I noticed an error in my Deluxe Edition book 2. In the contents, the episode in volume 5, Sword of Wind, is printed as "Word of Wind". Doh!
I found this info from the past: Not sure if I can quote it.
It would have been nice if DH put more nuanced translations with a page in the back for the translator's notes.
Great find, that guy seems like he really knows his stuff.
Got my the first two volumes and waiting for the third to get released. If this isn’t the greatest special edition I’ve ever held, I don’t know what is.
*Broken record mode engaged* What this deluxe edition needed was to have them hire a better translator and retranslate the whole series.
My main concern (aside from Miura dying before finishing in the vein of his idol Kurimoto Kaoru) is that the Japanese version, which must and should be considered the definitive edition, will never see this treatment--even if the English "Deluxe Edition" proves to be successful.
I have a few comments. The first is that Kaoru Kurimoto was never going to finish Guin Saga. It was up to what, volume 137 when she died? Completely different situation from Berserk, making the comparison irrelevant. The second is that Berserk will definitely get a deluxe edition in Japan eventually and that I'm sure it'll steamroll what Dark Horse is doing. It probably won't have faux-leather covers, but that's actually fine by me. Because that sort of treatment can be pretty cool when you've only got a few volumes, but when you have twenty it ends up being rather dull and indistinguishable from the kind of encyclopedia or book collections door-to-door salesmen used to hawk in the 1960s.
Given that Miura has had health problems from overwork in the past, I don't think it's a completely unrealistic worry.
Personally I don't have a problem with homogenous spines
The American deluxe edition may fail on the first count, but at least provides a decent sewn binding that will last. The (eventual) Japanese edition will likely have wonderful scan fidelity, but I very much doubt that it will have a decent binding or be as large.
It's hard to say whether she was going to finish it or not, because she didn't really plan to die at 56.
Given that Miura has had health problems from overwork in the past, I don't think it's a completely unrealistic worry.
If the series finishes, it will get a Japanese deluxe edition for sure, but not of great quality. Look at some of the better quality Japanese deluxe editions that have come out...Rurouni Kenshin, Jiraishin, Mushishi, even the new edition of Mugen no Jyunin. None of them hardbound, very few of them at larger page size, all of them glued instead of sewn. In terms of durability and something that will last for a few years, they're scarcely better than your average tankoubon.
The glue will fall apart within 30-40 years of reading.
Personally I don't have a problem with homogenous spines as that's been the standard for Western literature for hundreds of years. If you're going to buy the collected works of Shakespeare, for example, or the complete writings of Walter Pater, or any sort of classic writer, bound to last with decent boards, the spines will all be more or less the same between volumes. The encylopedias of the 1960s and before were merely aping that sort of class. And because I think Miura is great literature (not just a decent comic), I'd want his works to have the best treatment possible in terms of (a) scan size and fidelity and (b) binding.
You talk a lot about the binding, but are you aware of all the print and text problems these editions suffer from...? Surely the error-ridden content of these editions supersedes binding choices.
Barnes and Noble books are not leatherbound though they advertise as such. They use bonded leather, which, though it sounds similar, is really low quality, closer to paper boards. That's why they can sell the things for $20. Modern leatherbound books would be along the lines of Easton Press. I believe the Folio Society prints some leather editions, too. They're all quite expensive, unfortunately.
Aaz, you're saying the print quality on the MyBestRemix editions was good? I never saw them in stores, so I haven't been able to inspect them personally. B5 would be a very nice size for Berserk, so long as they print it on quality paper. If worst comes to worst, it's always possible to buy a print run like that, then have them chopped up and rebound however one likes at a private printer. But that would be ridiculously expensive.
As a side note, I think there are specific considerations when printing a work like Berserk, in particular the ability to open the book flat to properly enjoy two page spreads. That ought to be the foremost concern for the binding in my opinion.
Good point, how fares the Deluxe edition in that aspect?
because of the size and weight of the leather binding, you can lay it flat and the pages fall flat. That's a big improvement over the originals.
I noticed Gut's using the term "Skull Knight" at the end of the introduction episode (still called "Knight of the Skeleton" ).
Also, in the Tomb of Flames episode, after the queen is killed and Griffith is talking to Guts, I remember in the old translation Griffith asked "Do you think I'm dirty"? . . . Now the line is, "do you think I'm cruel"? Which is much better, in my opinion. Griffith talking to Gut's about keeping his cruel side in the dark from the other members works better, as opposed to his ... dirty side.
I think they also changed Bonfire of Dreams to Campfire of dreams. Although I can't remember if that's new.
I got my volume 3 of the deluxe edition today. Just flipping through I noticed a few changes. I don't have the original Dark Horse books on hand, so I'm going off memory here, but I noticed Gut's using the term "Skull Knight" at the end of the introduction episode (still called "Knight of the Skeleton" ). I don't remember Dark Horse ever actually using the term "Skull Knight".
Out of curiosity I checked my volumes
Griffith says "cruel" in the original translation here. I think you're remembering his conversation with Casca after he spent the night with Gennon. Griffith asks Casca if he's dirty, and it probably always felt "gay" because it...ahem...was.
Frickin’ Dark Horse...
Maybe they'll fix it in an eventual deluxe ed-... nevermind.