Berserk AKA Kenpū Denki Berserk
[related: Scanslation] [disambiguation: Berserker, Berserk! (mixtape)]
Single season Japanese television serial airing in early 1997 chronicling the spiritual journey of Guts, a ruthless swordsman and brute of almost limitless skill. Berserk was based on the eponymous manga series first developed by artist Kentaro Muira while still in high school. Named after the berserkers, an ancient sect of trance-induced Scandinavian warriors, the manga's mix of complex emotional themes and gory ultra violence found favor across the ocean in the disillusioned youth of the United States.[1] The anime series was equally notable for its compelling score courtesy the composer Susumu Hirasawa, and its grotesque and gratuitous violence, culminating in the graphic rape of Casca, the protaginist's on-again, off-again love interest, by an archdemon named Femto[2] during the Eclipse[3]. Despite its gore and ghouls, Berserk, like its contemporary Neon Genesis Evangelion, focused extensively on character development, exploring the existential angst felt by those forced to fight day-by-day, hour-by-hour, for their very survival. Hirasawa's "Guts Theme" (also known as "Bonfire of Dreams"), a recurring motif in the series signaling moments of introspection and vulnerability, enjoyed radioplay in Japan concurrent with the series' airing.[4]
- ↑ Berserk was reportedly the first manga shared widely online - its pages were scanned and shared via UseNet posting boards, with handwritten, and often errant, english translations scrawled in the margins (documents known as "scanlations").
- ↑ The transformed netherworld spectre of Guts and Casca's former leader Griffith, an effeminate (and seemingly albino) warrior of unrivaled skill and narcissism.
- ↑ A bi-millenial merging of alternate realities triggered by specific celestial positioning.
- ↑ As sampled by the anime enthusiast hacker/rap collective Konami Dream on their 1997 Berserk-inspired mixtape, Berserk!.