Berserk

An extremely common recurring question in regards to the manga series is "What is up with the hiatuses?" Berserk often seems to come out 4 chapters at a time, and then take a multi-month break.

Miura does not take 4 month vacations and then pump out 4 chapters in 4 weeks, followed by another 4 month vacation.

Miura draws four chapters, then YA publishes those four in a row, followed by hiatus. While those chapters are running, he is already working on the next one. Miura draws on a more or less monthly schedule and is constantly working, but YA is semi-monthly (2x/month) so we get the false impression when a backlog of Berserk appears at once.

He's monthly-ish, the publication isn't.

Also, due to redundant conversation, this thread will be closed during the hiatuses. If you have information on an impending new release, just PM one of the mods or admins, specifically RobbyBevard, and he'll reopen the thread.

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This manga gotta be one of the most violent manga around there, but it has an awesome story and extremely cool characters. I did see the anime, though didn't like it as much as the manga. Too many changes to the story and censoring if you ask me, not to mention that in only covers part of the ongoing manga. Anyone here sharing that opinion?
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Captain Panda

Honestly, I preferred the anime version. It may not have covered everything (nor could it have, since the manga's still going), but what it did cover was pretty much PERFECTLY executed and just was far more interesting and capitvating. The manga's pretty good too, though it's got a few notable flaws that keep it from being one of my all-time favorites.

Yoska

It's one of my favourites, the youth part is the best. I haven't been so much into the latest development but so far Vritannis has been good. However I haven't seen the cartoon yet and, well, I really don't think it could offer anything the comic already has but I might eventually end up watching it for fun. Miura's such a slowpoke though.

PirateFetus V.2

i've heard a lot of good things about this, i'll have to go check it out

This is my second favourite manga. I also really enjoyed the anime, but just not as much as the manga.

Captain Kuro

I like the anime and manga. The anime was really good I thought, even if it only covered a part of the story. I agree with Captain Panda that is was very well executed.

But I also like the manga a lot as well. The characters are very interesting (Serpico is one of my current favorites, and I can't wait to see what happens with some of the others like Silatt and the Archer guy - Irvine/Arwin/whatever his real name is).

Edit - I'm only up to volume 27 though.

Well I guess what you prefer usually depends on what you got to see first. I read the manga before the anime, so naturally I don't like it when one of my favorite manga's get changed in anyway for whatever reason in the anime version. They left out a great deal in the anime to your imagination, which was made explicit in the manga. The violence in the manga is excesive but it does serve a function. It shows the in what world Guts is living and how far he will go to reach his goal (not to mention to show of what a badass he really is).

@ cap'n panda: I'm actually curious what flaws the manga has in your opinion.

@ cap'n kuro: can't find any more (which means I could help you out since I've read untill the current volume 29) or haven't catched up your reading yet?

i didn't see that anime but the manga is awesome
and is volume 28 out?

Captain Panda

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 21 2005, 03:22 PM
@ cap'n panda: I'm actually curious what flaws the manga has in your opinion.
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Well, since you asked, you deserve an answer, now don'cha? Anyway…

1)It tends to drag, especially during battles. Particularly during the second Eclipse and the battle with Mozgus, but really in general...a lot of the fights have a tendency to take 2 or 3 more chapters than they really need to.

2)Miura seems scared to death to really include any exposition. He avoids actually really explaining anything important pretty much all of the time. Heck, he even cut a chapter out of the collected releases because he felt it "explained too much". Mystery and suspense is one thing, but the feeling I get while reading Berserk is not so much "Wow...what is up? I don't know!" and more "I really SHOULD know by now, but don't, and that's annoying".

3)Somewhat tied into the previous point: I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE the Skull Knight. He has no real role in the series outside of saving Guts ass when Miura's written himself into a corner, but despite showing up relatively often, and seeming to have the good guys' best interest in mind, he never offers up anything more than the most obtuse hints (a result of Miura's being scared of exposition), which means that his only real role is as a deus ex machina, which annoys the hell outta me.

4)Guts is a rather boring character. He gets better occasionally, but then just falls right back down. He doesn't really develop...he just kinda moves in circles. We already know pretty much everything about him (which isn't much), and he tends to wear his heart on his shoulder, so there's really just interesting about him. There ARE interesting characters (Griffith, Serpico, and Farneze are my favorites), but Guts is just too dull to be the MAIN character, in my mind.

That's pretty much the long and the short of it. Keep in mind, I still like the series overall (though I'm a few months behind on the manga releases, as I got kinda bored with it, and am waiting for more in order to marathon a bunch at once), it's just not necessarily one my absolute favorites, for the reasons detailed above.

I felt that the anime really just related the emotion of the characters and the story in a more interesting and sympathetic manner (albeit, I will mention, that I'm speaking of the English dub of the anime...the Japanese version had some really lousy voice acting, which killed it as a whole). It does leave some things out, but most of those things are just extra fight scenes which, while cool, are not necessary in the overall scheme of things. People also complain about the anime's ending, but I didn't mind it too much. A little more closure would've been nice, but wasn't really necessary, IMHO.

I do have a questoin about it.
I've watched the anime till chapter 8, and I do really liked it.
The manga isn't available around here. (too bad)

But, my friend who owns all the episodes, told me the anime doesn't have really what we would call an ending.

DUNNO BUT, PROBABLY SPOILER:

SPOIL

SPOILING

SPOILEEERS

He said, the anime begins with the ending, and the manga it's actually more understandable.

END of the possible Spoiler.

Captain Panda

Rody: The anime, for lack of a better way of describing it without spoiling something, ends on a cliffhanger. There's no real transition between episode 25 (which is the last one) and episode 1 (which actually takes place LAST, chronologically). As a result, people tend to be disappointed with the ending. However, while the series doesn't explain the trip from point A to point B (which the manga does), it does resolve all the issues it presents, if that makes any sense.

Kaizoku-Ou

i love and own the berserk anime, and i love and have read much of the manga, and i think berserk should get a season 2, i think that the anime is more fun whereas the manga is much more interesring, but boring.

@jeece: there at volume 29 right now

@Rody: the manga starts the same, mind a few changes. The manga picks up the story in the present time where the anime stops.

@captain panda: you surely are entitled to you opinion, though I don't share it. Compared to other manga, the fights don't really seem to be dragged too long. It's true though, that there that much of the plot is still shrouded in mysteries. Well at least to a certain extend. The story of Guts has been revealed, there's a big hint given on the identity of the skullknight and it's clearly exposed why he collects the behelits. The interesting thing about berserk is how the story evolves along the way, including the main character Guts. It start's out as man out for vengance deal, but that changes later on (I don't want to spoil too much though, so if you read like say the 10 last volumes then you know what I'm talking about).

Captain Panda

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 22 2005, 04:45 PM
I don't want to spoil too much though, so if you read like say the 10 last volumes then you know what I'm talking about.
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Don't worry much about me. I've read everything except the latest few chapters (I stopped around the time Ishidoro was fighting the pirates).

Captain Kuro

Originally posted by Hawky Blue Eyes@Feb 21 2005, 04:22 PM
@ cap'n kuro: can't find any more (which means I could help you out since I've read untill the current volume 29) or haven't catched up your reading yet?
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I haven't really looked very hard, but I haven't been downloading them lately. I used to check out the raws on the SK forums, but it took too long because of my slow connection (the raw scans were usually really large). And I haven't found any torrents for later volumes.

I intend on later buying the Japanese volumes of 28 and 29 though, but not anytime soon.

Yoska

Originally posted by Kaizoku-Ou@Feb 22 2005, 08:51 AM
boring.

A bit off topic but I've encountered this a lot in anime and manga community and I've been thinking about this for a while. What divine force makes people read and watch boring comics and cartoons ? If something bores me, even for a little bit, I'll drop it.

I don't dare to touch the subject of the cartoon while I haven't seen it yet but if it's like Captain Panda said I suppose perhaps the series would be better off without a sequel. A good amount of the anime fans could be seriously disappointed in it, not because of the quality but just because Berserk would never be the same anymore. If it's not broken - Don't fix it. Nevertheless the best part of Berserk's already animated. Volumes 4-9 (from Donavan raping Guts into the sex act of Casca and Guts) are incredible. I keep re-reading that part in once in a while and I doubt if Miura is ever able to pull anything as good.

Spoilers ahead, stop reading it if you aren't familiar with the comic. Captain Panda raised interesting topics and I want to spent a few words on those. I can't say whether Miura's not explaining enough is a bad thing or not but I personally often prefer author not trying to explain all and leaving gaps for readers to fill. Perhaps there will be time when everything is exposed but I'm more comfortable with not going in to too much details. Berserk is slow, that's for sure. I enjoy the pace (I'm a bit slow guy too) and I believe it's nice when the author isn't making any haste and it's fitting for the charastics of the series. Yes, this can be annoyance in action scenes and it does backfires more often than it should but I can live with it. I adore Skully, every story of this caliber needs it's mystery guy. LORT had Gandalf, Berserk has the Skull Knight. I thought the relationship between him and Flora was an exciting additon and yet gave more questions. And like how he abuse Guts, he helps him but at the same time he guide Guts into direction the best for his agenda against the Gods Hand. I like Guts too. His character has experieced some good and likely character development and I feel sympathy for him and his motivations. I also feel curiorisity of how he will handle the revenge, it seems like step by step he's losing his reasons and he's getting new friends around him.

More spoilers. I have been really found of the Kushan story line and of the Neon Band of the Hawk. Taking along magic still feels a bit alien for me, even though it was a logical next step I can't but question whether if it was a good decision. The Berserker armor's an awesome addition though, it makes a good use of Guts inner wickedness and the wolf. And the little kid, Casca look-alike, did really impressed me too. A clever twist by Miura I've to say and the family scene of Guts, Casca and the kid was really cute and well done. I've enjoyed the current arc a lot. Sonja's little duck tale touched me.

Sorry, pardon my long reply :P.

Captain Panda

_Originally posted by Yoska+Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM–>QUOTE(Yoska @ Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM)A bit off topic but I've encountered this a lot in anime and manga community and I've been thinking about this for a while. What divine force makes people read and watch boring comics and cartoons ? If something bores me, even for a little bit, I'll drop it.
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I pretty much agree. Sometimes I'll give something that's boring a little bit more of a chance if it's particularly easy to acquire more, or if I hear good things about it, but honestly, I usually still end up disinterested.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
Spoilers ahead, stop reading it if you aren't familiar with the comic. Captain Panda raised interesting topics and I want to spent a few words on those. I can't say whether Miura's not explaining enough is a bad thing or not but I personally often prefer author not trying to explain all and leaving gaps for readers to fill. Perhaps there will be time when everything is exposed but I'm more comfortable with not going in to too much details.
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The problem I find with Berserk isn't that things are left hanging, per se, but the fact that Miura seems to be deliberately avoiding explaining things when the opportunity to do so presents itself. I agree that some air of mystery should be preserved, but at the same time, there's no reason to dance around exposition that would make the series a more full experience, which is sort of the vibe I get from Berserk.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
LORT had Gandalf, Berserk has the Skull Knight.
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The difference, IMHO, being that Gandalf hung around with the heroes, was generally helpful and tried to explain why things weren't going well (and what needed to be done), and didn't just appear out of the blue when someone needed to save Frodo's ass from the Ring Wraiths.

Originally posted by Yoska@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
More spoilers. I have been really found of the Kushan story line and of the Neon Band of the Hawk.
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Hell, in that regard, I agree 100%. Miura should just drop the Guts side of the story and focus on them completely.
@Feb 23 2005, 08:06 AM
The Berserker armor's an awesome addition though, it makes a good use of Guts inner wickedness and the wolf.
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The Berserk armor is something I honestly really hate. It feels more like random "power up" than anything else, albeit with a drawback. But if I want to see people risk their lives for a few minutes of power, I'll read Naruto (not that I have anything against it either, mind you, it's just that it has its own style, while Berserk has its own, very different style, and they shouldn't necessarily mix).

You arguments are well taken, but doesn't that count for nearly any long running manga that takes itself serious. Oda does the same thing, basically. Keep moving around the big mysteries, sometimes solving a smaller one and at the same time adding 2 or 3 more to it. So I don't consider it really a bad thing. The story of Berserk evolves throughout the volumes. It doesn't stick with a the quest for vengeance formula till it get's borring and therefore some questions are no longer valid to be answered when the time arises.

I do have to admit that I had some problems accepting the use of magic, but at least it is incorporated well into the overal theme (though it kinda feels strange to have cute witches in a story that is full of ocultism at its worst). The berserk armor is a nice addition, though I think it's introduced to early. Guts hasn't really had a fair chance to determine whether he's able to defeat Griffith, but Miura probably will come up with something else at the time.

The skull knight might seem to come out of the blue, but hey in nearly any story people just happen to be at the right time and the right place (or the wrong) to further develop the plot. He does have an acceptable reason to be there at the right times; he is/was collecting behelits and the 5 god hand are his enemies.

Yoska

And so, it's revieved. By the way, there are two different Berserk threads, perhaps they should be melted together…

The Kushan war has officially began! Yesh, and with gore . But what's more interesting, Guts's past as the Raider Commander is about to be revealed. I have enjoyed the series during this arc far more than what I had in a long time, it's been more like it used to be.

Zephos

2)Miura seems scared to death to really include any exposition. He avoids actually really explaining anything important pretty much all of the time. Heck, he even cut a chapter out of the collected releases because he felt it "explained too much". Mystery and suspense is one thing, but the feeling I get while reading Berserk is not so much "Wow…what is up? I don't know!" and more "I really SHOULD know by now, but don't, and that's annoying".

he left that chapter out because it was too….. heavy for that point in the series. The Idea is like God in the Berserk world. Its not something he thinks we should know too much about yet.

3)Somewhat tied into the previous point: I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE the Skull Knight. He has no real role in the series outside of saving Guts ass when Miura's written himself into a corner, but despite showing up relatively often, and seeming to have the good guys' best interest in mind, he never offers up anything more than the most obtuse hints (a result of Miura's being scared of exposition), which means that his only real role is as a deus ex machina, which annoys the hell outta me.

Really? Without SK Gutts seems pretty hopeless.
SK plays a role that shows that the Godhand and them are not invincible. He's the sign of hope, considering how hopeless Gutt's goal is….we need him.

He also seems to be like Gutts himself.
With Void as his Griffith.....
The circle man, important plot point.

As for my take on the series...

Black Swordsman arc: Yawn...... but the art and world were interestingly fresh, so I kept reading.

Golden Age arc: Incredible, really damn incredible. Only volume 11 lagged, but its suprise ending was worth it.

Retribution arc: Lagged alot, but was overall very interesting, Mozgus is the creepiest dude ever.

Millenium Falcon: Han Solo's excellent ship.

And a great arc so far, I'm lovin the Neo-Hawks Kushan war... I'm at Vol.26 right now......waiting.....waiting....

Carly

Gaahh !! Where in the world are you getting new chapters ?! All I have are the Hawks releases ! :laugh: (Volume 29 came out not too long ago ~ wahoo !) I know skullknight.net has them but they're always on a torrent and by the time I see them they are already dead…

Grrrr. I was really curious about Serpico and Farnese, from what I was able to glean from what I haven't read yet. Maybe vol29 will cover most of my questions, but I still have no clue what's actually happening atm. >_>;

will merge threads !

Captain Panda

@Zephos:

he left that chapter out because it was too….. heavy for that point in the series. The Idea is like God in the Berserk world. Its not something he thinks we should know too much about yet.

Well, that's kinda the problem. Miura doesn't seem to think we should know anything…ever. That's the way it comes off the way he dances around important points. Often by, as already mentioned, having the Skull Knight immediately fly off after Guts' current problem has been solved, no matter how nonsensical that may be.

@Zephos:

Really? Without SK Gutts seems pretty hopeless.

Again. That's the problem in and of itself. It's annoying to have Guts get himself pinned to a wall and then the Skull Knight shows up and saves the day.

Zephos

Well, that's kinda the problem. Miura doesn't seem to think we should know anything…ever. That's the way it comes off the way he dances around important points. Often by, as already mentioned, having the Skull Knight immediately fly off after Guts' current problem has been solved, no matter how nonsensical that may be.

No, no, you got me wrong.

He dosen't think we should know these things NOW.
He felt that chapter 83 gave too much away. These are things he wants revealed LATER.

Theres no wrong in being confused if eventually all is explained.

And honestly we the readers are at the same level as Gutts in understanding the situation.

Again. That's the problem in and of itself. It's annoying to have Guts get himself pinned to a wall and then the Skull Knight shows up and saves the day.

Out of Skull Knights apperances only once I remember him saving Gutts.
He saved Luca…and Rickert...but Gutts has only one count with him.

You also misunderstood what I meant by hope.

Hes not hope because he can save the day whenever....
But because he's proof that Gutts might be able to stand against Godhand.
SK was once a mortal, and has transcended boundaries to be able to do crazy shit like break into the Eclipse ceremony and eat Behelits.
If he can so can Gutts.
He's farther down the road, closer to Gutt's own goal.
He can interact more directly with higher planes of existence, Gutts exists in the Interstice now, SK probably exists even higher.

Captain Panda

@Zephos:

No, no, you got me wrong.

He dosen't think we should know these things NOW.
He felt that chapter 83 gave too much away. These are things he wants revealed LATER.

Theres no wrong in being confused if eventually all is explained.

And honestly we the readers are at the same level as Gutts in understanding the situation.

No I understand what you're saying. More my point is…even now, 200 chapters later...we still don't really know ANYTHING more than we did then. That's my issue. Miura dances around anything resembling exposition, even when, from the characters' standpoint, they really should know quite a bit more by now.

@Zephos:

Hes not hope because he can save the day whenever….
But because he's proof that Gutts might be able to stand against Godhand.
SK was once a mortal, and has transcended boundaries to be able to do crazy shit like break into the Eclipse ceremony and eat Behelits.
If he can so can Gutts.
He's farther down the road, closer to Gutt's own goal.
He can interact more directly with higher planes of existence, Gutts exists in the Interstice now, SK probably exists even higher.

This is kinda getting away from the original point, but honestly…I hope none of that ever happens to Guts. I'm not a big fan of him, I'll be the first to admit, but the good points he DOES have are focused to a great extent in the fact that, despite everything, he's still human. If Guts goes too far beyond that in a supernatural sense, he'll lose a lot of what appeal he does have, IMO.

Zephos

@Captain:

No I understand what you're saying. More my point is…even now, 200 chapters later...we still don't really know ANYTHING more than we did then. That's my issue. Miura dances around anything resembling exposition, even when, from the characters' standpoint, they really should know quite a bit more by now.

Can you say we know anything about the Lost History,Polyglyphes, and Ancient weapons in One Piece after 386 chapters?

Its an epic, in fact Miura has said that the Millenium Falcon arc is where Berserk truly begins. These things can be LONG.

Come to think of it…..what exactly are you confused about?

Yoska

@Carly:

Gaahh !! Where in the world are you getting new chapters ?! All I have are the Hawks releases !

For raws, Skullknight usually has direct downloads too but they are kind of well hidden into chapter threads - usually in the third or fourth page along with a password. Evil-Genius is doing scanlations and they also probably do post raws in their forums. Check out their IRC channel too.

Jeez, the thread was started eight months ago and since then the story has proceeded like not much over ten chapters - perhaps fifteen at most. How surprising…

hi guys …

i think that the anime is the best anime ever ((with one piece)) it is beter a lot than the manga .

argeto ............:laugh:

mrkaizoku

Berserk is the only other manga that I make sure to catch when it comes out. It's been one of my favorites for as long as One Piece.

Zephos

@d.luffy:

hi guys …

i think that the anime is the best anime ever ((with one piece)) it is beter a lot than the manga .

argeto ............:laugh:

Considering the anime covers roughly 10 of the current 30 manga volumes…..I really think you ought to reconsider.

jewbagel

I think Chapter 83 did give too much away, to the point where the reader wouldn't even comprehend what was being shown, you practically have to be a philosopher to really understand what the Idea of Evil is. We'd all like more information from Miura, but this is an epic manga and it's not going to be ending anytime soon, heck, Miura said the beginning of the Millenium Falcon arc is where the real story begins. Once things get started, he'll have to reveal more. Keeping a manga so good and engrossing (for this reader anyway) for 30+ volumes without giving much away is already an incredible feat, although I think his skill for creating such amazing characters is what keeps it going.

(Puck really needs some more depth at this point though, hopefully when they get to his homeland….)

Also, with the latest chapter (263), am I the only one who's ecstatic that someone finally knows who Guts really is/was?

ron_8

berserk is the best manga ever in the top w/ gantz and one piece

Yoska

@jewbagel:

(Puck really needs some more depth at this point though, hopefully when they get to his homeland….)

I will find it interesting if Puck's actually originally expeled from the island. At least, there's definatly something he's hiding.

Also, with the latest chapter (263), am I the only one who's ecstatic that someone finally knows who Guts really is/was?

@Yoska:

But what's more interesting, Guts's past as the Raider Commander is about to be revealed.

I revived the thread just because of it XD. It was about the time.

Zephos

@Yoska:

I will find it interesting if Puck's actually originally expeled from the island. At least, there's definatly something he's hiding.

That sounds a little too Jar Jar Binksish….

And lord knows we don't want that....shivers

ron_8

<–- huge puck fun

look at my avatar lol

jewbagel

I still love Puck too, but JUST using him as comic relief is getting to me a bit lately. Especially with Isidro filling some of that role now too. When was the last time we actually saw Puck in his pedophile child mode? :laugh:

Anyway it seems like he was definitely hiding something when he mentioned his home, so I'm just hoping we get a little something.

ron_8

yah im sure there is more to it, puck is really important character in berserk

wow …. it has arealy great manga and alot of things not in anime >=(

i still at chp11 .... u know what hapeend ((when guts :"{}>?:")) i think you know .... it make me sick poor guts ....=(

Zephos

Gets raped up the ass?

jewbagel

Haha, that scene is tame considering some events that happen later…

Anyway, he gets sweet revenge for that eventually. It's kind of an important scene, since it explains how he acts in certain situations. Most notably his relationship to Caska.

Zephos

Its a really interesting character point.
How often do you have a male lead who was raped?

Akumashogun

Berserk is one of my favorite series and this current arc is pretty interesting.

BTW, did anyone else read the Berserk pilot? It's pretty good, but I prefer the finished Gutts to pilot Gutts.

jewbagel

The prototype chapter was pretty interesting. Eyepatch + Guts was a little weird though, haha. I like the Guts we have now more as well, in the pilot he was a little too… I'm not even sure how to describe it. Just wasn't the one we've gotten to know, and the apostle seemed to die too easily.

Oh, and the brand is better on his neck than his chest. But Miura did draw it while in unversity, so it's definitely cool to see how much the whole idea has changed from then.

igalsfy

i just finished vol 3. i think i'll buy some more tonight because it's pretty interesting. not the best manga ever but i really wonder what's guts past.

Yoska

I wouldn't ever had gone past the first three volumes by myself if I wouldn't had knew what's upcoming. How do you people do that? I read them like a year after I had read the rest of the story - and they were still headacheful. XD

igalsfy

@Yoska:

I wouldn't ever had gone past the first three volumes by myself if I wouldn't had knew what's upcoming. How do you people do that? I read them like a year after I had read the rest of the story - and they were still headacheful. XD

i don' know, a lot of people seem to like it and i don't have anything else to buy as manga.

Zephos

Yhea the first 3 volumes turned me off, I only continued reading when I went to DirectManga.com to look for Battle Royale scans.

And Damn I'm glad I did.

jewbagel

Yeah I probably would of stopped if I had read the first 3 volumes of the manga first as well… luckily I was able to see the anime years before I read the manga (which created its own problems by the way it ended, oof).

Those first 3 volumes are barely even part of the story anymore, it was so different back then, lol. But keep with it, it is definitely worth the money.

Malintex_Terek

People of Arlong Park!

…

I bring thee...

Berserk: Season II.

igalsfy

your post made me feel dizzy… over nothing.

the flash was good, with good jokes sometimes, but not super awesome.

btw, i really like what happened in the last chapter of the manga, with guts remaining sane thanks to the witch.

Malintex_Terek

Haha, my friend pulled the same stunt. Just passin' the buck.

…

Oh? Against "Dhalsim" or whoever that crazy spellcaster dude is? I thought Guts went all "Beast of Darkness" on him.