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- Dec 29, 2000
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It's also not like the original 97 series was some pinnacle of great animation either, that show was animated for dirt cheap and it shows, I'm almost shocked it was made in 97 and not ten years earlier from some of the stuff in it, I mean especially when you compare it to its contemporary shows like Cowboy Bebop which came out a year later. You don't watch Berserk for top of the line animation techniques at this point. Besides neither anime is nearly as deep as the manga, a lot of the deeper deconstructionist themes get muddled in the adaptation process. I'm perfectly happy with the shows we have and think people who complain about the new series have a stick up their butt
I understand why the '97 is so highly regarded by long time fans. I can only count two other manga series that are as abundant with intrigues, political violence and characters burdened by dark purpose. Those are Vinland Saga and Wolfsmund. Mobile Suit Gundam (UC) is just as complicated and layered as those others, but its heaver themes are a byproduct of its events, not its intentions (excepting the concept of human evolution, which is not a 'dark' theme, although some dark aspects of humanity are juxtaposed against the hope of evolution as a pathway to peace for all mankind).
The point I'm trying to make here is that Berserk, and series like it, are rare in the mediums of anime and manga, so when one comes along that people read or watch, they're astonished at the maturity and intricacy of its happenings. Berserk shifted its audience's perspective in '97 to where they believed they were witnessing a masterwork. They were, but many failed to recognize that it was the source that held all the power, not the adaptation. Berserk '97 lacked a budget and sound direction, but its heart is in the right place because of the source material. What I'm saying is that I agree with you, but I also understand why its illusory bar remains so difficult for the later adaptations to surpass in those fans' eyes. The manga fans are worse about it, however.
As for Berserk deconstructing the genre, I'm not so sure that's its intention. Again, I think those elements are just the natural result of writing an intensely character driven story. That doesn't mean that it DOESN'T have some deconstruction going on, but I'd be hard pressed to embrace the relevance therein.
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