English Dub Review: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition “The Golden Age”

Overview:

Guts encounters Griffith and the Band of the Hawk.

Our Take:

Guts is a formidable mercenary and he proves that by killing one of the strongest soldiers around. He marches to the beat of his own drum and doesn’t want to be tied down by anyone. That all changes when he encounters the Band of the Hawk, led by Griffith.

Guts takes out a few men and almost finishes Casca before Griffith steps in. He nearly kills Guts, but spares him. That’s because he wants Guts to join his band. Guts agrees to do whatever Griffith wants, but only if Griffith can defeat him in a duel. Guts fights valiantly, but Griffith comes out on top. He tells Guts that he wants his own kingdom and he wants to find the perfect place to watch Guts die.

This is my first real experience with Berserk. I’ve seen various clips, but I’ve never actually watched any of the shows or movies. Honestly, this was a pretty good introduction.

So far, I like the main characters of Guts, Griffith, and Casca. Sure, I don’t know much about them yet, but they all make good first first impressions here. Guts is a badass, Casca doesn’t take crap from anyone, and Griffith gives off an interesting aura. It’s also cool that the original English voice actors for these three are present here.

The action in this show is also very good. From what I know of Berserk, I know it’s very bloody and gory. This first episode is a good showcase of that as we see countless violent deaths in the first five minutes. Every fight scene in this episode looks good and is a thrill to watch.

I’m not in love with the CGI here. I know Berserk has been utilizing that for a while now with mixed results and it’s not always pretty to look at here. It’s still serviceable though, and I’m hoping it improves.

Overall, I think this is a strong episode to start with. Since I haven’t watched the Golden Age Arc movies, I don’t know what to expect. However, I’m looking forward to seeing what else this show has in store.