|
|
Home
|
R2 DVD Reviews
|
|
Written by maehara
|
|
Monday, 14 April 2008 16:00 |
 As Griffiths' fame continues to grow, so does opposition to him in Midland's royal court - until plans are finally made to get rid of him, permanently. Guts, meanwhile, is beginning to wonder if the military life is really the one for him, and begins making plans to leave the Hawks...
14 - Bonfire of Dreams
Faced with rape - or worse - at the hands of her Chuder pursuers, Caska puts up a good fight, until the rest of her troop finally catch up and come to her rescue. Guts, meanwhile, is still dealing with the 50-odd mercenaries they'd originally been caught by, and while he's doing a good job of teaching them how to fight, with those odds it's bound to be a losing battle. Caska knows this, too, and heads off with the rest of the men to give him help - only to find that, by the time they get there, Guts has beaten the odds and dispatched all of his attackers. Not without cost, though - his injuries will take some time to heal, and he's ordered away from the front lines. While he recovers, Guts and Caska ponder just why it is that Griffith can command the respect of so many, and just why they continue to fight...
15 - The Decisive Battle
The Castle of Doldrey - the last of Chuder's great fortresses, and one that's not going to go down without a fight. It's defended by the Purple Rhino Knights, the elite of the elite of Chuder's forces, and they've so far made sure that any units of Midland's army that's dared to try and take the castle have soon regretted the decision - briefly. With Midland having suffered heavy losses of their own during the war so far, a direct assault on Doldrey is considered too risky - but Griffith believes that his Hawks can succeed where so many others have failed, and so the order is given for them to begin the conquest of the fortress...
16 - The Conqueror
The Hawks turn to face the chasing Rhinos, and battle is rejoined - so far it's going exactly as Griffith had planned, and with the bulk of the castle's defenders chasing Griffith, the castle is left almost undefended against the arrival of Caska and her flanking troop. At least on of the castle's remaining defenders has a grudge to settle with Caska, though - it's our old friend, the commander with barely a braincell and Caska's would-be rapist, and Caska's only too happy to get another shot at dealing with him. Out on the battlefield, the Rhinos are coming face to face with Guts. With their regular troops unable to deal with his sheer power, it falls to their general, Boscogn, to take him down...
17 - Moment of Glory
The taking of Doldrey has brought even more fame and glory on the Hawks and Griffith, whose rise through the ranks is now guaranteed. His enemies in the royal court are already plotting his downfall, however, with the support of the Queen - a fast-acting poison has already been prepared for him, with Minister Foss and his allies just awaiting the opportunity to use it. At the Hawks' welcome-home party, for example...
Guts thinking of leaving the Hawks? Surely not - that's what Caska thinks, anyway, and so far she's the only one in the unit who knows what he's thinking. Quite what brought this on isn't exactly clear - it's not like he's ever raised an eyebrow at mass battlefield slaughter before, and while dealing with 100+ Chuder mercenaries on his own is quite a feat, it's also clear that he wasn't really that bothered by it. The key point here, though, is what other people are going to think of his decision, and how they'll react - it's probably safe to say that Caska doesn't want him to go, and neither would Griffith. Assuming he's alive to object.
Ah, Griffith. Those in power will always try and keep their position, and with Griffith rising rapidly through the ranks - especially after seizing the "impenetrable" Doldrey Castle - he's now firmly in the crosshairs of Minister Foss and his allies. You know they won't succeed, of course, but it's fun watching them try, and it'll be doubly enjoyable watching Griffith take his vengeance on those who stepped out of line. It's a bit like a train wreck - you can see it coming, and can't help sitting back to watch.
The majority of the disc, though, is given over to blood, gore and battle, first with Guts' 100 v 1 stand, then with the assault on Doldrey. When you hear about the 100-year-war between Midland and Chuder, you honestly do wonder how Chuder have lasted so long, with tactical geniuses like Mr Two Braincells still on the scene (if these people showed any sort of intelligence, Griffith would have had a much harder time taking Doldrey, for a start - he's been fortunate to face idiots a lot of the time), but they provide good fodder for the likes of Guts to deal with.
I still don't quite see why Berserk has quite the reputation it has - it's a decent enough show, but there's not much there below the blood and guts to really make it stand out. Watching Griffith's manoeuvrings does have a certain appeal, but that's a small amount of the show, really. Enjoyable enough, but still nothing truly stand-out.
|
|
