Berserk(First impression)

     I believe in the value of first impressions so that's why I am starting from the very beginning. The pilot of Kentaro Miura's Berserk  aired in 1997. I was ten at the time and didn't have cable. My first actual introduction to Berserk was over seven or eight years ago. I remember joking with my husband that we should paint the nursery of our first child with the Hell scene from the anime. It did provide for some interesting pregnancy dreams though.

       With it being over five years since I've watched Berserk my first impression of the show has been forgotten. I think I remembered liking it, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

      So after a long day of Blues Clues, chasing a tiny nudist, and checking homework I finally have absolute power to choose what to watch without worrying about giving my kids nightmares. This was mommy's alone time. Berserk is not a kids show, unless you want to mentally scar your kids for life. I should also throw in a epilepsy warning. Before a parent lets their little Timmy and Jane watch this and whines about it here are your warnings:
*Blood
*Violence
*Language
*Semi-sexual content/nudity

     (No gripes if you're not ready to party)

      A thing to note about Berserk is that everything was drawn by hand and in some scenes it definitely shows. With the use of CGI becoming even more popular and with shows like Akira the animation in Berserk is a bit sub par especially with scenes that I can only refer to as shaky cam still photo reminiscent of Speed Racer. With as often as they used the still photos and lazy animation I wondered if it would have worked better as graphic novel with audio narration.

      The voice acting for some of the side characters is a bit trying to hard and just not getting there. In quite a few scenes the audio does not match up to what is being said or done. Sword clinks and clanks are heard seconds after they hit and not immediately. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and blame it on it being a 90s anime. Marc Diraison does a wonderful job as the voice of Guts so there is some hope for improvement.

        The music on the other hand I have absolutely no complaints. The opening credits Tell Me Why by  Pen Pals are catchy and pumps me up to continue watching while the closing credits Waiting So Long by Silver Fins  are slow and intriguing so they make me curious for the next episode.

        When we first start watching the episode the scene opens with a blacksmith working on a sword while a man in the shadows waits. Following soon after that is a scene similar to one found in a few westerns. A town tavern terrorized by the local gang of misfits. This time they're dragging a young girl with them for bumping into them. One of misfits takes it too far and next thing you know he is dead on the ground with blood pouring out of his head. The man in the shadows reappears and kills all but one of the misfits. It's at these first scenes that we are introduced to Guts
   
        There is a ton of room for character development, With Guts and Casca being the first main characters we're introduce to I'm going to focus on them for now. My first complaint about Casca is that she is supposed to be a strong badass but I find my self feeling irritated by her weak maiden in distress playing with the boys introduction. Casca is the stereotypical little sister character. She is a jealous stepmother and creepy infatuation away from being Disney royalty. 

        As for Guts I don't have any idea what his motive is yet, but for now he is a pretty exchangeable tough guy in the shadows kind of guy. It's obvious what Gut's sword is a euphemism for.

   
**Random thoughts**
* Dante's Inferno/ The Divine comedy the animated version brought to you by Speed Racer animation
*Why try to animate when you can just have you voice actors scream over a drawing?
*Several scenes with lazy animation or no animation at all
*Well at least the music is good
     

My overall opinion is watch for the story line, but don't expect to be impressed by the animation.
                                                                              - Mouse