Berserk

[Hero of Legends]

Wonder why this hasn´t been done before...oh well.

Berserk is Kentaru Miura´s ongoing dark fantasy manga masterpiece. With over 29 million volumes sold (according to wikipedia) it´s one of the most succesful adult mangas ever. It focuses around the life of Guts (or gatz/gattsu, depending on the translator), a huge man (and you better take that literally) who was born from the corpse of his dead mother. As you can tell, guts was born struggling, and struggle he will, as he most face battalions of monsters and demons to reach his ultimate goal. As a struggler, he can even go against the laws of Causality (destiny in this manga). Guts, is at times a hero, and at others an antihero by doing things that most ¨sane¨ people wouldn´t even dream about. The topics this manga offers are as simple as death and as complex as the meaning of life (Hate, revenge, happiness, love, sorrow, philosofy, etc.). Berserk is an example of manga perfection, and the only reason you shouldn´t read it is a weak stomach.

A anime series was released in 1997 consisting of 25 episodes but was later removed due to it´s graphic nature.

If you want to read more on the plot and characters (which are many more than this weak description offers) you can click Here

If you want to start reading the manga online you can go Here

So, have something to add? want to correct me? got questions? Post them here. In short, discuss.

[Elfen Lied]

its so sad the cancelled it at episode 25. 1 episode more would have finished the series. or at least left it at a better place.

im up to volume 32 of the manga so far, and yeh its pretty awesome and graphic.

[Daphnes]

I once got into an argument with Luke Groundwalker about who had it worse: Guts from Berserk, or Gaara from Naruto. Luke said Gaara didn't go through anything that should mess him up psychologically, but I say Gaara had it as bad or worse than Guts.

From Luke's description of the magna, and a few pictures, it's not to my liking. Too much gore and nudity. A little is fine, but it seems to me the content in Berserk probably crosses the line. Especially if graphic nature is what got it canceled. Neither are nesseccary to move the plot along, and too much can actually slow the plot down.

[Hero of Legends]

Originally Posted by Daphnes

From Luke's description of the magna, and a few pictures, it's not to my liking. Too much gore and nudity. A little is fine, but it seems to me the content in Berserk probably crosses the line.

At times it might seem that way, but believe me it´s not what the manga is about (just gore and nudity I mean). As I said before the manga tackles so many of lifes predicaments, struggles and perspectives that it´s almost impossible for a person not be identified with any of the characters.

Neither are nesseccary to move the plot along, and too much can actually slow the plot down.

That´s th beauty of Berserk, neither slows the plot down and at times they are even necessary to depict the frustration and need for revenge the main character feels.

[Daphnes]

I will admit that watching someone rape your girlfriend would invoke more emotion that watching him just slit her throat. However, I don't think the extra emotion is worth raising the rating so much that only adults that aren't easily grossed out can read/watch it. But that's just me.

I personally hate it when series stop short of a season's end. No sense of closure. Even if the creator has tired of the series, he/she could at least finish up the season for the dedicated fans.

[Hero of Legends]

Originally Posted by Daphnes

I will admit that watching someone rape your girlfriend would invoke more emotion that watching him just slit her throat. However, I don't think the extra emotion is worth raising the rating so much that only adults that aren't easily grossed out can read/watch it. But that's just me.

I would also think that the censorship is due to the high level of detail Kentaru Miura offers with his drawing prowess, I will admit some of the depictions may cause too big of an impact on younger readers, but that depends on the maturity of them aswell. Looking at it from a different perspective, If I were the author of this magnificient manga, I would like for older crowds to read my work so they can get the big picture and not just the linear part of it. But that´s just me.

I personally hate it when series stop short of a season's end. No sense of closure. Even if the creator has tired of the series, he/she could at least finish up the season for the dedicated fans.

Forgot to mention on the main post, the series was also stopped due to financial...uh, restraints.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Originally Posted by Hero of Legends

Wonder why this hasn´t been done before...oh well.

It's been done like...twice, iirc. With little results.

Originally Posted by Hero of Legends

A anime series was released in 1997 consisting of 25 episodes but was later removed due to it´s graphic nature.

Psh, more like removed to get people to buy the manga more.

Originally Posted by Daphnes

I once got into an argument with Luke Groundwalker about who had it worse: Guts from Berserk, or Gaara from Naruto. Luke said Gaara didn't go through anything that should mess him up psychologically, but I say Gaara had it as bad or worse than Guts.

Gaara just got rejected once in his life because of a demon inside of human. Guts has been under a lot of bad sh-t in his life, and has been physically and emotionally abused (as a child, of course). There's so much tragedy that builds his character to what he is currently in the story, it's hard to even list them all, honestly. Some are just little emotional quirks throughout the manga that are able to let you know how the characters feel.

Originally Posted by Daphnes

From Luke's description of the magna, and a few pictures, it's not to my liking. Too much gore and nudity. A little is fine, but it seems to me the content in Berserk probably crosses the line. Especially if graphic nature is what got it canceled. Neither are nesseccary to move the plot along, and too much can actually slow the plot down.

Honestly, if the violence slows down the plot for you, then you're just imagining it. Violence is there for a realistic portrayal, it's there to show you that not only Berserk is emotionally real, but it's also physically real in the world it portrays (which is kind of an oxymoron as Berserk indeed is fantasy, yet you can feel the realistic mood of it).

As for being the most violent manga, though, I think it's one of the most violent, but I've seen way worse stuff than Berserk.

Oh, and I love this manga. Best manga ever.

[Internet hero]

Originally Posted by Daphnes

Luke said Gaara didn't go through anything that should mess him up psychologically, but I say Gaara had it as bad or worse than Guts.

Yeah, because I mean when you're told you're not wanted and was never loved by your feminine uncle you know you're worse off than being sold off by your foster father to some guy in the same mercenary group who r-pes you.

But anyways, Berserk is an epic manga, probably the best I've ever read like... ever.

[Daphnes]

Ok, let's see:

-Guts was raped and sold by his father.
-Gaara had a demon put inside him by his father, then abandoned because his father couldn't control him.

-Guts had to watch his girlfriend get raped and abused to the point that she's retarded.
-Gaara was betrayed by the only person he thought cared about him because his uncle blamed him for the death of his mother.

-Guts has a demonic force inside him because he can't handle his childhood issues.
-Gaara has a demonic force inside of him due to no fault of his own, and can't ever sleep for fear of the demon taking control of him forever.

So Gaara never got raped. Naruto magna isn't geared exclusively towards adults. I'd say those points go to Gaara, but that's just me.

Of course, more stuff has likely happened to Guts because he's the main protagonist, whereas Gaara isn't.

[Internet hero]

You forgot how Guts lost an arm and an eye trying to save Casca, plus him finding out pretty much ALL of his friends had been wiped out at the Eclipse because of the very man he acknowledged as a friend and trusted. ;/

Plus his Foster father attempted to kill him, but Guts killed him first in self defense and afterwards the rest of the group he was with misunderstood and saw it as murder and they had caught Guts in the act, so he fled for his life.

I'd say Guts hardships out weight Gaara's by far, who's only really been lonely, and that's it. Where as Guts has been raped, used, abused, etc.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Originally Posted by Daphnes

-Guts was raped and sold by his father.
-Gaara had a demon put inside him by his father, then abandoned because his father couldn't control him.

I'm gonna put this all in spoiler tags for now on.

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

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Guts wasn't raped by his father, he doesn't even have an actual father. The only father-figure he had was Gambino, who basically abused him verbally and physically at times, but at the same time Guts was forced to become part of Gambino's mercenary band. Later on, for a few gold coins, Gambino let a fellow pedophile mercenary Donovan basically have a one-night stand with Guts and raped him at age 9. Guts, however very hurt from this experience, emotionally held it in for the next two years. During so, Gambino was injured and lost a leg, causing him to slack off a lot and become a complete drunkard, even being more abusive towards Guts.

One night, Gambino attacked Guts and tried to murder him while drunk, basically admitting that he was sick of Guts and the only reason he sold him to Donovan was because he wanted to get rid of Guts (who he also delusionally blames for his wife's death, but that's a whole 'nother story). Guts, acting on instinct, grabbed his sword and killed Gambino on accident out of self-defense, and in a sense Guts was sad because Gambino was the only father figure he ever had.

Hearing the commotion of what was going on in Guts' tent where he slept, other mercenaries came in to find out what happened, only to find Guts' sword in Gambino's throat, and immediately accused the child of killing their leader, Gambino. Guts, acting out of self defense, killed them both as they attempted to attack, with Guts taking a horse and running away as all the mercenaries chase him down, eventually making Guts fall down a cliff and left for dead by the mercenary band.

---

Yeah, that's very different from Gaara's "trauma."

Originally Posted by Daphnes

-Guts had to watch his girlfriend get raped and abused to the point that she's retarded.
-Gaara was betrayed by the only person he thought cared about him because his uncle blamed him for the death of his mother.

I don't see how those two are similar, but you know, if anything, I'd say that Naruto pretty much makes a sh-tty and emotionally lacking rip-off of Guts' childhood story. Hypothetically, let's say they're similar, in every form. Considering Berserk was created years before Naruto was, I'd say any true similarity in between them would make Naruto pretty much rip it off, especially since compared to Berserk, there's no actual realism in terms of emotion. You have to actually, you know, read Berserk to understand what I mean.

Originally Posted by Daphnes

-Guts has a demonic force inside him because he can't handle his childhood issues.
-Gaara has a demonic force inside of him due to no fault of his own, and can't ever sleep for fear of the demon taking control of him forever.

Er, what? Guts doesn't have a demonic force inside him because he can't handle his childhood issues, dude. Guts has pretty much handled ANY issue and been through them without being a completely emo idiot about it. Read the manga, and then say something about it, because otherwise you would have no idea what you're talking about at all, which your poorly misinformed information about Guts proves that.

But in any case, here's an explanation for Guts' "demon":

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

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Basically, you could say, it's his own fault, but it adds to the actual tragedy of his character. Guts' Beast of Darkness was a byproduct of his hatred for the Godhand and Griffith during the Eclipse, and his wanting for revenge for what happened there. All the hate emotions is manifested in the Beast of Darkness to represent Guts' selfish quest, but overtime it's shown that Guts struggles with the Beast of Darkness controlling him, adding to his character, as he wants to focus on finding a way to completely make Casca, his lover, completely better from the traumatization of the Eclipse rather than his selfish desire for revenge. In recent chapters, it's shown that with the help of his friends, he is able to ease the Beast of Darkness' control over him and completely control his selfish desire for revenge, showing a big leap of character development that makes Berserk the amazing manga it is.

---

Originally Posted by Daphnes

So Gaara never got raped. Naruto magna isn't geared exclusively towards adults. I'd say those points go to Gaara, but that's just me.

Yeah, I mean, a completely dull and cliche character with an equally dull and cliche backstory totally beats Guts, a well-developed, emotional character that someone could completely envy because of the amount of strength he has dealing with the problems he faces.

But yeah, Guts and Gaara are completely different characters, I really don't see the need to compare them, dude, it doesn't matter much.

[Evaline]

Originally Posted by Daphnes

I once got into an argument with Luke Groundwalker about who had it worse: Guts from Berserk, or Gaara from Naruto.

Is that a joke?

Guts has it worse. A lot worse. He's missing an eye and half an arm, for crying out loud! And while he does everything in his power to make his girlfriend better, she constantly ignores and glares at him. But he STILL wants to help her. Personally, I think that's more epic than some emo kid crying about how he doesn't have any friends.

Ahem...

I love Berserk. I found one of the songs on the OST back in early 2006, and watched the first episode. Unfortunately, I had a weak stomach at the time (still do, actually) and stopped watching it after that. But Luke Groundwalker convinced me to read the manga, so I did so. D= And I must say, the plotline is genius. It actually makes every decent manga out there look bad, despite the violence. It just takes a while to get into.

Of course, it does have some cliches. But what plot doesn't? They're all pulled off greatly, which makes it so good.

[Hero of Legends]

Originally Posted by Dark Tragedy

And while he does everything in his power to make his girlfriend better, she constantly ignores and glares at him. But he STILL wants to help her. .

Ah yes, Guts devotion to Caska is trully inspiring and worth commending.

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

---

Caska´s well being has become Guts´ sole purpose in his travels, and yet, the object of his affection is in turn the source of greatest pain, as in her state of mind she pushes him away. Their relationship gets very emotional at times as Guts questions himself whether Caska desires what he desires, even worse, after all is good and done, if things will or not go back to the way they once were. You can really feel Guts´ pain during this type of moments.

---

By the way Dark Tragedy, it´s not a very common thing for me to meet female Berserk fans, so, it´s a pleasure.

[Elfen Lied]

I think that's more epic than some emo kid crying about how he doesn't have any friends.

lol that's good. some emo kid indeed.

By the way Dark Tragedy, it´s not a very common thing for me to meet female Berserk fans, so, it´s a pleasure.

likewise, its definitely target towards males, but id expect it to have some sort of female following, and not just because of the relationship between Guts and Caska.

There are some chicks out there who dig violence, but its also a pretty well drawn anime/manga so it has artistic value too. I kinda get sick of all these shamanking/yugioh shows that all look the same (and half of them even have basically the same plot).

Trying to think of another anime/manga that kinda looks like berserk, Fist of the North Star comes to mind.


i really like Berserk, good story, lots of monsters, great characters, dark, gothic and medieval.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Originally Posted by Elfen Lied

Trying to think of another anime/manga that kinda looks like berserk, Fist of the North Star comes to mind.

Eh, only early Berserk reminds me of Fist of the North Star. I'd say the manga with real similar art to Berserk is Vagabond, honestly.

[Evaline]

Originally Posted by Hero of Legends

Ah yes, Guts devotion to Caska is trully inspiring and worth commending.

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

---

Caska´s well being has become Guts´ sole purpose in his travels, and yet, the object of his affection is in turn the source of greatest pain, as in her state of mind she pushes him away. Their relationship gets very emotional at times as Guts questions himself whether Caska desires what he desires, even worse, after all is good and done, if things will or not go back to the way they once were. You can really feel Guts´ pain during this type of moments.

---

By the way Dark Tragedy, it´s not a very common thing for me to meet female Berserk fans, so, it´s a pleasure.

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

---

Indeed. It really makes you want them to get to Elfhem as soon as possible. Of course the entire sea fight is probably going to make it so they don't get there until the next volume, at the very least. Oh well, I guess... We can only hope. D:

---

Originally Posted by Elfen Lied

lol that's good. some emo kid indeed.



likewise, its definitely target towards males, but id expect it to have some sort of female following, and not just because of the relationship between Guts and Caska.

There are some chicks out there who dig violence, but its also a pretty well drawn anime/manga so it has artistic value too. I kinda get sick of all these shamanking/yugioh shows that all look the same (and half of them even have basically the same plot).

Trying to think of another anime/manga that kinda looks like berserk, Fist of the North Star comes to mind.


i really like Berserk, good story, lots of monsters, great characters, dark, gothic and medieval.

Berserk seems kinda degrading torward the female population, at first. I've seen a couple of threads where a bunch of girls complain about how sexist it is. But honestly, it's not sexist at all. >_> It's more along the lines of... Blunt. D: Of course Berserk is a bit of a fantasy world, but the early medieval times were actually like that... As I was told.

The violence isn't that bad, after a while. XD



And thanks, you two. ^.^

[Elfen Lied]

Eh, only early Berserk reminds me of Fist of the North Star. I'd say the manga with real similar art to Berserk is Vagabond, honestly.

omg i totally spaced yeh vagabond, i havent read that one in a while, and i just bought the boxed set of New Fist of the North Star the other day.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Originally Posted by Dark Tragedy

Berserk seems kinda degrading torward the female population, at first. I've seen a couple of threads where a bunch of girls complain about how sexist it is. But honestly, it's not sexist at all. >_> It's more along the lines of... Blunt. D:

Naw, I'd say it's more realistic than anything. Sure women get constantly raped and sh-t, like at the time when Wyld came in to attack the Hawks and basically was f-cking girls to the extreme. The fact that they shown him like that really shed light on how evil/sick/terrible he was (I mean, really, realistically, raping someone for your own pleasure and sh-t is one of the most evil things someone can do).

Spoiler (Highlight to read):

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As for the thing with Casca having PMS on the battlefield, I don't think that was something Miura wanted to degrade her for. Imo, I think he wanted to shed a problem any women like her would probably face on the battlefield if they were fighting (there wasn't really any women fighting like that in the Medieval times, really), and it really gave her character as she was decided to fight for Griffith's dream even if she had something like PMS.

And most likely the only reason she was feeling extremely bad and fainted, falling off a cliff, was mostly due to the stress of the situation she was in and the fact that back in the time where Berserk takes place, there was a great lack of actual medicine for simple things such as colds. Honestly, saying that's sexist like that one girl on the Evil Genius forums would just be ludicrous.

---

In any case, I think it's obvious with characters like Casca, Farnese, the prostitutes (in the Retribution arc), and Schrieke that Miura does indeed portray the female characters as completely human and emotional without any sexism at all, really.

[Elfen Lied]

In any case, I think it's obvious with characters like Casca, Farnese, the prostitutes (in the Retribution arc), and Schrieke that Miura does indeed portray the female characters as completely human and emotional without any sexism at all, really.

he does so better than some others in this genre, what what genre is Berserk again? its not really ecchi like Tenjho Tenge, but Berserk does have a bit of nudity. point is unlike others in the genre it doesnt portray women the way others do. I think it does a pretty good job of it.

[Hero of Legends]

Originally Posted by Luke Groundwalker

Naw, I'd say it's more realistic than anything.

Realistic is the key term here. Miura only tries to portray the reality of women during the time period. In those days women had little to no rights at all (as a matter of fact, still today, some cultures think of women as inferior to men. Thus deprive them of many freedoms). They were supossed to stay in the kitchen, look after the children, please their husband. If anything, strong characters like Caska and Schierke are a testament showing that Miura is not a sexist low-life.

[Luke Groundwalker]

Originally Posted by Elfen Lied

he does so better than some others in this genre, what what genre is Berserk again? its not really ecchi like Tenjho Tenge, but Berserk does have a bit of nudity. point is unlike others in the genre it doesnt portray women the way others do. I think it does a pretty good job of it.

Berserk would be seinen, but I do agree, compared to something like Gantz which is also seinen, full of women being sexually exploited (but I don't mind it, I love Gantz to death, it's pretty epic). Of course, in manga in general, it's nothing new to make females sex symb