The Brutal Beauty of Berserk
The legendary manga series "Berserk" created by Kentaro Miura is a manga to never be forgotten.
Including some of the most raw imagery in the history of manga and powerful themes, it is doubtful you will come out as the same person after reading Berserk. The extremely unfortunate, yet relatable main character 'Guts' is one of the most hardcore and inspiring characters to date and is universally admired by all readers. Diving deeper past the beautiful artwork, Miura reveals a multitude of themes and motifs that are tremendously thought-provoking, adding another layer of depth to this alluring story.
The artwork of Berserk itself is filled with a dizzying amount of detail that shows the beauty hidden within the filth of Miura’s cruel world. There will be panels depicting hell in its purest form, or violence to a nauseating degree, but will still have the reader pause and admire the
seemingly boundless artistic talent of Kentaro Miura.
Berserk is not only separated from other manga for its painstakingly thorough art, but also for its authentic and raw character design. In this story, Miura has crafted an exceptionally complex and deep main character, previously mentioned to be named Guts.
Born into a barbaric world from a hanged mother, Guts was immediately shrouded in cruelty.Raised by
a heartless mercenary, Guts had no choice but to participate in wars at a very young age and fend
for himself due to a selfish father-figure. Not being introduced to even the concept of love or trust, our main character was bound to a fate of hardship and solitary as he matured rapidly through his adolescence.
However, his solidarity to the human world allowed for him to have an extremely strong connection with his beloved sword. Due to this, he refined his swordsmanship everyday and became the most feared mercenary to all opposing forces, turning him into a monster. Guts also possesses an enormous physique, a muscular build, and wields a sword bigger than most people. You can also tell by the name a little bit about this character: he is brutish, tough, and perhaps even violent.
In many ways, Guts does meet with these surface-level assessments, ranging from his savage combat to his horrifying rage, they reinforce the visual aspects of this character. However, these judgements fail to confront the humanity of this character– his loyalty, determination, resilience, and selflessness.
These traits showcasing his humanity are mainly brought out by the eventual human connection he makes throughout the story. The neither black nor white nature of this character, mixed with his development throughout the story makes this fictional character seem so real and compelling. Each of Guts’ beautiful evolutions and pieces of dialogue speaks volumes about his features and complexity within his tragic story.
Coupled with an outstanding hero comes the captivating villain. ‘Griffith’ is introduced as a charismatic knight in shining armor, a beacon of hope for the weak in the world. He dreams of ruling over his own kingdom one day, just like any other child would. However, Griffith is set apart as he is able to perfectly execute his actions from pure desires, and essentially do whatever he wants. The nonchalance in his confidence accompanied with great skill enables him to be an adequate competitor with Guts, as they eventually turn into comrades, maybe even considered friends.
The relationship between Guts and Griffith is a significant catalyst in Berserk as it questions Griffith’s staple dream of ruling over a kingdom. For a dream so grand, Griffith has had to do many terrible things to progress his goal. Nonetheless, Guts inspires a conflict in the ever-so glorious dream of his, as Griffith would have never imagined caring about someone more than his own dream.
Griffith has always been able to put a smile on his face through the toughest of times and completely hide himself from the negative emotions that come from constant violence. The suppression of his own humanity is what leads this once valiant leader into a spiral of evil and malevolence. Griffith does everything on his own terms to accomplish a goal for the greater good. Yet, his fatal flaw of neglecting the priceless human connection he holds between his comrades, namely Guts, was the only switch that transformed him from light to darkness.
When reading Berserk, you will notice that the author puts a general emphasis on the idea of fighting through life even though surrendering may be easier. To stand and fight for what you believe in, even if you have to go hell and back, literally, is the whole intention behind Guts. Miura also introduces the theme of predetermination, or fate, in people's lives, and an idea of an inescapable outcome that disregards your effort to pave your own way through life.
This is completely challenged by Guts as he shows it doesn’t really matter if your fate is uncompromising or set in stone. Fighting for life when life presents a long and solitary road of pain, hardships, and darkness, means something. There is value in the agonizing trudge through life even if the face-value result presents no perceivable gain. There may be no end-goal to life, it may just be all for nothing, but you might as well try to make your mark on the world and live for the sake of the journey. Showing this to the reader in the context of Berserk not only leaves them with a rush of inspiration, but a new found love for life.
Some devices used in Berserk are not just limited to its manga, it can be found in a multitude of different forms of entertainment. The entire Dark Souls series obviously contains some inspiration from Berserk such as the wheel skeletons, Artorias, or the Hunter’s mark in Bloodborne being obviously derived from the Brand of Sacrifice.
Another likely byproduct of Berserk’s influence could also be Cloud’s Buster sword in the Final Fantasy series. With that being said, an abundance of shows and games have utilized the “lonely man with a huge sword” archetype popularized by Guts. Zabuza, Asta, Ichigo, and Ike are some instances of characters being potentially influenced by Guts as well.
The point is, Berserk is undoubtedly legendary and has implanted inspiration for thousands of readers across the globe. Despite Kentaro Miura’s heartbreaking passing in 2021, he will live on with his influence on the pop-culture of the world for many years to come.
Rest in peace Miura, and thank you for blessing us with a truly life-changing manga.
About the Author:
Henry Garland writes from Arizona as an undergraduate student. He has interest in arts, fashion, languages, and Asian cultures.
