Dont watch the dubbed version. Get the original japanese with subtitles or you will ruin it. This was hands down, one of the best animes ever made. And that is despite the fact that it had limited funding and the animation was not the best. The story telling is superb as you follow the lives of a group of mercenaries who rise to every challenge they are hired to do no matter how improbable. It centers on three main characters, a cold and calculating leader (Griffith), his loyal lieutenant (Casca) and the hot blooded warrior (Gutts) who wanted no part of joining them but was indentured to them via a reckless bet. You also get to know a bunch of minor characters who are important to the mercs.You follow them around for 24 episodes (note that 1st episode is misleading) as the commander tries to build his own army and build his own kingdom. But this is not a happy hero show, its a bit more realistic. There is plenty of satisfying fighting but also awkwardness, tragedy, espionage and luck (both good and bad). In many ways the story makes a great effort to make the show believable and you wont see any clean cut heroes in this one. Yet you still can understand them even when they do wrong. You will run into some demons and magic here and there but it is not the focus of the story which is why I say the 1st episode is very misleading since it makes you think that its a show about the supernatural. This show is a lot like Game of Thrones and predates GoT by more than a decade. Like GoT it has supernatural elements but they are not really the focus. The focus is on the characters and their struggle and I argue the characters here are much better.

This series is not overly long, and before I get into the content I would like to say that I have not read the manga, so what I will discuss here will only be concerning the anime itself.The author is plainly a talented storyteller, with an ability to create reasons for combat and danger that parallel literature at its finest. The protagonist, Guts, is a mercenary warrior of the Conan bent, who thrives in combat via the use of his immense sword, which is as large as he is. The first episode serves as an introduction to the character somewhat; it plays out like a pilot episode to an action show, with the plot itself really kicking in over the next five episodes, which take us back to the events which lead into the present. This is a narrative weakness, because the show goes from extremely dark, with supernatural elements, to a daylight ridden but still bloody martial world.That being said, the remainder of the anime is concerned with the events that, I assume, lead in to the events of the first episode. Guts is subdued by a mercenary gang leader, Griffith, and is forced to join his group via a life debt. Guts and Griffith form a bond that is part romantic and part friendship, while Guts has a antagonistic relationship that blossoms into a romantic one with Griffith's second in command, Casca, with a long development period.All of the characters that are part of the main cast are extremely well developed; Griffith is a leader in all ways, exceptional and ambitious, but distant and dismissive, but all too fragile in the end. Casca is touchy about her femininity, and is protective over Griffith to the point of injury. Guts is the main character, and is probably the most enigmatic lead I have seen in a long time.However, the end of the anime, drawn out over the last four episodes, is an exercise both in jumping the shark, and in theatre of cruelty imagery. I will not spoil it by describing the events of the piece, but I have a fairly strong stomach, and I can honestly say that I will not be delving further into this series due to how this anime ends.Theatre of cruelty, for those who don't know, is a theatrical convention where the art is intended to alienate the audience, by any means necessary; sound, visuals, concepts. This anime demonstrated that capacity in spades, the finale replete with lovecraftian imagery mixed with demonic iconography to create a masterpiece of pain, jealousy and brutal utter torment that is harrowing to view.That said, I really thought it went too far. There are some things that should be left unsaid, and some acts too cruel to depict.None the less, this anime is very good for the most part; it plays out like a game of thrones intrigue, mixed with battles that channel tales of King Arthur in terms of deeds. If the ending was not so brutal, so vile, then this would be a well characterized but middling production; that it is makes for something that is thought inducing, horrifying, and utterly unforgettable, and not necessarily for the right reasons.

This series follows Guts; a mercenary who wields a huge sword. Normally he doesn't work with others but after meeting the enigmatic Griffith he joins his mercenary group; the Band of the Hawk. They fight alongside each other and the Hawks have more and more success in battle. This makes Griffith one of the king's favourites which upsets the aristocracy who believe he is getting above himself. Over the course of the series the group fight numerous battles and much blood is spilt. We also learn more about Guts and Griffith's pasts. Obviously it isn't all fighting; there is an element of romance involving Casca; the second in command of the Hawks.If you like your anime packed with lots of bloody violence then this is the series for you. Guts might not be a jolly protagonist but the way he swings his huge sword means he is entertaining. The other main characters are entertaining; especially Griffith and Casca. The numerous battles and skirmishes are all exciting even though they aren't all fully animated. Occasionally things do get a little disturbing; most notably when a group of enemies try to rape Casca and towards the end of the series when the band find themselves in a demonic landscape; these scenes mean it isn't really a suitable series for younger viewers. The story, which is actually shown in flashback is gripping and at no point did I feel bored or feel that the story was dragging and at the end I just sat stunned; to say it is shocking is an understatement… to figure out just who survived I may have to watch the opening episode again!These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

This is a good anime if you want to get introduced to the Berserk franchise and I know for sure it was my introduction because while I prefer the manga, I still love the anime quite a bit.Both subbed and dubbed versions are pretty good though I am neutral on the subbed/dubbed debate personally. But the English dub did pick good voice actors and what captured me on the dubbed version was Marc Diraison voice performance as Guts.This is a great anime of the one of the longest and still good manga out there written and drawn by the great Kentaro Miura! The anime did his manga a decent amount of justice at least.