History Characters / BerserkGodhandAndApostles

* Hypocrite: Mozgus shares a story to Farnese about a holy woman who aided many people who were in their final moments and held their hand as they died, but when encountering a man on the road, the man refused to accept the woman's warmth because he believed dying on the roadside was proof he'd lived a proud life of solitude and independence, and her warmth would disgrace his sublime moment of death. The point Mozgus was making is that there's many ways to look at something, and you shouldn't force your beliefs on everyone around you. However, this is exactly what Mozgus does, refusing to believe that brutally torturing people could actually just be meaningless pain inflicted on people instead of a hurdle for people to overcome and adamantly rejecting any beliefs that go against his own.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Her name is spelled "Roshinu" in katakana, and was rendered as such in some English translations, but it's a safe bet that Miura meant for it to be "Rosine".

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: [[ZigZaggedTrope Played with]]. A key requirement to even ''becoming'' an Apostle involves throwing away your humanity to make [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten gut-wrenching sacrifices of the ones you love]] all for a second-chance at overcoming [[DespairEventHorizon one's own nadir moment]]. That said, despite the [[HumansAreFlawed inherently-human conundrum]] that causes humans to become Apostles, the ones we've ''seen'' have all been - [[MonsterKnight barring]] [[NobleDemon some]] [[AntiVillain exceptions]] - [[{{Sadist}} vile]], [[RedRightHand repugnant]] and [[CardCarryingVillain unrepentantly evil]] while using their powers to prey on other humans. Even if it's doubtless that becoming an Apostle attracts a certain breed of individual who fell to ''despair'' rather than any moral disposition to good or evil, given the portrayal of most Apostles that [[TheHero Guts]] fights over the course of the story, it's not hard to see why he was once - and to an extent, still is - so single-minded about the extermination of ''all'' Apostles, good or bad.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: You become an Apostle by sacrificing someone you truly care about to the Godhand in your greatest moment of despair, in an effort to NeverBeHurtAgain. Despite events playing out largely [[YouCantFightFate according to the Godhand's will]] in the grand scheme of things, you're ultimately the one to make the choice in the end. The fact that so many Apostles are seen throughout the series just hammers home how easy it is for human beings to cast aside their loved ones for their own selfish desires.

* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Going by the information from the Lost Episode, their power as gods ultimately derives from the collective unconscious of humanity.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: [[ZigZaggedTrope Played with]]. A key requirement to even ''becoming'' an Apostle involves throwing away your humanity to make [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten gut-wrenching sacrifices of the ones you love]] all for a second-chance at overcoming [[DespairEventHorizon one's own nadir moment]]. Because more often than not the would-be Apostle would have to have lost their hopes, futures and just about ''any'' chance of truly being anything but miserable ever again, it's bound that nearly ''anyone'' would make the decision to sacrifice their loved ones for an easy fix to the problem. That said, despite the [[HumansAreFlawed inherently-human conundrum]] that causes humans to become Apostles, the ones we've ''seen'' have all been - [[MonsterKnight barring]] [[NobleDemon some]] [[AntiVillain exceptions]] - [[{{Sadist}} vile]], [[RedRightHand repugnant]] and [[CardCarryingVillain unrepentantly evil]] while using their powers to prey on other humans. Even if it's doubtless that becoming an Apostle attracts a certain breed of individual who fell to ''despair'' rather than any moral disposition to good or evil, given the portrayal of most Apostles that [[TheHero Guts]] fights over the course of the story, it's not hard to see why he was once - and to an extent, still is - so single-minded about the extermination of ''all'' Apostles, good or bad.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Despite being cut from most adaptations and serving little purpose but gruesome, violent filler, Wyald has the honor of being the first Apostle Guts actually manages to ''hurt'' in battle. This would lead to Guts killing many more Apostles during the Eclipse and beyond, evolving into the implacable monster slayer we know and love today.

* ShoutOut: His simian appearance and mannerisms might be a dark satire on the Saiyan race from [[Creator/AkiraToriyama Akira Toriyama's]] ''Franchise/DragonBall''. His [[BloodKnight battle-hungry attitude]] to the point of [[SuicidalOverconfidence recklessness]] is a species trait for the saiyans plus his true form is [[KillerGorilla a large ape]] similar to their great ape form. His being a PsychoForHire for the Midland Army brings to mind how [[EvilOverlord Frieza]] approached the Saiyans to join his Galactic Army, though the Midland King never got the chance to pull a "Planet Vegeta" on Wyald. For bonus points, Wyald was voiced by [[Creator/ShigeruChiba Raditz's actor]] in a mobile game for the series ''and'' proves himself a DirtyCoward to boot.

* SerialRapist: Probably the most egregious rapist in the series, he raped dozens or even hundreds of women while serving the King of Midland. His motivation is a combination of misogyny, unrestrained lust, and sadistic pleasure in dominating and harming people.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: They offer you the chance to become an immortal demon and live out the rest of your days in accordance to your desire, but when your life comes to an end you ''will'' be sent to Hell for sacrificing someone you loved for your own selfish need for pleasure and salvation.

** Given the influence of ''Literature/TheElricSaga'' on Berserk, they might also have been an homage to the original Chaos Lords of Moorcock - being just like them cruel demon-gods ruling over all sorts of monsters and sorcerers, appearing alternatively as disturbingly beautiful or monstrously grotesque, only being able to step in the mortal world when invoked by their servants - and [[spoiler: turning the Earth into an insane EldritchLocation when they actually fully manifest in it.]]

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: They may be demon-gods now, but they were once human and their current state as Eldritch Abominations is due to them literally giving up someone they truly cared about to the vortex of Hell. [[spoiler:And that's not even getting into the Idea of Evil, which was created directly by the collective subconscious of humanity demanding an answer for mankind's suffering.]] Also unlike Apostles, it's not just one or two but a hundred of loved ones.

* ItsAllAboutMe: They exploit the inner selfish desires of human beings in order to further drive them down the DespairEventHorizon and ultimately have them give into the temptation of sacrificing their loved ones and their humanity.

* TheWorfEffect: When we first see Guts as the Black Swordsman, he is clearly characterized as an inhumanly powerful and skilled warrior, one who can stand toe-to-toe against the demonic Apostles and ''win''. When he's put up against the Godhand in any way, however, he's easily tossed aside like a ragdoll. It's to the point where none of the Godhand even bother trying to kill him. To them, he's so insignificant that they barely need to lift a finger to end his life.

* DevilButNoGod: Although it is shown that there are other powerful beings in the Astral Plane, the Godhand [[spoiler:and their master, the Idea of Evil,]] still have no counterpart in their role as malevolent supreme deities. If anything, it is made apparent that [[spoiler:the Idea of Evil is the only god around, turning the situation downright into GodIsEvil.]]

* AllForNothing: Probably the worst part of becoming an Apostle: it doesn't fix anything. If anything, it just makes things ''[[EasyRoadToHell worse]]'' for the would-be Apostle in question. Rosine and the Count still want to be loved, Wyald is crippled by his fear of death, the Egg regrets not having met someone like Mozgus while he was alive to help him and even Ganishka for all his power is constantly on the verge of a breakdown from sheer paranoia. Becoming a monster with the power to live out all your sickest and depraved desires is ultimately just a distraction from the misery that caused the subject to hit rock bottom in the first place, and it by no means ensures the newborn Apostle won't hit it again (and given the Godhand's foreknowledge of causality, they already know it will happen).

* DropTheHammer: Wields a war hammer against Guts in their first fight, attacking mainly with the beaked end.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: His utter disregard for his men's lives, going so far as to set them up to get killed so he can laugh about their deaths would make you feel sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that they're the worst murderers, rapists and all-round scum in Midland. He ends up on the receiving end of this when [[spoiler: Zodd tears him in half, not for any of the other crimes he's committed but for trying to kill Griffith]].