History AwesomeMusic / Berserk

** Fun fact: "Forces" is actually a reworking of another song by Hirasawa called "[[https://youtu.be/aIgaaW15V3w Kajiwotore]]" (Take the Wheel).

** [[https://youtu.be/73WWpKyuWL4 Pretty]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXBKJcjWiw8 much]] [[https://youtu.be/NFYTTDVmOTQ any]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkvX6iy7VmA variation]] of "Forces".

** [[https://youtu.be/I2rV8oKWSdM "Tell Me Why"]] is super catchy with its {{Engrish}}-ness. You may think it's weird as hell at first and you ask yourself, "why the hell is this song in this series?" but then you get to this point that it's [[SoBadItsGood so cheesy, that it's good]].

* [[https://youtu.be/v89_t3aZo6Q Zodd II]], which plays during the second fight with Zodd, is very intense and intimidating.
* [[https://youtu.be/-_-59f9mgfM Indra]] is a hauntingly melancholic song that plays during the credits, perfectly summing up this side story's bittersweet conclusion.

* [[https://youtu.be/gV26zIE0130 "Sign"]] is the dark and foreboding opening theme, which many fans name as their favorite Hirasawa track. A slower, more triumphant version plays near the end and is [[https://youtu.be/hV0qK53UCVw just as awesome]]. The awesomeness doesn't stop here, for there is a [[https://youtu.be/q3x9oJ5rpRw third version]] of the song too!

** [[https://youtu.be/SWe2guUPJCc "Des Liens Solides (Strong Bonds)"]] is a gorgeous, romantic orchestral track that plays when Griffith takes Guts to the top of a grassy hill and asks him to join him. You can just feel Griffith's bewitching charisma and how it draws in Guts who stands in front of him, and Casca who watches from behind a tree. The music helps the scene from the manga come to life.
** [[https://youtu.be/W4ihR0ui9O8 "Blood and Guts"]] is a beautiful piece that perfectly captures the tragic essence of Guts' character (amusingly, the chorus of "Blood and Guts" sounds like "GOD HAND GUTS" to a lot of listeners, though that was probably not intentional). Interestingly, if you read the lyrics, they're telling you about his birth and subsequent rotten childhood. The variant [[https://youtu.be/odYRd3r13Fk "Blood and Guts: Passionate"]] plays during Guts' major SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome...when he single-handedly slaughters 100 men, earning him the title of [[RedBaron 'The Hundred-Man Slayer']].

** [[https://youtu.be/lds0GGk7WgM "Hundred Years War"]], playing during Midland's victory at the walls of Doldrey. The intensity of track perfectly punctuates the feeling that the war that last for a hundred years is finally over.
** From the third film, [[https://youtu.be/fr_tyIorq2Y "Trio F-Dur II"]], the music played during Guts and Casca's love scene, is in the running for the most beautiful tune in the whole movie trilogy, matching the atmosphere of this interpretation of their scene perfectly. It's actually quite [[TearJerker tear jerk worthy.]]
** [[https://youtu.be/5DuoUYwiJms 'Sonate pour piano nº 23']], the music that plays in Advent during the Eclipse when Femto rapes Casca, is fitting for such a tragic, grotesque, and horrifying moment. It's the third movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Opus 57, with the addition of a dissonant and frightening orchestral "scream".

* A hard-rocking remix of [[https://youtu.be/sjY5b6wdm8Q "Blood and Guts"]] from the movie trilogy is used as Guts's primary {{Leitmotif}}.

** [[https://youtu.be/73WWpKyuWL4 Pretty]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXBKJcjWiw8 much]] [[https://youtu.be/NFYTTDVmOTQ any]] [[https://youtu.be/6ev10j1DMVU variation]] of "Forces".

** [[https://youtu.be/73WWpKyuWL4 Pretty]] [[https://youtu.be/2kNssDweRzU much]] [[https://youtu.be/NFYTTDVmOTQ any]] [[https://youtu.be/6ev10j1DMVU variation]] of "Forces".

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n55QVlBoDxI "Forces"]] is probably the best place to start listening to Susumu Hirasawa's emotional and atmospheric soundtrack which helped make the '97 anime a classic. It plays during Guts's first raid with the Band of the Hawk, as well as over each OnTheNext preview, and it makes you feel like you're riding into battle on horseback with the Hawks themselves.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73WWpKyuWL4 Pretty]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kNssDweRzU much]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFYTTDVmOTQ any]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ev10j1DMVU variation]] of "Forces".
** Fun fact: "Forces" is actually a reworking of another song by Hirasawa called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIgaaW15V3w Kajiwotore]]" (Take the Wheel).
** If you thought ''Forces'' and ''Kajiwotore'' were badass enough, you should hear it when they're [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaWx3tICftU smashed together.]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZa0Yh6e7dw "Guts"]] from the series is nothing short of beautiful, and perfectly captures the manga's entire spirit. In fact, it has become a popular meme.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLg_wp0IXoI "Behelit"]] is an eerie track that captures Griffith's road to darkness.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ak_jATqoRc "Earth"]] is another beautiful theme. It sounds like a perfect theme for the witches and their natural powers, but they are introduced in the manga long after the anime's ending point so it's a very nice coincidence.
* ''Berserk'' is not without its creepy moments as well, as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywOOjlkuQ5s "Monster"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IwRkFyUu60 "Fear"]] show.
* And then there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew3--XVFioU "Murder"]], which plays as it's all going to hell for the Hawks. Made even more eerie with that OminousLatinChanting going on.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2rV8oKWSdM "Tell Me Why"]] is super catchy with its {{Engrish}}-ness. You may think it's weird as hell at first and you ask yourself, "why the hell is this song in this series?" but then you get to this point that it's [[SoBadItsGood so cheesy, that it's good]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70GD2SBCq64 "Waiting So Long"]] has the same effect, only it's slower and more peaceful as the series' SolemnEndingTheme... But [[SoundtrackDissonance it's kind of ruined]] when you have to hear it in the last episode, right after you see Guts screaming in pain and rage at the sight of Casca's rape by Griffith/Femto. Yeahhhh...
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vOhx0NTkh0 In Anno Domini,]] one of the few tracks not composed by Hirasawa, is used as Casca's theme, or at least, in her flashback sequence. It's a solemn and haunting piece that captures Casca's sadness of being born in a poor raided village constantly attacked by robbers.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZU3ULZdYaY A Sister's Story]], the song that plays when Eriza tells the story of Nico, sounds mesmerizing and tragic.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5MJYPioVVg Niko]]: perfect music for a boss fight; rhythmic and creepy, especially with that distorted scream.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v89_t3aZo6Q Zodd II]], which plays during the second fight with Zodd, is very intense and intimidating.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_-59f9mgfM Indra]] is a hauntingly melancholic song that plays during the credits, perfectly summing up this side story's bittersweet conclusion.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV26zIE0130 "Sign"]] is the dark and foreboding opening theme, which many fans name as their favorite Hirasawa track. A slower, more triumphant version plays near the end and is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV0qK53UCVw just as awesome]]. The awesomeness doesn't stop here, for there is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3x9oJ5rpRw third version]] of the song too!

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWe2guUPJCc "Des Liens Solides (Strong Bonds)"]] is a gorgeous, romantic orchestral track that plays when Griffith takes Guts to the top of a grassy hill and asks him to join him. You can just feel Griffith's bewitching charisma and how it draws in Guts who stands in front of him, and Casca who watches from behind a tree. The music helps the scene from the manga come to life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ihR0ui9O8 "Blood and Guts"]] is a beautiful piece that perfectly captures the tragic essence of Guts' character (amusingly, the chorus of "Blood and Guts" sounds like "GOD HAND GUTS" to a lot of listeners, though that was probably not intentional). Interestingly, if you read the lyrics, they're telling you about his birth and subsequent rotten childhood. The variant [[https://youtu.be/odYRd3r13Fk "Blood and Guts: Passionate"]] plays during Guts' major SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome...when he single-handedly slaughters 100 men, earning him the title of [[RedBaron 'The Hundred-Man Slayer']].
** From the second film, the thunderous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVrcMRq7saA "My Brother"]], a truly awesome example of [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous English Chanting]]. You feel like you're in the front lines with Guts and Griffith in the shadow of Doldrey, about to encounter either death or glory. A real BashBrothers anthem!
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lds0GGk7WgM "Hundred Years War"]], playing during Midland's victory at the walls of Doldrey. The intensity of track perfectly punctuates the feeling that the war that last for a hundred years is finally over.
** From the third film, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr_tyIorq2Y "Trio F-Dur II"]], the music played during Guts and Casca's love scene, is in the running for the most beautiful tune in the whole movie trilogy, matching the atmosphere of this interpretation of their scene perfectly. It's actually quite [[TearJerker tear jerk worthy.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DuoUYwiJms 'Sonate pour piano nº 23']], the music that plays in Advent during the Eclipse when Femto rapes Casca, is fitting for such a tragic, grotesque, and horrifying moment. It's the third movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Opus 57, with the addition of a dissonant and frightening orchestral "scream".
* From the first movie is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRzBfOp1SK4 "Utsukushiki Mono"]] by Ai. It's the ending theme and is breathtaking. It sings like an inspirational gospel song, but it sounds so uplifting that it'll just raise your spirits. The title translates to "something beautiful" and the song truly is.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DizBlRFMD4 "Inferno"]] is the opening of the 2016 anime adaptation, and it is ''glorious.'' The lyrics perfectly encapsulate the struggle of Guts and his eternal desire for revenge, and they're set to a frenzied beat. A perfect way to introduce the series to a newer, younger generation. Check out the 8bit remix by [=NutBonkers=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJaeMk7amnU here]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzQya_7b-hs "Hai Yo (Oh Ashes)"]] serves as Guts' ThemeMusicPowerUp for the 2016 anime, ''again'' thanks to the genius of Hirasawa. Try not to re-create the battle scenes in your mind with this adrenaline-pumping track. You'll fail.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04MYB15jDgI "Ash Crow"]], '''yet again''' from Hirasawa. It's not used much throughout the two seasons, but when Guts receives the Berserker Armor...
* A hard-rocking remix of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjY5b6wdm8Q "Blood and Guts"]] from the movie trilogy is used as Guts's primary {{Leitmotif}}.
* "My Brother" also gets a hard-rock remix, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJAEG7PC9Y "Dragon Slayer"]], which is also used during intense battle scenes.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpKsAVvVusY The ending theme]], with its epic orchestral arrangement accompanied by the grandiose singing of an all-male choir, provides a very fitting send-off to Guts as another chapter in his legendary saga draws to a close, and heralds the journeys to come ahead.

** "Des Liens Solides (Strong Bonds)" is a gorgeous, romantic orchestral track that plays when Griffith takes Guts to the top of a grassy hill and asks him to join him. You can just feel Griffith's bewitching charisma and how it draws in Guts who stands in front of him, and Casca who watches from behind a tree. The music helps the scene from the manga come to life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC7H1rOU1Gg "Blood and Guts"]] is a beautiful piece that perfectly captures the tragic essence of Guts' character (amusingly, the chorus of "Blood and Guts" sounds like "GOD HAND GUTS" to a lot of listeners, though that was probably not intentional). Interestingly, if you read the lyrics, they're telling you about his birth and subsequent rotten childhood. The variant [[https://youtu.be/odYRd3r13Fk "Blood and Guts: Passionate"]] plays during Guts' major SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome...when he single-handedly slaughters 100 men, earning him the title of [[RedBaron 'The Hundred-Man Slayer']].
** From the second film, the thunderous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaitlyzJhC4 "My Brother"]], a truly awesome example of [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous English Chanting]]. You feel like you're in the front lines with Guts and Griffith in the shadow of Doldrey, about to encounter either death or glory. A real BashBrothers anthem!

** 'Sonate pour piano nº 23', the music that plays in Advent during the Eclipse when Femto rapes Casca, is fitting for such a tragic, grotesque, and horrifying moment. It's the third movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Opus 57, with the addition of a dissonant and frightening orchestral "scream".
* From the first movie is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NDDzEeNAI "Utsukushiki Mono"]] by Ai. It's the ending theme and is breathtaking. It sings like an inspirational gospel song, but it sounds so uplifting that it'll just raise your spirits. The title translates to "something beautiful" and the song truly is.

* [[https://youtu.be/QomduRDQkPM "Hai Yo (Oh Ashes)"]] serves as Guts' ThemeMusicPowerUp for the 2016 anime, ''again'' thanks to the genius of Hirasawa. Try not to re-create the battle scenes in your mind with this adrenaline-pumping track. You'll fail.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzGpUWGEKqU "Ash Crow"]], '''yet again''' from Hirasawa. It's not used much throughout the two seasons, but when Guts receives the Berserker Armor...
* A hard-rocking remix of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtgDq2FziAI "Blood and Guts"]] from the movie trilogy is used as Guts's primary {{Leitmotif}}.
* "My Brother" also gets a hard-rock remix, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVO1EAOOaHY "Dragon Slayer"]], which is also used during intense battle scenes.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZa0Yh6e7dw "Guts"]] from the series is nothing short of beautiful. In fact, it has become a popular meme.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70GD2SBCq64 "Waiting So Long"]] has the same effect, only it's slower and more peaceful as the series' SolemnEndingTheme... But [[SoundtrackDissonance it's kind of ruined]] when you have to hear it in the last episode, right after [[spoiler: you see Guts screaming in pain and rage at the sight of Casca's rape by Griffith/Femto]]. Yeahhhh...

* [[https://youtu.be/WpY_zcm1bX8 Madre Assente]], another non-Hirasawa track, used during [[spoiler: the Queen of Midland's funeral and as we see the snow-filled scenary just before Guts leaves the Band of the Hawk]].

** 'Sonate pour piano nº 23', the music that plays in Advent during the Eclipse when [[spoiler:Femto rapes Casca]], is fitting for such a tragic, grotesque, and horrifying moment. It's the third movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Opus 57, with the addition of a dissonant and frightening orchestral "scream".

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n55QVlBoDxI "Forces"]] is probably the best place to start listening to Susumu Hirasawa's emotional and atmospheric soundtrack which helped make the '97 anime a classic. It plays during Guts's first raid with the Band of the Hawks, as well as over each OnTheNext preview, and it makes you feel like you're riding into battle on horseback with the Hawks themselves.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZa0Yh6e7dw "Guts"]] from the series is nothing short of beautiful.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ak_jATqoRc "Earth"]] is another beautiful theme. It sounds like a perfect theme for the witches and their nature powers, but they are introduced in the manga long after the anime's ending point so it's a very nice coincidence.

* Need we be reminded of the non-Susumu awesomeness that is "Tell Me Why" by Penpals and "Waiting So Long" by Silver Fins?

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70GD2SBCq64 "Waiting So Long"]] has the same effect, only it's slower and more peaceful as the series' SolemnEndingTheme... But [[SoundtrackDissonance it's kind of ruined]] when you have to hear it in the last episode, right after [[spoiler: you see Guts screaming in pain and rage at the sight of Casca's rape]]. Yeahhhh...

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC7H1rOU1Gg "Blood and Guts"]] is a beautiful piece that perfectly captures the tragic essence of Guts' character (amusingly, the chorus of "Blood and Guts" sounds like "GOD HAND GUTS" to a lot of listeners, though that was [[{{Mondegreen}} probably not intentional]]). Interestingly, if you read the lyrics, they're telling you about his birth and subsequent rotten childhood. The variant [[https://youtu.be/odYRd3r13Fk "Blood and Guts: Passionate"]] plays during Guts' major SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome...when he single-handedly slaughters 100 men, earning him the title of [[RedBaron 'The Hundred-Man Slayer']].

** Fun fact: "Forces" is actually a reworking of another song by Hirasawa called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pk3IBlxBaw Kajiwotore]]" (Take the Wheel).

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZa0Yh6e7dw "Guts's Theme"]] from the series is nothing short of beautiful.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZa0Yh6e7dw Guts's theme]] from the series is nothing short of beautiful.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hai_yai_forces.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Berserk'' makes you hardcore.]]