• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

Berserk |OT| - A new ERA for the Band of the Hawk

Do you want open spoilers for new chapters in this thread?

  • No. Always use spoiler tags for significant revelations.

    Votes: 33 35.5%

  • Open spoilers only after a new volume has released.

    Votes: 1 1.1%

  • Open spoilers only after a new chapter is officially available.

    Votes: 15 16.1%

  • Open spoilers one week after the chapter is officially available.

    Votes: 8 8.6%

  • Open spoilers whenever a new chapter is available in any capacity.

    Votes: 20 21.5%

  • Open spoilers one week after the chapter is available in any capacity.

    Votes: 5 5.4%

  • Thor: The Dark World

    Votes: 11 11.8%
  • Total voters
    93
Sir Guts

Sir Guts

Use of alt account
Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,480
bUtWklG.png


In this world
is the destiny of
mankind controlled
by some transcendental
entity or law?
Is it like the hand of god
hovering above?

At least
it is true...
that man has no control
even over his own will.

sEniQ8V.png


  • What is Berserk?

Berserk is a long-running dark fantasy manga written and drawn by author Kentaro Miura. The first volume was released in December of 1990 and it's still being released to this day with the 39th volume releasing in the west on Summer 2018.
Over the years Berserk has received a ton of recognition for its unparalleled art and a story that has fans squirming for the tale to continue after every single release.

yVqKZ2F.jpg


  • Yeah, but what's the actual story about?

The story centers around Guts, a lone mercenary going from battle to battle to survive in a harsh world named Midland which is inspired by medieval Europe. Soon enough the leader of an up and coming mercenary group - Band of the Falcon - becomes infatuated with Guts and insists on Guts joining his army with the hopes of one day conquering Midland.

QRODAbH.jpg


  • Alright, how do I get into this?

The obvious answer would be to buy the manga, supporting the author for the work he's put into this over the years and Dark Horse for the great localization.
However, my recommendation would be to watch the 1997 anime first. It stays true to Berserk's original art style and has a fitting and widely acclaimed soundtrack by Susumu Hirasawa - Guts and Forces never fail to come up when discussing music from anime.
After that you'll definitely want to read the manga. The anime covers volumes 3-12, but under no circumstances should you skip those volumes after watching the series. The show smartly omits some characters and events which wouldn't have made sense to include considering the story arc they adapted.

guN3C6S.jpg


  • Notable Related Works
Gigantomakhia - A one-off manga Miura made while taking a break from Berserk. Take a look if you're a fan!

Berserk (1997 anime) - This is the good one
Berserk (2012/2013 movies) - Mediocre
Berserk (2016/2017) - An embarrassing heap of garbage

Berserk 1997 anime OST playlist - Blessed
Ash Crow - Second Berserk inspired album from Susumu Hirasawa. Also blessed.

Berserk (Dreamcast game)
Berserk (PS2 game)
Berserk and The Band of the Hawk (PS3, PS4, Vita and PC) - It's a mediocre musou game with a Berserk skin





mNXZZzf.png


Full credits to EvilKatarn, nowWhite Glint
 
Last edited:
Blade30

Blade30

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,610
Nice that it is back, any idea on when next chapter is supposed to come out? I lost track of it.
 
Phil's Empty Chair

Phil's Empty Chair

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,103
NL
I only got into Berserk like a a few years ago, after hearing from others it was the best manga of all time I decided to plunge into it. And man, not a single lie was told. I started with the original anime and was hooked. Knowing nothing about it, I really started caring about the characters and the Eclipse came as a complete shock. The cliffhanger left me hungry for more so I finished the manga in a span of two days I think. Now Im at the point where I cant believe how long Berserk fans have waited for Guts to get his revenge.. I hope we still get to witness it lol.
 
OP
OP
Sir Guts

Sir Guts

Use of alt account
Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,480
A_R_N_O_S said:
I only got into Berserk like a a few years ago, after hearing from others it was the best manga of all time I decided to plunge into it. And man, not a single lie was told. I started with the original anime and was hooked. Knowing nothing about it, I really started caring about the characters and the Eclipse came as a complete shock. The cliffhanger left me hungry for more so I finished the manga in a span of two days I think. Now Im at the point where I cant believe how long Berserk fans have waited for Guts to get his revenge.. I hope we still get to witness it lol.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We all know this feeling fellow struggler. The manga stopped in a crucial place unfortunately but hey, winter is coming!
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,792
Oman
Thank you for making this thread but i feel we couldve gone with a different subtitle like
'A new ERA for the Band of the Hawk'

At any rate, i need that new chapter by december ToT
 

Watercolour

Member
Oct 27, 2017
427
Looking forward to the chapters for next year. I'd imagine that Farnese & Schierke's time in "there" will turn darker fast.
 
Phil's Empty Chair

Phil's Empty Chair

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,103
NL
No mention of the current anime in OP lol. Yeah it's a disgrace but seeing more Berserk in motion is better then nothing imo. It still has some cool scenes.
 
HStallion

HStallion

Member
Oct 25, 2017
62,242
Was wondering when someone would make this OT. Figured it wouldn't come until the new episodes were announced.
 
Capra

Capra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,588
Heads up for anyone still collecting physical volumes: It looks like Dark Horse just reprinted vol. 33 & 34. They went back in stock on RightStuf last night.

Incidentally, those were the last 2 I needed to complete my collection. Once they arrive I can marathon the Guts On A Boat saga and join the rest of you Strugglers on hiatus.
 
OP
OP
Sir Guts

Sir Guts

Use of alt account
Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,480
Capra said:
Easier said than done.

By the way, what does BerserkEra think of Berserk Musou? Depending on how desperate I get for more afterwards I might check it out if I can find it for cheap.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Personally I loved it and going to Plat it soon but take my advice. Don't think of playing it until you reach the current arc in the manga. I don't want stuff being spoiled for you
 
HStallion

HStallion

Member
Oct 25, 2017
62,242
I wasn't a huge fan of the Berserk Musou for a variety of reasons. I hope a more competent developer gets to work on Berserk next.
 
Jaded Photographer

Jaded Photographer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,907
So this did eventually get made. I'm currently doing a reread and I'm almost done with Volume 13...holy fuck that's an exhausting read. One Skull Knight showed up I was like, "fucking finally."
 
Capra

Capra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,588
Hm... Berserk Musou for $20 is miiiighty tempting.

I think the conceit behind a Berserk Musou game is flawed from the outset, seeing as the whole series goes out of its way to emphasize Guts' remarkable nature at cutting down hordes of men and demons despite his humanity. Giving us the option to play as other human characters and do the same thing is contrary to that core sentiment, and giving us the option to play as Apostles undermines Guts' struggle to rely on his own human power (or maintain control over The Beast of Darkness when using the Berserker Armor). And playing as an Apostle just feels... dirty. Unless it's Zodd or one of the few who actually seem to have principles. Still, I feel like it could be immense fun to just sit down and wreck shit as Zodd and that might be worth the price of admission alone.

I hope that if they ever make a 2nd game (or, I guess release an updated version since the story's already up to date) they'll just say fuck it and expand the roster. There's no reason not to have Skull Knight, and being able to play as Grunbeld or the other generals could be fun. I have no idea why they felt it was a good idea to include Wyald of all people before... literally any other Apostle with a single redeeming feature.
 
Last edited:
Jaded Photographer

Jaded Photographer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,907
Yes Wyald is like the worst apostle. Not a decent thing about him. Say what you want about Griffith 2.0, but at least the apostles he rolls with are some decent blokes...except Raksha or whatever his name is.
 
Capra

Capra

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,588
JadedWriter said:
Yes Wyald is like the worst apostle. Not a decent thing about him. Say what you want about Griffith 2.0, but at least the apostles he rolls with are some decent blokes...except Raksha or whatever his name is.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Even in-story, Wyald is just a rehash of the mercenaries from the previous chapter sent after the Band to emphasize how low the King of Midland has sunk... And he gets wrecked by Zodd a minute later to reaffirm what a badass Zodd is. And everything about Wyald's design just screams, "Bargain-bin Zodd."
 
Jaded Photographer

Jaded Photographer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,907
Capra said:
Even in-story, Wyald is just a rehash of the mercenaries from the previous chapter sent after the Band to emphasize how low the King of Midland has sunk... And he gets wrecked by Zodd a minute later to reaffirm what a badass Zodd is. And everything about Wyald's design just screams, "Bargain-bin Zodd."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I mainly think he's used to show just how far Guts got in his combat abilities. Other than that he is pretty boring character wise. He's there for a great fight scene and that's it. And I love the panel of Zodd swooping down and owning Wyald.
 
OP
OP
Sir Guts

Sir Guts

Use of alt account
Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,480
JadedWriter said:
Yes Wyald is like the worst apostle. Not a decent thing about him. Say what you want about Griffith 2.0, but at least the apostles he rolls with are some decent blokes...except Raksha or whatever his name is.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't like Wyald myself but don't you dare talk shit about Zodd
 
Jaded Photographer

Jaded Photographer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,907
Dre Sage said:
are the golden age movies a good place to start?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
When dealing with Berserk you read the manga first. The first movie doesn't look great in spots, the second movie is poorly paced, but I'll admit the third movie does a specific part really damn well. On top of this both the series and movies glossed over some very key Guts details in my opinion.
Dre Sage said:
been wary about reading the manga because i heard the updates were abysmal. that it was taking forever...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's a slog, but if you're just getting into it now you have like 37 volumes of manga to read which should hopefully be updated by the time you get to the end...hopefully.
 
DreTheSage

DreTheSage

Member
Oct 27, 2017
434
Pensacola, FL
alright ill hold out from watching the movies and give the manga a shot. another question before i start

is there at least some humor in the manga? looks completely dark
 
You must log in or register to reply here.