Berserk (manga)
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| Berserk | |||
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| Image:Berserk.jpg | |||
| ベルセルク (Beruseruku) |
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| Genre | Action, Horror, Fantasy, Seinen | ||
| Manga | |||
| Authored by | Kentaro Miura (建太郎 三浦) | ||
| Publisher |  Hakusensha Samourai Editions Glénat Panini Comics Mangaline Daiwon Planet Manga Tongli Publishing Dark Horse Comics Panini Comics |
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| Serialized in | Young Animal (Hakusensha) | ||
| Original run | 1992 (series), 1990 (volume) – | ||
| No. of volumes | 31 - Ongoing | ||
| TV anime : Berserk (剣風伝奇ベルセルク/Kenpū Denki Berserk) |
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| Directed by | Naohito Takahashi | ||
| Studio | OLM | ||
| Network | Nippon Television, Animax |
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| Original run | October 7, 1997 – March 31, 1998 | ||
| No. of episodes | 25 | ||
| Video Game (ベルセルク千年帝国の鷹篇/Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc) |
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| Trading Card Game | |||
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- For other articles related to the word "berserk", such as berserkers see Berserker (disambiguation)
Berserk (ベルセルク Beruseruku?) is a dark fantasy manga by mangaka Kentaro Miura.
With over 29 million volumes sold, it is one of the most successful adult manga ever. Berserk's setting is inspired by medieval Europe. It centers around the life of Guts, an orphaned mercenary warrior, and his relationship to Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the Band of the Hawk (鷹の団 Taka no Dan?). Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy violence.
Currently, 31 tankōbon of the manga have been published in Japan.
Contents |
[edit] Berserk manga
- For more details on the structure of the series, see List of Berserk manga episodes.
Miura first premiered Berserk in 1988 with a 48-page prototype, which won a prize at the Comi Manga School where he was enrolled at the time. On 26 November 1990, the first volume of the manga was published by Hakusensha in its Jets Comics collection. Three more volumes appeared until Berserk was serialized by Young Animal (Hakusensha) in 1992, and new episodes are still being released in the semi-monthly (every second and fourth Friday of the month) magazine. Volumes are still published biannually in Japan by Hakusensha (Jets Comics collection), and contain 8-11 episodes depending on the release.
In America, the manga is translated and published by Dark Horse Comics, which has released eightteen volumes so far, the first in October 22, 2003. As with other Dark Horse manga releases like Hellsing or Trigun Maximum, the Japanese reading format from right to left is preserved in the English release and the sound effects are left untranslated.
In Europe, the manga was introduced back in 1996, first in France (Samourai Editions), then in Italy (Planet Comics) few months later. The manga has also been translated and released in Germany (Planet Manga) since 2001. In France, after Samourai Editions' bankruptcy, the comic series is now published by both Dynamic Visions (since 2002) and Glénat (since 2004), the latter edition being a larger format. A two-books-in-one Max edition (+400 pages) is also published in Germany since 2006 (Panini Comics). As of yet the series is not being published in Poland.
In Asia, Berserk comic books have been published in Korea since 1999 by Dai Won.
In Latin America, Panini Comics has published the manga series in a demi-sized (120 pages) edition in Brazil (2004).
[edit] Berserk anime
- See also: List of Berserk anime episodes
In 1997, production began on a 26-episode anime series (though only 25 were produced due to financial constraints) of the first thirteen volumes of the manga covering the first two arcs (Black Swordsman & Golden Age), titled 剣風伝奇ベルセルク (Kenpū Denki Berserk). Though it chronicles how Guts served Griffith in the Band of the Hawk (Golden Age Arc), the TV adaptation took a lot of liberties with the story, which was too broad to be adapted perfectly to video, hence the title change from Berserk to Kenpū Denki Berserk. The story was taken largely intact, though some characters, and the most violent or brutal scenes, were modified or removed. The series was animated by OLM (Oriental Light and Magic), and broadcast on Nippon Television in a post-midnight slot from October 7, 1997 to April, 1998. The anime broadcast started in Japan between the publishing of the 14th and the 15th volume, tankobon #14 completing the Golden Age Arc and starting the Retribution Arc. The American release of the first two arcs' anime version as a "Season One", which misleads people into assuming that a "Season Two" will be planned later. Currently, nothing supports this assumption. In 2004, a CG anime version of key scenes appearing in the TV series, including Griffith's incarceration and the Eclipse episode, were created for the second video game based on the Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War (Millennium Falcon Arc).
In America, the anime series has been dubbed/subtitled and published by Media Blasters in 2002. Both dubbed and subtitled versions were released in VHS. The English and Japanese soundtracks were included in the DVD release that was made available as six volumes and as a "TV series season one complete collection" standard (slim) boxset. By the time of the series' launch, a volume one "War Cry" was bundled with an empty "Box of War" 6-disc case as a special edition. In 2003, the "Box of War" containing all volumes was released as a collector boxset. While fans have suggested that Cartoon Network air the series, one of a series of Adult Swim "bumps" claimed that censorship requirements would butcher it.
In Europe, the series has been published as seven subtitled single DVD in France (Manga Distribution) and six single disc in Germany (Panini Video) both from 2003 to 2004. With its dubbed soundtrack added to the original Japanese one in its 6-DVD Berserk "Radical Edition", Spain (Jono Media, 2003) is the only European country to not release a subtitled edition. Italy is another exception with being the only country to have broadcasted the TV series (via Italia Uno public channel) under the same conditions as it was done in Japan, with uncensored episodes aired at night (2001). The 24th episode The Sacrifice (aka The Great Eclipse) was aired only at a later hour (as usual habit in the Italia 1 management policy for late night shows), so many Berserk fans missed it and assumed it wasn't aired due to its gore content. The entire series was released in 2002 as a dubbed 13-VHS and 5-DVD editions (Yamato Video).
In Asia, Vap Video has released thirteen VHS and twelve VCD including two episodes each (a single one in the last VHS and three in the last VCD) from 1998 to 1999 in Japan. The seven discs "DVD-BOX", using Audio-CD cases, was released in Japan in 2001 (Vap Video). In the same country, the seven volumes were later rereleased, this time in individual DVD regular cases, in 2003 (Vap Video). Abroad, the anime series has been subtitled and published as a 6-DVD boxset standard edition and a 7-DVD collector boxset in Korea (Mania Entertainment) in 2004. In Thailand, thirteen Thai dubbed VCD volumes including two episodes each, later re-released as three VCD boxsets ("Prosperity:I", "Declination:II" & "Disaster:III"), were published by Tiga in 2004. A Thai dubbed/subtitled complete series "War Box" 8-disc DVD boxset, including a collector beherit necklace, was released by the same company in 2005. A Traditional Chinese subtitled 5-DVD boxset was released in Taiwan in 2005 (Catalyst Logic).
In Oceania, the American dubbed/subtitled DVD version was converted to PAL standard and released in 2003 as six single volumes and, in 2004, as a 6-disc collector "Box of War" in both Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment). The same year, the "Box of War" case, which it's graphically different than the American version, was also sold separately in these countries.
The anime only "accurately" portrayed volumes five through eight of the manga. No other volumes covered remain intact to the true story, and some, such as volume 11, were even removed completely. Those changes were approved by the series creator Kentaro Miura. Due to the elimination of key characters in the manga, the anime focuses on developing and emphasizing themes of friendship and ambition more so then causality and the supernatural.
 Disc 5 DVD case (New Zealand) |
VHS (Italy) |
"Box of War" Collector's Edition Box (USA) |
[edit] Characters
- For more details on this topic, see Characters of Berserk.
All subsequent names are from the English translation and Miura's statements about the official transliterations of the characters' names starting from Volume 27.
- Guts (ガッツ Guts?)
Guts is the protagonist of the story; a tall, muscular male with a huge sword called the Dragon Slayer along with a prosthetic left forearm that has a magnetic grip and also conceals a cannon. Guts is a tragic hero; he is born as one who may be able to struggle against Causality, but seemingly unable to affect it on a large scale. The Golden Age story arc of the series revolves around Guts's turbulent childhood and adolescence in a mercenary band after reluctantly being adopted by the band's leader Gambino at the behest of Gambino's lover, Shizu, and his subsequent joining with, and departure from, the Band of the Hawk. The dynamic relationship between Guts and Griffith, the leader of this group, forms the primary focus of the manga for the first thirteen volumes. After the events of the Eclipse, in which he loses his left forearm and right eye, Guts seeks revenge on Griffith. Upon doing so, he is subsequently reunited with Casca after two years separation. After the Incarnation Ceremony at Albion, Guts now travels with a new group of companions. He currently possesses the Berserker's Armor, an ancient, cursed suit of armor that allows the wearer to overcome his physical and mental boundaries in combat greatly increasing his fighting strength. Doing so damages his body and allows his inner beast, a feral dog-like demon, to take over and endanger everyone in the vicinity, friend or foe.
- Griffith (グリフィス Gurifisu?)
Griffith is the founder and leader of the mercenary army Band of the Hawk. Extraordinarily charismatic and handsome, his tactical skill gives him and his army the reputation of invincibility, making him the favoured choice of the Midland King, who was locked in a century long war with the Empire of Tudor. Griffith is willing to sacrifice everything for his dream of his own kingdom, believing that he is destined for things greater than the average man. After he won the war for Midland, he lost a duel to Guts in an attempt to keep Guts under his influence, which led to Guts' departure from The Hawks. Stunned and feeling betrayed, Griffith sought comfort in a one-night stand with the king's daughter, and only heir to the throne, Princess Charlotte. The affair was discovered, after which Griffith was imprisoned and tortured for a year. He was rescued by the primary members of The Hawks, but was already physically crippled and mentally broken. In his despair of losing his dream because of Guts' influence, he was driven to a state of madness that coincided with both the reappearance of his lost Behelit, and a solar eclipse. The God Hand appeared, and he sacrificed the Band of the Hawk to them to become the fifth and final God Hand: Femto. Only Casca, Guts and Rickert, who was outside the Occultation, survived, all having been rescued by the Skull Knight. Two years later, Griffith was reincarnated in the city of Albion; he now leads a newly formed Band of the Hawk, still in pursuit of his dream to obtain a kingdom, only now he has sanction from 'God'.
- Casca (キャスカ Kyasuka?)
Casca was the only female soldier in the original Band of the Hawk and is behind only Guts and Griffith in swordsmanship. Her ambivalent relationship to both of them makes her moody and capricious. Casca joins the Band of the Hawk after Griffith saves her from a sexual assault by a nobleman. After Griffith is imprisoned, she becomes the leader of the Band of the Hawk and, along with Guts, leads the mission to rescue Griffith. The trauma of the Eclipse, especially her rape at Femto's hands, has cost Casca her memory. In addition to being Guts' lover, she also gave birth to a child, which had become tainted by Femto's rape. During her travel with Guts, the strain of watching over her in her state and fighting against evil spirits for nights on end drove a possessed Guts to succumb to his inner beast and nearly rape her. Due to this, she now detests Guts and has found comfort in the only adult female traveling with them: Farnese. Casca travels with them completely oblivious to her surroundings, with Guts and company keeping close watch over her. Casca's well being is the driving force for Guts to keep himself from reverting back to a revenge-obsessed wanderer. It has been revealed outside the city of Vritanis that her mental state may be cured at their final destination, Elfhelm, by King Hanafubuku.
[edit] Berserk video games
- For more details on this topic, see Sword of the Berserk.
- For more details on this topic, see Berserk (PS2 game).
The Berserk games seems to be designed as the continuation of the TV series which stopped in Japan one year before the release of the first software. It is believed that Miura simply used another alternative media as a support for his manga series introduction into new markets; And it seems to have worked just as planned, since the comic books are finally published in America and Europe (Germany, 2001).
Both games are not explicitely linked with each other, but, at least, are set after the TV series' ending episode. In Japan, these games are named as two Millennium Falcon Arc independent chapters, with the Dreamcast version being similar to an OAV, with its untold parallel story, and the PlayStation 2 version being closer to the manga's storyline. The situation is particular in America, with the Dreamcast game (2000) released two years before the TV series DVD (2002), and even before the comic book series' own introduction (2003). As a consequence, the game's original title was altered overseas. The second game, which is roughly based on volume 22 up to 27, was released two months after the publishing of the 27th tankōbon and shares the same cover art. Surprisingly, the first game was released between the publishing of volume 18 and 19 -at the half of the Retribution Arc- but was named Millennium Falcon Arc (which started later in volume 22) before the term.
Context has evolved in America since the Dreamcast game's period, as now, the comic series is also locally translated and published. The second game was released few weeks before the publishing of the fifth American volume (Golden Age Arc). Set a whole later within the manga's storyline (4th arc), and introducing new characters and intrigues not even mentioned in the preceding Anime series (1st & 2nd arc), the game was not released in America. Due to technical reason -translations & NTSC to PAL conversion-, the European and Oceanian editions depends on the American release. Since the 27th volume wasn't published yet by the time of the game's launch in Japan, the PlayStation 2 game neither was released in these countries.
In Korea, where the manga is translated and published since 1999, the 27th volume was published few weeks after the game. The Berserk TV series (DVD box set) was introduced eight months earlier in the country. The Korean edition is identical to the Japanese one (NTSC/J standard) except it features Korean subtitles instead of Japanese, hence the simultaneous release.
Game soundtrack CDs composed by the TV series' very same Susumu Hirasawa were sold in the Japanese market, and a Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc Chapter of the Flower of Oblivion: Visual & Story File game artbook was published by Hakusen under the supervision of Kentaro Miura.
- 1999-12-16: Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Flower of Oblivion
- ASCII (Dreamcast NTSC/J) Japan
- ASCII (Dreamcast NTSC/J)
- 2000-03-15: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
- ASCII/Eidos (Dreamcast NTSC U/C) United States
- ASCII/Eidos (Dreamcast NTSC U/C)
- 2001-05-19: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
- ASCII/Eidos (Dreamcast PAL E)
European Union
- ASCII/Eidos (Dreamcast PAL E)
- 2004-10-07: Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War
- Sammy (PlayStation2 NTSC/J) Japan
- Sammy (PlayStation2 NTSC/J)
- 2004-10-07: Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War BRANDED BOX L.E.
- Sammy (PlayStation2 NTSC/J) Japan
- Sammy (PlayStation2 NTSC/J)
- 2004-10-07: Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War
- Sammy/YBM-Sisa (PlayStation2 NTSC/J) Republic of Korea
- Sammy/YBM-Sisa (PlayStation2 NTSC/J)
[edit] Licensed merchandise
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Teen Guts card (Konami) |
Evarella & chibi Puck (AOW) |
Booster Pack vol.5 (Konami) |
Action figures (Yamato) |
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Sword of the Berserk artbook |
Guide book for the ps2 game |
In addition to the video-games and game guidebooks, Berserk has spurred on a range of different merchandise from lighters to keyrings to kubrick sets (6cm Lego alike). Statues and action figures are produced by Yamato, through their Art of War line. The original soundtrack of the anime series and video games by Susumu Hirasawa are available on CD. A Berserk trading card game released by Konami is available in Japan.
[edit] Trivia and historical references
Guts
(1480-1562) Götz von Berlichingen, a German knight, was the leader of a band of mercenary soldiers and had a reputation as a Robin Hood figure. In 1504, his right arm was struck by an enemy cannon fire, and a prosthetic iron arm was developed to replace it. Guts' iron arm in his original character concept is very similar to Götz's iron arm kept in the Nürnberg Museum.
Miura stated in an interview that he created Guts independently and that he did not find out about the Götz until after several volumes of the manga had been published.
Emperor Gaiseric
The Emperor Gaiseric Princess Charlotte alluded to in volume 10 was based on the actual King Gaiseric who ruled the Vandals' kingdom in Europe in the 5th century. He was famed as a brilliant general who even had the Roman Empire worried about his might. In the manga, Gaiseric is said to have created a vast empire similar to the Romans that was destroyed by God's wrath. He banded together his small tribe and brought them great fame as a kingdom that exercised its authority in the Mediterranean region.
Emperor Ganishka
The Emperor Ganishka working as Griffith's enemy in Berserk was based off King Kanishka, who ruled over the actual Kushan and a vast empire in India and South Asia during the 2nd century. He was also a profound Buddhist and adorned his empire with its respective figures and promoted it vigoriously. Like his real-life conterpart, Ganishka also decorates his palace with famous Buddhist figures, but has demonized them to suit his nature.
| Berserk |
|---|
| Chronology |
| 1988:Berserk Prototype | 1990:Manga | 1992:Magazine | 1998:TV | 1998:VHS/VCD | 1999:1st Game | 2002:DVD | 2004:2nd Game |
| Characters of Berserk |
| Main Characters: Guts | Griffith | Casca
Secondary Characters: Puck | Zodd | Grunberd | Corcus | Judeau Other Characters: Flora | Skull Knight |
| Media |
|
Manga Episodes | Artbooks | Anime Episodes | Dreamcast Game | PS2 Game | Card Game |
| Music |
| Composer | Anime OST | Forces Single | 1st Game OST | 2nd Game OST |
| General |
|
Dictionary: History: Berserker | Hundred Years' War | Tudor Dynasty | Kushan Empire Theology: Apostle | Holy See | Pontiff | Beherit Philosophy: Revenge | Utopia | Problem of Evil
Territory: Midland Kingdom | Tudor Empire | Kushan Empire Community: House Vandimion | Band of the Hawks | Reformed Band of the Hawks | God Hand |
| Known Influences |
| Flesh & Blood | Conan the Barbarian | Guin Saga | Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) | Devilman |
[edit] External links
- Berserk's Official Website (Young Animal)
- BerserkChronicles.com Very detailed site full of information and essays. Languages: English and Italian
- An interview with Kentaro Miura about Berserk.
- SkullKnight.net - Community / Encyclopedia / English Translations / Forum
- Berserk Fan - German Fanpage. Languages: German
- Arctic Nightfall - Fanpage with information, screenshots and character descriptions
- Berserk at the Internet Movie Database
- Berserk Original Soundtrack at MusicBrainz
- Berserk -forces- at MusicBrainz
