Oh man, I finished reading all of the released Berserk manga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserk_%28manga%29) earlier today. I had already seen the anime and loved it, but heard that it was just a small portion of the story, so I wanted to check out the source material.

The story, the action, the characters are so fucking good. So much violence, misery, despair, indomitability, bad-assery, and tragic heroism. I couldn't stop reading.

To give a feeling for what Berserk actually is:

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4985/berserkkt2.gif

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3126/berserk6wy3.gif

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/870/berserk4vx6.gif

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/843/berserk5fd7.gif

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7456/berserk2zh8.gif

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1900/berserk7ll4.gif

:love:

The manga is published in the US through Dark Horse Comics: http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-705

It was created by Kentaro Miura.

Ive seen Berserk Anime and its ace, cant be bothered reading the manga, I might get round to it someday.

I like the darkness of it and all the big battles, and you're right about the characters.

The style of drawing reminds me of the "underground" strips of the seventies.....which were and are ten times better than the mindless fodder that passes for Sunday comics these days.

I hadn't seen this one before...will check it out....:)

I watched the beserk anime about a year ago and thought that it was really good. Though they didn't make the last episode for whatever reason :(

Though they didn't make the last episode for whatever reason :(

Apparently they ran out of money.

Dammit, can anyone tell me what happens after Griffith rapes the other dudes chick? :blank:

Dammit, can anyone tell me what happens after Griffith rapes the other dudes chick? :blank:
The first episode happens. :nod:

The way the anime is structured is that every episode after the first one is a flashback and the events lead up to a time shortly before the first episode. If you remember, the first episode has a bunch of crazy supernatural shit that happens and the world seems pretty dark and scary. However, the rest of the anime has relatively little of the supernatural (until the end) and the world seems for the most part just a normal medieval setting -- though it definitely has battles and enemies of mythic proportions. Then, at the end of the anime, you have the eclipse and the ascent of the fifth Godhand and then everything literally goes to Hell and the world changes. The first episode takes place in the aftermath of this and the manga continues the story from this point. In the last episode, before the credits, the last thing you see is the reason why Guts keeps one eye shut in the first episode; after the credits, you see him setting out from the sword smith's house for the events of the first episode, so you know that he survived and, (if I remember correctly) from the first episode, you know that he's on a mission of revenge against Griffith and these supernatural creatures.

It's not exactly structured to start in medias res (since the story beyond the point of departure is only implied, so more like in finem rerum), but that's probably a good way to look at it.

Chico:

Is the manga sufficiently different than the anime? How many chapters are there; and does the manga cover the period of time after Guts loses his arm and tries to destroy those evil guys.

Chico:

Is the manga sufficiently different than the anime? How many chapters are there; and does the manga cover the period of time after Guts loses his arm and tries to destroy those evil guys.
The manga has about 32 volumes. Volumes 1-13 follow the events of the anime. It's pretty close, but the anime leaves out some stuff. It leaves out a couple characters that become very important later (since the series wasn't planning on adapting the whole manga) and a couple battles are left out or shortened. Some of the violence/bloodshed is actually toned down -- the manga is even more violent than the series. On the other hand, many of the scenes from the anime are shot in exactly the same way they're presented in the manga, so it's pretty cool to see how they were adapted.

Very cool chicanerous! :tucool:
I'll have to check that out. The illustrations remind me of Fist of the Northstar.

Along other Dark Horse manga lines, have you read Blade of the Immortal?

Very cool chicanerous! :tucool:
I'll have to check that out. The illustrations remind me of Fist of the Northstar.

Along other Dark Horse manga lines, have you read Blade of the Immortal?
I haven't read that, but I'll check it out. I don't usually read comics or manga actually (though I watch a lot of anime). Reading Berserk was kind of a fluke for me. :lol: