Now that the anime is in its 6th / 7th episode, and we have had to do bad episodes and very good episodes also, the time has come to form an idea about this animated.
I do not find that he is unfairly criticized, and that no one gives him a chance. Adapting the work of Kentao Miura is not easy: drawing is very characteristic and virtuoso, the story is dense and complex, with much darkness and violence (not counting morbid sexuality), and the publication of Chapters / tomes is slow.
The director of the series, Shin Itagaki, made the best choices possible. The animation is of unequal quality, but it is understandable in view of the budget, and sacrificing some scenes to make a perfect one, it is not that serious, especially since this fault appears concretely only in Episode 1, the rest of the series is much more balanced. The Opening and the Ending are lynched, so yes all the tastes are in the nature, certainly. But the Opening is very good, it respects the scenes of the manga, with anger and strength, they give keys of understanding, for the people who do not know Berserk, and allows to remember all the past history for the connoisseurs. (For people who complain about the spoil, this animated follows directly on the 3 films, so if between 2012 and 2016, you have not seen the movies, nor finished the manga until the scene of the Eclipse: "c 'Is life' I want to say, the animated had to pass in the suite). And the Ending, which is described by some as "love song foolish and too honeyed", is very good too, and shows us another facet of Berserk. Berserk does not trace the story of a big nag with a big sword fighting in the mud and filth. The character of Guts is a sensitive person, deep, with a look at the world of the most intelligent. This man is in perpetual suffering, delivered, partly by Casca. Miura also writes a love story. Casca and Berserk, whose almost entire volume is devoted to their relationship, are at the center of history, and Guts's care for Casca is essential, and is the very goal of his life (maintaining his humanity, Do not let hatred, keep his word towards casca, pay tribute to Falcons). So, reducing Berserk to blood, violence, and infernal battles, shows a lack of understanding of the work. That is why the Ending, sweet and poetic is quite appropriate. As far as the CGI is concerned, the quality is improving, and we must not forget that at the beginning of this technique, there are gaps. (The perspective has not mastered itself in one day!). But these flaws are quite compensated by choices of rather bold realizations, which make the image dynamic and alive. (The camera turns on itself, powerful plan changes, the effect of the camera on the shoulder), and the music brings a lot, while also differentiating itself from the music of the movies, which is a good one thing. The powerful scenes of the manga, which exudes a strong emotion are quite well suited in the animated. These scenes, in spite of a slight censure (which I shall discuss later), are executed with respect, give a good account of the feelings, the power of Guts, the horrors of the apostles, the madness of Casca, Torture of heretics, etc.
In addition flash-backs, having another technique, allows the spectators to differentiate the moments, and not to annoy the eye. The dubbing actors also do an excellent job. The choice to zap the first arc, and the arc that lies just after the Eclipse (on elfs children) is not a problem, and is fully justified. The directors wanted to directly adapt the most representative arc of Berserk, while making a wink at the first chapter. Nothing very wicked nor unfounded, one must remain pragmatic and not let his love for the work make us lose our common sense.
As for censorship, it is a point that is being discussed. The general scene is not completely forgotten. Let us take the aggression which Lady Farnese undergoes by the possessed horse. This scene is shown, however the sex of the animal is not shown, (not as in the manga), and Lady Farnese's chest (and nudity in general) is more .... "blurred", simplified , In order to meet the criteria of Japanese censorship. That said, they did not choose to dress or hide it, which is a good thing. So a censorship is present, yes, but it is not very strong (not like Tokyo Ghoul), and I repeat it, this animé manages to keep the essence of Berserk, and to pass the horror, and the Disgusting, just in a different way than the manga. Thus, the animated Berserk 2016 is a very good adaptation!
The only bizarre choice of the animate is to have represented the character of Puck exactly the same as in the manga. In the manga, when it changes visual, it is not a problem, but in animated, it does not work and it makes the scene artificial.
