The art in Berserk is something I can never wrap my head around. At times, I even thought to myself that some of those panels belong be in an art gallery. This is a great journey and I hope you enjoy reading it!
@@aronnemcsikyea one piece and berserk is a interesting combo lol but i think they will balance eachother out. One piece’s light heartedness and joy will help with the dark tragedy of berserk
@@aronnemcsik dont get me wrong one piece can get tragic when it wants to but im talking the story as a whole, oda said himself he writes one piece to be a happy fun story
OH YEAH. THIS is my second comment, But eventually, the art in this series gets so unbelievably good that EVERY SINGLE panel is just. mind MELTING perfection, stunning, jaw dropping. You'll see the art dramatically improve every 20-30 chapters or so, until it reaches heights that are almost unbelievable. The coolest part about this too, is that Miura is a genius at paneling and composition. So despite the innumerable details, you can tell PRICISELY whats happening. Always. It's something that blows my MIND
The Golden Age Arc, for me, is the best arc in all of fiction. Movies, comics, books, everything, for me.. The art and the story just made all my feelings.. into art and words. So good.
"I don't normally go for dark fantasy!" Dives into one of the most messed up manga out there. The story is incredible but prepare yourself, it's not a happy ride
Clicked immediately! Berserk and One Piece are my top two manga of all time! Vagabond after that, Berserk is an actual masterpiece. Without going into spoilers, I'll say that the ramp up in quality of character work, art/paneling, overall writing, etc. Etc. Increases like 100x over this next arc. This next arc is a chunky one, its called "the golden age" and it's considered by many to be one of, if not the single greatest STORY ARC in manga, PERIOD. 😊 just want to illustrate that VERY shortly, the quality IN EVERY single dimension, increases to an almost UNBELIEVABLE level. I can almost guarantee that this series will UTTERLY blow your MIND. If you already like a lot of elements or find yourself intrigued, you're ON THE FAST LANE TO ONE OF THE MOST LIFE CHANGING masterpieces in fantasy. By The first couple CHAPTERS of this next arc, it will IMMEDIATELY grab you and never let go, everyone I know who gets to this point, binges it 😂🎉 Kentaro Miura is an absolute genius and this is one of the most prolific, referenced pieces of media i know. Its inspired so many MEDIA GIANTS (videogames, movies, tv shows, books) It's genuinely beautiful beyond comprehension or description imo, it changed my entire life and perspective, the way I interact with my struggles and subsequently allowed me to be far more patient, determined with myself despite the circumstances. 😊
I’m a big berserk fan but I’m very cautious of who I recommend it to, berserk is not only dark in the sense that is gory or violent, it touches on very serious themes, and trauma. And it can be very emotionally scaring for some people, I had a friend who read berserk and absolutely loved it but she couldn’t keep reading past the golden age because she was shattered emotionally from the story, if you do decide to continue just keep in mind that berserk is a story that delves deep into the most deprived, wicked aspects of humanity, and it doesn’t hold any punches, at times it can even be vulgar and insensitive. Yet it’s some how one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read, because it touches so deep in an almost intimate level of the human soul.
Whoever introduced her to berserk didnt give her a good enough worrying😭 i hope she’s ready for the dark and tragic world of berserk, im excited for this readthrough
I absolutely have that same "Too dark for me?! You think I need a trigger warning?! I'm going to read it right now!" psychological reactance. I approve, got me into some things I wouldn't have jumped into with research.
It’s the best ride. To learn to struggle, to learn to let go, to learn we may never get an ending. So many life defining quotes. It’s a Joy in the depths of darkeness.
It was wonderful to get your perspective on this manga. If you choose to continue reading and posting videos, I'd love to hear your thoughts on future volumes. Also, at 9:00, very astute of you to deduce this, you're definitley on the right track!
My sister was watching it when I was 4 and I fell in love with the story. When I started reading it I was 5 or 6 and I was in love with the black swordsman arc, because it was longer than the black swordsman arc in the 1997 anime. My favorite Arc in the whole series that I have read over and over is the falcon of the Millennium empire arc, where zodd teams up with guts to defeat ganishka.. Ganishka uses patched/chained up apostles that are still alive to access hell with his man made behelit. Daiba is the creator though. I think rains initiated the use and ganishka enters it to transcend his apostle hood.
It's so great you are giving Berserk a try. Kentaro Miura was a legend who was deeply respected for his skill even by the greatest mangaka of our time and to many he was the greatest of them all. The intro to Berserk is a bit of a strange beast, when Miura wrote it he was still very young and his writing style matured fairly quickly, but even these beginning chapters are beloved by long time readers since his writing going forwards into the series explains literally every weird quirk of these intro chapters. What at first seems like random edgy characters, reactions and storybeats all starts to make sense, especially the behavior of Guts in the first few chapters. Make no mistake, it may not seem like it yet but Miura was a master of writing, not only a master of art. Your friend was right that it is a dark series yes, but in a way it's different from something like Game of Thrones, Berserk will continue to have dark moments going forwards but there is never stuff like that just for the sake of shock value as the series matures, the further you get into the story the more and more each of these scenes will serve a purpose be it world-building, characterization or to further the plot. I highly recommend you soldier through Berserk, at some point you will stop soldiering through it and instead find yourself turning page after page unable to stop until you run out of pages to turn.
I'm always so amused by the initial struggles with pronunciation. it's a fun little bonus to these reviews. At one point i thought i was hearing Spanish! mi ora, which means "my prayer". 😅 there's a near-silent connecting "y" the i and u vowels so, no one can fault you for saying ken-TAH-roh mi-YOO-ra
WOW! Out of all the series, I'm surprised this makes it to the channel. Berserk has one the most layered story for sure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts so far.
The next arc is really long, but so so good! I can't wait to see your reaction to it. So many great characters. I'm enjoying your one piece videos too! Thanks for sharing your Manga Journey with us!!
Thick. Heavy. Rough. Indeed it was like a slab of raw iron. Berserk is one of those series that have stood th test of time, and it still remains a massive influence in works of fantasy today. Every big tough stoic guy in armor weilding a giant sword is usually an expy of Guts. Most notably in the dark souls video game series, which berserk having a massive amount of influnece on. To the point that the last boss from the Ringed City DLC of dark souls 3 has been argued that it is literally old man Guts.
I love hearing people’s thoughts and reactions during their initial read through of Berserk. Like people mentioned, it’s really dark and twisted but definitely one of the best stories, period. I hope you stick it out and look forward to hearing your thoughts!
You definitely nailed it talking about horror as worldbuilding! Miura does an incredible job creating an intensely terrifying atmosphere for his characters to live in, and for the readers alongside them. Your friend is right about checking some warnings before reading. There are some difficult themes in this story that can be absolutely too much for anyone. If you haven't seen a warning for this already, there's themes of SA, including SA against children. This story is about confronting the worst things in this world. But that's why it has resonated with so many people. It can be a very cathartic read, especially for those with similar experiences to some of the characters. If you continue the series, I hope you are able to get something positive out of it amongst all the horror.
The first arc of Berserk is so bizarre in how it’s so confusing but also so intriguing. You’ll love the next arc, and seeing why Guts is the way he is.
I think you should go through the Golden Age arc, The blackswordsman Arc happens right after Golden Age (timeline wise) which explains Gut's demeanor. (it's always fun to see new people pick up Berserk, Miura based Berserk on Nietzsche's philosophy and it reading berserk nearly made me go into Psychology)
I’m sure you heard this a lot, but Berserk and One Piece are my two favorite manga. So I’m glad you’re doing this. Enjoy the next arc. A lot of people consider it the best one but it has some parts that are hard to read. Worth it tho.
i have watched countless horror movies , horror games , Junji ito's manga, documentaries nothing make me more terrified than Berserk the cosmic horror you feel when you look at the art its so good and so terrifying.
Woah, I just finished reading these chapters yesterday! After watching the ‘97 anime I had to get into the manga, and I do NOT regret it. The art is amazing!
The fact that you have this wide ear-to-ear smile in your Berserk thumbnail while the One Piece ones are just faint smiles or more stoic expressions is genuinely cracking me up.
One Piece is the king Shonen and Berserk is the king of Seinen. You saw 180° of its delivery. The violence and the bleak tone are very prominent in this manga. Just for head start, the violence not just against men, but also against women and children are in here. Please consider the trigger warning, but if you can stand the trigger warning, you'll definitely had one of the best resolution and storytelling content
kind of insane how the story and the art starts of at this high level and then gets even better. I like that you read this while alsoreasinf one piece. A nice counterbalance
Black Swordsman is the weakest arc both artistically and plotwise, but when Miura changes everything and starts with Guts's childhood, then it turns to one one of the best stories ever
As an artist my self i can't believe how much details in his drawings! he doesn't leave any dots/lines for no reason, shading his panels with so much care & love it just amuse me everytime and it constantly gets better & better. it takes such a long time getting these large detailed panels to be done, which requires an insane amount of patience & discipline. enjoy the manga :) u won't regret reading it at all.
If you want to see some crazy horror but insane drawings you should check out uzumaki by junji Ito. In just my opinion he's one of the greatest horror mangaka to ever exist. The way he's able to create fear while reading is just unmatched. A lot of his stuff are shorts but they're all creepy. Uzumaki is a bunch of shorts based on a particular setting. So while the main character will be in every single one it won't always be about her
In each arc of Berserk Guts goes through many phases of humanity. He changes throughout the story a lot even if it doesn’t seem like it right now. In the first arc he’s angry at the world for unknown reasons. The third arc is called conviction for a reason.
looking back I don't consider Berserk 'dark'. It is symmetrical with life, albeit in a fantasy setting. Really, really, REALLY dark and bad shit happens-in real life, rather often. Most are just lucky enough to not see it.
Berserk is quite the undertaking, but it has a similar hope that you can find in other series. Its not obvious as of now, but the bits about the count and guts being both cruel but also show a tender side evoke a hopeful feeling in me. When i first read berserk, I was aware of the next arc in some detail, but I was not aware of the introductory arc. A lot of people thinks its bad or clunky, but to me it established everything we need to know about Guts and the world that will be contextualized later. The first scene is iconic in its audacity. My favorite panel is the single sad face we get from him. Instantly you can read so much from this suffering man and how he has been forced into this villainous role by circumstance. What villain breaks down when a little girl declares her revenge? Another read could be that he is sad that another soul will become berserk like himself. These series is 90% suffering and 10% hope. (I would say one piece is the inverse). Despite this ratio, I never felt like the hope was too far away. Oh, and the demon orgies will never go away. You have been warned
Although I had watched the Berserk anime few years ago ( it is old and incomplete). In Nov 2023, I read all of the volumes and experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. It was amazing. Rip Miura
Also the story is kind of like a wave. You some of the best of humanity absolute light in a beyond depressing world, while in other parts you see things so horrific it makes you consider if you should be reading it. The main theme is going through life is a struggle and the story (especially later parts) is very self aware about this. Can the human spirit triumph in a beyond cruel world?
I do hope you can get into this series for the long haul. Guts is such a wonderful and tragic character. Miura is not nice to a lot of his characters and especially his female characters. It can definitely be hard to read sometimes, but the overall story is such an epic.
Really hope to someday see a vid on the second arc! Its my favorite manga arc ever and I was honestly surprised at the jump in quality so quickly when I first read Berserk.
The art in Berserk is crazy good, but the story is brutal. Super brutal at times. But the allegory that the story tells is thought revoking to say the least. I cried multiple times because of how uncanny the resemblance of the crisis in the story with things that happened in our world. A crazy sensational piece of media.
Some history how the manga story developed. Around where deluxe edition 1 ends Miura had the chance of co-writing a new manga with one of his biggest influences (his name slips my mind right now) but instead he decided to keep writing Berserk. He also decided he needed to evolve the story if he kept going and took inspiration from Shojo manga (manga more directed toward teen girls). He said something along the line that Shonen (manga more directed towards teen boys) focused on action but he wanted to focus on the emotions like Shojo.
Actually the count being still human gives me more chills Because if it was just a pure evil demon it would be like, whatever But he was just a dude that got crazy and was given the power to do whatever he wanted, it pisses me off even more
Yes! Berserk is such a great manga - one of the great dark fantasy epics and incredible art to boot. Very eager to hear your thoughts on the next arc if you continue! And to pile onto the manga suggestions, I have a feeling that you may enjoy the manga "full metal alchemist" which is probably closer to one piece in tone but has some incredible world building and storytelling like berserk. (Re: the behelit, i think I hear it pronounced most often like "bay-e-lit")
I hope you do The Lost Children arch.... I know Golden Age is the best but man Lost Children it justs hit different... It summarizes Guts as a conflicted character and humanizes the apostles a bit also how the children and adults worlds are so different by watching it from the children perspective... also Guts as an anthihero peaks there as past that point he starts to humanize more and more thanks to that experience... I so sad but so Berserk... Recommended
This might be a little random but now that you are getting into manga, you should check out a romance manga. There’s a manga called A sign of affection that I think you’d like, it’s wholesome and it’s a pretty popular manga. Hope when you have time you can check it out.
The Golden Age arc is one of the greatest arcs I've ever read in manga. It's still breaking people in 2024 lol! The classic medieval battles, the political intrigue, the characters, it really feels like an epic and tragic tale akin to ancient greek tragedies and epic poems like the Illiad and Odissey, where men fights against unbelieveble odds and obstacles.
Berserk is more mythological like in the latter two arcs Feels like lotr like in the last two arcs Feels the most Shakespearean arc in the GA arc Entire berserk is stellar not just golden age
Shelly, you need to finish the Golden Age arc (the next arc, and it was considered as the best arc from whole series by majority of the fans). That is when you read the real story of this.
Third Comment bc i can't help it 😂🎉🎉 this story is soooo dear to me. The three main characters of this series, and their dynamics-- how utterly human, and flawed they are, ought to be studied by anyone who wants to write multidimensional character relationships. Berserk has utterly beautiful, haunting things to say about society, human nature, willpower/perserverence, and TRAUMA. berserk is very much so about trauma and how the different characters heal from it/attempt to.
One of the greatest and most epic tales of human history!! So cool to see someone who you would not expect reading this, can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts on this story. It may have a rough start but it turns in to one of the most enduring, heartbreaking and downright intense stories I’ve ever come across
All I have to say is reading berserk is a journey and will change your perspective on the world. Secondly I'd recommend if you're downloading the manga get a official release and translation. If you do not you'll have missing parts and some parts wont make sense.
If you aren't put off after the first volume it's smooth sailing after, I think. The themes will become more apparent, and you'll come to realize it's not all gloom and doom. Personally, I believe a story is made by its characters and Berserk has some of the best in fiction. Waiting to see what else you have for us!
you are in for a treat with the next arc! the quality of the writing and artwork skyrockets as it goes on, im very curious to see your thoughts on the golden age arc!
Very fair assessment of the first arc. The Black Swordsman arc is pretty universally regarded as the worst arc (or at least among the worst). It's a flash-forward to who Guts becomes, and sets up some suspense/mystery to "how did we get to the Guts and world set up in the Black Swordsman Arc?" I'd definitely read into the Golden Age arc (next arc... like 98 volumes or something) before you decide "is this for me or not." It's one of my favorite pieces of media of all time, but does have quite a few faults, including how it depicts some of it's more trigger-warned scenes. I hope you enjoy! I'm enjoying watching your journey through it :)
Personally I pronounce the little egg thing as bay-hel-it, but I've also heard people call it bay-hair-it and bay-hur-it and other things. If you can stick with it, this series has some genuinely amazing moments, but a LOT of darkness as you've seen. Don't force yourself to finish if you get to the point of it being to heavy, we're happy you even gave it a chance 👍
It's pronounced {BAY-LET} You know you are a cultured manga reader when you can enjoy 2 extremes of what the best of manga has to offer, that being One Piece & Berserk (2 of my favorites). Berserk only gets better from that 1st arc which is quite jarring and void of emotional attachment. Hope you continue to enjoy/ are prepared for the worst! Haha. Berserk makes you feel every emotion, and for me I can appreciate that
When I saw you commenting that you were readind Berserk I was wondering how you ended up on this series. Now with you explaining I can see why, lol. It's a good manga, but it can go really dark. PS:I know that you're reading a lot of series already, but if you get in the mood of trying another manga in a different genre, I would suggest Monster by Naoki Urasawa. It's a really good suspense manga!
Yeah Berserk is a VERY different Manga from anything you'll be reading in the medium so far. Where Deathnote, One Piece, Dragon Ball and Naruto are all considered Shounen manga (an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young boys 11-15 years of age). Berserk is what is called Seinen manga (an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men 15-18 years of age). This means way more mature themes, that doesn't hold back on vulgarity, brutality, bawdy humor, sex appeal etc. I totally understand your friends initial reaction to want to warn you about it LOL. Still its a great read and I think you will love your journey through reading it.
If you make it to 'the end' or where Miura passed away, you'll have read a series that was more impactful to me than any other in life, next to LOTR. This is the greatest review of Berserk I have ever seen. No spoilers. ua-cam.com/video/kswYilVWV_I/v-deo.htmlsi=6a-vOTih24gHGNXb
Kentaro Miura art gets incredibly better over time. Unfortunately, he also draws slower and slower, cause he is very detailed. Berserk tale is very hard to follow because of the timing in the releases, and now that Miura has died, and the story is continued by his friend (who is also a magnificent writer, but he is not as good painter as Miura had become), we will see how it continues. Anyway, you will enjoy it. It is dark as hell but it is splendid.
Oh, wow, BERSERK!? Well, if you've survived this introduction, then I definitely gotta recommend *Chainsaw Man* again! It is also bloody and brutal, but it is such a beautiful, well-written story.
You have to finish Berserk. There is a lot of things people will say makes this “problematic” BUT Look past it and see how characters develop and grow. Look at the art that is the most beautiful art ever. Enjoy the struggle. Struggle with us. There are so many quotes in this that will change your life. It’s a hard read for some, but I guarantee you will leave with something you’ve never felt. JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US. Lol
I'm really not a fan of horror either, some parts of Berserk also made me a bit sick. But I find it interesting is the art is so good, and story quite compelling its hard to look away. Had the same feeling when watching Made in Abyss.
I recommend learning about the genres in manga. Assuming you don’t know stuff like one piece, dragon ball as an example and even Spy x Family are what’s known as Shonen. Then you’ve got your Shoujo’s who are things like Nana, fruits basket, sailor moon. And Seinen which is for a more mature audience has stuff like Berserk, Vagabond, goodnight pun pun. I only wanted to say this because if you ever start reading Seinen I would be so for it. They’re a lot deeper and darker lol.
It gets darker if you can even belive it. I would have loved Miura got to finish Berserk. I think Berserk is a story you should read early in your life because, to me at least, real life can get more twisted and horrific than any abomination Miura ever got to draw; at the end of the day Guts is just a fictional character, but when you read the newspapaer those stories are real. Guts lives in a world surrounded by humans and monsters alike corrupted by greed... but whats is in Gut's heart? what motivates him?
Berserk is as dark as it gets and dwells into some serious disburbing territory. Its also in my top 5 favorite Manga next to One Piece, Chainsaw Man, Vagabond and Full Metal Alchemist.
Your friend didn't lie about how dark it is. It's a really emotional draining manga to read so you might better take it slow, but it's worth it. I'm a fan of more light-hearted series and don't usually like dark or horror stories, but Berserk has more to it. The first arc was more like an introduction to the tone of the series. In the next arc you'll get to know Guts better as a character and what his journey is. You now took a taste of the darkness of the series, but expect it to reach the next level as you go on. I remember, midway through the series I stopped reading for years because of the how disturbing some events were. But even in the darkest night, there's still light, like Puck. We love Puck. Puck is our homie.
The art in Berserk is something I can never wrap my head around. At times, I even thought to myself that some of those panels belong be in an art gallery. This is a great journey and I hope you enjoy reading it!
I cannot wait to get deeper into the story! :)
@@Shellyish One piece and now Berserk? It's like asking What flavour of emotional trauma would you prefer.
@@aronnemcsikyea one piece and berserk is a interesting combo lol but i think they will balance eachother out.
One piece’s light heartedness and joy will help with the dark tragedy of berserk
@AntwoneBirdmen to a degree I agree on the other hand Nami asking for Luffy's help in Arlong Park is not what I would call light hearted.
@@aronnemcsik dont get me wrong one piece can get tragic when it wants to but im talking the story as a whole, oda said himself he writes one piece to be a happy fun story
OH YEAH. THIS is my second comment,
But eventually, the art in this series gets so unbelievably good that EVERY SINGLE panel is just. mind MELTING perfection, stunning, jaw dropping.
You'll see the art dramatically improve every 20-30 chapters or so, until it reaches heights that are almost unbelievable.
The coolest part about this too, is that Miura is a genius at paneling and composition.
So despite the innumerable details, you can tell PRICISELY whats happening. Always.
It's something that blows my MIND
The Golden Age Arc, for me, is the best arc in all of fiction. Movies, comics, books, everything, for me.. The art and the story just made all my feelings.. into art and words. So good.
"I don't normally go for dark fantasy!"
Dives into one of the most messed up manga out there. The story is incredible but prepare yourself, it's not a happy ride
Clicked immediately!
Berserk and One Piece are my top two manga of all time! Vagabond after that,
Berserk is an actual masterpiece.
Without going into spoilers, I'll say that the ramp up in quality of character work, art/paneling, overall writing, etc. Etc. Increases like 100x over this next arc.
This next arc is a chunky one, its called "the golden age" and it's considered by many to be one of, if not the single greatest STORY ARC in manga, PERIOD.
😊 just want to illustrate that VERY shortly, the quality IN EVERY single dimension, increases to an almost UNBELIEVABLE level.
I can almost guarantee that this series will UTTERLY blow your MIND. If you already like a lot of elements or find yourself intrigued, you're ON THE FAST LANE TO ONE OF THE MOST LIFE CHANGING masterpieces in fantasy. By The first couple CHAPTERS of this next arc, it will IMMEDIATELY grab you and never let go, everyone I know who gets to this point, binges it 😂🎉
Kentaro Miura is an absolute genius and this is one of the most prolific, referenced pieces of media i know. Its inspired so many MEDIA GIANTS (videogames, movies, tv shows, books)
It's genuinely beautiful beyond comprehension or description imo, it changed my entire life and perspective, the way I interact with my struggles and subsequently allowed me to be far more patient, determined with myself despite the circumstances. 😊
I'm at the beginning of the next arc and it's really interesting. I'm excited to see the art and story develop. :)
Worst way to get someone to love a series, hyping it to another dimension. But still... it's not far from truth.
@@SailingWitStrawHatsyou can hype Berserk to infinity and it wouldn’t be overhyped.
Kinda surreal that you’re starting berserk! It’s amazing & I wish you the best!
Thank you so much!
I’m a big berserk fan but I’m very cautious of who I recommend it to, berserk is not only dark in the sense that is gory or violent, it touches on very serious themes, and trauma. And it can be very emotionally scaring for some people, I had a friend who read berserk and absolutely loved it but she couldn’t keep reading past the golden age because she was shattered emotionally from the story, if you do decide to continue just keep in mind that berserk is a story that delves deep into the most deprived, wicked aspects of humanity, and it doesn’t hold any punches, at times it can even be vulgar and insensitive. Yet it’s some how one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read, because it touches so deep in an almost intimate level of the human soul.
It’s cool that you’re reading berserk now along side one piece, it’s nice a balance and contrast
It really is!
Whoever introduced her to berserk didnt give her a good enough worrying😭 i hope she’s ready for the dark and tragic world of berserk, im excited for this readthrough
I absolutely have that same "Too dark for me?! You think I need a trigger warning?! I'm going to read it right now!" psychological reactance. I approve, got me into some things I wouldn't have jumped into with research.
Berserk is the like the father of modern dark fantasy. Almost every dark fantasy after it has taken inspiration
Oh boy she in for a wild ride.
It’s the best ride.
To learn to struggle, to learn to let go, to learn we may never get an ending.
So many life defining quotes.
It’s a Joy in the depths of darkeness.
It was wonderful to get your perspective on this manga. If you choose to continue reading and posting videos, I'd love to hear your thoughts on future volumes. Also, at 9:00, very astute of you to deduce this, you're definitley on the right track!
Oh! I’m glad I’m right on track. 😊🎉
My sister was watching it when I was 4 and I fell in love with the story. When I started reading it I was 5 or 6 and I was in love with the black swordsman arc, because it was longer than the black swordsman arc in the 1997 anime. My favorite Arc in the whole series that I have read over and over is the falcon of the Millennium empire arc, where zodd teams up with guts to defeat ganishka.. Ganishka uses patched/chained up apostles that are still alive to access hell with his man made behelit. Daiba is the creator though. I think rains initiated the use and ganishka enters it to transcend his apostle hood.
Would love a read along reaction series for Berserk.
Coming up!!
ooo awesome! Keep up the great work!@@Shellyish
It's so great you are giving Berserk a try. Kentaro Miura was a legend who was deeply respected for his skill even by the greatest mangaka of our time and to many he was the greatest of them all.
The intro to Berserk is a bit of a strange beast, when Miura wrote it he was still very young and his writing style matured fairly quickly, but even these beginning chapters are beloved by long time readers since his writing going forwards into the series explains literally every weird quirk of these intro chapters. What at first seems like random edgy characters, reactions and storybeats all starts to make sense, especially the behavior of Guts in the first few chapters. Make no mistake, it may not seem like it yet but Miura was a master of writing, not only a master of art.
Your friend was right that it is a dark series yes, but in a way it's different from something like Game of Thrones, Berserk will continue to have dark moments going forwards but there is never stuff like that just for the sake of shock value as the series matures, the further you get into the story the more and more each of these scenes will serve a purpose be it world-building, characterization or to further the plot.
I highly recommend you soldier through Berserk, at some point you will stop soldiering through it and instead find yourself turning page after page unable to stop until you run out of pages to turn.
I'm always so amused by the initial struggles with pronunciation. it's a fun little bonus to these reviews. At one point i thought i was hearing Spanish! mi ora, which means "my prayer". 😅 there's a near-silent connecting "y" the i and u vowels so, no one can fault you for saying ken-TAH-roh mi-YOO-ra
OH! Thank you!
WOW!
Out of all the series, I'm surprised this makes it to the channel. Berserk has one the most layered story for sure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts so far.
The next arc is really long, but so so good! I can't wait to see your reaction to it. So many great characters. I'm enjoying your one piece videos too! Thanks for sharing your Manga Journey with us!!
I've dug into the second arc and it's been great. :)
Thick. Heavy. Rough. Indeed it was like a slab of raw iron.
Berserk is one of those series that have stood th test of time, and it still remains a massive influence in works of fantasy today. Every big tough stoic guy in armor weilding a giant sword is usually an expy of Guts. Most notably in the dark souls video game series, which berserk having a massive amount of influnece on. To the point that the last boss from the Ringed City DLC of dark souls 3 has been argued that it is literally old man Guts.
I love hearing people’s thoughts and reactions during their initial read through of Berserk. Like people mentioned, it’s really dark and twisted but definitely one of the best stories, period. I hope you stick it out and look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Glad you enjoy it!
golden age arc of berserk is what really puts this story together.
You definitely nailed it talking about horror as worldbuilding! Miura does an incredible job creating an intensely terrifying atmosphere for his characters to live in, and for the readers alongside them.
Your friend is right about checking some warnings before reading. There are some difficult themes in this story that can be absolutely too much for anyone. If you haven't seen a warning for this already, there's themes of SA, including SA against children.
This story is about confronting the worst things in this world. But that's why it has resonated with so many people. It can be a very cathartic read, especially for those with similar experiences to some of the characters. If you continue the series, I hope you are able to get something positive out of it amongst all the horror.
I hope you continue the series, theres so much depth and heart to Berserk underneath it all
The first arc of Berserk is so bizarre in how it’s so confusing but also so intriguing. You’ll love the next arc, and seeing why Guts is the way he is.
I think you should go through the Golden Age arc, The blackswordsman Arc happens right after Golden Age (timeline wise) which explains Gut's demeanor. (it's always fun to see new people pick up Berserk, Miura based Berserk on Nietzsche's philosophy and it reading berserk nearly made me go into Psychology)
This is my favorite fictional story and character. Something about Guts just resonates with me.
welcome to berserk and embrace the heartbreak. LETS GO
its a masterpiece
I’m sure you heard this a lot, but Berserk and One Piece are my two favorite manga. So I’m glad you’re doing this.
Enjoy the next arc. A lot of people consider it the best one but it has some parts that are hard to read. Worth it tho.
The next arc is one of the best arcs in manga history!
Great video i hope you continue making videos on your experience with my favorite manga.👌🏽
I'm genuinely bummed that we won't get a true complete series anymore (RIP Miura-san). Truly the George Martin of Japan in my mind.
😭😭 So sad.
But manga is still going by miura's friend and studio Gaga
@@fakero0009 Yeah but...
It at least left Miura's hands at the most poetic point possible, and it is still getting made!
Glad to see your manga journey continue
i have watched countless horror movies , horror games , Junji ito's manga, documentaries nothing make me more terrified than Berserk the cosmic horror you feel when you look at the art its so good and so terrifying.
I saw the thumbnail and I couldn't believe it. Going from One Piece, Spy Family, Death Note and now Berserk! What a way to begin with Mangas.
I just jumped RIGHT in! :)
Woah, I just finished reading these chapters yesterday! After watching the ‘97 anime I had to get into the manga, and I do NOT regret it. The art is amazing!
The fact that you have this wide ear-to-ear smile in your Berserk thumbnail while the One Piece ones are just faint smiles or more stoic expressions is genuinely cracking me up.
Ha! I was going for screaming, oh well.
This was quite rambly, but fun. Can’t wait for more reviews for Berserk.
Subscribed.
Keep reading, the point you left off on is when it starts getting REALLY good
We meet a dude named "Famento" this is amazing content I want more!
One Piece is the king Shonen and Berserk is the king of Seinen. You saw 180° of its delivery. The violence and the bleak tone are very prominent in this manga. Just for head start, the violence not just against men, but also against women and children are in here. Please consider the trigger warning, but if you can stand the trigger warning, you'll definitely had one of the best resolution and storytelling content
kind of insane how the story and the art starts of at this high level and then gets even better.
I like that you read this while alsoreasinf one piece. A nice counterbalance
I absolutely agree.
Black Swordsman is the weakest arc both artistically and plotwise, but when Miura changes everything and starts with Guts's childhood, then it turns to one one of the best stories ever
As an artist my self i can't believe how much details in his drawings! he doesn't leave any dots/lines for no reason, shading his panels with so much care & love it just amuse me everytime and it constantly gets better & better. it takes such a long time getting these large detailed panels to be done, which requires an insane amount of patience & discipline. enjoy the manga :) u won't regret reading it at all.
Thank you so much 😀
If you want to see some crazy horror but insane drawings you should check out uzumaki by junji Ito. In just my opinion he's one of the greatest horror mangaka to ever exist. The way he's able to create fear while reading is just unmatched. A lot of his stuff are shorts but they're all creepy. Uzumaki is a bunch of shorts based on a particular setting. So while the main character will be in every single one it won't always be about her
In each arc of Berserk Guts goes through many phases of humanity. He changes throughout the story a lot even if it doesn’t seem like it right now. In the first arc he’s angry at the world for unknown reasons. The third arc is called conviction for a reason.
You are in for a ride with berserk!
looking back I don't consider Berserk 'dark'. It is symmetrical with life, albeit in a fantasy setting. Really, really, REALLY dark and bad shit happens-in real life, rather often. Most are just lucky enough to not see it.
Berserk is quite the undertaking, but it has a similar hope that you can find in other series.
Its not obvious as of now, but the bits about the count and guts being both cruel but also show a tender side evoke a hopeful feeling in me.
When i first read berserk, I was aware of the next arc in some detail, but I was not aware of the introductory arc. A lot of people thinks its bad or clunky, but to me it established everything we need to know about Guts and the world that will be contextualized later. The first scene is iconic in its audacity.
My favorite panel is the single sad face we get from him. Instantly you can read so much from this suffering man and how he has been forced into this villainous role by circumstance. What villain breaks down when a little girl declares her revenge?
Another read could be that he is sad that another soul will become berserk like himself.
These series is 90% suffering and 10% hope. (I would say one piece is the inverse). Despite this ratio, I never felt like the hope was too far away.
Oh, and the demon orgies will never go away. You have been warned
So, you got a glimpse of the darkness ahead of you. It's the darkness that attracts all of us in a sense. One more than another.
Berserk is such a good series, Can you look in to the Author Naoki Urasawa preferably Billy Bat or 20th Century Boys. 😊
Although I had watched the Berserk anime few years ago ( it is old and incomplete). In Nov 2023, I read all of the volumes and experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. It was amazing. Rip Miura
Also the story is kind of like a wave. You some of the best of humanity absolute light in a beyond depressing world, while in other parts you see things so horrific it makes you consider if you should be reading it. The main theme is going through life is a struggle and the story (especially later parts) is very self aware about this. Can the human spirit triumph in a beyond cruel world?
I do hope you can get into this series for the long haul. Guts is such a wonderful and tragic character. Miura is not nice to a lot of his characters and especially his female characters. It can definitely be hard to read sometimes, but the overall story is such an epic.
It’s a challenging read for me. It’s a great story though I found that I need to he in the right headspace before reading Beserk.
The black swordsman arc is by for the shortest, the others cover around 10 books each. My suggestion would be to do a review every 3 books.
I'm definitely taking your suggestion.
Really hope to someday see a vid on the second arc! Its my favorite manga arc ever and I was honestly surprised at the jump in quality so quickly when I first read Berserk.
I'm several chapters into Berserk's second arc and it's pretty amazing.
The art in Berserk is crazy good, but the story is brutal. Super brutal at times.
But the allegory that the story tells is thought revoking to say the least. I cried multiple times because of how uncanny the resemblance of the crisis in the story with things that happened in our world. A crazy sensational piece of media.
Some history how the manga story developed.
Around where deluxe edition 1 ends Miura had the chance of co-writing a new manga with one of his biggest influences (his name slips my mind right now) but instead he decided to keep writing Berserk. He also decided he needed to evolve the story if he kept going and took inspiration from Shojo manga (manga more directed toward teen girls). He said something along the line that Shonen (manga more directed towards teen boys) focused on action but he wanted to focus on the emotions like Shojo.
Would love to know where you read this from!
Well, it is a common knowledge that Miura gad inspiration from shoujo manga The Rose of Versailles @@wreetgupta6135
Actually the count being still human gives me more chills
Because if it was just a pure evil demon it would be like, whatever
But he was just a dude that got crazy and was given the power to do whatever he wanted, it pisses me off even more
Yes! Berserk is such a great manga - one of the great dark fantasy epics and incredible art to boot. Very eager to hear your thoughts on the next arc if you continue!
And to pile onto the manga suggestions, I have a feeling that you may enjoy the manga "full metal alchemist" which is probably closer to one piece in tone but has some incredible world building and storytelling like berserk.
(Re: the behelit, i think I hear it pronounced most often like "bay-e-lit")
I hope you do The Lost Children arch.... I know Golden Age is the best but man Lost Children it justs hit different... It summarizes Guts as a conflicted character and humanizes the apostles a bit also how the children and adults worlds are so different by watching it from the children perspective... also Guts as an anthihero peaks there as past that point he starts to humanize more and more thanks to that experience... I so sad but so Berserk... Recommended
This might be a little random but now that you are getting into manga, you should check out a romance manga. There’s a manga called A sign of affection that I think you’d like, it’s wholesome and it’s a pretty popular manga. Hope when you have time you can check it out.
I will! Thank you!
you are now entering one of the greatest arcs in all of manga, enjoy the wild ride
Can't wait!
i love seeing people get into berserk
The Golden Age arc is one of the greatest arcs I've ever read in manga. It's still breaking people in 2024 lol! The classic medieval battles, the political intrigue, the characters, it really feels like an epic and tragic tale akin to ancient greek tragedies and epic poems like the Illiad and Odissey, where men fights against unbelieveble odds and obstacles.
Berserk is more mythological like in the latter two arcs
Feels like lotr like in the last two arcs
Feels the most Shakespearean arc in the GA arc
Entire berserk is stellar not just golden age
@@mr.gamerkabir8142 For sure. Every arc was a banger. I just mentioned Golden Age because it's the arc Shelly will read next.
Shelly, you need to finish the Golden Age arc (the next arc, and it was considered as the best arc from whole series by majority of the fans). That is when you read the real story of this.
Third Comment bc i can't help it 😂🎉🎉 this story is soooo dear to me.
The three main characters of this series, and their dynamics-- how utterly human, and flawed they are, ought to be studied by anyone who wants to write multidimensional character relationships.
Berserk has utterly beautiful, haunting things to say about society, human nature, willpower/perserverence, and TRAUMA.
berserk is very much so about trauma and how the different characters heal from it/attempt to.
I started reading the next arc and I'm realizing how much of Berserk is about trauma. Truly the base of the story.
One of the greatest and most epic tales of human history!! So cool to see someone who you would not expect reading this, can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts on this story. It may have a rough start but it turns in to one of the most enduring, heartbreaking and downright intense stories I’ve ever come across
All I have to say is reading berserk is a journey and will change your perspective on the world. Secondly I'd recommend if you're downloading the manga get a official release and translation. If you do not you'll have missing parts and some parts wont make sense.
I can't watch this video because I'm playing the game (the game has more censored parts) but I'm glad you read and I'm leaving my like and support ❤
Thank you!
If you aren't put off after the first volume it's smooth sailing after, I think. The themes will become more apparent, and you'll come to realize it's not all gloom and doom. Personally, I believe a story is made by its characters and Berserk has some of the best in fiction. Waiting to see what else you have for us!
you are in for a treat with the next arc! the quality of the writing and artwork skyrockets as it goes on, im very curious to see your thoughts on the golden age arc!
I'm a few chapters into The Golden Arc. It's kind of amazing.
First Page gets everyone😂😂
It's going to get so much darker.
Very fair assessment of the first arc. The Black Swordsman arc is pretty universally regarded as the worst arc (or at least among the worst). It's a flash-forward to who Guts becomes, and sets up some suspense/mystery to "how did we get to the Guts and world set up in the Black Swordsman Arc?"
I'd definitely read into the Golden Age arc (next arc... like 98 volumes or something) before you decide "is this for me or not." It's one of my favorite pieces of media of all time, but does have quite a few faults, including how it depicts some of it's more trigger-warned scenes.
I hope you enjoy! I'm enjoying watching your journey through it :)
Oh god, like your friend, i would also be hesitant to recommend Berserk. It is a great story and art piece but dark as hell.
Personally I pronounce the little egg thing as bay-hel-it, but I've also heard people call it bay-hair-it and bay-hur-it and other things. If you can stick with it, this series has some genuinely amazing moments, but a LOT of darkness as you've seen. Don't force yourself to finish if you get to the point of it being to heavy, we're happy you even gave it a chance 👍
I'm glad to be here! :)
Please keep on reading Berserk. The beginning may be edgy at first. But it’ll develop into something great once you read the Golden Age Arc.
It's pronounced {BAY-LET}
You know you are a cultured manga reader when you can enjoy 2 extremes of what the best of manga has to offer, that being One Piece & Berserk (2 of my favorites). Berserk only gets better from that 1st arc which is quite jarring and void of emotional attachment. Hope you continue to enjoy/ are prepared for the worst! Haha. Berserk makes you feel every emotion, and for me I can appreciate that
Bay-let THANK YOU!
Golden age arc will get you hooked
careful for spoilers online for the next arc!
When I saw you commenting that you were readind Berserk I was wondering how you ended up on this series.
Now with you explaining I can see why, lol.
It's a good manga, but it can go really dark.
PS:I know that you're reading a lot of series already, but if you get in the mood of trying another manga in a different genre, I would suggest Monster by Naoki Urasawa.
It's a really good suspense manga!
THANK YOU!
Yeah Berserk is a VERY different Manga from anything you'll be reading in the medium so far. Where Deathnote, One Piece, Dragon Ball and Naruto are all considered Shounen manga (an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young boys 11-15 years of age). Berserk is what is called Seinen manga (an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men 15-18 years of age).
This means way more mature themes, that doesn't hold back on vulgarity, brutality, bawdy humor, sex appeal etc. I totally understand your friends initial reaction to want to warn you about it LOL. Still its a great read and I think you will love your journey through reading it.
I cant wait till you read the eclipse, you think it's dark now, oh boy~
If you make it to 'the end' or where Miura passed away, you'll have read a series that was more impactful to me than any other in life, next to LOTR.
This is the greatest review of Berserk I have ever seen. No spoilers. ua-cam.com/video/kswYilVWV_I/v-deo.htmlsi=6a-vOTih24gHGNXb
Kentaro Miura art gets incredibly better over time. Unfortunately, he also draws slower and slower, cause he is very detailed. Berserk tale is very hard to follow because of the timing in the releases, and now that Miura has died, and the story is continued by his friend (who is also a magnificent writer, but he is not as good painter as Miura had become), we will see how it continues.
Anyway, you will enjoy it. It is dark as hell but it is splendid.
Oh, wow, BERSERK!? Well, if you've survived this introduction, then I definitely gotta recommend *Chainsaw Man* again! It is also bloody and brutal, but it is such a beautiful, well-written story.
You have to finish Berserk.
There is a lot of things people will say makes this “problematic”
BUT
Look past it and see how characters develop and grow.
Look at the art that is the most beautiful art ever.
Enjoy the struggle. Struggle with us.
There are so many quotes in this that will change your life.
It’s a hard read for some, but I guarantee you will leave with something you’ve never felt.
JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US. Lol
It's kind of like watching a horror movie... but with Chuck Norris as the main character.
I would say more like Bruce Willis from Die Hard who beaten, bloody and tired but still pushing taunting his opposition how his going to kill them.
True!
I'm really not a fan of horror either, some parts of Berserk also made me a bit sick. But I find it interesting is the art is so good, and story quite compelling its hard to look away. Had the same feeling when watching Made in Abyss.
Fair enough!
I recommend learning about the genres in manga. Assuming you don’t know stuff like one piece, dragon ball as an example and even Spy x Family are what’s known as Shonen.
Then you’ve got your Shoujo’s who are things like Nana, fruits basket, sailor moon.
And Seinen which is for a more mature audience has stuff like Berserk, Vagabond, goodnight pun pun.
I only wanted to say this because if you ever start reading Seinen I would be so for it. They’re a lot deeper and darker lol.
It gets darker if you can even belive it. I would have loved Miura got to finish Berserk.
I think Berserk is a story you should read early in your life because, to me at least, real life can get more twisted and horrific than any abomination Miura ever got to draw; at the end of the day Guts is just a fictional character, but when you read the newspapaer those stories are real.
Guts lives in a world surrounded by humans and monsters alike corrupted by greed... but whats is in Gut's heart? what motivates him?
since you're getting into seinen manga, ill recommend you goodnight pun pun.
Berserk is as dark as it gets and dwells into some serious disburbing territory. Its also in my top 5 favorite Manga next to One Piece, Chainsaw Man, Vagabond and Full Metal Alchemist.
Heed My Warning Shelly If continue to be Struggler YOU WILL RIDE A HORSE..
I'm planning to continue to read Berserk though I'm on a bit of a pause right now.
my favorite manga ever, right next to one piece.
i honestly think berserk is kinda of a heavy read for a first timer.... o.O
Funny how you struggle to describe the lovecraftian monsters :D . I think thats actually kind of the point. impossible to describe horror
Your friend didn't lie about how dark it is. It's a really emotional draining manga to read so you might better take it slow, but it's worth it.
I'm a fan of more light-hearted series and don't usually like dark or horror stories, but Berserk has more to it. The first arc was more like an introduction to the tone of the series. In the next arc you'll get to know Guts better as a character and what his journey is.
You now took a taste of the darkness of the series, but expect it to reach the next level as you go on. I remember, midway through the series I stopped reading for years because of the how disturbing some events were.
But even in the darkest night, there's still light, like Puck. We love Puck. Puck is our homie.
Puck is absolutely great.