Summary
- Berserk is tough to adapt due to graphic content, dark themes, & intricate art.
- Studio Eclypse's fan project to adapt Berserk was ill-advised & abandoned.
- Hope for a proper adaptation lies in studios waiting for manga's completion & latest official adaptation signs.
Berserk is one of the most universally praised manga ever made. It's a true masterpiece in the dark fantasy genre, perhaps the face of it. It has inspired countless other works all over the world. However, the series has received three major adaptations, and none of them have done justice to the original work by Kentaro Miura. Only the 1997 adaptation has come close to adapting Berserk properly.
Recently, a fan studio called Studio Eclypse had announced their fan-made adaptation of the series, but this was quickly abandoned. Why is it so hard to adapt Berserk, and will it ever get the proper anime it deserves?
The Differences Between Berserk 1997 and Berserk 2016, Explained
Nearly 20 years separate the 1997 and 2016 Berserk series, and fans of the franchise should consider checking out both due to their many differences.
Berserk, The Dark Fantasy Masterpiece
Impossible to Adapt Faithfully
While Berserk is incredibly beloved and influential, the most common critique against it is its graphic content. Berserk is extremely gruesome and intense. Beyond the extreme violence, the series includes a lot of sexual abuse and dark themes. It is a tough series to read for a lot of people. This obviously translates into a possible anime. Anime is often censored to fit a TV time slot. Japan has heavy censorship laws, so it's no surprise that anime adaptations are very different from their original source. Series like Tokyo Ghoul have seen major changes that negatively affected the reception. A possible adaptation must deal with Berserk's dark imagery to present it on TV.
Berserk: The Tragic Story of Guts
Explore the tragic odyssey of Guts in "Berserk," delving into his harrowing past, relentless struggle, and enduring resilience as a tragic hero.
Another tough aspect of the series is the art style and extreme detail of Kentaro Miura's work. Most anime adaptations have to make compromises with some designs and pages from the manga in order to make it easier for the animators to consistently illustrate them in motion. But Berserk's case is distinct as its level of detail goes beyond most manga. Miura's fills every page with incredibly precise and meticulously rendered artwork and designs. Things that are not easily translated into animation. The armor and weapons worn by the characters and the nightmarish monsters seen in the manga would take a lot from a very talented team to properly adapt.
There May Be Hope
This is Just Another Battle
Studio Eclypse's fan project gave fans hope for a proper adaptation. However, this may have been ill-advised from the start. For one, as mentioned before, Berserk has proven to be extremely difficult to adapt for a major official studio, so what hope is there for a small indie team? Also, Studio Eclypse was previously working on another fan project: an alternate ending for Attack on Titan. The team was working on animating the alternate ending a group of fans had written due to their discontent with the series finale. This project was eventually abandoned due to internal conflict within the team. Sources within the studio have revealed that something similar happened with the Berserk project, going so far as to reveal that the lead head was still accepting Patreon donations long after the project was abandoned.
How Has The Berserk Manga Fared Without Kentaro Miura?
Three years after Miura's untimely demise, the manga has continued under Kouji Mori and Studio Gaga. How has their version compared to the original?
However, hope is found in the latest official adaptation. Berserk The Golden Age Arc - Memorial Edition was a remastered and re-edited release of the Golden Age Arc movie trilogy. Several scenes were retouched and improved. But most notably, some brand-new scenes were made for it. This shows that studios are willing to work on Berserk to some extent. Kentaro Miura sadly passed away in 2021. Now his friend and apprentice, Kouji Mori, continues the series with the plans laid out for him by Miura himself.
Some fans believe that studios may be waiting for the manga to finish so they can work on a new adaptation. Berserk is one of the most celebrated series ever made. It's simply unlikely there's no anime studio enthusiastic about adapting it. Miura's untimely passing might be the right motivation to deliver a proper adaptation, hoping to honor his memory. The Golden Age Memorial Edition proved producers and studios still believe working on the series is worth it, and its release may have been to gauge interest in a new series. A new adaptation may already be in the works. Whether it is what fans want is another thing, though.