Anime time once again here at Cine-apocalypse with a look at the second film in the Berserk Golden Age Arc film series. This one again comes from Shawn Francis who seems to be the only contributing writer to the site at the moment and that is more than welcome, check out Shawn's review after the jump.
Written By Shawn Francis
As
our movie starts off we’re reminded that bands of mercenaries
thrive in this time of war, giving aid to Crucial scene like the one where Guts accidentally
eavesdrops on Griffith’s conversation with the King’s daughter
where he’s telling her what it would take to be his friend.
Something Guts thought he always was, but apparently isn’t. He’s
basically just another “tool” in Griffith’s lifelong dream for
glory.
When
the movie finally kicks in, it starts off like the first film did, in
the middle of war, focusing on Casca this time as she does battle
with soldiers and a particularly nasty blowhard with a trident who
loves to talk and taunt. Problem is Casca isn’t fighting at her
normal savage capacity. In the nick of time, Guts steps in as she
faints at the edge of the cliff she was pushed up against in her
fight. Not being fast enough he goes over with her and both plummet
to the waters below.
As
the title suggests the main plot thread is the taking of the Doldrey
fortress, which has remained unconquerable for the past hundred
years. Griffith, while at the battleground conference table, states
he can take the fortress. Every one is naturally skeptical because
Band Of The Hawk consists of only 5,000 soldiers and Doldrey houses
30,000. Griffith probably wouldn’t have felt confident about this
undertaking had he not seen what Guts had done earlier in the movie.
After
he and Casca fell off that cliff they washed up on shore; Casca
unconscious and running a fever. Holing up in a nearby cave we learn
Casca’s on her period, which is why she was fighting under the
weather. This part of the movie is where we learn what motivates her
and when she asks Guts what motivates him he doesn’t know what to
say.
It’s
not long before that enemy they were fighting up top finds them and
intends to put some serious hurt on the both of them. Rape for Casca,
but thankfully she actually manages to successfully fight her way out
of that grim situation. When all is said and done, Guts manages to
kill all one hundred men that were sent down. Single-handedly,
mind you, with that incredible seven-foot long sword he carries. I
was impressed.
During
this first part of the movie Guts fumes over the things he heard
Griffith say and by the time the Hawks manage to actually take
Doldrey, and are given a serious boost up the food chain by the King
they were working for, Guts makes the decision to leave. He no longer
wants to be looked down upon by Griffith, but Griffith refuses to let
him go.
In
their last encounter Griffith was the expert swordsman, in this
second one Guts shows his former leader how much he really wants to
leave and how much he has grown in the last few years as a warrior.
The battle is over before it has begun and Guts walks away a free
man.
In
the last act Griffith, still feeling “jilted” takes it upon
himself to have a sexual encounter with the King’s daughter, one
that gets him caught, thrown into the dungeons, horribly tortured and
the rest of his band set up for death in a field where they were
ordered to go without their armor, under the false impression it’s
a training exercise.
This
sequel ends more on a cliffhanger than the first one did, with
Griffith hanging by his arms, naked and bloody in the dungeon and his
band under arrow fire by the king’s men. As for Guts, his last
scene shows him strolling down a country road passing a horse drawn
carriage with a caged fairy relaxing and staring out the window. Not
sure what the significance of the fairy was. He does nothing but
hover in his birdcage, hands behind his head, looking out as Guts
passes by. But then Guts stops and gazes back. Did he notice the
fairy, or did something else grab his attention?
Before
the credits roll we are treated to scenes from the third and final
chapter, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 3—The Advent. I
couldn’t make sense of the plot from the quick images that flashed
by, but the music is grim and so seems to be what’s about to happen
to them all.
Like
the first chapter this sequel is a mix of traditional and CG
animation which on a whole works. Not sure why they chose to
integrate CG into these movies, the usual traditional anime is
perfect looking, but they did and for the most part the integration
works.
Berserk:
Golden Age Arc II—Battle For Doldrey hits US shores via Viz
Media in DVD and separate blu-ray form. The 1080p HD anamorphic
2.35:1 transfer of the blu is gorgeous to behold. Your audio options
are English and Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1.
Subtitles
included: English with English subs and Japanese with English subs.
Extras
for both the blu and the DVD include ‘Interview with Aki
Toyosaki and Minako Kotobuki’ (12:36); a basic Q&A with the
two Japanese actresses who voice the character’s Charlotte and
Rickert. The Susiemee Harasawa “Aria” Live Concert (4:51)
featurette is basically a concert performance of the music that opens
the movie. Outtakes (15:18) had me initially confused. I
thought these were cut scenes, but when I started watching it became
clear they were bloopers from the American actors who were dubbing
the voices. Some are actually funny. The Egg Of The King Trailers
section includes the World Trailer, the France Trailer, the Russia
Trailer, and the Viz Media Trailer. There’s a Gallery, which
consists of 30 Photos (pencil sketches and color ones). And finally
trailers for anime you can find streaming on the site, Neon Alley.
All
in all these Berserk anime movies do not disappoint and I’m looking
forward to the third and final chapter.
(Note:
As of this review Manga Entertainment will be releasing this second
chapter on DVD & blu-ray on September 2nd.
Not sure if the extra features will be the same as the US edition or
not).
This is a great review! I loved the first movie and am really looking forward to seeing this one!
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