In 2016 my friend told me about Berserk, he told me that it was the greatest Manga he had ever read, i was shocked.
After 4 years of harassment, i finally accepted to read it in april 2020 i stopped the Manga after 114 chapters.
And after one year i finally continued and finished it, like a week ago and i will say it, its probably one of the greatest Manga that has ever existed, i will
explain it here.
Story :
The Story is located in a ruthless medieval world, we follow the adventure of a mercenary named Guts aka the Struggler.
Beyond being a visual and subliminal slap, Berserk is an ode to the imagination, a mythology, a story as well as an extremely dense and referenced universe, plentiful symbolism and numerous reading grids, characters and relationships explored, etc. it is a terrible experience, a deep and insane work, at least among the most ambitious of its medium and of fantasy (not just dark) in general.
Now let's talk about the incredible Berserk arcs.
First of all Black Swordsman arc the most underrated one, its the first arc of this big series, this arc is used to present us the cruelty of the world of Berserk, the atmosphere is heavy and we can see an avenging and literally a shocking and offensive Guts, we got the God Hands appearance and also a clue about the relationship between Guts and Griffith.
Now its Golden Age arc, i think its the fan favorite one and the most popular one, this is the true beginning of Guts's Journey, we can see even more the cruelty of this world, Guts got raped, was tortured and was forced to be a soldier, after joining the Band of the Hawk he finally found a family and his place in this sadistic world and built up a relationship with Casca, which make Griffith's Sacrifice the biggest betrayal and the most heartbreaking one i've ever seen in Manga history, Golden Age is terrible and a very attractive arc.
Time for Conviction arc, this arc is separated in two other arcs Lost Children (which is also underrated) and Birth Ceremony.
We start with Lost Children arc which is i think the darkest arc in Berserk, its the direct continuation of Black Swordsman arc, it shows us Guts's mental after the eclipse and shows us the struggle that Guts has been through with killing apostles every night, it also serves Guts's character development.
Now Birth Ceremony, in this arc Guts gets chased by The Holy Iron Chain Knights, it introduces two of the most iconic characters of Berserk Farnese, and Serpico, also one of the most memorable Antagonist that is Mozgus with his unforgettable and terrifying design, this arc shows us that Guts prioritize Casca's safety over revenge, we also see a barbarous Guts compared to before.
Falcon of the Millennium Empire arc got a really special atmosphere, because Guts finally formed his new team composed of Isidro, Farnese, Serpico, Casca, Puck and joined later by Schierke and Ivarella, most the crew develop wonderfully, the team made him calmer and helped him forget a little bit about Griffith, and its in this arc where we are presented the Berserker Armor, an armor that greatly increase Gut's Strength at the cost of his body, this arc is filled with memorable moments and the return of Griffith in the Story is really exciting.
And finally Fantasia arc, its the last one in the series and also the most tranquil which is not a bad thing, this take place in a new world where every place is a danger except Griffith's Kingdom, Guts is always in his way to recuperate Casca's memory, the Seagod's mini arc got a lot of good actions but was a bit useless but still really enjoyable, there was a lot of intrigue being built, i think the arc was very slow-paced compared to others, its the worst Berserk arc but still a very good one.
Art :
it's a secret for no one, Kentarou Miura is a god at drawing, i think Berserk got the most detailed panels in manga history, in the first chapters even if its not as good as the last ones its still very good, the evolution of the artwork is just fascinating, there is a rare amount of manga that can be compared to Berserk's last chapters art.
Characters :
During the journey Guts will meet many new Characters, enemies or allies all of them are doing their role very well as side Characters.
I will only talk about 2 Characters Guts and Griffith, most of the other characters are goated but i just want to take these two.
First Guts, aka the Black Swordsman, he wanders the world of rarely equaled darkness, in the search of Apostles, he's a Berserker with his iconic sword, but there's more to Guts than just his violent attitude. he is a phenomenal character who is more than capable of compassion, loyalty, kindness and most importantly an impregnable will, Guts got his own Category he's a struggling hero he's known as the Struggler, i think he belongs to the few main character that really suffered a lot.
Now Griffith, aka Falcon of Light, he's an arrogant, heartless and a manipulating person, he would throw away the people who oppose his dream and his orders, Griffith stand up on the shoulders of the people fascinated by his charisma and decisions, he manipulated the whole world only few peoples know the truth about him.
Conclusion :
Berserk is a peak Manga.
Rest in peace Kentarou Miura.
Overall Ratings :
Story 10/10
Art 10/10
Characters 10/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 10/10
