[2022] Berserk: The Golden Age MEMORIAL EDITION

Aazealh

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Assuming this is a new anime or movies or something, what else is left to adapt at this stage?

Well the Black Swordsman arc was never properly adapted, nor the Lost Children chapter, but these would probably not be able to be broadcast on TV in Japan without heavy censorship. Could always be made as OVAs, but I think at this point it might be best not to speculate too much.

That's interesting... To be honest, I was wondering if they were actually going to continue this project after I read they've been planning on this broadcast cut of the movie trilogy since before Miura's passing. (Meaning it wasn't planned to be just a "memorial edition" from the start).

It seems they were thinking of doing it for the 10th anniversary of the movies' release, though. If a new adaptation were to be made, I would guess it was definitely because of Miura's passing, and tacking it on to this recut version of the film trilogy may just be a matter of convenience. It wouldn't really be from the same team, nor would it necessarily involve the companies that originally worked on the movies.

I've never liked their adaptation of Berserk anyway, so if they are making another one, I couldn't care less.

Yeah, same.
 
I have a feeling they re edited the movies into a TV series format because they plan to adapt the black swordsman arc into a TV series instead of a movie, if it was planned before the passing of Miura it makes even more sense because it means it was initially meant to be just a TV version of the movies. And by doing this it will be a more cohesive experience for viewers they can watch the memorial edition TV series then jump into the new series. Because this website is connected to the memorial anime it has to be anime related so it's most likely another adaption of something but who knows.
 
It seems they were thinking of doing it for the 10th anniversary of the movies' release, though
Somehow I completely forgot it's the 10th anniversary this year while writing that comment, my bad, that does make sense.
And yeah, as you said it's a bit too early to speculate, judging by the countdown, it's going to be over on December 11th. Around when the Memorial Edition will be ending by my estimation.
 
It seems they were thinking of doing it for the 10th anniversary of the movies
I doubt they would just out of the blue celebrate a 10 year anniversary of a set of Berserk movies that had been made unless they are reigniting interest in that specific version of Berserk and planned on doing something more with the Studio 4c version :shrug:
 

A countdown has launched on the website. It'll end in 70 days.
C’mon guys, let’s not be foolish. New movies/episodes? This is obviously teasing a new wave of berserk trilogy merch, featuring berserk cakes, wine bottles, and maybe some pencils and coasters too ‍:shrug:
 

Aazealh

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Staff member
And yeah, as you said it's a bit too early to speculate, judging by the countdown, it's going to be over on December 11th. Around when the Memorial Edition will be ending by my estimation.

Yeah, it's set for shortly before when the series will end.

I doubt they would just out of the blue celebrate a 10 year anniversary of a set of Berserk movies that had been made unless they are reigniting interest in that specific version of Berserk and planned on doing something more with the Studio 4c version :shrug:

I'm literally just repeating what the CEO of Studio 4°C said in the interview that was posted above. From what she says, it wasn't done "out of the blue". Also, this recut is being handled by Aniplex and while they brought back a few people from the original team, a new project would probably only have tenuous ties to the trilogy.

That being said, marketing a bunch of efforts together is very typical and has already been the case between the exhibition, the memorial edition, the manga continuation, the collaboration café... So even if the two projects aren't directly related, it would make sense for them to use the memorial edition as a jumping board to announce a new adaptation, if that's what is planned. It's a big "if".
 
I don't know if I'm allowed to send screenshots from the anime here, but I've been informed by a friend that they actually touched up most of the 3D models, though only their heads it seems. Most notable being Casca's. (Also they redrew some faces that lacked detail in a few shots).

But even after I was sent the screenshots that compared it side-by-side with the movie... Honestly I don't think anyone is going to notice.

These changes obviously don't make this adaptation any better, but I guess it's something. I didn't think they'd touch anything besides adding that new scene.
 
I don't know if I'm allowed to send screenshots from the anime here, but I've been informed by a friend that they actually touched up most of the 3D models
I think it's okay to post screenshots and I'd like you to show the difference because i watched episode one and I didn't notice anything visually different, but I haven't seen the Berserk movies in a while so it's possible
 
I finally gave it a shot!

On the positive side of this adaptatiom, it does seems to flow more naturally than the first movie (at least in the segmet we've shown so far), the animation have improved the shitty CGI from the few opening scenes, and the VA and audio mixng is pretty solid for what it is.

On the negative side, there's a lot of stale shots were its super akward seeing empty faces or low poly bodies. they also kept the weird avant garde rape scene (and somehow made it even worse?!). I also feel a bit meh about Rickert's design, it didn't capture its essence from the manga

Also, it might be a bit of an unpopular opinion but so far the OPs and EDs of all the Berserk adaptations were AMAZING (god forgive me but I'm glad they did the 2016 show just for the music) - but in this one the ED felt super generic and borderline like a lullaby. I kinnda suspect they tried to imitate the 97' ending's vibe but its wrong in so many ways.


All in all its a serviceable adaptaion considering what we've got so far in this department. I hope it will make more people discover this wonderful manga and that it will honnor Miura sensei's legacy.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
On the positive side of this adaptatiom, it does seems to flow more naturally than the first movie (at least in the segmet we've shown so far), the animation have improved the shitty CGI from the few opening scenes, and the VA and audio mixng is pretty solid for what it is.

Actually, I've watched both the movie and the first episode side-by-side, and there are almost no differences at all between them. A few faces have more details, but these are such minute changes that you wouldn't notice them unless you were specifically looking for them. Otherwise it's untouched, whether we're talking about the animation or models.

They did speed up the Gambino flashback sequence though, making it even less intelligible than it was. They also slightly shortened the scene in the tent with Casca after Guts wakes up.
 
Actually, I've watched both the movie and the first episode side-by-side, and there are almost no differences at all between them. A few faces have more details, but these are such minute changes that you wouldn't notice them unless you were specifically looking for them. Otherwise it's untouched, whether we're talking about the animation or models.
Yea, I didn't expect something more than that to be frank.

They did speed up the Gambino flashback sequence though, making it even less intelligible than it was. They also slightly shortened the scene in the tent with Casca after Guts wakes up.
At one point they did this weird junji ito-ish bit where his face got all fuzzy, It felt like an LSD trip for real. GOD it will give me nightmares.
 
I was thinking that the 70 days countdown (it would end for the 11th episode of the Memorial Edition) could be also for the Eclipse episodes. The total runtime of the trilogy should fit within 12-13 episodes circa so if they add a few minutes of stuff and slow the pacing a bit it could match with Griffith's Behelit screaming... and it could still reveal an announcement. Hard to tell at the moment.

They also slightly shortened the scene in the tent with Casca after Guts wakes up.
It was pretty terrible to present Casca with full frontal nudity in the films barely after making her debut in the story. I haven't seen the episode yet, I hope they removed some of that fanservice filler.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I was thinking that the 70 days countdown (it would end for the 11th episode of the Memorial Edition) could be also for the Eclipse episodes.

Yep, although that's also pretty much the end of the series, right? I can't imagine it just refers to the Eclipse itself, that'd be kind of useless.

It was pretty terrible to present Casca with full frontal nudity in the films barely after making her debut in the story. I haven't seen the episode yet, I hope they removed some of that fanservice filler.

They censored it very slightly but the scene is unaltered otherwise.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
So for some reason I decided to watch this thing and write down my feedback. I hadn't seen it in 10 years, so I focused on how it differs from the manga (besides, there are no major changes from the movie version). I bet somewhere on this forum there's a post written in 2012 where I make almost the exact same observations.
:ganishka:


Here's a couple of visual upgrades they've done though, just to give you an idea. Movie version on the left, Memorial Edition on the right.

Faces.jpg

Faces2.jpg


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There's no opening theme, it starts right with the battle, like the movie. God, that first scene, I'd forgotten most of the birds in the sky slide by like they're on a Powerpoint presentation.

I have issues with how they depict that battle, it's trying to look epic but it's not nearly gritty enough, and Guts' introduction is trying to be flashy and cool, but not in the way that it should be. Also, the castle is shown to be standing in the middle of nowhere, literally a giant desertic plain with mountains on the horizon and nothing in between. Castles and fortified cities were typically placed in strategic areas, meaning this doesn't make sense.

I guess it's a product of how Miura depicts things in the manga. He goes straight to the point. We see the very end of the siege and a few shots of the aftermath, nothing more. It's very economical, and that's because what matters is Guts' fight. Anyway, in this adaptation Guts' talk with Bazūso before they fight is dragged out for no good reason. He plants his sword on the ground uselessly instead of attacking right away and by surprise like in the manga.

There's another thing about the axe too. In the manga, Guts is so fast that Bazūso is taken by surprise after his axe is cracked, so he hits Guts' head but not at full strength and the axe breaks. In the anime, they both do a full swing, which makes it seem like much more of a gamble on Guts' part. The adaptation also has Bazūso talk much more than he does in the manga, where he just says "w-wait" before Guts kills him. A useless addition.

When the Band of the Falcon is introduced right after that, Casca, Judo and Corcas replace the nameless men around Griffith. I honestly don't feel it's proper given the nature of their talk. I mean right after that, Corcas attacks Guts, thinking he can take him. Then why would he ask Griffith who's the strongest? It's nonsensical. After that we get a close up of Griffith's face and then of the beherit, ominously.

The opening credits from the movie are cut and replaced by a simple fade to black.

Compared to the manga, they've added scenes of women held captive, a pile of naked dead bodies with a crow feasting on them (in the middle of the fort, surrounded by people) and a crying infant rescued from a crumbled building by a monk and handed to soldiers. Not sure what the point is. It feels like they're trying to depict war crimes against civilians instead of focusing on the brutality of war itself.

The knight who was leading Guts' side is wearing gaudy jewelry and drinking wine as he talks to Guts about his pay. I guess it's to imply he plundered the castle? Or maybe he just wears tacky jewelry (that only a king would have) to battle. Either way that feels out of place and it suggests a reason for the battle that isn't coherent with the rest of the story. Also, he looks completely different from the guy on the horse that was leading the men coming through the gate. In the manga, it's the same man: he hired them to help him conquer the place. But in the adaptation, he's got a different face and armor.

There's a specific line of dialogue in this where the guy says "it's a mercenary's dream to be a knight, right?" and Guts replies "Dreams? Can those be eaten?" as he leaves. Very subtle (not). That's not in the manga of course. Instead, the scene where Guts yells at the guy not to touch him is gone. From what I recall this whole part of Guts' backstory was pretty much erased in the movies.

Oh wow, Corcas and his guys attack right off the bat. There's like 5 seconds of scenery as a transition between the castle scene and the fight. No talk beforehand, no Casca warning him, no Griffith lying in the grass. Also, I'm no expert but their horses have giant hooves, which makes them look like work horses instead of the sort of mount that was used for battle. For something purporting to be "historically researched", that's kind of a glaring mistake, but what do I know. Anyway, Corcas is made to look completely incompetent in that fight, instead of just hesitating because he's scared and then being taken by surprise.

The team is still rather lazy with the background. Just grass and stones, no shrub, no tree, nothing else. The original scene in the manga doesn't show much scenery because Miura focuses on the characters, but the wide opening shot does have trees, a ruined wall/building and a river. Another thing that jumps out to me is that all the characters seem too old in that scene (it's the voices I think), Casca especially. They're supposed to be pretty young when this happens, something like 15.

Man, they really like to change the way fights occur. In the manga, Casca fires two crossbow bolts, one hits Guts, the other misses. Then she discards her crossbow and go at him with her sword. Here they have her shoot one and keep the other trained at him while also using her sword (while on horseback). She comments on the length of his sword as she rides towards him for some reason. And Guts dismounts her by cutting her horse's rear legs rather than by overwhelming her. It's a case where Miura showed the advantage of him having a massive sword (even against someone on horseback) versus the anime having to tell you "he sure has a big sword" but not showing it being much use.

In the second part of the fight, she falls down because she stumbles on a rock (instead of Guts pushing her down through the sheer strength of his blows). Griffith throws a spear at a rather high angle.... but he's on flat land and very close, instead of being on visibly higher ground like in the manga. Makes no sense as a result. We also see the spear coming literally from the sky as if it had been thrown from far away.

Ah, I had forgotten about this. They have Griffith stop Guts' sword without moving an inch, then after 3 seconds, he counterattacks. In the manga, Griffith is in motion, charging at him with his horse, instead of standing still. Then he's made to deflect the attack – not to bear the brunt of the hit – and counterattacks right away after Guts' sword slides off his saber. That's how the scene is even possible at all, really.

Oh, Guts doesn't get back up after Griffith strikes him down. And murmurs his name as he falls unconscious. I had forgotten how confusing they made the dream he has about Gambino while he's down. It's turned into a sort of chaotic flashback. Donovan shows up too, but it's hard to figure out anything from it if you don't already know. And like I mentioned before, they sped up that part compared to the movie, which makes it even harder to understand than it already was.

The scene with Casca is so awkward. She's still there when he wakes up, so she dresses in front of him, then punches him once, and then a second time, saying "that one's for my horse". That really drains the subtlety out of the situation, where in the manga she punches him in front of everybody, because she's angry that she was made to sleep with him to warm him up, despite her rank and status, just because she's a woman. It's like they didn't get the point, and it also makes Guts seem less cool in the process. Of course, no "black eyes" scene, nor any reflection on "touching" as she lies with him.

Griffith holds Guts' sword somewhat unnaturally, blade facing forward. In the manga the blade is backward, so it can trail behind him. Much more natural and requires less effort when carrying with one hand. Then he handles Guts' sword as if it has no weight, even as he says he could never wield it. In the manga, he holds it with two hands as he gives it back to Guts.

There's a strong focus on the beherit again when Griffith arrives, I guess to counter the fact beherits are not introduced in the Black Swordsman arc. Thing is, that kind of foreboding shot changes how the scene comes across. It detracts from Griffith himself, who's supposed to be the focus. Instead it feels like the tension and ominousness is due to that mysterious pendant. In the manga, Miura delays its introduction until a time where it's much more themetically impactful.

Rickert really gets the short end of the stick as they go through the camp. He's barely there, no different from an unnamed background character. The fight on the hill is abbreviated, removing all of Guts' thoughts about Griffith's fighting technique and generally making it less clear exactly how Griffith fights. Casca's scene with Corcas is also abbreviated, which is too bad as it helps flesh out her character and motivations (i.e. not just angry at Guts). Griffith's jump on Guts' sword is as ridiculous as I remember it, with him jumping up seemingly above Guts' height, then Guts looking left and right as if he doesn't know where his opponent went, and finally Griffith falling down as if from the sky, yet landing like a feather. Completely ridiculous.

They don't fall from the hill when Guts bites down on the saber, which makes his maneuver (to push Griffith off balance) look a lot less believable. They've also added a useless line of dialogue afterwards. No "Falcon glare" as Griffith tells Guts he is now his, unlike in the manga. Instead he looks all nice. Honestly the scene plays out like a love declaration instead of Guts being forced into servitude by an extremely charismatic man. It kinda feels like it's missing the point. Ah, and no teasing from Corcas or anything of the sort.

There's an added scene right afterwards where Guts and Griffith are, for some reason, alone on the hill and Guts' shoulder is now all but fixed. Griffith tells him that he'll get his own kingdom. This replaces the scene from after the water fight in volume 5 (where his beherit comes into play), but it feels rather abrupt and because it's so short and without context it's a lot less effective than in the manga. And... that's the end of the episode. The next one will start with skipping three years ahead and feature the confrontation with Zodd.

The ending theme is alright, but could be for any other anime series ever and you wouldn't know the difference. The visuals of the ending credits are three still images of Griffith, Casca and Guts on a black background that get a "blown to dust" effect applied to them. It's clearly made as cheaply as possible but who cares.

By the way, to compare, I quickly rewatched the '97 anime, and let me tell you that while it's not perfect by any means, it's so much better than the 2012 version. It's somehow more faithful, more dynamically paced/edited and more to the point despite its low budget. It's kinda sad honestly.
 
By the way, to compare, I quickly rewatched the '97 anime, and let me tell you that while it's not perfect by any means, it's so much better than the 2012 version. It's somehow more faithful, more dynamically paced/edited and more to the point despite its low budget. It's kinda sad honestly.
And that's why I like the 97 anime so much.
Despite many major changes, it still retains the "essence" of Berserk.

For example, the still shots may be a little repetitive after a while, but they captured that picturesque compositions and raw lines from the manga very well.
The backgrounds, done by Shichiro Kobayashi (RIP), were even enhanced with a beautiful and varied color palette.
Not to mention the soundtrack provided by Susumu Hirasawa, which, like the artist above, also contributed to make the audiovisual experience even better.

It's just a shame that they couldn't fit the whole content of the manga into that adaptation.
 
Much appreciation for the side-by-side comparisons of changes to faces. Subtle stuff to make the background characters look less like dolls. It's very helpful though. I may update Berserk Redux at some point to incorporate these changes to make the movie footage less dated, and give cahracters abit more expressiveness. For those of you noting the changes, please keep that coming.

That being said, there were no new scenes so far, and my hopes for them animating Guts' first battle with the Hawks, and the resulting party and camaraderie are once again replaced with a cheap conversation on a hill about Griffiths kingdom. Not to mention subtle scene extentions they could have done to give more breathing room, such as before Corkus attacked Guts.

I sympathize with all of Aaz's points. I hope we'll have more than just extra face detail as go on. Additional scenes and extensions would be welcome.
 
I don’t know if this is of any importance but felt it as worth mentioning. The countdown on the anime website will be completed one hour after the episode for that day airs. I believe some speculate the countdown is for the eclipse but, I would assume that then it would finish either the beginning or end of the episode. Not half an hour after the episode airs? I don’t know though, it is too early to speculate anything, and this could be just a nonsensical thing I’m pointing out.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I don’t know if this is of any importance but felt it as worth mentioning. The countdown on the anime website will be completed one hour after the episode for that day airs. I believe some speculate the countdown is for the eclipse but, I would assume that then it would finish either the beginning or end of the episode. Not half an hour after the episode airs? I don’t know though, it is too early to speculate anything, and this could be just a nonsensical thing I’m pointing out.

Thanks for calculating the exact time! I do think it's meant to be timed to the end of the Eclipse, which would also be the penultimate episode of the series. To be honest though, I doubt it matters that it's set to 30 minutes after it airs on Tokyo MX. What's more telling to me is that it'll be in the middle of the night.
 
I don't understand this notion that they are counting towards the eclipse to be honest, why would they do that? they must know that most if not all of the memorial edition watchers are already Berserk fans, so the eclipse is not a suprise like it might've been to the 97' watchers.

My guess is that the a new adaptaion (whether it be an anime, video game or a movie) will be announced.

Imma call it now, we are getting a BLACK SWORDSMAN CHAPTER adaptaion:chomp:
 
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