible animation?); panning shots with parkinson's (Flora's mansion in particular); music and sound design so bad it beggars belief; and the list just goes on!

I think a lot of this stems from the fact that they don't know how to build atmosphere or proper pacing, so they try to mask it with hyperactive cuts and wobbles. Even when the characters are staying still the background is spinning around like a top; it's painful on the eyes and hard to process (not there's any substance to actually take in). All of this really makes that 'Pause of Skeleton' scene stand out even more in the worst kind of light.

Man, I was expecting a punch to the gut but instead I got CLAAAANG'd in the back of the head. I honestly can't believe how bad this was. To be fair though, I think there was one brief shot of like, rain on a puddle that I thought actually looked pretty good... so there's that.
 
Okay haha I don't think I was right to say that people like you didn't give it thought first, so brainless was crass, but when this kind of thing occurs I feel like people just hate things way too easily when this has so many good things about it that we've never seen before.
 
roseputter said:
when this has so many good things about it that we've never seen before.

I hope you're kidding ? I actually think that this piece of art shouldn't have seen the light of the day. It's not about hating it, it's just plain bad.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I guess brainlessness is in the head of the beholder. I'm pretty proud of the overwhelming negative response in calling a spade a spade here instead of just fanboying out. Much better than when the movies came out, but then they're making it much harder to rationalize anything about this project now.
 
I don't know if you only think that because it's portraying Berserk when the manga is so much better or that you actually don't like the animation/art style in any way.
I suppose that's an okay point though Griffith. Honestly I'm still not someone who knows much about the society of Berserk fandom and reputation.
 

Feeblecursedone

"This hammer has broken Daemons on my anvil, Elf.
Being a fanboy or not, one can clearly tell if its bad or not. And oh it is bad. I had the same issue with last arc of Bleach, which ruined the series. Thankfully for us, the anime wont affect the manga in any way.
 
roseputter said:
when this has so many good things about it that we've never seen before.

Like Guts cooking rabbit? Yeah I know that was a great scene! Almost as good as having one of, in my opinion, the coolest bandits from the series in charge of those guys, it was so cool when he cut the head off that figure he was whittling. I always thought that guy didn't get enough credit as the badass he really was! It was just great to see Colette's body being picked up by the tree from volume 14 on screen. I like both those parts in the manga and they just went ahead and put 'em together for me! We should ALL be grateful for ANYTHING we get, guys. Come on now.
 

Uriel

This journey isn't ov--AARGH!
Not sure where to post impressions, but here we go:

I finally got around to watching it last night. Expectations were Mariana Trench low, but managed to find some positives.

+ 10 seconds of Susumu!
+ Akio Ohtsuka narration was welcome.
+ Some of the hand-drawn moments were excellent.
+ I pretty much like the voice cast from what I heard.
+ CG aside, some of the DS moments were pretty cool.
+ Seeing Flora and Schierke was unnecessary, but nice.
+ The environment, grading, and colouring fit the mood of the world.
+ I prefer the frying pan DS noise when compared to the Berserk Musou sound effect.

- The pacing was odd.
- Objectified Caucasian Casa.
- The music. Utterly uninspired.
- OP and ED themes were pretty subpar.
- CG. Bad PS2 cut scenes. Awful artistic choice.
- The weird scene with the tree getting sliced... just... what?
- Guts' yelling 'GRIFFITH' sounded more like he was annoyed at him for leaving the toilet seat up.

That's pretty much what I can think of from memory. I didn't mind Isidro being a bar wench. It's easy to see why they would want to introduce the character earlier.

I'll keep watching for a few more episodes, but I'm foreseeing many facepalm.gif moments along the way.
 
The Dragon Slayer...when it's hitting the skeletons...instead of it sounding like it has weight to it...it sounds like somebody's playing a drum set made of pots and pans...oh god...
 
CGI somehow reminds me of Wallace and Grommit, however it's nowhere near as charming :azan:

Also, the Dragon Slayer had different (and arguably superior) sound effects in the trailers, what a joke.
 
^The motion actually is reminiscent of Wallace and Gromit, good catch.


About the DS, I like how it took Guts about 10 seconds too long to unsheath it. Such a supercool effect. Just how I've always imagined Guts in action.
.
.
.
:judo:
 
I.. have mixed feelings about the 1st episode. It has deep flaws, but I'll be damned if I wasn't helluva entertained while watching it.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but considering their rush to go on with the story, I think they used the 21 mins rather well, content-wise.

EXCEPT for the fact that they should have invested more time (and should've pushed Guts' voice actor to the edge) to let his anger, desperation and sadness shine through. Especially at the very end of the episode, before/during (1) his monologue to Puck and (2) him shooting the cannon in the air. That part really made the chapter in the manga.

Speaking of which, why the hell didn't they show a proper cannon blast either time he used it? That was a let-down.

Visually though, while I abhorred the poor 3D models of the characters and the animation was jarred as fuck, there were more than a few beautiful picturesque frames throughout the episode. Within those 21 mins, I found myself both scrunching my face cause of how ugly the animation is as well as looking at the screen in awe.

In any case, I'm quite eagerly looking forward to the next episode.
 
Hanma_Baki said:
^The motion actually is reminiscent of Wallace and Gromit, good catch.


About the DS, I like how it took Guts about 10 seconds too long to unsheath it. Such a supercool effect. Just how I've always imagined Guts in action.
.
.
.
:judo:

I also like how they put me under the illusion that motion was taking place, they made the camera go completely Berserk™ ( :slan:) on what appeared to be a still shot (or one moving very slowly) and viola! :ubik:
.
.
.
:schierke:
 
From a financial standpoint only, aren't we somewhat obligated to grit our teeth and support this? Don't shoot me down, just here me out a little. Berserk is a niche property, and from the little I know (yes, little) about marketing, if we continue to shoot down every crappy release, won't we be more likely to get more, yet spaced out crap?

I'm honestly wondering should one of these adaptations, bad as they may be, if one were to find financial success, could this in turn grant us someone's attention who wants to invest in a bigger, better translation of the story?
 
I just realized, unless they try and do some weird time jump in the next episode, Guts and Puck will only have been together for, like, a couple of hours....
 

Imperator Hanseatic

Ultimately just a crippled neet who loves Berserk.
Rupert Sinclair said:
I just realized, unless they try and do some weird time jump in the next episode, Guts and Puck will only have been together for, like, a couple of hours....
Don't forget that we don't even know what Guts' journey is about or who Casca, Rickert, or Godot are or why they are important! Does Guts have the improved gadgets Rickert was supposed to give him when he went after Casca? We don't know because they didn't set anything up. :/
 
underpileofdeadbodies said:
From a financial standpoint only, aren't we somewhat obligated to grit our teeth and support this? Don't shoot me down, just here me out a little. Berserk is a niche property, and from the little I know (yes, little) about marketing, if we continue to shoot down every crappy release, won't we be more likely to get more, yet spaced out crap?

I'm honestly wondering should one of these adaptations, bad as they may be, if one were to find financial success, could this in turn grant us someone's attention who wants to invest in a bigger, better translation of the story?
Do we financially support a car company that makes shoddy vehicles that break down and/or explode in the hopes that they'll make better cars in the future? No, we don't. We let them go out of business like the incompetents they are. Just as we shouldn't have to support shitty anime studios that churn shoddily-made shows we don't enjoy. You can only blame the budget Berserk was given for so much, but the truth of the matter is that with all the cuts and changes they made for pretty much no reason, it's abundantly clear that the people behind this series don't understand, care or respect what Berserk is. Or don't have the talent to bring it to life. Supporting crap like this is just going to encourage more studios to lower their quality standards.

Besides, I don't think there's going to ever be another Berserk anime once this abomination is done, and there's actually no way it's going to feel like a complete product either, no matter how far in the timeline it gets. It's a miracle the series even got another shot at all.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Inga-no-Nagare said:
This might be an unpopular opinion, but considering their rush to go on with the story, I think they used the 21 mins rather well, content-wise.

I have no interest in discussing this in depth, but I really don't think they used the time they had well, even with those goals. They should have skipped Schierke and Flora, skipped the monk and Colette, and not shown Guts eating a rabbit in the woods. The haunted tree should have also been replaced by an apostle like the Snake Baron. I can't comment on what they've got planned for later but I would also have delayed Isidro's introduction to after Guts escapes from the H.I.C.K. and before he reaches Albion, mirroring the manga. When you've got no time and no budget, keeping it straightforward is the best way to go. I don't think it made any sense to introduce Schierke and Isidro in the first episode, no matter how you slice it.

underpileofdeadbodies said:
From a financial standpoint only, aren't we somewhat obligated to grit our teeth and support this? Don't shoot me down, just here me out a little. Berserk is a niche property, and from the little I know (yes, little) about marketing, if we continue to shoot down every crappy release, won't we be more likely to get more, yet spaced out crap?

That's for each one of us to decide. Personally, I bought the first Blu-ray for the movies (collector's edition) but not the other two. For this adaptation, I plan on keeping my Crunchyroll subscription (which I only took to watch this) until the season is over and then cancel it. I doubt I'll buy the Blu-rays afterwards.

TricksieThiefsie said:
Are they going to bring up :beast:

That's the big question. Honestly I doubt it.
 

residentgrigo

Excitement and Enjoyment!
You are all forgetting that "this" Guts doesn´t have a backstory, no Beast of Darkness growing inside him, that his sword sound as if it was forget out of a bucket (my ears...), he may have never fought an Apostle (why is he hunted again?) -besides that one time when he nearly killed Griffith in film 3- and that "this" Griffith appears to have run away from a homosexual clone harem. Who cares about time flow at this point?
What a time to alive ladies and gentlemen :beast: . I dread the explanatory conversations this anime will force me into in the future. It basically "replaced" the comprehensible 97 show, due to the identical name, to all but hardcore animation nuts who never heard of the manga and want to "taste test". I already had one due to the films but that (justified) hater was converted after i forced my volumes on him. I ain´ t buy NO Blue Ray, that´s for sure, the same goes for my library.
PS: How exactly did he kill the tree. Was that Cloud´s Limit Break?
 

Feeblecursedone

"This hammer has broken Daemons on my anvil, Elf.
How exactly did he kill the tree.

Apparently by getting pissed about Colette's death. Beats me. It was almost shounen like last minute power-up. Im surprised his hair didnt change to yellow.
 
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