"Old Berserk" series omits a major character and all the story linked to it, and the anime ends at a "wtf is this shit?" point with absolutely no plausible explanation of why the anime starts and ends how it does. It's a cool watch but it's missing something rather important and the ending is not going to leave you feeling even remotely satisfied. They are however pretty damn cool leading right up to the end, and they have the "Forces" soundtrack song that is part of the whole Berserk thing at this point hah.
There are, however, movies! And they do a -much- better job of getting the character I'm referencing in there, as well as the aftermath. Berserk: Golden Age are the three movies in question, and considering the preview for the upcoming anime shows events after them, probably means they are the best film/video watch to get primed for it. They clearly don't spend nearly as much time on the prequel stuff as the series, but they get you to where you would need to be to understand everything in the upcoming series.
The manga is the best thing if you just want the story, but I would recommend watching the animated movies just because they are pretty damn enjoyable. I'd even recommend watching the 90's animation if you wanted more, but if you watch the movies/read the manga first, the character that is missing is going to really stand out, especially near the end.
