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berserk
Manga Plus
By Abhimanyu Shekhar
Atmosphere: 10/10
Primarily based on a deadly story, the atmosphere
needs to be special which can really suit such things. The
atmosphere of a manga is totally different from the art. A
great artist might do a few mistakes of strokes and make a
comedic atmosphere look serious sometimes, but Berserk
gives us perfect atmosphere to think of exactly what the
setting is: war, battles, blood, and violence.
Dark, brooding, and violent; people getting slashed by large
swords; thick and heavy atmosphere even in daylight with interestinglooking fights; a perfect combination in all. Only a few stories can run
such devoted atmosphere at all.
Once you start getting familiar with the story, thanks to the nice
atmosphere which rarely changes and suits the story very well, you
start liking it. It may seem dull and all at the beginning, but it gets
interesting, especially at the middle. A decent atmosphere triggered
by the story makes the story decent itself.
Characters: 10/10
Only a few stories deserve a 10/10 on characters. Guts
is a decently characterized protagonist, Griffith is the
charismatic and mysterious leader of the Band of Hawks,
while Casca is the iron-willed woman who’s the only
person Guts ever had affection for. On the other hand,
Puck is the love-me-or-hate-me type of
comical
character and others like Corkus and Judeau
are much needed for balancing the synergy.
What is impressive about Berserk is that it has no
weak cast members to speak of. Not one of them
falls short of delivering a convincing performance.
Granted, the stock characters such as Princess
Charlotte remain far less developed than the
protagonists, but they still manage to fit the
story to a tee. As for the central characters, they
are unexpectedly complex and emotionally
engaging on every level. Guts himself is a
traditional tortured hero type who carries the
burdens of a dubious origin and a disturbed
past.
Griffith is beautiful like an angel and radiates
the kind of charisma that moves armies and topples
kingdoms. What’s more, he is inhumanly cunning and generally the
kind of character you can fall for over and over again. However, the
guy is also undeniably very messed up. As Griffith leads the Band of
the Hawk to glory and wins hearts as well as minds, however there
is always an element of doubt concerning his true intentions. Of
course, this only serves to make him all the more engaging.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
As the only female to have a significant role,
Casca exceeded my initial expectations. She
has both common sense and superb fighting
skills. Intelligent; a leader within the Hawks, and
harbouring an intense loyalty to Griffith, she is
a character with a distinct purpose. Casca’s only
downfall is that, as the series progresses, she
gets forced back into a predictably misogynistic
role. With regards to the supporting cast, the
members of the Band of the Hawk are easily the
most memorable.
Judeau may be young and have relatively little screen
time, but his wisdom and perceptiveness when it
comes to his comrades is refreshing. Corkus, on the
other hand, is another great character whose relentless
dislike of Guts provides for some much-needed comedy. I
also like the fact that he adds a more pessimistic nuance to
the Band of the Hawk dynamic. All in all, these are the kinds
of characters for which I harbour deep nostalgic feelings;
their strong personalities and intricate development makes
them difficult to forget.
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