‘I sacrifice.’ – Now, we can finally pick up where we left the tale of Berserk.
After years and years of countless tailorings, each carrying a level of disappointment, it is surprising that fans still hold out hope for an adequate Berserk anime adaptation – and now, we are getting yet another one, but this time, it really is different. Because this time, it is made by the fans themselves.
The dismay fans have been in only worsened over the years; the initial anime ended on a cliff-hanger and was later cancelled. What followed were the trilogy movies, that were okay, but cut out a lot of important character-moment scenes. And lastly, we had the absurd 2016 one, which was just a failure that nobody could get behind.
The problem lies mostly with how faithful the anime are to the source material. Berserk is quite possibly the biggest name the manga medium can conjure up. Every panel of every page was drawn with the most intricate detailing, only complementary to the giant tale that is Berserk. But with the animated productions, studios either do not have the budget to fully take on Berserk, or change the narrative entirely – ahem, the 2016 rendition.
The adaptations of the dark fantasy manga also usually only animate the Golden Age arc – the story that sets off Guts’ journey. This means that for a multitude of times, we have seen the ill-fated Band of Hawk’s elimination, and not what happens after. With the trauma of Griffith’s betrayal, to this day, Guts and Casca’s fates are still unknown. Kentaro Miura, the mastermind behind this masterpiece, passed in the year 2020. His work still incomplete, but fortunately, ongoing as he placed the trust in Kouji Mori to finish what he had started.
Being a bear that was poked for far too long, a fan animation company, that goes by the name Studio Eclypse, decided that it was time to strike back and repair the damage that had been dealt prior. They took it upon themselves to deliver the aftermath that our main characters are now faced with – known as the Black Swordsman arc.
Fans rejoiced with the announcement trailer that the studio had dropped. The visuals were astounding and seemingly captured the vision fans expected of a solid Berserk anime. The date set was the summer of 2025, and considering how amazing it looks, we find that it is understandable as to why they need the extra time. And with the rise of more Souls games, this adaptation may be met with a much warmer welcome by a much larger audience.
