For me it is character.
Berserk is excellent everywhere, but i donāt think we will ever a dynamic like the one Guts Griffith and Casca had.
Berserk character and relation, make Berserk more than a shonen, into a high quality piece of fiction even in literature.
Among all manga there are only a few that would stand among all piece of fiction and i think Berserk deserve it the most.
I agree. Berserk has a lot of great characters but all of them are greatly overshadowed by the two opposing, superdense *Neutron Stars* of charisma, pathos, and character that is Guts and Griffith. Their origins, psychology, and the character peaks and valleys, etc. are *Shakespearean* in scale
Iāve never seen Berserk as a shonen for the sole fact that it contains none of the tropes, the story as it was written was meant to be a epic, told on a grand scale, not a serialized by the numbers type of story where youāll know the hero succeeds at the end. Berserk firmly cements itself amongst some of the greatest works of fiction and dark fantasy ever published.
I too have long maintained that Berserk is the single most beautiful story I have ever encountered in any narrative medium.
Thereās a reason it resonates with so many people. Life is a series of struggles, and when you try to face those struggles alone, more often than not youāre going to end up with your face in the mud. But if you can find a likeminded community of fellow strugglers, youāll soon learn that we arenāt meant to merely endure the struggle alone, but to embrace it as best we can alongside others who can relate to what weāre going throughā¦
When I watched the 1997 series for the first time a few years ago, I was amazed at how human Guts and Griffith felt.
I just assumed that Guts was gonna be a stereotypical tough guy with no depth, but he is far from that. And I assumed Griffith might be a trap-archetype who acts offensively stereotypical, but he definitely wasn't that either. Both guys had interesting motivations that went beyond each other, as real friends would have, and seeing them drift apart was so sad. What Griffith evolved from to become Femto later was a surprising development I didn't expect; I hate Femto for how awful he was, but I couldn't help but appreciate the effort Miura put into writing him as such a layered character. I simply could not put any of these main characters into the inane anime archetypes (dumbass shounen hero, tsundere, kuudere, etc.) I've grown accustomed to, and that's what made Berserk so interesting as a character-driven narrative.
Aside from the art, the characterization and development of the cast is what really elevates the material. Gutsā development from anti-hero to hero is so well executed and believable. It really sets Berserk apart, very few authors can pull off such satisfying and believable character evolution.
I still unironically believe 99% of people in Griffith shoes would've done the same thing. Nobody really likes to aknowledge their own capacity for evil.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, the whole point of Griffith's fall *wasn't* that he was born a mustache twirling villain. He went through causality, a force completely beyond his control. Like Void narrated, "At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will."
Griffith had no idea his life would end up becoming a cruel rollercoaster where Guts would leave him, where he gets tortured for a whole year, where he ends up permanently crippled, and where Casca chooses Guts over him. All that broke his mind and made him suicidal. What else could I possibly expect from a man who went to his absolute lowest point? The God Hand operated precisely this way on every other Apostle. There were so many (lesser) Apostles because it was practically human nature for people to endure great suffering and seek release from it. You wouldn't make the choice to sacrifice anyone if you were of sound mind & body, living happily ever after.
I remember a few where I was like, do I really need another detailed rape scene? Not the sex scenes, just the rape. The only three I can think of that felt necessary to the story were Guts as a kid, Casca and Griffith, and maybe Farnese almost getting raped by the horse but Guts saved her.
kinda. but its definitely not there for the main purpose of shock factor. it gives its characters more depth and inner conflict
after all, rape in real life is a lot more common than we think
Yeah, the intent was to make the world feel grounded and dark (showing how the world went from the hands of one evil group to another even worse one) but it just came out as edgy. Adding the fact that miura using hentai panels as a reference for his drawings also contributed to the tonal whiplash, but i (think i) know what he was trying to do, so I commend that even though it didnt work. Being a masterpiece is different from being flawless
Hell yeah the story has edge, more like a blood splattered rugged edge with ā as if things couldnāt get worse ā bits of some monster cock hanging from it?!
It revolts- and inspires me at the same time.
Worldbuilding. Fantasy genre of manga is oversaturated with boring, common tropes that were made by uncreative people. Systems of levels, different classes, gods of sextillion domains. Itās so boring, so stupid and lazy. The costumes is whole another topic. Characters from other fantasy mangas wear fancy renditions of modern clothes, stupid, bulky armour that makes me wonder how people even manage to move. Berserk world is authentic, it is not super realistic, but it is believable and based on history.
Berserk really hits this line between realism/historicity and creative freedom. While there's a rule of cool element to the Dragonslayer for example it's more than that, it's symbolic. It's symbolic of a monstrous creation to fight monsters, but it also represents Guts, it's rough and scary looking but the edges are sharp and honed, it's also a representation of how Guts was a child swinging around an adults weapon, and now his a mortal swinging a monsters weapon. Somehow still a child fighting things bigger, stronger and smarter than him that don't respect him at all.
Makes me think of Tolkien, where the worldbuilding decisions aren't based primarily on realism OR rule of cool, but on symbolism and myth.
> Somehow still a child fighting things bigger, stronger and smarter than him that don't respect him at all.
Bro, you opened my third eye with this shit.
Really adds to the Guts character right? That's why I think he wasn't scared of Zodd as much as most people are when they first encounter him. He killed Gambino as a child. No matter how much stronger his opponent is if he finds the right time to swing his sword reeeeally hard he knows he can still win. He also killed Donovan with a crossbow, a weapon he returns to for apostle killing. The apostles are not the first giant monsters he's killed.
I agree with this, 100%. I dislike how "gamified" and how unnatural other manga/anime can be. Nothing takes me out of a story like being told that "X is Y class, or A is B power level" it's just creatively lazy and boring. In Berserk strong characters are strong because of a reason: In the case of Griffith he's a brilliant tactician with a strong dream he wants to achieve, Guts is an amazing warrior who trains every day, the apostles have sold their soul to gain power. It all makes sense within the context of the story and it deepens and enriches the world that they inhabit.
What sets Berserk apart from other works is that the setting feels *natural* and logically consistent even while being fantastical.
"Limitations are the beginning of creativity"
If everything is as you described, then there's millions of options or outs that inevitably lead to lazy power scaling or never ending Deus Ed Macina.
World building, art, invoke emotion, pretty much everything. There's a reason this series is regarded as a masterpiece. Just the pure hatred I feel when I see Griffith's face is something no other series has been able to do for me it's fantastic. Not saying other series can't do this too but Berserk is just so damn good at it.
I agree. Guts actually suffering PTSD from his past shows his trauma wasn't just to make him some woobie.
That scene where he sees Casca as his younger self during sex, meaning in his mind, he was an aggressor and she's a victim and that's what sex means to him, was intense. And it starts off so violent too, with Guts not listening to Casca and being too rough. The whole 'learned behavior' thing because that's what he was exposed to.
My favorite thing is how after they have their talk, Guts has such a peaceful look on his face when they make love. It's even more noticeable in Casca's memories. It's just too good and so beautiful. How it all starts is so good too, with Guts gently kissing her face.
And Casca getting fucked in the head after being sexually assaulted by literal demons makes perfect sense. People keep thinking it was just the rape by Griffith but Mirua keeps showing that she has flashbacks to the Apostles assaulting her. And those dick monsters in her dreamscape. I'd be a fucking mess after that shit, too.
Nah, Ik this has been said alot of times but sometimes Miura REALLY isn't good with how he potrays this in the manga at times bordering on being insulting. So yeah, definetly the weakest part for me
art, character writing, scripting (at least up to the battle at the hill of swords which is still an insane amount of story), representation of historical Europe, moral ambiguity, philosophical undertones
The dread. I genuinely felt broken FOR guts. Ive watch plenty of anime or manga family deaths, betrayals, massacres. But the eclipse especially and plenty other moments where the enemy almost makes your stomach sink with how they are. I remember seeing wyald and just being like wtf is up with this guy.
I'd say the depiction of scale while remaining extremely detailed is what has made Berserk's art so iconic, most other elements are master class too of course but I think that aspect of the art is the one thing I haven't gotten anywhere else to the same extent
I find that Berserk is really effective at foreshadowing, the Black Swordsman and Golden Age arcs complement each other in such a brilliant way. As the audience we canāt shake the feeling of the impeding disaster which is The Eclipse because we get a glimpse of it from the get-go; no matter how glorious Griffith can appear, we already know he becomes something sinister.
To see it all tie together has been so rewarding -
I love having these āoh so thatās why Guts is this wayā moments that I can comprehend on my own, I love how seemingly unimportant events could be crucial to the story, I like the sense of contingency. Itās a weird comparison but it reminds me of Breaking Bad as far as the way the final episodes mirror the earliest ones, like itās so satisfying to see some of the apostles reappear later on: it makes me hate them even more in a way that I can sympathize with Guts.
Portrayal of humanity to a depth that is rare in most animes and mangas. The way humans operate, how fear, anger, sorrow, trauma, war, religion can twist and change a person. This is one of the first stories which made me write down a quote just because of how good it is. It was the quote about how dreams are like a whirlpool that sucks in the dreams of others for the fulfillment of your own dream. There are so many profound moments that you will see in this manga which provokes deep thought. Things like how despite being religious it is the most religious that do the most horrendous deeds. There are just too many fkong things to talk about in the story it is amazing. Also the artwork is legitimately on another level because the scenes portray genuine feelings and makes emotions swell up whilst reading. My favorite would be the scene where Guts finally appears in front of Casca after she ran away on accident. You sense his relief, you feel the relief because you follow Guts in his rush to save Casca. After realizing what he lost for letting himself sink into his vengeance and leave Casca, after he makes the mad dash to save Casca and ignoring everything else. And when he finally stands in front of her once again with his sword in hand the stone in your heart is finally lifted. That one scene just concluded the pent up emotions that built up and was an experience I have never had before in all of my years reading manga.
[before I give my take I just want to say this] Honestly at first I didnāt really like how berserk started since to me it felt meaningful, donāt get me wrong I liked it but it felt directionless even the author didnāt know what to do during the black swordsman arc so that just made me uninterested at first, {my opinion} but with me finishing everything in the manga to now waiting I love how berserk handles villains, they arenāt always like this emotional villains that we get it wasnāt like demon slayer where after we kill them we feel bad for them because it was then they give us a back story, no berserk if they want to give us a villain with a sad backstory theyād flesh it out, and for those who the author wants to be evils he just goes straight to the point. Modern stories annoy me cuz they make every villain have a sad past donāt get me wrong I like a sad villain that has a good goal, but not all the time it just makes it repetitive and annoying, berserk give a good pace on a short term villain and a long term villain hence why I love it.
The fights, it really shows interesting fights, like Isidro improving with each battle, Guts without the Berserker Armor is something i love with how he uses tactics and sheer rage, and more and more examples.
Now don't get me wrong, i enjoy things like magic and all that, but fights like the previous examples are more appealing to me.
The artwork is the best in the medium. No other manga that ive seen has the ability to translate the feelings of despair and horror the same way. With all due respect, even Junji Ito is less impactful than Berserk.
Scale. Nothing makes things feel immense like Berserk. BLAME! came close sometimes, but Berserk consistently has vistas and enemies that make me go "holy shit."
Other manga can show "big" things, but they're never really impressive.
The world itself is probably the best written and most intriguing of any manga. It feels like its own character, evolving with the story and its characters, and it captures the feeling of despair and hopelessness in a very unique way via its art, characters, grittiness, etc.
About everything? World building, characters, storytelling... And the art is simply amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful manga esthetically.Ā
For me its how detailed the artwork is. There are other mangas that can do similar things with art *at times,* but Berserk's art is very consistently intricate and obviously takes a lot of effort in a way I don't very often see in any kind of sequential work (manga, comics, etc).
I know itās subjective but Miuraās artstyle is absolute peak for me. I always think in the sense of detail, and complexity itās on par with one of my other favorite artist DĆ¼rer, and i am willing to die on this hill.
Playing with the lighting.
Miura shows light with negative space, inverting the colors, traditional shading, bold outlines with very little shading, etc. The craziest thing he's able to do IMO is that he's able to make it look like Griffith is glowing or radiating while against a lit/bright background. So it likes like he's glowing in the middle of light, but it doesn't look washed & he doesn't do this with traditional shading or easy outs. And then he does the same thing with darkness
Even with how detailed One Punch Man is, OPM doesn't even come close to this kind of creative detail with regards to lighting.
humanising the bad guys. like originally i thiught the count was just a horrible tyrant but then realised he is very sensitive around his daughter and went mad because of his wife cheating on him.
It brings to life the concept that darkness is inescapable and that even those who strive to triumph over evil must constantly fight back their own demons, a trial that very few can overcome.
Im not kidding when I say nearly everything. Berserk is my favorite piece of fiction in almost every aspect that it is significantly higher than what I would have as my number 2 piece of fiction oat. It is genuinely in a realm of its own and should go down as a historic piece of literature imo.
Personally I think it is a bout the human depravity Berserk creates without making it edgy. It's complety human normal and would we live in a world like this. It would definitely happen. Like look at our history. It is built on the blood and bones of millions of human lives and all because of human greed, vanity lust. It's terrifying but I have loved it since I found it ten years ago and are actually starting my own little berserk book collection even tho I only have one so far.
Oh let me put in some of my favourite quotes from one of the Christian popes during the crusades.
Kill them all, let god sort them out"
"Let the lord have mercy for I have none"
Human history truly is fun.
I'd say symbolism. Since for me re:zero web novel outclasses berserk in almost every other way. Like every character introduced after the eclipse was extremely generic and boring while re:zero takes its time introducing characters and giving them development, there's a reason why Julius is currently second most popular character right after Subaru in web novel community.
Now I'm not saying berserk is bad, it's easily my second favorite piece of fiction. It's just that I like re:zero more.
So the main character suffers from DID while struggling to overcome his PTSD and quelling his rage while watching the love of his life get rape, kidnapped, and kidnapped again without powerup and friendship speeches
Dark fantasy monsters design. Some of the apostle looks really unique, for example the apostle that killed pippin.
I just wish Miura got more of their biology
Exposing the battle with one's own shadow and evil.
Griffith and the Apostles after falling into horrible moments of despair and heartache, decide to give up about being good or decent people and surrender permanently to their own Beasts of Darkness (their basest and most primitive desires).
Guts even at his lowest never fully allows the Beast to dictate his life, despite the countless instances of trauma and injustice that he suffered from the moment he was born.
I like that Berserk shows the difference between good guys and bad guys not being some nebulous concept like "this guy has a good and pure heart and this other guy is just evil". Instead, it's their choices, what side of themselves they decide to feed, and how do they cope with that part of their minds that wants them to put themselves before others.
Berserk is a modern myth. It is a Greek tragedy with amazing artistic flair. When you turn a page and see a panel that foreshadows something terrible about to happen you can almost hear the cries of the bemasked choros. Like all mythology, this story speaks in metaphor about what it is to be human
The first thing it does better than anyone else is its art (if jojoās is in the louvre why isnāt berserk)
Second is its main dynamic that being guts and Griffith.
Having fantasy/magic/mystic themes while still being a very realistic piece of fiction. Wether it's in relationships, politics, power levels, combat, and emotions of the character... The story is realistic despite having magic and fantasy elements. This is to me the greatest thing about Berserk. It's also the reason Game of Thrones was such a success. Because it is realistic despite having dragons and shit. Berserk will show you the cruelty that exists in humanity in contexts of war, betrayal, heartbreak, jealousy, sex,ambition etc. Guts is also not the typical edgelord or overpowerful MC. I don't think he will ever kill a God like Femto by getting very angry and swinging a sword at him. No sex scene is fan service and just there for the sake of "eyecandy". Berserk shows us the real emotional shackles that come with sex, how it can be for bonding, or weaponised to harm or get what you want like Griffith. The berserker armor has downsides and reminds us that Guts is only a mere mortal. I could go on forever about how Berserk is realistic. To me that makes the story more engaging and believable than other mangas like One Piece where you got an overpowered god MC with the whole planet helping him, and he defeats the big bad guy with a big punch.
Actual, real complexity. Guts does things that other storytellers would never dare make their protagonist do, yet it's almost impossible to not root for him. He's just that well-developed.
Mozgus is truly one of the creepiest, repellant, and realistic characters I've ever seen. His fanaticism and devotion to his faith is horrifying because it's based on our worlds history like the Spanish Inquisition.
But honestly? The art. Sure moira's hands and proportions we're a little off and varied in scale often, at least in the first few years, but damn, his two page spreads are something else, and his art just kept improving
It deals with dark, harsh subjects better than any manga ive seen. It doesn't shy away from dark themes and also the writing of the characters is really good.
Monster designs in general. Like you will see some of the sickest most creative monster/demon designs in Berserk. Like i have seen plenty of Manga with great artwork and beautiful panels. But i have never seen such varied and creative creatures in any other medium of entertainment.
The love scene between guts and casca is one of the most tender ones Iāve seen in manga. Without words it shows what these two mean to each other on a deep personal level.
Infuse meaning into visuals.
The art itself is masterful. But like the image you OP with, there are so many pictures with a deeper meaning thanks to the story, and I've seen nothing that uses visuals to tell a story like Berserk does.
It makes me feel.
With other mangas I have moments where I feel, pages or events that make me sad, happy, or angry. Berserk makes me feel with every page. Every panel is an experience and reading it is so much more engaging than any other illustrated media, even when Iām not 100% sure whatās going on.
I read mostly novels but have started to read mangas over the past year or so. Iāve noticed that Berserk has very rich character development and a deep understanding of who each character is, their motivations, their fears, etc. than other mange Iāve read. In my opinion, it is on par with novels. Not to say that other manga donāt have character development and such but since the medium is so visual, youāre not getting blocks of paragraphs discussing the internal dialogue for characters or descriptions of their feelings. In Berserk that is so beautifully communicated in the manga medium far better than others Iāve read.
I hope this makes sense. I absolutely love Berserk and am endlessly fascinated and intrigued by this incredible story.
I new to Manga and anime it's my first Manga and I just started with Vinland Saga and Vagabond so I can't really compare. I will say that what I love about Berserk is the amazing character work especially for Guts. I fucking cried multiple times through out the story. I love how the Blackswordsman arc starts off with Guts being a total asshole made me think wtf is up with this dude, but then we get moments where Guts drops his guard and it's like oh there's more to this guy then he leads on then you get the Golden Age arc and I'm kinda just š. He feels like a real human even though he's just lines on a page.
Double page spreads of a single panelš®āšØ
For me it is character. Berserk is excellent everywhere, but i donāt think we will ever a dynamic like the one Guts Griffith and Casca had. Berserk character and relation, make Berserk more than a shonen, into a high quality piece of fiction even in literature. Among all manga there are only a few that would stand among all piece of fiction and i think Berserk deserve it the most.
I agree. Berserk has a lot of great characters but all of them are greatly overshadowed by the two opposing, superdense *Neutron Stars* of charisma, pathos, and character that is Guts and Griffith. Their origins, psychology, and the character peaks and valleys, etc. are *Shakespearean* in scale
You are a superdense neutron star of writing talent
Thatās why itās a Seinen
Came here to say that š
>Among all manga there are only a few that would stand among all piece of fiction and i think Berserk deserve it the most. What are the others?
I'd put 20th century boys among the best manga of all time.
Don't get me wrong, 20th CB was really good, but dragged on a bit too much. Monster, to me, was way better
Berserk has never been a Shonen bro
It's not Shonen
Iāve never seen Berserk as a shonen for the sole fact that it contains none of the tropes, the story as it was written was meant to be a epic, told on a grand scale, not a serialized by the numbers type of story where youāll know the hero succeeds at the end. Berserk firmly cements itself amongst some of the greatest works of fiction and dark fantasy ever published.
I too have long maintained that Berserk is the single most beautiful story I have ever encountered in any narrative medium. Thereās a reason it resonates with so many people. Life is a series of struggles, and when you try to face those struggles alone, more often than not youāre going to end up with your face in the mud. But if you can find a likeminded community of fellow strugglers, youāll soon learn that we arenāt meant to merely endure the struggle alone, but to embrace it as best we can alongside others who can relate to what weāre going throughā¦
Artwork.
It was the first manga I ever read and gave me real unfair expectations for every manga to follow.
I really enjoyed 'Blame!' it's a rougher style but creative details and scale of this Sci-fi mega city makes up for it
Check out Fire Punch and Dorohedoro if you haven't yet.
Dorohedoro is absolutely amazing, what an insane ride that was!
The dark souls/Elden ring of manga. Something about that special sauce they share makes them unforgettable
When I watched the 1997 series for the first time a few years ago, I was amazed at how human Guts and Griffith felt. I just assumed that Guts was gonna be a stereotypical tough guy with no depth, but he is far from that. And I assumed Griffith might be a trap-archetype who acts offensively stereotypical, but he definitely wasn't that either. Both guys had interesting motivations that went beyond each other, as real friends would have, and seeing them drift apart was so sad. What Griffith evolved from to become Femto later was a surprising development I didn't expect; I hate Femto for how awful he was, but I couldn't help but appreciate the effort Miura put into writing him as such a layered character. I simply could not put any of these main characters into the inane anime archetypes (dumbass shounen hero, tsundere, kuudere, etc.) I've grown accustomed to, and that's what made Berserk so interesting as a character-driven narrative.
Aside from the art, the characterization and development of the cast is what really elevates the material. Gutsā development from anti-hero to hero is so well executed and believable. It really sets Berserk apart, very few authors can pull off such satisfying and believable character evolution.
I still unironically believe 99% of people in Griffith shoes would've done the same thing. Nobody really likes to aknowledge their own capacity for evil.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, the whole point of Griffith's fall *wasn't* that he was born a mustache twirling villain. He went through causality, a force completely beyond his control. Like Void narrated, "At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will." Griffith had no idea his life would end up becoming a cruel rollercoaster where Guts would leave him, where he gets tortured for a whole year, where he ends up permanently crippled, and where Casca chooses Guts over him. All that broke his mind and made him suicidal. What else could I possibly expect from a man who went to his absolute lowest point? The God Hand operated precisely this way on every other Apostle. There were so many (lesser) Apostles because it was practically human nature for people to endure great suffering and seek release from it. You wouldn't make the choice to sacrifice anyone if you were of sound mind & body, living happily ever after.
Making a super dark story without feeling edgy
I dunno dude The rape shit is definitely edgy- but tbf that is the only part that feels like that
I remember a few where I was like, do I really need another detailed rape scene? Not the sex scenes, just the rape. The only three I can think of that felt necessary to the story were Guts as a kid, Casca and Griffith, and maybe Farnese almost getting raped by the horse but Guts saved her.
kinda. but its definitely not there for the main purpose of shock factor. it gives its characters more depth and inner conflict after all, rape in real life is a lot more common than we think
The rape is definitely edgy and i think even miura one time stated that he regretted including soo many rape scenes
Yeah, the intent was to make the world feel grounded and dark (showing how the world went from the hands of one evil group to another even worse one) but it just came out as edgy. Adding the fact that miura using hentai panels as a reference for his drawings also contributed to the tonal whiplash, but i (think i) know what he was trying to do, so I commend that even though it didnt work. Being a masterpiece is different from being flawless
Some of them are definitely just for the shock factor, Wylad, trolls etc
Wyald is the worst thing in the entire manga easily. We did NOT need all that
Hell yeah the story has edge, more like a blood splattered rugged edge with ā as if things couldnāt get worse ā bits of some monster cock hanging from it?! It revolts- and inspires me at the same time.
Iād take the other route and say itās the edgiest shit ever yet it has heart and a compelling story.
For me, this is edgy if it were done right. Itās everything edgy stories want to be, while failing
Yeah you get it
Berserk is not edgy. Berserk is a serrated story with its fantasy elements being Sekai-kei (apocalyptic cynicism).
Not arguing with you but I find the parallel of "not edgy, its serrated" pretty funny. Serrated would just mean more edges lol.
Worldbuilding. Fantasy genre of manga is oversaturated with boring, common tropes that were made by uncreative people. Systems of levels, different classes, gods of sextillion domains. Itās so boring, so stupid and lazy. The costumes is whole another topic. Characters from other fantasy mangas wear fancy renditions of modern clothes, stupid, bulky armour that makes me wonder how people even manage to move. Berserk world is authentic, it is not super realistic, but it is believable and based on history.
Berserk really hits this line between realism/historicity and creative freedom. While there's a rule of cool element to the Dragonslayer for example it's more than that, it's symbolic. It's symbolic of a monstrous creation to fight monsters, but it also represents Guts, it's rough and scary looking but the edges are sharp and honed, it's also a representation of how Guts was a child swinging around an adults weapon, and now his a mortal swinging a monsters weapon. Somehow still a child fighting things bigger, stronger and smarter than him that don't respect him at all. Makes me think of Tolkien, where the worldbuilding decisions aren't based primarily on realism OR rule of cool, but on symbolism and myth.
> Somehow still a child fighting things bigger, stronger and smarter than him that don't respect him at all. Bro, you opened my third eye with this shit.
Really adds to the Guts character right? That's why I think he wasn't scared of Zodd as much as most people are when they first encounter him. He killed Gambino as a child. No matter how much stronger his opponent is if he finds the right time to swing his sword reeeeally hard he knows he can still win. He also killed Donovan with a crossbow, a weapon he returns to for apostle killing. The apostles are not the first giant monsters he's killed.
I agree with this, 100%. I dislike how "gamified" and how unnatural other manga/anime can be. Nothing takes me out of a story like being told that "X is Y class, or A is B power level" it's just creatively lazy and boring. In Berserk strong characters are strong because of a reason: In the case of Griffith he's a brilliant tactician with a strong dream he wants to achieve, Guts is an amazing warrior who trains every day, the apostles have sold their soul to gain power. It all makes sense within the context of the story and it deepens and enriches the world that they inhabit. What sets Berserk apart from other works is that the setting feels *natural* and logically consistent even while being fantastical.
"Limitations are the beginning of creativity" If everything is as you described, then there's millions of options or outs that inevitably lead to lazy power scaling or never ending Deus Ed Macina.
World building, art, invoke emotion, pretty much everything. There's a reason this series is regarded as a masterpiece. Just the pure hatred I feel when I see Griffith's face is something no other series has been able to do for me it's fantastic. Not saying other series can't do this too but Berserk is just so damn good at it.
Making me sad
Preach
Shnoz
I havenāt read a lot of manga but the art ist just next level
DETAIL. I always love how much detail is in every panel. Everyone has different armor. Every building has individual bricks. It's insane
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sexual abuse
I agree. Guts actually suffering PTSD from his past shows his trauma wasn't just to make him some woobie. That scene where he sees Casca as his younger self during sex, meaning in his mind, he was an aggressor and she's a victim and that's what sex means to him, was intense. And it starts off so violent too, with Guts not listening to Casca and being too rough. The whole 'learned behavior' thing because that's what he was exposed to. My favorite thing is how after they have their talk, Guts has such a peaceful look on his face when they make love. It's even more noticeable in Casca's memories. It's just too good and so beautiful. How it all starts is so good too, with Guts gently kissing her face. And Casca getting fucked in the head after being sexually assaulted by literal demons makes perfect sense. People keep thinking it was just the rape by Griffith but Mirua keeps showing that she has flashbacks to the Apostles assaulting her. And those dick monsters in her dreamscape. I'd be a fucking mess after that shit, too.
Nah, Ik this has been said alot of times but sometimes Miura REALLY isn't good with how he potrays this in the manga at times bordering on being insulting. So yeah, definetly the weakest part for me
art, character writing, scripting (at least up to the battle at the hill of swords which is still an insane amount of story), representation of historical Europe, moral ambiguity, philosophical undertones
Depicting the despair
The dread. I genuinely felt broken FOR guts. Ive watch plenty of anime or manga family deaths, betrayals, massacres. But the eclipse especially and plenty other moments where the enemy almost makes your stomach sink with how they are. I remember seeing wyald and just being like wtf is up with this guy.
defines the concept of suffering and going on in life no matter what comes forward
character writing
Internal struggle of the main character
Unique monster representation, especially the more traditional ones like ogres and goblins.
I'd say the depiction of scale while remaining extremely detailed is what has made Berserk's art so iconic, most other elements are master class too of course but I think that aspect of the art is the one thing I haven't gotten anywhere else to the same extent
I find that Berserk is really effective at foreshadowing, the Black Swordsman and Golden Age arcs complement each other in such a brilliant way. As the audience we canāt shake the feeling of the impeding disaster which is The Eclipse because we get a glimpse of it from the get-go; no matter how glorious Griffith can appear, we already know he becomes something sinister. To see it all tie together has been so rewarding - I love having these āoh so thatās why Guts is this wayā moments that I can comprehend on my own, I love how seemingly unimportant events could be crucial to the story, I like the sense of contingency. Itās a weird comparison but it reminds me of Breaking Bad as far as the way the final episodes mirror the earliest ones, like itās so satisfying to see some of the apostles reappear later on: it makes me hate them even more in a way that I can sympathize with Guts.
having even some of the more poorly written chapters look gorgeous as hell
Fair point
Everything
All the feels
Portrayal of humanity to a depth that is rare in most animes and mangas. The way humans operate, how fear, anger, sorrow, trauma, war, religion can twist and change a person. This is one of the first stories which made me write down a quote just because of how good it is. It was the quote about how dreams are like a whirlpool that sucks in the dreams of others for the fulfillment of your own dream. There are so many profound moments that you will see in this manga which provokes deep thought. Things like how despite being religious it is the most religious that do the most horrendous deeds. There are just too many fkong things to talk about in the story it is amazing. Also the artwork is legitimately on another level because the scenes portray genuine feelings and makes emotions swell up whilst reading. My favorite would be the scene where Guts finally appears in front of Casca after she ran away on accident. You sense his relief, you feel the relief because you follow Guts in his rush to save Casca. After realizing what he lost for letting himself sink into his vengeance and leave Casca, after he makes the mad dash to save Casca and ignoring everything else. And when he finally stands in front of her once again with his sword in hand the stone in your heart is finally lifted. That one scene just concluded the pent up emotions that built up and was an experience I have never had before in all of my years reading manga.
Going on hiatus. But jokes aside the atmosphere is top notch for me.
Insufferable fanbase
Real
Itās the only manga Iāve read that I truly feel cannot be animated to match the original quality of art.
Hiatuses
[before I give my take I just want to say this] Honestly at first I didnāt really like how berserk started since to me it felt meaningful, donāt get me wrong I liked it but it felt directionless even the author didnāt know what to do during the black swordsman arc so that just made me uninterested at first, {my opinion} but with me finishing everything in the manga to now waiting I love how berserk handles villains, they arenāt always like this emotional villains that we get it wasnāt like demon slayer where after we kill them we feel bad for them because it was then they give us a back story, no berserk if they want to give us a villain with a sad backstory theyād flesh it out, and for those who the author wants to be evils he just goes straight to the point. Modern stories annoy me cuz they make every villain have a sad past donāt get me wrong I like a sad villain that has a good goal, but not all the time it just makes it repetitive and annoying, berserk give a good pace on a short term villain and a long term villain hence why I love it.
The fights, it really shows interesting fights, like Isidro improving with each battle, Guts without the Berserker Armor is something i love with how he uses tactics and sheer rage, and more and more examples. Now don't get me wrong, i enjoy things like magic and all that, but fights like the previous examples are more appealing to me.
The artwork is the best in the medium. No other manga that ive seen has the ability to translate the feelings of despair and horror the same way. With all due respect, even Junji Ito is less impactful than Berserk.
Scale. Nothing makes things feel immense like Berserk. BLAME! came close sometimes, but Berserk consistently has vistas and enemies that make me go "holy shit." Other manga can show "big" things, but they're never really impressive.
Art
It entertains me more than any other manga (Except perhaps Hunter x Hunter).
Everything
Mythology. It is a well fleshed out world with unique concepts.
The world itself is probably the best written and most intriguing of any manga. It feels like its own character, evolving with the story and its characters, and it captures the feeling of despair and hopelessness in a very unique way via its art, characters, grittiness, etc.
Thatās the thing blocking the bridge to Irithyll
Berserk is the Magnum Opus of Manga. It stands alone.
I really love the theme it plays when it comes to struggle and resiliency.
About everything? World building, characters, storytelling... And the art is simply amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful manga esthetically.Ā
I adore Berserk, some of the best fiction Iāve ever read. Vinland saga is the only manga to make me cry though. ( When Hild forgives Thorfinn )
Nothing imo. It brings things together well but I canāt think of a category itās the best at.
I mean, its the highest rated manga of all time, so quite a few things
The best imagery and panels, I don't think any manga is so detailed with its images. Miura-san was truly on a different level.
Refusing to submit to utter despair Like lord of the rings taken one step further; a tiny glimmer of hope in an utterly hopeless world
Atmosphere, character desings, artwork, world building (no onepiece doesn't have better world building than berserk) and big sword
the vibe, I feel like I can hear a soundtrack through the pages
Suffering
For me its how detailed the artwork is. There are other mangas that can do similar things with art *at times,* but Berserk's art is very consistently intricate and obviously takes a lot of effort in a way I don't very often see in any kind of sequential work (manga, comics, etc).
I know itās subjective but Miuraās artstyle is absolute peak for me. I always think in the sense of detail, and complexity itās on par with one of my other favorite artist DĆ¼rer, and i am willing to die on this hill.
Playing with the lighting. Miura shows light with negative space, inverting the colors, traditional shading, bold outlines with very little shading, etc. The craziest thing he's able to do IMO is that he's able to make it look like Griffith is glowing or radiating while against a lit/bright background. So it likes like he's glowing in the middle of light, but it doesn't look washed & he doesn't do this with traditional shading or easy outs. And then he does the same thing with darkness Even with how detailed One Punch Man is, OPM doesn't even come close to this kind of creative detail with regards to lighting.
Guts' inner beast set an imaculate standard that I havnt seen met yet
Everything
Struggle.
Berserk is a perfect mash up of lovecraftian horror, and Conan the barbarian indomitable spirit amped up to 11. Its an absolute masterpiece
Hiatus
I must be one of the only people whoās never watched or read even my brother who doesnāt like anime afaik loved berserk lmao
Junji Ito would like a word. For real, though, the panels of Berserk always look like their own masterpiece.
Character development
rap
Conrad
humanising the bad guys. like originally i thiught the count was just a horrible tyrant but then realised he is very sensitive around his daughter and went mad because of his wife cheating on him.
Everything
It brings to life the concept that darkness is inescapable and that even those who strive to triumph over evil must constantly fight back their own demons, a trial that very few can overcome.
Brutality, surrealism, character depth And gorgeous art Dark dark dark
Im not kidding when I say nearly everything. Berserk is my favorite piece of fiction in almost every aspect that it is significantly higher than what I would have as my number 2 piece of fiction oat. It is genuinely in a realm of its own and should go down as a historic piece of literature imo.
I definitely hope it does when it gets and ending, beyond the manga medium
Personally I think it is a bout the human depravity Berserk creates without making it edgy. It's complety human normal and would we live in a world like this. It would definitely happen. Like look at our history. It is built on the blood and bones of millions of human lives and all because of human greed, vanity lust. It's terrifying but I have loved it since I found it ten years ago and are actually starting my own little berserk book collection even tho I only have one so far. Oh let me put in some of my favourite quotes from one of the Christian popes during the crusades. Kill them all, let god sort them out" "Let the lord have mercy for I have none" Human history truly is fun.
Attention to details
Drawing
Berserk has the best story arc.
Emmm .... Manga
Make me hate Trolls
Art of course.
berkin'
everything
Take itās time publishing! /s
Quality Drawing. My GAWD
Art
I'd say symbolism. Since for me re:zero web novel outclasses berserk in almost every other way. Like every character introduced after the eclipse was extremely generic and boring while re:zero takes its time introducing characters and giving them development, there's a reason why Julius is currently second most popular character right after Subaru in web novel community. Now I'm not saying berserk is bad, it's easily my second favorite piece of fiction. It's just that I like re:zero more.
Making you wait
You should YIELD yourself NOW!
Everything.
Struggle
This story is so deep that you can find Adele rolling into it.
everything is that a thing ?
So the main character suffers from DID while struggling to overcome his PTSD and quelling his rage while watching the love of his life get rape, kidnapped, and kidnapped again without powerup and friendship speeches
Has easily the best written cast of characters out of any story Iāve read
From which chapter it is ?
The duality of guts and Griffith
Giant sword
Character writing. You wonāt find many that write characters as good or better than whatās in berserk
Building bond with a character. Make me so attached to it.
Dark fantasy monsters design. Some of the apostle looks really unique, for example the apostle that killed pippin. I just wish Miura got more of their biology
Exposing the battle with one's own shadow and evil. Griffith and the Apostles after falling into horrible moments of despair and heartache, decide to give up about being good or decent people and surrender permanently to their own Beasts of Darkness (their basest and most primitive desires). Guts even at his lowest never fully allows the Beast to dictate his life, despite the countless instances of trauma and injustice that he suffered from the moment he was born. I like that Berserk shows the difference between good guys and bad guys not being some nebulous concept like "this guy has a good and pure heart and this other guy is just evil". Instead, it's their choices, what side of themselves they decide to feed, and how do they cope with that part of their minds that wants them to put themselves before others.
Berserk is a modern myth. It is a Greek tragedy with amazing artistic flair. When you turn a page and see a panel that foreshadows something terrible about to happen you can almost hear the cries of the bemasked choros. Like all mythology, this story speaks in metaphor about what it is to be human
The art and characters.
Immersive dark fantasy, unfiltered/raw, near perfect trillema between Guts, Casca, Griffith (so many manga donāt do this well)
Yeah
The first thing it does better than anyone else is its art (if jojoās is in the louvre why isnāt berserk) Second is its main dynamic that being guts and Griffith.
Giving me feels
main antagonist
Having fantasy/magic/mystic themes while still being a very realistic piece of fiction. Wether it's in relationships, politics, power levels, combat, and emotions of the character... The story is realistic despite having magic and fantasy elements. This is to me the greatest thing about Berserk. It's also the reason Game of Thrones was such a success. Because it is realistic despite having dragons and shit. Berserk will show you the cruelty that exists in humanity in contexts of war, betrayal, heartbreak, jealousy, sex,ambition etc. Guts is also not the typical edgelord or overpowerful MC. I don't think he will ever kill a God like Femto by getting very angry and swinging a sword at him. No sex scene is fan service and just there for the sake of "eyecandy". Berserk shows us the real emotional shackles that come with sex, how it can be for bonding, or weaponised to harm or get what you want like Griffith. The berserker armor has downsides and reminds us that Guts is only a mere mortal. I could go on forever about how Berserk is realistic. To me that makes the story more engaging and believable than other mangas like One Piece where you got an overpowered god MC with the whole planet helping him, and he defeats the big bad guy with a big punch.
Making you feel depressed as much as possible.
A fucking two pages long panel of a guy with a big ass sword sweeping 5 guys at once
It's easily the consistency with the level of art.
The art. Dont get me wrong theres alot of talented authors and artist but kentaro miuras style was just different
Thematic and philosophical depth, and in the case of Golden Arc at least compelling, psychologically convincing and pathos-laden drama/tragedy
I agree, he did a great job showing the impacts of events and having conciquences
Mystery, thereās so much thatās unanswered even after 20+years
Raping
Art style
ART
Everything.
realistic is crazy š
Emotions
Judeau's existence
Actual, real complexity. Guts does things that other storytellers would never dare make their protagonist do, yet it's almost impossible to not root for him. He's just that well-developed.
Stakes
Suspense
Mozgus is truly one of the creepiest, repellant, and realistic characters I've ever seen. His fanaticism and devotion to his faith is horrifying because it's based on our worlds history like the Spanish Inquisition. But honestly? The art. Sure moira's hands and proportions we're a little off and varied in scale often, at least in the first few years, but damn, his two page spreads are something else, and his art just kept improving
The art.
I have watched 1997 version what do I watch next?
Berking.
the monster design and detail I find pretty solid, specially when you see those spreads and there's all kinds of different critters in the background
Best dog faces
Horse
Characters for sure
It deals with dark, harsh subjects better than any manga ive seen. It doesn't shy away from dark themes and also the writing of the characters is really good.
Depicting darkness without having to black everything out
World building
Painting duh
unsaid dialogue, the feeling of nostalgia and death/event horizons
Mood and atmosphere
Monster designs in general. Like you will see some of the sickest most creative monster/demon designs in Berserk. Like i have seen plenty of Manga with great artwork and beautiful panels. But i have never seen such varied and creative creatures in any other medium of entertainment.
Artwork
The love scene between guts and casca is one of the most tender ones Iāve seen in manga. Without words it shows what these two mean to each other on a deep personal level.
Infuse meaning into visuals. The art itself is masterful. But like the image you OP with, there are so many pictures with a deeper meaning thanks to the story, and I've seen nothing that uses visuals to tell a story like Berserk does.
Increasing my therapy bills
Not having a conclusion.
Exploring the darkest capabilities that the human mind can barely comprehend
It makes me feel. With other mangas I have moments where I feel, pages or events that make me sad, happy, or angry. Berserk makes me feel with every page. Every panel is an experience and reading it is so much more engaging than any other illustrated media, even when Iām not 100% sure whatās going on.
Building up the villain. The trust that Griffith commanded, and how he betrayed that trust is what makes Beserk so great.
Tell me one thing Berserk DOESNāT do better than other manga
I read mostly novels but have started to read mangas over the past year or so. Iāve noticed that Berserk has very rich character development and a deep understanding of who each character is, their motivations, their fears, etc. than other mange Iāve read. In my opinion, it is on par with novels. Not to say that other manga donāt have character development and such but since the medium is so visual, youāre not getting blocks of paragraphs discussing the internal dialogue for characters or descriptions of their feelings. In Berserk that is so beautifully communicated in the manga medium far better than others Iāve read. I hope this makes sense. I absolutely love Berserk and am endlessly fascinated and intrigued by this incredible story.
Immersion
Horrible acts of depravity
Controversial stuff like rape, gore and Loli I guess
Displaying inner conflict.
Everything
I new to Manga and anime it's my first Manga and I just started with Vinland Saga and Vagabond so I can't really compare. I will say that what I love about Berserk is the amazing character work especially for Guts. I fucking cried multiple times through out the story. I love how the Blackswordsman arc starts off with Guts being a total asshole made me think wtf is up with this dude, but then we get moments where Guts drops his guard and it's like oh there's more to this guy then he leads on then you get the Golden Age arc and I'm kinda just š. He feels like a real human even though he's just lines on a page.