Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey

Following the first entry in the “Golden Age Trilogy”, The Battle for Doldrey manages to surpass its predecessor in almost every regard. After a brief recap of the plot of the first film, we’re thrown right back into battle accompanied by “Aria” the theme composed by the great Susumu Hirasawa. I also need to make mention of the rest of the fantastic music here, done by Shiro Sagisu, which is fittingly dark and brooding.The Band of the Hawk has been on a winning streak in the Hundred Years War, earning considerable renown in the kingdom of Midland. Guts is still hacking away at everything in sight, contributing more than his fare share to the glory of the lowborn band of mercenaries. Their exploits earn Griffith a spot at the King’s war council, where he undertakes the challenge of recapturing Doldrey, a long thought impenetrable fortress. He not only wants to take this fortress, but he sets out to do so using only five thousand men against its modest 30,000.The movie can be divided into two basic halves, the first contains the bloody and brutal campaign that the series is known for, and the second is the character drama of the aftermath. In both cases, the movie works extremely well. Much like the first, director Toshiyuki Kubooka knows how to pace the story, cutting what he needs to and keeping in all that is necessary without sacrificing the flow. The result is a very tightly packed drama with a lot of development for even some of the lesser characters that went somewhat ignored in the first entry. The other captains, who were little more than extras in the first story, are now given important roles in the story to establish who they are, particularly the female warrior Casca.The battles are epic in scope and don’t overstay their welcome. There’s only so much hacking and slashing that we need to see, so the fights scenes are kept fast and decisively brutal. With his giant sword, Guts tears through enemies like they’re made of tissue paper. In the end, the movie flows much better, not having to deal with large gaps of time and keeping a more focused view on the characters and their struggles, linking the main three together with their brutal, cruel pasts.There’s plenty of story and subplots that were cut from either the original comic or the animated series, but their done so efficiently, leaving the main story unhindered by their absence. Where the movie really distinguishes itself however, is in what’s new. Given that an entire show has already covered this exact material, much of it is familiar to say the least. This time however, there are new sequences that you won’t find in any other version of the story, and this is what was sorely missing from the previous movie. Taking liberties for the sake of diversity are not unwelcome in a retelling.Keeping with the animation style of the trilogy, the movie is a blend of CG and more traditional animation. The 3D models are used predominately for the battle scenes, allowing for a lot of characters to flesh out the massive armies onscreen. When these characters are shown up close, it’s still a bit stiff, but it’s also a noticeable improvement over the first movie. It’s used sparingly and often intermixed with the regular animation, making it considerably less obvious throughout. Like a said, it’s a major improvement.The rest of the animation is stunningly beautiful, particularly in the gorgeous backdrops and colorful locations. The city of Windham during the parade for the Band of the Hawk as flower petals seemingly fall from the sky is particularly triumphant and memorable, just as the morning light creeping in through the trees over a hundred man massacre in the forest is equally haunting and oddly serene.I enjoyed The Egg of the King quite a bit, but The Battle for Doldrey is an improvement in almost every way. It has a better grasp on the characters and their complexities, improves on the animation style, and just tells another great part of an incredible story.

I haven't had the luxury yet to read the manga, but this is an excellent work of art. Fans of the Souls games will find a similar atmosphere, and the character development (at least for Guts, Casca, and Griffith) is deeper than the majority of other anime series that I've seen. During my undergrad studies, I specialized in creative writing studies, and the biggest thing I took away from this film as a whole was intrigue. I am craving to know more about the story, the characters, and--to avoid spoilers--the object that Griffith wears around his neck. I'm genuinely impressed with how complex the narrative structure is, especially because of how many other reviewers and fans of the manga say that the films are cutting out far too much of the narrative development in the manga. To clarify, other reviewers are correct that the Berserk series calls upon familiar character archetypes, but every single story in the history of ever draws upon these recurring themes. The important thing is that this series doesn't present an exact replica of the lone wolf or just another stock Christ figure; rather, the characters, while able to be classified as these archetypes, each have motives, conflicts, flaws, character traits, and experiences that are unique and complex enough to establish their character as a distinct and memorable individual that has a dynamic relationship with the narrative as a whole.

This review is for the Amazon Instant Purchase digital format.The movie is in English language and no options for Japanese original audio. Just get that out of the way. If you want to watch it in Japanese with subtitles, get the bluray/dvd not the digital format on amazon.English voice actingI am a huge fan for original languages for foreign films. Dubbed movies, especially Japanese anime movies tends to lose the emotion and pacing of the original language. You simply can not translate cultural words without losing some of its original meaning. With that being said I feel that the dubbing done for Berserk is actually pretty good. About the same levels as FLCL and Cowboy Bepop in English. So still quiet enjoyable as dubbed.Movie vs MangaFor anyone interested in the Berserk movies, reading the manga is a must. The movies so far are based upon the Golden Age Arc of the manga. This story arc is NOT the beginning of the manga series. The Golden age arc starts a few books into the series. You can look it up on Wikipedia to see exactly what volume that story starts. The classic Berserk look for Guts has him one eyed with a metal left arm. The Golden story arc covers the story of how Guts lost the arm and eye.The movies have really minor differences to the manga. Most changes are made to speed up the storyline and fill in the gaps of the manga. To really understand the relationship between Casca, Griffith and Guts, I highly recommend you read the manga. There are tons of information that are missed in the movies. For example, there are multiple chapters in the manga that shows the relationship building between Guts and the Band of Hawks. There were various omissions that should have been included for character development. Overall I felt like the movies "highlighted" the manga instead of represented the movie.Berserk itself as a warningThe movies and manga itself is not for the faint of heart. The violence is very gory and detailed. The detail in which gory is animated is very disturbing. Human guts fly in the air, body parts tossed everywhere, blood spatter runs like a river and tons more. So not for kids at all.If you enjoy the manga by all means give this a shot. Might not be the best representation of Berserk but still a decent one. If you are new to Berserk I highly recommend you read the manga before viewing. It will make the story much more complete and easy to follow.Enjoy!

英語も日本語も聞けるし英語字幕もあって勉強に役立ちます。なにより安い。

Wie schon beim 1. Teil wird man auf Anhieb in diesen Film regelrecht hineingezogen; das Szenario ist an das europäische Mittelalter angelehnt und derart stimmig und detailgenau entworfen, dass man trotz Schwächen beim CGI die gezeigte Welt sofort als real empfindet, ebenso die Charaktere dank sehr eindrucksvoller Präsentation ihrer Persönlichkeiten. Der 2. Teil der Trilogie zeigt den kometenhaften Aufstieg der Söldnertruppe rund um Griffith und Guts, jedoch auch, wie sehr die Charakterschwächen der beiden all das Erreichte in Gefahr bringen können.Der Film spielt in den Wirren des Hundertjährigen Krieges um Midland und bietet von daher reichlich Action, wobei die dabei stattfindenden Gewalttätigkeiten sehr intensiv dargestellt sind und auch ein wesentlicher Bestandteil aller Berserk-Filme sind. Fazit: eine opulente und mitreißende Fantasy-Story mit sehr düsteren Elementen und tragischen Entwicklungen, die sehr berührend wirken. Das Bonusmaterial der Special Edition hält sich leider in Grenzen, die Qualität des Films ist jedoch die Anschaffung wert.

Zu dem Film:3/5 SterneAus dem Manga der zu dieser (vorläufigen) Trilogie als Vorlage diente hätte man zwar noch deutlich mehr herausholen können, als das bei den Berserk Filmen der Fall ist, aber dennoch vermögen die Filme auf ihre Art zu gefallen. Dennoch wäre es zu empfehlen, sich auch die alte Anime-Serie oder noch besser den Manga selbst anzuschauen.Zu der Box:5/5 SterneDie Box ist sehr schön verarbeitet, enthält jede Menge Extras und Gimmicks. Mehr kann man zu diesem Preis wohl nicht verlangen.

Una muy buena adaptación del manga a la gran pantalla. Esperemos que sigan adaptando las siguientes sagas del manga y sigan con ese dibujo y no pasen a las 3D como en la serie.

Gelungene vortsetzung des ersten teils.diesmal etwas länger ca. 100 minuten.wollte darauf umbedingt teil 3 in meiner Sammlung. Für mich waren es die 45 euro wert.