Crimson V

I'll tell you what I think has unmatched potential to work the kind of box office wonders that Lord of the Rings did...the manga/anime BERSERK. If it received the right treatment, I truly believe that it could be HUGE. Berserk is an incredibly deep work, featuring an amazing story and excellent character development. Though it is a fantasy, it has less supernatural elements than Lord of the Rings...at least initially. There is just a hint of the supernatural here and there to keep you wondering. As the story develops, the supernatural plays more and more of a role. The visuals, including environments and action scenes, could be just as awe-inspiring as LoTR. And to top it off, Berserk's even more emotionally gripping. The only problem would be that pesky R rating =P

What do you think?


By the way, if you haven't seen the anime, you should...it rocks. And the (disappointing) ending isn't the end. There was supposed to be more. The story continues in the manga.

mewmartigan

Interesting idea, I really enjoyed BERSERK although I didn't care much at all for the end. As you say it continues in the manga, but I haven't read any of it.

It would be tough to film it keeping true to the story unless they filmed some of the manga stuff also... to kind of follow up. The anime left off at quite a spot to say the least.

If someone makes it, I'd go see it!

I think Trigun could make an interesting live action movie too. Cowboy Bebop is my all time favorite but I don't think I'd want to see it in live action form...

Crimson V

Just think...live action Zodd =O


Anyway, I was admittedly upset by the "ending." However, it's certainly not the first TV show to end a season on a cliffhanger. The problem is that we never got a second season!

So yeah, if Berserk made it to film, the writers would need to find a better place to conclude that film.

Crimson V

When I was younger, I KNEW Lord of the Rings would be awesome on film. I KNOW now that Berserk could be just as good, if not better.

joeydaninja

I don't know, but you've made me curious about Berserk

fumanstan

I haven't seen it, but i've heard of it. Regardless, I don't see any Anime film doing LOTR numbers/success anytime in the near future. Unless of course they made Star Wars anime style

fujishig

I don't know. While the movies themselves were great, I'm sure the initial funding and hype all came because the novels are such classics of fantasy literature in the English speaking world, something that Berserk does not have going for it.

Not to mention, it wasn't even successful enough in Japan to get a second season going. I love the property, and I agree that it could make a good movie, I just don't see it happening.

And everyone should watch it (a warning, the first episode is far different than the rest of the series, and the ending will leave you hanging)

PopcornTreeCt

Spam?

Joe Molotov

Berserk was a great anime series and I even enjoyed the Dreamcast game, but if you think it can rival Lord of the Rings at the box office, I think you're overestimating it's chances just a little bit.

Crimson V

I've read Lord of the Rings. I've watched Lord of the Rings. I enjoyed them. They're great adventures, and I'm hoping to eventually see the Hobbit on the silverscreen. However, Berserk is more entertaining to me. It's more emotionally involving. It's a hell of a lot better than the animated Lord of the Rings...that's for sure!

Box office success is hard to predict, but I think the series has a lot of potential.



Yeah, the main character sits down in the forest and the rest of the series is basically one massive flashback. You're not supposed to fully understand the first episode.

Crimson V

I've heard that's just because the show was placed in a late night time slot as a result of the graphic nature of the show. Seems to me it didn't get a fair shot. It's a shame there wasn't another season. Makes me a sad panda =(

SomeVoices

It's funny this thread came up as I'm in the process of watching disc 5 of the series right now. Is there somewhere online to read about where the story goes after the series? I heard that the entire manga isn't available in the United States yet.

Crimson V

You are correct. In Japan they're nearing volume 30. Here in the US, we're only at 6 or 7. I believe that the anime takes place between volumes 3 and 13 (or so I've heard). So there's A LOT of stuff that takes place after the anime is finished.

Translations are available. I would visit www.skullknight.net for a recommendation. I downloaded a ton from thehawks.org, but then I heard their translations aren't the best. I don't know though. I've never really investigated it. Just go to www.skullknight.net and ask. WATCH OUT FOR SPOILERS THOUGH!

Crimson V

I am trying to support the English translations by Dark Horse (I have volumes 1-6, but I haven't read them yet) by the way, and I hope others will do the same. I know waiting sucks though, so I can't really blame you. The best way to support the series and still find out what happens next is to buy the Japanese editions and then find the text (without the pics) on skullknight.net. I might end up doing that myself.

Fincher Fan

That's not much of a compliment - a swift kick in the nuts is better than the animated Lord of the Rings.

Maxflier

I don't think any anime-turned-live action movie could ever do anything close to the B.O. numbers Lord of the Rings did.Not even one of the most mainstream ones like Evangelion.

Crimson V

I don't see why not. If Reloaded and Revolutions had been better, the Matrix trilogy could have been even more successful than it was. And it was still pretty damn successful.

The Matrix was an original work. If an original work (ie no one is already familiar with the material) can make lots of money, then so could an anime-related one (ie relatively few people are already familiar with the material).

RichC2

Always felt Berserk was overrated, but a series that would make a great live action flick.

Don't think it'd be huge - it doesn't have the fan following for that like LOTR did, but it'd do decently no less.

Li

I loved Berserk as an anime but I really couldn't see it doing well as a film. There just wouldn't be enough people interested in seeing it.

Crimson V

It's all about advertising...just getting people in the theater for the first film...hype. The movie has to actually be good, too, of course.

Terrell

If it's anime, it could be great, but it won't be successful over here.