In episode 4 of Berserk we start learning a bit more of Guts’ past as he reconnects with a Blacksmith known as Godo. While he is working on Guts’ sword and equipment, Guts spends the night reminiscing on some of the messed up things he has been through in the past. Of course this involves lots of bloodshed and death. We are also given a mention of a woman named Casca. She is apparently missing and Guts sets out to go look for her. Not a whole lot has been revealed about her, but it seems to be implied she is very important to Guts. Later on in the episode we get to see the Holy Iron Chain Knights who are escorting Mozcus, the Grand Inquisitor. Eventually a group of rebels attack them and Mozcus comes out and has his band of tormentors punish these guys with a breaking wheel! However in the midst of all of this a woman that looks an awful lot like Casca is among them…
This episode was a a lot less action packed as the previous episodes. As a result of this slower pace, the animation also appeared to be a bit less fluid too. They really went crazy with the whole “Sketch” shading they have going on with the CG. To be honest, I don’t think it looked all that great. Godo’s hut was very dark and the shading seemed to obscure the characters’ detail more than emphasize them. Also while the story they are trying to tell seems interesting, I could not help but feel like I am missing something. The pacing just felt a bit off especially when they were talking about Casca. I guess this means I should continue reading the manga to get the full story on this. In any case, it seems this episode’s main purpose was to build up to something big to happen in the next couple of episodes. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
