Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1: The Egg of the King (2012)

[ベルセルク 黄金時代篇I 覇王の卵]

Director: Toshiyuki Kubo'oka
Starring: Hiroaki Iwanaga, Takahiro Sakurai, Toa Yukinari

Synopsis:
A lone mercenary wandering from battlefield to battlefield is picked up by Griffith, the charismatic leader of the famous Band of the Hawk.

Impressions:
I've had my eye on this film trilogy for a while, but I hadn't checked it out. I could barely get through a single episode of the shoddy 2016 series, so I was a bit leery of the use of CG in these movies. Now, the CG here is janky as it tends to be in Japanese animation, but not nearly so inept as the 2016 series. Visually, this is rather well-done (somewhat janky CG animation aside), but I feel that the abridged treatment to the story doesn't give us the time to really bond with the characters and get us invested in the story. This is a common issue with film adaptations of manga. Still, if you've already seen the '97 TV series or read the manga, you already have that connection and can just enjoy the spectacle. As far as casting goes, I'm rather attached to the '97 cast, but I thought Takahiro Sakurai in particular was a good choice as Griffith. If you're a fan of the series, give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It