Berserk, Vol. 1

I've been hearing about Berserk more or less since I really got into manga, but it was only recently that I truly decided to look into it. I had heard that it was violent and bloody, but I never thought much of it, believing it would be something along the lines of Rurouni Kenshin or You You Hakusho. I could not have been farther from the truth. And I could not be happier about it. Berserk is truly the single most violent and gory manga I have ever come across, but the story is intriguing enough to keep me engaged.The story itself follows a man named Guts. Yes, Guts, like intestines. It's actually quite fitting considering how many times *SPOILER* he slices someone in half. Guts is a main character I feel we don't see enough of in manga: an antihero. He's not the virtuous knight in shining armor. He's rude, he's crude, he's violent, and more often than not he comes off as a psychopathic jerk. But for some reason, I still enjoy his character. Most of the time it seems he's fueled solely by anger and revenge, but that's what makes the few short moments when he seems to truly care all the more special. We don't see any of Guts past explained in this volume, but we get hints that he's been through something horrible. It's enough to keep you coming back for more.Now as for the artwork, I must admit I was a bit taken aback for a moment. Most of my life, I've dealt with much lighter artwork and stories. However, within a few pages, I began to fall in love with the artwork of Berserk. The shading is very heavy on most pages, something that usually doesn't go over so well in manga. Heavy shading can quickly make things blur together and disappear so that you have no idea what's going on the page, but not in this case. Kentaro Miura somehow manages to heavily shade nearly every panel and somehow build in incredible amount of depth with his images, and without making the panels look too busy.Now I'm going to talk about the one thing that seems to turn most people away from Berserk (besides the gore). The pricetag. Many of the volumes went out ofnprint in the last couple of years, and scalpers are ready to take advantage of the hardcore fans. Check the prices of certain volumes, and you're looking at a price of $50-$2000. Yes, you readnthat right. I've seen a copy of an out of print volume listed in "fair to poor condition" for $2000. Do NOT pay over $20 for these books. Dark Horse, the English publisher of Berserk, is aware of the scarcity and the pricejacking. They are currently reprinting the series in order of scarcity. I myself am an impatient little narwhal, but I'm also a frugal one. I overpaid for two of the volumes before doing any major research to see if there would be a reprinting. I don't plan to make that mistake again. My lessons to you today, my darlings, is to just be patient. Dark Horse is working toward fixing the scarcity issues. Only buy the volumes when the price is right.Now, my word of warning to all of you who are new to this series: Nothing can really prepare you for this series. It's violent, and bloody, it's downright disgusting at times. There is sex, and nudity, and even rape. There are demons and monsters so horribly ugly that you've never seen the like, even in your worst nightmares. I've read manga like Attack on Titan. It pales in comparison, in my humble opinion. This series is hellish in all the right ways, and it's got this gal hooked. I love everything about it so far, and I plan to stay with it for the long haul.

Straight banger, I can't believe something can be this good. The artwork is incredible, the characters go brazy. So good!

(Note that I saw the anime series before I read the manga, so consider this as you read on.)Berserk, both anime and manga, is one of the most violent and bloody series out. Yet it's also very deep and well-plotted, with a unique anti-hero, that being Guts, a.k.a. The Black Swordsman, a man who loves to hate, cares nothing for those around him, and wants nothing more than to swing his massive, horse-cleaving sword around. The sight of blood doesn't bother him, he shows no emotion, and will even blow the face off of a lover (though in all fairness, she was a demon as well). And to help him in this matter is the demon-calling brand on his neck, essentially feeding his blood-lust. When demons aren't coming for him, he's going after them. His main goal, however, are the mysterious demons of the Godhand, and continually haunting his dreams is a deformed baby-like creature that crawls toward him endlessly.Alongside Guts is the elf Puck, who helps Guts in times of need, whether he wants it or not. Everyone else who helps him usually ends up dying, so supporting characters are few. Guts cares only about himself, and had not Puck had its own motives it surely would have abandoned Guts to do what he would with his life.Guts's journey in volume one takes Guts from between the legs of a demon lover, and follows him as he enters a city dominated by corrupt soldiers who follow the lead of an evil snake demon. Beyond that, it shows Guts in his everyday life of endless wondering and fighting. He meets a priest and his daughter, and must fight a hoard of undead, and soon after enters another city, locked in the terror of an Inquisition, where falsely accused heretics are being slaughtered. By the end of this volume, a key point in Guts's past is shown, an evil charm known as a Behelit.Though surely Berserk is one of the best and most entertaining, and I'd like to recommend it to everyone, I can't. I will only recommend this to mature readers (the book recommends 18+), because it has some partial nudity and gore on nearly every page. Not only that, but children are shown being killed. If you believe yourself mature enough to understand that this is only a story, then pick this up. Otherwise, leave Berserk for adult readers.Also, if you saw the series and would like to better know the history of Guts, then pick this up, because the first season of the anime jumps pretty far ahead from where the manga is. The anime and manga start in nearly the same spot, but the manga continues from there and later gets into the story with Griffith, while the anime goes almost immediately to that dramatic point.

Speaking as a complete newcomer (and not a huge reader of manga in general), I can honestly say I was skeptical and put off reading this for years. What little manga I've read did not impress me. But being a fan of dark fantasy, I eventual caved. And I'm glad I did. This manga is different. For one, the English translation isn't awkward (a pet peeve of mine). The character is not an annoying angst-ridden teen, nor an edge lord. He is a strong yet flawed antihero who takes no crap. Kind of refreshing, actually. The sword is a little silly, but I think that's a minor flaw. And I think the story is aware of its own silliness, so that helps. Anyway, in the final analysis, I enjoyed this book and will be reading the next volume.