Menu

«Previous post | Next post»

I have no idea (whatsoever) how I could have missed out on the news that there will be a brand-new “Berserk” TV-series in July this year (it´s a 24 episode long series). In the matter of fact, I just heard about it (thanks O.J!). Well, it´s probably because there have been zero to none noise about the new series in Sweden…Any ways, I´m super thrilled about the news. Because I´m a huge fan of “Berserk”, and as we all know. The original anime series (1997, 25 episodes) ended very abruptly. As it left us (the fans) with a lot of questions on our minds and very little answers. Well, at least in my case, since I was about 12 years old at the time. And due to the fact that it wasn´t easy for me to get a hold of Kentaro Miura´s original “Berserk” manga either. I had no idea what went on beyond the “Time of Eternity” episode (ep 25, the final anime episode).

Guts look very bad-ass in the new “Berserk” tv-series.

However, back in 2000 sometime. I started to read the English translated Manga volumes of “Berserk”. So I got a taste for the series again, and that also gave me a hunger for the TV-series as well. Nevertheless, the years went by. And no new anime episodes were produced. The Manga series, on the other hand, received fresh volumes and content throughout the years. Luckily enough though, we did get three full length “Berserk” anime movies (“Berserk: The Golden Age Arc” 1-3). And the movie series turned out much better than I thought actually (7.7 to 8/10 via imdb). Nevertheless, I always wanted to get more animated episodes of “Berserk”.

Can you trust them? And will you trust them?

Well, my wish has been granted. As the second TV-series adoption of “Berserk” will Kick of in July this summer. And this is the information that´s currently known about the series:

Directed by: Shin Itagaki
Written by: Makoto Fukami and Takashi Yamashita
Music by: Shirō Sagisu
Studio: Liden Films, GEMBA and Millepensee
Network: WOWOW, MBS
Original run: July 2016 – scheduled
Episodes: 24
Berserk´s opening theme song is made by: 9mm Parabellum Bullet

Voice actors (most of the voice actors from the Golden Age Arc film trilogy make a return in the new TV-series):
Guts – Hiroaki Iwanaga
Puck – Kaoru Mizuhara
Farnese – Yōko Hikasa
Serpico – Kazuyuki Okitsu
Isidro – Hiro Shimono
Azan – Hiroki Yasumoto
Casca – Toa Yukinari
Griffith/Femto – Takahiro Sakurai
Skull Knight – Akio Ōtsuka
Narrator – Unshō Ishizuka

I´m not a huge fan of 3D CGI animations, so I truly hope that there will be very little of that kind in the new “Berserk” tv-series.

Well, so far so good right? Sure, but I do have some concerns on my mind. And one of them would be the fact that the it seems like the new “Berserk” TV-series will use 3D CGI effects, because I am not a fan of CGI in general. So I really hope that the production team will keep the CGI effects at a minimum throughout the series. I also hope that there will be very little (to none) censorship in the new series. Time will tell I guess, but what about the plot then? Well, the 2016 anime series is a sequel to the Golden Age Arc film trilogy. And it´s said that it will cover the events of the original “Black Swordsman” (Guts):

“The story will follow Guts as the “Black Swordsman”, an appearance which was briefly glimpsed in the first episode of the 1997 television series and briefly seen in the final scene of Golden Age Arc films.

Guts was once a wandering mercenary taken in by the mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk (鷹の団 Taka no Dan?) and fought alongside them before their leader Griffith sacrificed his followers to become one of the God Hand to fulfill his dream of a kingdom of his own. Only Guts and his lover Casca, who lost her sanity from the horrors she saw and endured, escaped the “Eclipse” ritual though both are branded with marks that attract fell entities like restless spirits to them. Leaving Casca in the care of the blacksmith Godo and Rickert, the only member of the Hawks not sacrificed, Guts began to hunt down the God Hand’s Apostles to find and kill Griffith. Years passed, and Guts is joined in his hunt by the elf Puck as events are starting to unfold.” – Wikipedia

And by the looks for the trailers that been shown so far, there are no indications of that the 2016 TV-series will be any less violent than the 1997 anime series. And I also expect that there will be quite a lot of nudity and sex as well (as both the manga and the original anime series displayed plenty of XXX rated content). So I take it that my (and other “Berserk” fans) summer will get pimped to the max in July. So let the toxic masculinity flow like there is no tomorrow 😉

With that said, what do you think about the new “Berserk” anime TV-series so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below! (comment here!)