Alright, alright alright, so you’re a fan of the Berserk movies. I getcha, you’re into the stylish gore, the intense character dynamics, the gothic aesthetic. You have a taste for the tumultuous, the tantalizing and the terrifying, or as I like to call it, the three “T”‘s of good cinema, whoo! Okay, well, rubber ducky, let’s dive on in shall we?
1. Akira (1988): We’re starting big, babe, with a seismic shift in the animated landscape that sent waves felt across all of Otakudom! Akira is like if you took Berserk, pumped it full of cyberpunk steroids and strapped it to a technicolour rocket ship! With its fluid animation, striking neon visuals and a post-apocalyptic plot that makes Mad Max look like a Sunday drive, Akira is going to ramp up anyone’s heart rate! So get ready, ’cause Tetsuo and Kaneda ain’t pulling any punches!
2. Golgo 13: The Professional (1983): Now if you’re more into the heavy-hitting, hard-edged action of Berserk, then say hello to my little friend… Golgo 13! This movie follows the titular assassin’s life, and boy, let me tell ya, it ain’t all sunshine and roses! Packed to the brim with blistering action scenes and a plot thick enough to cut with a knife, The Professional will render you incapable of being…amateur. Yeah, I went there!
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984): Let cartoon cupid’s arrow pierce your heart with Hayao Miyazaki’s epic post-apocalyptic film. Don’t let the fluffy looking giant bugs fool ya’, these critters ain’t here to dance the Macarena. Nausicaä’s journey through a ravaged earth, dealing with war and violence, shares certain parallels with Berserk’s fatalistic view of humanity. And with it’s beautifully crafted worlds, and Miyazaki’s signature surreal style, it’s a feast for the senses!
4. Fist of the North Star (1986): Speaking of feasts my friend, you ever gotten so angry you made someone explode just by punching them? No? Well, get ready to live vicariously through Kenshiro, the hero of Fist of the North Star. Offering a wonderfully murderous spree of martial arts madness, this movie is a shot of pure, undiluted 80s action that any Berserk fan will get a KICK out of. See what I did there?
5. My Neighbor Totoro (1988): A palate cleanser amidst these gory sagas, Miyazaki’s charming tale has just the right slice of life and fantasy infusion with a dash of adorable creature feature. It’s less on the Berserk side of things, but hey, even Guts needs a day off, right?!
6. Grave of the Fireflies (1988): Okay, emotional whiplash time! We’re plunging headfirst into the heart-wrenching tale of two siblings trying to survive during World War II. It’s sobering, yes, but the same deeper, darker aspects of humanity that fascinate Berserk fans are present and accounted for!
7. Castle in the Sky (1986): Back on the Miyazaki train, Castle in the Sky is a flight of fantasy with steampunk elements and intrigue-filled plot. The themes here of power, corruption and innocence under fire echo those explored in Berserk, albeit without the bloodshed.
8. Heavy Metal (1981): Got a taste for the psychedelic? Heavy Metal offers an animated anthology of wild, interstellar tales, complete with a pulsing rock soundtrack. There’s sex, there’s violence, there’s a ton of weird stuff going on – I dare say it might scratch some of those same oddball itches as Berserk!
9. The Last Unicorn (1982): Unicorns!? You bet I included unicorns! This flick’s tragic tale, Medieval themes and haunting aesthetics offer something for the Berserk fan tired of the same old, same old.
10. Watership Down (1982): Hop on over to the last one! Deceptively cute rabbits in a tale of survival and societal struggle finesse a stomach-churning tension. It’s like an adorable Berserk, if you swap out the swords for whiskers!
Now for the crème de la crème pick here…drumroll please…*mimics drumroll*…Akira! There’s a palpable parallel intensity there. Both Berserk and Akira are seminal works, creative giants that offer not just striking visuals, but stories revolving around friendship, power and the haunting hubris of humanity. They ask us heavy questions about what it means to be human and in control of one’s destiny. So, for the Berserk buff looking for a new cinematic obsession, heed the call of Neo-Tokyo, baby!
