Berserk

I really only got into this story because I was into medieval stuff and people hating on Griffith. Before all that I had never even heard of berserk and was mostly into Shonen anime's after watching the 1997 adaptation for berserk I was shocked that a series just stopped like that. So I started reading the manga from the beginning because some of the story was left out and HOLY SHIT was I surprised at how good it was, I mean everything the anime did good the manga did 100 times better. Guts is seriously such a badass character and his backstory is nothing but PAIN. This truly is a masterpiece.

This is most definitely not for the light of heart. Seriously, you have to come into this with a mind of steel o something. But overall, it is one of the best manga I've read thus far. Panel art is beyond beautiful, I love it when you can tell when a mangaka is truly passionate about their work. Characters are easy to like, and the lore is almost never-ending. My only dislikes would be the long hiatuses that Kentaro Miura. But if it helps him to continue drawing top quality panels, I'm cool.
I started reading this manga when I was sixteen or seventeen. This and Death Note were the first ones I'd ever read, and I read them at the same time. Once again, this series is not just something to peak at once in a while, you need to completely rile yourself up, because so many crazy things happen. I wonder if I was too young when i read it. Probably.

The following review is based on my separate opinion will be in two languages: Spanish and English.

My English is really bad by the way, it is also my first review.

English
Story: 10/10.

 There is no better story than Berserk, it has each and every one of the amazing things I've seen in the adventure genres, all the interesting things about the middle ages, about the horror genres, about the existential philosophy itself ... Mix a perfect and detailed art, an exquisite drama brought by surprisingly charismatic and well-written characters, a story as crude as imaginative, really shocking action and gore scenes and a rich mythology, theology and philosophy in constant development amidst a gigantic universe and complex, and you will get Berserk.

The Golden Age arc is undoubtedly the best of Berserk, really epic scenes, bloody battles, scenes of really strong rapes, and a really complex story dedicated to an adult audience or with an incredible maturity to read Berserk and that really will like it

Characters: 10/10.

For me, the characters in this manga are spectacular in every way, the protagonist is undoubtedly one of the best there is, both in attitude, personality, appearance, the characters later in the manga too, characters that help the protagonist not losing the little humanity he has, in addition to the funny situations that occasionally do not fall ill.

The development of the protagonist Guts is sensational, from the beginning to the present you can really see changes, the main characters that accompany Guts are also well elaborated everything has a reason, it is certainly very well done.

The antagonist, despite falling badly, is one of Berserk's best characters, being a really evil villain who would not hesitate to do even the most cruel and evil thing to fulfill his dream.

Art: 10/10.

Berserk's art is simply spectacular, at first I liked it a lot but as time went by the art of Kentarou Miura began to look much better, the detail improves, the shading and the backgrounds look pretty good.

The art is quite essential in really epic scenes such as battles, dramatic moments, the way he draws the expressions and the characters' clothes is very good, personally I am quite fascinated by the detail of Griffith and Berserk's armor.

Enjoy: 10/10.

The most epic story I've read in my life, sensational art, well-crafted characters, story with really fascinating plot twists, rather strong violence make Berserk my favorite manga.

Español
Historia: 10/10.

Mejor historia que Berserk no hay, tiene todas y cada una de las cosas alucinantes que he visto en los géneros de aventuras, todas las cosas interesantes sobre la edad media, sobre los géneros de terror, sobre la propia filosofía existencial... Mezcla un arte perfecto y detallado, un exquisito drama traído por unos personajes sorprendentemente carismáticos y bien escritos, una historia tan cruda como imaginativa, unas escenas de acción y gore realmente impactantes y una mitología, teología y filosofía riquísimas en constante desarrollo en medio de un universo gigantesco y complejo, y obtendrás Berserk.

El arco de la Edad de Oro es sin duda lo mejor de Berserk, escenas realmente epicas, batallas sangrientas, escenas de violaciones realmente fuertes, y una historia realmente compleja dedicada a un publico adulto o con una madurez increible para leer Berserk y que realmente le guste.

Personajes: 10/10.

Para mi, los personajes de este manga son espectaculares en todo sentido, el protagonista sin duda es de los mejores que hay, tanto en actitud, personalidad, aspecto, los personajes de más adelante en el manga también, personajes que ayudan al protagonista a no perder la poca humanidad que tiene, además las situaciones comicas que dan de vez en cuando no cae mal.

El desarrollo del protagonista Guts es sensacional, desde el principio hasta el presente se puede ver realmente cambios, los personajes principales que acompañan a Guts tambien estan bien elaborados todo tiene un porque, sin duda esta muy bien hecho.

El antagonista a pesar de caerme mal, es uno de los mejores personajes de Berserk, siendo un villano realmente maligno que no dudaria en hacer hasta la cosa mas cruel y mas malvada para cumplir su sueño.

Arte: 10/10.

El arte de Berserk es simplemente espectacular, al principio me gusto bastante pero al pasar el tiempo el arte de Kentarou Miura comenzo a verse mucho mejor, el detalle mejora , el sombreado y los fondos se ven bastante buenos.

El arte es bastante escencial en escenas realmente epicas como batallas, momentos dramaticos, la manera de como dibuja las expreciones y la vestimenta de los personajes es buenisima, personalmente me fascina bastante el detalle de las armaduras de Griffith y Berserk.

Disfrute: 10/10.

La historia mas epica que he leido en mi vida, el arte sensacional, personajes bien elaborados, historia con giros de trama realmente fascinantes, violencia bastante fuerte hacen que Berserk sea mi manga favorito.

Wow hey look it's another perfect 10 for one of the most beloved manga series of all time, what are the chances? Shouldn't I be rating this low so I can be a cool delinquent contrarian?

Whatever, I still want to get my thoughts down, because not only is Berserk the best manga I've ever read, it's one of the best pieces of media I've ever consumed. I've read this damn thing 4 or 5 times all the way through (it's not even finished), and I'm always reminded as to why it's my favorite. Let's go down the list.

Story - 9.5 to 10

What a fucking ride. Most authors could look at the Golden Age arc alone and call that their magnum opus, but with Berserk it's simply an (albeit large) drop in the proverbial bucket.

Arc after arc I find myself truly impressed at the way Kentaro Miura is able to keep the plot feeling fresh and active despite the story continuing for ~350 chapters. The twists and turns the plot speeds through are breakneck and oftentimes devastating. If you like your fiction light and happy this is not the manga you'll want to be reading.

At its core I think Berserk is a character study on how constant and unrelenting torture and suffering can shape a character. Berserk is ugly, it's exhausting, it paints a picture of a cruel and uncaring universe where the very laws of causality fight against you, driving you to the edge of madness. Without that suffering, though, the beauty of this work would never be able to shine as brightly as it does. Those moments of reprise, where the characters can look around among themselves and breathe that well earned sigh of relief, even if it only lasts one night? That's what real beauty is in the world of Berserk. There's a scene a bit farther into the series where the characters are plodding along the shore of the ocean with a sunset painting the background. In fiction that's a rather common scene, it's beautiful, sure, and the picture it paints in your mind is relaxing. But in Berserk? In Berserk that scene might as well be the gates of heaven. The fact that fans reading this can point out this exact page and nod knowingly is the very reason Berserk is so special.

As you might have noticed, I'm taking a tentative 0.5 points off in this section, and the reason for that is the PAINSTAKINGLY slow rate at which Miura works. This manga has been going on for 27 years and 4 months, and is currently still in hiatus until "early 2017(tm)".

Art - 11? 12? More?

For this section I could rant and rave about what a fucking incredible artist Miura is, or, I could save you a paragraph of writing and have you google "Berserk full page art". Scroll through Google Images until I've made my point.

Characters - 10

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that Guts is my favorite protagonist ever written. The characters here in Berserk are fully realized people with their own dreams, quirks, aspirations, regrets, and motivations. They're so much more than your average shonen protagonist who just wants to be "the best".

Without its characters a story is nothing. That goes without saying, but Berserk delivers in spades. This manga had to have been written by an incredibly empathetic man who understood the essence of what makes a person a person.

One of my favorite subtle examples of this is, is that sometimes, when Guts talks about Casca he starts to look more youthful, like you can see the shadow of how he once looked and carried himself. Like the past peeks out through his expressions. Words just can't describe how heartbreaking and beautiful it is to watch.

Enjoyment - 10

I love it, I will probably always love it. I may die before it's ever completed, or maybe Miura will kick the bucket first, I don't know.

The point is: Berserk is a man's life work. It's something Kentaro Miura will and should always be remembered for. I really don't even know what else to say.

Read it, even if you end up hating it. At least, if you enjoy manga as a medium, do yourself the service of reading up through The Golden Age arcs. Just do it, man. What else do you want me to say?

STORY:
At first you won't get into the story that much, atleast not till Baron Arc imo, but still the actions are good more than good enough to get into the manga imo. But once the Golden Arc starts the story starts to get better and better to a level where you cannot get out, and will probably restart reading while waiting for new chapter. Insane twists and pace.

ART:
Well, I started following berserk at around 2002-2003 and the artwork at that time did not looked bad for the initial chapters, but when I went through them for the "i do not remember how many times" they feel a bit lower quality than rest of the manga, the visual improvement over the chapters is quite mesmerizing.

CHARACTER:
Personally I think this manga has one of the best character development.

OVERALL: this has been one of the longest running manga that never stopped me from jumping at the new chapter, no matter how many and how long the breaks are, at the same time it also never gave me the feeling that "okay it has gone long enough, maybe they should end it now, or damn for taking this long to release a new chapter". I would rather wait for the creator to take his time and maintain his standard, than rushed chapter.

Now that I’ve fully caught up to the latest chapter, I can confidently say this is the best manga I’ve ever read.

What can I say that hasn’t been said already?

The story is amazing, dark, unpredictable and shocking, but it’s also very easy to follow and enjoy. There’s a lot of foreshadowing, backstories and plot twists that will make your jaw drop and you’ll just be unable to stop turning the pages. Really well made and thought out story and amazing world building.

The art is just mind-blowingly good, by far the best I’ve seen in any kind of book. It’s a bit rough during the first arc (Black Swordsman) but it really picks up in the next arc (Golden Age), and just keeps getting better and better with every new arc.

The characters are extremely well made and believable. They all have motives, objectives and very interesing personalities that makes them all stand out. In my opinion, the best character is by far the protagonist, Guts. It’s a joy to have such a likeable, cool, relatable and complex character as the main character of this story.

To conclude this review, I’d like to comment about the very popular opinion that the manga peaks in the second arc (GA) and then keeps declining. I couldn’t disagree more with this statement, the next 2 arcs after GA are just as good or even better for me, and the current 5th arc keeps getting better every chapter, please don’t stop at GA or you’ll miss out on the best of Berserk.

This is how I would rate the arcs:
1. Black Swordsman: 7/10
2. Golden Age: 9.5/10
3. Conviction: 9/10
4. Millenium Falcon: 10/10
5. Fantasia: 8.5/10 (so far)

A concise description of what I like about Berserk.

Berserk had a shaky start, but quickly flourished into something incredible. Revenge, redemption, war, love, and suffering are some of the main themes offered in Miura's magnum opus - an all-encompassing dark fantasy manga with arguably the most detailed artwork in the entire medium. All done with masterfully written characters and a grand world in which misfortune is rife.

I can understand why many people hold Berserk so highly, as it used to be in such a place for me too. There are very few things in the story that had a negative impact on my opinion of it, but the beginning and current state (363 chapters as I'm writing this) have downgraded my score from a 10 to a 9.

Miura is a genius.

Why I consider this manga a masterpiece?

Story: 10
The ideology, philosophy and conflict in the story are identical to our history. But the story itself is really unpredictable. Guts is only human and yet he achieve a monster like strength through believable progress.

Art: 10
The art is really artistic. There is always astonishing background that is drawn with such incredible details. Unlike other manga who don't give an effort to do so.

Character: 10
It is realistic when it comes to human experience and vulnerabilities.
Yes it is fantasy. But you will feel how hard it is to live in that world. And to live the life where Guts is.

Enjoyment: 10
It is a masterpiece. It has everything. It is not a mediocre type of manga.

Overall: 10
Just read it. And I am pretty sure you will love it. Don't believe those review who gave such analysis as if they know everything. But the truth is they know nothing. Living a life without knowing this kind of manga is somewhat regretful.

When the REAL "Black Swordsman" comes to play, ya know it's serious play, and when I say "serious" I mean ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY MASTERPIECE and when i say "play" I mean "a story".

Well, I don't think that I need to explain about how good Berserk is, and, honestly, my useless opinion wont change anyone mind, but this is my review and I'll say it two times BERSERK IS THE GOAT... (x2).

Want to know if the Story is good? well, it's like that time Mario Puzo wanted to learn how to write screenplays, so he bought a book about screenwriting and in the first page it said "study the Godfather movies script"... Want to know if a story is well written? read Berserk and see a perfect plot.

Everyone knows, and I mean EVERYONE KNOWS that Miura is just a god of drawings, so nothing to add about Berserk Art here.

And now the core of the story, that one thing that, when done well, makes any story feel real and deep: TITT- Ops, I mean... Character! hah.. that was it. It's public knowledge the astonishing development and construction of Berserk characters, mainly of course Guts, Caska and Griffith. They are not your average stereotypical and exaggerated (swagger) characters, they have their own reasons and ideals, they laugh and cry and make hard choices like real humans do, sure, Guts can swing a sword bigger than Yo mama, but his thoughts are those of a person, not of a superhuman-destroying-machine that just serves the plot or try to look badass (he's very badass tho). And I didn't even talked about how traumas can affect the characters just like in real life. AND OF COURSE, I DID NOT TALK ABOUT GRIFFITH.

Even looking like a psychological manga, Berserk is still a dark fantasy story, and boy oh boy, put dark in it! it's brutal, gory and merciless like real life would be if trolls and fucking killer elfs roamed around. And even so, it's enjoyable as fuck, the paneling with Miura's art make you feel the weight in every hit of Dragonslayer sword. it's like watching a motherfucking train out of the rails just passing throug everything. Berserk has some of the best fights and a absolutely perfect pacing.

Well the review got bigger than a I thought it would be, so I'll just end it before I make an entire essay. Berserk is a unique and masterfully made journey, if you never read it, then what are you waiting for? It is not everyday that you can see a (spoiler) superhuman utilizing a destructive demon-inducted possessive armor and holding a 99Kg (220 pounds) spirit-killer sword, while riding a one-horned winged minotaur-lion humanoid-demon apostle, while they pass through a electric giant god in the middle of the ocean. I thing that pretty much sums it up.






(don't watch the 2016 anime... please.)

I think this might be the best manga ever.

The story is awesome and very enjoyable, maybe is a bit too much for young people, but to me is really good. The fights are really good and the plot that the story follows is great too. The story change and advance, in the beginning it is very realistic, it follows a medieval plot which is very realistic and in some point it started to get more and more fantastic, but without losing their way.
The manga has a clearly action and adventure genre, but you can see gore and adult things around all the plot (sex, torture, rape, massacre, etc. ), in addition the further the plot goes the more fantastic it get, but this isn't a bad idea.

In the art I don't have much to say, because I haven't seen a better one right now, I don't know if it is because this one is the best one or because I haven't seen enough, but right now to me this one is the best.

In the characters there is a bit of everything, I really look up to Guts and the old Griffith, Casca and most of the members in the hack band are pretty good too, then there are some of then who for me are only to complete the story, like the boy who follows Farnese and some soldiers and people who Guts meets in his trip
There are also some character that are trash for me, like the elf who follows Guts and the others who appear later, Isidro is pretty annoying too and then some villains who are so stupid for me (I don't remember most of the names and some of them are people with a small role)

The enjoyment is complete for me and I thing that it is the same for people who like the gore, the good plots and the good quality in the manga. I really get hooked on it for a while, then I realized that the chapters took so long to be made and I decided to stop before starting other arc, my heart wouldn't stand the waiting between the chapters making.

Overall the manga has a bit of every thing that I look up in a manga, the plot and characters are awesome, the art is fantastic too, because of it you really enjoy the manga, but this is also a bad thing, because after seeing this one you wouldn't probably find another one as good as this and because you won't be able to resist the temptation of reading and when you reach the unfinished arc you will get mad waiting for the next chapter to complete the arc.