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SUMMARY

In an attempt to free Griffith from the castle dungeon, Caska leads a small team of the Hawks’ best men:  Guts, Pippin, and Judeau.  With the aide of Princess Charlotte’s servants, they manage to sneak into the dungeon without detection.  At the bottom-most dungeon, they find Griffith, tortured, emaciated, unable to speak, and hovering on the edge of life and death.  Even the tough Guts is moved to tears by the sight of him – perhaps realizing that his former friend will never be the man he once was.

The rescue party manages to succeed in freeing Griffith, due in large part to Guts slaying every Windom soldier who crossed their path. 

Even though their former leader has been returned to them, the remnants of the Band of the Hawk soon realized that the chances of a return to their former glory were slim given the fact that Griffith was so severely weakened.

So it is left to Caska to decide their next move, and most importantly for her, whether or not there can be a future for her and Guts.  As they discuss their next steps, Griffith is also analyzing his own present state.   He begins to question his own dream and having realized he has been blind to Caska’s affections and perhaps a little jealous of the relationship she and Guts now share.  

Just as Guts decides to stay and help Caska with Griffith, the delirious Griffith draws what little strength he has and manages to take off with one of the horse-drawn carriages.   He discovers that somehow, the mysterious red Behelit, the “Egg of the King” has come to be in his possession yet again. Remembering what a gypsy woman prophesized about the Behelit, he agrees to pledge his flesh and blood in exchange for achieving his dream.  

Guts and the Hawks soon arrive hoping to save Griffith again, only this time they have walked right into a nightmare.   

“Love, hatred, torment, pleasure, life and death…. All together before our eyes… This is the beauty of man… and the devil.”

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The picture is sharp and clear.  No digital fragments are apparent.  The colors are vibrant, and there is no “bleeding” of the reds.  And the blacks, for the most part, are solid.

AUDIO: :  The Dolby Digital Stereo supports the awesome soundtrack for this series well.  While an option for 5.1 audio might have been nice, there are no complaints about the stereo sound here.

EDITS: Clean open and close animation have been used, with the Japanese logo being replaced by the English logo.  Episode titles have been changed as well.  

EXTRAS: For this last volume they give us a good helping of the usual extras, along with a few more.  My favorite, as usual is the Outtakes (I particularly loved the God Hand outtakes – “Red Ball, the Lubriderm for demons… buy it now, or die,” Caska’s “aklers” plus Batman, Willy Wonka, and more show tunes a la Mr. Kevin Collins a.k.a. Griffith).   In “Paint it Berserk” we see a music video montage of the creation of hand-painted Berserk murals located near some busy streets in Japan.   For some extra treats, we get a bonus “TV Spot,” a Toycom Preview, “TV Opening Encore Version,” the “Forces Full Version,” and more trailers for other AnimeWorks/MediaBlasters titles (Samurai Deeper Kyo, Ys 2, 12 Kingdoms, and Madara).

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

ACTING: The voice casting for both the Japanese and English versions are great, particularly in the lead characters (Guts, Griffith, and Caska).  Both Nobotoshi Hayashi and Mark Diraison do great jobs portraying the tough, stubborn Guts.  Toshiyuki Morikawa and Kevin Collins are excellent as the cool, calculating, and charismatic Griffith. 

FINAL SPIN

Well, at last we’ve come to the end…. and what a sad, bleak, and surprising ending it is, indeed.  Through the series, we have watched the maturing of several of the characters, particularly Guts and Caska, and we have witnessed the rise and fall of the charismatic Griffith.  But, if you’re like me, I’m sure you’re freaking saying “Oh my God!  Is that it!  Is this how it ends?!!”  Sad to say, yes, this series ends in what could possibly be one of the most shocking, unexpected cliffhangers ever.  So, the answer is “no.”  No matter how many times you go back to the store asking when volume 7 is coming out – just for the record, there isn’t one!  However, I must say this is only the end of the animated series.  Remember, the story in the Berserk manga, which inspired the series, runs long after the story shown in the TV series ends.  Good news is there are some rumblings on the ‘net about a proposed second animated series continuing the story, but sadly they only appear to be rumors at this time (keep your fingers crossed, though!).

Am I disappointed by the sudden cliffhanger ending?  Yes.  Does this make me dislike the series now?  No.  Some people may argue that ending it at the “Great Eclipse” was a poor choice, but in some ways it is not.  The creators have managed to bring the audience full circle.  In the first episode of the series we were shown the country of Midland in darkness and chaos, knowing only that it was ruled by demons, led by the King Griffith and that the Black Swordsman, who we learn is Guts, is hunting for him.  The rest of the series was simply an account of how Griffith came to be the King and how his ambitions affected the other characters.  Although, in retrospect, this probably isn’t what he had in mind, but at least he was a king, right?  (It’s good to be the King… nudge, nudge, wink, wink, knowhatimean?).  But I digress.  The point is we’ve reached the goal.  The creators weren’t aiming to tell the entire story (it’s impossible, because the story is still going on in the manga format at the time the animated series was made); they just wanted to show the audience this chapter in the characters lives, how things began and how the characters changed along the way. 

In some ways, Berserk can be seen as a character study into human nature.  Particularly, the nature to want to overcome the odds even at a time when fate deals its worst hand.  The nature to want to not give up, even when it seems there is nowhere else to go.  This “nature” is especially evident in the experiences of the lead characters.

I should note that anyone watching this last disk should make sure to watch the last episode through the end credits.  After that, you will see a very brief epilogue where you’ll see how we are brought back to where things started with the first episode, and you’ll see where the circle “connects.”

So, that said, what petition do I need to sign or who do I need to beg to get them to do another animated series for Berserk?  Or perhaps a theater-quality-animated feature length movie? 

Needless to say, even with this cliffhanger ending, the Berserk animated series should truly be considered one of the classics of Anime.  It’s very well written and executed, with very memorable characters, and it’s one that will stick in your memory for a long time after you watch it. 

Some Interesting Facts:  Can’t wait for the possible arrival of a second animated series?  Well, there’s some good news.  The Berserk story does continue, and thankfully, some if it is already, or is in the process of being translated in English.  For those with a Sega Dreamcast, you can check out the game “Sword of Berserk.”  While it doesn’t “finish” the story, it does give you an idea of what may have happened after the TV series ends.  Also, thanks to Dark Horse comics, the Berserk manga is now being translated and released in the U.S.  The first volume should be in stores now.   Plus, if you haven’t bought the Berserk series yet, November’03 sees the release of the Berserk Premium Collection Box Set.

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