I’m cheating on multiple fronts here. I’ve already read Berserk multiple times, and I’ve already reviewed some of the deluxe library editions. However I’m working through some intense bullshit books right now (cough Atlas Shrugged) that are going to take me forever to finish, so I need to read something easier in between.
Berserk 1 in this case refers to the first trade book of the Berserk manga series. In it and its opening Black Swordsman arc, we are introduced to Guts, an ultra-violent mercenary characterized immediately by his carrying the immense Dragon Slayer greatsword. In the words of the story itself, “It was far too large to simply be called a sword. Heavy, too rough, it was little more than an immense slab of iron.” This sword really exemplifies the extremes the story will go to, with brutal violence and sexual imagery throughout. This is not only not for kids, I live in fear that my mother or mother in law will pick up one of the deluxe editions proudly on my shelf and open to… really anything.
The Black Swordsman arc is a good intro for capturing the themes and style of the story, but a terrible intro otherwise. Guts is completely unlikable. He’s rude, he’s cruel, and he’s completely selfish and nihilistic, espousing the merits of strength over anything else. When I first read the story, I almost put it down because the combination of such a bad character with such unpleasant imagery really makes for a jarring first experience.
Guts’ personality is a facade, however, and throughout the Golden Age arc to come, we get a much more likable person. I’m getting ahead of myself though: in the first volume, Guts faces off against his first Apostle; a demon that follows the inhuman God Hand. After saving a young elf, Puck, from some thugs out of Koka Castle, Guts is arrested and tortured. It turns out that the leader of the town was sending human sacrifices to Koka Castle to appease the apostle, a ferocious man who can transform into a monstrous snake. The art is at once incredible, with the snake monster something I’ll flip to to look at on its own, and terrible, with horrible imagery in gruesome detail.
That really is the push and pull of this story: some of the best art in manga, and honestly a pretty incredible story overall, but peppered with so much disgusting violence and depictions of sexual assault that I can’t actually in good conscience recommend it to many people. If you liked Game of Thrones you will find a very similar theme here. Additionally, if you’re a fan of the Dark Souls series, Berserk is a known influence.