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Berserk |OT| - Big men, bigger swords, OFF THE BOAT - Berserk #344 24/6/2016

N

nelsonroyale

Member
Azuran said:
I find Puck hilarious. This panel will always crack me up no matter what:

puckultimatestrongone.jpg


His presence is just a breath of fresh air after all the killing and raping that goes on. That one happened right after the Rosine battle which was a pretty dark arc, so I just can't help but smile after everything that happened. It also led to the moment when Guts finally accepted Puck as his friend and companion which as good heartwarming moment in a manga like Berserk.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Puck can be absolutely hilarious.
 
mcz117chief

mcz117chief

Member
InfiniDragon said:
I agree, yours is better. Looks 1:1 like the real thing, unlike theirs.

Wish someone would make a 1:1 full size Dragonslayer, everyone always shortens it (just like the Man at Arms example compared to yours). I don't care if it would be impossible to use as a sword, the one in the damn manga's impossible to use unless you're Guts. I just want to see it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we discussed that with my pal the blacksmith. He said he could theoretically make it hollow from steel plates but there is no way that he could get such a huge hunk of steel and manage to harden it. He says that is way, WAY beyond the abilities of standard forges.

Anyway, practicing with the sword is a lot of fun, my arms are almost double the size they were before I got it :)
It feels so awesome when I put on my cloak, put this sword on the back and go practice in the woods while listening to Guts' theme from the anime OST. The feeling of having that sword in your arms is amazing.

RadioHeadAche said:
I probably should buy two to three volumes at a time, because of how quickly I just got through the first. I did enjoy it, though.

Too bad I didn't like it in college. I could have gotten into the series much sooner.
Click to expand...

Buy them here http://www.bookdepository.com/
They have crazy good prices and free shiping + PayPal :)
 
mcz117chief

mcz117chief

Member
RadioHeadAche said:
And they're sold new and shrink-wrapped? That seems pretty good for free shipping, even if they're only a few dollars off msrp.
Click to expand...

Yeah, new and wrapped and they send them in heavy duty bubble envelopes or hard carton. I have bought around 25 volumes from them + a couple volumes of Fairy Tale and the huge Highschool of the Dead books.
 
M

Mumei

Member
metsallica said:
They absolutely do, it's how I bought the entire series. Cheapest place online, don't go anywhere else.
Click to expand...

Yes, and buy in bulk and close together. If you go over $50, you get free shipping, and your subsequent purchases within ~7 or 8 days after the first get an additional 2% off. It's not much, but it adds up when purchasing a series as big as this.
 
W

Whitebison

Member
I'am reading the manga (volume 24 so far) and I'm in the mood of some dark fantasy medieval movies similar to berserk...could you guys recommend me something?

Last night I saw Black Death and it was pretty great.
 
S

StMeph

Member
Necrovex said:
Welcome to our loveable, miserable party!
Click to expand...

Ugh. Yes, welcome. Join us in our collective suffering, the agony of waiting for Berserk, seeing the thread light up, and being horribly disappointed even though you know better.

That's what's in store for you by walking down this path.
 
M

Mumei

Member
StMeph said:
Ugh. Yes, welcome. Join us in our collective suffering, the agony of waiting for Berserk, seeing the thread light up, and being horribly disappointed even though you know better.

That's what's in store for you by walking down this path.
Click to expand...

It's not that bad. I haven't even read Chapters 325 - 337 yet. I feel like Berserk's pacing seems deceptively slower than it is when you anticipate each new chapter, and then read it expecting something momentous when it finally comes out. When you read them in chunks, the pacing is much smoother.

Whitebison said:
I'am reading the manga (volume 24 so far) and I'm in the mood of some dark fantasy medieval movies similar to berserk...could you guys recommend me something?

Last night I saw Black Death and it was pretty great.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I can't think of anything offhand, but I'm not a movie buff.
 
M

metsallica

Member
Whitebison said:
I'am reading the manga (volume 24 so far) and I'm in the mood of some dark fantasy medieval movies similar to berserk...could you guys recommend me something?

Last night I saw Black Death and it was pretty great.
Click to expand...
Do you like artsy and/or Nicholas Winding Refn? Watch Valhalla Rising.
 
S

StMeph

Member
Mumei said:
It's not that bad. I haven't even read Chapters 325 - 337 yet. I feel like Berserk's pacing seems deceptively slower than it is when you anticipate each new chapter, and then read it expecting something momentous when it finally comes out. When you read them in chunks, the pacing is much smoother.
Click to expand...

I do this in some capacity with all manga by waiting around a year to accumulate enough content to make it worth catch up again, but Miura's output is so low that even waiting a year doesn't provide enough to chew on.

It's also fun to grouse about it; anyone actually upset will have already flamed out by now, I assume.
 
D

Dawg

Member
Can we all agree the best way to experience Berserk is to watch the original anime and then start the manga from the beginning right after?

Yes?

Thanks.
 
D

Dahbomb

Member
Jarnet87 said:
but if you watch the anime first then you can have the sick ost playing in your mind (or just playing it) while you read the manga.
Click to expand...
You can just read the manga first time and pick some anime songs to play while reading it.

Some of the movies song are really good too... Blood and Guts (both versions) fits amazingly well with Berserk in general.
 
D

Dawg

Member
Jarnet87 said:
but if you watch the anime first then you can have the sick ost playing in your mind (or just playing it) while you read the manga.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

Dahbomb said:
Best way to experience Berserk is to read the manga first.
Click to expand...

I disagree because it's harder to go back to the anime after reading the manga.

Compare that to the ending of the anime. You want more. You crave for more.
 
D

Dahbomb

Member
An argument can be made that reading the series starting with the Golden Age is the best way to experience Berserk because then you will get completely mind fucked by the Eclipse.

A lot of the stuff in the first volume goes over your head or loses its context when you read it the first time. When you read it after experiencing the Eclipse it all makes more sense and makes that arc more engaging (IMO of course).
 
H

hammertomb

Banned
Dawg said:
Thank you.



I disagree because it's harder to go back to the anime after reading the manga.

Compare that to the ending of the anime. You want more. You crave for more.
Click to expand...
Nope. Read the manga first. Reading it after the anime makes the story feel disjointed.
 
R

RadioHeadAche

Member
I'm listening to "Behelit" on repeat right now. Such a moody song, and I loved the use of it in the last couple next episode previews in the anime. Particularly, the Japanese preview for "Time of Eternity", which had no dialogue, just the song. So eerie, and sad.
 
Y

Yonafunu

Member
Dahbomb said:
An argument can be made that reading the series starting with the Golden Age is the best way to experience Berserk because then you will get completely mind fucked by the Eclipse.

A lot of the stuff in the first volume goes over your head or loses its context when you read it the first time. When you read it after experiencing the Eclipse it all makes more sense and makes that arc more engaging (IMO of course).
Click to expand...

I disagree. There's a reason the series doesn't start with Golden Age. The Black Swordsman Arc sets up the tone and plot perfectly, I think. The finer points are supposed to go over your head and make more sense after Golden Arc.
 
D

Dawg

Member
I always felt like the anime's ending gives you such a depressing feeling. But, at the same time, you feel like... FUCK! I need to read the manga NOW!

If you read the manga first, I feel like you won't have that feeling. You already know what's coming. And, well... no matter how much I love the manga... the anime's ending feels stronger than the depiction in the manga. In part because of the terrific OST.
 
M

Moaradin

Member
Yonafunu said:
I disagree. There's a reason the series doesn't start with Golden Age. The Black Swordsman Arc sets up the tone and plot perfectly, I think. The finer points are supposed to go over your head and make more sense after Golden Arc.
Click to expand...

Plus there's a sense of uneasiness that you get if you read the first couple volumes first, which I really think benefits The Golden Age imo.
 
D

Dahbomb

Member
Yonafunu said:
I disagree. There's a reason the series doesn't start with Golden Age. The Black Swordsman Arc sets up the tone and plot perfectly, I think. The finer points are supposed to go over your head and make more sense after Golden Arc.
Click to expand...
I disagree too, I am just saying an argument can be made for it and I have certainly seen it. I don't agree with it because the Blackswordsman arc actually hooks you into the series better than the first few chapters of Golden Age.
 
V

Veelk

Banned
Yonafunu said:
I disagree. There's a reason the series doesn't start with Golden Age. The Black Swordsman Arc sets up the tone and plot perfectly, I think. The finer points are supposed to go over your head and make more sense after Golden Arc.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your disagreement. I've read it like normal and really wish I hadn't. Griffith's betrayal and the Behelit would have been far more effective had I never known their status and purpose ahead of time. There's nothing about the black swordsman arc that 'goes over your head'. It's plot is clear and the characters have their motives stated clearly. The only thing I get more out of reading the Black Swordsman arc now is an understanding of the specifics of the history that Guts and Griffith share, but it was implied as explicitely as possible so you know the bones of it. On the other hand, the characterization of Guts is a bit different than what we're used to. For example, the manga introduces us to him boning a demon chick to kill her. This makes little sense in the current characterization of Guts, who never really sought out fights with demons unless he specifically needed something and isn't really all that interested in sex except with Caska from his rape experience. It's placement hurts far more than anything it helps.

Dahbomb said:
I disagree too, I am just saying an argument can be made for it and I have certainly seen it. I don't agree with it because the Blackswordsman arc actually hooks you into the series better than the first few chapters of Golden Age.
Click to expand...

Eh...I suppose, but I honestly didn't find it all that compelling. It just came off as another juevenile grimdark fantasy with a psychopathic protagonist that just kills his way through everything. That obviously has it's audience, but it wouldn't have kept mine. I won't argue that the beginning of the Golden Age isn't as compelling as future stuff, but I think it was just growing pains for the series.
 
E

Elfforkusu

Member
This thread being on the front page has made me start wondering how long Guts & friends have been on that damn boat. As far as I can figure, it's at least since sometime in 2008. Am I off?

Come on Miura, it's time to make the magic happen! It's... time... it's past time, actually...
 
S

SolarPowered

Member
Dawg said:
Can we all agree the best way to experience Berserk is to watch the original anime and then start the manga from the beginning right after?

Yes?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
The manga and anime are interchangeable if you already know you can handle the extra fucked up stuff and comedy that happens in the manga. Anyone with more focused tastes or a queasy stomach should probably start off with the manga to get used to Puck and all the extra cruelty.

My order: Manga up until end of golden age->Anime->Movies I-III->The rest of Berserk manga

The Wrath of God, Des Liens Solides, New Horizons, Pour L'Eternite, L'Amour inpitoyable and Jeux de nobles are all great pieces to include for background music while reading the manga.
 
H

Houndi101

Member
That's how I got introduced to Berserk and I remember being so crestfallen about the Eclipse ending, jesus it was almost as depressing as the bad ending of Silent Hill 2.
Now I've read the manga up to the part that they are on the shore and tried watching the new films couple of times but couldn't because the animation just grinds me the wrong way.
 
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