Berserk



Berserk (ベルセルク Beruseruku?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired fantasy world, the story centers around the characters of Guts, an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the Band of the Hawk (鷹の団 Taka no Dan?). Themes of isolation, camaraderie, and the question of whether humanity is fundamentally good or evil pervade the story, as it explores both the best and worst of human nature. Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy violence.

Miura premiered a prototype of Berserk in 1988. The first volume of the manga was published on November 26, 1990 by Hakusensha in its Jets Comics collection. In 1992, after the publication of three more volumes, Berserk was serialized in Young Animal. The series was adapted into a twenty-five episode anime series covering the series' first story arc by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLM,_Inc. Oriental Light and Magic] from October 7, 1997 and March 31, 1998. A series of films are currently being released, beginning with Berserk Golden Age Arc I: The Egg of the King on February 4, 2012, as part of a new effort to adapt the entire manga series.

Plot

Black Swordsman (vol. 1–3)
Guts, known throughout the land as the mysterious Black Swordsman, hunts the Apostles of the God Hand with no regard to those who become caught in the conflict. Guts arrives in the city of Koka, where he inadvertently rescues the elf Puck. Puck decides to accompany Guts through his journey. Guts fights and kills the Apostle who controlled the town, etching that the Black Swordsman is coming for all Apostles and especially the Godhand next. Guts continues his journey, eventually moving on to another city controlled by an Apostle who is referred to only as The Count. Guts meets a doctor who was mutilated and driven into hiding by the count. When the doctor fled the Count's castle, he stole the Count's Behilit egg, which is used to summon the God Hand by mortals in moments of despair. This allows mortals to ascend to Apostle status shedding their humanity. Guts is merciless in his battle with the Count. He eventually defeats him and tortures him in front of his daughter, Telisia. While the Count lies on the verge of death, his fear activates the Behilit charm Guts brought to the battle and summons the five members of The Godhand, including Guts' arch-nemesis Femto. The God Hand offer to restore the Count's life but he must sacrifice Telisia. To compel him, the God Hand reveal to Telisia that the Count sacrificed her mother for his initiation to Apostlehood. Despite all this, the Count is unwilling to sacrifice his daughter and is condemned to hell. During this time, Guts rallies his strength and makes an attempts to take revenge against Femto but fails. When the Count is stripped of his Apostle status and finally pulled into hell, Guts, Puck and the Count's daughter are returned to the normal world. The Count's daughter curses Guts for all that has happened and finally Guts shows remorse for the damage to innocent lives his vengeance against the Apostles of the God Hand has caused. Guts then moves on to continue his quest, and Puck follows him.

Golden Age Arc (vol. 3–13)
This arc is a flashback showing Guts' youth and what led him to become the "Black Swordsman". Guts grows up as a young mercenary until his enrollment in the Band of the Hawk. He develops complex relationships with Casca and Griffith, the Band's charismatic leader and holder of the Crimson Behelit, who leads the Band to its rise and subsequently its fall within the Midland army. From a conventional medieval European background, the story shifts to fantasy and horror, with the apparition of the Eclipse ceremony that ends with the destruction of the Band, as per Griffith's sacrifice in order to become Femto, the fifth member of the Godhand. Only from the enigmatic Skull Knight, were Guts and Casca able to survive. Unbelievably distraught over what transpired, Guts vows vengeance against Griffith and commits to his own personal war against the entities known as Apostles that slaughtered the Band of the Hawk.

Conviction Arc (Vol. 14–21)
The story returns to the present with Guts continuing his wandering journey. The Vatican becomes very uneasy about him and begins a manhunt for the "Black Swordsman." Guts enters a town that is being attacked by elves. It turns out to be an Apostle named Rosine. Guts defeats the Apostle with the help of a local girl named Jill. He eventually returns to the aid of Casca, whose mind was broken during the Eclipse. In a half-awake dream, Guts receives a grim premonition of Casca through the demon child of their own conception. Guts returns to the place where he left her, only to find out from Rickert, who had been her caretaker while Guts was away, that she had inexplicably wandered off. Through the clues in the premonition his search leads him to the Tower of Worship in Albion. Guts goes die-hard when he finds out the Vatican have Casca and plan on burning her at the stake. In lieu of the rescue, things around them reach a fever pitch. Their very presence had triggered an anomaly culminating in a "rebirth ceremony" creating a mock Eclipse and the surprising return of Griffith to the corporeal world. Midland, suffering under a depression and a subsequent outbreak of disease, the Kushan Empire seizes the opportunity to invade following the death of the King.

Hawk of the Millennium Empire Arc (vol. 22–35)
Escaping the invasion, Guts and Casca begin a journey towards Elfhelm, Puck's homeland, where they hope to reach safehaven from the Curse of the Eclipse-inflicted Brand of Sacrifice. Along their way, newfound companions join them in their struggle. Upon meeting the sorceress Flora, Guts learns the Elfhelm king could possibly cure Casca's derelict mind and is bequeathed the Berserker Armor to help him in his fight against the Apostles. In parallel, the newly born Griffith is engaged in freeing Midland from the Kushan invasion and he leads a new demonic Band of the Hawk to victory against Ganiskha, leader of the Kushan Empire and also a powerful Apostle. In a last-ditch effort to defeat Griffith, Ganishka sacrifices himself and undergoes an untested metamorphosis into a monster that no living man or Apostle could contend with. The Skull Knight attacks Griffith who's appearance was that of Femto, but he redirects the attack to destroy Ganishka and simultaneously releases powerful energies that transform the world.

Fantasia Arc (vol. 35–36~)
Guts finds himself torn by his battle for vengeance, but quickly admits to himself that he will not abandon Casca to fight Griffith. Sailing their way through the seas towards Elfhelm, Guts and his companions face new unknown dangers, along with the constant threat that the cursed Berserker Armor poses to Guts' mind. They stop at one island and meet the young girl Isma. The island has been taken over by an ancient monster called "The Sea God". Guts travels inside the monster and slashes its heart, killing it.