Miura Kentarou Berserk (vol 1-32)

(This review is based entirely on the Japanese volumes... The series is licensed in English by Dark Horse)

Storyline

Raped, neglected and baptized in fire: the young swordsman Gatts finds the friendship, love and acceptance he's always lacked in a motley crew of mercenary misfits called "The Band of Hawks". Their leader, the compassionate and charismatic Griffith quickly becomes both Gatts' best friend and a brother-in-arms. But as they grow closer to one another, Gatts learns that Griffith is a man possessed, quite literally, by his own ambition.

Griffith will rest at nothing in his pursuit of power. He uses everything from assassination to seduction to advance his own interests and attain his dream. Unfortunately the ultimate realization of Griffith's dream requires a sacrifice too horrible to imagine.

Robbed again of everything he's ever trusted, believed in or loved: Gatts goes it solo again. This time, he is branded... marked forever as Griffith's prey: the one that got away.

Consumed with desire for revenge and redemption, he travels a dark fantasy world teeming with demons, ogres, corrupt kings, fanatical religions, fairies and witches in hopes of finding and killing a God...

My Thoughts

Berserk works on so many levels that it's hard to find someone who wouldn't enjoy the hell out of it. It is a sprawling fantasy adventure. It's more horrible than most horror. It's intelligent. It's beautifully drawn. It constructs a living, breathing world with it's own rules, myths, creatures and landscapes. There are incredibly tender romances, painful deaths, and hilarious asides. The characters are multi-faceted. Our heroes are all flawed. And for all of his stoic silence: Gatts' persistent loneliness is palpable.

As the story progresses into the 30s, it has lost very little of it's appeal or momentum. The story flows along through a tightly plotted adventure to what most sense is a long-before set conclusion. Few series attract such rabid and devoted fans as Berserk - and for good reason. It's one of the most compelling fantasies in any format. Perhaps the only real reason NOT to recommend it it's incomplete state. With an average of only volume every 8 or 9 months: Berserk is a long-term investment... one where the ultimate payoff is unlikely to come any time soon.

If you can handle the pins and needles: pick it up.