Warning: contains spoilers for Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition episode 7A new Berserk series just missed a massive opportunity when adapting Studio 4°C’s Golden Age Arc movie trilogy into TV show format. While many of the series’ fans had hoped Berserk: Memorial Edition would fix some of the films’ issues, the new series unfortunately misses more than a few opportunities to do so.
Studio 4°C’s Berserk movie project initially faced the difficult task of condensing the original manga’s 102-chapter Golden Age arc into three movies. Since the critically acclaimed 1997 anime succeeded in adapting these chapters into 25 episodes, the trilogy was never destined to be a perfect retelling of Berserk. But the new and ongoing Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition series has been attempting to rectify this mistake by adding scenes that originally didn’t make the cut for the first three movies. Unfortunately, many moments from the manga and 1997 anime still haven’t appeared in the Memorial Edition.
Memorial Edition’s seventh episode, entitled “One Snowy Night,” features a royal ball during which time Midland’s King announces the elevation of Griffith’s Band of the Hawk to knighthood. The ball, however, concludes with little to no ceremony in Berserk’s Memorial Edition except for the obvious celebration (and grumbling from nobles) that follows. This couldn’t be farther from the original story since it completely neglects both a major scheme to assassinate Griffith and, later on, the realization that Griffith miraculously evaded death.
The Second Assassination Attempt Against Griffith Proves He’s a Genius
Before the airing of “One Snowy Night,” longtime fans already knew that the Memorial Edition would not include this critical event, as it would have had to of introduced Midland’s Queen and Minister Foss beforehand. But the ball ending uneventfully further highlights the omission of their characters and scheme. This is a problem because the Memorial Edition is functioning under the impression that the earlier attempted assassination on Griffith’s life during the royal hunt was enough to capture how much Midland’s nobles and royals despised Griffith. But this second attempt on Griffith’s life is just as important because Griffith survived due to his ability to strategize just as effectively in the political realm as on the battlefield. The only reason why Griffith didn’t die on the hunt was that the arrow hit the Egg of the King on his chest instead of him, demonstrating the behelit’s power. But Griffith’s ability to navigate the political realm is just as important to understanding his character.
Of course, some fans could point to the fact that Griffith ends up failing to navigate this new world when he gets imprisoned. But what happens isn’t as straightforward. Griffith’s actions can be perceived more as him trying to regain control after losing Guts earlier in Berserk. He only becomes a victim of foolishness and desperation, not politics. Berserk‘s Memorial Edition never demonstrates Griffith’s ability to navigate the world of politics after getting elevated to knighthood. His eventual fall isn’t as tragic because there’s no evidence that he would have been able to survive had he not been forced to act rashly in Berserk.
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition episode 7 is now streaming on Crunchyroll!
