Berserk Volume 1 Review
A Seinen Manga Review
It's not easy recommend Berserk based on the 1st volume alone. The first volume is all introduction to the character of Guts: a one-armed, one-eyed spree murderer who carries a sword bigger than him that the book repeatedly equates to a "raw heap of iron." The problem is that despite the heavy focus on the protagonist almost nothing is revealed about him.
All Style, No Substance?
The whole volume is typical of the first chapter of many shonen manga (although the constant blood and guts place this firmly in seinen territory). The protagonist is introduced stylishly (Guts disembowels a few thugs in a tavern), the protagonist's purpose is established (to hunt down an organization called the God Hand), and to dispatch a foe that probably won't be seen ever again (a giant half-man, half-cobra).
The story never goes anywhere as the rest of the volume is spent focusing on Guts slaughtering demonic monsters and other swords & sorcery staples. There's certainly hints of a story the reader can pick up on like how Guts really hates the God Hand and the reason probably has something to do with his missing body parts. There's also the appearance of a malformed ghost fetus that Guts doesn't seem to happy to see.
Berserk is also lacking in characters that survive the first volume. Aside from the almost mute Guts there is Puck, a pint-sized elf sidekick that offers up the comedy relief and plausibility regarding Guts continued survival with his magical healing abilities. Although Puck's inclusion into the story is a little forced, he is most definitely needed as the story is too mired in death and suffering for its own good.
The upside to this volume is that author Kentaro Miura is a talented artist. There are numerous double-page spreads that convey the power and motion of Guts and his ridiculous sword. The focus of this volume is the grisly violence and in that department the art delivers.
Conclusion
The problem is that most of the readers of Berserk were introduced to it by the popular anime adaptation. They know that the story is going somewhere so the first volume (and the next two) are easy enough to slog through until the story actually begins. Truly new readers to the series don't have that luxury. The solution is to just skip this volume completely. In the grand scheme of things, it adds little to a series aside from a whole mess of foreshadowing and a higher body count. It's much easier to advise a new reader to start later, around volume 4, and to revisit this volume when they're invested in the character of Guts who is, as of this volume, completely unsympathetic.
Berserk Volume 1 Cover
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