The Casca storyline continues, and continues to suck. And the edgelord BS continues as well in the Assassin storyline. In this, Guts is asked by Griffith to assassinate Prince Julian, one of his rivals for the eye of the King of Midland. There’s collateral damage and it’s terribly sad. Really, these couple of stories are sort of shitty and don’t add much but shock value. There are other ways to grow Guts’ character and his relationship with Casca, and I’d be fine if there was […]

The Golden Age arc continues as Guts’ infamy and value in the Band of the Hawk continues to grow. He and Casca both make their way into the upper echelons of leadership as Griffith’s lieutenants, however this is all threatened when Guts faces off against the first inhuman opponent of his life: Nosferatu Zodd. An infamous warrior in-universe, Zodd the Immortal is known for seeking out the most brutal battles possible, with little regard for anything but distraction from the drudgery of his immortality. This […]

In Berserk 4, Guts continues to make his way as a mercenary in Gambino’s band. His upbringing his harsh as hell, with abuse at the worst and inconsistent love at the best. This drives Guts to spend most of his time swinging his sword, implying that this pain is what drove him to become so strong. I frankly hate this. Berserk is at its worst during the torture and rape scenes, but it’s at its second-worst in the implication that pain equals strength. This is edgelord […]

In the third volume of Berserk, Guts triumphs (barely) in his battle with the Slug Count, once again relying on cannon-in-arm ex machina to blow away an Apostle. Unfortunately, the God Hand intervenes, and Guts gets his chance finally to swing his sword at the demon Femto, who he calls Griffith. The pain of being so near a demon of that strength while branded nearly kills Guts, but his indomitable will carries through and he is able to at least make the attempt. Unfortunately the […]

Berserk 2 continues the Slug Count encounter of the Black Swordsman arc. We get a little more backstory about Guts, showing that in addition to being inhumanly strong, he is a master swordsman, able to perfectly deflect attacks moving so fast they can’t be seen. This surprises Puck, who thought up until now that Guts operated based only on brute strength. Guts makes his way into the Slug Count’s lair, fighting against him and insurmountable odds. This is one of the first times you see a constant […]

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 […]