Berserk (1997): The Strongest Attempt

When it comes to anime adaptations, Berserk has had some pretty rough luck over the years. The Golden Age films were a bit rough, though they saw some redemption in the Memorial Edition. And we’re just gonna pretend that the other one doesn’t exist.

But there is another. One I’ve briefly touched on in the past, but never really taken a deep dive into. The very first Berserk adaptation. The original ’97 anime. So, with our manga marathon of Berserk having just concluded the Golden Age, I figured now was the perfect time to amend that.

Which means I get to cover the entire Golden Age again. Get ready for another year of this!

Kidding. Unless…?

Of all the Berserk adaptations, this is the one that cut the least from the original manga. The plot line with the queen is still here, the battle of Doldrey plays out almost identically, and this is the only version to include Guts’ first battle with the Hawks. We even get to see Rosine in this one! It makes the obvious cuts, like Wyald and ‘Wounds’, but it largely made it through unscathed.

However, some of the cuts they did make were massive! Cutting the Puck and most of the Black Swordsman arc, I get. But who in their right mind thought cutting out Skull Knight was a good idea?! As a result, the Eclipse just fades to black without properly resolving!

It’s not like they cut them for time, either. In fact, this anime has an entire filler episode. A filler episode focused on… Adon? Really?! They cut out Skull Knight, a fan favorite character, for an extra episode of the one sexist guy Casca beat up one time?!

Even still, as an adaptation, this version is pretty good. With a few key exceptions, it feels like this show was put together by people who really understood the manga. It places large emphasis on the parts of Berserk that make the series so special: the characters.

Which is good, because those visuals have got some issues.

I don’t want to say this is a bad looking anime. The backgrounds are consistently gorgeous, the splash screens always look cool, and when the animation hits, it hits hard. This show’s version of the Eclipse is really solid! It can look really good!

Unfortunately, consistency is not in the cards. There are some shots in this show that are just straight-up bad. They’re stiff and awkward in motion, and the drawings themselves can sometimes look like a middle-schooler’s doodles.

But the music? Holy fuck, dude, the music is incredible! We all know the Guts Theme; it’s been memed to high hell, and pretty much everyone who has heard it can agree it’s one of the best anime songs of all time. And the rest of the soundtrack is just as solid! ‘Forces’ is a fucking banger, ‘Behelit’ is creepy as all hell, ‘Murder’ is the perfect tension-building horror song, it’s amazing stuff! Susumu Hirasawa’s music is consistently jaw-dropping!

The OP, though… Look, we can all laugh at the ‘put your grasses on’ bit. But as an actual OP for Berserk, this is one of the worst we’ve ever gotten.

As a closing note, I want to talk about the voice cast. Specifically for the English dub. This is one of those few anime that I just have to watch dubbed. Marc Diraison is Guts; I hear this guy’s voice in my head every time I read the manga. Same for Kevin T. Collins as Griffith and Carrie Keranen as Casca. For an English dub from the 90s, this one is incredible!

Also, if you’ve never heard them, I’d highly encourage you to check out the outtakes. Seriously, the bloopers of this dub are some of the funniest I’ve ever heard. The voice actors were having a blast with this one.

For all my grievances with it, I still really enjoy Berserk ’97. Of all the adaptations we’ve gotten, this one feels like it has the most heart put into it. If you still haven’t seen it, I’d highly encourage giving it a shot.

My love for this anime is like a truck. BERSERKER!!