Berserk

[Carnage]

You crazy. The tight plotting and air of foreboding in the volumes leading up to the Eclipse leads to the best character arcs. Berserk up to that point stands almost as a rebuttal to what it eventually turns into. Guts getting a team of generic RPG cliches and heading to Fairy World is so at odds with the "realistic", dread-filled depiction of the fantastical in the Golden Age that it feels like a different (worse) series.

Albeit I must agree that the Golden Age arc was the best, I must still say that the Tower of Albion, Berserk Armor, and the arc in the city after that are amazing. It is a different feel, but I think Miura had a purpose to that. I dont think its fair to downplay the later arcs just because the Golden Age saga was so good.

[DarthEnderX]

Guts getting a team of generic RPG cliches and heading to Fairy World is so at odds with the "realistic", dread-filled depiction of the fantastical in the Golden Age that it feels like a different (worse) series.

I don't disagree with any of that except the "worse" denotation.

I'm just the kind of person that prefers Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones. Which is a comparison that I think perfectly encapsulates the difference between the two parts of this series.

[MFauli]

Man, I´m glad I like all parts of BERSERK the same. Yay me!

[Idealistic]

http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=385091

There's a rip of it with english/french subs. 3.1gb. Just finished downloading it. Seems good so far.

[MFauli]

Disappointing, unfortunately.
Not just the visuals (somehow, the use of this new, cheaper tech was more visible in this 2nd movie than the 1st one). But also the changes in story.
Didn´t Zodd throw Guts his sword during the fight against Boscone? Why cut that? Also the cut fight against Adon´s elite soldier during the 100 men-battle in the woods. Probably even more stuff that got cut.

But whatever. I´m happy that it is made into an anime, fullstop. AND: The third movie should easily turn out to be the best so far. Did Studio C4 announce already how many movies there´d be? Because the intro of this one showed Shulke and the other late-story companions of Guts´.

[Belial]

They said it would be 3 movies for the golden age arc + maybe something like a tv series / ova in the future (i guess if the movies did / do well)

[Dark Dragon]

The movie was ok

I'm actually in agreement that the Golden Age Arc is significantly better than everything afterward.

It's a testament to how good it is when every successful new fantasy Seinen is essentially trying to copy off that formula.

[Idealistic]

It's a testament to how good it is when every successful new fantasy Seinen is essentially trying to copy off that formula.

What other shows are there? I don't know of many fantasy seinens aside from Berserk and Claymore.

[Dark Dragon]

Not shows, most of these are manga i'm currently reading.

There isn't really a long list of dark fantasy seinen since it's a niche market. Of the top of my head i can think of Ubel Blatt, Claymore and Shingeki no Kyojin. In my opinion, both UB and Claymore almost copy berserk in story structure, while Shingeki no Kyojin is heavily influenced by Berserk. There is a very similar theme of human helplessness in the face of mythical enemies and a constant struggle between remaining human and giving in to power/chaos.

Vinland Saga is another series that is heavily influenced by Berserk. It features a lot of the same themes, setting and story structure as Berserk minus the fantasy elements. If you include part of VS into the more realistic part of Berserk, it might be hard to distinguish the two.

[shinta|hikari]

Your comparison of Berserk and Shingeki no Kyojin is too sweeping. I agree with the rest.