Line #34 Manga/Berserk


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1362941212039875100
2	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3	%% Image caption decided by discussion page vote; If you want to replace it, please start a new vote first.
4	%%
5	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/berserk_vol_14.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:300:"Dragons are dragons because humans can't beat 'em. So, what's a man who beats dragons?" [[labelnote:Pictured]][[NinetiesAntiHero Guts]], center; [[FairyCompanion Puck]], top right.[[/labelnote]]]]
7
8	->''"In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control, even over his own will."''
9
10	''Berserk'' (ベルセルク, ''Beruseruku'') is a DarkFantasy {{Seinen}} manga series by the late Creator/KentaroMiura (and by Kouji Mori and Studio Gaga, following Miura's passing), set in a grim MedievalEuropeanFantasy world.
11
12	The story begins InMediasRes with the first three volumes establishing Guts, the setting, and the antagonists. The [[RedBaron Black Swordsman]] walks the land, a brooding, blood-stained figure. His name is [[NinetiesAntiHero Guts]], and wherever he goes, evil spirits from hell follow. Guts bears the cursed Brand of Sacrifice on the back of his neck, [[WeirdnessMagnet which attracts ghosts and demons hungry to devour him]] -- but he is also one of the strongest men in the world and carries a [[{{BFS}} very big sword]]. When the demons find him, their deaths aren't pretty.
13
14	Guts is a warrior haunted by his past, namely the tragedy that ended in the loss of his arm, his eye, and everyone he cared about. He is WalkingTheEarth seeking only one thing: {{revenge}} against [[FallenHero Griffith]], [[WeUsedToBeFriends once his best friend]], who treacherously sacrificed him and all their comrades to the demon gods known as the [[PowersThatBe God Hand]] in order to be reborn as their fifth member. The world is crawling with Apostles, monstrous servants of the God Hand who gave up their humanity in exchange for power. By hunting these creatures, Guts hopes to pick up the trail of Griffith and make him pay.
15
16	If any human can take on these [[TheLegionsOfHell legions of hell]], it's Guts. Born from the womb of a hanged woman and raised by a cruel mercenary as a ChildSoldier, he has spent his whole life [[TookALevelInBadass taking one level in badass after another]] in order to be tough enough to survive. He wears fearsome armor, has a [[{{Arm Cannon}} cannon-equipped iron prosthetic]] where his left arm used to be, and carries the slab-like [[{{BFS}} Dragonslayer]] sword on his back wherever he goes. Initially accompanied only by the diminutive elf [[FairyCompanion Puck]], who tries to act as a voice of conscience for the ruthless wanderer, he follows the God Hand while leaving a trail of enemy corpses in his wake.
17
18	After the conclusion of the first arc, the story then goes into a ''twelve-volumes-long'' flashback, called the Golden Age arc, which explains HowWeGotHere and reveals Guts' [[DarkAndTroubledPast painful backstory]]. We learn that Guts has survived an abuse-filled childhood by becoming a prodigious fighter and lives as a lone sellsword until he meets the charismatic mercenary leader Griffith and his undefeated [[TrueCompanions Band of the Hawk]]. Griffith is a man with a dream of winning his own kingdom despite his common origins, and possesses an egg-shaped artifact called the [[ArtifactOfDoom Crimson Behelit]], which he was told will grant its owner the world in exchange for his flesh and blood. Inducted into the Band by [[DefeatMeansFriendship losing to Griffith in a duel]], Guts finds himself for the first time surrounded by companions united by Griffith's dream and loyalty to each other, and grows to view Griffith with both friendship and admiration. By turning the tide of a hundred year war in favor of the Kingdom of Midland they become the most celebrated force in the land, but a falling out between Guts and Griffith plunges the latter into despair, setting off a chain of events that ultimately brings their friendship and the Band of the Hawk to a disastrous end.
19
20	Aside from Griffith, the Golden Age arc sets up the other major characters of the series: [[ActionGirl Casca]], Griffith's [[ConsummateProfessional serious]] and capable female [[NumberTwo second-in-command]] who evolves into Guts' LoveInterest as their [[BelligerentSexualTension initially hostile relationship]] defrosts; [[TheDragon Nosferatu Zodd]], a [[NobleDemon demonic but honorable]] BloodKnight who cements the reality of demons to both Guts and Griffith; and the [[HorrifyingHero Skull Knight]], an enigmatic rider in skeletal armor who opposes the Godhand and acts as Guts' AloofAlly.
21
22	With the depressing conclusion of the Golden Age Arc, the series returns to the present day to show the deep-rooted effects of those events on Guts and the world at large. Guts is still pursuing revenge against the Apostles with Puck in tow, but he has attracted the attention of a KnightTemplar named Farnese who is [[InspectorJavert determined to arrest him]] on behalf of the Church. Meanwhile, the God Hand is stirring up trouble all across the world. Pestilence and foreign invasion threaten the people of Midland, who cry out for a savior. It may be that the newly empowered Griffith intends to step in to fill this gap and work his nefarious designs. The biggest development by far, however, concerns Guts. Finding that his solitary vendetta has gotten him nowhere, Guts discovers that he has [[MyGreatestSecondChance one last chance]] to save from the ashes something--someone--that he thought he'd lost forever. But this will be the most arduous journey yet, and he will need new friends and allies if he hopes to succeed. And [[HeroicRROD even if his body can survive]] being pushed to the limit when every fight seems more impossible than the last, the blackness left on his soul from two years of seeking revenge is not about to let go of him so easily!
23
24	In serialization since 1989, ''Berserk'' advertises itself as the "Number 1 Fantasy Comic" in Japan, and stands as the author's ''Magnum Opus''. Miura incorporates story and visual elements from many different media into his epic manga, which was mainly inspired by Kaoru Kurimoto's ambitious and long-running ''Literature/GuinSaga'' fantasy series. He loved the classics of the [[ShonenDemographic shounen genre]] including Buronson's ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', as well as two of the darkest and most violent works of Creator/GoNagai, ''Franchise/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Manga/ViolenceJack''. At the same time, he appreciated manga written for the ShoujoDemographic and their focus on character drama, and has called ''Berserk'' the result of his attempt to fuse the worlds of ''Fist of the North Star'' and ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''. The latter is especially evident in his depiction of love and political intrigue in the court of Midland, and in the complicated triangular relationship between Guts, Griffith, and Casca. Miura was also a student of TheMiddleAges and drew images from that period. Lastly, Miura acknowledged the influence of action, horror, [[ScienceFiction SciFi]], and fantasy films from Hollywood and from some of his favorite literature in creating the look and feel of the series. His creation broke new ground because of the unique way that he combined and developed upon these influences, and ''Berserk'' has been successful enough to leave its mark on a new generation of storytellers.
25
26	The manga is published in Japan by Hakusensha and licensed in English by Creator/DarkHorseComics. As of May 2021, it has [[https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP5N4438P5NUCVL00S.html 50 million volumes in circulation worldwide]].
27
28	For a while, following [[DiedDuringProduction Kentaro Miura's passing from an acute aortic dissection]] on May 6, 2021, the series' future was uncertain. Episode 364 was posthumously completed by Miura's assistants based on his script, released in ''Young Animal'' magazine on September 10, 2021, and included together with the remaining uncollected chapters in Volume 41, published on December 24, 2021. On June 7, 2022, [[https://twitter.com/berserk_project/status/1534023434174627840 his staff announced they would be continuing the series to give it a proper ending,]] [[PosthumousCollaboration helped by his lifelong friend Kouji Mori]].
29
30	Be careful to not confuse this work with the similarly named classic arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Berzerk}}'' or with the 1967 B-horror movie ''Film/{{Berserk\|1967}}''.
31
32	Character tropes go to the [[Characters/{{Berserk}} character page]] and tropes from specific arcs go to the [[Recap/{{Berserk}} recap page]].
33
34	'''WARNING: Do not read the spoilers if you have only watched the anime or the movie trilogy unless you are prepared to risk ruining your enjoyment of the manga; from here on out, spoilers will also include information about the latest releases. In addition, we cannot guarantee that all potential spoilers will be in spoiler tags. Read at your own risk.'''
35	----
36	!!They were much too big to be called Tropes. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, they were like a heap of raw folders:
37	[[index]]
38	* [[Berserk/TropesAToD Tropes A-D]]
39	* [[Berserk/TropesEToH Tropes E-H]]
40	** [[FamousLastWords/{{Berserk}} Famous Last Words]]
41	** [[FanDisservice/{{Berserk}} Fan Disservice]]
42	** [[Foil/{{Berserk}} Foil]]
43	* [[Berserk/TropesIToP Tropes I-P]]
44	* [[Berserk/TropesQToT Tropes Q-T]]
45	** [[ShoutOut/{{Berserk}} Shout-Out]]
46	** [[ShownTheirWork/{{Berserk}} Shown Their Work]]
47	* [[Berserk/TropesUToZ Tropes U-Z]]
48	[[/index]]
49	----

Context Manga / Berserk