I still remember 2004, when Berserk was kinda underground and unknown at least in the western. Many of us read the manga with scanlations, but most population didnt give a damn about Berserk and now we got the movies that let many witness the story, a crappy looking anime that is popular mostly for how badlly looking is and lots of toys and even the manga has been published in my country!!! Something i really didnt expect...
I dont know if this sudden popularity is good or bad but back then at the begining of the cetury, only one company did Berserk merchadise and it was called Art of War. Theyr items were very difficult to find and now day they are very rare and incrediblly expensive too since for some reason they been laveled as the best Berserk items aout there.
Back then i was happy to have only one single Beserk figure (unlike now) and i got myself an Art of War statue of Guts, my main husbando. It wasnt specially expensive back then actually and for 10 years, this guy was sit on top my shelf watching everything from above.
The most dissapointing thing about this Guts is his size. He is actually not really big. I mean, he is taller than your average action figure like Figma, but he dosnt reach the Play Arts Kai size, tough the Dragon Slayer gives him a huge size bost and makes him extremelly anoying as well since he dosnt fit on any place beside the top of the shelf.
The scale is the only thing i find questionable in here, since everything else is top notch on all sence. The pose is simple and extremelly manly tough it helps to high lights the details on Guts. He is leaning forward tough and looking at the front with a menacing stare soo this mean he only looks good on top of everything, if you put him on a desk or the bottom level of a shelf his face will be hidden permanently.
Also, thanks to his lean forward pose and the weigth of the Dragon Slayer, the figure legs started to bend to the front and i had to use a little rock to make him lean to the back a little bit. Is a weird issue but fixable soo i guess is not that bad.
The details are astonishing: His armour have a lot of cuts and marks and is painted in gunmetal black and it actually have a metalic texture. The fabric of the bandages and his clothing looks really good and are painted with shadows that makes them looks like a pencil draw. All the leather parts are also crafted perfectly and some are even fake leather; you can remove his cape and see all the leather parts on his back and his bowgun on his back.
The hoocks and chains are actually real metalic chains and the spring on his prosthetic arm is also a real spring!! He is ubre detailed and reaslistic for such a small (and cheap) figure. Also, his cape is made with soft plastic and have such a nice texture to it, it feels thick and dirty and the soft grey paint helps alot to give it a gothic look.
Theres not too much to sawy about the Dragon Slayer tough, it looks good but it dosnt have as many details as Guts himself and the sword can be removed easy.
The sculpt on Guts is good but not that amazing. Looks good in a front angle but in other angles dosnt looks too much like him. Maybe he was sculpted based on an illustration and didnt expect him to be seen from other points of view. Is not perfect but is easy to recognize him.
He also comes with a base that imitates a rock setting and a little golden plate in front that reads "Black Swordman". I have to say, i love the scult of the base wince it looks really rustic and rougth and you can even see the fingerprints of the sculptor on it and this gives it a pretty nice and rich texture. And as last detail, under the base you can see the Berserk logo as well as the year of development and Art of War brand.
The sculpt on Guts face is not perfect (and maybe the paint is too cimple?) but this guy looks amazing and perect from a distance, menacing and elegant, and once you take a close look, is easy to be lost on the amazing and multiple details this figure have for such small scale.
