Berserk 2017 Blu-Ray

So on my tax return, I'm gonna buy the two Japanese box sets of Berserk 2017 (because I'm a whore, and Berserk is my pimp), but I was curious--does anyone know if they touched up the anime like they did for the 2016 Blu-Ray? If not, I'll be happy to post any changes I notice--because 2017 had alooot more moments where the animation just FELT incomplete.
 
Not that anyone's shown any interests, but I just finished my watch through of Berserk 2017 on my imported Blu-Rays. Here's some notes for anyone interested.

-Just like the two box sets for 2016, each one comes with beautiful posters by Miura (the main reason to buy these things, to be honest)
-Unlike the 2016 box sets, these ones don't com with any real extras. Box set 1 had the script and storyboard for episode 3 (you know, because THAT's the episode everyone loved--supreme sarcasm). Box set 2 had concept art and storyboards of various scenes in Berserk 2016. But 2017? Nothing but the posters and Blu-Ray. Kinda sad, but oh well.
-Uncensored footage throughout--getting rid of all those shadows, adding in those oh-so-important anime nipples.
-Fixing the egregious, meme-worthy "Guts.png" walk shot where they just shakily moved his picture off-screen. He now clearly has a walking animation.
-Changed the Apostle transformations--instead of the monster model just sort of fading in over the human model, there's now this cool shroud of purple smoke (yes purple--I don't know why it isn't just white or grey for steam) and you can see a silhouetted change into Apostle form. It's not mind-blowing, but it's a definite improvement.

That's about all I noticed about. I hadn't watched Berserk 2017 since it aired, so they may have added an extra 2D shot or two that I missed. Was it worth almost $300? No. But..... Well, now I have those posters.
 

Aazealh

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NCHaskew said:
Box set 1 had the script and storyboard for episode 3 (you know, because THAT's the episode everyone loved-preme sarcasm).

This episode's script was produced by Miura, which is why they included it as a bonus.
 

Walter

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NCHaskew said:
Not that anyone's shown any interests, but I just finished my watch through of Berserk 2017 on my imported Blu-Rays. Here's some notes for anyone interested.

Thanks for the list. Glad they fixed a few of the hilariously bad animations, but I'm not sure that series is salvageable. It's just a big fucking mess.
 
Thanks for the update. I was wondering if they were actually going to fix some of those awful animations. I'm glad that they are.

Did they fix any of the animations with the Berserker armor in the Grunbeld fight by chance? Does the cannon still just clip through his hand when he breaks up the shield?
 
I may have watched the first or the first two episodes of the second season and didn't get to finishing it. It's a weird predicament I find myself in where I love Berserk but I didn't watch or consume something Berserk related that was out there for me to consume, if that makes sense. The first season was a frustrating, disappointing watch.
 
I purchased the US Limited Edition Blu-Ray (a shitty slip case) as I feel I must support the “Brand”, and previously only watching a few clips of this show, I must say.....yuck. I immediately went back to read my beloved manga to get the taste of shit out of my mouth. But that being said, apparent this shit-show has brought more fans along, I think. Seeing as there’s more merchandise lately, I guess we have to take the good with the bad and vice versa.
 
Aazealh said:
This episode's script was produced by Miura, which is why they included it as a bonus.

Which just astounds me, considering I think it's the worst of 2016. I'm skeptical on him being the full-on writer forthe the episode--I get the feeling he just wrote the Apostle's backstory.

ApostleBob said:
Did they fix any of the animations with the Berserker armor in the Grunbeld fight by chance? Does the cannon still just clip through his hand when he breaks up the shield?

Nothing that stood out--the animation was a little smoother with the blu-ray quality, and I think they made his hand a little more shadowy to make it look LESS like it clipped through his hand.
 

Aazealh

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NCHaskew said:
Which just astounds me, considering I think it's the worst of 2016. I'm skeptical on him being the full-on writer forthe the episode--I get the feeling he just wrote the Apostle's backstory.

Well what does the bonus stuff show? I imagine that's the extent of what he contributed. How extensive is it?
 
Aazealh said:
Well what does the bonus stuff show? I imagine that's the extent of what he contributed. How extensive is it?

See, that's where this proves to be an extremely poor investment, since I can't read Japanese. It's like an 80 page booklet, with at least 25 of it being script, so I'd imagine it's pretty thorough.

Walter said:
Thanks for the list. Glad they fixed a few of the hilariously bad animations, but I'm not sure that series is salvageable. It's just a big fucking mess.

I'd have to agree. Which is sad since I do consider 2017 an improvement over 2016, at least in terms of pacing. I can't help but think that if they had started at 2017's quality and improved from there, and just have the series be Black Swordsman and Lost Children, we'd have the makings of a halfway decent series.
 

Aazealh

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NCHaskew said:
See, that's where this proves to be an extremely poor investment, since I can't read Japanese. It's like an 80 page booklet, with at least 25 of it being script, so I'd imagine it's pretty thorough.

Hm. Hard to believe it's all from Miura. On one hand I'm curious to know more, but on the other I'm definitely not going to invest in this stuff. Thanks for the info anyway!
 

CoolGuyZool

My love is like a truck.
NCHaskew said:
Box set 1 had the script and storyboard for episode 3 (you know, because THAT's the episode everyone loved--supreme sarcasm). Box set 2 had concept art and storyboards of various scenes in Berserk 2016.

Would you mind sharing the concept art and storyboards (episode 3 and others)? I'm interested in seeing what the original 2D shots looked like before being transformed into 3D.
 
SaviorSurge said:
Would you mind sharing the concept art and storyboards (episode 3 and others)? I'm interested in seeing what the original 2D shots looked like before being transformed into 3D.

Sure! The storyboard for Episode 3 is approximately 100 pages, so I won't post all of it (unless you're super curious), but here's a sample of 10. Apologies for the poor quality--I don't have a means of scanning it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=191nO16BlGTSMnGksDui9SGwaj9HGPRNp

And here's a sample of 10 from the concept art included in box set 2. It looks like pretty much just all the 2D art. Let me know if you want to see any more!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eTMnFMrF5q0kJMHtfqS2z-1fW_xhgQuz
 

Walter

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Thanks for posting those, man. My shocking conclusion: This series should have been in 2D.
 

Walter

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Sareth said:
The 2D that wasn’t lifted straight from the manga still looked like shit

You're not wrong, and there are so many other ways they shit the bed with this series (direction, choreography, music, sound effects, animation), but 3D is the most glaring flaw, and what's shown in the artbook isn't bad.

What I'm trying to say is that maybe this should be a manga.
 
Walter said:
Thanks for posting those, man. My shocking conclusion: This series should have been in 2D.

Almost like they got it mostly right 21 years ago :puck: Oh well, I guess '97 will remain the one-hit wonder of Berserk adaptations. Barring video games.

Sareth said:
The 2D that wasn’t lifted straight from the manga still looked like shit

Yeaaah, if it wasn't lifted straight from the manga, it was shitty. If it was lifted straight from the manga, it was just a still image panned across--which at that point, can you still call it animation? :schierke:
 

Aazealh

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Thank you for posting those pages, NCHaskew. It's not clear whether the art in that storyboard is from Miura to me. Doesn't really look like his style at first glance. I wonder if they give details as to who authored it.
 
Aazealh said:
Thank you for posting those pages, NCHaskew. It's not clear whether the art in that storyboard is from Miura to me. Doesn't really look like his style at first glance. I wonder if they give details as to who authored it.

I don't think the storyboarding is Miura. I was actually wrong in my earlier post--the first 30 pages of the booklet are the script, which I assume is him. The rest is that rough storyboard.
 

Aazealh

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NCHaskew said:
I don't think the storyboarding is Miura. I was actually wrong in my earlier post--the first 30 pages of the booklet are the script, which I assume is him. The rest is that rough storyboard.

Ah, I see. Makes sense, thanks.
 
Out of curiosity, does the 2017 Blu Ray have updates to the GrunGeld fight at all? Are the animations a bit smoother? Does the cannon still clip through his cand when he shoots Grunbeld's shield or does he armor retract?
 
ApostleBob said:
Out of curiosity, does the 2017 Blu Ray have updates to the GrunGeld fight at all? Are the animations a bit smoother? Does the cannon still clip through his cand when he shoots Grunbeld's shield or does he armor retract?

The fight looks a little smoother--whether they actually slowed and stilled the camera or the blu-ray quality just makes it look better, I'm not sure. I've yet to do a side-by-side comparison. However no, the cannon still magically bursts out of his hand, though I think they shaded it a little more or reframed it so it looks kiiinda better.
 

BiQ_

" ... "
Walter said:
You're not wrong, and there are so many other ways they shit the bed with this series (direction, choreography, music, sound effects, animation), but 3D is the most glaring flaw, and what's shown in the artbook isn't bad.

What I'm trying to say is that maybe this should be a manga.

Most of all IMHO, if it was done 2D, they probably wouldn't have had ability to shoot themselves so much in the foot with ridiculously spastic "music-video" camerawork. That would have been a real definite improvement.
 

CoolGuyZool

My love is like a truck.
Sure! The storyboard for Episode 3 is approximately 100 pages, so I won't post all of it (unless you're super curious), but here's a sample of 10. Apologies for the poor quality--I don't have a means of scanning it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=191nO16BlGTSMnGksDui9SGwaj9HGPRNp

And here's a sample of 10 from the concept art included in box set 2. It looks like pretty much just all the 2D art. Let me know if you want to see any more!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eTMnFMrF5q0kJMHtfqS2z-1fW_xhgQuz
Do you still have these? Forgot about this thread for a few years and just now clicked the links only to find them 404'd.
 
Sure! The storyboard for Episode 3 is approximately 100 pages, so I won't post all of it (unless you're super curious), but here's a sample of 10. Apologies for the poor quality--I don't have a means of scanning it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=191nO16BlGTSMnGksDui9SGwaj9HGPRNp

And here's a sample of 10 from the concept art included in box set 2. It looks like pretty much just all the 2D art. Let me know if you want to see any more!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eTMnFMrF5q0kJMHtfqS2z-1fW_xhgQuz
I had no clue that Miura actually contributed to the anime or even that the storyboards were included in the BD release! I'd love to see a reup of those photos as well and take a look, considering how rare it is to see something of this nature.

Also, since we're on the topic of Berserk 2016-17 BD releases, I wonder if anyone here has a physical copy of the BERSERK Soundtrack Alternate Takes CD (which was enclosed with Vol.1 of the 2016 series) and if it came with a soundtrack booklet of sorts. As a passionate soundtrack collector / "researcher" I'm curious to know if there are any special credits to musicians / vocalists / arrangers, especially for composers like Shiro Sagisu which is really a collaborative type of person. By researcher I mean looking out for specific composer / arranger credits, for personal curiosity as well as adding information to the VGMdb website, but so far, the entry for this specific soundtrack features no additional credits.
Anyone can help?
 
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