After reading the first 700 pages of the manga (Deluxe Volume 1), watching the ’97 anime feels a lot like Better Call Saul

For context: to put it mildly, I am not well-versed when it comes to the topic of anime/manga (or to any media product from the East, for that matter). My girlfriend is a huge enthusiast, though, so ever since we’ve been together, she has managed to sit me down to watch the works of Miyazaki, some cult classics like Ghost in the Shell, and, as our most ambitious project to date, Attack on Titan.

Despite some of my concerns (as a filmmaker and writer who is mainly interested in European arthouse cinema and Central American mainstream media products, I always considered anime culturally too distant from me), I enjoyed a lot of them, saw the appeal of some of them, and couldn’t get into a few of them. But anyway, this glimpse into the medium gave me enough to chew on to embark on a journey like no other: to experience my gf’s absolute favorite piece of media ever created, Berserk.

While on a trip to Istanbul, I came across Volume 1 of the Deluxe Edition in a bookshop and was intrigued by its size, and just in general by the quality of the print. So I purchased it (even though I wasn’t aware of a single plot point or character from the universe) and, a couple of days later (after our trip ended), I started to read my first manga ever.

It was a unique experience that took a toll on me: yeah, it took some time getting used to reading from right to left, but mainly I was unpleasantly surprised by how one-note and repetitive the plot was. Guts gets to a new town to face some form of unimaginable human depravity, kills a hundred faceless enemies, and has a boss fight with a monster that is unrecognizable, yet still human, with some kind of tragic backstory that at least contextualizes its actions. Oh, and in the meantime, he (Guts) acts like a brooding asshole.

The whole thing reeked of being written by an insanely talented (the artwork is outstanding) but yet crazily immature person (rest in peace, Kentaro Miura), who was still trying to find his voice and maybe hadn’t lived enough to translate his experiences into a cohesive and emotionally resonant narrative.

Then I remembered that some of my absolute favorite pieces of fiction took a while to really get going (looking at you, The Leftovers and Malazan Book of the Fallen), and there was just enough meat on those sunbaked, disfigured bones to let myself be convinced to give the anime a chance after finishing the 1st Deluxe Edition. (“You have to experience the Eclipse at least,” my gf said, and I tend to believe her.)

Aaand… it took like 8 or 9 episodes, but the whole saga finally clicked for me. I can’t really phrase what changed, but somehow Guts and his company grew on me, and also, the philosophical depth of the show started to manifest, which retrospectively made the manga better as well.

This aspect of the show (which I still haven’t finished — as of today, we are at episode 15) made me realize that I enjoy the anime in much the same way as I enjoyed Better Call Saul (a show I appreciated while it aired and became obsessed with after it ended): by possessing the knowledge of the things yet to come, the events of the present (in a sense, the past) gain a sense of tragedy that looms over every second.

Casca is not part of Guts’ life (just like Kim wasn’t part of Jimmy’s during the events of Breaking Bad), Guts is a shell of his former self during the manga (just like Jimmy by the time he becomes Saul), and an ominous/mysterious figure gets a backstory with our protagonist (Griffith here, Lalo in Better Call Saul). Even the pacing, I found somewhat similar: the manga (in this case a direct parallel to Breaking Bad) is non-stop action, to contrast with the more somber tone of its prequel.

And as the end is approaching (only 10 episodes to go), I am getting more and more excited but also concerned because I can feel it in my — pardon the pun — guts that something devastating will happen.

As a conclusion, I don’t think I will ever be a fan of either Berserk or the animanga art form in general, but I am glad that, thanks to my gf, I am able to experience the type of storytelling I adore the most through the lens of a completely different cultural sensibilities.