Berserk, Vol. 3: White Hawk (1997)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Kentaro Miura (original manga), translation by Yumiko Tamura
Directed by Naohito Takahashi
Character Design by Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Features:

• Production sketches
  
• Storyboards
  
• Textless closing
  
• Original TV opening
  
• Outtakes
  

Doc’s Anime Warnings

• Blood everywhere
  
• Jealous woman with cramps
  
• Opportunistic ankle-grabbing
  

Rating: 16+

Anamorphic: N/A

My advice: Pick it up if you're following the series, pass otherwise.

Having survived an attempted assassination, Griffith dispatches Guts to deal with the jealous nobleman responsible for the attempt on his life. Guts, being a fairly straightforward sort, deals with him in the only fashion he knows how – by slaughtering him, his young son, and most of his household retainers. Meanwhile, Griffith himself puts the moves on a princess, inching his way closer and closer to the heart of the nobility despite the objections and protestations of the remainder of the court.

When Guts rejoins the Band of the Hawk for a battle against the invading empire of Chuder, he must deal with the growing jealousy of the female commander Caska, who resents the affection that Griffith has been showing to this new and dangerous warrior. When the Band engages the forces of Chuder at the frontline, Guts and Caska find themselves cut off from their comrades, and must overcome their differences and disagreements in order to return to their fellow warriors safely.

Berserk takes a turn for the melodramatic in its third volume, spending more time with the damaged psyches of the various major characters than on the sword-slinging action that made the first two volumes so entertaining. It’s becoming more and more clear that Griffith and Guts are on a dangerous road, and one that’s likely going to place them at odds in the future. Griffith’s ambition is poisoning him, and Guts' desire to belong somewhere, anywhere, is pushing him into situations he’s going to regret.

Unfortunately, the turn to melodrama isn’t a turn for the better. The character development is interesting, but crammed into these four episodes it seems a bit forced and breaks up the flow of the series. The acceleration of Griffith’s ambition likewise seems to be too hurried, as if the writers know they have to get to a certain point sooner than they had originally planned and are trying to make up some time. If the series goes back to its original pacing in the next volume, this won’t be a problem, but remaining stuck in this expository rut can only hurt the show as a whole.

The animation here is of the same excellent quality as in previous installments, with the use of still frame sketches and watercolors at dramatic moments being quite effective. The voice work is quite entertaining, though the blatant misogyny of the show’s original creators forces some really off-putting dialogue between Caska and various characters.

The DVD is excellent, with a nice batch of extras. The outtakes are hilarious, particularly given that the voice actor who portrays Griffith has a penchant for breaking out into show tunes when he flubs a line. The storyboard feature is interesting, but could have been made even more so with the addition of a side-by-side comparison with the completed animation.

For those following the series, this one is a bit of a letdown from the previous two volumes, but should be watched for the sake of keeping up with the storyline. This disc makes a poor entry point into the series for those wanting to sample it, so I recommend renting one of the previous two discs if you’re curious about Berserk, and if those get you hooked, then this one will be worth your time.