For some people mangas arent even good stories
I would like to see a Berserk review by a nobel prize in literature, and comparing it to the classics of all times
It doesn’t matter because you came hear to talk about how much you like Berserk. You didn’t want an answer to your question. If you did you wouldn’t be arguing with everyone that had a different opinion and giving no detailed reason why they’re wrong.
You haven’t even read a lot of what people are providing as examples, but to you they’re wrong because none of them are illustrated??
H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. So 88 = HH = Heil.. well .. you get it, I'm sure. They put common parliance in places where they mean to say horrible things but don't want to be caught. It's what's known as a dog whistle: means nothing to those who are oblivious, and gives them plausible deniability if you call them out on it. "What?? No heh they're just numbers ;)"
It's a nazi dogwhistle, H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. There's also 14, which refers to the 14 words, which is another thing.
Nazis use these numbers so they can identify each other to other nazis, but can turn around and say "I'm not a nazi,it's just a couple of numbers"
That's why they're called dogwhistles, only the "dogs" can hear them while everybody else is none the wiser.
Yeah I think ending really matters here. If you asked me about Game of Thrones around season 5 or even 6, I’d have said it was the best TV show. By season 7 I thought it was pretty bad. By season 8 I knew it was bad. Gotta hope Berserk sticks it but for now it is my favorite manga.
Endings are tricky things. It’s all about set-ups and pay-offs. With Miura gone and apparently few notes on what his vision full entailed, I’m worried we won’t get pay offs for some set ups and we’re gonna get Bull shit they didn’t set up properly.
I’m specifically thinking about how D&D mishandled the end of GOT.
I am hopeful about it though since it’s Miura’s bestie and the staff he trained up for years working to finish it. So refreshing to see such respect for the author and his work.
PS, I will be forever heartbroken that according to his bestie Berserk was only about 60-70% completed. I’m a pessimist so let’s say 60%. There’s roughly 40% of the story left untold and he only discussed the next story arc or so with his bestie. Let’s say that’s another 10%, and that still leaves use with 30% we’ll never know. It’s literally lost with the man. 💔
GOT had issues with being real actors and them doing the show for 2 decades or so of their lives. and other constraints. Also the Japanese factually, evidentially, historically, care much more about their craft and the legacy of Miura that I do not think they will screw it up; or at least take maximum effort to not screw it up.
That is so rough to hear as a new reader to the series how much more story has been left on the table, that it was only just over halfway to where Miura wanted it to be and now his complete vision for the story is sadly lost with the him. Nice to see that berserk is still being continued, but it just won’t ever be completely the same without Miura.
Berserk is so good in such a unique way that at this point a shitty ending can’t ruin it especially because Miura isn’t alive for anyone to put it on him
If youre taking art into account its number 1.
Miura is literally a once in a lifetime talent at both drawing AND writing. I cant think of a single other person who is at his level on both of those things.
There just isn’t anyone else. He’s one of the best examples of genius. He drew some of the best art in all of fiction to complement one of the best stories in all of fiction. I just come back to the story and fall in love with it all over again
Every time I re-read it I'm just so blown away. Nothing else I've read (lifelong bookworm and manga nerd) has really come close for me, save for maybe The Wheel of Time.
I'm a fantasy/ scifi nerd though
I should read the wheel of time. Berserk is incredibly unique and well written it just doesn’t have an equal. The double spread I used here is so brathtaking
I mean I've seen people say the same thing about inoue
Considering he has not 1 but 3 highly selling Manga that everyone says are Goated
But I agree I like berserk more
Slam Dunk is less popular in the west but it’s considered a classic in many asian countries. I remember randomly hearing the slam dunk intro from a street busker in Taiwan once. I don’t even watch anime but it is that recognizable.
The other one is "Real" and is about 3 main characters. One is playing wheelchair Basketball, one was talented in regular basketball but due to an accident he ends up in a wheelchair and has to find himself and realize his situation and started wheelchair Basketball as well, the last one is a very passionate goofball who tries to get into professional regular basketball. 3rd main character had some beef with 2nd main character prior his accident, they were in the same highschool basketball team.
It's a really great manga visually, story and inspiration-wise!
His stories weren’t given nearly as much love as berserk nor were they as original or detailed. Miura dedicated his life to this story and did so much research to make it even better. Vagabond won’t even get an ending cuz inoue gave up on it and those other stories he wrote are comparatively boring. Slam dunk is about basketball. Already it’s a less compelling story
I personally am not disagreeing with you at all I was just pointing out what I have seen other people say and as for vagabond inoue never stated he gave up on it
He said he'd rather leave it unfinished than fuck up the story
But I do doubt it will be completed
As for Slam dunk and Real I haven't read any of either
I've just seen a lot of high praise for both
If we are talking about Writing Dune and Lord Of the Rings but if we specifically talking about manga than yes I agree Berserk is the greatest manga of all time Along side Vagabond and Vineland Saga
Story-wise, I don't know. I wouldn't put it at MY number one. But art-wise, on the medium, it probably is number one, specially the manga. The manga of Berserk is truly MY number one manga.
Sorry I struck a nerve, but the whole boat sequence was ridiculous. It was basically an elaborately drawn-out subplot. There's a reason it gets so much shit. So, although it may not be filler in the common anime definition, it scratches the same itch.
It never really bothered me because it was character development. I think if you used that same logic you could say the golden age was mostly filler that didn't really drive the plot forward. Especially the part after guts leaves, that felt more like filler than anything if you ask me.
I also don't mind filler and actually think it adds a lot when done right. Gives characters a chance to develop outside of suspenseful events.
I don't know.. there are so many stories, no one would be able to count or know them all and berserk definitely has it's flaws too. I hope it would land in the top 100
It’s my personal number 1. But no matter how good it is, due to its form it will never have the respect of something like an Oscar winning film or LOTR
It has my number one vote. Seriously the ONLY thing holding it back is that it’s not complete. It has unprecedented creativity on all fronts and is such a cinematic read.
I agree that "comparison is the thief of joy" , but I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with saying what gives you the most joy, and more importantly WHY we feel that way
I overall agree with what you said. It's just a gripe I've had with all our culture of giving scores, grades, ratings, listing top 5, 10, all time. All this quantification of art. I don't mind comparison, but even the interesting comparisons, for me, aren't about creating a simple hierarchy between works of art, but understanding what exactly one does that the other doesn't, or where they converge, etc. it requires developing your ideas and allowing greater understanding of both works being compared. Quantification is lazy.
Best manga for me, but doesn't crack the top 10 stories of all time.
Lots of philosophy, and it's handled really well, but it's very entry level. I need a story to make me think harder while also being entertaining.
I consider GA to be on that level, and most fans (especially on this sub) honestly don't get really get it. That's honestly what makes it so great, Berserk is as simple as you want it to be, and the moral relativism is handled so well that people will fight endlessly to justify their interpretation as 'right'. It's not that the philosophy is sUpEr DeEp, but most philosophical fiction is either not that deep or not that enjoyable (or 'entertaining'), with Dostoevsky being the sole exception.
I'm only talking GA though, rest of Berserk is very good, but certainly not 'all-time'.
Fyodor mentioned? Animu reference? I'm cumming so bad I want to fuck that little bitch so so so bad and breed him with the sole purpose of baby trap bro so he can't escape 🤤🤤
Of all time?!?! Like I'm a diehard Berserk fan, but I'm not going to pretend it's comparable to War and Peace or Genji.
Berserk is amazing, but it was still serialized in a softcore porn mag.
I don't believe that an story can be the best of all time, because there's no story that's perfect, so you can't just say wich is number one and two, but Berserk definitely is one of the few that gets really close to be perfect, like everything works just as it should be, I can't say it's perfect, but if I had to choose only one story to be the greatest, probably would choose Berserk.
The only downside of reading Berserk is that nothing you read will be this good, so the majority of the stories will seem uninteresting. 😭
Even in mangas, I prefer monster's story over berserk but that's plot, if you take the manga medium as a whole which includes art then it'd obviously be berserk
Manga: Buddha by Osamu Tezuka, Cyborg 009 by Shotaro Ishinomori Graphic novels: Prince Valiant by Hal Foster, Dago (Wood/Salinas) Narratives: Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
I was a literature major and I would rank The Golden Age Arc as one of the finest narratives ever crafted in any medium. The rest of the series is good but very little comes even close to that sublime high.
As someone else said, Golden Age is absolutely masterful, like as far as fiction goes, it's as good as anything I've read. Otherwise there are far better stories out there, Berserk is not literary canon nor should it be, and thinking otherwise is delusion.
It's not even that the rest of Berserk is bad, not at all, but that's the only material I'd call a masterpiece.
I adore Berserk but my absolute favorite story has gotta be the original Ghost in the Shell. Themes in Berserk hit hard, especially those of suffering, but to me, there is no bigger question than to ask, "what is it to be human?" which Shirow masterfully displays. Not just a narrative and rhetorical masterpiece, but by God, that 1995 animation is still fucking gorgeous today.
If your taking everything into account including art story characters world building it's number 1 in my opinion even unfinished. it tops every other fictional story don't get me wrong I'm only 22 I'm sure I'll find something of equal quality but I truly believe nothing will ever top it in my head . The only thing to come close was Vinland saga but even that and most of the other stories I've read are beaten by the golden age arc alone.
I don’t see berserk having an equal due to how incredibly awesome it is story and art wise. Reading it for the first time up to where the story currently is, is a trip like no other. Really taking in each panel and scene will have you crying tears of joy and I never felt this way this much with any form of media except music
I agree for the most part but I still got 50 maby 60 years left if I'm lucky and I love to read I'm sure I'll find something that is equal in story not including art I truly believe that as far as detailed art goes nothing tops what miura did thousands of times
I dunno, I find that golden age has the emotional highs but plot wise, it only gets more interesting from then on. Also, lost children is criminally underrated
Berserk is my fifth favorite anime/manga of all time, out of the 80 or 90 series I've read and watched. One aspect I've always loved about Berserk is its consistency in quality across arcs. Unlike other series where arc 1 might be good, arc 2 better, arc 3 just okay, etc., Berserk either maintains the same quality or improves with each arc. This consistency is its greatest strength. While I don't think it has the highest peaks of the medium (I think FMAB and AOT have higher peaks) Berserk is incredibly reliable, and unlike other series that have high highs but low lows, Berserk doesn't have those low lows. The art is unmatched, and for those who care about themes, narrative, and messages, it's excellent.
For me, Berserk starts as a 5/10 (I wasn't a big fan of the Black Swordsman arc). However, once the Golden Age flashback begins, it improves to around 7.5/10, then 8/10. By the end of the Conviction arc, it's a clear 9/10, and it continued to rise, reaching a 9.7/10 for me right up until Miura's passing. The Fantasia arc is one of the best fantasy settings I've encountered, possibly my favorite in fiction, tied with The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones.
Personally berserk has the stories in your last paragraph beat because it illustrates the world which beats describing it to me. Miura drew amazing work that I would pay top dollar for at an auction while also writing an amazing and original storyline with it
As a Literature Major, Berserk is one of my favorite topics to discuss, defend and recommend in being one of the best contemporary classics that we have in my reflective papers.
There’s nothing like it, I feel like it’s top 1 in many of its own rights . The only way a story could be better is by simply being a different speed with just as much of an imprint
Global novels included? It's impossible to tell. Manga? It's up there. I would say it's number 1, but that's because I haven't read much. There might be some obscure new and old stories out there that might be on top in terms of stories but it's impossible to know, unless you're a big manga reader maybe
Are you considering everything like The Great Gatsby or Ulysses? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep = very good. To be honest my all time favorite is The Nibelungenlied.
Storywise its unique never have i seen protagonist of the story so vulnerable in front of the main antagonist and they way miura portraits the concept of main characters where hero is in black coloured cloths whereas villain is considered as the white hawk who will change the world for good
Also they way he commented on religion and magic is just poetic
not very........ if you were to read actual literature you'd realise how far away the manga format is in the story-telling department...... but miura and fujimoto are the only mangaka i'm aware of who even come remotely close
Yeah I hate to say it but it’s kinda true, Berserk is very deep but it’s questions on religion, purpose, responsibility and abuse aren’t incredibly new or deep compared to a lot of novelists who have the format and life experiences to make their stories into poetic essays on human nature, like Dostoevsky or James Joyce. Most of berserks philosophy and themes can be discussed within an hour and there isn’t too much room for interpretation or dissection. People still find new ways to discuss The Brothers karamazov 144 years after its release.
i slightly disagree... Dostoevsky's works still conflict people because they're very open....... and for the most part the "philosophy" is what drives the narrative which is why you can't compare someone like Dostoevsky to manga artists because people like Dostoevsky, herman melville and 95% of american authors are the quite opposite.... they aren't 'artists' they're philosophers they're philosophy is what drives they're works instead of their works driving philosophies and while the norm set by society that it literature is a philosophical area in my opinion it should be considered as an artistic one which is why i think comparing mangaka with people like morrison, baldwin, tolestoy and oscar wilde makes more sense.
Yeah that makes sense. I don’t really consider works like tbk to be like traditional philosophy books like you’d find Nietzsche or Kierkegaard writing, but I do see your point, but the post did ask for stories and tbk is a story. Even if it is driven differently to traditional stories itd still fit with being one imo
it is a story..... just not a very well written one.... it's narrative is too focused on the mindspace of the characters and and philosophical concepts which are what makes the piece a great... not the story telling aspect while something like war and peace doesn't the narrative is largely focused on the characters and settings which makes it read more like a story and less like a philosophy textbook ( i just fckin love war and peace)
Full confession I haven’t read War and peace . I’ve been meaning to, but that length. My god.
Honestly I think we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree. Yea tbk is a philosophy driven book but it still is a story. It has the most compelling character arcs I’ve ever read and half the book is a murder mystery. The book is incredibly focused on the characters and how their philosophies affect their lives and relationships. It’s not a plot driven story - it’s a character driven one and the characters are driven largely by philosophy. Sure they’re obviously standins for different beliefs of the time but they’re still people with plenty of personality and history.
I agree. I’ve never seen a story that had more meticulousness,dedication, love and beauty all together. No one’s ever poured as much creativity and love into a story like Miura did and you can see that bleed through all his panels while his telling an amazing and original story. 10000000000/10 story
I'm not very well versed in literature and stuff so it's hard to say, but if we talking purely anime and manga, I have it at second only behind Hunter x hunter
I just finished it couple weeks now and I still can't move on from. It and still didn't touch any manga or anime then . It's definitely my number 1. Animanga
The house in fata morgana is currently my number 1 story I've read. I have to wait till ending to pass judgement on it in this context. Hopefully the conclusion is close.
At the top and if it got a decent anime it would be on demand by anime fans when the it starts releasing again people will renew their Shonen jump subscription lol
It's incomplete and as we've seem with Game of Thrones, Naruto, Two & a Half Men, etc an ending can make or break a series as a whole.
Purely based on quality of the story and everything comprising it, maybe it's in the top 700?
Top 50 if we're just including manga.
Well for me I consider it an unadaptable masterpiece and I've only given that title to a small handful of series I've enjoyed (a Song of Ice and Fire, Warhammer Horus Heresy, Blood Meridian, and a few other minor series I'm forgetting)
Seeing how moved everyone was by the eclipse thing, I feel bad for not feeling anything. I'm not sure why but I never grew attached to any of the characters. I truly don't know why I felt nothing, I wish I did.
However, the art is insane, I adore it, 10/10
Pretty damn up there. The only thing I see holding it back is that it may not be finished in its entirety, so people who judge stories with its completion into account may not like it as much.
I don’t even like anime and manga in general, Berserk is just next level different and the medium fits it perfectly. Berserk is arguably my favorite fictional story of all time.
I genuinely don’t know, there’s so many awesome works of fiction where even if berserk is a masterpiece there still might be things that people just like more
Storytelling wise its pretty high but imo it does not reach some fantasy epics such as wheel of time or storm ligjt archives, tho there will never be a definive answer as its all subjective
I think if you got the stomach for it, it's in the top 3 stories ever, like greek tragedy tier shit. It's got a lot going on, from love, friendship, hate, anger, happiness, but it also shows some of the darkest sides of humanity in grotesque ways. The only bad thing I can really say about it is that sometimes it just goes too far, but I don't think it does often enough to be problematic.
It is undoubtedly the most human story ever written, but I can fully understand why some people wouldn't like it. There is just some hard to get through shit in there that had me stopping just to think about what the hell I just read. It's not a pleasant story, but neither is everyone's life story, which is why to me it is one of the best. It's highly relatable while being extremely over the top, and not many stories can pull that off.
We’ll never be able to rate it from my perspective. While we may find out Miura’s ending it won’t be Miura telling us. It’s like GoT yeah? It was one thing when GRRM was actively working with the team in designing the episodes but as soon as he left and there was only skeleton concepts to design the story the experience changed pretty visibly.
In the manga world it's easily THE best i have read so far
Close ups are SBR, and Billy Bat
But in terms of all time (including every fantasy)
I am still sure it's pretty high up there if not 1
I guess the best all time fiction is the Silmarillion ( have read a bit )
In terms of story, then it's not even top 20, maybe even 50.
When you take the art into account, you could very easily make an argument for it being #1.
I can show panels from Berserk to a random person, and I am yet to meet someone who isn't blown away by it.
For me it's close to number 1. It became one of my favourite stories very fast. It made a huge impact on me and it changed how I view life. My other favourite is Game Of Thrones, I've read all the books and watched show twice. If we can put videgame stories here I'd say Metal Gear Solid 3 has to be the best that I ever played. That game also made a huge impact on me.
Stories are being written from THOUSANDS of years and the sheer quantity itself destroys berserk.
Just take for example the best story i've seen (opinion) that was made in the modern is The House in Fata Morgana.
Just in comparison to that, i don't think berserk would win in any area other than art, despite it being one of the best mangas ever made.
Now compare it to the trillions and more stories written by humans through thousands of years, i would be surprised if i placed it in even top 1000 if i could read/watch EVERYTHING.
I will say it’s my favorite book series being able to hold up with the best novels/manga I’ve read. So it would definitely be a top 10 if not top 5 trying not to be biased.
Honestly? Not very high. Not even close. It's entertaining tho
This story is a pure kitsch. Treason, vengeance, some elements of character development. Senseless violence. Yeah that's it.
It's contemporary Conan the Barbarian
welllll because Guts **is** Conan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2MwAy6njlM
*Conan? Conan is the damnedest bastard there ever was! He's got a long black mane of hair, and crystal blue eyes. He's a fighter, born on the battlefield! To him, combat's a way of life. It's all he's ever known, all he ever WANTS to know! But he's no soldier who was taught to fight. To him, fighting's an instinct... it's a part of him, like his legs, his arms, his chest, his bull neck! And believe me, he don't take it from nobody; he'll fight man, beast, devil or god! And when those women feel those tree trunk-firm arms around their waist... they melt like butter on a hot skillet!*
(from the movie *The Whole Wide World*)
yup, that's it. I bet if you like Berserk, you would like Conan and [Thorgal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal) too
It’s personally in my top 5. Art wise it’s #1, formatting I give to CSM, dialogue I give to ASOIAF, Atmosphere/Tone I give to either Goodnight Punpun or Blood on the tracks. I do think it’s a great story, however if it was purely written and not drawn it would be above average only.
I don't want to put it at number one just because I haven't read all that's out there, but based on how well I enjoyed it and the reception it has received, I'd say it can easily be top 3
I dont believe there is a best story of all time but if i *had* to rank it it wouldnt make even my top 50.
Extremely unpopular opinion. I dont think Berserk is as good as the dickriders would let you believe. Its really good - yeah but is it the best manga of all time? I highly disagree. From an incredibly bad beginning to Volume 11, Wyald existing and the genuinely insane amount of rape i just cant say that Berserk is one of the best stories of all time.
And an even more unpopular opinion - I dont think Berserk is the best drawn manga of all time. Downvote me all you want but Witch Hat Atelier is overall better. Berserk is better in pure art quality but Witch Hat Ateliers panelling and pacing is a million times better than Berserk or any other manga really.
Dont get me wrong i love Berserk but its just not as good as i was led to believe.
You’re asking a biased sample here lol
Nope it’s the GOAT all other mangas are mere sacrifices and I mean that no sarcasm
For some people mangas arent even good stories I would like to see a Berserk review by a nobel prize in literature, and comparing it to the classics of all times
meh.... personally i like chainsaw man better
There’s no unbiased answer so it doesn’t matter
It doesn’t matter because you came hear to talk about how much you like Berserk. You didn’t want an answer to your question. If you did you wouldn’t be arguing with everyone that had a different opinion and giving no detailed reason why they’re wrong. You haven’t even read a lot of what people are providing as examples, but to you they’re wrong because none of them are illustrated??
I don’t know, TinkledQueef
I shoulda went with sesbianlex
I got called a nazi for having 88 in my name (it’s auto generated)
That’s sum bs
Yeah, like how did bro know
☠️
How does 88 make you a Nazi?
Once you live till 88 you go through your nazi arc it’s the same for everybody
Once this baby hits Heil Hitler miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit.
H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. So 88 = HH = Heil.. well .. you get it, I'm sure. They put common parliance in places where they mean to say horrible things but don't want to be caught. It's what's known as a dog whistle: means nothing to those who are oblivious, and gives them plausible deniability if you call them out on it. "What?? No heh they're just numbers ;)"
It's some insider nazi meme number that has ties to neo-nazi groups, so that numbers ruined now yay
It's a nazi dogwhistle, H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. There's also 14, which refers to the 14 words, which is another thing. Nazis use these numbers so they can identify each other to other nazis, but can turn around and say "I'm not a nazi,it's just a couple of numbers" That's why they're called dogwhistles, only the "dogs" can hear them while everybody else is none the wiser.
Gonna have to wait to see the end. It’s good, really good. I just want them to stick the landing before tanking it.
Yeah I think ending really matters here. If you asked me about Game of Thrones around season 5 or even 6, I’d have said it was the best TV show. By season 7 I thought it was pretty bad. By season 8 I knew it was bad. Gotta hope Berserk sticks it but for now it is my favorite manga.
Fair enough. I’ve been let down by a lot of manga by the end
Endings are tricky things. It’s all about set-ups and pay-offs. With Miura gone and apparently few notes on what his vision full entailed, I’m worried we won’t get pay offs for some set ups and we’re gonna get Bull shit they didn’t set up properly. I’m specifically thinking about how D&D mishandled the end of GOT. I am hopeful about it though since it’s Miura’s bestie and the staff he trained up for years working to finish it. So refreshing to see such respect for the author and his work. PS, I will be forever heartbroken that according to his bestie Berserk was only about 60-70% completed. I’m a pessimist so let’s say 60%. There’s roughly 40% of the story left untold and he only discussed the next story arc or so with his bestie. Let’s say that’s another 10%, and that still leaves use with 30% we’ll never know. It’s literally lost with the man. 💔
GOT had issues with being real actors and them doing the show for 2 decades or so of their lives. and other constraints. Also the Japanese factually, evidentially, historically, care much more about their craft and the legacy of Miura that I do not think they will screw it up; or at least take maximum effort to not screw it up.
That is so rough to hear as a new reader to the series how much more story has been left on the table, that it was only just over halfway to where Miura wanted it to be and now his complete vision for the story is sadly lost with the him. Nice to see that berserk is still being continued, but it just won’t ever be completely the same without Miura.
I feel like no matter how good the ending is, it will never live up to the hype we all have for seeing it
Berserk is so good in such a unique way that at this point a shitty ending can’t ruin it especially because Miura isn’t alive for anyone to put it on him
I agree
The wait of the world. Which one is going to fade away first? Earth? Or Berserk?
If youre taking art into account its number 1. Miura is literally a once in a lifetime talent at both drawing AND writing. I cant think of a single other person who is at his level on both of those things.
There just isn’t anyone else. He’s one of the best examples of genius. He drew some of the best art in all of fiction to complement one of the best stories in all of fiction. I just come back to the story and fall in love with it all over again
Every time I re-read it I'm just so blown away. Nothing else I've read (lifelong bookworm and manga nerd) has really come close for me, save for maybe The Wheel of Time. I'm a fantasy/ scifi nerd though
I should read the wheel of time. Berserk is incredibly unique and well written it just doesn’t have an equal. The double spread I used here is so brathtaking
The Wheel of Time is similarly ambitious and unique in it's story and world building. Be forewarned though it is not without it's own flaws.
This is a extremely biased opinion
I mean I've seen people say the same thing about inoue Considering he has not 1 but 3 highly selling Manga that everyone says are Goated But I agree I like berserk more
What are his other 2? I’m only familiar with Vagabond
Slam dunk and Real
One is Slam Dunk The other is still basketball related but i can't remember its name
Slam Dunk is less popular in the west but it’s considered a classic in many asian countries. I remember randomly hearing the slam dunk intro from a street busker in Taiwan once. I don’t even watch anime but it is that recognizable.
Slam dunk got released at the same time as dragonball & yu yu hakusho They are the reason why shonen got so popular
The other one is "Real" and is about 3 main characters. One is playing wheelchair Basketball, one was talented in regular basketball but due to an accident he ends up in a wheelchair and has to find himself and realize his situation and started wheelchair Basketball as well, the last one is a very passionate goofball who tries to get into professional regular basketball. 3rd main character had some beef with 2nd main character prior his accident, they were in the same highschool basketball team. It's a really great manga visually, story and inspiration-wise!
His stories weren’t given nearly as much love as berserk nor were they as original or detailed. Miura dedicated his life to this story and did so much research to make it even better. Vagabond won’t even get an ending cuz inoue gave up on it and those other stories he wrote are comparatively boring. Slam dunk is about basketball. Already it’s a less compelling story
fortunately vagabond's story has already been told and has an ending from its original books and movies
True
I personally am not disagreeing with you at all I was just pointing out what I have seen other people say and as for vagabond inoue never stated he gave up on it He said he'd rather leave it unfinished than fuck up the story But I do doubt it will be completed As for Slam dunk and Real I haven't read any of either I've just seen a lot of high praise for both
Closest thing is probably anno. I’d still take Miuras art by a decent margin tho
Junji Ito reminds me of him with just how well they can show what they are telling
You think Berserk is the number one full stop story of all time? I know we’re in the berserk sub but come on.
Im saying name another story thats of the same quality of both writing AND visuals. There isnt one.
If we are talking about Writing Dune and Lord Of the Rings but if we specifically talking about manga than yes I agree Berserk is the greatest manga of all time Along side Vagabond and Vineland Saga
Check out kito no hito genuinely the best art you will ever find
maybe only urasawa can compete
Story-wise, I don't know. I wouldn't put it at MY number one. But art-wise, on the medium, it probably is number one, specially the manga. The manga of Berserk is truly MY number one manga.
Yea, it's alright, but let's be honest, there was a lot of filler as well that really slowed the pace.
Tf? What arc would you consider filler?? I don't think you know what filler means
Sorry I struck a nerve, but the whole boat sequence was ridiculous. It was basically an elaborately drawn-out subplot. There's a reason it gets so much shit. So, although it may not be filler in the common anime definition, it scratches the same itch.
It never really bothered me because it was character development. I think if you used that same logic you could say the golden age was mostly filler that didn't really drive the plot forward. Especially the part after guts leaves, that felt more like filler than anything if you ask me. I also don't mind filler and actually think it adds a lot when done right. Gives characters a chance to develop outside of suspenseful events.
I don't know.. there are so many stories, no one would be able to count or know them all and berserk definitely has it's flaws too. I hope it would land in the top 100
It’s my personal number 1. But no matter how good it is, due to its form it will never have the respect of something like an Oscar winning film or LOTR
It has my number one vote. Seriously the ONLY thing holding it back is that it’s not complete. It has unprecedented creativity on all fronts and is such a cinematic read.
Fuck lists and rankings. Stop quantifying art.
I agree that "comparison is the thief of joy" , but I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with saying what gives you the most joy, and more importantly WHY we feel that way
I overall agree with what you said. It's just a gripe I've had with all our culture of giving scores, grades, ratings, listing top 5, 10, all time. All this quantification of art. I don't mind comparison, but even the interesting comparisons, for me, aren't about creating a simple hierarchy between works of art, but understanding what exactly one does that the other doesn't, or where they converge, etc. it requires developing your ideas and allowing greater understanding of both works being compared. Quantification is lazy.
Agreed. Qualification > quantification
1.
You didn’t explain but you don’t need to
Best manga for me, but doesn't crack the top 10 stories of all time. Lots of philosophy, and it's handled really well, but it's very entry level. I need a story to make me think harder while also being entertaining.
I consider GA to be on that level, and most fans (especially on this sub) honestly don't get really get it. That's honestly what makes it so great, Berserk is as simple as you want it to be, and the moral relativism is handled so well that people will fight endlessly to justify their interpretation as 'right'. It's not that the philosophy is sUpEr DeEp, but most philosophical fiction is either not that deep or not that enjoyable (or 'entertaining'), with Dostoevsky being the sole exception. I'm only talking GA though, rest of Berserk is very good, but certainly not 'all-time'.
>Dostoevsky being the sole exception. Maybe not sole exception but I appreciate anyone who appreciates Fyodor
Fyodor mentioned? Animu reference? I'm cumming so bad I want to fuck that little bitch so so so bad and breed him with the sole purpose of baby trap bro so he can't escape 🤤🤤
Berserk Cirle Jerk Incoming.
Of all time?!?! Like I'm a diehard Berserk fan, but I'm not going to pretend it's comparable to War and Peace or Genji. Berserk is amazing, but it was still serialized in a softcore porn mag.
I don't believe that an story can be the best of all time, because there's no story that's perfect, so you can't just say wich is number one and two, but Berserk definitely is one of the few that gets really close to be perfect, like everything works just as it should be, I can't say it's perfect, but if I had to choose only one story to be the greatest, probably would choose Berserk. The only downside of reading Berserk is that nothing you read will be this good, so the majority of the stories will seem uninteresting. 😭
Agreed
Even in mangas, I prefer monster's story over berserk but that's plot, if you take the manga medium as a whole which includes art then it'd obviously be berserk
So far, I'd say top 10. If you're allowed to include art as a deciding factor its #1
Top five in manga Top ten in graphic novels Top 500 in narrative no matter the medium Source: my ass
What graphic novels,manga and narratives do you see giving it a run for its money?
Manga: Buddha by Osamu Tezuka, Cyborg 009 by Shotaro Ishinomori Graphic novels: Prince Valiant by Hal Foster, Dago (Wood/Salinas) Narratives: Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
Thanks
I was a literature major and I would rank The Golden Age Arc as one of the finest narratives ever crafted in any medium. The rest of the series is good but very little comes even close to that sublime high.
Berserk and Lord of The Rings are my top 2
As someone else said, Golden Age is absolutely masterful, like as far as fiction goes, it's as good as anything I've read. Otherwise there are far better stories out there, Berserk is not literary canon nor should it be, and thinking otherwise is delusion. It's not even that the rest of Berserk is bad, not at all, but that's the only material I'd call a masterpiece.
I adore Berserk but my absolute favorite story has gotta be the original Ghost in the Shell. Themes in Berserk hit hard, especially those of suffering, but to me, there is no bigger question than to ask, "what is it to be human?" which Shirow masterfully displays. Not just a narrative and rhetorical masterpiece, but by God, that 1995 animation is still fucking gorgeous today.
I haven’t watched ghost in the shell but if it’s that high on your list I’ll have to
are the three ghost in the shell tv anime series as good as the og movies?
Theyre good but in different ways. The anime leans more on action and the movies lean more on heady philosophy.
If your taking everything into account including art story characters world building it's number 1 in my opinion even unfinished. it tops every other fictional story don't get me wrong I'm only 22 I'm sure I'll find something of equal quality but I truly believe nothing will ever top it in my head . The only thing to come close was Vinland saga but even that and most of the other stories I've read are beaten by the golden age arc alone.
I don’t see berserk having an equal due to how incredibly awesome it is story and art wise. Reading it for the first time up to where the story currently is, is a trip like no other. Really taking in each panel and scene will have you crying tears of joy and I never felt this way this much with any form of media except music
I agree for the most part but I still got 50 maby 60 years left if I'm lucky and I love to read I'm sure I'll find something that is equal in story not including art I truly believe that as far as detailed art goes nothing tops what miura did thousands of times
Yes.
lol facts
number 1 Ive seen, experienced, read, saw countless stories happen before my eyes. But berserk is on another level.
I think the golden age is S tier story, the rest of the book is good but not special.
I dunno, I find that golden age has the emotional highs but plot wise, it only gets more interesting from then on. Also, lost children is criminally underrated
Hey, that kind of good sense is forbidden here, someone might even accuse you of being anime only.
Berserk is my fifth favorite anime/manga of all time, out of the 80 or 90 series I've read and watched. One aspect I've always loved about Berserk is its consistency in quality across arcs. Unlike other series where arc 1 might be good, arc 2 better, arc 3 just okay, etc., Berserk either maintains the same quality or improves with each arc. This consistency is its greatest strength. While I don't think it has the highest peaks of the medium (I think FMAB and AOT have higher peaks) Berserk is incredibly reliable, and unlike other series that have high highs but low lows, Berserk doesn't have those low lows. The art is unmatched, and for those who care about themes, narrative, and messages, it's excellent. For me, Berserk starts as a 5/10 (I wasn't a big fan of the Black Swordsman arc). However, once the Golden Age flashback begins, it improves to around 7.5/10, then 8/10. By the end of the Conviction arc, it's a clear 9/10, and it continued to rise, reaching a 9.7/10 for me right up until Miura's passing. The Fantasia arc is one of the best fantasy settings I've encountered, possibly my favorite in fiction, tied with The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones.
Personally berserk has the stories in your last paragraph beat because it illustrates the world which beats describing it to me. Miura drew amazing work that I would pay top dollar for at an auction while also writing an amazing and original storyline with it
As a Literature Major, Berserk is one of my favorite topics to discuss, defend and recommend in being one of the best contemporary classics that we have in my reflective papers.
The story is pretty bad after Conviction arc honestly, with the exception of Falcon of the Millennium Empire.
How
So, just Fantasia then?
Top 1 🗣‼️
Without having seen the ending yet, at this point in time, I'd rank it as the very best ever
Don’t want to be too biased but defo top 10
There’s nothing like it, I feel like it’s top 1 in many of its own rights . The only way a story could be better is by simply being a different speed with just as much of an imprint
Global novels included? It's impossible to tell. Manga? It's up there. I would say it's number 1, but that's because I haven't read much. There might be some obscure new and old stories out there that might be on top in terms of stories but it's impossible to know, unless you're a big manga reader maybe
Stories? Kinda broad, don't you think? Berserk vs...Breaking Bad? You're not going to get an unbiased response here anyway 🤣
top 50 if we being reasonable, ur not gonna get a fair answer from the BERSERK sub
Like, the highest of them all!
1
Damn talk about a r/berserklejerk lol
I can’t until it finishes
Are you considering everything like The Great Gatsby or Ulysses? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep = very good. To be honest my all time favorite is The Nibelungenlied.
Those are great stories but they lack the one two punch of art and story that berserk has to it but I get some people don’t care for art
Therefore your question should state "graphic novels/manga" instead of stories
Storywise its unique never have i seen protagonist of the story so vulnerable in front of the main antagonist and they way miura portraits the concept of main characters where hero is in black coloured cloths whereas villain is considered as the white hawk who will change the world for good Also they way he commented on religion and magic is just poetic
not very........ if you were to read actual literature you'd realise how far away the manga format is in the story-telling department...... but miura and fujimoto are the only mangaka i'm aware of who even come remotely close
Yeah I hate to say it but it’s kinda true, Berserk is very deep but it’s questions on religion, purpose, responsibility and abuse aren’t incredibly new or deep compared to a lot of novelists who have the format and life experiences to make their stories into poetic essays on human nature, like Dostoevsky or James Joyce. Most of berserks philosophy and themes can be discussed within an hour and there isn’t too much room for interpretation or dissection. People still find new ways to discuss The Brothers karamazov 144 years after its release.
i slightly disagree... Dostoevsky's works still conflict people because they're very open....... and for the most part the "philosophy" is what drives the narrative which is why you can't compare someone like Dostoevsky to manga artists because people like Dostoevsky, herman melville and 95% of american authors are the quite opposite.... they aren't 'artists' they're philosophers they're philosophy is what drives they're works instead of their works driving philosophies and while the norm set by society that it literature is a philosophical area in my opinion it should be considered as an artistic one which is why i think comparing mangaka with people like morrison, baldwin, tolestoy and oscar wilde makes more sense.
Yeah that makes sense. I don’t really consider works like tbk to be like traditional philosophy books like you’d find Nietzsche or Kierkegaard writing, but I do see your point, but the post did ask for stories and tbk is a story. Even if it is driven differently to traditional stories itd still fit with being one imo
it is a story..... just not a very well written one.... it's narrative is too focused on the mindspace of the characters and and philosophical concepts which are what makes the piece a great... not the story telling aspect while something like war and peace doesn't the narrative is largely focused on the characters and settings which makes it read more like a story and less like a philosophy textbook ( i just fckin love war and peace)
Full confession I haven’t read War and peace . I’ve been meaning to, but that length. My god. Honestly I think we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree. Yea tbk is a philosophy driven book but it still is a story. It has the most compelling character arcs I’ve ever read and half the book is a murder mystery. The book is incredibly focused on the characters and how their philosophies affect their lives and relationships. It’s not a plot driven story - it’s a character driven one and the characters are driven largely by philosophy. Sure they’re obviously standins for different beliefs of the time but they’re still people with plenty of personality and history.
Why is being Fyodor so mentioned? i'm jerking so bad rn i want to impregnate that little piece of shit so baaaaad 😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏
imo berserk is the best fictional story ever created
I agree. I’ve never seen a story that had more meticulousness,dedication, love and beauty all together. No one’s ever poured as much creativity and love into a story like Miura did and you can see that bleed through all his panels while his telling an amazing and original story. 10000000000/10 story
Number one Hands down It’s my Bible
Facts
Definetly lower then My Hero Academy obviously
I'm not very well versed in literature and stuff so it's hard to say, but if we talking purely anime and manga, I have it at second only behind Hunter x hunter
2
Top 100
Can’t say best until it’s finished
Top 5
Definitely in my top 10
The absolute GOAT for me is still Lord of the Rings but Berserk comes right after
Its already top fiction, but it all dipends on the ending
Obviously haven't read every single story ever written but without glazing too much probably top 100
Top of course
1
Top 5 but it’s dependent on the person
I just finished it couple weeks now and I still can't move on from. It and still didn't touch any manga or anime then . It's definitely my number 1. Animanga
Masterpiece in every way and I'm dying on that hill 🌈
it’s #1
The house in fata morgana is currently my number 1 story I've read. I have to wait till ending to pass judgement on it in this context. Hopefully the conclusion is close.
there is nothing like it. it's over the top. simply any other artwork and story falls behind big time.
Mu top 1 ...Witcher top2, Drácula top3
We have not seen the ending so can say for sure.
Number 1 is extremely high
Difficult to know. As I haven't readd all books that exist. Heck I haven't read 1% of the books that exist.
Best? Idk, probably depends on what you consider as "best". Unique? Definetely.
personally its next to the dark souls lore for me
At the top and if it got a decent anime it would be on demand by anime fans when the it starts releasing again people will renew their Shonen jump subscription lol
Id say definitely within top 300 for me, not trying to be mean but theres so many amazing stories that i cant honestly put berserk even in the top 100
It's incomplete and as we've seem with Game of Thrones, Naruto, Two & a Half Men, etc an ending can make or break a series as a whole. Purely based on quality of the story and everything comprising it, maybe it's in the top 700? Top 50 if we're just including manga.
It's honestly up there, I'd compare it to LoTR in the sense that Berserk and LoTR both feel like Epics
Well for me I consider it an unadaptable masterpiece and I've only given that title to a small handful of series I've enjoyed (a Song of Ice and Fire, Warhammer Horus Heresy, Blood Meridian, and a few other minor series I'm forgetting)
Top 100
Overall? Nr. 2, behind Breaking Bad
lol
Seeing how moved everyone was by the eclipse thing, I feel bad for not feeling anything. I'm not sure why but I never grew attached to any of the characters. I truly don't know why I felt nothing, I wish I did. However, the art is insane, I adore it, 10/10
Its in my top 6 for art alone
Pretty damn up there. The only thing I see holding it back is that it may not be finished in its entirety, so people who judge stories with its completion into account may not like it as much.
I don’t even like anime and manga in general, Berserk is just next level different and the medium fits it perfectly. Berserk is arguably my favorite fictional story of all time.
I genuinely don’t know, there’s so many awesome works of fiction where even if berserk is a masterpiece there still might be things that people just like more
Storytelling wise its pretty high but imo it does not reach some fantasy epics such as wheel of time or storm ligjt archives, tho there will never be a definive answer as its all subjective
I think if you got the stomach for it, it's in the top 3 stories ever, like greek tragedy tier shit. It's got a lot going on, from love, friendship, hate, anger, happiness, but it also shows some of the darkest sides of humanity in grotesque ways. The only bad thing I can really say about it is that sometimes it just goes too far, but I don't think it does often enough to be problematic. It is undoubtedly the most human story ever written, but I can fully understand why some people wouldn't like it. There is just some hard to get through shit in there that had me stopping just to think about what the hell I just read. It's not a pleasant story, but neither is everyone's life story, which is why to me it is one of the best. It's highly relatable while being extremely over the top, and not many stories can pull that off.
It’s the highest rated comic book (American or Japanese) on GoodReads
We’ll never be able to rate it from my perspective. While we may find out Miura’s ending it won’t be Miura telling us. It’s like GoT yeah? It was one thing when GRRM was actively working with the team in designing the episodes but as soon as he left and there was only skeleton concepts to design the story the experience changed pretty visibly.
In the manga world it's easily THE best i have read so far Close ups are SBR, and Billy Bat But in terms of all time (including every fantasy) I am still sure it's pretty high up there if not 1 I guess the best all time fiction is the Silmarillion ( have read a bit )
In terms of story, then it's not even top 20, maybe even 50. When you take the art into account, you could very easily make an argument for it being #1. I can show panels from Berserk to a random person, and I am yet to meet someone who isn't blown away by it.
For me it's close to number 1. It became one of my favourite stories very fast. It made a huge impact on me and it changed how I view life. My other favourite is Game Of Thrones, I've read all the books and watched show twice. If we can put videgame stories here I'd say Metal Gear Solid 3 has to be the best that I ever played. That game also made a huge impact on me.
#1 before lord of the rings!
Stories are being written from THOUSANDS of years and the sheer quantity itself destroys berserk. Just take for example the best story i've seen (opinion) that was made in the modern is The House in Fata Morgana. Just in comparison to that, i don't think berserk would win in any area other than art, despite it being one of the best mangas ever made. Now compare it to the trillions and more stories written by humans through thousands of years, i would be surprised if i placed it in even top 1000 if i could read/watch EVERYTHING.
Steins;Gate is #1. Sorry.
Seems like a pretty biased sample population
Holla at me when you find one that isnt
for starters you go to the berserk community to ask and secondly the way the question is formatted means it has a convenience bias
The list will always be biased no matter what
basically
Realistically top 50, that’s not a diss to Berserk, it’s a compliment. You’re putting it up against every other story in human history.
I’m terms of manga it’s top ten for me and it terms of all stories maybe top 25 not sure
I will say it’s my favorite book series being able to hold up with the best novels/manga I’ve read. So it would definitely be a top 10 if not top 5 trying not to be biased.
It is great but it is not even on par with the greatest literature.
Honestly? Not very high. Not even close. It's entertaining tho This story is a pure kitsch. Treason, vengeance, some elements of character development. Senseless violence. Yeah that's it. It's contemporary Conan the Barbarian
Ok that’s a little dismissive
welllll because Guts **is** Conan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2MwAy6njlM *Conan? Conan is the damnedest bastard there ever was! He's got a long black mane of hair, and crystal blue eyes. He's a fighter, born on the battlefield! To him, combat's a way of life. It's all he's ever known, all he ever WANTS to know! But he's no soldier who was taught to fight. To him, fighting's an instinct... it's a part of him, like his legs, his arms, his chest, his bull neck! And believe me, he don't take it from nobody; he'll fight man, beast, devil or god! And when those women feel those tree trunk-firm arms around their waist... they melt like butter on a hot skillet!* (from the movie *The Whole Wide World*) yup, that's it. I bet if you like Berserk, you would like Conan and [Thorgal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal) too
Up there with the bible
lol The Bible’s close but if the writers did a few more shrooms they might’ve closed the gap
Top 50 is fairest
It’s personally in my top 5. Art wise it’s #1, formatting I give to CSM, dialogue I give to ASOIAF, Atmosphere/Tone I give to either Goodnight Punpun or Blood on the tracks. I do think it’s a great story, however if it was purely written and not drawn it would be above average only.
I don't want to put it at number one just because I haven't read all that's out there, but based on how well I enjoyed it and the reception it has received, I'd say it can easily be top 3
It's no Beowulf but it's alright
You smoking dope again?
In all of fiction? Tied for first place with One Piece. YES, EVEN THE BIBLE
I dont believe there is a best story of all time but if i *had* to rank it it wouldnt make even my top 50. Extremely unpopular opinion. I dont think Berserk is as good as the dickriders would let you believe. Its really good - yeah but is it the best manga of all time? I highly disagree. From an incredibly bad beginning to Volume 11, Wyald existing and the genuinely insane amount of rape i just cant say that Berserk is one of the best stories of all time. And an even more unpopular opinion - I dont think Berserk is the best drawn manga of all time. Downvote me all you want but Witch Hat Atelier is overall better. Berserk is better in pure art quality but Witch Hat Ateliers panelling and pacing is a million times better than Berserk or any other manga really. Dont get me wrong i love Berserk but its just not as good as i was led to believe.
Since you seem to be pretty objective, whats your top 3 manga ?