Manga Review – Berserk Vol 27 by Kentaro Miura (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 28, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1593079239
Stand Alone or Series: 27th volume in the Berserk series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Now equipped with the mystical Berserker Armor, Guts fights on against the dragon-form of Grunbeld and his legion of fanatic apostle soldiers. But the very armor that holds Guts together — in a nightmarishly literal sense — might be the last straw that tears his tortured mind apart! While Guts struggles to hold his own against his inner demons, monsters of a very different sort rally in Windham as the Kushan Emperor, Ganishka, and the newly reborn Griffith rally their forces in a head-to-head struggle for control of all of Midland. But when the dust finally settles, there may be little left of the kingdom to claim!”

This is the 27th volume in the Berserk series. The book starts off with Guts fighting Zodd the Immortal who has turned into a sort of crystal dragon. Guts is in his new Berserker Armor which is as helpful as it is punishing. However, once the Armor takes hold Guts is trapped inside it and requires Schierke’s assistance to break free.

Meanwhile back in Windham we get to watch as Griffith’s forces take on the Kushan Emperor, Ganishka. Princess Charlotte is being held by Ganishka as well and it is interesting to see what she has been up to.

We meet a whole bunch of new characters (or at least characters we only saw once or twice before and haven’t seen for awhile) in the part of the manga that takes place in Windham. I actually found this part to be a bit confusing and didn’t enjoy it as much as the parts with Guts. Because of this I didn’t enjoy this volume quite as much as previous ones.

The illustration remains amazing but I am unsure about this whole Griffith versus the Kushan part of the story.

Overall this was a good continuation of the Berserk series. I am eager to see what happens in the next volume and would recommend to mature fans of horror fantasy manga.

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