History Characters / BerserkGriffithFemto

* BigBad: While the Godhand collectively make up the the main antagonists of the series, Griffith is the most [[ItsPersonal personal]] of Guts's foes and the member of the Godhand with the greatest focus.

* {{Ubermensch}}: To Griffith, pursuing one's dream is a moral principle that trumps every other consideration of class, social propriety, or morality as determined by human society. He will do whatever it takes to reach his own, and will acknowledge no moral constraints except those he imposes on himself. This gets deconstructed as more of Griffith's HiddenDepths are revealed; his devotion to his dreams is certainly something to behold, but at the same time, he is willing to do truly despicable acts to achieve them. A more subtle deconstruction comes in the form of how he presents himself to his companions; Griffith's drive to achieve his dream is so ''compelling'' that other mercenaries feel drawn to his presence and determination alone. But Griffith is subject to all the same flaws, fears, and insecurities that others face; as such, Griffith feels it necessary to suppress his feelings and keep up the facade that he's a god-amongst-men. This is why he latches onto Guts so easily in the first place, as he finds a kindred spirit in Guts' willingness to put his life on the line in [[DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife a search for meaning]]--and it's also why [[IfICantHaveYou he lashes out so violently]] when Guts decides to leave. As Femto he is something of the [[InvertedTrope inverse]] as while his personality remains the same he acknowledges and accepts that he is nothing more than an actor on a stage created by a force far greater than him. Essentially Griffith went from ScrewDestiny to YouCantFightFate.

* DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife: Admits to Guts, during one of their earliest conversations, that one of the core reasons he wants to obtain a kingdom is because he wants to make something out of his life and realize his destiny in a world seemingly governed by the whims of fate. In fact, Griffith ended up drawn to Guts because, while Guts at this point fought primarily to earn money from battlefield winnings, Guts willingly and needlessly put his life on the line during battles because he believed that was the only way he could truly ''feel'' the value of his existence.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Inverted. He is a demonic abomination from beyond the veil of time and space, and any attempts to attack him or even wound him slightly fall short due to his reality-distorting powers. [[spoiler:The only exception to this comes, ironically, from [[TheRuntAtTheEnd Rickert]], who lands an ''AWESOME'' ArmorPiercingSlap on him for what he did to the Band of the Hawk. But even then, Griffith barely even seemed affected by this gesture, and it's mildly implied that he just ''allowed'' Rickert to slap him in order to let him vent]].

* TheAntiChrist: More on the DarkMessiah side but he still plays the more classical Antichrist role as found in the ''Literature/BookOfRevelaiton''. He is an arch-demonic manifestation of god's will who has come back to the physical plane so that he can become a king in the material world as well, and is prophesied to bring about an Age of Darkness ([[spoiler:which he fulfilled]]).

* OlderThanTheyLook: During Casca's flashback at the age of 12 and Gut's first meeting with him at 15, he's drawn as already being a fully-grown young adult, meaning that he's somewhere between 28-30.

* SmugSnake: For all his competence and intelligence, this is Griffith's character in a nutshell. As shown in his speech with the princess Charlotte, Griffith views his men as so far beneath him. Additionally, his overconfidence costs him greatly, leading to him JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and ultimately betraying the Hawks to the Godhand in attempt at a second shot at getting a kingdom for himself.

Once the ambitious and talented leader of the Band of the Hawk, now the fifth Godhand member. Griffith holds a central role in the story as Guts' former best friend turned ArchNemesis. The manga begins with an introduction to Femto in volume 3, but the Golden Age Arc that follows is concerned with what Griffith was like before he gave up his humanity. It starts when Griffith recruits Guts into his mercenary band by [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeating him in combat]], and quickly makes him his right-hand-man in recognition of his prowess. This is a point of resentment for Casca, Griffith's most steadfast lieutenant, who feels that Griffith is making exceptions for Guts that he's never made for anyone else. Indeed, Griffith shows an amount of trust and familiarity with Guts that he never allowed anyone else to have, going so far as to risk his life for him on more than one occasion. Still, the question of whether he sees Guts as a real friend or only a pawn comes up eventually, and it may be that Griffith himself thought it was one when it was in fact the other.

* SuaveSabre: His WeaponOfChoice. He alternates between wielding a standard-design one and one with the hilt of a rapier.

* WeaponOfChoice: His basket-hilted cavalry saber gives him a combination of elegance, dash, and danger.

* BigBadDuumvirate: While Griffith is the primary antagonist of the series, he's not the only one. The others are his cohorts in the Godhand: [[MyBrainIsBig Void]], [[HornyDevils Slan]], [[ConsummateLiar Ubik]], and [[PlagueMaster Conrad]].

* BalefulPolymorph: After his reincarnation, [[spoiler: every night of the full moon, Griffith gets bodyjacked by the son of Guts and Casca who takes the form he would probably have by now, hadn't Griffith used his body to resurrect himself. In the form of a 3-4 years old boy, Griffith is as helpless as a child that age would be and there's apparently nothing he can do to prevent this from happening, not to mention that the boy also manages to completely suppress Griffith's mind during these happenings. The child displays mystical abilities but passive ones thus far.]]

* BigBad: While the Godhead collectively make up the the main antagonists of the series, Griffith is the most [[ItsPersonal personal]] of Gut’s foes and the member of the Godhead with the greatest focus.

Griffith is driven by his dream of obtaining his own kingdom, and stops at nothing reach it. He is in a good position to do so, being a cunning strategist, a MasterSwordsman, a charismatic leader, and a shrewd politician. His androgynous beauty combined with his persuasiveness and charm allow him to win people over easily. It also helps that he possesses the Crimson Behelit, an ArtifactOfDoom that protects him from death several times. Griffith lacks any real scruples in his efforts to get what he wants - kidnapping, assassination, and self-abasement--even to the point of selling his body once so he could finance the Hawks--are all considered acceptable, even necessary steps towards his ultimate goal. He earns the trust of the King of Midland through repeated victories on the battlefield, and soon has the king's daughter Princess Charlotte under his spell.

Griffith is driven by his dream of obtaining his own kingdom, and stops at nothing to obtain it. He is in a good position to do so, being a cunning strategist, a MasterSwordsman, a charismatic leader, and a shrewd politician. His androgynous beauty combined with his persuasiveness and charm allow him to win people over easily. It also helps that he possesses the Crimson Behelit, an ArtifactOfDoom that protects him from death several times. Griffith lacks any real scruples in his efforts to get what he wants - kidnapping, assassination, and self-abasement--even to the point of selling his body once so he could finance the Hawks--are all considered acceptable, even necessary steps towards his ultimate goal. He earns the trust of the King of Midland through repeated victories on the battlefield, and soon has the king's daughter Princess Charlotte under his spell.

* EvilIsPetty: Perhaps one of the most horrifying examples in the manga weight class. Everything Griffith does, every sacrifice and morally questionable act he commits to, he does for the sake of his excessively idealized dream, which is...to have his own kingdom. Unlike a variety of other villains outside of ''Berserk'' and many within it, there isn't much all that sympathetic about his main motivator--no dead family to bring back, no poverty-stricken slums to restore, no desire to create a better world. He simply thinks that he deserves a kingdom, and post-godhood, he finally gets one...which is a utopian city with his hawk motif stamped all over it where everyone worships him as a savior and everyone who matters kisses his feet. Even before joining the God Hand, his pettiness showed through in acts such as ordering Guts to kill off a political rival who slighted him, and when things didn't go his way, he had quiet but ''catastrophic'' [[VillainousBreakdown meltdowns]] that ruined his own future and innumerable others as well.

* EvilIsPetty: Perhaps one of the most horrifying examples in the manga weight class. Everything Griffith does, every sacrifice and morally questionable act he commits to, he does for the sake of his excessively idealized dream, which is...to have his own kingdom. Unlike a variety of other villains outside of ''Berserk'' and many within it, there isn't much all that sympathetic about his main motivator--no dead family to bring back, no poverty-stricken slums to restore, no desire to create a better world. He simply thinks that he deserves a kingdom, and post-godhood, he finally gets one...which is a utopian city with his hawk motif stamped all over it where everyone worships him as a savior and everyone who matters kisses his feet. Even before joining the God Hand, his pettiness showed through in acts such as ordering Guts to kill off a political rival who slighted him, and when things didn't go his way, he had quiet but ''catastrophic'' meltdowns that ruined his own future and innumerable others as well.

* StrongerThanTheyLook: Despite his PrettyBoy looks and slender build, Griffith is just as strong and tough as or near Guts' level in their first fight, as seen as he was able to blocked against Gut's BFS swing without visible strain. In the movie adaptation, he's shown hold up Gut's sword with a single hand effortlessly.

* TheBeautifulElite: Griffith was always gorgeous, but Miura took it UpToEleven with his reincarnation. Griffith goes from a very attractive androgynous man to possessing angelic superhuman beauty; notably, his hair is much longer and curlier, his eyes are [[HeavenlyBlue bright blue]], and he's often shown with an [[PowerGlows aura]] around him. His armour was described by Miura as being silver or pearl white, and it's never dented or tainted in battle. This beauty helps him bring almost all of society under his thumb when he becomes ruler of Falconia. As a fan said, [[https://reddit.com/r/Berserk/comments/9wxxsx/hate_him_all_you_want_griffith_is_still_beautiful/ "Hate him all you want. Griffith is still beautiful."]]

* {{Bishonen}}: Constantly described as beautiful and is drawn with the same facial features as all of the attractive ''women'' are. Miura drew him as being far more gorgeous after his reincarnation, which led to some [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] from fans.
--> '''enaree:''' I actually doubt you can show the last canonical depiction of griffith to anyone and have them assume that person is male. Miura always drew him androgynous but in the last panel it's like he had his lips filled with estrogen.

** Similar in many ways to [[spoiler:Ryo]] from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', being the tough protagonist's {{Bishounen}} best friend who has strong feelings for him and turns out to be a villain. Granted, [[spoiler:Ryo]] ends up regretting his actions and being an AntiVillain while Griffith [[TheSociopath seems unlikely to do so anytime soon.]] In an interesting sort of cyclical example, in the spinoff manga ''AMON,'' the character mentioned ends up looking and acting a lot like Griffith.

* {{Foil}}: Guts and Griffith serve as foils whose character traits contrast with each other. Guts is a loner, suspicious of other people, while Griffith draws other people to himself. Guts has NoSocialSkills, while Griffith has great charisma and charm. Guts is an uncultured manly man, while Griffith is a sophisticated {{Bishonen}}. Guts lives in the moment, focusing on living another day, while Griffith has a grand dream and always looks toward the future. Guts relies on his strength and toughness to fight, while Griffith prefers speed and finesse. After his reincarnation, Griffith is a VillainWithGoodPublicity who is universally worshiped by his army and the people and associated with light and the color white, while Guts is a HeroWithBadPublicity associated with darkness and the color black who is [[WalkingDisasterArea feared]], hated, and shrouded in mystery.

* LastDisrespects: Once Griffith returns to the mortal realm, one of the first things he does is check out the Hill of Swords, Rickert's tribute to the fallen Hawks. Griffith being there at all infuriates Guts, but Griffith hits a new low by outright admitting that he feels ''nothing'' for the comrades he slaughtered to pursue his dream. Rickert at this point isn't even aware of Griffith's actions, so he saw nothing wrong with letting the guy saunter around what is essentially ''the graveyard of those he had massacred''. When he ''does'' learn of Griffith's betrayal, he is so disgusted and ashamed of himself that he renounces Griffith as his commander. In his own kingdom. In front of his demonic royal guard. [[UpToEleven And his Queen]].

* LightIsNotGood: Griffith's often white clothing and brightly polished armor combined with his white hair makes him look both beautiful and unnerving in a way that sets him apart from other people. This impression of something about him being odd or supernatural is especially strong after [[spoiler:reincarnating]], when he is said to look like an angel descended to earth rather than a human being. He is a beautiful {{Bishonen}}, with long white hair that wears white or dresses in shining armour, and is called the Hawk of Light, but is in fact a demonic DarkMessiah and the BigBad.

* MrFanservice: Much like Guts, he also has a large female fandom, but for [[{{Bishonen}} completely]] [[DracoInLeatherPants different]] [[WhiteHairBlackHeart reasons]].

* VillainProtagonist: Even before the Eclipse, Griffith was, at best, a NominalHero, being only one step short from a true villain as his actions inspired awe from people. Even after the Eclipse, specifically within the context of the chapters focusing on his war against the Kushan Empire, Griffith assumes the role of the protagonist with Emperor Ganishka as the antagonist. [[EvilVersusEvil They're both evil]], but Ganishka is so ''openly'' horrible--[[UpToEleven even compared to him]]--that we're supposed to be rooting for Griffith.

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: The series' one and only {{Bishonen}} with beautiful white hair, he also happens to currently be the villain. Even back when he was officially a "hero," he was manipulative and out for his own purposes. You could say it gets Exaggerated after his face heel turn, since he is literally a demon lord but in his human guise his white hair makes him look like an angel.

* AllForNothing: Implied. Even if he now has become a Godhand and got a kingdom of his own, without emotions that could actually make him feel whole or enjoy his success, he’s doomed to fulfill a never ending void, by wanting more.

** [[spoiler: His first instance was sneaking into Princess Charlotte's bedroom and proceeding to force himself upon her. While she agreed to the act due to her extreme devotion to him, it's pretty obvious that he would have likely done so even if she had not consented.]]
** [[spoiler: His second instance was his attempted rape of Casca when he was severely crippled. As his body was barely functioning at this point, he's only to limp towards her and agonizingly hump her chest, generating more pity than anything else.]]

* ContemplateOurNavels: Griffith loves to philosophize about the meaning of his life, as well as the essence of dreams and their value to the human condition. What's surprising is that he does this often whenever he's around someone he feels comfortable with, like Guts. One of their first conversations featured Griffith waxing philosophical over the corpses of thousands of soldiers, contemplating how meaningless their lives were in the grand scheme of things, and how he wants to establish something out of his own life...before chuckling, and admitting to Guts [[HoYay he'd never told anyone this before]].

* EvilFormerFriend: He and Guts had a bond bordering on brotherhood (or perhaps even [[HoYay more than that]]), only for him to betray Guts and everyone else he led to horrible deaths during the events of the Eclipse, which would destroy this bond forever and leave Guts with an undying hatred for Griffith.

* VillainousCrush: [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Griffith]], the main antagonist has strong feelings for both [[ActionGirl Casca]] [[HoYay and]] [[MasterSwordsman Guts]] to the point where he puts their own lives above all the rest of his men and makes their safety his personal top priority. Griffith even throws away all rational thinking and plans to keep Guts especially safe. So when Guts desires to leave Griffith's shadow, he cannot take it, dueling Guts and losing, sending Griffith down a spiraling path. Griffith, immediately after Guts' departure, goes and sleeps with the princess of Midland, desperate to fill the void in his life and thinking of nothing but Guts during sex. Unsurprisingly, Griffith is captured and tortured for a year, during which from his imprisonment, his "love" for Guts and Casca becomes {{Yandere}}-level violent, and Griffith himself is ''[[TranquilFury silently furious]]'' upon [[http://i1.mangareader.net/berserk/10/berserk-1557170.jpg seeing]] Guts and Casca's newly formed romance. [[spoiler: This is why, when he sacrifices the Band to ascend to the God Hand during the Eclipse, the ''very first thing he does'' with this new power is rape Casca in front of a trapped Guts, all the while staring Guts dead in the eyes the whole time]]. After the Eclipse, Griffith claims he no longer feels anything and is confused when he still has emotions for them.

* StaticCharacter: PlayedForDrama. Griffith, ever since he was a child, wanted to obtain a kingdom for himself--so in pursuit of this goal, he decided to become a mercenary and work his way up the social ladder until he would reach his goal. At the cost of this, he abstained from any kind of emotional attachment to his troops to prevent himself from wavering. This got to the point where he eventually felt somewhat ''obligated'' to achieve his dream--for the sake of those who were willing enough to die for it. So Griffith grew more distant from his comrades and cultivated an extreme sense of tunnel-vision to ensure the Hawks' success--but even this fell apart when he became subconsciously dependent on Guts, whom he saw as a trusted confidant and ally. So when Guts left, Griffith's despair was such that he undid literally everything he had ever fought for in a moment of emotional dissociation. Now, after having thrown away his humanity in favor of his selfish desires, Griffith as Femto pretty much ''embodies'' this trope: an EmotionlessBoy [[AmbitionIsEvil driven solely by his ambition]] and [[LackOfEmpathy feeling literally]] ''[[LackOfEmpathy nothing]]'' for those who stand in his way. No humanity or CharacterDevelopment or emotional attachment to get in the way of his goals now. [[spoiler:That is, unless you count the mild protective instinct he has towards Casca due to having used the body of her and Guts' child as his new physical vessel]].

* DarthVaderClone: Unsurprisingly, the creator of ''Berserk'' is a fan of ''Franchise/StarWars'' thus Griffith shares some parallels with the Dark Lord of the Sith. He was once a handsome noble swordsman and warrior who grew up poor and ragged. He is considered TheChosenOne and beloved by his allies, before he had a SanitySlippage and sold his soul to the embodiment of evil becoming a terrifying tall, caped and helmeted figure in dark, black armor who displays MindOverMatter abilities and can crush foes with just his hand. The difference is Vader redeemed himself, while Femto/Griffith is throughly irredeemable ([[DracoInLeatherPants depending on who you ask]]).

* AllForNothing: Implied. Even if he now has become a Godhand and got a kingdom of his own, with the emotions that could actually make him feel whole or enjoy his success, he’s doomed to fulfill a never ending void, by wanting more.

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler:Even after acquiring godlike powers, gathering an army of humans and Apostles, conquering the world, becoming the king of Falconia, becoming bethrothed to the princess, in the end Griffith is stuck with this, because he can't really feel anything. Sure he is no longer hindered by sadness or guilt or grief, but now all achievements are hollow, there are no true companions or love or friendship, and there's no satisfaction in his accomplishments]].

* TragicVillain: While it's safe to say he ''definitely'' has pissed this away by becoming the remorselessly depraved Femto, it's easy to forget just how Griffith got there. He was once an idealistic child living in poverty who dreamed of gaining a kingdom. As a young man he formed the Band of the Hawk from other dreamers and earned their loyalty and companionship. Eventually he witnessed the death of a young Hawk and was crippled by guilt. He then sold his body to a predatory, pedophile nobleman to gain funds for keeping his men safe, and that was all before he met Guts and discovered he was beginning to feel especially attached. Soon Guts left the Band to pursue his own dream and Griffith, going off the deep end from rejection, slept with Princess Charlotte for solace. This mistake earned him a year of enduring unspeakable torture in a dungeon, and by the time his friends rescued him, he was a savaged husk of his former self. As if that wasn't enough, Wyald humiliated him further by exposing just how broken and mutilated his body was to his comrades, ensuring he would ''never'' inspire the same spirit he once did in them. Finally he [[DrivenToSuicide tries to end it all]] and that pretty Behelit turns up to bring him before the Godhand, who reveal ''his whole life'' was manipulated to make him their fifth member. Griffith is given the choice of spending his remaining days as a worthless, disfigured cripple...or sacrificing his entire band to ensure his dream isn't all for nothing. He chooses the latter.