Manga Review – Berserk Vol 2 by Kentaro Miura (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
Release Date: 2004
ISBN-13: 978-1593070212
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd volume in the Beserk series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

“The evil Count uses his dark powers to transform a defeated guard captain into an inhuman horror to combat Guts, the Black Swordsman. Puck, Guts’ pint-sized fairy sidekick, is captured when he attempts to stop an old doctor’s execution, and he is given as a gift to the count’s daughter, a sweet girl in a gilded cage, imprisoned by her father in her own room. Guts, determined to make mincemeat of the Count, assaults the castle and carves a swath of blood-soaked destruction through the Count’s minions. Face-to-face with the Black Swordsman at last, the Count reveals his true form, and even Guts’ super-sized sword may not be big enough to contend with this demonic monstrosity!”

This is the 2nd volume in the Berserk series and continues the battle started in the first book. We find out that the evil Count is much more evil than even Guts first thought. The book is full of detailed battle scenes and we get a little more background on the brand Guts wears.

We also learn more about Guts as a character. Despite his bad attitude and the gruff and careless way he treats his companions, we find out that it does bother him some to leave the weak to their fate. However he’s fighting a larger battle and can’t afford to be distracted.

The illustration continues to be very well done and is easy to follow. I felt like the story didn’t make as much progress as it did in the first volume; hopefully this arc will start to wrap up in volume 3. This volume is basically one long battle between Guts and the Count’s demon.

Overall I enjoyed this volume and thought the action scenes were incredibly well done, the illustration is also very detailed and well done.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge