English Dub Season Review: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition Season One

Overview:

Guts is a lone mercenary who only looks out for himself. That is, until he crosses paths with Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. He joins them and helps Griffith achieve his goal of ruling his own kingdom.

Our Take:

I know how popular and beloved the Berserk franchise is, but I’ve never really watched anything from it prior to this show. I was worried that might cause me to get lost and not understand certain plot points, but that is not the case. In fact, I would say this is a fine introduction for anyone who may be new to Berserk.

The show starts from the beginning. We’re introduced to Guts, who is a mercenary and he’s only fighting for himself. He comes across a group of mercenaries known as the Band of the Hawk and their leader Griffith. Guts and Griffith have a fight, which Griffith wins. He then makes Guts join the Hawks as his greatest comrade and greatest rival.

Guts fights alongside with the Hawks and works to help Griffith achieve his dream of ruling his own kingdom. Of course, he still ends up looking out for himself more than anything. Some of the Hawks take a while to grow a liking to Guts and some just never do. His attitude does change a little over time, at least towards other members of the group.

Griffith goes through a lot of changes too. His arc is definitely the most interesting to me, especially how Guts ends up unknowingly playing a big role in it. I can say the same for Casca as well. There are other characters I enjoy watching, such as Judeau, but he doesn’t get nearly as much focus and development as those other three.

This show tells a lot of compelling stories, but there are some inconsistencies. There are several instances of the show setting something up and ignoring it later. It’s possible that a potential sequel season can tie up these loose ends, but it still happens more often than I would like. Not only that, but some resolutions are aggravating. It feels like they’re taking the easy way out when it comes to resolving certain conflicts or leaving them unresolved.

The shows visuals are a bit mixed. Some of the 3D animation doesn’t look all that good. This is mostly apparent during some action scenes and when demons appear. I understand the demons are supposed to look ugly, but I still think they could look a little better. There are some weaker-looking action scenes, but those are few and far between. The violence is definitely one of the show’s strongest visual assets. There’s plenty of bloodshed, severed limbs, and murder in Berserk. This is a very good anime for action and gore fans.

It also has a few sex scenes, which isn’t my thing personally. I think they drag on for too long and they don’t offer anything to me. I’m sure these scenes appeal to others, but I could do without them.

Like I said earlier, I’m not very familiar with the franchise. However, I do know that some of the English voice actors from the 90s series reprise their roles here. I haven’t heard much of their original performances, but I think Marc Diraison, Kevin T. Collins, and Carrie Keranen portray their respective characters very well. There are some supporting characters who are voiced by their original voice actors as well, which I think is a nice touch.

As a whole, I think this show does a good job at introducing new fans to the Berserk franchise. It might even be a good reintroduction for returning fans. This is definitely a show that has some flaws. It can be slow in places, it ends on a cliffhanger, and it spoils the entire season in a prologue before one episode. It makes some strange choices, but they don’t completely ruin the experience. There are still some interesting characters, compelling stories, and plenty of action to keep viewers entertained.