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Right into it!

Pros:

- Awesome world building.
- Great character development.
- Interesting lore setlings.
- An overflowing quantity of quality characters.
- Covering almost every genre from the expected action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy & romance, to the unexpected (though no spoiler so you do this research apart).
- Fights are meaningful and/or humorous.
... - Bonds between events and characters have basically no borders.
- Its unique art style makes up for a variety of draw designs, some unsetling, some quirky, others funny and yet never they feel unfitting though this could vary on your ability to get used to it.
- No 3D abuse (except sometimes in openings, though rather experimental than the former).
- Not afraid to cover some controversial topics and estereotypes, nor it forces them onto you.

Cons.

- It has filler episodes mixed with canon content, so you'll have to swallow those if you want the full picture.
- The production as of now has been slowed down due to previous point, so for a series as long as this, waiting could be a turn down.
- For a creation as big as this one, you may find some plot holes along the way, though they're not lore breaking.

Final overview

This is a very complete adventure experience in anime, and depending on how much free time you got in your hands it could be a treat or a pass, it could fill those feelings you were looking to satisfy or could overwhelm you as the pacing is not how you would've better liked it. Nonetheless is a great work that's just held up by Toei's treatment in later seasons, and its lenght for certain kind of audience. Even with all that, I feel it's a must try for entertainment and doesn't really deserves less than a 10 just because the animation was on the manga heels.

First of all, recommendation is conditioned to:

A) You've seen enough hero stuff like Avengers, X-Men, Justice League, etc.? Then this parody will be an amusing time full of laughs and action where you watch your OP Superman-like take on a different, more mortal aproach at life with such power at his grasp.

B) You've just started with such "hero" stuff and looking for more of that "I'm justice, I'll do justice because X & Y serious reason"? Then you should pass from this one right now, but don't get it wrong! As you progress through that cliche and get tired of it, this series will be ... a breath of fresh air that'll deliver some humor, but also will make you further value the "small" work lesser heroes do in a way you may never experienced.

This' why people don't get the message this production delivers, they spect the usual "Supy" stuff and therefore end up disliking and criticizing it for what it is. Don't be like them and know which one of both groups you belong, so you can get the correct perspective this anime wants the spectator to focus on.

The best way to start Berserk that's not the manga, any other version is heavily cut and/or poorly executed. If you're aren't a manga reader at all this series probably will change that in you.

The stage:

Long before the medieval novels' break out (mostly because of isekai demand) there was Berserk, simple times with no extraordinary unfitting technology or stats, skills and menu windows all over the board that the based-on MMORPG-like gernre carries. Somewhat inciting the otherworldy without forcing it up your throat. Mercenaries, kingdoms, bloodshed and frictions within the nobility. This fantasy is written in red.

Presentation:

A very well performed classic animation even by its ... time, flowing in battles, detailed in conversations and always with a matching tone for each scene. The art style is greatly portrayed, the art direction shines even in the backgrounds and effects like explotions, weapon clashes and repentine movement do not feel off. This series got away with little censorship around mature content without being cheap as each of these displays derives from the plot and adds to it.

The narrative

Story:

Well paced, leaving you with short and long term intrigue, suspense and a bitter-sweet feeling as the series inquires you to look at the colors rather than just black & white situations.

Characters

The animated representators feel pretty much genuine, each with their personality and peculiarities that mostly never betray what you'd expect from them in their actions, decitions, reactions, speech and ideologies.

Interactions

Each dialogue and event grows naturally and fluently; anger, patience, grudges, pity, lust, despair, greed, egolatry, possesiveness, and whatnot are delivered in a way that makes you know more and more of this land, each character and the bonds that are, will and could be.

Final retrospective:

This series is not a 10 just because it doesn't do full justice to the drawn novel (basically because of mostly, storywise faithfullness, and secondly the harsh depiction of human/in-human behavior in such enviroments), yet is the better in-motion introduction you can watch of it as of this review was made. It dives in many subjects that even if developed in an ancient-like age scenary, some could still be apply by today's standards, and grips you into a fiction that more often than not keeps you at the edge.

Summary:

Another worst way to watch Berserk. I don't get how hard is for animation houses and the ones holding the rights of Miura's work to do it as it should. An average cut-down adaptation for this generation sensibility standards which was already heavily censored and shortened, that trades some of the most iconic, meaningful momments and crudeness, for some generic gore, extra fan service and CGI + movement-sensor-supported scenes that look mostly decent, while also ruining a few important parts.

Reasons to not watch over the 1997 version:

You've read the manga already.

Cut content

... A) Guts reaction when interacting with the general at the begining.
B) Guts past (just dialogue saved for the end).
C) The first time Griffith saves Guts (the full battle is pictured, literally in like 3 shots).
D) Revealing Zodd's ability after being further injured.
E) The lodestone knight gift from Charlotte to Griffith.
F) Foss, the queen, and everything that involved them.
G) Griffith's past related to Gennon.
H) Boscon vs Guts finale (sword break and Zodd's intervention got cut).
I) Griffith friction with a noble (commander/general?) which captures him after being with Charlotte.
J) Mention of previous queen (Charlotte's mother).
K) Guts participation in a tournament.
L) The year with Godo.
M) Griffith alternate future dream.
N) The cliffhanger of Rikert being before a couple apostles.

Ruined content

1) Gut's nightmare (a very, very short slide show).
2) Caska's past memmory (also a slide show).
3) Most of the tension between Guts and Corkus during all the episodes.
4) Corkus and Judeau table talk with Guts before leaving (Corkus got cut-off).
5) Guts and Griffith clash (no deep thoughts of the later, no forced stop the sword swing from the former).

Reason to watch over the 1997 version:

*Is shorter and you don't have that much free time.
*Some scenes from the manga that didn't made it into the 1997 like: griffith's torture, the assassin battle (only the 2nd one), the clash between skull knight & Zodd outside the eclipse and obviously everything that happen after the 1997 version ends.

Another reason to watch, is not "over" but as a complement for the 1997, and only if you don't feel like reading the manga.