Berserk 1997 Is Special

within the vast amount of media being released today there are very few stories that are considered to be universally loved granted it's impossible for any piece of media to be literally universally loved as everyone has a different opinion but what I mean to say is that it's difficult to gain an overwhelming positive majority consensus when it comes to Media it's something that's incredibly subjective so in order to accomplish such a feat it takes something truly unique and pretty special now of course popularity doesn't mean quality as there are some pieces of media that are incredibly popular yet are pretty lackluster in certain aspects like the quality of the story dialogue or characters however when you see stories that are immense in quality and have achieved that majority consensus it truly marks a work that's exceptional this can be seen through most mediums of Arden can of course be seen in that of manga when looking at the two most popular scoring sites for manga that being my anime list in any list the top rated manga for each of them is the same now not everyone that reads manga uses or participates in these websites and they aren't exactly 100 truthful as idiotic things like review bombs happen but the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have scored this particular manga on such a high scale as a testament to just how well appreciated it is a manga that's legendary in its status and what I and many others consider to be the greatest manga of all time I'm of course talking about none other than berserk now like I mentioned before every piece of media is subjective but there's a reason as to why so many people consider berserk to be the greatest manga ever written while it may not be your favorite hell it's not even my personal favorite but regardless you can't deny the sheer Brilliance and berserking how influential it is as a story most fantasy action manga released sends berserk's Inception have all been inspired and influenced by Mira's Masterpiece and that's not even mentioning the countless other pieces of media like video games or films that have taken inspiration from berserk it's just the influential of a story and won the rightfully earned the legendary status that it's acquired over the years and like a lot of other manga that have been praised at such an extent it's been translated over to anime four times actually and unfortunately the majority of them aren't great the worst being berserk 2016 which translated mirror is one of a kind artwork into a 3D Abomination with terrible sound design and an awful pacing of the story though the issue of bad pacing also falls upon the 2012 films and by extension the recent Memorial Edition which ultimately did add more to the films and is definitely an upgrade but still isn't all that great in terms of a good adaptation however among berserk's adaptations there is a diamond in the rough an adaptation that easily outshines the rest and truly is special which if you read the title you know very well that I'm talking about Studio olm's 1997 berserk but before I go into why I believe berserk 1997 to be special I need to preface that the 97 show is not by any means a perfect adaptation while it may be the best adaptation of the golden age in a portion of the Black Swordsman Arc considering this has been the only attempt at doing that it does have a couple of faults the main issues being some of the censorship in its removal of a handful of scenes subplots and the characters of Donovan wild the count theresia Puck and the skull Knight which from a story standpoint some of the moments missing and characters like the skull night are crucial and it sucks that they were left out Puck for example according to one of the producers tosho nakatani was cut from the anime with Mira's permission so that the passion of both guts and griffith would be the focus and Common Thread throughout the series which to me doesn't make all that much sense considering that he would have only appeared in the first episode his inclusion there wouldn't have taken away from any of the character developments of guts and griffith though considering that the show only had a total of 25 episodes I guess there was bound to be some stuff missing and some people might attribute the things missing to the budget but in actuality I'm pretty sure it had to do with the episode count another common complaint in regard to the budget is that some of the animation isn't great due to there being a small budget however there seems to be a misconception about just how small it was well slight misconception see for some reason somewhere along the line it became a Mainstay of the show is lower than the 97 adaptation had an extremely small budget however in reality the budget wasn't as small as you may think during an interview on the 2009 DVD with Tosh I know so berserk 97 despite being aired at night which would normally mean less production value which there would be less viewers spent 1.5 to 2 times more than a show airing in a prime time slot so to say that the budget of Berserk was very small would just not be true however there is a slight catch see in comparison to the budget that some anime get nowadays the production for the 97 series is by all means small shows like jjk reportedly spend 150k on a single episode and there's just no way that the 97 team had that kind of backing but again then for the time that it was created the budget wasn't all that small one could argue that the normal budget for television programs in Japan in 1997 wasn't all that much so doubling that would still mean the budget was small which that could be 100 true though considering the way that nakatani says that's how much effort was put into it in regard to the monetary backing it doesn't seem that way again it might have been small especially when looking at today's standards but not as small as it's put out to be so when people say that some of the animation is rough due to the budget that's simply not true rather the animation is a product of its time and there's a couple mistakes due to it being a product of a relatively new studio but now that I've covered the budget let's talk about this adaptation and what makes it so great Studio olm despite being a relatively new studio was given the task of adapting berserk which at the time wasn't the well-known beloved manga that it is currently but started to gain popularity during the release of the Golden Age after the arc wrapped up in December of 1996 the production for the anime began in early 97 however the first episode was set to come out in October which only gave the team about 10 months to produce a good chunk of the episodes and despite the approaching deadline they created something incredible I mean what they achieved in 10 months is shocking and it goes to show just how much the entire team cared about the project a team that had an immense appreciation and great understanding of the source material and its shows though I will say that miro's involvement might have partially aided that insight and as for his role in the project this is what Mira said during an interview on that same 2009 DVD now I'm just going to read what he said aloud but if you want to watch the full interview there's a link below that'll take you right there berserk is my very first comic in anime so I was very excited and I wanted to make something good good I could have just let the studio staff do the work but I gave some advice on the outlines of the character designs but my main concern was the scripts they'd send me the scripts and I'd revise them and make changes I checked all the scripts and made a lot of changes and requests on all of them now if you're a fan of berserking by extension murum you're most likely aware of his obsession with perfecting his craft I mean the man was so meticulous and detailed with his artwork that every minute detail down to the dots had to be precise so to hear that Mira wanted to be a part of the production and contributed as much as he possibly could to ensure that the script stayed true to his story might not be surprising but is incredibly reassuring to know as a fan it's clear that Mira wanted to make this adaptation the best it could be and his detailed involvement is a testament to just how much he cared about his story being told the right way plus the 97 show is the only adaptation that Miura City played a part in so to know that it has his personal touch just adds so much value to the show and makes it all the more special though even outside of miura's involvement in some of the outlines in the script that level of understanding among the rest of the incredibly talented staff is very much present in literally every aspect of the final product and I mean every aspect for starters the artwork and animation present in Berserker 97 is an incredible take in bringing mirrors one of kind artwork to life well I think that some of the panels present in berserk are damn near impossible to transition into anime what the team produced is nothing short of the word impressive 97 is jam-packed with some incredible background artwork contributed by the lake Kobayashi shichiro that transports you straight to the Holy See territories of Midland and Tudor and expertly translates the infinite spanning scenery of Mira's world besides providing the backgrounds Kobayashi also served as the art director working together with artists like yoshihiko umakoshi to implement additions and recreate some of the maga's most impactful panels in form of paintings that they Incorporated in between animation this isn't exactly a common technique however by use of an art style that very much respected The Source material and placing them in the right spots it works extremely well personally this use of paintings cut between the animation is one of my favorite aspects that they included as it really helps the anime capture the feeling of the manga whether it be zod's ferocity from his battle with the band of the hawk or the intensity of guts's strikes these paintings allow for the viewer to hyper focus on that brief moment which helps portray the emotion of the characters and the scene immensely my favorite instance of this technique is actually in one of my all-time favorite scenes in berserk which comes from the chapter precious thing in this chapter we see Griffith give his Infamous speech which guts overhears causing him to suddenly realize the distance between the two and setting a blaze guts's desire for a dream of his own that moment of realization is perfectly visualized by Miura where we see guts looking up through a void of dark emptiness to Griffith enveloped in light serving as both a physical and metaphorical visualization of the distance between them so when adapting this moment the 97 team pretty much replicated the panel one to one in the form of a painting but due to the final product being on the screen rather than on paper they took a different approach to the delivery wherein the manga it's obviously a still picture the anime starts off zoomed in on Griffith to which it then slowly zooms out revealing the rest of the painting with guts at the bottom of the stairs Frozen in solitude by playing off guts's emotion that the manga invoked in this moment they were able to add their own Flair to it which really emphasizes that meta focal distance between the pair and The Bleak Stillness of that realization again it's one of my favorite things that the staff implemented and I feel is a prime example of how much thought was put into the scenes of great narrative importance as I mentioned earlier the team said they wanted to prioritize the characters which is the driving force of the Golden Age so when it comes to those crucial scenes of development there feels like an extra layer of care put into the adaptation in particular besides that moment from chapter 12 their treatment of bonfire of Dreams is absolutely perfect I mean from the excellent Charming animation to the almost one-to-one script and incredible performances by both the sub and dub voice actors it is a perfect attentive visualization of one of the most significant scenes in the Golden Age of course the authenticity of the dialogue is probably due to Mira's involvement with the script but one of the best parts about olm's treatment of the scene is the soundtrack now if you want to talk about what makes berserk 97 special the music is hands down one of the most important factors in that statement when I said that every aspect of this adaptation understood the source material I meant it it's Sumo hero saw his soundtrack is quite literally the perfect example of that Berserker 97 soundtrack is to this day the Pinnacle of Berserk music and the tracks They hirosawa compose for to become a Mainstay in the fandom as they stay true to the spirit of Mira's Masterpiece so incredibly well this can be seen in every single one of the tracks like the hell it a haunting the Eerie ominous piece that perfectly embodies the darker side of the story or forces an energy-inducing Banger that fits the medieval setting of berserking is quite possibly one of the best going into battle songs ever and of course most notably we have guts now guts itself is pretty special and not because of its popularity even becoming a meme at one point but rather because of the fact that it's transcended this adaptation and become permanently tied with guts's character so much so that it's earned the name guts's theme throughout the fandom it's a song without any words it portrays an incredible comprehension of guts here saw his composition beautifully depicts guts's Arc throughout the Golden Age and the emotions tied with that Journey which I can best describe as the term yearning a sense of Yearning that originates from loneliness and sadness yet one that also comes from just desire another optimism this duality of Yearning and the complexity of guts's character somehow reflected perfectly in the form of a song without losing any of the emotion and translation which to me is incredible and goes to show hirosawa's genius as a composer plus I mean the track is just amazing as is the entirety of the soundtrack and what makes it all the more brilliant is the team's placement of these tracks in accordance with the scenes they're in every track feels so meticulously positioned with every scene which really helps Drive the atmosphere and the emotions of the narrative which shows a level of coherent understanding between hirosawa and the staff it's an outstanding level of teamwork that has yet to be replicated in any of berserk's further adaptations but would you be surprised to know that this dynamic between hirasawa and berserk was kind of meant to be seeing that same interview from earlier with the show's producer he stated that Mira actually listened to hirostella while he worked on berserk so in a sense hirosawa actually helped create berserk so when production started and it came time to make a decision on the music Mira suggested that they try and get hirasawa which is a might have guessed he accepted and the rest is history and it's like poetry so if they rhyme it really feels like a full circle kind of connection that adds to the lore of the anime and makes it feel all the more unique here's how a soundtrack took the adaptation to another level and is without a doubt one of the reasons as to why this show is so special and lastly the final reason I want to touch on as to why berserk 97 is specials in regard to the ending the ending of this particular adaptation is a textbook example of what you'd call a cliffhanger but not just any Cliffhanger no this Cliffhanger pushes the absolute extreme of the definition I mean it literally just ends during that part of the eclipse you know that part the part that I don't think anyone that's read berserk has mentally gotten over and one of the main reasons as to why Griffith or femto was probably one of the most hated antagonists in all of fiction it's a moment that scars your brain and to just end the anime in the middle of that scene with God screaming out in agonies it fades to White is the most what the [ __ ] ending there is so why is the ending of berserker 97 something I consider to be a factor in what makes it special well to put it simply it is the best example of an anime getting you to read the Manga there is no way that after watching this horrific scene end suddenly without any explanation as to what's going to happen at Gus and koska that you're not immediately picking up the manga to see how the rest of the story goes however the decision to end the anime during the eclipse has never been officially said to be a marketing Ploy but even if it wasn't intentional it definitely served as one as the anime boosted the manga sales and served as a lot of people's introduction to the series The Golden Age as incredible as it may be is just a portion of Berserk there's so much story left to explore and the anime's ability to throw the viewers straight into the manga simply unlike any other I've seen and definitely plays a part in what makes it so great berserk 1997 is special as a statement that's definitely personal as I'm sure there's people out there that don't enjoy this adaptation and there's simply no legitimate way to factually prove an opinion as it's just an opinion however as I've stated throughout this video there's reasons as to why I hold the Santa man such high esteem it is without question the truest adaptation of the Golden Age so far and won the Miura himself played a pardon an adaptation that introduced a lot of people to one of the greatest manga ever created in one of the reasons as to why it's so popular today an adaptation that was crafted by an incredibly talented team of individuals who had an immense understanding and appreciation for the manga and wanted to make something Mira will be proud of Berserk 1997 is without a doubt one of a kind and an adaptation that truly is special but yeah that's it for this one thank you for watching I really appreciate it and I hope you have a good one peace

Channel: grim

Views: 598,594

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Id: PDM0Kq8tSuU

Length: 15min 49sec (949 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 07 2023