Big anime studios hesitate to pick up Berserk despite its popularity, and here’s why
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is globally accepted as one of the best seinen manga. Yet, somehow, it has suffered the most anime-wise. While its 1997 anime adaptation is generally considered to be tasteful, the 2016 remake is generally hated by fans for a number of reasons.
Unfortunately, none of the anime continued the adaptation and a huge chunk of the manga is still left unexplored. This leads fans to question why Berserk is ignored by popular anime studios despite its fame.
Why Big Anime Studios Conveniently Ignore Berserk
1997 Berserk anime | Studio OLM
If you look closely at the current scenario, most anime studios run after popular shonen manga. These series receive a quick adaptation, sometimes even before they have completed 100 chapters. Yet, Berserk, with its 370+ chapters, continued to be ignored. Even more baffling is the fact that Berserk is also fairly cherished by a huge number of otakus.
But no matter how influential and impressive Berserk is, it contains graphic depictions of physical and sexual violence. In fact, its subject matter is incredibly dark and unlikely to be allowed on TV. If studios have to create a sellable anime out of Berserk, they would have to either tone down or cut off many crucial parts of the manga. Of course, if the anime is toned down in comparison to the manga, it would never be as impactful as the source material.
Guts in Berserk | Credit: Hakusensha
Another issue is the oversaturation of the anime market with shonen or isekai-based series. Only the most eye-catching manga receive an adaptation from popular studios, while the rest are left in the dirt. Mature and thoughtful content is thus sacrificed for the sake of viewership. Naturally, Berserk, with its serious plot, will not be approved for an anime adaptation unless a studio is ready to undertake a huge risk.
The Unsuccessful Berserk Anime Adaptations So Far
Guts in Berserk | Millepensee, GEMBA
Regardless of everything, Berserk has received a few anime adaptations so far. The first proper anime adaptation was in 1997, and it aired 25 episodes before ending on a giant cliffhanger, which was never solved. After that, Berserk received a movie trilogy from 2012 to 2013. While fans really tried to love the films, it had butchered the character development and story in order to make the entire plot fit.
Several important arcs were removed from the movies, which distanced fans from the characters and their sentiments. Miura’s natural progression of plot and character was completely disregarded as well.
Next comes the 2016-2017 anime adaptation of Berserk, which blew all expectations of fans in the worst way possible. The usage of CGI in the anime was abhorred, and the sound design was questionable. Once again, vital plot points were cut off, which messed up the character development.
The bad animation quality also affected the characters, who seemed numb and expressionless most of the time. The action scenes were also majorly messed up, and accuracy was thrown to the wind. All in all, the 2016-2017 anime adaptation of Berserk is probably the most hated among the lot.
