Jessie Promotes Berserk

This cute sketch came about from a conversation with about the manga/anime Berserk and how she has the first couple volumes of the manga but hasn't read it yet. I joked about her drawing a sketch of Jessie and putting is somewhere to remind her to read it. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I think it does the trick.

I originally was introduced to Berserk by a coworker who found out I liked anime. He handed me a couple of bootleg videos (this was at the turn of this century when VHS was still existed) and I was hooked. What's funny is the videos were recorded in a way that started with episode 2 instead of episode 1. That's because of the way the series is done where episode 1 is set after the events of Episode 2 and on. So, I was shocked by the events that transpired in the last couple episodes. It came out of nowhere. There were hints to it, but not enough to suggest how things went down in those last episodes. This is exclusive to the anime, BTW. The manga has many more hints and suggestions, but even then it's still a kick to the chest. Then the first episode was shown after all that to help put it into context and not ruin the big shocker. Made it much more of an impact. From that point on I started buying the Japanese manga from a store in SF, even though I couldn't read it. I could at least follow the art to get a feel for what was going on. The art itself is really good. Kentaro Miura does amazing work. Eventually, I got a hold of fan translated files of the manga and then the manga was translated and released here in America. And recently, three movies were made as an "abridged" version of the story the anime covered, known as the "Golden Age Arc". The movies were good. Visually stunning at times and a bit wonky at other times as they combined CG animation with hand drawn animation. Eventually they got the two to work together, but that wasn't until the third film. I would recommend the manga, but either the anime or the movies are good too. Each provides different amounts of time required, so they can cater to how much free time you have.

I imagine some of you might be a bit surprised that I'm a fan of Berserk as it doesn't quite fit the narrative of the stories and adventures I've put Jessie in. I tend to stay away from really graphic or dark stuff in my stories, especially when it comes to Jessie and his crew. But I absolutely love the series. It can get pretty dark and mature and it has a very unnerving and visceral style to it. Compared to other stories that do the same, I feel Berserk is a bit more grounded and too over the top, at least compared to other anime and manga. I also like that it's lead character Guts is just a man. No super powers or magical or scientific enhancements. Just a man. An exceptional man, IE a freak of nature, but nothing other worldly or magical about him. Only his tools make him more than a man and he uses them with incredible skill and deadly efficiency. I also like how this story doesn't beat around the bush with consequences and results of actions and decisions. Sometimes things just go bad, or in the case of Berserk, it goes really bad. Guts and certain characters just can't catch a break. It can get a bit depressing sometimes, but see how Guts continues to fight on with no fear or regrets can be inspiring and it's his defiance, even in the face of impossible odds, is what I really like about him. He just doesn't stop or give up. It fills me with determination.
I'm not sure the story will have a happy ending for Guts, but I'm pretty sure it will end in a bloody and violent mess for whoever gets in his way.

Anyway, I've decided that at some point, Jessie was introduced to Berserk (likely by Lupe) and while the violence was a bit much, he liked the story and the characters enough to let the violence fly. Though, he delved deeper with the manga and found himself struggling to read it at times. Eventually, he got used to it and read as much of the series as he could and became a big fan. Jessie likes violent and mature themes from time to time and Berserk is one of these exceptions. So, it likely he would have some gear to expressive his love of the series, including a t-shirt.

Hopefully, this sketch will not just be a reminder to to give it a try, but that it will inspire all of you to give it a try. Assuming you have the stomach for it.



Jessie © Me ^_^

Berserk © Kentaro Miura

Art by