Berserk (1997) · Tastebuds

This sword is the proof that I have lived.

Guts, a wandering mercenary, joins the Band of the Hawk after being defeated in a duel by Griffith, the group's leader and founder. Together, they dominate every battle, but something menacing lurks in the shadows.

Action & Adventure Sci-Fi & Fantasy Animation sexual abuse suffering mercenary male friendship waterfall supernatural woods sword fight travel slaughter gore survivalNippon TV

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Graphic violence
Sexual violence
Body horror

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Character

Earnest, overwhelming, grave and bleak.

earnestironic
cooloverwhelming
gravecomic
warmbleak
classical in formformally daring

Who loves it, who doesn't

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Where do you stand?

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“Is Berserk emotionally manipulative?”
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“Is the book better?”
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“Is the antagonist more compelling than the protagonist?”
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Across media

If you loved this television, the film, the book, the album, the game.

Reviews

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Reviews on TMDB

Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.

Zak_Jaggson TMDB · Dec 20248/10
Seriously underrated in the wider anime community, this is a wonderful story told very well. The character of Guts is utterly compelling, and his development is just flawless, which makes the emotional stakes and the gut punch moments all the more impactful. Casca as well is a great character, one of the truly great anime women of the 90s. The production is dated but still very enjoyable, I like the art style and the fight direction even though it is mostly static. It must be said that the music is godly, several iconic tracks. The acting in English, Japanese and Russian (Which I've heard snippets of) is really good. Watch this anime.
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Cast

Nobutoshi CannaGuts (voice)
Toshiyuki MorikawaGriffith (voice)
Yuko MiyamuraCasca (voice)
Tomohiro NishimuraCorkus (voice)
Unsho IshizukaNarrator (voice)

Crew

Mitsunobu YoshidaDirector of Photography
Susumu HirasawaOriginal Music Composer
Toshio HenmiEditor

Where to watch

No US service lists it yet, per JustWatch via TMDB.

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Seasons

Season 125 eps · 1997

Pairings

Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.

Watch afterBerserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition2022

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