Berserk (1997 TV series)

Berserk (1997 anime)

Company type	Television series
Industry	Animation, Entertainment
Founded	October 8, 1997 (1997-10-08)
Headquarters	Japan
Area served	Japan, North America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand
Products	Anime television series
Parent	Nippon Television, VAP, Oriental Light and Magic

Berserk, originally titled in Japan as , is an anime television adaptation of Kentaro Miura's manga series Berserk. The narrative centers on Guts, a mercenary who becomes entangled with the Band of the Hawk and its charismatic leader, Griffith.

The production was handled by Nippon Television and VAP, with animation provided by Oriental Light and Magic and direction by . The show aired 25 episodes on Nippon TV between October 1997 and April 1998. Initially, Media Blasters secured the North American license, which was subsequently acquired by Discotek Media.

The series received widespread praise for its compelling narrative, well-developed characters, richly crafted world, and a memorable score composed by Susumu Hirasawa.

Plot

Guts, a solitary mercenary focused on survival, becomes a member of the Band of the Hawk under the command of the determined Griffith. Quickly rising to become Griffith's most reliable fighter, Guts is drawn to Griffith’s vision of establishing a kingdom. After surviving a critical battle, Griffith forms a closer relationship with Princess Charlotte of Midland. Guts overhears Griffith remarking that true friends pursue their own ambitions. The Hawks are contracted by Midland to secure victory in a century-long conflict against the Tudor empire. During this time, Guts also forms a connection with Casca, the Hawks' female leader. Following their triumph, Guts departs to follow his own destiny but is swiftly defeated by Griffith in a duel. Mentally shattered, Griffith is imprisoned after being caught with Charlotte, and the Band of the Hawk is declared outlawed.

Guts dedicates himself to enhancing his swordsmanship and discovers that the Hawks have been branded as fugitives. Alongside Casca, he sets out to rescue Griffith. They find him severely mutilated and unable to speak. Feeling powerless, Casca insists on nursing Griffith while encouraging Guts to continue his journey alone. Griffith manages to escape but falls into a river and attempts suicide. He then discovers his Behelit—a demonic artifact—and activates it with his own blood, initiating "the Eclipse," which transports everyone to an alternate dimension. The God Hand—demonic entities—reveal that Griffith has been selected as their newest member; however, obtaining this power requires sacrificing his comrades. The Hawks are brutally slaughtered and consumed by Apostles—humans transformed into demons through sacrificial rites. Only Guts and Casca survive; Griffith reborn as Femto proceeds to violate Casca in front of Guts, who is restrained by an Apostle. In his attempt to rescue her, Guts loses his left arm and right eye.

A flashforward reveals that Guts survives the Eclipse and adopts the moniker "Black Swordsman," setting out on a mission for vengeance against the God Hand and Apostles.

Voice cast

Character	Japanese voice	English voice
Guts	Nobutoshi Canna	Marc Diraison
Griffith	Toshiyuki Morikawa	Kevin T. Collins
Casca	Yūko Miyamura	Carrie Keranen
Rickert	Akiko Yajima	Michelle Newman
Judeau	Akira Ishida	Christopher Kromer
Pippin	Masuo Amada	Jeff Ward
Corkus	Tomohiro Nishimura	Mark Sebastian
Nosferatu Zodd	Kenji Utsumi	J. David Brimmer
Void	Unshō Ishizuka	John Avner
Slan	Atsuko Tanaka	C.L. Jones
Ubik	Chafurin	Christian Collingwood
Gaston	Masahito Kawanago	Sean Schemmel

Release

Berserk was a collaborative production between Nippon Television and VAP, with animation handled by Oriental Light and Magic under the direction of . The 25-episode series adapts the Black Swordsman and Golden Age story arcs from the manga, covering twelve full volumes and part of the thirteenth. Its original broadcast ran on Nippon TV from October 8, 1997, through April 1, 1998. VAP distributed the episodes on VHS across thirteen volumes between February 1998 and January 1999, later issuing seven DVD compilations from April to October 2003, followed by a Blu-ray box set release in January 2012.

In the North American market, Berserk was licensed by Media Blasters, with the English-language dub produced at NYAV Post. Plans to broadcast the series on the Sci-Fi Channel were ultimately abandoned due to content concerns. and in January 2024, Discotek Media secured the license, issuing a Blu-ray edition in March.

In the United Kingdom, licensing was undertaken by MVM Entertainment, which released six DVD volumes from September 2007 through July 2008, followed by comprehensive DVD and Blu-ray collections in October 2010 and February 2017 respectively. For Australia and New Zealand, Madman Entertainment distributed six DVDs between December 2002 and June 2003, with full series DVD and Blu-ray collections released in March 2004 and February 2018.

Soundtrack

The musical score for Berserk was composed by Susumu Hirasawa. The opening track "Tell Me Why" featured vocals by , while Silver Fins performed the ending theme "Waiting so long." The single "Berserk: Forces" was issued by Nippon Columbia (Teslakite) on November 1, 1997. Both "Tell Me Why" and "Waiting so long" were released through VAP on November 6, 1997.

The official soundtrack album Kenpū Denki Berserk: Original Soundtrack was made available by VAP on November 6, 1997.

Track listing

All compositions are credited to Susumu Hirasawa unless otherwise specified.

Other media

An art book dedicated to the series, titled , was published by Hakusensha on December 9, 1998.

Reception

Berserk has garnered extensive critical praise and is often regarded as one of the greatest anime series ever produced. Carlo Ross from THEM Anime Reviews lauded its character complexity and subtle portrayals, drawing comparisons between its violent tone and that found in Akira Kurosawa’s films while highlighting its intellectual sophistication. Brittany Vincent of Anime News Network applauded its immersive atmosphere despite noting abrupt narrative closure and animation inconsistencies; she also observed that the absence of certain characters heightened the series’ dark ambiance. Sandra Scholes from Active Anime described it as an unrelenting "hack and slash demonically possessed horror fantasy."

John Oppliger at AnimeNation emphasized Berserk’s successful blend of visceral combat sequences with layered storytelling, commending its unpredictability. Rob Ghoul from PopCultureShock initially regarded it as formulaic but later acknowledged its engaging narrative depth. Eric Frederiksen of Advanced Media Network remarked that the thematic richness elevated Berserk beyond mere spectacle. Chris Beveridge of AnimeOnDVD praised its candid depiction of violence within a meaningful story framework. Zac Bertschy at SciFi.com identified it as one of the most mature and intellectually stimulating fantasy anime series, exploring challenging subjects such as child abuse and schizophrenia, deeming it a pinnacle of dark fantasy.

Mike Toole from Anime Jump considered Berserk a standout within action-fantasy genres due to its intricate plotlines and intense fight scenes, noting that its traditional 2D animation aged more gracefully compared to subsequent CGI adaptations. Serdar Yegulalp of About.com described it as a grim yet masterful fantasy surpassing even Lord of the Rings in intensity, appealing well beyond conventional fantasy audiences.

The soundtrack composed by Susumu Hirasawa received predominantly positive feedback. Ross criticized both opening and closing themes but praised tracks like "Forces" for their innovative synthesizer arrangements. Bertschy highlighted the score’s haunting versatility, while Yegulalp singled out "Guts" for its emotional resonance. Kathleen Townsend from Funimation praised its melancholic beauty. Toole found the music intense yet repetitive initially but later recognized "Forces" as an iconic piece. Frederiksen compared its ethereal soundscape to scores typical of fantasy films from the 1980s.