After the abrupt end of the original anime adaptation of Kentaro Miura's long-running dark fantasy epic Berserk from 1997, fans wanted more. There were some attempts such as video games to continue the story, but none of them could hold a candle to the original anime. But then the 2012 Golden Age Arc trilogy -- comprised of The Egg of the King, The Battle for Doldrey, and The Advent -- came out and got close to accomplishing what many thought to be impossible.

RELATED: Berserk: 10 Reasons Why It's One Of The Best Manga Ever

From the beautiful artwork to the story staying more faithful to the manga, fans were very pleased with the new releases. But even if this retelling of Guts' time with the Band of the Hawk all the way to the nightmares of the Eclipse was generally well-received, there are some things the original anime just did better. Here is an analysis of what The Golden Age Arc did well and what could have been done better.

10 BEST: The Beautiful Hand-Drawn Art

Casca looks serious with two soldiers behind her in Berserk

Studio 4°C is one of the leading anime studios working today. They're best known for creating five segments in The Animatrix, as well as working on Memories, Tekkon Kinkreet, and Spriggan. The studio's art defined by an expressive style and specific line weights was clearly seen in the characters' design. In a way, Guts and Griffith looked more shounen than before while Casca looked beautiful. Not only did the main trio (and the rest of the cast) look good in new animation, but they looked better than they did in the '90s.

The art style made Berserk's world beautiful as well as grotesque, and this played well with the overall feel of this story. Also, the backgrounds and scenery were simply gorgeous to look at.

9 COULD'VE BEEN BETTER: The 2D & 3D Didn't Mesh Well

As is the case with many studios, the choice was made to make the films half 2D and half 3D to cut costs. Some parts more so than others, but thankfully, most of the one-on-one main characters' interactions were hand-drawn. On the other hand, very lengthy battle scenes were made with full CGI and this brought down the trilogy as a whole.

Computer-generated imagery can take away from the emotion of a scene and even though it is multi-dimensional, ironically, this technique makes the characters appear quite flat. Thankfully, the films didn't rely so heavily on CGI like how the appallingly horrendous adaptation from 2016-2017 did.

8 BEST: Splitting The Story Into Three Parts Was Worth It

Berserk and Griffith stare out to horizon in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc

With a story as rich as Berserk's, it was a good choice to split the series into three parts, mostly since this offered a better canvas for narrative build-up. By covering such events from Guts joining the Hawks to him leaving, there was a lot in terms of character development.

RELATED: Berserk: 10 Differences Between The Manga & The Anime

The pacing was done well and nothing seemed dragged out (aside from the Eclipse, which will be covered later on). It didn't seem like it was dragged into three movies just for ratings' sake, but rather to give the sprawling story more space to breathe.

7 COULD'VE BEEN BETTER: The Trilogy Retold The Same Story

Even though it was a treat to watch the films, in the end, it was just a retelling of the same story from the '90s anime. It did feel like some idle scenes were cut for pacing's sake, but this was nothing to be missed. The Golden Age Arc expanded on some integral scenes which was appreciated amongst fans, but smaller yet still important plot points were overshadowed, such as Guts' past.

However, even though this was a retelling, the trilogy would be enjoyable for those not already familiar with Berserk -- especially with the updated visuals undoubtedly adding to the experience.

6 BEST: The Trilogy Kept Most Of The Major Plot Points

Berserk. Guts and Casca crying

Most of the major plot points were kept in this retelling, while smaller but pivotal events such as the attempts on Griffith's life were cut. Some would say that this was fine, given that the most important story beats were still intact.

Also, a scene deemed important by hardcore fans -- the "Bonfire of Dreams," where Casca and Guts bond and he speaks his mind about how he truly feels about the Hawks and his part within it -- was cut out, much to some fans' chagrin. Thankfully, the other intimate scenes and the general romantic mood between Guts and Casca made it into the trilogy. This wasn't the case with other adaptations like the PlayStation game Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, where such pivotal moments were disappointingly excised.

5 COULD'VE BEEN BETTER: Guts' Characterization Was Softer

A huge amount of Guts' traumatic childhood and tragic past were cut from the films and would have been a great way to attract new audiences to his character. One reason why Berserk is one of the best ongoing manga series is the connections that are made between the reader and characters.

To introduce this main character without giving some sort of backstory (sort of like how the '90s anime did it) but slightly better left Guts feeling a bit one-dimensional. But unlike in the original series where Guts was little more than a cold-hearted mercenary, he seemed softer and more angsty in the films. These changes make Berserk feel more of shounen than seinen.

4 BEST: The Trilogy Captured The Psychological Themes Well

Guts and Griffith face off in the Berserk anime.

Not including the obvious Eclipse, the films portrayed many disturbing, psychological scenes from this arc in the manga very well. From Griffith roughly sleeping with Princess Charlotte in a fit of silent rage after Guts leaves the Hawks to the deterioration of Griffith's mind after being tortured and imprisoned for doing so, the artistic liberties taken really took the films down a dark vortex of emotions.

Some fans have said that the third film The Advent was one of the most disturbing string of events they have witnessed in any animated feature and it does indeed deserve that acclaim. Part of the allure of this dark fantasy revolves around the shock factors and the spiraling madness within the cursed world and its characters. The animation studio captured this atmosphere quite well.

3 COULD'VE BEEN BETTER: The Eclipse Was Dragged Out

The Eclipse is one of the most traumatic moments in anime/manga history, and it was animated (for lack of better words) 'beautifully' in The Advent. However, it seemed that the scene was dragged out. This could have been due to the finale's poor pacing or because the directors wanted to deliberately make fans' blood boil.

RELATED: Berserk: 5 Reasons Why The 90s Anime Is The Best Adaptation (& 5 Why The Movies Are Better)

Speaking of how 'beautiful' it was, some say that the visuals in these films took away from the horror that was prevalent in the '90s anime, as it lacked rawness and there was some poor editing. Even Casca and Guts' expressions during this horrific act seemed subdued in some ways and with the added length, the whole scene seem disjointed.

2 BEST: The Excellent Choice Of Voice Actors

Guts and Casca in Berserk.

Within all of the adaptations, none of the voice actors, in English or Japanese, stayed the same. In comparison, the cast for these films was phenomenal and expertly cast.

Casca's voice actors (Toa Yukinari and Carrie Keranen) were much better than in the original series, being more melodic but also tough, as well as Griffith's (Takahiro Sakurai and Kevin T. Collins), with an added ephemeral intensity that was somehow lacking prior. One that was not so good was that of Gaston, who was voiced by Goku's famous English language actor Sean Schemmel.

1 COULD'VE BEEN BETTER: The Films' Soundtrack Is Bland

Japanese musician and composer Susumu Hirasawa --well known for his work on the original Berserk series soundtrack -- added an intensity with its combination of rock, electronic and ambient elements. Heavily synthesized with theatrical build upon some tracks contributed to the series as a whole and became an instantly recognizable soundtrack. For one, the song 'Forces' has to be one of the most iconic pieces of musical genius that successfully encompassed the feel of the entire anime/manga.

The films, surprisingly, lacked a memorable soundtrack which was disappointing. Some would think that maybe it would have been much better if Susumu was called back to add his otherworldly arrangements to these as well.

NEXT: 10 Anime To Watch If You Liked Berserk