Dark & Tragic Berserk Reaches Its 35th Anniversary

In August, Kentaro Miura’s deliciously dark and gritty manga Berserk reached its 35th anniversary.

Published in August of 1989 in Monthly Animal House (before being succeeded in 1992 by Young Animal), Berserk follows the life and journey of the wandering swordsman Guts, the titular “berserk” protagonist.

The Story (Spoilers Ahead If You Neither Read Nor Watched The Story)

Discovered as an infant by the mercenary Gambino and Shisu, who were his “adoptive” parents, Guts lived a childhood devoid of “family” and “belonging.” After his wife died, Gambino got more abusive towards Guts.

Gambino treated Guts as an “expendable” product to make more money. That was apparent when Gambino pimped a young Guts for the night to a fellow mercenary. In short, Guts was raped as a child and the trauma led him to be averse to physical contact with other humans.

When Guts was old enough to participate in combat, he was still a child, he had to surrender most of his daily earnings to Gambino.

Gambino blamed Guts for how life went and took it out on him. It got bad later when Gambino got drunk and tried to kill Guts, which led to Guts killing Gambino in self-defense. Unable to defend his actions, Guts fled the mercenary camp to avoid being killed.

Guts became a wandering mercenary, fighting one battle after another, until the fateful encounter with the “Band of the Hawk.” Being confronted and defeated by Griffith, the Band of the Hawk’s leader, Guts is medically treated and forcefully conscripted into Griffith’s service.

It wasn’t bad for Guts because he was treated like family.

Guts showed his prowess as a capable military leader and climbed the ranks, making it to the rank of captain.

The Band of the Hawk is invaluable to the Midlands Empire. One battle ends in a rivalry between Guts and the demon Nosferatu Zodd.

While Griffith learned the ropes of political science, Guts did the dirty work behind the scenes such as assassinating the king’s brother and (inadvertently) Prince Adonis. Guts was secretly depressed because he sacrificed his dream, of being the greatest swordsman, to help achieve Griffith’s dream.

Guts also wanted to be acknowledged as Griffith’s equal but that wouldn’t happen as long as they remained in the current predicament. He ultimately chooses to leave the Band of the Hawk, having to defeat Griffith in the process, to achieve his dream. The experience breaks Griffith, even though he and his officers were awarded noble status, and he finds solace in Princess Charlotte (while taking her virginity).

Griffith’s world crumbles as he is captured, imprisoned, and tortured.

The Band of the Hawk’s officers are stripped of their noble status and are forced to flee while taking heavy casualties. Casca, Griffith’s second-in-command and Guts’ direct superior & love interest is forced to lead what’s left of the group.

The news eventually reaches Guts who races back to help rescue Griffith while consummating his love for Casca.

Despite being rescued, Griffith still longs for his dream and activates his “special item.” It leads to the bloody and traumatic event that leads to the Band of the Hawk’s imminent demise. Griffith becomes “Femto - Wings of Despair,” the newest member of the “God Hand.”

Femto rapes Casca (now pregnant) in front of Guts (who’s pinned down by a God Hand Apostle) and corrupts the fetus with his demonic seed. Casca and Guts are about to become the next sacrifices until the “Skull Knight” arrives to “save the day.”

The aftermath was traumatic as Casca’s mind regressed to a childlike state and Guts some body parts.

While Griffith focuses on building his kingdom, Guts makes his mission to take down Griffith once and for all.

Guts travels around with Casca, hoping to find someone who can cure her mind, and finds companions on the way. After realizing that he wants “family” and “belonging,” he accepts the companions and forms his “traveling party.”

The goals are simple but achieving them is complex.

While Guts and Casca are alive, they are tormented by demons on a nightly basis because of the “Brands” they’re marked with. Ironically, the Brand is beneficial because it helps Guts detect evil.

Media Adaptations

Berserk was adapted into animated series, films, and games.

Its first adaptation was the 1997 animated series that spanned 25 episodes and ended with Guts being forced to watch Griffith rape Casca. I found it to be the best-animated adaptation of the story.

Amazon currently sells the series for $37.

Berserk received three GCI film adaptations almost 20 years later which retell the story from the beginning to the aftermath of the massacre where Casca is in her childlike state and becomes hostile to Guts when he tries to touch her.

The three films were combined into a special edition.

I enjoyed the CGI films but the 1997 adaptation is better. A new adaptation aired and streamed in 2016 that takes place a few years after the massacre. I didn’t care for the series because the visuals were watered down.

Berserk is gory, the 2016 series was far from it.

I hope there’s no live adaptation of Berserk because it will be a lowball production or a f–ked up Hollywood adaptation.

The first game adaptation was Sword of the Berserk: Guts’ Rage (launched in 1999) for the Sega Dreamcast, my introduction to the franchise. This is an original side story, which takes place before the story in the 2016 series, takes Guts and Casca (who are accompanied by Puck) to a city where he is hired to destroy the Mandragora.

Zodd and Skull Knight make special appearances in the game.

This is one of the best Dreamcast games created.

The second game adaptation launched in 2004 on the PlayStation 2 Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Holy War, a Japan-exclusive title, which adapts part of the “Millennium Empire Arc.”

The story ended with Schierke losing her adopted mother to Griffith and joining Guts’ Traveling Party.

The latest game adaptation was in 2016 with the launch of Berserk and the Band of the Hawk for the PlayStation 3. It was later ported on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. This is a title to try if you like Dynasty Warriors and Berserk.

The franchise received its first collaboration last year with Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2.

Studio ECLYPSE has plans for a fan-made adaptation of the story scheduled for a 2025 release.

We may never see it, though, as the franchise’s owner is threatening to file a lawsuit. Netizens accuse Studio ECLYPSE of trying to make money without getting permission. Anime Mojo questions why it took Studio Gaga, the current copyright holder, so long to speak against the upcoming fan-made animation when Studio ECLYPSE announced it in 2023.

A new line of collectible items is available via Dengeki Hobby.

One day before the franchise’s 35th anniversary, Dark Horse Comics announced the U.S. return of the original manga.

Miura’s Legacy

Even though Miura died in 2021, he left notes that allowed Young Animal to continue the series.

While alive, Miura almost ended Berserk when he was forced to choose between it and another title. The YouTube Channel “Do You Know Anime” made a 3-part series on Berserk’s legacy.

The third part is narrated by English VAs Kevin T. Collins (Griffith), Mark Diraison (Guts), and Carrie Keranen (Casca). Keranen said that her first professional voice-acting role was Casca.

Even after death, Berserk will continue for another couple of years.

You can read my original piece on Medium which talks about Miura’s journey from how he got his start in the industry to the creation of Berserk.