Here we are, the Tower Of Conviction. Berserk has been building up this ark from the beginning of the series. Now we are finally here, the ride has been a honest mess but hey at least we are finally at the true beginning.
If you missed the first episode review for Berserk(2016), click here. the Second episode review, click here. If you are sick and twisted and even want to remember Episode 3 exist.Click here. Episode 4 review is right here.
The Story, As It Moves Along-
The episode this time around is far more brutal than the ones before it. Lots of pain and torture, some of it is pretty weird, and the odd emphasis on a certain type is kinda creepy and weird. It isn’t like they did it for the horror, or to creep you out. It seems more perverse and just pointless. The show likewise waste more animation on other sexual things, which just is obnoxious as it could have been used one of the many scenes that needed better animation.
As with the other episodes the shows pacing continues to be messy and the direction in most scenes awkward. Rather than focus on characters and the world, the show seems to want to focus on sex and violence. What makes that worst is they do it while sacrificing the character growth and world development. Thanks to this the characters come off as unrelatable and somewhat flat, rather than being flushed out and interesting as they should be.
There are a few scenes that are decently handled, but as a whole they are just not really worth mentioning beyond the awkward ones that stand out for how bad they are.
The Sounds
The DragonSlayer. The monstrous hunk of metal, thick and heavy. But yet, it makes the sounds of gongs and pans yet again? I am not sure what they were thinking with this but it is goofy and distracting. The sound effects for the rest of the series are pretty awkward as well, but the Dragon Slayer by far takes the cake here.
Luckily for us Mozgus is back in here, his smooth buttery and ominous voice also is back . Sadly there is a moment of his voice work being less than great, but that seemed more a directors choice than the actors. The voicework of the others is sadly still lacking, mostly in the main cast as they are all just awkward.
The music in this episode was mostly better, it doesn’t have a ton of songs but one in particular is pretty good and is growing on me as it is used more. Though again the weird horror noises pop in again which still sound corny and out of place.
The Visuals
As the series has gone the visuals have been a mess. There has been practically no consistency. Sadly the trend continues yet again with this episode. Luckily for us there are some decent action scenes, not to say they are good but they are enjoyable.
Sadly the freakish throwaway villains return, they all are awkwardly ugly and just wrong looking. The lack of consistency between characters is jarring and distracting. Another thing that is distracting is the Hair, dear lord the hair. I don’t know why but the hair in this series is completely horrible. It looks so out of place and in a lot of parts doesn’t even look like hair.
There are some amazing looking parts of this episode though. They don’t involve people though. They are just scenes showing off the scenery, and they really do set mood well. It is just a shame the rest of the show doesn’t stick to the mood as well.
In the end, the visuals are still below standard and are at some times just awkward and hard to watch.
In the End
Like the previous episodes this one continues to have no consistency. It honestly seems like there is multiple directors who can’t agree with eachother. There are moments where the show is at least enjoyable to some degree, but then the awkward kicks in and takes everything and makes it hard to watch.
As usual, I sit here hoping the series kicks it into full gear and gets better. But hope is starting to stretch thin. The last Sparks of Hope for Berserk are starting to fade.
He is Coming
