History Berserk / TropesEToH

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: When in ActionGirl mode, Casca has short, cropped hair, but when she goes [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane]] after the Eclipse, her hair gradually grows out, representing how she shifted from LadyOfWar to TheOphelia. [[spoiler: And she cuts it short again after her mind is healed.]]

* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Half of what contributes to Casca's madness after the Eclipse.

* GutPunch: Even though ''Berserk'' starts off plenty dark with the ''Black Swordsman Arc'' and makes it a ForegoneConclusion that something traumatic happened to Guts that messed up his personality, there's nothing that can prepare a first-time reader for the shock and horror of the Eclipse which marks the point where the tone of the story gets even darker and stays that way for a long time. To review what happens, [[spoiler:a former good guy making an ''[[MoralEventHorizon epic]]'' FaceHeelTurn and becoming a godlike demon lord, [[EverybodysDeadDave damn near the entire cast of likable characters dying]] [[SacrificialLion horrific deaths,]] the sole female protagonist [[GoMadFromTheRevelation being brutally raped to insanity]] by said former good guy, and the main man who [[HopeSpot tried so desperately to save his friends and lover failing to do so,]] losing [[EyeScream an eye]] and [[LifeOrLimbDecision an arm]] in the process.]] Wow.

* HeroicBSOD: Griffith has one of these [[spoiler:after losing ownership of Guts]] in a duel which ended with his sword getting shattered.
** Happened a lot more than that. First instance happened with Guts after he assassinated Duke Julius' son by mistake. During the Eclipse, Guts almost lapses into this as a result of [[spoiler:Griffith's betrayal]], but snaps out of with rage. The most severe case in the series by far is what happened to Casca, who experienced physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional trauma so horrifying during the Eclipse that she is now ''[[GoMadFromTheRevelation mentally gone]].''

** In a monumental moment, [[spoiler:Casca has finally regained her sanity, and fortunately doesn't remember the Eclipse. Until she sees Guts. And ''then'' it all comes rushing back to her. There's a risk she'll break ''again,'' but at best, she'll have to start properly learning to cope with the kinda of trauma that Guts has had to learn to cope with for ''years'', but ''worse''...]]

* HighPressureBlood: In SPADES.

** The [[CantRefuseTheCallAnymore Spiritual Death and Rebirth]]: When he returns to the Hawks a year later, the tragic Eclipse happens. His flesh is seared and scattered, and he is "reborn" as a new man with [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge a burning vengeance.]] He is now fully initiated into the strange world, and is given further supernatural aids (the Dragonslayer and possibly his cursed brand).

* {{Gorn}}: Brutal hand-to-hand combat, torture and rape are all drawn in elaborate detail. Hordes of soldiers are monsters are killed in each battle, with blood and limbs spattered about. It has a reputation as one of the most violent manga outside of the niche genre of plotless exploitation comics.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Judeau sees the growing attraction between Guts and Casca and tries to push them in the right direction [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy for the sake of their happiness]]. [[TheyDo It eventually pays off]].

* GratuitousRape: Rape happens a ''lot'' in this series, enough to make the infamous tabletop game ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}'' look like a joke, and while the main characters' experiences with sexual assault are for the most part seriously explored, the sheer number of other characters who experience sexual assault as well as how often rape of minor characters is used just to show that WarIsHell and RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil can lead to complaints of overusing it.

* {{Gorn}}: Miura depicts all kinds of bloodshed and dismemberment with a level of detail that straddles the line between horror and fascination. To elaborate, it's ''even bloodier'' than all of Creator/QuentinTarantino's films '''''combined''''', is packed the very gills and [[{{Pun}} guts]] with gratuitous extreme graphic aberrant violence that not only makes ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' and '''''even''''' ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' look like games made for little children but also, makes the Live-Action ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' [[Film/Deadpool2016 duo]] [[Film/Deadpool2 logy]] look and feel more like a SoBadItsGood LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' as a Sitcom by comparison (and if Deadpool killing so many people aren't that Bloody enough, then think again with how many people and monsters has Guts beaten up to the death), there's large amounts of GratuitousRape that downright obscene and pornographic, explicit brutality that makes ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' look like a joke and much, MUCH more. This holds the reputation as one of the most, if not ''the'' most violent manga ever created in history and for good reason.

* GagBoobs: The unnamed female apostle's human form has rather large boobs that she [[MarshmallowHell sandwiches Corkus' head in between]] upon tightly hugging him.

* {{Gorn}}: Miura depicts all kinds of bloodshed and dismemberment with a level of detail that straddles the line between horror and fascination. To elaborate, it's ''even bloodier'' than all of Creator/QuentinTarantino's films '''''combined''''', is packed the very gills and [[{{Pun}} guts]] with gratuitous extreme graphic aberrant violence that not only makes ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' and '''''even''''' ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' look like games made for little children but also, makes the Live-Action ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' [[Film/Deadpool2016 duo]] [[Film/Deadpool2 logy]] look and feel more like a SoBadItsGood LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' as a Sitcom by comparison (and if Deadpool killing so many people aren't that Bloody enough, then think again with how many people and monsters has Guts beaten up to the death), there's large amounts of GratuitousRape that downright obscene and pornographic, explicit brutality that makes ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' look like a joke and much, MUCH more. This holds the reputation as one of the most, if not ''the'' most violent manga ever created in history and for good reason. And not to mention, ComicBook/{{Invincible}} is basically Berserk with Superheroes.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: While Casca didn't die and Guts remembers what happened to her ''[[ForcedToWatch very vividly]]'', which drove him to {{Revenge}} the most, he forgot about the pain she suffered during the Eclipse and left her for two years to waste away in his own pain and sadness, sometimes forgetting that he wasn't the sole survivor of the Eclipse. This led to his WhatTheHellHero lecture from Godo and to his MyGreatestFailure revelation later.

* {{Gorn}}: Miura depicts all kinds of bloodshed and dismemberment with a level of detail that straddles the line between horror and fascination. To elaborate, it's ''even bloodier'' than all of Creator/QuentinTarantino's films '''''combined''''', is packed the very gills and [[{{Pun}} guts]] with gratuitous extreme graphic aberrant violence that not only makes ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' and '''''even''''' ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' look like games made for little children but also, makes the Live-Action ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' [[Film/Deadpool2016 duo]] [[Film/Deadpool2 logy]] look and feel more like a SoBadItsGood LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' as a Sitcom by comparison (and if Deadpool killing so many people aren't that Bloody enough, then think again with how many people and monsters has Guts beaten up to the death), there's large amounts of GratuitousRape that downright obscene and pornographic, explicit brutality that makes ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' look like a joke and much, MUCH more. This holds the reputation as the most violent manga ever created in history and for good reason. And not to mention, ComicBook/{{Invincible}} is basically Berserk with Superheroes.

** Downplayed: From about the Millennium Falcon Arc, ''Berserk'' has placed less emphasis on being a [[GrimDark gritty]], [[DarkFantasy dark]], [[GothicHorror almost gothic,]] [[LowFantasy low fantasy]] [[CosmicHorrorStory horror story]] and introduced more elements of a whimsical [[HeroicFantasy heroic fantasy]] adventure, without lowering the stakes or losing its capacity to horrify when it wants to.

* {{Gorn}}: Miura depicts all kinds of bloodshed and dismemberment with a level of detail that straddles the line between horror and fascination. To elaborate, it's ''even bloodier'' than all of Creator/QuentinTarantino's films '''''combined''''', is packed the very gills and [[{{Pun}} guts]] with gratuitous extreme graphic aberrant violence that not only makes ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' and '''''even''''' ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' look like games made for little children but also, makes the Live-Action ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} [[Film/Deadpool2016 duo]] [[Film/Deadpool2 logy]] look and feel more like a SoBadItsGood LiveActionAdaptation of Manga/{{CardcaptorSakura}} as a Sitcom by comparison (and if Deadpool killing so many people aren't that Bloody enough, then think again with how many people and monsters has Guts beaten up to the death), there's large amounts of GratuitousRape that downright obscene and pornographic, explicit brutality that makes ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' look like a joke and much, MUCH more. This holds the reputation as the most violent manga ever created in history and for good reason. And not to mention, ComicBook/{{Invincible}} is basically Berserk with Superheroes.

* HumansAreFlawed: The the source of all problems everywhere in this story is human weakness, not inherent evil. One must keep in mind that a rotten person who would love to have some demonic powers to be a more effective asshole would be unable to use a behelit because he doesn't care about anything but himself.

* HornyDevils:
** Slan and the demon-chick from the opening pages
** Wyald and many other male apostles also qualify when they are in the presence of a human female.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex:
** DoubleSubverted in the manga. It takes [[spoiler:Casca]] and [[spoiler:Guts]] at least one try before they can make sweet, sweet love without one of them having a bad bout of temporary insanity caused by post-traumatic stress from childhood sexual abuse. Still, their moment is the only instance of sex in the series so far that wasn't either AttemptedRape, [[NearRapeExperience near-rape]], [[RapeAsDrama actual rape]], [[HornyDevils demon rape]], [[APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy a pagan orgy]], [[NauseaFuel just plain sick]], or done out of [[ForTheEvulz spite]], [[BandOfBrothels money]], [[AnythingThatMoves lust]], or [[SexForSolace pity]]. Not to mention that [[spoiler: Guts and Casca]] resolved all of their then-current inner troubles through IntimatePsychotherapy.
** Played straight in the TV show and movie, in which [[spoiler: Guts and Casca]] have passionate, uninterrupted sex, taken up a notch in that the two have very good non-verbal communication cues when expressing their wants during their first time. In fact, this trope is yet another facet of showing how much [[RedOniBlueOni Guts and Griffith contrast with one another]]. Earlier, Griffith is shown taking [[spoiler:Princess Charlotte's]] virginity, but Griffith only initiates the act in order to gratify his angst over losing Guts, and so the sex is pretty emotionless between the two of them. In the afterglow, Griffith is seen sitting apart from a sleeping [[spoiler:Charlotte]], clawing at himself and crying. In contrast, [[spoiler: Guts has sex with Casca out of love and so their intercourse is brimming with emotion. In their afterglow, Guts has Casca sleeping in his arms and is shown to be totally content with a smile to match.]]

* {{Gorn}}: Miura depicts all kinds of bloodshed and dismemberment with a level of detail that straddles the line between horror and fascination. To elaborate, it's ''even bloodier'' than all of Creator/QuentinTarantino's films '''''combined''''', is packed the very gills and [[{{Pun}} guts]] with gratuitous extreme graphic aberrant violence that not only makes ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' and '''''even''''' ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' look like games made for little children but also, makes the Live-Action SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} [[Film/Deadpool2016 duo]] [[Film/Deadpool2 logy]] look and feel more like a SoBadItsGood LiveActionAdaptation of Manga/{{CardcaptorSakura}} as a Sitcom by comparison (and if Deadpool killing so many people aren't that Bloody enough, then think again with how many people and monsters has Guts beaten up to the death), there's large amounts of GratuitousRape that downright obscene and pornographic, explicit brutality that makes ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' look like a joke and much, MUCH more. This holds the reputation as the most violent manga ever created in history and for good reason. And not to mention, ComicBook/{{Invincible}} is basically Berserk with Superheroes.

* EyeRemember: A zigzagged variant. Guts's last memory in his right eye while it got clawed out were the last moments of [[spoiler:Casca's horrific rape.]] He sometimes recalls what the last sight of his right eye was in order to remind himself exactly why [[BerserkButton he hates Griffith so much]]. It's scary when others remind him of his last sight, [[http://www.mrsmanga.com/Berserk/122.132/171 but when he reminds himself]] - eep.

* HeartbrokenBadass: Guts. Big time. Ever since [[spoiler:the Eclipse's aftermath, his one true soulmate Casca, due to her [[TheOphelia unfortunate condition]], just can't reciprocate anything he feels for her. And, to make it worse, the Beast's urgings almost got him to [[NearRapeExperience rape]] her. Consequently, Casca now fears Guts and outright refuses to be around him.]] (But the quest to Elfhelm might change this...) However, this might come at a price, since [[spoiler:even though the Skull Knight said that there was a chance for Casca to be cured, which truly lifted Guts's spirit for the first time in a long while, the Skull Knight also said that what Guts wishes for might not be what Casca wishes for. When thinking back on this, Guts really looks frustrated and heartbroken again. To stick to the optimism, Casca seems to be warming up to Guts little by little after Farnese scolded her, since it appears that she can at least handle being in the same room as Guts is in without the others.

* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Guts and Casca actually don't count, since she's tall for a woman despite looking small next to him, but during his post-Eclipse adventures he does always seem to have at least one small girl hanging around with him, be it Jill or Schierke. Not in a weird way, they just seem to like him. He tends to treat them like an AloofOlderBrother, when he's not trying to chase them off (for their own good) with his facade, but every now and then he can be surprisingly [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4-16_BNFHC-142-copy-jpg_8038.jpeg sweet to them]].

* FoeYay: Lots of this goes on the Berserk. Particularly between Guts and Griffith. Not helped by the fact that Griffith is called the demon of desire and is implied to represent desire and longing. Despite his hatred for Griffith, Guts, for a brief moment, forgot his hatred entirely when he first saw Griffith reincarnated in human form as he was before the eclipse. Griffith also seems to still have feeling for guts, ambiguous as they may be. This is illustrated further when Guts was severely injured after teaming up with Zod to beat the Emperor and he saw Griffith on a hill looking down at him with a look of interest at the least and perhaps a bit of longing. All of this is ambiguous but it's clear that there's more than hatred between them.

** The Kushan Empire resembles real life Southeast Asia, specifically [[SimSimSalabim India]], with some [[ArabianNightsDays Middle Eastern]] influences thrown into the mix.