Things No One Cares About: Giganto Maxia

It's a rather happy day for me: Kentaro Miura shows up on this blog again and for once I don't have to make fun of the man. His previous non-Berserk works featured here has ranged from average to embarrassingly awful. Giganto Maxia has the advantage of a being written by a Miura who's learned something from writing Berserk. It's a story with tight plotting and characters with the art style Miura has honed after all these years.

Giganto Maxia's story is not a complex one,it's half past the Apocalypse and the world has gone down the gutter. We follow the odd Delos and his companion,the even odder Prome, as the search for fragments of life to help restore the scorched world. The story only really covers a small slice of what should be a much larger story yet the ending doesn't feel abrupt. Everything you'd want to know about this world is conveyed through attention to detail and the back story of Delos. I feel like I'm in a living breathing world with it's own rich mythology that I'd love to see more of.

The pacing is rather quick and boils down to a short prologue and epilogue and two fights. The prologue sets the tone as more comedic and while it is delivering into more serious topics,the fighting keeps things light since it's basically a guy pulling off wrestling moves to defeat much more serious opponents but even that ties back into the bigger theme of peace and hope. Berserk has been exploring fighting the odds even when they are hopeless and it's explored here as well with out coming off as a retread.

Delos uses wrestling moves to incapacitate his opponents rather than kill them like everyone expects. Everything he does runs counter intuitive to what the world has come to expect. He doesn't kill the titular Gigantos he encounters as killing them will do nothing, but rendering them immobile they can be used to restore the earth albeit rather slowly. Later we get the revelation that the events that razed the planet have happened before and will happen again yet humanity never gives up and instead adapts. Yet it also proposes that to change the world we have to be willingly to change not just to suit our new environment but also how we conduct ourselves and the treatment of others.

The major conflict of the story is the imperialistic Empire trying to wipe out the people of the desert who have learned to live with the massive beetles of the region. The Beetle people are rightfully angry at the Empire for wiping them almost all out in a rather cruel fashion. Yet Delos' is able to convince them to spare the opposing army and become better people to try and end the cycle of violence. When the empire does not to stand down, they get their memories and feeling of the dessert mixed around by Prome's magic. Having details of this change would be a much more monumental task that could take up a few volumes by it self. The story is trying to convey that change starts small.

Delos and Prome's relationship is rather cute in a way. Delos carries her every where and will protect her with his life. At one point trying to stop rocks getting thrown at her by having the throwers focus on him. They both clearly care for each other even if Prome won't admit it. She admires his dedication to non lethal violence and not just because it's the only way to get the most use out of the Gigantos. That's not to say one couldn't read her refusal to let him die as simply her desire to complete her mission since she often comes across as all business. However she shows him immense kindness despite her cold and teasing demeanor. She's implied to have seen the type of predicament the world has been in before being a sort of omnipotent spirit and Delos' kindness really speaks to her as evidenced in the ending where she shrinks her self to a child like state to lighten the load of carrying her around.

The art looks rather magnificent, Miura's backgrounds were a highlight of his poor team ups with Buroson and combined with the years to hone his talents were treated to a gorgeously barren world. The world feels scorched and ugly and contrast nicely with the crowed and pretty sanctuary of the beetle people. The monsters look scary and otherworldly,akin to the demons and apostles of Berserk. Prome's face is serious most of the time but her decidedly less serious pouting faces are hilarious for all the right reasons.

I've said before that I refuse to believe that Berserk was not just a fluke and while his early works have not done much to prove me right, Giganto Maxia has. A deep story with likable characters and a theme of hope that runs through the story without bashing you over the head with it. Highly recommend,if my opinion means anything to you. See you all again in like seven months.

Things No One Cares About: Futatabi

Every time Kentaro Miura shows up here I end up making fun of the man's work. To be honest I feel bad for doing it because I really love Berserk. It is to me a modern classic in the making and I refuse to believe he just got lucky. I know he didn't do the stories for Japan and King of Wolves but the art wasn't that stellar either. He had some success as an ammeter manga-ka and it's clear he knows what he's doing. You know what maybe he just sort of got dragged into the Buroson team-ups to build his reputation. He's defiantly not a bad writer so maybe if he has full control like he does for Berserk maybe things will turn out for the best. Enough speculating on the past,lets move on to Futatabi.

Futatabi was Miura's first public release that wasn't a doujinshi. Released in 1985,it was a hit and won him a best new authors award .This would be four years before the first ill fated team-up with Buroson and Berserk Prototype .After this he would end up in a rut with the falling out of his next manga Noa but for now he had a great victory. So has this little one shot stood the test of time or is it another work that makes Berserk look like even more of a miracle. Well enough speculating...for real this time.

The plot is a rather simple animal, though I 'm not sure if can be sterilized by alcohol . The twists outside of one clever one are pretty easy to guess. It follows a auto mechanic named Rick in a futuristic/totalitarian city and his chance meeting with a mysterious girl named Venus. The plot heavily relies on a series of twists that actually sets up a very interesting premise(which I'm not spoiling). The problem is that once it sets up said premise,it doesn't do much with it. Instead opting to go with a weak theme of hope. So weak that it has to be explained in a short paragraph that also reveals where the story takes place. There is also a revelation near the end that answers question that no one was asking and raises some new ones. The ending itself is lacking with that ridiculous paragraph that just seems to scream “I ran out of ink and I'm on a deadline.” It is a real gut punch as the story had manged to draw me in and just having it end abruptly with that is silly.

Rick and Venus are by no means bad characters,their interactions do reveal more about the world in which they live in. However,Rick is your stock good guy and Venus is the mysterious girl. There are no real slants to their characters that make them stand out from anyone else That being said,they still do play off each other very well. The conversations they have between themselves and with other characters really do build up this world that I actually want to see more off but you know one shot.

The art is pretty great and actually does help the above mentioned clever twist. It does seems to draw from other sci-fi anime and manga without really anything to set it apart. However it still looks very nice for an early Miura work and shows that yes this man has a sense of perspective. Something he seemed to forget in King of Wolves. It is also nice to see him draw something besides barren wastelands so I actually have sights to see.

Weirdly enough reading this reminded me of Sweet Rein of all things. Mind you,Not so much for the art or anything but the squandered premise. Both had so much potential to be something great but instead went in an okay albeit less intrenching direction. This is a book worth checking out but like Sweet Rein you'll probably forget about it in a weeks time.

Little Miss Thinker:Shipping Disasters

Just as a heads up this post contains Berserk minor spoilers for the Golden Age arc.

Shipping for the uninitiated is the act of rooting for a fictional relationship to happen.Shipping can get pretty brutal at times. It can also be dang hilarious when people start shipping hats with tables. I'm no stranger to doing it my self and tend too not take it to seriously. However there are two exceptions:First is Yukiko/Chie from Persona 4 which is one I support  because of it's obviousness and cuteness. The second one is Griffith/Casca which I truly despise and why I made this piece.

It just doesn't work for so many reasons. First Griffith does not feel that way and probably will never feel that way about Casaka. This is because he really can't see people as anything more than tools to be used.Second Casaka is aware of the first point and stops her pursuit of him once she does because it'll end in heartbreak for her no matter what. She eventually realizes it's nothing more than hero worship and pursues the relationship with Guts because he can understand her and she can trust him to have her back. Something Griffith would only do if it benefited his dream. So it just doesn't work for me and if later events which I'm about to discuss didn't happen I'd be pretty ok about the paring. After all I still ship Axel/Roxas so who am I to knock Griffith/Casca.

 That being said it's the fact that Griffith rapes Casca that sends me into a foaming fury at this pairing. The rape it self is nothing that could be construed as love and is ungodly insulting to do so.Some have even said that Casca enjoyed her rape that completely destroyed her and reduced her to the mental age of two.I'm normally not a violent person or even that big a defender of Gut/Casca but good lord do these people make me want to hurt them.This notion careens right past nasty into what the hell is wrong with you territory. To top it off Griffith shows no remorse for what he did and just goes on doing what he want's for the sake of his dream. So seriously fuck these people,I hope you stay in the minority from now to the end of time.

Sorry for that little outburst but this is one things that I''m insulted by as a Berserk fangirl and as a human being.I'm not saying you can't ship Griffith and Casca and if you can find a way to make it work that's not despicable then by all means go ahead.
So until next time try and Stay Positive, because I'm having a hard time myself.  

Things No One Cares About: Berserk II: The Capture of Doldrey

Originally Published: February 10th 2013

Well I'm back and like it or not I'm reviewing things no one cares about and like it or not I'm talking about Berserk again. Luckily we're still in the Golden Age arc,unluckily it's another Berserk movie. However Studio 4° C being made up of people with hopefully functioning ears(if not very capable sign language experts) listened/saw when people told them that the first movie was a travesty. Unfortunately some of the criticisms went in one ear and out the other and then they made this film with what was left.

I guess I should actually say what I'm reviewing, in case your like me and just saw Berserk and said screw reading the rest of the title. This time it's the sequel to The Egg of the King(Egg for short), The Capture of Doldrey. This movie has a longer running time of 90 minutes and covers the battle leading up to Doldrey and ending with Gut's departure from the Hawks and Griffith's capture. As said above this movie is an improvement to Egg but it's still left with a bit of egg on it's face(make sure to tip your waitress). So enough pussy footing around let's do some reviewing.

The plot is actually much tighter this time with that extra twenty or so minutes it has to fill so there is a better sense flow. They spend a little more time building up Guts' and Casca's relationship,which is nice as it is a focal point of the arc. However they still manage to screw that up by having the section where Guts and Casca await rescue be weirdly stilled and shoe horns in Casca's motivation with nary a framing device. Which is somewhat odd considering that the manga handled it in a graceful way. In the end it leaves that part a bit of a jumbled mess before going into the next battle.

As someone who's gone through the Golden Age arc in all in both anime and manga form,the story manages to still be engaging and was actually fun to see unfold. As said a bit earlier that flow makes it easier to watch. However while they learned that skipping around is bad the bug apparently isn't out of the studio's system just yet.

How they cut things is like a crescendo,with my voice following its example. First they forget a minor thing or two like the Adon Coborlwitz's brother,eh not a big deal. The scene he's missing from really doesn't have to have him and he was one off cannon fodder anyway. Then they cut Zodd out of the titular conflict, again not too big a deal as all we're deprived of is a character moment for Zodd. Guts is still bad ass just not with the extra amount of bad ass that Zodd's weapon gave us. Then they decide to cut out the Flaming Tombstone chapters which without spoiling things are fairly important. Seeing as it is a bit of the last straw for Guts and further cements just how terrible Griffith can be. Instead they decide to cut straight to Guts leaving the Hawks, which to me would have been a great way to end the movie. Instead we're treated to Griffith taunting the king with a plot point that doesn't really come into play till a little later and the creepy as hell dungeon master. Again not an awful ending it's just that part feels so sped up that it should have just been saved for the next one.

So the story and characters got a little better, so by that logic the art should be better too right. The answer is actually sort of yes. The CGI is still god awful but it's less noticeable and it never gets as bad as Guts' fight with Bazuso in Egg. Plus those jarring art shifts are smoother, more like a squeaky hinge then a air horn signal. The fact that this still remains fully uncensored is really nice as the scenes where the violence gets ramped up does feel visceral. It's most notable during Guts' slaying of 100 men,it's brutal and the art reflects that. Plus the entire section where Casca and Guts are naked is left in without having to worry about increasingly silly ways to cover Casca's chest. So all in all the art department sobered up and we're all the better for it.

Well on to the all important yes/no section of the review,which really shouldn't be that important but hey some people want it and I feel like indulging so here it it:no. I can't really say you should go
out and buy this movie because it's still bad however I won't say treat it like a social outcast. Its an improvement and hopefully by the time the get to the next Arc they'll have figured this out. Till next time,don't die.

As usual comments, criticism and death threats are welcomes

P.S Manga fans should be on the look out for a nice little early bird cameo from some of Guts' future companions. It sort of makes sense I guess.

Things No One Cares About: Berserk: The Egg of The King

Originally published February 3rd 2013

Hi Ulty here, you may remember me from such classic reviews such as Therme Romae and Baki the Grappler, among other. Well I'm back to review thing people may or may not care about and on the stand today is Berserk: Egg of the High King. Sadly though if this movie was on trial it'd be found guilty on a charge of being awful and a few counts of amateur animation.

First a little background,this is the first of a trilogy of movies meant to tell the story of Berserk's Golden Age arc with hopeful attempts to move on to the arcs after that. It covers our main character,Guts, as he meets with the band of Hawks and ends shortly before the battle of Doldrey (I.e the main focus of the second movie). This is where the movie hits it's first major problem.

See what I just described is not the true beginning of the story, it really starts with Guts kicking some ass/world building then starting the big flashback that is the Golden Age arc. So the movie either skips it(in the case of pre flashback events) or hastily explains it( as in Guts' childhood). This trend carries over into the rest of the movie as well. Many minor events that build up the characters and what not are skipped just to rush to the next battle scene. The movie has no sense of pace and feels rushed. It doesn't help that they only had an hour and ten minutes to cover a massive amount of material.

This ties into the next problem,the characters are bad. Without all of the nice character moments to build things up everything just short of happens. Relationships change with little warning and it's jarring . We have no real understanding of the characters and therefore can't get behind them. With no reason to give a shit about them, we can't really care about the narrative either. So in this two legged race both story and character fall flat on their faces at first hurdle.

Okay so maybe the story/characters lost their event to make this a good movie,maybe the animation can win it's event and help at least take home the silver. Well unfortunately, someone put laxatives in it's sports drink and it is just soiling it self all over the course(and with that I've done to metaphors what Guts does to people). What I'm trying to get at is that the CGI is awful. It's like some one was trying to make a PS2 game and then they decided to say screw it and made a movie. There is some better looking animated scenes that only serve to make the others look even worse. To somehow make it even stupider, the changes between the two are clunky enough to give you whiplash. One moment Casca looks fine then the next she's a monstrosity.

Now this is where I saw some nice things about the movie:umm,hold on. Oh yeah, it's mostly uncensored,which is nice because the source material is extremely violent(for a reason). Also Griffith's eyes are still terrifying. Yeah that's about it.

So if you just skipped to here for a simple yes or no, then shame on you go read it then come back down here. My recommendation is skip this garbage and go read the manga or watch the TV series,rage at the ending, then read the manga and enjoy one of the best stories ever written. Until next time,don't die.
As always comments, criticisms and death threats are always welcome.

Arc Words: The Black Swordsman

A small foreword on this:  This is Arc words and don't expect to see these that often. If I stole any thing from Berserk,it'd be the schedule slip. Originally published:October 5th 2012
 
Arc Words is a  series I'm working on where I examine manga / anime arc by arc and evaluate how it aids the work as a whole. I factor in many unfactorable elements but the big three I use are: characters,story,and enjoyment. These make up, to me at least ,what makes an arc good, bad,or mediocre . Art factors in but not as much though and will be mentioned in the other parts of this review .Note that this will contain spoilers not only for the arc I'm picking at but occasionally the work as a whole. I'll try to mark spoilers with a big bold Spoiler,so be on the watch.Also feel free to point out if I mispell/use story terms.

The first arc on my metaphorical plate is The Black Swordsman arc of Berserk if you couldn't have guessed from the thread title. This arc is oft overlooked when it comes to animation. The first part is only animated in the 1997 TV series and the Guardians of Desire chapters has never been brought to the screen .Which is sad because this is probably the most important arc in the context of building the narrative second only to The Golden Age arc(the part where Berserk gets finger quotes: Good). Here a few major players are brought in and everything we need to know about the world is established.

I'll start with our characters:first up is Guts,our "Hero". Yes Guts is fairly flat at this point of the story but the story provides us with enough info to make him interesting enough to want to see more of. He comes off as a complete jerk for most of the arc. However we are shown some moments of compassion beneath this facade. He rescues Puck,he attempts to keep the priest and his daughter out of danger and his speech to Theresa at the end of the arc is genuine and an echo of his own life. It's established that the Snake baron is very strong and because Guts defeats him we see that Guts is very strong. There are numerous references to his sword being nothing but a slab of iron and Apostles fear his title,Black Swordsman. It intrigues the reader to want to know how this man became this strong and what his problems are. Which dovetails nicely into the Golden Age arc that essentially answers those questions. Remember this sentence you could call it this reviews Arc Words(Make sure to tip your waitress).

Our second protagonist is Puck the elf and we get a good feel for his character that he's memorable enough to forget we're not going to see him for the better part of 12 volumes. He's stupidly noble,naive and a tenuous bastard not unlike his companion Guts. For this part of the story he serves two purposes: being Guts' morality pet and the reader's gateway to the story. His role as the straight man allows the concepts that need explaining to be explained without feeling tacked on. It allows the reader a view of this world with out pandering. This is critical because it allows the next couple of arcs to focus on character development with out having to worry about the reader being confused.

The other characters will be brought up as they relate to the story but I'll give special mention to Griffith right here and now. He is set up as the villain and as Puck says" What happened between these two?" makes the reader want to know as well. This combined with the little glimpse we get of him, which dovetails nicely into Golden Age arc which answers those questions(told you that sentence would pop up again).
Moving down to the story and the meat of this arcs importance:World building. This story effortlessly brings up just about every major concept the series has. The first two chapters establish three things: What a Apostle is, what the Brand does and the kind of world Berserk takes place in.

Our first look at this world is dark, lawless and ugly. How do we know this asides form liberal uses of dark colors and shading,though that does help. It's the The Snake Baron,who has no claim to his title asides from brute strength(which he has plenty off). He's taken over the town and people live in fear of him. It shows that the central government is weak and ineffective or as we later see sick and twisted. That concept will be cemented in the next arc but for now we have the groundwork. The mayor of the town cow tows to him because he knows that he has no support from the outside. Him and by extension these towns are isolated from each other in this cold nasty world. The technology present and the methods of execution shown later let the reader know we are in the dung/dark ages .It allows us to safely insert things we know about this age and make the world even nastier then it already is.

The second thing is showing what an a Apostle is. Guts used the term to describe the Baron and the subsequent battle shows us the basic things that describe an Apostle. One,They are very strong,two you need to go all out when killing them and three they are monster. By having Guts fight him,it reenforces the notion that Guts is powerful. This is all woven in to a cohesive narrative that lays a nice outline for these concepts.

As we transition into the Guardians of Desire chapters and even during the previous chapters,the Brand is brought into the story by first showing the Brand bleeding and nasty creatures being drawn to it. It shows that it is some how a conduit for them. As Guts travels with the priest and his daughter,the creatures attack at night again as the Brand bleeds. This brings up the two thing we know about the Brand and reenforces them. it bleeds when these creatures are near and it that it gets particularly bad at night. This allows the story to not have to explain the Brand later on and lets us know,it's bad news.
The Guardians of Desire chapters take the concept of the Apostle further and serves as a precursor to Griffith's own fall by showing the reader the kind of person who would become an Apostle. It also puts some other concepts on the table.

The Count is shown to be a merciless man who hunts Pagans and rules with an Iron fist. Calling back to The Baron who also rules under a similar power= authority method.. Though here the church's power is shown as the simple accusation of being a Pagan is enough for death. It validates the ideas that the reader could probably gain about the setting and further cements the Dung Ages time period with the presence of the Church Which sets the mood for when the Knights of the Holy Chain show up in Conviction.
This is also the point in the story that does show Guts' cunning and endurance through his fighting style of the sword and his hidden arm cannon. He keeps the latter a secret to pull a fast one on the enemy and deal major damage. The other quality it brings to the table is Guts' role as a struggler. A theme that is brought up again and again in the story. His fighting style banks on insane maneuvers that have a high potential for failure that reenforces this struggling mentality he has. Every fight is a fight for his life and it shows that he loves that kind of thing.



***SPOILERS***


Near the end of this is where the whole creation of an apostle is done. It first shows that a Behelit is needed. Th concept of the Behleit is introduced nicely by Puck being understandably ignorant . Doing this means we don't have to worry about explaining it later in the Golden Age Arc . So like the Brand we only have to see it to know it's bad news. Secondly a Sacrifice has to be made and it can't be just anyone but someone you love. Humanity has to be lost to become an Apostle. This is where the Count becomes a tragic figure and redeems himself to me. It shows that he was betrayed by the woman he loved with the very pagans he hated. In his rage and sorrow he sacrifices her to the God hand,thus becoming the monstrosity he is. It's fairly heartbreaking and even more so when he refuses to sacrifice Theresa. This is where the Count makes it right so to speak by owning up to his sins and going to hell.It shows that even those who are righteous are still human and can fall. Again a nice parallel for Griffith's fall later This section also brings up the God hand and Griffith's entrance into the story to provide the above mentioned story hook and to make things easier to identify near the end of the next arc. This whole end also serves to further reiterate that the Brand and these creatures are connected.

***SPOILERS***

The final part of this story is Theresa threatening to kill Guts and Guts crying as he seems to be reminded of his past and reflection on what he's been doing before leaving and going into the Golden Age Arc.
The final part of this review/dissection is enjoyment. This being a purely subjective thing,feel free to disagree all you want. This section is really enjoyable because it weaves every aforementioned concept into a cohesive narrative with interesting/tragic characters The doctor from the Guardians of Desire part, is a great mirror for what Guts sees himself as and adds even more to Guts as a character. The two big fights with The Baron and The Count are visceral gore fests that Berserk would come to be famous for. Even the minor fights are well done.It's just fun to look and read about. Guts comes across as likable without being snarky and is a joy to watch fight.

To wrap it up,while I'll admit most of these concepts are fully realized till later but this Arc plants them into the story flawlessly.when I hit up the Golden Age Arc I'll go into more detail about some other material from this part.So yeah,if you aren't reading Berserk yet ,go change that now. The volumes are easy to find so go out and buy them like now .

ARC RATING: 4 out 5
Next Time: The Golden Age Arc Part 1