Even with all its bleakness, the tale of Berserk's protagonist Guts still resonates with that most unexpected quality: hope in the face of darkness.
Warning! Spoilers for Berserk below
Rage. It’s a problem that seems less like a personal one and more like a societal one nowadays. It’s a force that is by its very nature a destructive one, both to one’s self and to others. And perhaps no better work of fiction serves as both an emblem and a path through our collective anguish than Kentaro Miura’s long-running manga epic, Berserk, told through the life and times of its tortured hero, Guts.
Though it’s been over 30 years since he killed his first demonic Apostle, Miura’s Guts is more relevant than he’s ever been, not only as a symbol for the struggles those who come of age must face in these tumultuous times but also in offering a possible solution to those of us living in the midst of the continuous social upheavals caused by the fury and anger within our cultural climate. Always an ironically relatable character despite the auspicious nature his larger-than-life circumstances often generate, Guts is notable for the stark nature of his battle against evil both in his bleak determination and the ultimate redemption he finds through the comradery of his companions in their mutual cause: healing themselves and others. In this way, Guts may perhaps represent an enduring and palpable symbol of our times, not only in the emotional challenges he faces but in the allegorical nature of how he manages to return from the brink of destruction despite the disheartening obstacles he faces.
Berserk is set in a dark fantasy world in which demons, servants of the so-called God Hand, run amuck on an earth ruled over by a seemingly evil god. A controversial and often disturbing narrative, the story follows Guts, The Black Swordsman, from his earliest childhood, an abusive and terrible existence rife with heartlessness and violence. When we’re first introduced to Guts, he is a sadistic, single-minded madman, conditioned by years of trauma and torture to take out his rage on those deserving of it: the hellish “apostles”. Hell-bent on performing the seemingly impossible task of wiping out every demon in the world with his gigantic sword, the Dragonslayer, Guts is a broken man whose only solace comes from killing monsters, a task he seems unusually suited to. Constantly bringing himself to the very edge of death in his battles, he often gives the air of a heartless monster, no different from the beasts he slays.
In the second story-arc, the “Golden Age”, the episode which most fans are familiar with, we see the younger Guts and his tragic path into the inescapable misery and rage he finds himself in. A sexually abused child raised quite literally on the battlefield, Guts is in many ways an unforgivable protagonist despite his tragedy by the time the famous “Eclipse” occurs, already long-damned from his life of violence. Constantly forced to perform acts he finds abhorrent and compromising, Guts is endlessly confronted with his own helplessness, helplessness he can seemingly only ward away with the swing of his sword. Even his mercenary band leader and supposed best friend, Griffith, only seeks to use his skill in violence, feigning respect while secretly disparaging his blind obedience. However, despite his often objectively evil deeds which gnaw at his conscience, including the inadvertent murder of a child, Guts is slowly able to heal himself from the abuse he faced as a child, even managing to open up to his lover, Casca, and commiserate in their shared experience of abuse.
In what is by far the most well-known event of the series, a crippled Griffith reveals his true colors during “The Eclipse”, and sacrifices his entire mercenary band, The Band of the Hawk, to the world’s demons in order to restore himself and attain “godhood”, culminating in a vicious and senseless attack on Casca which leaves her dissociative and mentally broken, a shell of the strong woman she once was. Now completely disconnected from everything and everyone who once gave his life meaning after years of searching, Guts throws himself heedlessly into violent conflict with the apostles, giving rise to the cynical Black Swordsman we’re introduced to at the start of the series.
It would be a sad, weighty tale indeed if Guts remained on this path, likely resulting in his death even with the assistance of the elf Puck who joins him and heals him with magic after these violent travails, but this is not the tale Miura weaves for Guts. Instead, reminded of his responsibilities, Guts returns to search for Casca, and it is here that the true shape of Miura’s story begins to form. A stalwart swordsman who, despite his savage brutality, fights unyieldingly against his inner desire to give in to his animalistic rage (sometimes failing, with particularly nasty results), Guts becomes a beacon of inspiration to those who witness his selflessness. Initially, out of a need to take care of Casca, Guts gradually begins allowing himself followers, slowly building a party of companions around him as he journeys in search of a cure for Casca’s illness.
Already hurt, already having lost and regained and lost again his faith in others, Guts’s bravest action may indeed be this simple gesture, and it is one which ultimately leads him to redemption. Rather than being a lonesome, embittered wretch driven by anger, Guts becomes a calm and confident leader who learns once again that it is okay to rely on other people, people he can call friends. Even after acquiring the Berserker Armor, the use of which turns him into a true ravening beast, he becomes only more deeply indebted to his friends, like Shierke, the young witch who helps him return to himself, and determined to fight against his beastly impulses.
And in the end, after countless battles, he finally succeeds in at least one of his impossible goals: seeing Casca returned to sanity, with the help of his friends of course.
The story of Berserk is dark, violent, and incredibly disturbing, with danger around every corner and little to no time to prepare and regroup to meet these threats. The very world is inhabited with countless monsters, who unaccountably enslave and murder huge swathes of people with the protection of evil godlike beings who revel in the delirium and fury they propagate. It is a world gone sick and mad, where even simple things like a hot meal and a good night’s rest are a luxury many can never achieve. Guts himself may be one of the greatest victims of this cruel world, having witnessed violent atrocity after violent atrocity and trapped in a constant struggle simply to maintain a semblance of sanity. After The Eclipse, it seemed he might never be anything other than a mindless, sadistic slasher.
But, if he can be called a hero, then perhaps the most heroic part of him is his ability to come back from this depression and see that the world, despite its flaws and evil, can have good as well. In this way, the true significance behind Guts is revealed: despite his incredible and at-times all-consuming darkness, Miura has crafted Guts as a symbol of hope, true hope unlike his archenemy Griffith. A man who, despite losing everything in a world beset by chaotic and uncaring evil, still had the ability to come back and be the good man he always wanted to be.
While likely Guts and his party will meet some kind of dark tragedy in the near future of the series, once again testing Guts’ resolve, it will be his will to persevere that keeps him strong. And that is why, despite his darkness, Guts is a perfect symbol of our times, an antihero who, despite years of torture and being forced to become a weapon of darkness, had the courage to come back to the light.
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