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Berserk Manga / Anime

Introduction

Berserk is a manga created by Kentaro Miura which has been published since 1989 and consists of over 30 volumes. The story takes place in a fictional land similar to medieval Europe and is in the genres of action, adventure and fantasy. The two main characters of Berserk are Guts, a mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of the mercenary group the Band of the Hawk. Berserk has been adapted into a 1997 TV series, three movies and a second TV series which began in 2016 and ran for two seasons. There have also been three Berserk video games released.

Berserk Anime Review

Berserk Synopsis

A baby is born from the corpse of his mother and found by a group of mercenaries. He is given the name Guts and raised within the mercenary group, soon learning to fight in battles while still a boy. After he accidentally kills his adoptive father in self-defense, Guts is run out of the group and becomes a lone mercenary.

Griffith, the leader of a mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk, forces Guts to join the Hawks after Griffith defeats him in a duel. Guts is given the rank of commander in the Hawks. The other commander is Casca, a young woman who joined the Hawks when she was a girl.

Midland, the country where the Hawks live, is in a 100-year war with the neighboring country of Tudor and the Hawks often lend assistance in the fight against Tudor. We see the Hawks gradually rise in status and power as Griffith tries to fulfill his dream of becoming King.

However, Griffith is imprisoned after seducing the King of Midland's daughter and is tortured so badly that he becomes physically disabled. He is eventually offered the chance by four supernatural beings to be physically rejuvenated and someday become King. In exchange he agrees to sacrifice the lives of all the mercenaries in the Band of the Hawk.

Almost all of the Hawks are then killed but Guts and Casca survive, although Casca loses her sanity. Guts then makes it his mission to hunt down and kill Griffith in revenge, while also searching for a cure for Casca's insanity. As he journeys he soon picks up several followers, including a young witch who uses her magic to helps Guts.

After sacrificing the Hawks' lives, Griffith became reborn with supernatural powers. He starts a new Band of the Hawk which includes supernatural warriors. Midland is by then being invaded by a huge army from the country of Kushan. Griffith uses his new Band of the Hawk to defeat the Kushan army. He then begins the establishment of his own kingdom in Midland.

Berserk Characters

Guts is an extremely powerful warrior who becomes a commander in the mercenary group the Band of the Hawk. Later on he becomes obsessed with killing Griffith in revenge.

Griffith is the leader of the Band of the Hawk. He is consumed by his dream to one day rule his own kingdom.

Casca is the other commander in the Band of the Hawk. After the trauma she suffers during the eclipse, Casca loses her sanity.

Other important characters include the Skull Knight, Nosferatu Zodd and Schierke.

1997 Berserk TV Series

The first Berserk TV series began in 1997 and ended in 1998. It consisted of one season which lasted for 25 episodes and covered the Golden Age arc of the Berserk manga. Some parts of the manga were not covered in this TV series and some characters, such as the Skull Knight, were left out. The 1997 Berserk TV series anime received acclaim and many consider this series to be one of the best adaptions of a manga.

A question many viewers of the 1997 Berserk anime frequently ask is how did Guts escape from hell? In the Berserk manga a supernatural character called the Skull Knight, who can travel through dimensions and who sometimes helps Guts, appears in hell, rescuing Guts and Casca and riding out of hell with them. However, the Skull Knight character does not feature at all in the 1997 Berserk anime and Guts' escape from hell is not shown or explained.

Berserk Movies - The Golden Age Arc

A trilogy of Berserk movies known as Berserk: The Golden Age Arc was released from 2012 to 2013, specifically:
The three movies generally follow the same plot as the 1997 TV series. However, they do include some things which appeared in the manga but were left out of the 1997 TV series, such as characters like the Skull Knight. Unlike the 1997 TV series, the three movies mainly use CGI for the animation.

Second Berserk TV Series

The second TV adaptation of Berserk was shown starting in 2016. This first season was made up of 12 episodes. The next season, which was also made up of 12 episodes, was shown in 2017. The first season begins the story roughly where the three movies and the 1997 TV series ended. This second series introduces several new characters which appear in the manga after the plot arcs of the movies and 1997 TV series. Some fans have criticized the noticeable use of CGI in the second TV series.

Berserk Quotes

"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control, even over his own will." - Narrator

"A man draws his sword in order to protect the small wound deep in his heart. It was inflicted in the days long past at the farthest reach of his memories. A man wields his sword in order to depart life with a smile..." - Narrator

"Each man longs to pursue his dream. Each man is tortured by this dream, but the dream gives meaning to his life. Even if the dream ruins his life, man cannot allow himself to leave it behind." - Narrator

"If you're always worried about crushing the ants beneath you... you won't be able to walk." - Guts

"You have the strongest armor, because you are the weakest!" - Guts

"I'd rather fight for my life than live it." - Guts

"I don't want what another man can give me. If he grants me anything, then it's his to give and not my own." - Guts

"In the end the winner is still the last man standing." - Guts

"People who perish in other's battles are worms... If one can't live their life the way they want, they might as well die." - Guts

"The reward for ambition too great... is self destruction." - Guts

"Where am I going? If I just collapsed back there I would be better off. If I were dead back there, there would be nothing. Now there's only bad." - Guts

"Dreams breathe life into men and can cage them in suffering. Men live and die by their dreams. But long after they have been abandoned they still smolder deep in men's hearts. Some see nothing more than life and death. They are dead, for they have no dreams." - Griffith

"A dream... It's something you do for yourself, not for others." - Griffith

"For me to call a man my friend, he must be equal to me in all respects." - Griffith

"I realized that I could never be the best, so I decided to find the man that could and serve by his side." - Judeau

"If you desire one thing for so long, it's a given that you'll miss other things along the way." - Godo

"Hate is a place where a man who can't stand sadness goes." - Godo

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