Kokurokoki
"IDW DA NYA!"
- Location
- Area S09
People compare it to Berserk because both are dark fantasies and we don't get a lot of that in mainstream Japanese pop culture. However Berserk is infinitely better written and handles its subject matter in a far deeper and more profound way whereas Goblin Slayer throws in poor attempts at pathos combined with a generic and uninspiring world that comes as a result of the author's inexperience. There's a video that examines Guts' character and the impact he has had on Japanese literature, as he has been credited with inspiring numerous anti-hero wanderer types while simultaneously being a deep and multi-faceted character that appears to transcend the mold of hero archetypes which is what sets him apart from his contemporaries.
Most of this comparison is by nothing more than genre association with people equating them because they are both "dark" and contain "mature subject matter", but that couldn't be further from the truth. Unlike Goblin Slayer, Berserk actually handles real mature subject matter such as the duality of human nature and exploring what evil is and the forms that it can take to name a few examples. It also captures the horror elements of dark fantasy perfectly in the various manner of creatures that lurk in the dark and prey upon mankind. The difference between GS and Guts' character is like night and day. GS is mostly a power fantasy insert character. We are told of the tragic backstory but that's really the extent of his suffering and his redemption story that forms the focal point of the work is significantly weaker for it and has little to no impact. He also comes off as gary stuish due to being an extremely archetypal example of a byronic hero.
With Guts it's an entirely different story. We live through his pain with him and see him make horrible mistakes and hurt the people around him as he lashes out at an unjust and uncaring world that has wronged him. He has superhuman strength but the narrative shows us that his might alone is not enough to save him from neither himself nor the evils of the world that conspire against him. The world is hopelessly cruel but it exists primarily to bring out the elements of light and hope in the narrative through which he embodies. We see him admit his mistakes and his failings and how he is forced to change himself and give up his pursuit of vengeance for the people he loves. This is not only shown subtly through his actions but through the climax of his character development where we see him outright admit these things either to himself or his companions. Yes he his vengeful and angry and somewhat sadistic, but those are aspects of him that are born from the world he lived in. We see he is also kind, loving, and capable of great compassion, and holds onto these traits despite the overwhelming pressure of evil and darkness that threatens to crush his soul. He doesn't give up. And for his indomitable will he earns the right to a second chance in life again and again, first in the Band of Hawk, and later with his DnD party.
Also he probably has one of the most haunting and iconic theme songs in all of anime.
Goblin Slayer is a light novel that will probably be forgotten. Berserk is an epic that deserves to stand alongside the likes of Greek Mythology. The only comparison you should have between the two series is "Berserk does everything better". That and the fact that humanity will probably go extinct before we actually finish Berserk. Also Miura has bad taste in studios that he chooses to adapt his work, he either seems to not care about his work is adapted or keeps choosing all the wrong studios offering him the most cash.
Here's to hoping that someday Ufotable or David Productions picks up this series to give us a true Berserk adaptation, if not for the fans living now that are desperately waiting then the ones who have passed on waiting.
The problem is that I wouldn't mind Violet developing these traits if the series didn't rapidly develop her character off-screen between episodes. Episode 3 had her just become an Auto Doll, then episode 5 comes along and Claudia just offhandedly mentions "oh yeah you've been getting lots of experience these past few months so why don't you go become a diplomatic liason between two powerful countries that fought each other in the war and help them resolve their animosity and sociopolitical tensions."
Uhh, excuse me but doesn't that seem like just a little bit of a tall order for a girl of supposedly 14 years of age whose whole character arc was that she can't into being human and just a few months ago was just killing people left and right with no fucks given like a Metal Gear character? The whole point of episode 3 was to show how she excels in technical and mechanical tasks because she is a literal living machine, but then she completely gets over this hurdle in one episode and then gets a ton of development off-screen and can just suddenly interpret everyone's emotions to a degree that she becomes super good at her job despite still mentioning frequently that she has trouble understanding human emotion and having worked for just a few months? The way episode 5 is framed makes it feel more like the midseason climax of a 24-episode series. There is a lot of detail and development missing there that makes the catharsis we get for Violet's character in the form of her smiling for the first time feel like it is not genuinely earned. And these timeskips happen multiple times through the show which hurts its episodic nature.
The more I think about it, the more I feel like this show is trying to tell me "hey just turn off your brain and enjoy our beautiful sakuga animation". Okay... but if I wanted to do that I would just go watch Little Witch Academia or Magus Bride which doesn't require me to turn off my brain and also has beautiful sakuga animation. There is a small anituber who did a video on Yuru Camp, and in it he also criticizes Violet Evergarden for being too pretty to the point that scenes that are supposed to be compelling and meaningful actually lose a lot of their impact because there is too much beauty in every shot. This anime is almost kind of a letdown. I just finished Kemono Friends recently and I have to say that it is far better in terms of how it invests the audience in the characters and the world. Yeah there is a film for VE coming out, but you shouldn't skip out on the quality of your anime for your tie-in film. I would actually prefer that they take all the resources from the film and allocate it into a 24-episode anime, because the film will probably just have even more condensation of events and narrative elements and what we got for the anime was regrettably subpar for all the hype it got. I would actually be more hyped for a Kemono Friends feature film with the same low-budget animation and 10-man animation team, because Kemono Friends is actually wonderfully written.
On that note I've also recently finished Kemono Friends and it is probably the #1 best anime I have ever watched in my life.
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