Berserk, Vol. 4: Devil's Advocate (1997)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Based on the manga by Kentaro Miura, translation by Yumiko Tamura
Directed by Naohito Takahashi
Character Design by Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Features:

• Production sketches
  
• Interview with creator Miura
  
• Outtakes
  

Released by: Anime Works
Region: 1
Rating: 16+
Anamorphic: N/A; episodes appear in their original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Own it, unless you're squeamish.

Having covered the escape of Caska so that she might return with help, Guts finds himself surrounded, cut off from the Band of the Hawk, and sorely pressed. Massive sword swinging, he takes on dozens of foes, while Caska races back to find her comrades and bring them to Guts' aid. After a harrowing battle and the return of Caska, Guts, badly wounded (again), is taken back to camp to recuperate while Griffith plans the group's next operation. The Band will support the armies of Midland in a daring assault on the stronghold of Doldery, a nigh-impenetrable fortress of the armies of Chuder. Armies have thrown themselves against the walls of Doldery for centuries, and the fortress has never fallen. Griffith and his troops, however, intend to change all that.

Griffith's daring plan has his fellow nobles scoffing, but secretly nervous that, should he succeed, he will advance his status significantly in the eyes of the rulers of Midland. It is in their best interest, therefore, to see that the Band of the Hawk gets as little support as possible from the bulk of Midland's army, hopefully ruining any chance that Griffith succeeds (with a solid possibility that the upstart war leader might be killed, in the process). It will fall to Guts and Caska to make the difference in the tide of battle, and as is always the case when Guts gets involved, blood will flow freely and heads will roll.

This fourth installment in the Berserk series returns to the sword-swinging action that made the first two volumes great, but retains enough of the interior character drama and scheming politics introduced in the third volume to make it more than a blood-drenched deathfest. But the action is really where it's at with this series, and these episodes are no exception. Guts isn't the only lead to get some quality screen time with a sword, though. Caska gets more than her fair share, and even Griffith gets into the act a bit more than usual.

The animation is superb, as always, and the voice acting (English and Japanese) excellent, without any of the screechy characters I find so annoying in some other anime titles. The dialogue occasionally suffers from some somewhat clunky prose, but I suspect this is an issue of translation rather than a flaw in the writing itself. The DVD also has some great extras, including an interview with the original manga creator of Berserk, Kentaro Miura. The outtake reel continues to be a highly amusing little bonus feature on this show's discs, too. If you like anime or epic fantasy, and don't mind it with a healthy shot of blood, then this show is right up your alley, and you should definitely grab a copy and enjoy the ride.