Just found out the original 'Berserk' anime only covered like 10% of the manga

I was reading a wiki page about the Golden Age arc and saw the total chapter count. The 1997 show and the movies basically stop before the real wild stuff even starts. Does anyone else feel like they got bait-and-switched by an adaptation?

4 comments

4 Comments

torres.thea3mo agoProlific Poster

Yeah, "before the real wild stuff even starts" is a perfect way to put it. What part of the manga did you think was the biggest shock after only seeing the show?

hall.joel3mo ago

Actually, the show covers the Eclipse too.

the_jennifer1mo ago

Right, so I heard someone say the Conviction arc is where things get really weird, and I didn't believe them at first. But then you get to the part with the trolls and the giant sea monsters and the really messed up stuff with the Count, and it's like the show didn't even scratch the surface of how dark this world gets. The show has some brutal moments but the manga just dives headfirst into this relentless, super ugly fantasy horror that makes the Eclipse feel almost tame by comparison. I remember reading about the fight with the Kelpie and thinking "wait, so there's just a lake full of these things?" and that's when I knew the show was just the tip of a really, really big iceberg. It's not even just the monsters, it's the way the world itself feels so much more wild and unforgiving than the show lets on.

robins833mo ago

Man, the Eclipse was bad enough, but then you find out that's just the warm-up. Seeing Guts actually try to build a life and a new crew afterwards, only for the world itself to keep breaking him, hit way harder. The show makes it seem like his revenge is the main goal, but the manga shows that path is destroying him. It's less about shocking moments and more about this slow, heavy feeling that things might never get better. Makes you look at the whole story in a different light, doesn't it?