The PodHand compares the two television anime adaptations of Berserk which cover the Black Swordsman and The Brand chapters of the manga. We explore the creative sensibilities and legacy of the 1997 anime. Then we dunk on the dumpster fire that is 2016. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/thepodhand) for full episode transcripts, additional discussions and more!

This week The PodHand gets a bit tipsy discussing one of Berserk's major influences: Fist of the North Star! In this episode we talk: The Wuxia genre, Bruce Lee movies, braggarts who shout out their attack names, the nature of destiny, forbidden Hokuto Shinken techniques, Gekiga viscerality, women in Fist of the North Star, and Kenshiro getting a sweet pair of shades. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/thepodhand) for full episode transcripts, additional discussions and more!

We reconvene to analyze the second episode of the Berserk manga, The Brand! We discuss the nature of elves and fairies, 80s movie phantasms, Midland’s religion, incubus lore, Berserk as metal, the skeleton war, the grim prospect of a live-action adaptation, and Miura’s creative process as a ‘gardener’. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/thepodhand) for full episode transcripts, additional discussions and more!  

The Podhand returns to begin our in-depth analysis of the Berserk manga, beginning with the first episode, The Black Swordsman! We discuss Guts’ awkward one night stand, the physicality of The Dragonslayer, Miura’s psycho-sexual imagery, more Draculas, post-apocalyptic social Darwinism, and horse murder! Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/thepodhand) for full episode transcripts, additional discussions and more!

The PodHand Episode 01 - The Prototype Content Warning: Swearing, mentions of violence and sexual assault 00:00: Preamble. Kay's statements on Kentaro Miura's passing and the possible future of Berserk. 04:30: Interstitial music: Guts Theme, Susumu Hirasawa 04:50: Host introductions. Who we are, how we came to Berserk and what it means to us, and our relationships to dark fantasy and horror. Discussion of The PodHand's discussion goals and Berserk's canonical place in genre literature and media. Discussion includes: Game of Thrones, Ladyhawke, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Star Wars, Flesh + Blood, Rutger Hauer, JRR Tolkien, A Song of Ice & Fire, China Mieville 16:45: Interstitial music: Ladyhawke Theme, Andrew Powell 17:00: New to Berserk? Interested in getting deeper but don't know where to start? We offer some recommendations. Discussion includes: Susumu Hirasawa. 21:00: Interstitial music: Forces 1.5, Susumu Hirasawa 21:15 Introduction to Berserk's "The Prototype" chapter. A comics portfolio piece by Kentaro Miura dating to his college days in 1988, this 48-page self-contained short story introduces many characters and concepts that form the basis of Berserk. The Prototype would be later published in English by Dark Horse Comics as an addendum to Berserk Vol. 14 in 2006. 24:00 Interstitial music: Taurus Demon, Motoi Sakuraba 24:15 Discussion of "The Prototype". Discussion includes: Alistair Rennie, BleakWarrior, Conan the Barbarian, Robert E. Howard, Akira Kurosawa, Yojimbo, Toshiro Mifune, Fist of the North Star, Violence Jack, Pen-Pen, Lupin III, Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Plague, Friederich Nietzsche, Joe Abercrombie, Mortal Kombat, Highlander, JRR Tolkien, The Odyssey, CS Lewis, Kane, Red Sonya, Jirel of Joiry, Michael Moorcock, George RR Martin, Game of Thrones, Thieves' World, The Black Company, The Epic of Gilgamesh, DevilMan, Castlevania, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Vlad Tepesh, Elizabeth Bathory, Gilles de Rais, Norse Eddas, King Arthur, Hideo Gosha, "zankoku chambara" (cruel swords) jidaigeki, spaghetti westerns, The Man With No Name, Sergio Leone, The Magnificent Seven, Albrecht Durer, Heironymous Bosch, George Lucas, Warhammer 40,000, The Rose of Versailles, Go Nagai 1:22:45 Kentaro Miura's interview with Tetsuo Hara regarding manga workload, burnout and aging. 1:25:00 Kentaro Miura interviewed about Star Wars and its radical effect on Japanese genre media. Discussion includes: Shotaro Ishinomori, Message from Space, Vic Morrow, Kamen Rider, Godzilla, Ultra, Jupiter, Eiji Tsuburaya. 1:29:00 Discussion of fan harassment of Young Animal and Kentaro Miura's assistants on social media. Don't do that! Discussion includes: John Podhoretz. 1:31:30 Outro