Berserk (2016 TV series)
| Berserk | |
 | |
| ベルセルク (Beruseruku) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Dark fantasy,[1] Horror[2] |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Shin Itagaki |
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
| Studio |
|
| Licensed by |
‹See Tfd› |
| Network | WOWOW, MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS |
| English network |
‹See Tfd› |
| Original run | 1 July 2016 – present |
| Episodes | 12 |
Berserk (Japanese: ベルセルク Hepburn: Beruseruku) is a 2016 anime television series based on Kentaro Miura's Berserk manga and a sequel to the Golden Age Arc film trilogy. This is the second television adaptation of the manga, after the 1997 anime of the same name, and covers parts of the Black Swordsman arc and the Conviction arc. A second season has been confirmed for April 2017.
Plot
The story follows Guts as the "Black Swordsman", an appearance which was briefly seen in the first episode of the 1997 television series as well as in the final scene of Golden Age Arc films.[4]
Guts was once a wandering mercenary taken in by the mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk (鷹の団 Taka no Dan) and he fought alongside them before their mutilated leader, Griffith, sacrificed his followers to become one of the God Hand and continue his dream of ruling a kingdom of his own. Only Guts and his lover Casca, who lost her sanity and memory from the horrors she saw and endured, escaped the "Eclipse" ritual, though they were branded with marks that attract evil, restless spirits and other similar entities. With Casca in the care of blacksmith Godo and his adopted daughter Erica as well as Rickert, the only member of the Hawks absent during the Eclipse, Guts set off to hunt down the God Hand's Apostles to find and kill Griffith in a quest for vengeance. Years have passed, and Guts is joined in his hunt by an elf named Puck as events the God Hand have long waited for are beginning to unfold.
Voice cast
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Guts | Hiroaki Iwanaga[5] |
| Puck | Kaoru Mizuhara[5] |
| Farnese | Yōko Hikasa[5] |
| Serpico | Kazuyuki Okitsu[5] |
| Isidro | Hiro Shimono[5] |
| Azan | Hiroki Yasumoto[5] |
| Casca | Toa Yukinari[5] |
| Griffith/Femto | Takahiro Sakurai[5] |
| Skull Knight | Akio Ōtsuka[5] |
| Void/Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka[5] |
| Luca | Miyuki Sawashiro[6] |
| Nina | Natsumi Takamori[7] |
| Jerome | Daisuke Hirakawa[7] |
| Erica | Ayana Taketatsu[7] |
| Rickert | Minako Kotobuki[7] |
| Godo | Takashi Inagaki[7] |
| Silat | Yuichi Nakamura[7] |
| Tapasa | Kōji Ishii[7] |
| Mozgus | Rikiya Koyama[7] |
Production
A new Berserk anime was announced in December 2015 in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine,[4][8] with a short preview trailer released at Comiket later the same month.[1][9] The anime's website announced in February 2016 that the project would be a television series.[10] A second trailer was streamed in March 2016.[11][12] A teaser video was streamed on the series' website in early June 2016.[6] At the conclusion of the first season's final episode, a teaser confirmed a second season for April 2017. The brief clip showed off the character Schierke and the Berserker armor, indicating the second season would adapt the next arc, "Falcon of the Millennium Empire".[13]
Kentaro Miura, the author of the original manga, is serving as executive supervisor for the anime.[14] The series is directed by Shin Itagaki and written by Makoto Fukami and Takashi Yamashita. The character designs are provided by Hisashi Abe. Animation studio Liden Films is producing the series with GEMBA and Millepensee helming on the animation production.[2][5] Shirō Sagisu returns from the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc films to compose the music for the series, while Susumu Hirasawa, composer for the 1997 series and the Golden Age Arc films, returns to produce two insert songs for the series, titled "Ashes" (灰よ Hai yo) and "Ash Crow".[5][11][15] The opening theme song, "Inferno", is performed by 9mm Parabellum Bullet,[11][16] while the ending theme, "Meimoku no Kanata" (瞑目の彼方, lit. "Beyond Closed Eyes"), is performed by Nagi Yanagi.[17]
The primary voice cast are reprising their roles from the Golden Age Arc film trilogy, while voice actor Unshō Ishizuka is reprising his role as both the Void and the Narrator from the original anime.[2]
Producer Reo Kurosu has described the show's animation style as "a hybrid between 2D and 3D",[18] elaborating that "For this series we’re trying to do something new. The director is a 2D animator so what goes on in his mind and what he puts on storyboard is all in 2D. From there it’s all about choosing which tool to use between full CG animation, traditional 2D, or a hybrid of the two. The director and the 2D and 3D studios will meet and discuss what to use when depending upon what we’re trying to accomplish with each scene."[19] The 3D characters and objects are rendered with Cel shading to make them look more like 2D cartoons. A particular feature is that the shadows on 3D objects contain a linear hatching effect which simulates shading with a pen or pencil, and the same hatching effect is applied to the shadows that appear on any 2D models to create a more uniform look.
Broadcast and release
The 12-episode series[20] premiered on 1 July 2016 on WOWOW,[10][21] and later on MBS's Animeism programming block,[10] TBS, CBC, and BS-TBS.[16]
The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll.[22][23] Crunchyroll announced at the annual Anime Expo on 1 July 2016 that the company will be releasing the series with an English dub on Blu-ray and DVD. The exact date that the series will be released has not been announced.[24]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original airdate[25] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dragonslayer" "Ryūkoroshi no taiken" (竜殺しの大剣) | 1 July 2016 |
| A few years after the events of a solar eclipse, one that foretold the coming of an angel of darkness, a lone swordsman named Guts walks into an inn where a group of bandits is tormenting an elf named Puck and a red-haired youth. Guts trounces the thugs and takes his leave, inspiring Puck to travel with the swordsman while the youth is unable to follow. Accepting a ride from an old priest named Adolf, Guts experiences a nightmare and wakes up to an attack by spiritually-possessed skeletons, which kill Adolf and his daughter Colette. After he defeats the skeletons and a tree animated by pagan spirits, Guts is surrounded by the Holy Chain Iron Knights, who have been tracking him since the day they investigated the aftermath of the eclipse on behalf of the Holy See. | ||
| 2 | "The Holy Iron Chain Knights" "Seitessa Kishidan" (聖鉄鎖騎士団) | 8 July 2016 |
| Still fatigued from fighting spirits, Guts kills several of the Holy Chain Iron Knights attempting to capture him and fights their vice commander Azan, but ultimately collapses from his wounds. At the knights' camp, their leader, Farnese, interrogates Guts for answers about the demise of the Band of the Hawk, having found the mercenary group's bloodied remains after the solar eclipse. But Guts mocks Farnese about her authority and her faith, provoking her to whip him in rage before Azan stops her and locks Guts in a cage. Guts is freed by Puck at nightfall and takes Farnese as a hostage to escape. Only the knights' herald Serpico gives chase, before finding himself surrounded by pursuing spirits. | ||
| 3 | "Night of Miracles" "Kiseki no yoru" (奇跡の夜) | 15 July 2016 |
| The spirits pass Serpico and possess hounds that chase Guts to an abandoned mansion, the swordsman killing the dogs before facing the estate's kennel master: an Apostle. Guts kills the Apostle while Farnese flees in terror at the sight of the swordsman torturing him for the God Hand's whereabouts. Guts finds Farnese about to raped by their possessed horse, killing the animal as its act brought back horrible memories. A spirit then possesses Farnese and forces her to act out her lust by straddling Guts until sunrise. Serpico retrieves a traumatized Farnese and escorts her back to their camp, allowing Guts a reprieve despite Farnese's demand to have him killed. Meanwhile, in the city of Windham, the King of Midland dies having seen a vision about Griffith's return while the Kushan army appears on the horizon. | ||
| 4 | "Epiphany" "Keiji" (啓示) | 22 July 2016 |
| Guts has a nightmare of his beloved Casca being burned at the stake as a witch. When he wakes, the monstrous fetus from his earlier nightmare tells him that she is in danger. Guts returns to the home of Godo the blacksmith where Erika and Rickert confess that Casca has escaped from the cave where she was confined. The bedridden Godo tells Guts that he made a grave mistake by abandoning Casca while he tried to drown his sorrow with revenge. After Godo uses his last strength to repair his sword, Guts departs to St. Albion to find Casca. There, Farnese and her knights see the flood of refugees from Midland's disasters. While Bishop Mozgus begins punishing accused heretics, the prostitute Luca finds Casca wandering alone. | ||
| 5 | "The Tower of Conviction" "Danzai no tō" (断罪の塔) | 29 July 2016 |
| Guts kills some Kushan scouts while passing through to St. Albion, and ends up being followed by the red-haired youth Isidro out of admiration. In Albion, with the surrounding refugee camp in utter disarray from the starved and over-populated masses, Mozgus begins his task in the Tower of Convinction where "sinful" beggars are tortured. Meanwhile, Luca divides earnings from her client Jerome among her fellows. Calling Casca "Elaine" while presenting her as her bandaged and diseased sister for her well being, Luca entrusts the girl to her fellow Nina, who is treating her own disease, while she fetches water. At nightfall, as Casca's brand attracted spiritually-animated corpses near the bank that Nina is fetching water from, Guts and Isidro are ambushed by the wheel-bound corpses of Mozgus's victims. | ||
| 6 | "Night Banquet of Burning at the Stake" "Hiaburi no yaen" (火あぶりの夜宴) | 5 August 2016 |
| As Casca is saved by the monstrous fetus and Guts defeats his enemies, he encounters the mysterious Skull Knight who tells the God Hand are using St. Albion as the site of a ritual to restore Griffith's corporeal form. The next day, as Farnese finds herself struggling with her faith, Nina meets her reoccurring customer Joachim and tests his love for her by bringing him to a midnight orgy held by the pagan cult's goat-headed leader. Joachim gradually engages until learning that the pagans are cannibals and tries to flee, falling off a cliff. Nina breaks down before seeing Luca, who disciplines her before forgiving her, and then learns that Casca followed her. Casca nearly gets raped by the pagans but is saved by spirits attracted by her brand; after the fetus dispersed the spirits, the surviving pagans assume she is a witch. | ||
| 7 | "The Black Witch" "Kuroki majo" (黒き魔女) | 12 August 2016 |
| As Luca tries to defend her fellow Pepe who was arrested by the Holy Knight, Guts arrives at St. Albion and dispatches the soldiers. Luca takes Guts to her tent, only to find that a fearful Nina abducted her. The group divides to search; Isidro and Puck find Nina and Casca when they are captured by the pagan cult. In their cave, the pagans intend to marry Casca to the Great Goat and to sacrifice Nina, but Isidro distracts the pagans while Puck goes after Guts. When Farnese and her knights, led by Joachim, arrive, Casca's brand activates the undead who indiscriminately attack people. Isidro attempts to save Casca, while the Great Goat is transformed into a monster by a mysterious observer. When the Great Goat attempts to consummate his marriage, Guts arrives to save Casca. | ||
| 8 | "Reunion in the Den of Evil" "Makutsu no saikai" (魔窟の再会) | 19 August 2016 |
| Guts's reunion with Casca is short-lived as he holds off the Great Goat while Isidro gets Casca and Nina to safety. After killing the Great Goat, Guts attempts to catch up with the others when he crosses paths with Serpico on a cliff side. Serpico reveals he has been seeking to kill the Black Swordsman and has prepared the duel in his favor due to the terrain and Guts's current state. Guts finally manages to drive Serpico off upon disarming him. He learns from Isidro that Casca and Nina were captured by the Holy Iron Chain Knights. They are taken to the Tower of Conviction. While Guts, Isidro and Luca approach the tower to rescue them, Nina is to be interrogated on the identity of the Black Witch. The mysterious observer awaits for the fruition of his work. | ||
| 9 | "Blood Flow of the Dead" "Mōja no ketsuryū" (亡者の血流) | 26 August 2016 |
| After Nina named her as the witch he seeks, Mozgus places Casca in an iron maiden. But it causes the spirits of the tortured to manifest as a flesh-eating blob of blood. While Luca and Isidro use Jerome to free Nina, Guts forces Farnese to take him to the torture chamber where Puck tells him Casca is still alive. With Casca trapped inside it, the blood moves up the tower as Mozgus's and they are then transformed by the observer. Mozgus burns away some of the blood with his flames, freeing Casca and saving Luca's group, but he intends to have the former burned at the stake while his men attack the latter. Luca sacrificed herself so Jerome can save Nina, only to be saved by the Skull Knight as he was about to attack the observer. Guts arrives soon after and faces six of Mozgus's men as the inquisitor's group all sprout wings. | ||
| 10 | "Hell's Angels" "Herusu Enjerusu" (ヘルス·エンジェルス) | 2 September 2016 |
| Luca is spirited away by the mysterious observer, who reveals himself as a behelit-like Apostle self-dubbed the Egg of the Perfect World. The Egg tells Luca his story of long observation of everyone in St. Albion, detailing his ideals and the event to soon occur. The Skull Knight makes him flee and takes Luca to safety as the living mounds of starved corpses rise up. Back in the Tower of Conviction, while the other disciples deal with Guts, Mozgus and the Twins fly off with Casca. While Guts manages to kill Mozgus's disciples, the possessed blood causes the tower to partially collapse. The chaos unfolds in the slums, but Mozgus uses his powers to keep the corpses at bay while the refugees proceed to build a pyre to burn Casca on. Guts sees this while noticing the four senior members of the God Hand manifesting through the blood. | ||
| 11 | "Shadows of Ideas" "Idea no Kage" (イデアの影) | 9 September 2016 |
| As Luca walks back to St. Albion after the Skull Knight took her to the outskirts, the Egg of the Perfect World swallows the dying Demon Child out of sympathy during his climb up the Tower of Conviction. At the same time, enlisting Jerome and Nina's help, Isidro uses a makeshift pulley system to free Casca as she was about to be burned alive. Mozgus nearly catches them when Guts leaps off the tower and impales the inquisitor. But Mozgus's bible shielded him from the attack while he fully transforms. After Isidro's group eliminate the last of Mozgus's disciples, the inquisitor overpowering him while the flames keeping the corpses at bay die out, Guts uses his miniature bombs to blow apart the unprotected chink in the inquistitor's armored body to kill him. After a brief reunion with Casca, the corpses manage to flood into St. Albion as Guts gives his group torches so they can outlast the few remaining hours of night. | ||
| 12 | "Those Who Cling, Those Who Struggle" "Sugarumono Mogakumono" (縋る者もがく者) | 16 September 2016 |
| Guts and his group fend off the flood of corpses with fire while Luca saves Nina down below the tower, the Egg of the Perfect World calls the dead to the Tower of Conviction as he sacrifices himself to complete the ritual with the Demon Child becoming Griffith's corporeal vessel. The Tower collapses once the ritual ran its course, killing everyone inside it before daybreak as Guts and the others find themselves surrounded by Silat and his Kushans before the Apostle Nosferatu Zodd appears to fend Kushans off. Guts then sees a newly reconstituted Griffith, yet could not attack him due to Casca while the others use the Apostle's appearance to flee as a Kushan legion arrives. Zodd spirits Griffith away on his back while Guts steals a horse to take Casca back to Godo's home. Isidro departs on his own while Luca pays her respects the Egg and those who died that night. While Nina reunites with Joachim, Farnese renounces her faith and decides to follow Guts with Serpico remaining by her side. Back at Albion's ruins, the Skull Knight muses that the events which occurred will soon change the world. | ||
Reception
Anime News Network contributor Jacob Hope Chapman was critical of the show's production quality in his review of episodes 1–3, stating that, "Berserk 2016 is an abominably ugly and almost forcefully unpleasant realization of our dreams, with cut-rate CGI, questionable music choices, and disorienting camera work." However, to him the strength of the source work helps to carry the show, and Itagaki's frenetic directing style at least keeps the action interesting: "Once you manage to unclench your teeth at all those garish cel-shaded puppet bodies smacking against each other, Miura's compelling story and captivating world still shine as one-of-a-kind flights of dark imagination with poignant characterization, even as they struggle under such a lackluster production."[26] In his reviews of the episodes, Chapman gave episodes 4–6 a grade of "C+"; episodes 1–3, 8, and 12 a grade of "B-"; episodes 7, 9, and 11 a grade of "B"; and episode 10 a grade of "B+".
References
- 1 2 Luster, Joseph (29 December 2015). "VIDEO: New "Berserk" Anime Project Teases Some Animated Violence". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 Green, Scott (22 March 2016). "Staff and Cast Listed For Summer "Berserk" TV Anime". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Aniplus HD to Simulcast New Berserk TV Anime". Anime News Network. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Berserk Gets New Anime Project Featuring Guts as 'Black Swordsman'". Anime News Network. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "New Berserk TV Anime's Cast, Staff, July Premiere Unveiled". Anime News Network. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Green, Scott (10 June 2016). "Bloody, Shirtless Guts, Scourging And More Featured In Latest "Berserk" Anime Preview". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ↑ Green, Scott (21 December 2015). "New "Berserk" Anime Planned for 2016". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "New Berserk Anime's 1st Video Teases 2016 Date". Anime News Network. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 "New Berserk Anime is TV Series That Premieres in July". Anime News Network. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 "New Berserk Anime's Promo Features Susumu Hirasawa's Insert Song". Anime News Network. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ Green, Scott (26 March 2016). "Haunting "Berserk" 2016 TV Anime Teaser Accompanied By Theme Song News". Anime News Network. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Berserk Anime's Next Arc to Premiere Next Spring". Anime News Network. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- ↑ "Berserk TV Anime's New Key Visual Revealed". Anime News Network. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ Ash Crow - Susumu Hirasawa Soundtracks for BERSERK｜Susumu Hirasawa (P-MODEL) Official site
- 1 2 "New Berserk TV Anime's July 1 Premiere, Character Visuals Revealed". Anime News Network. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ↑ "Nagi Yanagi Performs Berserk TV Anime's Ending Theme Song". Anime News Network. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ↑ "Crunchyroll Talks with "Berserk" Producer Reo Kuroso About the Anime's Premiere and More". Crunchyroll. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ↑ "FEATURE: Interview with Berserk Producer Reo Kurosu". Crunchyroll. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ↑ "2016 Berserk Anime Listed at 12 Episodes". Anime News Network. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ Green, Scott (4 February 2016). "2016 "Berserk" TV Anime Broadcast Plans Announced". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Crunchyroll to Stream New Berserk Anime This Summer". Anime News Network. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ Luster, Joseph (25 March 2016). "Crunchyroll to Stream "Berserk" Anime This Summer". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Crunchyroll to Dub Release Anime on BD/DVD". Anime News Network. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ↑ "ベルセルク - アニメ - WOWOWオンライン" (in Japanese). WOWOW. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Berserk (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia