Berserk Volume 1 War Cry
Released By: MVM
Rating: 18
Running Time: 125 Mins
Audio: English 2.0 Stereo/ 5.1 Dolby
Release Date: Out Now!
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
For most of us a story starts at the beginning, but here the story shows what happens after a scenario where evil triumphs over good.
A lone swordsman comes through a village blighted by an evil king who rules not as a mortal, but is imbued with a supernatural power none can defeat. Once he hears of the king's name, he is reminded of a past when there were two warring factions, Midland and Chuder.
We learn the swordsman is called Guts and goes from town to town trying to make money as a sword for hire or fight at tournaments. As he is making a name for himself as a strong fighter, Guts is approached by Griffith who has his own band of men-and he wants Guts to join them. When Guts refuses, Griffith doesn't give up, instead he gives him a choice; fight him in a duel and if he wins he can leave, and if he loses he joins them. As Griffith appears to be the more a skilled fighter, Guts has to join them out of fair play and travels with them. While the other members are reluctant to make friends, Casca likes the gentle giant, telling him about the band and Griffith. Guts learns they are loyal, but secretly Griffith hides his ambition to invade and take over castles he has a deep interest in.
The others mistrust of Gits soon dies down as with every battle, they realise he has got their back, becoming a man worth putting their trust in.
This is a shonen anime series and action horror with an underlying supernatural slant. It is also an adventure where Guts proves himself as one of the most feared swordsmen around. Though Griffith has overblown ideas about one day being a titled man, his long, white hair gives us enough of an idea hes a bad guy (if anime codes on the different hair colours and personality types are to be believed) some time later. The majority of the characters are drawn in a gritty way in keeping with the shonen ideal apart from Griffith who has a charming manly beauty that takes them all in without exposing his sinister intent and growing ambition.
In the bonus material there is an Art Gallery of each of the characters and a special Outtakes reel I thought was an original piece to add and is worth watching. I didn't think I would enjoy Berserk, but the story, animation style and character building kept me gripped for hours.
