This is the best Berserk website on the nets and screw you if you disagree. I've been an official member since 2010 and a lurker for far longer, and this site has time and time again opened my eyes to the nuances of Berserk that I overlooked. My appreciation and enjoyment of Berserk is exponentially larger due to this community. Having said that, I think it's time for us to address the elephant in the room.
There has been a flurry of new activity on these boards since the anime debuted. Most of the posts consist of people dog piling on the anime and one upping each other on new ways to say it's the worst thing ever. Yes, the anime sucks, we all know it, and it's extremely fucking obvious to anyone with eyeballs. Let me just point something out to everyone losing their grip because the anime is so bad - there are going to be A LOT of people completely new to Berserk that end up landing on this page. Make them feel welcome! Show them the light! Don't make the reaction to the anime so toxic that people will be afraid to confess that they may have actually enjoyed it. These folks dont' even understand how they have been shortchanged and it's up to us to explain the real Berserk to them.
Forgive me if I leave someone out but I have watched Aazealh, Walter, Griffith, and others be fantastic ambassadors for the series. These folks have meticulously explained, theorized, and shot down nonsense over the years. One of my favorite things about this website is the quintessential Aazealh reaction posts where he deftly eviscerates arguments point by point leaving nothing but the facts in his wake (hopefully there's isn't one of those following this post). That's a guy who loves Berserk and this community - as opposed to the guy who shows up just to shit all over the anime.
If all you have to contribute is vitriol then maybe examine your motivations and place in the Berserk fandom world. Skullknight.net is extremely passive about the Patreon page, so much so that despite being a member for years, I only discovered it early this year. If you havent spent time on these boards in the down times between episodes or have not positively contributed to this community then I encourage you to make a pledge to the Patreon page as a show of solidarity (maybe consider a couple bucks even if you are a contributor ).
Just today I was browsing reddit on a default account and Berserk was on the front page. It was a post about the monsters of Berserk and there was a huge amount of curiosity about the series as a whole and especially the new anime. New fans are on the way and we should be able to welcome them into the fold. If this is your home for Berserk or one of your daily visited sites then consider doing something other than complaining to keep this community alive and kicking.
We have a dozen more episodes coming our way and if this is our reaction to every episode then it is going to get old really, EXTREMELY, fast. The horse has already been beaten into subatomic particles. Just ask yourself how you can help other people appreciate Berserk the way our admins and others have over the years.
I understand that there are a lot of raw emotions surrounding this new project but I'm just asking for us all to take a deep breath and look at the big picture. We need to be the place where folks get pointed in the right direction, not ridiculed into exile. We are at an extremely exciting part of the series. A portion of the story is now unfolding that some of us have been waiting for over a decade to see revealed. I don't need a Berserk anime and the real deal is now more exciting than ever. Don't sour this exciting time by pushing potential Berserk fans away before they have a chance to learn the true depth and sincerity of the series.
I'm getting off my soapbox now. I hope I haven't overstepped my bounds. I'm only asking that we, as a community, don't overlook the one truly great aspect of this animation, the inititiaion of new Berserk fans.
There has been a flurry of new activity on these boards since the anime debuted. Most of the posts consist of people dog piling on the anime and one upping each other on new ways to say it's the worst thing ever. Yes, the anime sucks, we all know it, and it's extremely fucking obvious to anyone with eyeballs. Let me just point something out to everyone losing their grip because the anime is so bad - there are going to be A LOT of people completely new to Berserk that end up landing on this page. Make them feel welcome! Show them the light! Don't make the reaction to the anime so toxic that people will be afraid to confess that they may have actually enjoyed it. These folks dont' even understand how they have been shortchanged and it's up to us to explain the real Berserk to them.
Forgive me if I leave someone out but I have watched Aazealh, Walter, Griffith, and others be fantastic ambassadors for the series. These folks have meticulously explained, theorized, and shot down nonsense over the years. One of my favorite things about this website is the quintessential Aazealh reaction posts where he deftly eviscerates arguments point by point leaving nothing but the facts in his wake (hopefully there's isn't one of those following this post). That's a guy who loves Berserk and this community - as opposed to the guy who shows up just to shit all over the anime.
If all you have to contribute is vitriol then maybe examine your motivations and place in the Berserk fandom world. Skullknight.net is extremely passive about the Patreon page, so much so that despite being a member for years, I only discovered it early this year. If you havent spent time on these boards in the down times between episodes or have not positively contributed to this community then I encourage you to make a pledge to the Patreon page as a show of solidarity (maybe consider a couple bucks even if you are a contributor ).
Just today I was browsing reddit on a default account and Berserk was on the front page. It was a post about the monsters of Berserk and there was a huge amount of curiosity about the series as a whole and especially the new anime. New fans are on the way and we should be able to welcome them into the fold. If this is your home for Berserk or one of your daily visited sites then consider doing something other than complaining to keep this community alive and kicking.
We have a dozen more episodes coming our way and if this is our reaction to every episode then it is going to get old really, EXTREMELY, fast. The horse has already been beaten into subatomic particles. Just ask yourself how you can help other people appreciate Berserk the way our admins and others have over the years.
I understand that there are a lot of raw emotions surrounding this new project but I'm just asking for us all to take a deep breath and look at the big picture. We need to be the place where folks get pointed in the right direction, not ridiculed into exile. We are at an extremely exciting part of the series. A portion of the story is now unfolding that some of us have been waiting for over a decade to see revealed. I don't need a Berserk anime and the real deal is now more exciting than ever. Don't sour this exciting time by pushing potential Berserk fans away before they have a chance to learn the true depth and sincerity of the series.
I'm getting off my soapbox now. I hope I haven't overstepped my bounds. I'm only asking that we, as a community, don't overlook the one truly great aspect of this animation, the inititiaion of new Berserk fans.