Studio Eclypse’s Berserk (2025) English Dub Trailer Release Analysis: “Guts as the BlackSwordsman is Better, meaner, leaner, and ready to bleed”
Nothing excites a Berserk fan more than an adaptation that might yet be an utter failure of scope, narrative detail, or emotional beat that might be missing, almost tarnishing the legacy of Miura’s vision and being the downfall of any future adaptations from major or minor studios. The outcome isn’t that Studio Eclypse, created by Alex Gutierrez, has missed emotional beats, it’s whether the final product itself will turn out the way the audience or the creative team will perceive it. As I told a friend who asked me how I was doing I responded, “Living everyday like it’s the Eclipse.” As the trailer itself even had me in tears, because all in all, Guts rage is mine, too.
Released on July 1st, 2024, from Studio Eclipse’s personal YouTube page, The story looks to follow Guts as in the manga, directly after the Eclipse, where his mission at this point is vengeance. Guts, in his own way, in the Black Swordsman Arc, is the personification of violence, anger, towards Griffith and all demonkind. He is the one man army that is driven by rage, all without the use of the Berserker armor, that later on becomes a power-up and a crutch. Also, it hints to the Slug Lord, the Captain who turns into the Snake demon, armed with his signature repeating cross bow, his cannon arm shooting projectile cannon balls. The death of the young girl from a spear, cutting the Slug Lord’s face in half by using the DragonSlayer holding it with his teeth, fighting the bone warriors by dashing into the air and cutting them in half, as he’s outlined in grey and his missing eye glows pure white. All of this is capture within a fifty second monologue.
Guts, after losing Casca, to her insanity, is on the warpath, where the trailer includes the opening chapter, volume 1, where Guts has sex with a woman who turns out to be a demon. That was always an interesting perspective, as Guts isn’t afraid of luring a demon into his trap. It personifies his anger, as he was subjugated to watch Casca being raped by Griffith at the Eclipse. He’s now the Hunter who wants every single chance to see Griffith, and tell him how he really feels.
“This is my fight. Fight for flesh and blood like me. You’re all dead. Dead like rotten worms. Because I fought with the dead. Because I was bathed in that sea of blood, so that you could stand above all humankind!” And with that finale, the blood curdling scream of “GRIFFITH” sent chills up my spine, as this is the Guts I know. His red eyes appearing over a black and white drawing reminds me of the manga I know and love. Guts wants vengeance for Casca, the Band of the Hawk, his comrades, who were sacrificed to the God Hand for Griffith’s ascension to Godhood.