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When looking at the 5 sub-categories above, I noticed myself giving every one a 10 (expect for enjoyment, which I gave a 9. I'll get to why I gave it that in a second). While I'm not particularly the strictest reviewer ever, I generally don't go throwing 10's all over the place. So, needless to say, Berserk is something unique.

If one were to simply look at the series briefly, the average person would probably only see it as just another over-the-top action manga with a lot of nudity and sex. But that's where they would be mistaken; while violence in Berserk tends to be ... very extreme and sex IS prevalent, it is done like that on purpose.

Berserk, at its core, is a horror manga for mature audiences...and I'm not talking a generic spooky, ghost-filled haunted mansion story. I'm talking nightmare-like horror. Monsters exist less for the purpose of being something for Guts (the main protagonist) to kill, but are there to represent opposition for him and his "group". Sex almost always involves rape of a horrific nature (except for one instance, which is there to give character development).

Characters are generally very believable and are not perfect Mary Sue's; every single character has at least one major flaw, which can often times play against them heavily. Guts has been a mercenary since a kid and knows very little outside of battle, making it hard for him to get along with others often and coming off as psychopathic at times. Griffith (the main antagonist) tries to do everything perfectly, which leads to him, more or less, going insane at one point in the series when he "messes up". Casca (Gut's romantic interest) is a female solider who tries to throw away her femininity in order to become an excellent solider. These are just three examples of why characters in Berserk are interesting: they have flaws that make them more believable and (sometimes) relateable.

The art style is great, using heavy amounts of black to express the bleak tone of the series. If there was ever one manga that has a haunting-like nature to it's world, it would be Berserk (post Golden Age, one of the plot arcs of the series).

The plot is almost always excellent. If there was one manga that could be compared to epics such as The Epic of Gilgamesh or The Odyssey, it would probably be Berserk. The only two complaint I have with the story (and the reason why I gave enjoyment a 9) are due to pacing problems (in my opinion). There are two instances where I feel the pace of the story feels off.

The first is the very first 2 and a half volumes, which are very hit or miss in my opinion. When I went back and re-read these chapters, I found myself thinking 'you know, they probably could have cut that part out' or 'that chapter could have had these parts trimmed down'. While the Golden Age arc gives great insight to what the heck is happening and is great payoff for sticking with it, it may put off some readers who may find the beginning too confusing.

The other part is probably the part that I feel is the bigger of the two problems. After the Golden Age arc, we head into the Retribution arc. This arc starts off with a huge nosedive in quality from the previous arc. While this arc eventually becomes good, the very first sub-plot of this arc is almost completely irrelevant and comes off as very dull and bland when compared to the exciting and well-written nature of the entirety of the Golden Age arc.

However, these two issues are not even close to enough to bring down this great series in my eyes. Berserk truly does deserve to be the highest rated manga on MAL.

Bottom line: if you want a manga with memorable characters, interesting themes, great art, and a captivating plot and are not afraid of graphic violence and sex, definitely check out Berserk.

I'm going to break down the review into two parts, one for each of the first two parts of the series.
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Part 1- Phantom Blood:

This part is the start of it all, featuring vampires, stone masks, and an awesome top hat. As much as I hate to admit it, this is probably the worst part of the 8 parts of the series (besides part 5 in my opinion, which was (mostly) irrelevant to the rest of the series). However, there is defiantly still fun to be had. The main antagonist (who my friend refers to as D-bag Dio) is probably one of the biggest jerks in ... all of anime, which makes it interesting to watch the interactions between him and Jonathan (the main protagonist), a gentleman-like character. The story, when fully broken down, is very simple: a young man goes to hunt down the adopted-brother-turned-vampire to kill him and save humanity. There's not much depth to it, but there are still great parts, such as Zeppeli being awesome and some cool fight scenes. Overall PB is fun but falls short of being as good as most of it's successors. I give it a 7/10.

Bottom line: Check out this part because it's fairly entertaining and you'll need to watch it to understand part 2.
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Part 2- Battle Tendency

This is where the series really starts to pick up, in my opinion. Featuring (in my opinion) the best protagoninst in the series, Joesph Jostar does battle again a series of enemies called 'The Pillarmen'. Joesph is practically the complete opposite of Jonathan, which is good: he's goofy, very witty and resourceful, and takes lots of chances. This leads to interesting interactions with the characters who appear in the show. This part is almost twice the length of the previous part (17 episodes versus 9), which leads to a more in-depth plot with more interesting characters, action, and clever twists. This is one of the best parts of JJBA in my opinion, so check it out!

Bottom line: This part has great action and characters, making it the better of the first two parts, in my opinion.
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Overall bottom line: This is almost a perfect adaptation, featuring very little cuts from the manga it's based on, excellent voice acting, solid animation, and great, memorable characters. Definitely give this a try if you like action shows. Can't wait for the part 3 adaptation!

What would you do if you had the power over life?

Death Note explains this very concept and presents it in a very interesting way. The main character, Light Yagami, discovers a notebook (the death note) on the ground at his school and learns of its use. Being a young man who believes that evil men should be punished, Light attempts to use the power of the Death Note to mold the world into one that is crime-free. However, the police are working to catch him (dubbed 'The Kira Killer'), the main leader of it being Light's own father.

DN is a very tense story about crime, ... trust and betrayal, the justice system, and whether the death penalty is right or wrong. I give this series a good 9/10, mainly become of the (in)famous twist that happens roughly halfway through the series. The story is still good, but it loses some of its appeal after this event. However, despite the series having some small faults here and there, DN comes highly recommended if you like psychological thrillers. The concept is very original and leads to a very entertaining show.

Bottom line: check out Death Note if you want a shonen manga that has seinen-like themes to it.

Cowboy Bebop. Wow. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Instead of just writing a straightforward review, let me tell you WHY this is probably in my top 3 anime series of all time.

-It's got interesting characters
-The fight scenes are choreographed so well and the jazz-like music in the background mixes so well with the mood
-It has a fairly non-linear plot, so many of the episodes could be watched on their own without missing any important information from the previous episode
-It's got an amazing ending, perhaps one of the best of all time
-It doesn't ever take itself too seriously, but at the same ... time never attempts to be campy.
-The music tends to be awesome
-A large variety of different episodes; from the serious nature of the last two episodes to the goofy nature of the mushroom episode

I could go on. Let me just end with this: this was one of the first serious anime series that I ever watched (was about 13 or so when I first saw CB) and is still is one of my all-time favorite series.

Bottom line: check out Cowboy Bebop if you haven't. There's a good chance that you'll find at least one thing from this show that you'll really like.