Berserk, the long-running manga that married fantasy and, well, violence, is coming back to the small screen. The original 25-episode 1997 anime series based on the manga and directed by Naohito Takahashi is coming to Netflix for select markets on December 1st, according to ComicBook.com. Unfortunately, it does not seem that includes the US, UK or Canada, at least not on that December 1st launch date.
As is clear from the trailer below, Berserk is a pitch black and fairly brutal anime that came some eight years after the manga first appeared in Young Animal magazine. The series covers the so-called Golden Age Arc, covering the period when Guts joined the Band Of the Hawk and met the other primary characters, Griffith and Casca. It’s considered by some fans to be the best take on the manga, and is said to have inspired or influenced major anime hits like Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan.
The release of Berserk material from Netflix seemed a fait accompli when it was announced that the streaming service had secured the rights to that franchise, along with Parasyte, Monster and other classic anime. In addition, new material could be coming soon as well, according to a countdown clock that appeared recently on Berserk’s official website, pointing to a date in mid-December. Nothing is official yet, but it looks like promising times for fans of the franchise.
Update, 12/5/2022: Updated this post to add that Berserkis not available in the US, UK or Canada, at least not in time for the December 1st launch.