We get some incredible character moments that show Guts growth and his (arguably) toxic handling of his trauma.

Mozgus burns away some of the blood with his flames, freeing Casca and saving Luca's group, but he intends to have the former burned at the stake while his men attack the latter. This arc also humanizes the act of becoming an apostle which adds a layer of emotional depth to their depraved existence and makes the antagonists feel like more than simple fodder for Guts to slash through. While overall Berserk is still an excellent manga with incredibly detailed art, complex and compelling characters, and a fascinating world - the Lost Children was a little weaker than normal. The illustrations are beautiful in their horror, and the pacing, while slow, generates such effective dread, the reading experience is like no other.

As if the deadly plague, religious crusades and rampant demon invasions weren’t enough, Emperor Ganishka of the Kushan Empire is making life an even greater hell for anyone that’s in his path of conquest. He really isn't very interesting, but mainly because Muira lacks the ability to make him anything beyond a rather lifeless, cardboard cut out of other overpowered action heroes. Due to a disagreement with one of the editors, the manga was stalled and eventually dropped altogether. I guess what I'm saying is that it makes a lot of sense to me that this is the volume where Berserk gets interested in sadomasochism. Casca is more fierce than most male soldiers on the battlefield and she has an attitude to match, so when we see her more feminine and loving side it makes her complex journey of self-realization all the more powerful.

I do find that the main story rag a little and that's why I drop half a star, but still very entertaining! Religious tyranny, satanic orgy cults, cannibalism do to starvation, extreme torture methods using real historical tools such as the Judas Cradle, breaking wheels, rack torture, flaying and burning at the stake, etc.Each part contains mild spoilers, I would advise not looking any further than the arcs you’re currently reading or have already read. This chapter used a in-world fairytale to frame the narrative and explore the difficulties of being a child in this abusive and cruel world. Berserk is infamous for being the most gratuitously dark, brutal, shocking and depressing fantasy story ever written, but it is also rich with intense human emotion, philosophical depth, perseverance through unimaginable suffering and horrifyingly realistic depictions of psychological trauma. Later, Griffith volunteers the Hawks to reclaim the impregnable Fortress of Doldrey from a Tudor governor named Gennon, previously the pederast lord Griffith served. Berserk is one of the most violent and goriest manga I've ever read, but the violence and gore isn't there for shock value, instead they represent the cruel face of humanity and show how gruesome and messy war can be.

Every major character is given facets and flaws and made three-dimensional in a way that is so rare in manga but so satisfying. Eventually, after many a misadventure, Guts begins to lose whatever fleeting attachment he felt for the band and its members, and decides to leave. i love Guts and i really appreciate Puck’s comedic timing— especially with this volume in particular. A few days later, Guts learns that Casca lost her sanity from the nightmarish ordeal and that their Brands of Sacrifice will subjected them to nightly attacks by various evil creatures.Isidro attempts to save Casca, while the Great Goat is transformed into a monster by a mysterious observer. From here the adventures ensue, Guts meets a beautiful female mercenary named Casca (who herself is obsessed with Griffith in almost the same way he is obsessed with Guts), and ingratiates himself to the rest of the meaningful members of the band.

It is often cited that the creators of Demon's and Dark Souls / Elden Ring took huge inspiration from Kentaro Miura, and I can see why. The Lost Children arc is often written off as a short filler mini-arc, but I think it serves its purpose more than well in just 3 volumes. The lead characters Guts and Griffith consistently challenge these themes and definitions through their shocking yet horrifyingly human actions. But if the plot fails, the king’s son will likely have to deal with Guts and his titanic broadsword, and the results of such confrontations are rarely pretty. that wSince the late 2000s, the manga has been published irregularly, with frequent hiatuses until Miura's death in 2021. But that doesn't last long as eventually he comes upon a band of mercenaries known as the Band of the Hawk, led by an infinitely charismatic warrior named Griffith, whose ambition reaches to heights untold. Clearly this series is more serious in general but yeah, it still has it’s chuckle worthy moments now and then. It doesn’t always keep Guts in mind, I feel, beyond action interludes, but otherwise a lot of the new thinking is interesting and welcome.