Berserk: Ougon Jidai-hen I - Haou no Tamago

Positive:

• no previous knowledge of the manga necessary
• well created characters & story
• medieval atmosphere
• animation at a high level (especially the battle scenes)
• realistic fights with uncompromising hardness
• brilliant soundtrack

Negative:

• violence (splitting heads and other horrors)
• sudden end

After several months of anticipation I just got to watch Berserk - The Golden Age Arc Chapter I - The Egg of the King, and as a fan of both the Manga Comic and the animated TV series, I was not the least disappointed. This movie kicks ass! I was perhaps most amazed of the battles, which come off as extremely vivid and original.

Many will compare this movie to the animated series, and yes, some things have changed, as this format is much more time-limited. The exclusion of some scenes and moments to the benefit of other, might make the movie feel as a summary of the series. The much loved musical themes of the series have also been changed, something I expected, yet hoped would stay the same as I really liked them. On the other hand, we get to see Guts and Griffith swinging their swords in a much more vivid graphical universe, which I think the story deserves!

As the above mentioned mainly comes down to a matter of taste, the main problem with this movie is that it doesn't focus as much on character development as the original comic and animated series did. This will create some moments which new viewers couldn't possibly make full sense of. However, for any passionate Berserk-fan, this should not be a deal-breaker, as it is still a great movie, true to the original story.

Guts is a great fighter. Who, of course, gets into fights. His sword cleaves and kills, the bodies fall in front of his wreath, till he meets Griffith, who becomes his leader. From now on, Guts will work under Griffith's orders.

The first film of the The Golden Age Arc for "Berserk" is an entertaining, and not very long, affair, full of well developed fights, nice action, and great depiction of the fights, but a plot basically non-existent: Guts fights, Guts meets Griffith, Guts fights. However, the atmosphere is quite good, and it is easy to connect with the characters and enjoy the world they live in.

With two more movies after this first one, "The Egg of the King" just feels as an appetizer. But one that will fill the viewer.

After enjoying the episodic Anime series ages ago and left bitter with the cliff hanger ending, I was definitely looking forward to this movie.

"Berserk: Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King" (That's quite a long title isn't it?) tells the story about a warrior named Guts, who wields a large sword and is quite skilled in weapon based combat, he is hired as a mercenary by kingdoms in the battlefield and gets paid for the job well done and then he drifts away. Just after his recent victory he crosses paths with a mercenary group named "The Band Of The Hawk" led by a very charismatic leader named Griffith.

I won't dip into the story any further because it would rob you the enjoyment of watching the movie if you are new to the series. The story progresses in a very interesting manner and it has it's twists and turns that keep the story engaging and makes you question the motives as it builds up the bigger premise behind it, with that said the fight scenes in this movie are quite fantastic and the gore level has been used to the max, the animation is very crisp and sharp and is definitely eye candy.

Berserk: Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King gives you a start on the series and keeps things interesting throughout the movie, I barely noticed the time and soon it was all over and I was left with the feeling that I want to watch it more and how the story unfolds, it gives you a preview of the second arc towards the end of the movie. I would most definitely be looking forward to it. Give this one a chance, if you like it and let yourself immerse in it's world, you would definitely have a good time watching it.

My final verdict for this movie would be a very solid 7 out of 10.

If anything, the story of Berserk needs to be expanded upon, not shortened. Basically, they are taking a 10-hour long show, improving the visuals, and reducing to the story to 3-4 hours. I'm curious who thought this would be a good idea. Many pivotal moments that occurred during the series were completely glossed over in this movie, and in many cases, left out entirely. What was great about the show was the emphasis on the story and character development. How can you develop the characters when you're cramming everything into such a short amount of time? Sure, the re-imagined action sequences and animation are great to look at, but that was only ever a small part of what made the series so good. Berserk being my favorite (if not, second favorite) anime of all time, this was doomed to fail for me. This first part is entertaining, sure, but doesn't do justice to the original series. It's just not possible.

That being said, it might be a decent watch if you're a first time viewer of Berserk, but for true fans of the show, I don't see how this could be acceptable. They should have just redone the entire series and gave it a proper ending. Or, continued the show from where the original left off. I'm certain either of these options would please fans more, rather than giving them cheapened, hyped-up movies. I'll watch the rest of the movies just to see how they turn out, but I suspect I'll be disappointed with the rest. I can only give the first part a biased 5 out of 10.