Episode 5 Starts off with Isidro, and some half-assed attempt at levity. This is really harmless, but it highlights an issue that has become apparent from the first episode. It’s widely understood that the inclusion of Puck was done to bring some light-heartedness to an otherwise grim story. But yet again this proves the point that manga and anime are widely different mediums, and what works in one doesn’t necessarily work in the other. A manga is a very fluid format. The style and design elements can be altered to communicate different concepts. It is not at all uncommon to have characters portrayed in chibi or exaggerated forms to correspond to the situation. They can also include footnotes and other remarks to clarify and explain certain things. These techniques can’t really be done the same way in an anime adaptation, or when attempted could seriously backfire. The medium of motion pictures revolves quite extensively around immersion, and things that can hinder that immersion are best to not be included in the first place. This is not to say that the combination of serious subject matter and comedy can’t be achieved, for example, Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Welcome to NHK and Kemonozume have all done this to varying degrees, but doing so requires a mindful approach and a delicate touch.
Thankfully the farce is soon interrupted by the Kushan hunters. Here we get another action scene, which similar to the ones up to now was just alright. There are some interesting angles and framing, but the quick cuts in editing and the unnecessary rotation take away from the action. This is exacerbated by the drops in the frame-rate. I researched the reason for this back during the first season of Knights of Sidonia, and apparently this is due to the cel shading that is done on top of the CGI. In these types of animations when the camera pans the animators need to draw in the details in almost every frame, causing the process to become seriously long and costly. The solution they came up with was to limit the number of frames, so the required number of overlay shading could be reduced. My question is that knowing their limitations, why do they include so many panning shots that aren’t even really necessary? Well the upside of the action scene is that we get to yet again hear Hirasawa’s excellent track Hai yo (Oh Ashes). I instantly light up every time the track kicks in and the pipes swell up. He truly understands Berserk, and given his close friendship with Miura, it is not at all surprising. I only wish that he had composed the entirety of the OST.
Next we get the reintroduction of Silat and his Bakiraka clansmen. If I’m not mistaken this is the first time since the movies that he has made an appearance. Silat is an interesting case, since he’s one of the handful of characters to endure in the story past the Golden Age Arc, and although he continues to play a part he is still usually delegated to the sidelines. He was understandably removed from the 97’ adaptation, as there was no reason to include him so briefly at the end of the series. He also made an appearance in the movie trilogy in a slick action scene, but the third film failed to correctly portray the complexity of his character. We will see how much they will develop him in the new show.
I want to point out how newcomer unfriendly this adaptation truly is. To those who have only gotten into Berserk with this new series Silat won’t be making any sense. A lot of other factors are exactly the same, with them only resonating with fans of the manga or the previous iterations. Liden Films have failed to properly communicate that this is a continuation of the movies, and yes, this is linked to the movies and not the old show, as there are flashback scenes that include segments and music directly taken from the trilogy. This might be due to some licensing issues with Studio 4°C who made the films. I am personally fine with this, as I am very familiar with the material, and the last thing I wanted was for yet another developer to go over the Golden Age Arc. I still can see a lot of new viewers passing on this show due to their confusion, and it would be a shame for people to avoid the Berserk franchise only due to this series’ lack of quality; which is the most damaging aspect of this adaptation.
The next section switches back to Albion, as we get to see Mozguz engaging in an uncharacteristic act of kindness. It doesn’t take long for the audience to be reassured of his depravity, as he moves on to torturing the mother of the child he just saved. I’m not really a fan of these sudden outbursts which are accompanied by severe character deformation. I understand that they suppose to be somewhat shocking, and aim at creating tension in the scene, but they are often just distracting. This brings to my mind a certain scene at the end of the first episode of Akame ga Kill, which has a little girl suddenly exposing her messed up nature. In fairness this isn’t as abrupt as in AgK, since Mozguz is already shown to be vile and ruthless. What I admire here is the daringness of the series, which doesn’t shy away from sex and violence. They have included things that I was certain will be dropped, so the producers are at least adamant on keeping the dark edgy side of Berserk. However I do realize that this might be done more for the sake of publicity, and not purely out of artistic integrity. I wish that the same approach was applied to the more subtle tone and subtext of the Berserk story.
Speaking of daringness, we get the return of the nippleless women, this time in the form of Luca. They should either go all the way with it or not include nudity at all, but I guess there are restrictions that are out of their control. Some suggest that these would be fixed in the Bluray release, but considering that they have to go over and draw it in every frame causes me to doubt that. We get to see a scene with Luca entertaining Jermore, a minor member of the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Luca is an interesting character, and despite being a prostitute she is still portrayed as a strong woman, who not only knows how to take care of herself but also the rest of her camp. It’s good to see a working lady portrayed in a sympathetic light, and she manages the group with almost a socialist methodology. There is also a brief exploration of wartime economics and upheavals. The kingdom of Midland doesn’t seem to catch a break, with the Kushan invasion happening on the heels of the recent conclusion of the hundred year war with the Chuder Empire. The passing of the king has only added to the social instability, and this can be seen by the ubiquity of famine and poverty. For most people hope seems to have faded, and they all do whatever it takes just to survive. The stoning scene shows how ruthless people have become. Being from the Middle East myself, I know how average people can act in horrific ways. When individuals are themselves under pressure they find catharsis in having any sense of control. It is probably not by chance that such crisis has consumed the land, setting up the stage for a certain someone to make his return. There is also a brief introduction of the rest of Luca’s group, but Nina is really the only one of any importance. We get to see her plight, and it’s implied that syphilis is now commonplace.
The episode ends with a scene between Guts and Isidro. Despite being a goofy little brat, it’s clear that Guts sees a bit of himself in the kid, persuading him to let Isidro stick around. After the so-called “epihpany” at Godo’s house it appears that Guts has calmed down a little bit, causing him to warm up and let go of his constant rage. It’s interesting to see how close they’ve been following the manga in the recent episodes. Looks like the sporadic script of the first few ones might’ve been growing pains, and they have now found their groove, and are now simply attempting to tell the story. The next episode is “A Nighttime Feast: Burning at the Stake” implying that it might be multi-episode chapter. I’m getting the sense that we might be getting the ‘cave scene’ after all. The majestic Skull Knight is also making his reappearance. Berserk 2016 has serious issues, no doubt, but I would be lying if I’d said that I’m not enjoying myself to some extent. It is a treat to get a new Berserk at the end of the week, and unfortunately when anticipation rises the wait for the next episode only grows longer.
~Bam~
This is a well-constructed post, albeit a bit text-heavy Bam. I personally don’t have any problem with the length, because this is quite an entertaining read, but I think other readers could be put-off just by the length alone.
Now to this episode, I still have problem with the overall tone of this episode. The old one worked so well because I feel behind its ugly and harsh nature, the show aims for something much more resonant (the bond, the friendship for example). Here, like you mentioned, I feel the show just put ugliness nature and deformed characters expression in your face, just for the sake of shock value. Only in episode 4 did the show delved deeper than that.
I honestly didn’t notice the length until I posted it. I was trying to include all the things that I thought should be touched upon. I’ll try to fine-tune the process and reach a compromise between length and content.
I’m starting to really admire the old series director Naohito Takahashi. It’s easy to miss all the crucial decision-making that goes into a show until you see it done wrong. That man really understood what makes Berserk special, and his choices elevated the material. As you can imagine, that’s not at all the case here.
Just because you’re doing a piece on every episode, it’s probably best to edit your reviews down to 4 paragraphs and a conclusion
Yeah, I noticed some of the length is due to general things regarding the series, and not the episode. That means the next ones will be shorter, cuz I already went over the majority of the general points.
I think I can combine some paragraphs, but it’s hard to throw stuff that has nothing to do with eachother into the same one, since it’ll feel like I’m jumping all over the place.
Amazing review! Very insightful and thorough. I’m glad that someone is finally giving this show a fair chance. You just got yourself a return costumer. Keep up the good work ^_-
Thank you. I’m aiming to cover the rest of the series as well, so stay tuned.
Some good, some bad. It’ll be what it is. I also have an issue in the manga since Guts does end up surrounded with characters that add levity to the violence. Even some unnecessary characters.
What I add of this episode is how the torture scene does portray it in a more carnal way than I remember in the manga, the color and steam add to something that feels not only violent and disturbing but also entering into some sort of erotic perversion. Point being that the scene does portray better why Farnese has the perversions she has as that’s how she sees that violence to a certain degree.
You actually bring up a good point that I was thinking of mentioning at some point, namely the fact that not everything wrong with this part of the story is the fault of the anime series. I’ll get into that at some point.
I think when these scenes are animated they do create a more unnerving effect. Aside from that I feel like Berserk has always had a bit of sexual undertone to a lot of it’s content.
Also to add I think this arc in particular has a theme of sexuality atm I can’t pin down. I mean for how weird the horse, goat, orgy and torture chamber there seems to be a theme about excesses in here.
I didn’t particularly enjoyed this arc on the manga, and IMO if anything I give credit the anime is I like the faster pacing, since I think this one did drag at points either adding too much exposition in-mid action or dragging some of the fights.
Still I can’t imagine how they’ll attempt to do the climax since even after rechecking it I don’t understand part of what I’m looking at.
I also think that this arc is not really the strongest, and it only gets good when the rebirth ceremony starts. I’m excited at the very least for the fact that I thought I’ll never live to see the day that it gets animated. Plus it’s been a while since we’ve seen the Yin of this Taijitu, if you know what I mean.
The finale at the top of the tower has the potential to be very entertaining; that really depends on how well it’s handled tho. So fingers crossed.
The first episode was fuking incredible, the way the characters and the world were unveiled. Particularly the brutal solitude that Guts survives, it makes it clear that he can never rest for he is marked and to be hunted until he dies, and at the same time he will give them hell for it.
But these following episodes have been progressively falling flatter in the presentation. I wouldn’t say it’s the pieces, because it’s mostly following the manga, but it’s more of the overall composition. Maybe right now it’s because the story progression is split between three separate threads right now: Guts, Farnese, and Casca and there’s only so much story you can cover in a 20min episode. But still the previous episodes have had various weak points in other areas.
Here’s to hoping they get back in tune.
Guts is undeniably a very compelling character, and seeing him in action again is always a joyous occasion. He has become an archetype that’s been emulated a number of times, but never surpassed. The weaknesses in the series has done little to diminish that, although there has been a few instances where I felt that he was slightly misrepresented.
I also think that some of the issues up to this point are because of the underwhelming nature of the lasts few chapters, and hopefully things will pick up as we get to the meat of the overarching story. As I have mentioned before it’s really the tone that is missing here. The ethereal atmosphere, style and the soundtrack of the 97 series really captured the dark surrealism of the manga, whike the new show has placed more focus on the action rather than the ethos of the franchise. There are always initial hiccups when it comes to a new adaptation, and I’m also hoping that they iron out the wrinkles as the series progresses. Guess only time can tell.
Welcome aboard m8.
I find it particularly amusing that in a place with a number of high religoius figures claiming to do “Gods work”, the most saintly indivual is a prostitute.
Well Aphrodite was the greek goddess of love, pleasure, beauty and procreation. Though that character is likely inspired by the babilonic demon named Lilith.
I suppose I see it like how a pipe organ can be either benign or profane. Good and evil is a matter of perspective.
Given Miura’s cynical treatment of religion and religious figures, I’m sure the irony was well intended.
Luca specifically is much more in line with sympathetic women of such profession in literature, such as Fantine in Les Misérables, more than goddesses and mythological figures.