# Berserk (1997)

> A wandering mercenary joins a charismatic leader's elite band and fights through brutal battles while a menacing shadow gathers around them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/33046

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 25
- Episode runtime: 23 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, fantasy, action
- Network: Nippon TV
- Cast: Nobutoshi Canna, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Yuko Miyamura, Tomohiro Nishimura, Unsho Ishizuka, Akira Ishida, Akiko Yajima, Masuo Amada
- TMDB rating: 8.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318871/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: extreme
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: bleak, intense, melancholic, brooding, visceral, mournful

## What critics say

Viewers regard this 1997 Japanese dark fantasy anime as an underrated classic, praised for its compelling protagonist, emotional stakes and iconic music despite its dated production.

## Synopsis

Berserk (1997-1998) is a Japanese animated dark fantasy series produced by OLM and aired on Nippon TV. Its wandering mercenary Guts, voiced by Nobutoshi Canna, is defeated in a duel by the charismatic Griffith, voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa, and joins the Band of the Hawk, the elite company Griffith founded and leads. Casca, voiced by Yuko Miyamura, is one of the band's fighters whose fate becomes entwined with theirs. Across a single 25-episode season the engine is simple and grim: the band wins battle after battle, Guts grows ever more driven by loyalty and ambition, and something menacing gathers in the shadows beyond the fighting. Episodes are built around sword duels, grueling campaigns, and survival in a harsh medieval world, rendered with brutal, unsparing gore. The tone is bleak, intense, and melancholic, with creeping supernatural dread and a mournful score that reviewers praise. Fans of Claymore, Vinland Saga and Attack on Titan will find resonance in its dark fantasy violence, mercenary camaraderie and tragic scale. Its dated 1990s cel animation carries a distinctive craft that many viewers still admire.

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