Berserk Volume 3
Licensed By: MVM Entertainment
Genre: Dark Fantasy Action
Episodes: 10-13
Before now I had never watched Berserk and so I did my research before popping this one in, and I must say that it has certainly piqued my interest. Berserk is an action-fantasy series dabbling in the demonic side, and isn’t shy at all about portraying nudity and scenes of an uncomfortable nature. That being said, its main focus is to follow the story of Guts and detail the events that lead to him becoming the person we are introduced to at the beginning of the series.
Volume 3 begins with the outcome of the grim task set to Guts, while Griffith attends a party held in Princess Charlotte’s honour. Continuing on, the Band of the Hawk participate in a battle that results in Caska and Guts getting separated from the main group and thus having to seek shelter for the night. It is during this time that we learn more about Griffith’s charismatic character and the reasons why Caska stands by his side with unwavering loyalty. The disc comes to a cliffhanger end, as en route to their destination the two are ambushed by the soldiers they had fought in the earlier battle.
Assuming you have watched Volumes 1 and 2, this is a must buy as it continues the story to a degree and focuses more on character development in the cases of Griffith and Caska. However, with this being the first disc I have watched and assuming this is the first review you’ve read on the anime, I feel the need to point out that the animation is quite dated yet of a very high quality for the 90’s era. While having lovely character designs and, when the budget allows, beautifully fluid animation, the action scenes can be a little stiff but otherwise viewable. I am particularly in love with episode 12 because the animation reminds me of why I got into anime in the first place.
The series boasts a decent soundtrack to complement the situations the characters find themselves in. Unfortunately the opening theme is one that gets really old really fast, while the ending is a hit or miss.
To round off, the disc comes with an impressive line-up of extras, including storyboards, character designs and outtakes. In terms of story, I would definitely keep on watching because “I’m a girl who can’t say no,”