Waiting for the berserk adaptation where Guts comes out of the screen so that I can take him to my therapist and maybe Steak n' shake afterwards if he does good
That last section, about Berserk being unconventional comfort media, resonates so fucking hard for me. Berserk was a hard read, but I feel more capable of dealing with my trauma after having read it.
Despite all the hellish shit in the manga, all the nihilism and despair, it constantly holds up the message of “keep struggling on. Don’t give up and die, because then the world you hate so much wins”. Berserk and Guts’ character unironically inspire me and keep me going.
I definitely see parts of Guts in me, and seeing those characters who love him embrace him fully, with all the trauma he's suffered and the toll it's taken on him, is so beautiful. The world is uncaring, but the individual people who care about him make it...not less horrible, but something worth going on for. And like southofheck said, if you just give up and die, the uncaring world wins. And fuck that shit.
@@groofay I’m the same way. Guts can be a pretty bad person, but I feel like a lot of people can relate to that feeling of struggling through life and feeling like the whole world is against you. It’s a great motivator sometimes.
I remember while in the middle of a hell scape of combat, in a desert thousands of miles from home, my friends being killed around me, blood and terror on every side. I had to be the struggler. I had to fight just to live. I had to kill them before they killed me.
This ending has me teary-eyed. Guts is the embodiment of “courage is not the absence of fear but the strength to keep going no matter how scared you are”. If a man that strong has hard days maybe it’s OK that I do too, if he can go through all that and still smile at the end of the day maybe I can too.
I always took Guts in the Black Swordsman Arc to be his lowest mental state in the entire series thus explaining his attitude, eventually with him regaining back his humanity and becoming less of a monster to others after the Eclipse.
@@Drums_of_Liberation And it's one of the reasons the Lost Children arc matters in any adaptation. Rosine is more pitiful than maliciously evil, less a cackling tyrant than a hurt child who doesn't understand the consequences of her actions, and sees herself as helping children like her. And it's when Guts starts to see himself at his most crazed and bloodthirsty, and realise that people see HIM as the monster, often more than the things he's fighting. It's the first signs that he hasn't entirely cauterised his emotional wounds and that as much as he tries to push the outside world out and exist as a grim loner who needs no friends....people can still affect him.
Exactly! I mean ffs, spoiler: He literally almost raped Casca when it was just the two of them. He wasn’t all there mentally, as he was by himself fighting monsters, never sleeping, on the brink of insanity for years.
Oh yeah, totally, but I’m sure even Miura didn’t fully understand Guts as a character in those first few chapters/volumes. I think he started to at the very end of Black Swordsman, and definitely did by the middle of the Golden Age, but early on it feels like he was playing more with tropes and archetypes than a fully-realized character. Which makes sense to me! You don’t have everything planned out with a work like this when you start it.
Plus they've literally stated how much they want to animate berserk I heard they were supposed to start it after castelvenia but something happened idk what but I just saw that scene as a resume proving that they can lol
TBH, killing all those poor farmers, then just running off into the sunset with her GF is very unBerserk, its just a "cool edgy" action scene with little substance. (Even how the tavern farmers are presented in the first two episodes of season 1 shows something of a disdain for "peasants") The writing was so hit or miss in that Carmila had to become an entierely different person to fit their villain quota for season 4. Despite all this I still like Castlevania, its very cool for two seasons, pretty meh for 3 and pretty descent for 4, but I still dont think they could adapt Berserk on the budget presented in that show. Its very stiff and wonky, its writing is very quip-y and TBH even 1997 utilized its budget in a much more fitting way than I think a Netflix budget animation ever could.
It's kind of disappointing that Berserk's marketing material just focuses exclusively on the sex, violence, and sexual violence, when that's about the least interesting part of the series.
Seriously, I had a friend who frequently recommended Berserk in high school, and I basically ignored him because it just looked like another edgy dark fantasy. I'm pretty sure I read a description just like that when I checked it out in the store, and I remember being totally unimpressed by it. It was only years later, after seeing video online about how good it was that I realised my mistake.
Sadly, that was a symptom of the era it was released to America in. When anime first started gaining steam in the west, back in the late 90s/early 00s, “cartoons are for kids” was still a firmly accepted universal truism. As a result, a lot of anime marketing boiled down to cringe “look at all these boobs ‘n blood! Is THAT for kids, Mom!?” for a few years.
Yeah but Berserk is hard to market. Saying anything will get some people interested but put a lot of people off. Market as edgy? You get the edge lords in, but the people who want a well written thoughtful story are out. Market it as a grim love-revenge story? You get the twilight fans in on it, but you loose anyone who isn’t into emotional stories. Market it as a thoughtful character driven story, and you’ll get some people, but it might lead a lot of people to assume it’s pretentious nonsense. There really isn’t any winning. The best way to get into it is just get into it, but doing that is difficult because it tends to flip between tones with every arc.
@@southofheck I do think there's a middle ground, though. It would be accurate to refer to Berserk as "dark and controversial" because it is, in fact, both of those things. The "don't show your granny" line is just cringe and makes it sound like a terrible 90s image comic.
@@okawesome2746 yeah I guess that works. It’s not perfect, but leaving it sort of vague is a neat idea. To bad this is America, and you gotta have an elevator pitch to throw in the public’s face or else you can’t sell it at all.
I used to avoid Berserk like the plague. It was marketed to me exactly like those cringeworthy ads you showed at the beginning of the video. As a senseless, gore filled edgefest about an asshole killing demons with pretentious philosophy about how life sucks. I eventually looked up some info out of curiosity after finding out it inspired Fromsoftware’s aesthetics, and started to get interested. So I bought the dark horse collection of the first volume on sale. The guardians of desire arc hooked me so much that I blasted through the first 20 volumes over the course of 3 or four days. Berserk has cool fights, sure. But it’s also an excellently crafted story about trauma, human connection, destiny and hope in a hopeless world.
Yea, and honestly keeping with the message of Berserk, I think it's only right for people to read the new chapters of Berserk as well. We can't get Miura back. All we can do is carry on.
@@ryno4ever433 Agreed. In his honor we should. Especially bc this isn't some cash grab, it's his good friend who he wanted to take over if something happened to him
@@Mezworld you know for sure it would just be another GoT clone. Even if it were good, it would be like the Witcher Netflix series. Like, yeah it’s good, but just read the books or play the games. They do a much better job.
@@southofheck From what I saw of the witcher, it was honestly kind of mediocre. You're right about them turning it into GOT though, that's basically the express purpose of Amazon's LOTR(which just like the witcher is going to feature black elves. Because that totally makes sense from a norse mythological perspective).
I just wanted to come back a day or so after watching this to thank you. As a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I'm very uncomfortable experiencing media containing sexual assault and rape, and actively avoided Berserk in totality because of the stuff I heard about the rape in it. Seeing this video finally made me give it a shot, and it's entirely the scene you presented at the end that did it. That's so fucking powerful, I'm still sobbing thinking about it, and now that you've shown me the context for some of it, and how it's not just a gimmick, I've finally given it a chance. Guts being a survivor of childhood rape resonates a lot, and I'm grateful there's a character out there who realistically grapples with the same thing I do every day. Thank you!
Yeah Miura did an great job at showing SA for guts and griffin but he doesn't really do a good job at portraying female SA see the Princess and Casca (the unnecessary Griffin SA scene where instead of her POV it was Gut's and when Gut's SA'd her in the golden age)
Finally got around to showing my grandma ‘Berserk’. She flipped through the pages, said “what the fuck is this weeb shit”, put her giant cigar out in one of the pages, then ran it over with her Harley and drove off into the night while I cried. It was my omnibus edition to boot. My theatre group lost my normal edition in a mosh pit.
"OLM was a great choice for Berserk, as months beforehand they had started adapting another popular dark fantasy series, Pokemon." I had this on to listen to at work and had to pass off my burst of laughter as clearing my throat. HOW did I miss that moment when I watched this the first time?
@@lorddosuniversos Yeah, but the anime isn't actually adapting that manga, and it's very lighthearted in compairson. Which makes this quote in the video extra funny.
@@JetblackJay ooooh... I would remove it tho I would just not make the first page...it sets the tone for the black swordsman arc and shows what guts has become
That last part had me in tears... It's almost unreal how beautiful and raw and heart breaking that scene is. As a survivor, it is the only portrayal of sexual assault, the trauma that comes with it, and the eventual path to healing that has truly helped me with my own trauma. For that I am eternally grateful to Kentaro Miura.
I am also a survivor, and I'm bawling as I write this, too. It's so hard for me to deal with the trauma sometimes, but it's nice to get a reminder that we're not alone. I hate that there are so many of us, though. I don't know one single cishet woman who hasn't been assaulted by a man. Not one.
I just wanted to drop by and say thank you for talking about Gut's childhood trauma. I have watched many great videos about Berserk, but this is the first one in recent memory that actually talks with complete seriousness about that one part of Berserk and the emotional impact it truly conveys. I think that, as flawed as Berserk can be with the handling of sexual violence at times, I always felt a special kind of sadness and warmth in the scene where Casca and Guts are first intimate. Out of all the iconic scenes in Berserk, this is the one that stuck with me the most in all these years that I've been a fan. So, again, thanks for talking about that. Great video!
I revisit this video often, so here is a time stamp for all the parts (with a few bonus chapters I made up for convenience): 00:00 Introduction 04:04 The Black Swordsman Arc 09:51 Berserk 1997 28:08 The Golden Age Trilogy 41:50 Berserk 2016 (Production) ( 51:53 The Conviction Arc ) ( 54:14 The Lost Children Arc ) ( 56:08 Both Arcs As A Connected Whole ) ( 58:29 Berserk 2016 (Adaptation) ) ( 01:15:32 The Millennium Falcon Arc ) ( 01:17:05 Berserk 2017 ) 01:23:07 A Struggler Of Adaptations ( 01:27:30 Kentaro Miura's Death ) ( 01:32:35 Content Warning + Small Golden Age Spoiler ) 01:36:28 Conclusion (Corrected the Timeskip for the Content Warning) 01:41:23 Credits
Thank you for bringing up the bit about Guts's SA trauma. I honestly cry every time I either rewatch or reread that scene. As a victim myself, it's hard to find a representation of this level while still humanizing a main male character.
@@jsc315 Well, it'll never be finished by Miura. For all the shit people throw around about continuations by people who are not the original creator, literature is full of examples. Famously Brandon Sanderson took the torch from Robert Jordan on Wheel of Time and delivered what many felt was a really fantastic ending (although it did have heavy outlining). Probably plenty of examples we don't even know about of that very thing happening and turning out well. I think, with time taken to find the right writer, the series could continue and find a conclusion that carried all the spirit and heart and warmth Miura imbued into every page into a conclusion that could really end up meaning the world to a whole lot of people. I don't know if that'd be the case but I wouldn't put out of possibility that it will be continued, and given the reverence Miura garnered in the industry I think it not unlikely that the creatives left in charge of the series might poor the kind of time and energy required into finding a writer like that for Berserk, maybe if not for financial gain then as a personal favour to a dead friend. And hey, if that happened I know it'd never be the "true" ending and a lot of people would probably complain it was "never the same" but honestly, I'm here for whatever this series does from here on out, for better or worse.
@@charliecoke7396 I mean look at what Christopher Tolkien did with the notes he had. He truly added to the backstory of Middle-Earth. Even if the art isn’t as good they could still finish it if he left notes.
Your narration of Guts and Casca's first time almost drove me to tears. I'd always respected Miura for having his Conanesque action hero grapple with his abuse as a child, but hearing it laid out like that, depicting it from the viewpoint of both characters who went through that horrific experience…I think I'd have to try really hard to not cry reading the actual events. It's heartbreaking that Miura will never get to see the end of his own magnum opus, even if his fans manage to get some version of that long-sought conclusion, but he has left an enormous legacy already, and there is some comfort to be taken in that degree of success.
1:33:40 just got me. Gut's theme over the discussion of trauma and the holding onto the light. Solid ten minutes of crying while listening. Thanks for putting this together. Berserk means a lot to me and this helped with moving on from the loss of Mr Kentaro Miura, even if only a little bit. Very good video.
Berserk's insight to sexual trauma has always seemed... unsettlingly realistic. It's a beautiful piece of work, it's such a message of hope against a dark and uncaring world, and thank you for putting it together in this video so well.
The ending of this video was so hard-hitting. I’ve never watched/read Berserk and knew nothing about it, and i was in tears. As a survivor of CSA myself, based on that scene you shared and described alone, i can understand why this series is so important to so many people, and why the loss of Miura is so devastating. Beautiful video and wonderfully done.
Honestly the best thing about Berserk for me is how it lures you in with its visuals and surface-level themes, but as you get deeper into it, it stops being a read. It becomes an experience, exploring themes of trauma, finding meaning in life, good and bad and their subjectivity, and how - no matter how bad things get, or how hard living becomes - it's always the right choice to push forward. At least that's what I got from it lmao Berserk is such an unexpectedly... Optimistic piece of media, and it really helped me deal with some things in my life, so all I can really say is a "thank you" to the late, great Kentaro Miura, and a "thank you" to you, for making this (highly informative and entertaining) video.
Finally broke down as you explained Guts' traumatic past, and why Berserk is your comfort media. You even played his theme, and while I had never seen or read Berserk before, that music hits me so hard. T_T Despite not being familiar with Berserk itself, Miura's death brings me such heartache, perhaps knowing how influential Berserk has been. Your video was very insightful and moving, thank you for your hard work.
Guts’ theme is so simple yet so powerful. Both it and the song Weight of the World from Nier: Automata (route E version) both just hit me like a truck no matter how many times I’ve listened to them. They both, to me, evoke a theme of struggle, introspection, and a constant drive for connection in spite of that lingering sadness. And I think they both do have a theme of hope in them. I can’t explain it in Guts’ theme, but when the choir kicks in on Weight of the World… well to steal a comment from one of the videos showing it, “the weight of the world isn’t so heavy when we all carry it together”.
I'm so glad you pointed out that Casca's skin had already been getting the lightening treatment before 2016 because every time I've seen TGAT footage played next to the '97 footage my brain has been yelling, "What's going on with her skin. What did they do to her skin. Why is it yellow."
ngl thats not really the fault of the animators. Miura himself was very inconsistent in regards to Casca's skintone. There are covers and panels that make you almost think she could be black and others where she looks like a slightly tan white person.
I have never seen or read any of berserk but this video completely sold me. There were moments that you described that definitely resonate with me. Brb ordering the manga!
Goodluck I hope you're not battling scalpers i just picked up the last 3 mangas today I needed it took me almost 2 months to get book 1 I had 36 out of 40 of them but only just got 1 last Monday because I caved it and bought it from a scalper for 3× the price
This is one of the most well-rounded Berserk videos i've ever watched, enjoyed every single second!! As a SA survivor, I appreciate you for including Guts' trauma and talking about sexual violence in a respectful manner. It gets so tiring to hear fans harass people who even dare to criticize the overuse of sexual assault in the manga. I find it difficult to be involved in the fandom because of that, so thank you. Also the way you analyzed some characters/their relationship dynamics really made me want to read Berserk again! 😸
Man, I'm not even 2 minutes and just hearing you talk about the far-reaching influence Miura's work had and still has... I'm tearing up. Can't wait to watch the rest of this video.
The last 15-20 minutes of the video hit me really really hard. It might be a mix of my own struggles and emotions or still being shocked that Miura is gone, or all of that even. That last 20 minutes of the video genuinely made me cry, but in a good way. The kind of cry that you have not just because you’re sad or upset, but the kind that’s relieving and you have because of something that means so much to you, something that’s so beautiful. This was a brilliant video, I don’t know how else to say it other than that. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the series with us and for sharing your emotions with us. I need to go re-watch the 97 anime and re-read the series now
I haven't had any exposure to Beserk before, nor consider myself a massive anime/manga consumer in general, but the emotion and passion that you so clearly expressed for this series made this video a privilege to watch. It made me deeply feel the pain of losing Miura at such a tragically young age, the pain of never seeing his final vision come to fruition - what a terrible thing for his loved ones, his fan-base and for you to experience. And I totally understand the unique ways that people find their own comfort media, which is why I play the first BioShock at least once a year. Obviously, it's nowhere near as dark as Beserk, but I find a weird comfort in its world, characters, and horrors, probably because it dropped at such a big turning point in my own youth. This was a fantastic love letter and memorial Emily, well done
This comment probably won't be seen as I'm a little late to this video, but I feel the need to say this. This is such a beautiful tribute to a series that is obviously exceptionally important to you. I don't know if it's my new medication or I'm too tired for my own good, but it's truly amazing that you made me cry over a media series that I knew next to nothing about beyond "haha Beserk 2016 bad". It is so apparent that this series means so much to so many people, and what a profound loss it was to lose Miura. I can't imagine how hard it was for you, and fans all around the world, to process it. But it's important to celebrate Miura's legacy, and not dwell on what could have been. His work will live on, in its own way. Seriously, the last... 20ish minutes of this video made me so emotional that I can hardly put it into words. Thank you for introducing me to this series more properly, I will make an effort to read the manga, once I can afford to, of course. I just found your channel today through the Cinemassacre video, and made my way through to here. This has been one of the easiest decisions to subscribe I've ever had. Thank you for doing what you're doing, the internet is a better place for it. (sorry if this was too rambling. part of the reason I don't leave comments often is that they tend to become too long and I have the feeling very few people actually care to read it. there is so much more that I wanted to say, but it's been put into words better by other people in the comments.)
I started reading the manga since I watched Super EyePatch Wolf's latest Berserk video and I'm about midway through the Falcon Empire arc. And I've just finished this vid after watching pieces of it the past month and I 100% feel the same about it being comfort media. The past few weeks have been on and off really bad for my mental health and reading Berserk and just seeing these characters push forward and grow as people despite everything the world throws at them has been really empowering.
You have PERFECTLY explained why Berserk is comforting to read. I've tried and failed to explain to friends and family why this bleak series could be comforting to a person, and you've absolutely nailed it. I've always found myself meditating on Berserk whenever I enter a deep depression. Thank you for this video
Also you cant clang skeletons who are not wearing armor... yet they did that. Atleast we can see that artwork can really have a soul. And Berserk 2016 was soulless copy , just an empty shell.
1:33:40 when Guts' Theme finally started to play absolutely killed me. This is the first UA-cam video to ever make me cry. I don't know why but that scene with Guts and Casca never clicked for me until you broke it down, it makes so much sense now and I understand why I love Berserk so much. Fantastic video, 10/10, would cry again.
Video brought me to tears, you can tell this person cares so much about Berserk. And honestly this gave so much closure on Kentaro's death. Thanks so much for this.
@@JetblackJay Berserk has been a somewhat important influence in the final fantasy franchise and Kingdom hearts is basically a spin off of Final Fantasy. No Berserk means no Final Fantasy in the form we know it now(or in the 90's) means Kingdom Hearts would have probably not happened.
You completely accomplished your goal. Having never experienced Beserk, you conveyed what makes it special and convinced me to finally read it. Thank you, your work is so special and well produced.
I know this is late and so many other have said the same but the ending portion of your video is perfect. The way you describe why some of the harsher aspects of the story are important is beautiful. Ive gotten many weird reavtions when i try to get someone into bersker while still warning them of the harsher themes. The way you put it was amazing. I haven't really thought about my comfort media before, but berserk is 100% it. This also gets negative reactions form people which honestly hurts. Also the part about being vulnerable really hit home. As a large guy I can't really discus my feelings with anyone and if I do end up expressing negative emotions I'd get chastised for it. Sorry for rambling. Your video was just an amazing watch. Thank you for posting it
HUH, funny story about the Golden Age trilogy... I got my husband into Berserk with those movies. He had heard me talk its praises up and down our home, and how I totally wished to get the brand, but my belief and respect for more spiritual stuff had me second guessing it all the time. He FINALLY started reading it after he had asked me "What's the best way to experience it?" and he went down the list of the animated adaptations, and I kept saying "Ehh... you won't get everything, though. Just read the manga." I remember standing in that line for 3 days, I couldn't make it to the final day because I got severely sick due to the lack of sleep, really bad cold thanks to my weakened immune system. It really hit me hard when the news of his passing had dropped, a couple of my characters were inspired by Guts and the others, especially my first D&D character. She's got the oversized sword, and our DM ended up giving her the armor during our campaign. I felt downright honored. I managed to get footage of day 1 and 2, but catching a cold made the rest of the footage difficult to put together. Berserk really did leave a mark on so many people. It is sad that a true adaptation can't really ever happen, or maybe a slim chance, but maybe that's part of its charm. If it wasn't for Berserk, I don't think I'd be here today. My story was featured in another video, but long story short, after growing up in a house full of emotional (and one instance of physical) abuse, I was reading the manga and saw the panel where Guts up and ran from the camp as a boy, then later looking up at the sky. I decided that day to run away from home, and since then, I started my own life by my own terms at last and then got my mom to leave with us. I cried and realized like you mentioned in the video, I _was_ allowed to talk about my trauma, despite being told otherwise. And since then, I've only been able to move forward. I didn't experience something as traumatic as Guts or Casca, but it was still horrible and haunts me to this day. My husband has been like how Casca was for Guts, he let me talk and cry. Berserk in the end means a lot to me.
May you continue to rest in peace, Miura. I never knew you, but my love for you and your work is unquantifiable. And thank you, Emily, for creating such a grand video.
I kinda disagree with your opinion of the first arc. That's because I think this arc explores the facade of the uncaring and stoic man that Guts wants to present himself as while showing that his actions contradicts this perception and that Guts really cares but he forces himself to talk and act like this because he thinks that everyone around him will get killed because of the brand. (The battle with the skeletons). And his relation with Vargas is the same. When he sees him get executed he feels really guilty for not helping him. At the end of the arc we see this facade gets shattered when we see guts crying. His face says it all. The sex thing is the rough around the edges for being the first arc.
This is what I felt too. I just started getting into the series and I found this to be my take as well from the first arc. Specifically when Guts meets the little girl and old man as well as Guts being torn up after remembering Vargas' desperate plea to him right before his death. Those to me were such small moments but super important. They show the reality of the situation by, for just a moment, allowing the facade that Guts has built up to fall away before almost immediately being forced back up.
I listen to this a lot at work and the end still makes me cry a little every time. I've had a really awful loss last year and the note this video this ends on is always really wonderful to hear. Thank you so much.
This video was extremely helpful. I started berserk a few weeks ago and this was super informative and interesting. Thank you. It’s been such a beautiful series so far, and the themes and messages in berserk you talked about throughout and at the end of the video meant a lot. rest in peace Kentaro Miura .
Man this video is such a joy to watch. It's starting to become one of my "comfort" video essays. The way you explore that scene with Guts and Casca being intimate for the first time just perfectly captures how powerful that scene is.
Legitimately incredible video, a lot of other video essays i've seen about berserk kind of have this "dude-broey" vibe to them, or they seem almost afraid to criticize some of the more questionable aspects of the story (Wyald, overuse of sexual assault etc) but you were perfectly able to not only convey how much of an incredible storyteller Miura was while also occasionally calling him out on his bullshit, which was really refreshing, game me some new insights while serving as a perfect memorial for such an iconic series. Ps: holy shit someone else who thinks Sonia is a super intresting character! I though i was the only one, she unfortunately seems to be on the receiving end of a lot of the vitriol from the worst parts of the fanbase
@@ovahlord1451 Most of them tbh haha other than this video, the only other youtubers that i think managed to make really good and thoughtful videos about berserk are Beyond Ghibli and Super Eyepatch Wolf, most of the others just seemed really surface level and i didn't find they had anything all that intresting to say, obvs its fine if you disagree, just stating my opinion
So far we haven't seen anything of Sonia except her being a dumb naïve kid who says things like "Yes I know they're demonic hellspawn, but they're our demonic hellspawn!"
1:32:48... it was then I realized this was one for the ages. It was a looong time ago when I read that chapter, yet those facial expressions alone kick me in the feels to this day, and frankly put almost any other graphic novels to shame. So perfect in every way.
I'd argue that Wyald was needed because of one reason: he's a sign that the "Fantasy" elements were leaving the shadows they constantly hid in, and that what was coming didn't exactly have humanity in mind as an equal or something to just be ignored; let alone protected. Wyald was indeed a lot to take in, but he was something like Zodd but also different in a humongous way that cemented an idea about these things. Where Zodd was fighting people to fight and especially to find someone that he can fight on equal ground, Wyald fought to enjoy causing pain; to break people and use them like toys in the most gruesome way possible. In this, the reader can assume two things: these creatures, whatever they may be, are driven by their individual desires, and have little to no remorse to committing the atrocities they enact. For Zodd, that desire is combat. For Wyald, it was a savage carnal desire. Even the latter's death at the hands of the former hints towards something more terrifying about these things: they were once human themselves. They were human and somehow became these evil demons. And if you look deeply into it, you can assume that Wyald, who was revealed to be a withered old man, surrendered what human nature he had to become this thing to cause these horrible things. This would leave a question in the reader's mind to be answered by the Eclipse: Why and How. Why did they turn themselves into these things and how did it happen? While I'll admit he is Not a good character in the story, I will not deny this monkey-faced Demon is necessary to getting readers to ask questions so they can understand the world better as time goes by. (EDIT) And I personally believe that to be a testament to how good Miura was at writing. Even his weakest or least enjoyable characters had an important role to play and were utilized in a mammer to which Berserk would not be the same without them. Such as the Torture Master or Adan or even Lord Gennon, whom I personally despise. If I were to see an adaptation of this Manga in the future that omits them, then it'd feel awkward for me to call it Berserk. Outside of that, I found your points articulated very well, and the video overall to be very well done and of high quality.
Agreed. Wyald was necessary for the story, a display that the cracks in the golden age were beginning to form and that darker times were on the horizon.
I also found him to be a very good "formal" introduction to how absolutely fucked up most apostles are. Zodd just kinda goes around getting in fights, which is bad but still pretty mild compared to, hell the snake count in Black Swordsman, while with Wyald it really shows that apostles are cruel beings that can't be talked with.
Hi! I watched this a few weeks ago, and coming back to say thanks for giving me the push I needed to check out Berserk! The '97 anime kind of blew my mind?? And now I'm super pumped for the manga. Thanks for sharing your passion for such a great story!
That back cover description of Berserk is hilarious! Makes me wish they added more over-the-top descriptions like... "This ain't your Mama's manga!" --Richard "Large" Larkin, Dudebro Magazine "'Berserk' broke into my home slept, with me and made out with my girlfriend!" --Jennifer "Awesomator" Freeman, Manga Informer "'Berserk' is so good that my father said he loves me!" --Peter Ubelover, Shave 'Em Dry Illustrated
The ending of your essay was beautiful. Yesterday I finished berserk for the first time and was in awe and sad at the fact that Miura isn't here to finish it. I know I'll return to this work of art many times throughout my life. Somehow I think this video essay has helped me digest the series a bit, fill that void when you finish a spectacular piece of media, and contextualize many aspects of what I loved in berserk while reading it. Thanks.
The thing I LOVED about the 97 manga is that by the time the cosmic horror stuff came back, I had completely forgotten about it. So when the apostles attacked the band of the hawk, I was in shock because of what a shift it was. While I love the manga, that's one thing that was missing since there were hints of it throughout before that point.
Not only that, but when they come back in full force in the eclipse, it's a lot darker than pretty much anything I've seen earlier, like.... You have this horde of demons not just killing and devouring people, but BRUTALIZING THEM! And then you add the raping of Casca on top of that, (Which honestly, I felt was that part was a bit too long for it's own good, but I still think it's an important part of the horror and the trauma that Guts and Casca will have from this, on top of watching their friends die a horrible death.) like.... I don't care what anyone tells me. From now on, whenever I think of the word "Hell" the eclipse, specially the original manga version of it, is the first thing that will come to my mind. THAT THING WAS HELL! You knew the apostles were cruel, you knew it from the Black Swordsman arc, and from the fight with Wyald, but this is a whole other level.
Thank you so much for making this. Especially the section discussing Guts and Casca's intimacy at the waterfall. You beautifully articulated what I find so special about the series in a way I've always struggled with. 20 clangs out of 10.
Real late to this but I've found Berserk video essays to always be a little... lacking. I mean heck, my favourite creator on the platform made three video essays on the series and even there none of them really "stuck". I think its because there's very little we know about the series creation and it's creator and in the vacuum of that people making videos are only really left with just explaining exactly what Berserk is, which reads more as a summary of the series than actually piercing into anything to deeper. The only things Berserk's iron clad armour on discussion really exposes to be delved into is the emotional side of the series, the beauty, and that takes being willing to be vulnerable in some way on the internet to deliver satisfyingly. And I gotta say, you nailed it. Whole way through, fantastic video. You've not only convinced me to go back and re-read all of Berserk while I wait for the last few volumes I've got on back order to arrive but to earmark this video as one to revisit every few months, to remind me not only of how fantastic this series is, but to remind me why pieces of art so dark and personal have an opportunity to say so much more than what we typically get out of Grimdark fantasy. So, thank you. For everything you've put into this video, I promise you every part of your commitment to both informing and being so honest about it's meaning to you was worth it.
This has probably been the hardest year or two of my life. All the stars have consistently aligned to put me in a constant living hell. May was actually a decent month until He died. It felt fitting. The last few days, I haven't had any hope. Nothing to hope for, but this video reminded me of Berserk. I think about it often, but hearing your passion about it in depth had me finally think about it properly for the first time in a long time. Berserk has always been an inspiration for me. In writing, in art, it's what I've always wanted to make, but this might be the first time I've ever understood why. It all clicked when you talked about the hope in it. The found family, the love despite being torn to shreds at every turn, only sticking together because of the few people you have who won't kill you. That kind of hope in all that pain is what I'll always need. It's what I want to give. Thanks for showing it to me again.
After watching your video i read all the manga. My god what a journey! But i have two things to say. 1. Wyald IS an important character, even though he is not exactly well written and is just edgelord shit he is necesary. Besides Zodd this is the first time Guts has to fight against an apostle and remember, Guts has been training by cutting logs impulsed by a waterfall to simulate the punch of zodd, wyald is the first time he has a chance to try the result of his training. After the long fight he almost dies a lot of times, so when zodd tears wyald appart the manga is showing that Zodd is in a whole different level, and guts super human strenght by itself wont be enough. Also, everyone can tell that Zodd is "special" like a tier S boss, but with wyald he is average, maybe a little bit above average so when the eclipse started it hits in a WHOOOLE different way to see that many apostles. If ONE gave the gang so much trouble, that many means game over. I only saw the 97 adaptation so after reading the wyald fight the eclipse hit me in a whole different way. And remember, Wyald was a starting point to the animalistic and savage desire that motivates apostles, Zodd was logical and had selfcontrol when he saw the crimson behelit, wyald didnt, he almost killed Grifith. So he helped me to understand that the other apostles most likely would end up being this unhinged force of nature that only pursue whatever they like. He is not perfect (god knows dick tongue is waaay beyond my line) but neither is "pirate tentacle in pirate ship tentacle" so... 2. Thank you so very much, this was something i wanted to make for years but the bulk of the manga was intimidating. And im so happy i did it. Thank you for your video.
God it’s only been like a week since I first saw the dick tongue, that’s probably the hardest I’ve ever recoiled at any comic, or even any book honestly.
What an absolutely amazing video. Just finished the ‘97 anime for the first time, and plan on ordering the first few volumes of the manga when I have the spare money. I now have an immense love for the story, and cannot wait to experience it more. Thank you for sharing your love for this tremendous piece of storytelling with us.
This video was cathartic in a way I hadn't been able to process since news of Miura's death, thank you for that. I heard about it in circumstances where I simply couldn't feel all that I knew I would and this reminded me about how much I grieve his loss, and even more than that, how much I love this series and how much it means to me. It's my comfort media as well and I'm gonna reread it now
I've been here for a while trying to figure how to get across what I think of berserk succintly, but my autistic tendency to ramble keeps getting the better of me so, I'm just gonna briefly mention the one part of this idea I really like (still kinda long tho) but put simply Berserk at its core, at least to me in terms of its narrative, is a story about healing from trauma. Spoilers for most of it, though briefly ahead. I think for Guts and his relationship with Casca and Griffith is where this idea comes across most solidly and most signficantly to me in Berserk, and it's kinda the central idea of his arc post-eclipse (and Casca's during Fantasia as well to a degree) Guts during his time as the Black Swordsman chose a terrible coping mechanism, and in his attempt to get rid of his trauma turns to violence, in the vain hope that killing Griffith will somehow cure the issues he's dealing with. He's not only unable to do this, but also in the process is made markedly worse. A lot of revenge narratives do have the sense of the 'revenge is bad' idea, but I think Berserks unique in that is focuses so tightly on the anguish and trauma Guts deals with due to his attempts. It arises in what's represented in the Beast of Darkness, all those terrible parts of him that were fed during his time as the Black Swordsman, and his method even more than most revenge stories is both portayed as...sad and damaging to himself, and nearly to others like Casca at one point. But Guts doesn't overcome his issues by being a tough and unmoving or violent, which sometimes stories can associate as universally good or positive traits for male protags to have. Berserk instead portrays how people heal in I think one of the most geniune and realistic ways of any media I've seen. In that people heal by allowing themselves to be vulnerable, by letting people in, moving on, these are things that Guts does, though gradually, after Conviction and despite everything else he goes through, I think its really that which allows him to heal and its really refreshing. To see a story where vulnerability, where healing through moving on and such, are seen as positive and good things, and the way people heal from trauma is portrayed...well as geniunely one can portray it in a dark fantasy world, but I think Miura hits it quite well. At least for me, I think I find that aspect of Berserk...very comforting and relatable due to my own life experiences. Plus to add a tiny bit of feminist discourse here, it's also just really great imo to see a tough male protagonist like Guts, to not only have these traits, but having these things both be portrayed as positive, and the catalyst for him being able to get better. I think my favourite scene juxtaposed (though there's a lot you can pick) is how hateful Guts is of Griffith during the meeting of Conviction, verses in Fantasia where he's asked what Griffith is like, and he speaks in this tone that is sure neutral, but it feels so moved on with how Guts used to be, it makes me kinda tear up every time to see how far Guts has gone and...healed from everything that's happened to him, those kinda scenes in Berserk have always been my favourite. Where it shows someone healing from what's happened to them, and managing to move on, or at least taking the steps to do so.
This comment is really great and I agree with it. Your final point is really interesting to me because it’s something I’ve noticed too and while I know the story was heading for a Griffith and Guts reunion/fight, I don’t mind that we didn’t get one. For me, it was clear that Guts (and, in turn, the story) was more focused on healing Casca. And with that done, the series could at least finish in what it really needed: not the epic fight, but with healing.
I watched this video before consuming the entire run of the manga. Watching it again after doing so.... ending on Rickert's field of swords crushed me. Thanks to you and Eyepatch for putting me on this journey.
I'm thinking of the art that has stuck as deeply in my head as Berserk has upon reading it... let's see... Spirited Away, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Mad Max Fury Road... oh look... all of my favorite things.
Thanks for taking the time to go over the SA content, not just as a warning but as an important element to the story and message. Some of the adaptations sanitize so much of that stuff out that I feel like they can give viewers the wrong impression. I’ve seen so many people interpret the Golden Age arc as being about the tragic hero Griffith whose hard work is undone by his ungrateful and jealous friends Guts and Casca, mainly because most adaptations make it really easy to miss that Guts and Casca are SA survivors and Griffith is a psychopathic serial abuser. Making the content “safer” accidentally erases the story of survivors and glorifies the villain.
Oh hell yeah, this video RULES. The '97 anime was my first Berserk experience, and I totally agree, it was a great show that did a ton with its budget, told a complete story within the greater arc of Berserk, and did so very artfully. Heck, I even like the ending! It feels a bit less like a cliffhanger (we know from the first episode that Guts survives and what he becomes) and more like... the height of tragedy? A nightmarish catharsis? I dunno, the way the horror of the situation just builds and builds and builds and then smashes to credits at the end without even a pause for breath after Guts' howling scream? It never fails to just punch me right in the stomach. It feels like such an intentional effect that I have to imagine they knew what they were doing when they chose to end it at that specific moment.
Hello hi it's me again so... I'm back from reading the entire manga now and 1. Berserk is now among my favourite series of all time. I REALLY wish I could've found it when I was younger because it's messages about grief and trauma would've been SO helpful back then. I've never related to a character's emotional arc and struggle more than I did with Guts'. 2. WOW did I ever cry once again when I reached the scene you talked about in the spoiler, and 3. I have never experienced this kind of retroactive grief over someone's death before. Miura seriously was on another level as an artist and a storyteller, and knowing Berserk can never truly be finished the way it was intended makes my heart hurt so much. All I can say is thank you for making this video, and thank you so much for introducing me to Berserk. It felt like I just went on a week-long emotional journey, and it was amazing and heartbreaking and really, really worth it.
You clearly put so much love and time into this. You got emotional talking about it and then you had me getting emotional when you explained the scene between Casca and Guts. Truly amazing analysis!
Wow this is incredible work. I can really feel your love for this series. Like a lot of other people have said here, I was always hesitant to look into Berserk because I had heard about SA and especially childhood SA being included very explicitly and graphically. My life has been deeply affected by these kinds of incidents and it really made Berserk feel completely unapproachable to me. You have managed to sell me 100% and I'll probably end up reading and watching all of it now. I'm planning to take a lot of time and take a lot of breaks but I'm genuinely excited to get into this. Thank you so much for the time and care you put into this 💙
The ending of this video got me sobbing, I adore everything about what you expressed really eloquently in summary. The quiet moments, the character resolution, everything about what you specifically mentioned in the end does so much for me and so many other people. It's just incredible.
This is one of the best presentations of Berserk I've seen. You do an excellent job of conveying the messages, themes, and attraction of the story and thoroughly explain the pros & cons of each adaptation. I also commend you for keeping it pretty spoiler free for those who have not experienced the story yet, as there are many spoiler moments that I feel people use to sell the story to others. And I sympathize heavily with your last section over the loss of Kentaro Miura, it's a loss that is so impactful despite the separation between author and reader. Wonderful job throughout, you should feel proud.
Berserk is my comfort media because I'm mentally ill and highly traumatized and watching Guts go through it all is weirdly soothing and makes me feel seen and valid. All of my emotions feel validated.
This video got me into Berserk, which has been so impactful and healing to me. I cannot thank you enough for that. Funny enough, this video kind of became a kind of comfort media to me. Keep on, struggler.
I love Lady Emily's writing and videos, and I appreciate the detail and catharsis in what she says about this. Lady Emily's read was that this was two survivors being there for one another. In the real world, if someone chokes you, get out. Even if you care about them, even if you love them, even if they cry and talk about their childhood trauma. This is a well worn playbook, it can be enacted knowingly or unknowingly, where someone hurts you, justifies why they could not control their actions, and elicits comfort from you, the person they just hurt. That is not to say they are garbage, that is not to say they are irredeemable, that is not discounting PTSD symptoms, that is to say, you, the person who was just choked by them, are the least qualified person on the planet to be there for them and provide therapy or emotional support, the best decision for both of you is to get out and take care of yourself. You are loved and you are not alone.
Just finished watching this all the way through the second time, I can already tell this is going to be one of my comfort videos. Listening to you talk about something you're so passionate about is just a lot of fun to listen to, and the ending makes me ✨cry✨ So yeah, absolutely splendid job on this video, I've already looked into getting Berserk so I can read it myself
I always thought maybe I'd check out Berserk one day when it was finished (despite long ago spoiling at least the golden age arc for myself via wiki), and then when Miura died I kind of felt like that was that, the idea of engaging with what I could already tell would be an intense work felt overwhelming if it would never be finished. Now as soon as I can find the time and emotional capacity I think I have to read the manga. In a weird way it feels like I owe both Miura and you that, at least. Thank you.
Thank you for this, Berserk can be so hard to experience sometimes due to all those elements that would scare a lot of people off, but it's everything around them that makes it so good. All the quiet moments of characters talking and sharing their feelings. In particular thank you for talking about Guts' and Casca's first time, it's one of my favourite things in all of Berserk. Guts breaking down, freaking out, Casca giving him the chance to talk about it and him just baring his feelings. I love it so much, it's so beautiful, it has such a great build up across the series. And while there is a lot of sexual assaults in Berserk that is just to establish "this is a bad person" *cough Wyald cough* or "this is a bad world", that's not what it all is. There are important moments like this that show how that experience can shape a character. My partner got me some of the deluxe editions for Christmas and my birthday and I am slowly rereading the manga, and I think the Black Swordsman arc is a lot better when you've already experienced at least the Golden Age, as you have a lot more context for things like his not wanting to be touched. Still discount the first page though, definitely not canon haha
Starting 1:31:27 you had me in tears. What a beautiful, spectacular way of presenting a series so complex with such few words. Thank you always, for this gift
The end of this had me in tears. Thank you for finally convincing me to read the manga. While berkerk may come to an end, we can only hope that Miura's influence on media at large will lead to further media made in his vision for berserk and carrying on the values of his work that made it so special.
I'll be sharing this with as many people as I can! The way you conveyed the importance of how trauma was depicted in Berserk was very well done! Thanks for this video. I've still been in this state of denial since Mr. Miura has passed. I don't know if I will ever truly get over it.
Berserk is one of those once in a lifetime things that impacts you on such an intensely emotional level, and yet brings you so much joy at the same time. When I found Berserk I was at my worst. Just a few months earlier my sister was raped by my best friend, and then just four months later my dad was in the hospital near dead with a serious complication after a gastric bypass surgery. I felt so alone and so pissed at the world, like everyone and everything was being taken from me. Then while I was looking for some music to help calm my nerves I found the 2016 version of My Brother. I sat there listening to it thinking it sounded really nice, I decided to look up Berserk and found the 1997 anime. I stayed up all night watching it. I was simply in shock, I had just witnessed one of the greatest stories of all time if not the best. After the cliff hanger ending I looked up every aspect of Berserk I could. In the morning I made two of my sisters watch it with me and they both loved it. I became obsessed with Berserk for three months. Then one day I just felt depressed and down. I tried as hard as I could to be happy I just got a new model kit and was so hyped about Overlord season 4. Then I just got this really bad feeling something inside me compelled me to look at my phone and what was the first thing I saw, the masked man's video "#ThankYouMiura." My heart sank. The way you described his death was perfect it felt like the death of a close friend or a family member. It was such a weird thing shedding tears over a man you didn't truly know but that had impacted me so much and inspired me to keep on living. No other work has ever affected me as much as Berserk. Rip Miura Sensei, you will be missed by more people than you could ever imagine. We all will keep on struggling and keep your works close to our hearts.
Having never touched Berserk before seeing the movies, I thought your perspective on them as a big fan was interesting. I knew I was seeing a condensed adaptation, and in fact sought it out, because I wanted to know whether it would be worth the time to get into the series. So in my case, even the 3 year timeskip felt like it was offering me something for further engaging with the story should I choose to. It was definitely enough to get me to seek out more of the series
I've watched this around 5 times now and I simply must thank you I've fallen in love with Berserk and you are just so well spoken and I wish you the best in your endeavors.
Waiting for the berserk adaptation where Guts comes out of the screen so that I can take him to my therapist and maybe Steak n' shake afterwards if he does good
@@AlcoholicBoredom It's listed on their Twitter, but like, this whole comment sucks, my dude.
@@aleciabrimer6200 Agreed. Gone.
He'll do it if it means Casca also gets help, which holy crap I also wish for this woman to have access to the best CPTSD psychologics available.
if Guts went to therapy the therapist would need therapy after 10 minutes
You thi8nk your therapist is an apostle? The only one who gonna be cured will be the psy.
Thumbnail: "A Beginner's Guide to Berserk"
Timestamp: *103 minutes*
Yeah, that about tracks
That last section, about Berserk being unconventional comfort media, resonates so fucking hard for me.
Berserk was a hard read, but I feel more capable of dealing with my trauma after having read it.
Despite all the hellish shit in the manga, all the nihilism and despair, it constantly holds up the message of “keep struggling on. Don’t give up and die, because then the world you hate so much wins”. Berserk and Guts’ character unironically inspire me and keep me going.
Yes!
I definitely see parts of Guts in me, and seeing those characters who love him embrace him fully, with all the trauma he's suffered and the toll it's taken on him, is so beautiful. The world is uncaring, but the individual people who care about him make it...not less horrible, but something worth going on for.
And like southofheck said, if you just give up and die, the uncaring world wins. And fuck that shit.
@@groofay I’m the same way. Guts can be a pretty bad person, but I feel like a lot of people can relate to that feeling of struggling through life and feeling like the whole world is against you. It’s a great motivator sometimes.
I remember while in the middle of a hell scape of combat, in a desert thousands of miles from home, my friends being killed around me, blood and terror on every side. I had to be the struggler. I had to fight just to live. I had to kill them before they killed me.
This ending has me teary-eyed. Guts is the embodiment of “courage is not the absence of fear but the strength to keep going no matter how scared you are”. If a man that strong has hard days maybe it’s OK that I do too, if he can go through all that and still smile at the end of the day maybe I can too.
This video was beautiful. That last section covering Miura’s death and that moment with Casca and Guts made me cry. You’ve convinced me to read it.
Same. This is probably the best berserk video on youtube
GOD, YEAH, ME TOO, glad to hear it wasn’t just me!! Lol
Was OPENLY weeping at work lmao
I always took Guts in the Black Swordsman Arc to be his lowest mental state in the entire series thus explaining his attitude, eventually with him regaining back his humanity and becoming less of a monster to others after the Eclipse.
That's 100% exactly what Black Swordsman Guts is supposed to be.
@@Drums_of_Liberation And it's one of the reasons the Lost Children arc matters in any adaptation. Rosine is more pitiful than maliciously evil, less a cackling tyrant than a hurt child who doesn't understand the consequences of her actions, and sees herself as helping children like her. And it's when Guts starts to see himself at his most crazed and bloodthirsty, and realise that people see HIM as the monster, often more than the things he's fighting. It's the first signs that he hasn't entirely cauterised his emotional wounds and that as much as he tries to push the outside world out and exist as a grim loner who needs no friends....people can still affect him.
Exactly! I mean ffs, spoiler:
He literally almost raped Casca when it was just the two of them. He wasn’t all there mentally, as he was by himself fighting monsters, never sleeping, on the brink of insanity for years.
Oh yeah, totally, but I’m sure even Miura didn’t fully understand Guts as a character in those first few chapters/volumes. I think he started to at the very end of Black Swordsman, and definitely did by the middle of the Golden Age, but early on it feels like he was playing more with tropes and archetypes than a fully-realized character. Which makes sense to me! You don’t have everything planned out with a work like this when you start it.
@@DetectiveOlivaw o
That Castlevania scene was the most "please Let us adapt Berserk please" i've ever seen
Plus they've literally stated how much they want to animate berserk I heard they were supposed to start it after castelvenia but something happened idk what but I just saw that scene as a resume proving that they can lol
Tienes planeado hacer un vídeo sobre Berserk en el futuro?
if anyone does adaptation of berserk i want it completely uncut and nothing missing from the manga or at least sale an uncensored version of it
Yeah, and kinda desperate tbh.
Since they missed the point completely
TBH, killing all those poor farmers, then just running off into the sunset with her GF is very unBerserk, its just a "cool edgy" action scene with little substance. (Even how the tavern farmers are presented in the first two episodes of season 1 shows something of a disdain for "peasants")
The writing was so hit or miss in that Carmila had to become an entierely different person to fit their villain quota for season 4.
Despite all this I still like Castlevania, its very cool for two seasons, pretty meh for 3 and pretty descent for 4, but I still dont think they could adapt Berserk on the budget presented in that show. Its very stiff and wonky, its writing is very quip-y and TBH even 1997 utilized its budget in a much more fitting way than I think a Netflix budget animation ever could.
It's kind of disappointing that Berserk's marketing material just focuses exclusively on the sex, violence, and sexual violence, when that's about the least interesting part of the series.
Seriously, I had a friend who frequently recommended Berserk in high school, and I basically ignored him because it just looked like another edgy dark fantasy. I'm pretty sure I read a description just like that when I checked it out in the store, and I remember being totally unimpressed by it. It was only years later, after seeing video online about how good it was that I realised my mistake.
Sadly, that was a symptom of the era it was released to America in. When anime first started gaining steam in the west, back in the late 90s/early 00s, “cartoons are for kids” was still a firmly accepted universal truism. As a result, a lot of anime marketing boiled down to cringe “look at all these boobs ‘n blood! Is THAT for kids, Mom!?” for a few years.
Yeah but Berserk is hard to market. Saying anything will get some people interested but put a lot of people off.
Market as edgy? You get the edge lords in, but the people who want a well written thoughtful story are out.
Market it as a grim love-revenge story? You get the twilight fans in on it, but you loose anyone who isn’t into emotional stories.
Market it as a thoughtful character driven story, and you’ll get some people, but it might lead a lot of people to assume it’s pretentious nonsense.
There really isn’t any winning. The best way to get into it is just get into it, but doing that is difficult because it tends to flip between tones with every arc.
@@southofheck I do think there's a middle ground, though. It would be accurate to refer to Berserk as "dark and controversial" because it is, in fact, both of those things. The "don't show your granny" line is just cringe and makes it sound like a terrible 90s image comic.
@@okawesome2746 yeah I guess that works. It’s not perfect, but leaving it sort of vague is a neat idea. To bad this is America, and you gotta have an elevator pitch to throw in the public’s face or else you can’t sell it at all.
I used to avoid Berserk like the plague. It was marketed to me exactly like those cringeworthy ads you showed at the beginning of the video. As a senseless, gore filled edgefest about an asshole killing demons with pretentious philosophy about how life sucks.
I eventually looked up some info out of curiosity after finding out it inspired Fromsoftware’s aesthetics, and started to get interested. So I bought the dark horse collection of the first volume on sale. The guardians of desire arc hooked me so much that I blasted through the first 20 volumes over the course of 3 or four days. Berserk has cool fights, sure. But it’s also an excellently crafted story about trauma, human connection, destiny and hope in a hopeless world.
Funny, i was sold on that desciption...
I went through the same thing bro
Is it just me or is Miura's devastating & unexpected young passing before finishing the story a very Berserk thing to happen?
Yea, and honestly keeping with the message of Berserk, I think it's only right for people to read the new chapters of Berserk as well. We can't get Miura back. All we can do is carry on.
@@ryno4ever433 Agreed. In his honor we should. Especially bc this isn't some cash grab, it's his good friend who he wanted to take over if something happened to him
@@arthurdurhamAs much as I hate how long it’s taking for new chapters I’m still happy that they are giving it justice and not a rushed cash grab
It is honestly the MOST Berserk thing that could happen IRL
Yes, it's a very BERSERK thing to happen! How IRONIC!
"Please don't make a live action Berserk." I'm not even in this fandom but the sheer thought of that made my eye twitch.
I am very morbidly curious to see what HBO's Berserk would look like
@@Mezworld you know for sure it would just be another GoT clone. Even if it were good, it would be like the Witcher Netflix series. Like, yeah it’s good, but just read the books or play the games. They do a much better job.
The Berzerk fans need to be spared from the pain us JoJo fans experienced with the Diu movie.
It wouldn’t work
@@southofheck From what I saw of the witcher, it was honestly kind of mediocre. You're right about them turning it into GOT though, that's basically the express purpose of Amazon's LOTR(which just like the witcher is going to feature black elves. Because that totally makes sense from a norse mythological perspective).
I just wanted to come back a day or so after watching this to thank you. As a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I'm very uncomfortable experiencing media containing sexual assault and rape, and actively avoided Berserk in totality because of the stuff I heard about the rape in it. Seeing this video finally made me give it a shot, and it's entirely the scene you presented at the end that did it. That's so fucking powerful, I'm still sobbing thinking about it, and now that you've shown me the context for some of it, and how it's not just a gimmick, I've finally given it a chance. Guts being a survivor of childhood rape resonates a lot, and I'm grateful there's a character out there who realistically grapples with the same thing I do every day.
Thank you!
nerd
Do you feel like Guts from time to time?
Yeah Miura did an great job at showing SA for guts and griffin but he doesn't really do a good job at portraying female SA see the Princess and Casca (the unnecessary Griffin SA scene where instead of her POV it was Gut's and when Gut's SA'd her in the golden age)
@@MisterAlerion wow you seem nice
@@A_Salted_Fishe "sobbing" about animated violence makes you a weak nerd
Finally got around to showing my grandma ‘Berserk’.
She flipped through the pages, said “what the fuck is this weeb shit”, put her giant cigar out in one of the pages, then ran it over with her Harley and drove off into the night while I cried.
It was my omnibus edition to boot. My theatre group lost my normal edition in a mosh pit.
Damn, you really out here showing multiple reviews their dingustry :P
We’ve all been there.
@@JohnDoe-uf3lj it truly was my “Lost Children Arc.”
Almost made the same(ish) joke. Nice one dan
lool
"OLM was a great choice for Berserk, as months beforehand they had started adapting another popular dark fantasy series, Pokemon."
I had this on to listen to at work and had to pass off my burst of laughter as clearing my throat. HOW did I miss that moment when I watched this the first time?
I knew the joke was coming and I still fucking laughed hard. Thank god I work in a noisy place.
10:18
I don't think it is a joke, the pokemon manga is dark as fuck there is pokemon ripping eachother in half and shit
@@lorddosuniversos Pokemon Adventures is the best lmao
@@lorddosuniversos Yeah, but the anime isn't actually adapting that manga, and it's very lighthearted in compairson. Which makes this quote in the video extra funny.
"The St. Anger of anime sound effects" ...... I feel so seen by this line.
Fun fact Guts banging the demon lady is the only thing Miura said he would change if he had a second go around
can you recall where you got this from? sounds like an interesting read
@@______4575 simply research dug through to much of the internet plus other people now about it like the Almighty loli
But... why?
@@justajobro1266 Casca
@@JetblackJay ooooh... I would remove it tho I would just not make the first page...it sets the tone for the black swordsman arc and shows what guts has become
That last part had me in tears... It's almost unreal how beautiful and raw and heart breaking that scene is. As a survivor, it is the only portrayal of sexual assault, the trauma that comes with it, and the eventual path to healing that has truly helped me with my own trauma. For that I am eternally grateful to Kentaro Miura.
I am also a survivor, and I'm bawling as I write this, too. It's so hard for me to deal with the trauma sometimes, but it's nice to get a reminder that we're not alone.
I hate that there are so many of us, though. I don't know one single cishet woman who hasn't been assaulted by a man. Not one.
@@WobblesandBean @Splatalie sorry for both you. I hope you guys are okey 🍀
I just wanted to drop by and say thank you for talking about Gut's childhood trauma. I have watched many great videos about Berserk, but this is the first one in recent memory that actually talks with complete seriousness about that one part of Berserk and the emotional impact it truly conveys. I think that, as flawed as Berserk can be with the handling of sexual violence at times, I always felt a special kind of sadness and warmth in the scene where Casca and Guts are first intimate. Out of all the iconic scenes in Berserk, this is the one that stuck with me the most in all these years that I've been a fan.
So, again, thanks for talking about that. Great video!
I would love to introduce you to a essayist named Jackson P. Brown, her texts about Berserk are top tier.
@Domagoj Čović What is?
I revisit this video often, so here is a time stamp for all the parts (with a few bonus chapters I made up for convenience):
00:00 Introduction
04:04 The Black Swordsman Arc
09:51 Berserk 1997
28:08 The Golden Age Trilogy
41:50 Berserk 2016 (Production)
( 51:53 The Conviction Arc )
( 54:14 The Lost Children Arc )
( 56:08 Both Arcs As A Connected Whole )
( 58:29 Berserk 2016 (Adaptation) )
( 01:15:32 The Millennium Falcon Arc )
( 01:17:05 Berserk 2017 )
01:23:07 A Struggler Of Adaptations
( 01:27:30 Kentaro Miura's Death )
( 01:32:35 Content Warning + Small Golden Age Spoiler )
01:36:28 Conclusion (Corrected the Timeskip for the Content Warning)
01:41:23 Credits
Thank you for bringing up the bit about Guts's SA trauma. I honestly cry every time I either rewatch or reread that scene. As a victim myself, it's hard to find a representation of this level while still humanizing a main male character.
"A version of Berserk without an ending."
This is the entire series summarized in all mediums...
With the creators passing away it will never be finished sadly. Hopeful one of these days we can get a more complete adaptation of what's available.
@@jsc315 Well, it'll never be finished by Miura.
For all the shit people throw around about continuations by people who are not the original creator, literature is full of examples. Famously Brandon Sanderson took the torch from Robert Jordan on Wheel of Time and delivered what many felt was a really fantastic ending (although it did have heavy outlining). Probably plenty of examples we don't even know about of that very thing happening and turning out well.
I think, with time taken to find the right writer, the series could continue and find a conclusion that carried all the spirit and heart and warmth Miura imbued into every page into a conclusion that could really end up meaning the world to a whole lot of people.
I don't know if that'd be the case but I wouldn't put out of possibility that it will be continued, and given the reverence Miura garnered in the industry I think it not unlikely that the creatives left in charge of the series might poor the kind of time and energy required into finding a writer like that for Berserk, maybe if not for financial gain then as a personal favour to a dead friend. And hey, if that happened I know it'd never be the "true" ending and a lot of people would probably complain it was "never the same" but honestly, I'm here for whatever this series does from here on out, for better or worse.
@@charliecoke7396 I mean look at what Christopher Tolkien did with the notes he had. He truly added to the backstory of Middle-Earth. Even if the art isn’t as good they could still finish it if he left notes.
I'm sure everyone's happy this has aged a bit poorly now, even if it's not going to be exactly the same as it was.
@@SeriousStriker
I'm confident the new guys will nail it. They studied under Miura for years.
Your narration of Guts and Casca's first time almost drove me to tears. I'd always respected Miura for having his Conanesque action hero grapple with his abuse as a child, but hearing it laid out like that, depicting it from the viewpoint of both characters who went through that horrific experience…I think I'd have to try really hard to not cry reading the actual events. It's heartbreaking that Miura will never get to see the end of his own magnum opus, even if his fans manage to get some version of that long-sought conclusion, but he has left an enormous legacy already, and there is some comfort to be taken in that degree of success.
1:33:40 just got me. Gut's theme over the discussion of trauma and the holding onto the light. Solid ten minutes of crying while listening.
Thanks for putting this together. Berserk means a lot to me and this helped with moving on from the loss of Mr Kentaro Miura, even if only a little bit. Very good video.
You can tell she honestly loves Berserk more than most people love their children.
She?
@@STOPSYPHER Yes.
@@STOPSYPHER Yes.
@@HurricaneDDragon i think he's asking, since "her" early voice sounds like an man,
@@STOPSYPHERthought the voice sounded off
Berserk's insight to sexual trauma has always seemed... unsettlingly realistic.
It's a beautiful piece of work, it's such a message of hope against a dark and uncaring world, and thank you for putting it together in this video so well.
The ending of this video was so hard-hitting. I’ve never watched/read Berserk and knew nothing about it, and i was in tears. As a survivor of CSA myself, based on that scene you shared and described alone, i can understand why this series is so important to so many people, and why the loss of Miura is so devastating. Beautiful video and wonderfully done.
Honestly the best thing about Berserk for me is how it lures you in with its visuals and surface-level themes, but as you get deeper into it, it stops being a read. It becomes an experience, exploring themes of trauma, finding meaning in life, good and bad and their subjectivity, and how - no matter how bad things get, or how hard living becomes - it's always the right choice to push forward.
At least that's what I got from it lmao
Berserk is such an unexpectedly... Optimistic piece of media, and it really helped me deal with some things in my life, so all I can really say is a "thank you" to the late, great Kentaro Miura, and a "thank you" to you, for making this (highly informative and entertaining) video.
when the klang hit i literally sat up and said "HOLY SHIT." That sfx is the funniest thing I've ever heard in an anime omfg
I collapsed into laughter, NGL: horrified laughter, yes, but laughter nonetheless!
I have vague memories of hearing complaints about it at the time, but the sound was so intense that it gave me flashbacks to a series I never watched.
There's a CLANG cover of Berserk 97's OP around somewhere, it's fitting.
@@Colddirector Now this I have to hear.
@@dportnov _So put your grasses on_
_Nothing will be_ *CLANG*
Finally broke down as you explained Guts' traumatic past, and why Berserk is your comfort media. You even played his theme, and while I had never seen or read Berserk before, that music hits me so hard. T_T
Despite not being familiar with Berserk itself, Miura's death brings me such heartache, perhaps knowing how influential Berserk has been. Your video was very insightful and moving, thank you for your hard work.
Guts’ theme is so simple yet so powerful. Both it and the song Weight of the World from Nier: Automata (route E version) both just hit me like a truck no matter how many times I’ve listened to them. They both, to me, evoke a theme of struggle, introspection, and a constant drive for connection in spite of that lingering sadness. And I think they both do have a theme of hope in them. I can’t explain it in Guts’ theme, but when the choir kicks in on Weight of the World… well to steal a comment from one of the videos showing it, “the weight of the world isn’t so heavy when we all carry it together”.
I'm so glad you pointed out that Casca's skin had already been getting the lightening treatment before 2016 because every time I've seen TGAT footage played next to the '97 footage my brain has been yelling, "What's going on with her skin. What did they do to her skin. Why is it yellow."
ngl thats not really the fault of the animators. Miura himself was very inconsistent in regards to Casca's skintone. There are covers and panels that make you almost think she could be black and others where she looks like a slightly tan white person.
I have never seen or read any of berserk but this video completely sold me. There were moments that you described that definitely resonate with me. Brb ordering the manga!
very good choice. The Manga is pure art.
And so another struggler is born.
RIP legend- Kentaro Miura
Goodluck I hope you're not battling scalpers i just picked up the last 3 mangas today I needed it took me almost 2 months to get book 1 I had 36 out of 40 of them but only just got 1 last Monday because I caved it and bought it from a scalper for 3× the price
Same here. I've already gone through the first two omnibus volumes and loved every page. I can hardly wait to read more.
This is one of the most well-rounded Berserk videos i've ever watched, enjoyed every single second!!
As a SA survivor, I appreciate you for including Guts' trauma and talking about sexual violence in a respectful manner. It gets so tiring to hear fans harass people who even dare to criticize the overuse of sexual assault in the manga. I find it difficult to be involved in the fandom because of that, so thank you. Also the way you analyzed some characters/their relationship dynamics really made me want to read Berserk again! 😸
Walking L, deserved
Man, I'm not even 2 minutes and just hearing you talk about the far-reaching influence Miura's work had and still has... I'm tearing up. Can't wait to watch the rest of this video.
You're something special, Lady Emily. I watch a lot of video essays, but none before has ever made me cry.
The last 15-20 minutes of the video hit me really really hard. It might be a mix of my own struggles and emotions or still being shocked that Miura is gone, or all of that even. That last 20 minutes of the video genuinely made me cry, but in a good way. The kind of cry that you have not just because you’re sad or upset, but the kind that’s relieving and you have because of something that means so much to you, something that’s so beautiful. This was a brilliant video, I don’t know how else to say it other than that. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the series with us and for sharing your emotions with us. I need to go re-watch the 97 anime and re-read the series now
40 mins and and we only just started talking about 2016 oh lord.
It's hard not to argue the best introduction to the series is the dub bloopers.
"I'm just a girl who cain't say no,
Cain't seem to say it at AAALLLLL!"
"Let's hear it for the Gakts-Nagatiba! And the Gangin-Banganatu!"
For the uninitiated
ua-cam.com/video/nOjxSEolWmM/v-deo.html
My love for you is like a truck, BERSEEERKER, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO A BERSEEEERKER!!!
@@damienvandepol "... did he say ... making fuck?"
I haven't had any exposure to Beserk before, nor consider myself a massive anime/manga consumer in general, but the emotion and passion that you so clearly expressed for this series made this video a privilege to watch. It made me deeply feel the pain of losing Miura at such a tragically young age, the pain of never seeing his final vision come to fruition - what a terrible thing for his loved ones, his fan-base and for you to experience. And I totally understand the unique ways that people find their own comfort media, which is why I play the first BioShock at least once a year. Obviously, it's nowhere near as dark as Beserk, but I find a weird comfort in its world, characters, and horrors, probably because it dropped at such a big turning point in my own youth. This was a fantastic love letter and memorial Emily, well done
This comment probably won't be seen as I'm a little late to this video, but I feel the need to say this.
This is such a beautiful tribute to a series that is obviously exceptionally important to you. I don't know if it's my new medication or I'm too tired for my own good, but it's truly amazing that you made me cry over a media series that I knew next to nothing about beyond "haha Beserk 2016 bad". It is so apparent that this series means so much to so many people, and what a profound loss it was to lose Miura. I can't imagine how hard it was for you, and fans all around the world, to process it. But it's important to celebrate Miura's legacy, and not dwell on what could have been. His work will live on, in its own way.
Seriously, the last... 20ish minutes of this video made me so emotional that I can hardly put it into words. Thank you for introducing me to this series more properly, I will make an effort to read the manga, once I can afford to, of course.
I just found your channel today through the Cinemassacre video, and made my way through to here. This has been one of the easiest decisions to subscribe I've ever had. Thank you for doing what you're doing, the internet is a better place for it.
(sorry if this was too rambling. part of the reason I don't leave comments often is that they tend to become too long and I have the feeling very few people actually care to read it. there is so much more that I wanted to say, but it's been put into words better by other people in the comments.)
I started reading the manga since I watched Super EyePatch Wolf's latest Berserk video and I'm about midway through the Falcon Empire arc. And I've just finished this vid after watching pieces of it the past month and I 100% feel the same about it being comfort media. The past few weeks have been on and off really bad for my mental health and reading Berserk and just seeing these characters push forward and grow as people despite everything the world throws at them has been really empowering.
You have PERFECTLY explained why Berserk is comforting to read. I've tried and failed to explain to friends and family why this bleak series could be comforting to a person, and you've absolutely nailed it. I've always found myself meditating on Berserk whenever I enter a deep depression. Thank you for this video
How the hell do you clang a ghost? No seriously that literally happens in the 2016 anime when Guts fights ghosts. The clang sound effect is used
Chuck Norris might swim through land, but Guts can clang with thin air.
Also you cant clang skeletons who are not wearing armor... yet they did that.
Atleast we can see that artwork can really have a soul. And Berserk 2016 was soulless copy , just an empty shell.
Wood? CLANG
Flesh? CLANG
Metal? CLANG
A little girl? CLANG
Just understand that they didn’t know what they were doing and were the wrong people to choose for the adaptation
Guts clearly used a transient curse obviously how else would he be able to attack ghosts regardless?
1:33:40 when Guts' Theme finally started to play absolutely killed me. This is the first UA-cam video to ever make me cry. I don't know why but that scene with Guts and Casca never clicked for me until you broke it down, it makes so much sense now and I understand why I love Berserk so much. Fantastic video, 10/10, would cry again.
Video brought me to tears, you can tell this person cares so much about Berserk. And honestly this gave so much closure on Kentaro's death. Thanks so much for this.
This is not only one of the best breakdown/pseudo-love note to berserk I've ever seen, but also just an absolutely amazing video documentary.
There's no Sora from kingdom hearts without Berserk.
?
@@JetblackJay Berserk has been a somewhat important influence in the final fantasy franchise and Kingdom hearts is basically a spin off of Final Fantasy.
No Berserk means no Final Fantasy in the form we know it now(or in the 90's) means Kingdom Hearts would have probably not happened.
There’s no Doug Walker playing Kingdom Hearts without Berserk.
Doug Walker is the adaptation of Berserk we’ve been waiting for.
He is the Doug Struggler.
Wait no.
Strug Walker.
Guts: The Darkness infects Casca! We need to save her!
You completely accomplished your goal. Having never experienced Beserk, you conveyed what makes it special and convinced me to finally read it. Thank you, your work is so special and well produced.
I greatly enjoyed this. Thank you for making it.
To verified boi
Aamooooon
Fucking cider
Oh shit I never put it together how inspired your own work is by Berserk until now hey man that’s awesome love your stuff.
I know this is late and so many other have said the same but the ending portion of your video is perfect. The way you describe why some of the harsher aspects of the story are important is beautiful. Ive gotten many weird reavtions when i try to get someone into bersker while still warning them of the harsher themes. The way you put it was amazing. I haven't really thought about my comfort media before, but berserk is 100% it. This also gets negative reactions form people which honestly hurts. Also the part about being vulnerable really hit home. As a large guy I can't really discus my feelings with anyone and if I do end up expressing negative emotions I'd get chastised for it. Sorry for rambling. Your video was just an amazing watch. Thank you for posting it
HUH, funny story about the Golden Age trilogy... I got my husband into Berserk with those movies. He had heard me talk its praises up and down our home, and how I totally wished to get the brand, but my belief and respect for more spiritual stuff had me second guessing it all the time. He FINALLY started reading it after he had asked me "What's the best way to experience it?" and he went down the list of the animated adaptations, and I kept saying "Ehh... you won't get everything, though. Just read the manga."
I remember standing in that line for 3 days, I couldn't make it to the final day because I got severely sick due to the lack of sleep, really bad cold thanks to my weakened immune system. It really hit me hard when the news of his passing had dropped, a couple of my characters were inspired by Guts and the others, especially my first D&D character. She's got the oversized sword, and our DM ended up giving her the armor during our campaign. I felt downright honored. I managed to get footage of day 1 and 2, but catching a cold made the rest of the footage difficult to put together. Berserk really did leave a mark on so many people. It is sad that a true adaptation can't really ever happen, or maybe a slim chance, but maybe that's part of its charm.
If it wasn't for Berserk, I don't think I'd be here today. My story was featured in another video, but long story short, after growing up in a house full of emotional (and one instance of physical) abuse, I was reading the manga and saw the panel where Guts up and ran from the camp as a boy, then later looking up at the sky. I decided that day to run away from home, and since then, I started my own life by my own terms at last and then got my mom to leave with us. I cried and realized like you mentioned in the video, I _was_ allowed to talk about my trauma, despite being told otherwise. And since then, I've only been able to move forward. I didn't experience something as traumatic as Guts or Casca, but it was still horrible and haunts me to this day. My husband has been like how Casca was for Guts, he let me talk and cry.
Berserk in the end means a lot to me.
WOOOOO
Woah sarah Z rocks with berserk? Sick!
Hi Sarah.
WHAT?
Woah Sarah Z watches Emily! Who would’ve seem that coming?
Would love to see you talk about manga if there’s one you’re really into. But I’ll still watch whatever you put out :)
May you continue to rest in peace, Miura. I never knew you, but my love for you and your work is unquantifiable. And thank you, Emily, for creating such a grand video.
I kinda disagree with your opinion of the first arc.
That's because I think this arc explores the facade of the uncaring and stoic man that Guts wants to present himself as while showing that his actions contradicts this perception and that Guts really cares but he forces himself to talk and act like this because he thinks that everyone around him will get killed because of the brand. (The battle with the skeletons).
And his relation with Vargas is the same. When he sees him get executed he feels really guilty for not helping him.
At the end of the arc we see this facade gets shattered when we see guts crying.
His face says it all.
The sex thing is the rough around the edges for being the first arc.
This is what I felt too.
I just started getting into the series and I found this to be my take as well from the first arc. Specifically when Guts meets the little girl and old man as well as Guts being torn up after remembering Vargas' desperate plea to him right before his death.
Those to me were such small moments but super important. They show the reality of the situation by, for just a moment, allowing the facade that Guts has built up to fall away before almost immediately being forced back up.
It's a deconstruction of the edgy power fantasy hero
I listen to this a lot at work and the end still makes me cry a little every time. I've had a really awful loss last year and the note this video this ends on is always really wonderful to hear. Thank you so much.
This video was extremely helpful. I started berserk a few weeks ago and this was super informative and interesting. Thank you. It’s been such a beautiful series so far, and the themes and messages in berserk you talked about throughout and at the end of the video meant a lot. rest in peace Kentaro Miura .
Man this video is such a joy to watch. It's starting to become one of my "comfort" video essays. The way you explore that scene with Guts and Casca being intimate for the first time just perfectly captures how powerful that scene is.
Me: oh wow that sword sounds like the St. Anger snare
Emily, like 12 seconds later: it's the St. Anger drums of anime sfx
my lifestyle determines my deathstyle
Legitimately incredible video, a lot of other video essays i've seen about berserk kind of have this "dude-broey" vibe to them, or they seem almost afraid to criticize some of the more questionable aspects of the story (Wyald, overuse of sexual assault etc) but you were perfectly able to not only convey how much of an incredible storyteller Miura was while also occasionally calling him out on his bullshit, which was really refreshing, game me some new insights while serving as a perfect memorial for such an iconic series.
Ps: holy shit someone else who thinks Sonia is a super intresting character! I though i was the only one, she unfortunately seems to be on the receiving end of a lot of the vitriol from the worst parts of the fanbase
I hate Sonia
which youtubers did you feel were dude-broey lol
@@ovahlord1451 Most of them tbh haha other than this video, the only other youtubers that i think managed to make really good and thoughtful videos about berserk are Beyond Ghibli and Super Eyepatch Wolf, most of the others just seemed really surface level and i didn't find they had anything all that intresting to say, obvs its fine if you disagree, just stating my opinion
@@SamNets I agree a lot of videos tend to be very shallow
So far we haven't seen anything of Sonia except her being a dumb naïve kid who says things like "Yes I know they're demonic hellspawn, but they're our demonic hellspawn!"
1:32:48... it was then I realized this was one for the ages. It was a looong time ago when I read that chapter, yet those facial expressions alone kick me in the feels to this day, and frankly put almost any other graphic novels to shame. So perfect in every way.
I'd argue that Wyald was needed because of one reason: he's a sign that the "Fantasy" elements were leaving the shadows they constantly hid in, and that what was coming didn't exactly have humanity in mind as an equal or something to just be ignored; let alone protected. Wyald was indeed a lot to take in, but he was something like Zodd but also different in a humongous way that cemented an idea about these things. Where Zodd was fighting people to fight and especially to find someone that he can fight on equal ground, Wyald fought to enjoy causing pain; to break people and use them like toys in the most gruesome way possible. In this, the reader can assume two things: these creatures, whatever they may be, are driven by their individual desires, and have little to no remorse to committing the atrocities they enact. For Zodd, that desire is combat. For Wyald, it was a savage carnal desire. Even the latter's death at the hands of the former hints towards something more terrifying about these things: they were once human themselves. They were human and somehow became these evil demons. And if you look deeply into it, you can assume that Wyald, who was revealed to be a withered old man, surrendered what human nature he had to become this thing to cause these horrible things. This would leave a question in the reader's mind to be answered by the Eclipse: Why and How. Why did they turn themselves into these things and how did it happen?
While I'll admit he is Not a good character in the story, I will not deny this monkey-faced Demon is necessary to getting readers to ask questions so they can understand the world better as time goes by.
(EDIT) And I personally believe that to be a testament to how good Miura was at writing. Even his weakest or least enjoyable characters had an important role to play and were utilized in a mammer to which Berserk would not be the same without them. Such as the Torture Master or Adan or even Lord Gennon, whom I personally despise. If I were to see an adaptation of this Manga in the future that omits them, then it'd feel awkward for me to call it Berserk.
Outside of that, I found your points articulated very well, and the video overall to be very well done and of high quality.
Agreed. Wyald was necessary for the story, a display that the cracks in the golden age were beginning to form and that darker times were on the horizon.
I also found him to be a very good "formal" introduction to how absolutely fucked up most apostles are. Zodd just kinda goes around getting in fights, which is bad but still pretty mild compared to, hell the snake count in Black Swordsman, while with Wyald it really shows that apostles are cruel beings that can't be talked with.
Hi! I watched this a few weeks ago, and coming back to say thanks for giving me the push I needed to check out Berserk! The '97 anime kind of blew my mind?? And now I'm super pumped for the manga. Thanks for sharing your passion for such a great story!
Hey!! Thank you for the kind words! I’m really glad you liked the anime! It really is something special. And I hope you enjoy the manga too!!
@@LadyEmilyPresents aaaaaand now I’m going down this same rabbit hole, thank you so much! Loved this tribute to an amazing part of media
That back cover description of Berserk is hilarious! Makes me wish they added more over-the-top descriptions like...
"This ain't your Mama's manga!" --Richard "Large" Larkin, Dudebro Magazine
"'Berserk' broke into my home slept, with me and made out with my girlfriend!" --Jennifer "Awesomator" Freeman, Manga Informer
"'Berserk' is so good that my father said he loves me!" --Peter Ubelover, Shave 'Em Dry Illustrated
Lmao
"'Berserk' cured my baldness! But it's so intense it punched off all my hair again." ~ Dick Dickson III, Eel-lectronic Gayming Mothly
I remember one that just talked abotu how berserk fans would go out and kill people who didn't read it
@@goblinsinc.8274that's just a well-intentioned warning
The ending of your essay was beautiful. Yesterday I finished berserk for the first time and was in awe and sad at the fact that Miura isn't here to finish it. I know I'll return to this work of art many times throughout my life. Somehow I think this video essay has helped me digest the series a bit, fill that void when you finish a spectacular piece of media, and contextualize many aspects of what I loved in berserk while reading it. Thanks.
The thing I LOVED about the 97 manga is that by the time the cosmic horror stuff came back, I had completely forgotten about it. So when the apostles attacked the band of the hawk, I was in shock because of what a shift it was. While I love the manga, that's one thing that was missing since there were hints of it throughout before that point.
Not only that, but when they come back in full force in the eclipse, it's a lot darker than pretty much anything I've seen earlier, like.... You have this horde of demons not just killing and devouring people, but BRUTALIZING THEM! And then you add the raping of Casca on top of that, (Which honestly, I felt was that part was a bit too long for it's own good, but I still think it's an important part of the horror and the trauma that Guts and Casca will have from this, on top of watching their friends die a horrible death.) like.... I don't care what anyone tells me. From now on, whenever I think of the word "Hell" the eclipse, specially the original manga version of it, is the first thing that will come to my mind. THAT THING WAS HELL! You knew the apostles were cruel, you knew it from the Black Swordsman arc, and from the fight with Wyald, but this is a whole other level.
Thank you so much for making this. Especially the section discussing Guts and Casca's intimacy at the waterfall. You beautifully articulated what I find so special about the series in a way I've always struggled with.
20 clangs out of 10.
It's official guys.....
2016 will be a legendary year for anime
Real late to this but I've found Berserk video essays to always be a little... lacking.
I mean heck, my favourite creator on the platform made three video essays on the series and even there none of them really "stuck".
I think its because there's very little we know about the series creation and it's creator and in the vacuum of that people making videos are only really left with just explaining exactly what Berserk is, which reads more as a summary of the series than actually piercing into anything to deeper. The only things Berserk's iron clad armour on discussion really exposes to be delved into is the emotional side of the series, the beauty, and that takes being willing to be vulnerable in some way on the internet to deliver satisfyingly.
And I gotta say, you nailed it. Whole way through, fantastic video. You've not only convinced me to go back and re-read all of Berserk while I wait for the last few volumes I've got on back order to arrive but to earmark this video as one to revisit every few months, to remind me not only of how fantastic this series is, but to remind me why pieces of art so dark and personal have an opportunity to say so much more than what we typically get out of Grimdark fantasy.
So, thank you. For everything you've put into this video, I promise you every part of your commitment to both informing and being so honest about it's meaning to you was worth it.
This has probably been the hardest year or two of my life. All the stars have consistently aligned to put me in a constant living hell. May was actually a decent month until He died. It felt fitting.
The last few days, I haven't had any hope. Nothing to hope for, but this video reminded me of Berserk. I think about it often, but hearing your passion about it in depth had me finally think about it properly for the first time in a long time.
Berserk has always been an inspiration for me. In writing, in art, it's what I've always wanted to make, but this might be the first time I've ever understood why. It all clicked when you talked about the hope in it. The found family, the love despite being torn to shreds at every turn, only sticking together because of the few people you have who won't kill you. That kind of hope in all that pain is what I'll always need. It's what I want to give.
Thanks for showing it to me again.
I hope things get better for you.
After watching your video i read all the manga. My god what a journey! But i have two things to say.
1. Wyald IS an important character, even though he is not exactly well written and is just edgelord shit he is necesary. Besides Zodd this is the first time Guts has to fight against an apostle and remember, Guts has been training by cutting logs impulsed by a waterfall to simulate the punch of zodd, wyald is the first time he has a chance to try the result of his training. After the long fight he almost dies a lot of times, so when zodd tears wyald appart the manga is showing that Zodd is in a whole different level, and guts super human strenght by itself wont be enough. Also, everyone can tell that Zodd is "special" like a tier S boss, but with wyald he is average, maybe a little bit above average so when the eclipse started it hits in a WHOOOLE different way to see that many apostles. If ONE gave the gang so much trouble, that many means game over. I only saw the 97 adaptation so after reading the wyald fight the eclipse hit me in a whole different way. And remember, Wyald was a starting point to the animalistic and savage desire that motivates apostles, Zodd was logical and had selfcontrol when he saw the crimson behelit, wyald didnt, he almost killed Grifith. So he helped me to understand that the other apostles most likely would end up being this unhinged force of nature that only pursue whatever they like. He is not perfect (god knows dick tongue is waaay beyond my line) but neither is "pirate tentacle in pirate ship tentacle" so...
2. Thank you so very much, this was something i wanted to make for years but the bulk of the manga was intimidating. And im so happy i did it. Thank you for your video.
I find it endlessly funny that the only adaptation that Wyald got into....
Is the Musou game where he's playable for some reason?
God it’s only been like a week since I first saw the dick tongue, that’s probably the hardest I’ve ever recoiled at any comic, or even any book honestly.
What an absolutely amazing video. Just finished the ‘97 anime for the first time, and plan on ordering the first few volumes of the manga when I have the spare money. I now have an immense love for the story, and cannot wait to experience it more. Thank you for sharing your love for this tremendous piece of storytelling with us.
This video was cathartic in a way I hadn't been able to process since news of Miura's death, thank you for that. I heard about it in circumstances where I simply couldn't feel all that I knew I would and this reminded me about how much I grieve his loss, and even more than that, how much I love this series and how much it means to me. It's my comfort media as well and I'm gonna reread it now
I think we can all agree that Wyald's greatest moment was (SPOILERS)
Getting mauled by Zodd.
yeeeah it was so satisfying
Yknow maybe this Zodd guy ain't so bad
I've been here for a while trying to figure how to get across what I think of berserk succintly, but my autistic tendency to ramble keeps getting the better of me so, I'm just gonna briefly mention the one part of this idea I really like (still kinda long tho) but put simply Berserk at its core, at least to me in terms of its narrative, is a story about healing from trauma. Spoilers for most of it, though briefly ahead.
I think for Guts and his relationship with Casca and Griffith is where this idea comes across most solidly and most signficantly to me in Berserk, and it's kinda the central idea of his arc post-eclipse (and Casca's during Fantasia as well to a degree) Guts during his time as the Black Swordsman chose a terrible coping mechanism, and in his attempt to get rid of his trauma turns to violence, in the vain hope that killing Griffith will somehow cure the issues he's dealing with. He's not only unable to do this, but also in the process is made markedly worse.
A lot of revenge narratives do have the sense of the 'revenge is bad' idea, but I think Berserks unique in that is focuses so tightly on the anguish and trauma Guts deals with due to his attempts. It arises in what's represented in the Beast of Darkness, all those terrible parts of him that were fed during his time as the Black Swordsman, and his method even more than most revenge stories is both portayed as...sad and damaging to himself, and nearly to others like Casca at one point.
But Guts doesn't overcome his issues by being a tough and unmoving or violent, which sometimes stories can associate as universally good or positive traits for male protags to have. Berserk instead portrays how people heal in I think one of the most geniune and realistic ways of any media I've seen. In that people heal by allowing themselves to be vulnerable, by letting people in, moving on, these are things that Guts does, though gradually, after Conviction and despite everything else he goes through, I think its really that which allows him to heal and its really refreshing.
To see a story where vulnerability, where healing through moving on and such, are seen as positive and good things, and the way people heal from trauma is portrayed...well as geniunely one can portray it in a dark fantasy world, but I think Miura hits it quite well. At least for me, I think I find that aspect of Berserk...very comforting and relatable due to my own life experiences. Plus to add a tiny bit of feminist discourse here, it's also just really great imo to see a tough male protagonist like Guts, to not only have these traits, but having these things both be portrayed as positive, and the catalyst for him being able to get better.
I think my favourite scene juxtaposed (though there's a lot you can pick) is how hateful Guts is of Griffith during the meeting of Conviction, verses in Fantasia where he's asked what Griffith is like, and he speaks in this tone that is sure neutral, but it feels so moved on with how Guts used to be, it makes me kinda tear up every time to see how far Guts has gone and...healed from everything that's happened to him, those kinda scenes in Berserk have always been my favourite. Where it shows someone healing from what's happened to them, and managing to move on, or at least taking the steps to do so.
This comment is really great and I agree with it. Your final point is really interesting to me because it’s something I’ve noticed too and while I know the story was heading for a Griffith and Guts reunion/fight, I don’t mind that we didn’t get one. For me, it was clear that Guts (and, in turn, the story) was more focused on healing Casca. And with that done, the series could at least finish in what it really needed: not the epic fight, but with healing.
I watched this video before consuming the entire run of the manga. Watching it again after doing so.... ending on Rickert's field of swords crushed me. Thanks to you and Eyepatch for putting me on this journey.
I'm thinking of the art that has stuck as deeply in my head as Berserk has upon reading it... let's see... Spirited Away, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Mad Max Fury Road... oh look... all of my favorite things.
Thanks for taking the time to go over the SA content, not just as a warning but as an important element to the story and message. Some of the adaptations sanitize so much of that stuff out that I feel like they can give viewers the wrong impression. I’ve seen so many people interpret the Golden Age arc as being about the tragic hero Griffith whose hard work is undone by his ungrateful and jealous friends Guts and Casca, mainly because most adaptations make it really easy to miss that Guts and Casca are SA survivors and Griffith is a psychopathic serial abuser. Making the content “safer” accidentally erases the story of survivors and glorifies the villain.
Oh hell yeah, this video RULES. The '97 anime was my first Berserk experience, and I totally agree, it was a great show that did a ton with its budget, told a complete story within the greater arc of Berserk, and did so very artfully.
Heck, I even like the ending! It feels a bit less like a cliffhanger (we know from the first episode that Guts survives and what he becomes) and more like... the height of tragedy? A nightmarish catharsis? I dunno, the way the horror of the situation just builds and builds and builds and then smashes to credits at the end without even a pause for breath after Guts' howling scream? It never fails to just punch me right in the stomach. It feels like such an intentional effect that I have to imagine they knew what they were doing when they chose to end it at that specific moment.
Lady Emily? Berserk? Nearly two hours? I can't tell you how excited I was to see this in my sub feed~
Hello hi it's me again so... I'm back from reading the entire manga now and 1. Berserk is now among my favourite series of all time. I REALLY wish I could've found it when I was younger because it's messages about grief and trauma would've been SO helpful back then. I've never related to a character's emotional arc and struggle more than I did with Guts'. 2. WOW did I ever cry once again when I reached the scene you talked about in the spoiler, and 3. I have never experienced this kind of retroactive grief over someone's death before. Miura seriously was on another level as an artist and a storyteller, and knowing Berserk can never truly be finished the way it was intended makes my heart hurt so much.
All I can say is thank you for making this video, and thank you so much for introducing me to Berserk. It felt like I just went on a week-long emotional journey, and it was amazing and heartbreaking and really, really worth it.
You clearly put so much love and time into this. You got emotional talking about it and then you had me getting emotional when you explained the scene between Casca and Guts. Truly amazing analysis!
Honestly made me cry, very well done video!
Wow this is incredible work. I can really feel your love for this series. Like a lot of other people have said here, I was always hesitant to look into Berserk because I had heard about SA and especially childhood SA being included very explicitly and graphically. My life has been deeply affected by these kinds of incidents and it really made Berserk feel completely unapproachable to me.
You have managed to sell me 100% and I'll probably end up reading and watching all of it now. I'm planning to take a lot of time and take a lot of breaks but I'm genuinely excited to get into this. Thank you so much for the time and care you put into this 💙
The ending of this video got me sobbing, I adore everything about what you expressed really eloquently in summary. The quiet moments, the character resolution, everything about what you specifically mentioned in the end does so much for me and so many other people. It's just incredible.
This is one of the best presentations of Berserk I've seen. You do an excellent job of conveying the messages, themes, and attraction of the story and thoroughly explain the pros & cons of each adaptation. I also commend you for keeping it pretty spoiler free for those who have not experienced the story yet, as there are many spoiler moments that I feel people use to sell the story to others. And I sympathize heavily with your last section over the loss of Kentaro Miura, it's a loss that is so impactful despite the separation between author and reader. Wonderful job throughout, you should feel proud.
Berserk is my comfort media because I'm mentally ill and highly traumatized and watching Guts go through it all is weirdly soothing and makes me feel seen and valid. All of my emotions feel validated.
wow, emily, that ending was absolutely beautiful :’) thank you for that. 💜
This video got me into Berserk, which has been so impactful and healing to me. I cannot thank you enough for that. Funny enough, this video kind of became a kind of comfort media to me. Keep on, struggler.
I love Lady Emily's writing and videos, and I appreciate the detail and catharsis in what she says about this. Lady Emily's read was that this was two survivors being there for one another. In the real world, if someone chokes you, get out. Even if you care about them, even if you love them, even if they cry and talk about their childhood trauma. This is a well worn playbook, it can be enacted knowingly or unknowingly, where someone hurts you, justifies why they could not control their actions, and elicits comfort from you, the person they just hurt. That is not to say they are garbage, that is not to say they are irredeemable, that is not discounting PTSD symptoms, that is to say, you, the person who was just choked by them, are the least qualified person on the planet to be there for them and provide therapy or emotional support, the best decision for both of you is to get out and take care of yourself. You are loved and you are not alone.
Just finished watching this all the way through the second time, I can already tell this is going to be one of my comfort videos. Listening to you talk about something you're so passionate about is just a lot of fun to listen to, and the ending makes me ✨cry✨
So yeah, absolutely splendid job on this video, I've already looked into getting Berserk so I can read it myself
Me “Oh cool, I *sees the length and the topic* I’m completely down for this”
one of the best video essays ever created
I always thought maybe I'd check out Berserk one day when it was finished (despite long ago spoiling at least the golden age arc for myself via wiki), and then when Miura died I kind of felt like that was that, the idea of engaging with what I could already tell would be an intense work felt overwhelming if it would never be finished. Now as soon as I can find the time and emotional capacity I think I have to read the manga. In a weird way it feels like I owe both Miura and you that, at least. Thank you.
The problem with hatching in 2016 is that it's uniform. In artwork, hatching direction follows texture and shape of the object. Here its static.
Thank you for this, Berserk can be so hard to experience sometimes due to all those elements that would scare a lot of people off, but it's everything around them that makes it so good. All the quiet moments of characters talking and sharing their feelings.
In particular thank you for talking about Guts' and Casca's first time, it's one of my favourite things in all of Berserk. Guts breaking down, freaking out, Casca giving him the chance to talk about it and him just baring his feelings. I love it so much, it's so beautiful, it has such a great build up across the series. And while there is a lot of sexual assaults in Berserk that is just to establish "this is a bad person" *cough Wyald cough* or "this is a bad world", that's not what it all is. There are important moments like this that show how that experience can shape a character.
My partner got me some of the deluxe editions for Christmas and my birthday and I am slowly rereading the manga, and I think the Black Swordsman arc is a lot better when you've already experienced at least the Golden Age, as you have a lot more context for things like his not wanting to be touched. Still discount the first page though, definitely not canon haha
Also I started tearing up when Guts' theme hit during the discussion of his trauma. That song will make me cry any time though.
I’m so glad the Vatican finally allowed you to upload. Now you have something in common with Galileo Galilei, Papal suppression!
Starting 1:31:27 you had me in tears. What a beautiful, spectacular way of presenting a series so complex with such few words. Thank you always, for this gift
The end of this had me in tears. Thank you for finally convincing me to read the manga.
While berkerk may come to an end, we can only hope that Miura's influence on media at large will lead to further media made in his vision for berserk and carrying on the values of his work that made it so special.
I have no personal history with Berserk but the parts about Kentaro Miura still have me tearing up, still break my heart so much.
I'll be sharing this with as many people as I can! The way you conveyed the importance of how trauma was depicted in Berserk was very well done! Thanks for this video. I've still been in this state of denial since Mr. Miura has passed. I don't know if I will ever truly get over it.
Berserk is one of those once in a lifetime things that impacts you on such an intensely emotional level, and yet brings you so much joy at the same time.
When I found Berserk I was at my worst. Just a few months earlier my sister was raped by my best friend, and then just four months later my dad was in the hospital near dead with a serious complication after a gastric bypass surgery. I felt so alone and so pissed at the world, like everyone and everything was being taken from me. Then while I was looking for some music to help calm my nerves I found the 2016 version of My Brother. I sat there listening to it thinking it sounded really nice, I decided to look up Berserk and found the 1997 anime. I stayed up all night watching it. I was simply in shock, I had just witnessed one of the greatest stories of all time if not the best. After the cliff hanger ending I looked up every aspect of Berserk I could. In the morning I made two of my sisters watch it with me and they both loved it. I became obsessed with Berserk for three months.
Then one day I just felt depressed and down. I tried as hard as I could to be happy I just got a new model kit and was so hyped about Overlord season 4. Then I just got this really bad feeling something inside me compelled me to look at my phone and what was the first thing I saw, the masked man's video "#ThankYouMiura." My heart sank. The way you described his death was perfect it felt like the death of a close friend or a family member. It was such a weird thing shedding tears over a man you didn't truly know but that had impacted me so much and inspired me to keep on living. No other work has ever affected me as much as Berserk. Rip Miura Sensei, you will be missed by more people than you could ever imagine. We all will keep on struggling and keep your works close to our hearts.
Having never touched Berserk before seeing the movies, I thought your perspective on them as a big fan was interesting. I knew I was seeing a condensed adaptation, and in fact sought it out, because I wanted to know whether it would be worth the time to get into the series. So in my case, even the 3 year timeskip felt like it was offering me something for further engaging with the story should I choose to. It was definitely enough to get me to seek out more of the series
I've watched this around 5 times now and I simply must thank you I've fallen in love with Berserk and you are just so well spoken and I wish you the best in your endeavors.