DISCLAIMER: If you have not watched Berserk (1997) or have read the manga I strongly urge that you do as Berserk (2016) is set after the events of Berserk (1997) a.k.a The Golden Age arc and will spoil many of the events from the Golden Age arc/Berserk (1997).
After nearly 20 years, Berserk-one of the greatest mangas ever made-finally gets another adaptation. After recently reading 300+ chapters of the manga as well as watching Berserk (1997) I was incredibly excited to find that a new Berserk adaption had come out which would finally cover the Black Swordsman arc (aka the Conviction arc). I was ecstatic to
...
say the least.
And then I watched it.
And then I cried.
While certainly not the worst anime I have seen Berserk (2016) was definitely one of the most disappointing anime's I have seen in a long time.
And not just because of the horrible animation.
Story 3/10
Synopsis: Now branded for death and destined to be hunted by demons until the day he dies, Guts embarks on a journey to defy such a gruesome fate, as waves of beasts relentlessly pursue him. Steeling his resolve, he takes up the monstrous blade Dragonslayer and vows to exact vengeance on the one responsible, hunting down the very man he once looked up to and considered a friend.
Along the way, he encounters some unlikely allies, such as a small elf named Puck, and Isidro, a young thief looking to learn swordsmanship from the former mercenary. As the ragtag group slowly comes together after having decided to join Guts in his quest, they will face incredible danger unlike anything they have ever experienced before.
How you can fuck up a story as great as Berserk is beyond me. How something so rushed and poorly written was considered acceptable is absolutely appalling. To give some perspective they barely manage to cram around 4-5 (I think) chapters worth of content into ONE episode, ONE! And that's not all, not by a long shot.
Not only does Berserk (2016) completely rush through the story but it also skips the Lost Children arc which many believe to be one of the best arcs in the manga. I get that 12 episodes is not a whole lot to work with but you should have used the first 12 episodes to establish the setting, characters and should have left the arc they did adapt for the next season.
Overall the story is a rushed mess which skips entire chapters and leaves out crucial pieces of information that would help greatly to link Berserk 2016 to its previous adaptation.
"Art" 2/10
Now we come to Berserk (2016) biggest criticism, its animation. Now I don't have a problem with CGI, when done properly it can look really good and can make an anime better rather than worse. A prime example of good CGI animation would be Ajin whose CGI is fluid, detailed and grounded. But there are some things that just can't be done in CGI, one of these being Berserk.
First off the character models look terrible, Puck's chestnut form looks completely out of place and Guts' head looks too angular. Another problem with the CGI character models is that their lips do not sync properly with what they are saying. Instead of looking like they are actually saying something they instead slowly open and close their mouths making it all look like a really ameture video game cutscene. The studio also decided to add really horrible lines in the shadows that don't move with the character and completely take you out of the anime whenever a character moves. And to top it off all of the women in Berserk (one of the most explicit, mature mangas of all time) don't have nipples...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?
Sadly that isn't even the worst part of the CGI, the worst part would have to be the demons that attack Guts at night. You wouldn't believe the look I had on my face when I saw the demons for the first time, my face turned into that of the crimson behelit with tears of blood streaming down my face. The CGI for the demons is even worse than the rest of the CGI, as they look like the CGI monsters from the Deltora Quest anime but worse (btw Deltora Quest was made in 2007...I'll just let that sink in). To put it shortly the CGI for the demons is absolute garbage and whoever did the CGI for the demons should be fired.
And now I'll move on to the 2D animation, one of the only good things in this anime (although I wouldn't call it good). While the animation itself isn't terrible there are definitely parts that make the animation look very cheap. For an example whenever there is a close-up of a 2D animated character walking towards the camera they do this very cheap looking bobbing effect that makes the character look like a puppet being bounced up and down.
Overall the CGI animation is garbage. Whilst it may have worked for a much more grounded and, dare i say "realistic" anime, it certainly doesn't work for something as over the top as Berserk.
Sound 3/10
If there was one thing possibly worse than the animation it would definitely be the sound design of Berserk (2016). Whenever an enemy hits the Dragon Slayer (Guts' Sword) it sounds like the crowbar collision sound effect from Half Life. The sound effect is so bad it's turned into a meme.
Not only that but the battle music in Berserk (2016) is very forgettable, generic heavy metal music that sounds very out of place and really takes you out of the battle (not that I could get into it in the first place but still), it's almost as if it is screaming "Look at how cool and badass I am" but instead comes off as annoying and pretentious.
But that isn't to say that all the music is bad (if that were the case it would get a 1/10) as the OP song (Inferno) is actually fairly good imo. Its intense and fast paced with some slow moments here and there (just like Berserk) and it gets you really hyped up for some demon slaying action. The only downside to the OP is that it completely spoils the events of the Golden Age arc in a rather tasteless fashion. As for the ED I really don't like it. It's very lacklustre visually and isn't a particularly memorable song. This is one of the times where I feel that the original ED from the previous anime would work pretty well for the sequel and again would help connect the two together.
Overall if there is anything worse than the animation in Berserk (2016) it's probably the sound. While the OP is pretty good just about everything else in the department is either generic and forgettable, or just straight up trash.
Character 4/10
Probably the best aspect of Berserk (2016) and is still done poorly. Guts in the manga is a complete asshole when he is the Black Swordsman. He is rude, unforgiving, careless and full of hatred. He battles demons both physically and mentally every second of his life. In the anime he's an edgey cosplayer trying desperately to come off as cool or badass but instead comes off as cringey. Throughout the anime we get brief flashbacks to the Golden Age arc to give us a glimpse into Guts' backstory in order to make him seem more interesting which may have worked...if the movies or Berserk (1997) didn't exist. Because Berserk (2016) tries to appeal to fans both old and new (even though it advertises itself as a sequel) the character of Guts is rushed and ruined thanks to terrible storytelling, direction and pacing.
As for the other characters e.g Farnese, Serpico, Isidro etc aren't as bad as they aren't fleshed out as much as Guts was...except for Puck. Berserk (2016) ruined Puck, as I mentioned before in the "Art" section of this review Puck looks awful in CGI. Without 2D animation Puck in his Chestnut form doesn't have the same creative freedoms he had in the manga and because of this his jokes go from humorous to borderline annoying. As for voice acting aside from Puck and Isidro everyone sounds acceptable. I mean, I would have liked Serpico to have a sleeker more sly voice but thats about it. Puck on the other hand sounds off, I wish he didn't sound so high pitch and as for Isidro I wish he was voice acted by a kid and not some pre-teen going through puberty.
Whilst not nearly as bad as some of Berserk (2016) other areas the characters are a far cry from their original interpretations.
Overall 3/10
Overall Berserk (2016) was a massive disappointment. At best its mediocre and at worst it's complete garbage. If you are a big Berserk fan and really want to see the Black Swordsman arc animated then you may find some enjoyment from this. But I for one can only hope that the studio learns from the mistakes made in this season and (at the very least) tries to fix the problems with Berserk (2016) in the next season.
Jan 30, 2017
DISCLAIMER: If you have not watched Berserk (1997) or have read the manga I strongly urge that you do as Berserk (2016) is set after the events of Berserk (1997) a.k.a The Golden Age arc and will spoil many of the events from the Golden Age arc/Berserk (1997).
After nearly 20 years, Berserk-one of the greatest mangas ever made-finally gets another adaptation. After recently reading 300+ chapters of the manga as well as watching Berserk (1997) I was incredibly excited to find that a new Berserk adaption had come out which would finally cover the Black Swordsman arc (aka the Conviction arc). I was ecstatic to ... 
Oct 11, 2016
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MINOR SPOILER WARNING
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(Anime)
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Well this is my first review so it may be a bit rough around the edges, but nonetheless I hope you enjoy it.
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