Main Review
Gutts the Black Swordsman joins up with an ambitious man named Griffith, who wears a mystical pendant called the eye of God. "In this world, man's destiny is controlled by some outside force, or the will of God. At least, man knows he has no control." The anime only covers up to the 12th volume of the manga, ending with Griffith sacrificing his soul and his troops to a pagan cult. There are at present no plans to continue the anime, although the manga is still being published here and in Japan.


Comments
I normally do not like anime this violent, but I tolerated this one because the story is presented well. This is a very difficult one to recommend, and like the manga, requires a mature viewer. If you can handle dark fantasy, this might be a good series to check out. There's also a series of "dub out-takes" included with each volume, all of which seem more improvised than anything else. The best gag is when Gutts faces off a bunch of soldiers and starts freaking out, saying "What am I doing here? What are any of us doing here?" My favorite character in the story was Kjaska, who is a woman that is quite self-sufficient and brave. I liked her personality and her chemistry with Gutts provided great romantic material.

Music
The music for the most part, is decent. However, I could do without the opening theme, "Tell Me Why" by the Pen Pals. Grunge and dark fantasy just don't mesh well in my view.

Sub vs Dub
I only watched the Subtitled version on Youtube. The dubbed version was unavailable.

Manga
The Berserk manga is published in the US by Dark Horse

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Violence Details
Almost Ninja Scroll-level in violence. Definitely not for the faint-hearted

Language Details
A few curse words are uttered throughout

Nudity Details
The only nudity occurs during a couple bathing scenes and the rape scenes

Sexual Content Details
There are rape scenes with Kjaska and Catherine, but they are quite brief.

Religious Material Details
Not as bad as the manga, but there are some pagan religions and a human sacrifice occurs in the unresolved cliffhanger.