Berserk

Publisher
Dark Horse/Digital Manga
Writer
Kentaro Miura
Artist
Kentaro Miura
Country of origin
Japan
Length
24 volumes
Year
1989

Berserk GN 1

By David Rasmussen
24th Nov 04

Studio - Dark Horse
Age - Mature Reader (18+)
By Kentaro Miura
Dark Horse Staff
Translator - Jason DeAngelis
Lettering & Retouch - Dan Nakrosis
Editor - Chris Warner and Fred Lui

"It was much too big to be called a sword. Massive. Thick, heavy and far too rough. Indeed, it was like a heap of raw iron."
Puck (Berserk GN 1)

So who is this being who wields the above mentioned sword?
Name is Guts, a feared warrior known as the Black Swordsman. Wielding this massive "sword", and a "iron" hand that seems more technological than it should in this sword/sorcery realm... probably nothing.
He is a marked man. Bearing the sign of "The Brand", a dark symbol that draws evil to him... but considering he's searching for an evil called The Godhand (five evils to be precise) what's a little darkness here and there?

First stop is to dethrone a cannibalistic tyrant named The Baron.
And nothing. Not the living, not the undead, not torture or countless enemies (regardless of status as living or otherwise) will stop him from finding this thing...
Of course getting to the Baron is one thing, killing ... it... is something else.

A dark brutal cold world, and for it a dark brutal cold "hero"... if he can be called that.
Violent, bloody, dark, disgusting... truly a train wreck visually... you can't draw your eyes away despite the carnage before you. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Ok. Breakdown time.

Berserk Breakdown the 1st
What's Hot? - So far I've used the train wreck comparison for two titles... this and Alien Nine.
Which do I like better? I'd have to say Alien Nine.
Yet that doesn't mean this isn't going to be a good title.
It's action packed, has some dark humor, and sometimes gets you to thinking... yes, it can do that.
It seems that it's hard to grasp the character of Guts, and why he is the way he is, but once we get to reviewing Graphic Novel 3 (and the flashbacks to his past begin) you'll see why he is the way he is.
For now all I'll say is that the violence may be a turnoff, but if you think you can stand it then you might find merit in having this as part of your collection.

What's Not? - Like I said above, this is a disturbing read. Violent and dark, it's just not for the faint of heart. If you don't think you could stomach the dark nature of this read then you'd best avoid it.
If you think you can take it, however, you might find this a quality read that you'll enjoy.

Moments to Remember?
Uh... you better discover that for yourself. Really.

What to Ignore?
Nothing.... In truth a lot of what goes on between the covers of this book just dares you to attempt to ignore what's going on! You can't! It gets in your face and demands your attention. Ignoring things might not be possible this time out.

Overall?
If you can get over the dark graphic nature of this book you might find a quality read.
It's dark, it's violent, it's gruesome and unforgivingly tainted in blood and disturbing images.
However if you think you can take that then you may be well on your way to being a regular reader of this title. Who knows? That's up to you, isn't it?

NOTE - The review of Graphic Novel 2 will take a while... I have to order it.
It should be in December though so stay tuned.

-- David Rasmussen 24th Nov 04