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Sherry Galeazzi
Berserk (Japanese: ベルセルク, Hepburn: Beruseruku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on the characters of Guts, a lone swordsman, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the "Band of the Hawk". The series follows Guts' journey seeking revenge on Griffith, who betrayed him and sacrificed his comrades to become a powerful demonic being.
Miura premiered a prototype of Berserk in 1988. The series began the following year in Hakusensha's manga magazine Monthly Animal House [ja], which was replaced in 1992 by the semimonthly magazine Young Animal, where Berserk has continued its publication. Following Miura's death in May 2021, the final chapter that he worked on was published posthumously in September of the same year; the series resumed in June 2022, under supervision of Miura's fellow manga artist and childhood friend Kouji Mori [ja] and Miura's group of assistants and apprentices from Studio Gaga.
Berserk was adapted into a 25-episode anime television series by OLM, which covered the Golden Age story arc, and was broadcast from October 1997 to March 1998. The Golden Age arc was also adapted into a trilogy of theatrical anime films; the first two films premiered in 2012 and the third film premiered in 2013. A second 24-episode anime television series adaptation was broadcast for two seasons in 2016 and 2017.
By September 2023, the Berserk manga had over 60 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It received the Award for Excellence at the sixth installment of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002. Berserk has been widely acclaimed, particularly for its dark setting, storytelling, characters, and Miura's detailed artwork.
Guts was born from the hanged corpse of his mother and raised as a mercenary by his abusive adoptive father, Gambino, following the death of his adoptive mother, Shisu. After being forced to kill Gambino in self-defense, Guts fled his mercenary group and became a wandering mercenary. His reckless yet powerful fighting style attracts the attention of Griffith, the leader of a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk, which he makes Guts join after defeating him. The kingdom of Midland hires the Band to aid them in their war against the Chuder Empire, and Guts learns of Griffith's desire to rule his own kingdom and of the pendant he possesses, called the Behelit. After the demonic warrior Nosferatu Zodd spares them, he warns Guts that he will die for being Griffith's friend.
As Griffith befriends Midland's nobility and the king's daughter, Charlotte, Guts begins to develop feelings for Casca, another Hawks commander and the only female member. After overhearing Griffith confess to Charlotte that he only considers someone with their own dream as a friend, Guts decides to leave the group to find his own dream, a decision that Griffith refuses unless Guts defeats him in a dual. When Guts wins, Griffith descends into a downward spiral that culminates in his arrest after he seduces Charlotte. He loses the Behelit while being subjected to torture, and the Midland army declares the Hawks to be outlaws. Soon after, a mysterious being known as the Skull Knight warns Guts that his actions have triggered an Eclipse and, after learning of the Hawks' predicament, he rejoins them to rescue Griffith. At this time, he and Casca consummate their feelings for each other.
Two years later, having killed many Apostles and becoming known as the Black Swordsman, Guts is joined by the elf Puck, and is are captured by Farnese, the captain of the Holy See Church's Holy Iron Chain Knights, who believes that Guts is a harbinger of the apocalypse. Guts escapes after saving Farnese and returns home to Godo, where he learns that Casca has wandered off. His search for her takes him to the ruined city of St. Albion, which the God Hand have prepared as the site for a ceremony to give one of their own a physical form and which has become a refuge for refugees fleeing the invading Kushan Empire's armies. Guts saves Casca from the Holy See bishop Mozgus as the souls of the dead attack the city, creating a massive Brand of Sacrifice, and is joined by Farnese, her bodyguard Serpico, and the young thief Isidro. Meanwhile, an Apostle living under St. Albion consumes the Demon Child and uses its body to restore Griffith to physical form.
After Guts fights Griffith and Zodd at Godo's home, Griffith realizes that some traces of the Demon Infant remain within him. Hoping to find a land safe from the demons and potentially heal Casca, Guts decides to travel with Casca to Puck's homeland of Elfhelm on the island of Skellig, allowing Isidro, Farnese, and Serpico to follow him out of fear that he will lose control of himself to his dark impulses, which are embodied as the Beast of Darkness within his mind, with Farnese becoming Casca's primary caretaker. Meanwhile, Griffith forms a second Band of the Hawk with Zodd and other Apostles to save Midland from the Kushan Empire, which is led by emperor Ganishka, a rogue Apostle.
Guts' party encounters the witch Flora, her apprentice Schierke and the elf Ivalera while saving a village from trolls, and Flora gives him the Berserker Armor, which increases his power but risks pushing his body beyond its limits and being consumed by his inner darkness. Flora is later killed by Apostles, and after escaping, Guts' party encounters a mysterious being they dub the Moonlight Child, who expresses affection for Guts and Casca before disappearing after the full moon passes. Meanwhile, the Skull Knight warns Guts to not abuse the Berserker Armor's power while assuring him that Elfhelm's inhabitants can heal Casca's mind. While Guts and his party secure a ship called the "Seahorse", which is captained by Farnese's fiance, Prince Roderick, to reach Elfhelm in the wake of a Kushan attack on the port city in which Guts and Zodd briefly ally to fight Ganishka in his Apostle form, Ganishka transforms into an eldritch monstrosity and causes the physical and astral realms to merge after being slain by Griffith. With the blessing of Charlotte and the Holy See, Griffith establishes the city of Falconia to provide refuge for the Midlanders and humanity from the creatures that manifested after the realms merged.
After recruiting a merrow girl named Isma, Guts' party reaches Elfhelm; its elf ruler, Danann, helps Farnese and Schierke in their magical training, and succeeds in restoring Casca's mind. The Skull Knight introduces Guts to the creator of the Berserker Armor and reveals his past with the Godhand and its leader, Void. The Moonlight Child later reappears; it is revealed that he is the Demon Child, who can take control of Griffith's host during a full moon. Griffith regains control of his host and abducts Casca while destroying the island's spirit tree, unleashing spirits that attack the island and cause Danann, Isma, and the other magical creatures (except for Puck and Ivalera) to disappear into the Astral Realm. As the survivors flee on the Seahorse, Guts breaks down in despair. Griffith returns to the mainland with Casca, imprisoning her in Falconia in a fugue until she remembers her companions and attempts to escape, only to lose consciousness upon recapture. Guts is taunted by visions of his inner darkness that urge him to give in, but he passes out as Kushan warriors invade the ship and are revealed to be under the command of Silat, the leader of the Bakiraka warrior clan who Guts had previously fought, and Daiba, a magician and former servant of Ganishka. Among the soldiers is Rickert, who had escaped from Falconia along with Erica and the Kushan deserters.
The Kushan escort Guts and the rest of the party to their capital where Guts is imprisoned as a precaution. Daiba informs them that Falconia's army has appeared on the borders of the Kushan Empire and that the attack on Elfhelm is part of a wider campaign by Falconia to have Griffith rule the world. As such, Daiba orders that Guts and his party, Rodrick, the ships' crew, and Elfhelm's surviving sorcerers be placed under his command as the empire prepares for war with Falconia.
While briefly working as an assistant to George Morikawa at 18, Miura had already planned some ideas for Berserk's development, having a dark warrior with a gigantic sword illustrated in his portfolio who would be the first conception of Guts.[5][6] Miura submitted manuscripts to a shōnen manga magazine for about four years before working for Hakusensha; however, he felt that he was not capable enough for it and they were also not interested in publishing science fiction or fantasy works.[7] In 1988, while working with Buronson on a manga titled King of Wolves,[8] Miura published a prototype of Berserk in Hakusensha's Gekkan ComiComi.[9][10] This 48-page prototype placed second at the seventh ComiComi's Manga-School prize.[11] He later submitted his work to a magazine that, at the time, "was on the verge of going under," and he was switched around between several editors before meeting his first editor.[7] The serialization of Berserk began in Hakusensha's Monthly Animal House [ja] in 1989.[9][12] Miura commented that he landed the serial as soon as he made his debut, so he never had the opportunity to receive much criticism from editors.[7]
Miura stated that the inspiration for the series' title was diffuse at the time of creation. He did not have information about the berserkers or the Berserker Armor (which first appeared in the 222nd chapter) planned out from the start. He chose the word, telling himself that "its mysterious aspect would stick well." Miura said that the title was connected to Guts' imagery, influenced by Mad Max, further elaborating: "In short, starting from a world with a dark hero who is burning for revenge, prompts you to imagine a rabid character. When, guided by his anger, he will pour out this rage on overpowered enemies, we must insist on his fanaticism if you want to stay consistent. That's why I thought "Berserk" would make a perfect title to represent my universe."[13] According to Miura, the series' dark fantasy setting was inspired by the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian and the Elric of Melnibon series.[14][15][16] Miura stated that he did not see dark fantasy as a genre in itself, but rather as an equivalent of general fantasy. He commented that outside of Japan the big works of fantasy, like The Lord of the Rings, contain dark elements, and in Japan, the fantasy genre was popularized by video games like Dragon Quest, which were aimed at children, and therefore, expurgated the dark elements, but since he received the influence from novels before that of those games, Miura "naturally turned to dark fantasy."[15][16]