History YMMV / Berserk

** You guessed it – Griffith. On one side, you have the fans that admire him because of all of the outstanding things that he has done over the course of the story. They see him as a three-dimensional and complex character [[WhatIsEvil who can't quite be called "evil"]], making the argument that his LackOfEmpathy actually makes him AboveGoodAndEvil (and come on - [[{{Bishonen}} he's gorgeous looking!]]). But on the flip side, you have the fans that despise him (or at least, appreciate him as a ''villain'') because his actions are ones only the truly evil would commit. And then there's the third option, where he's condemned for his actions, but it's argued there's a complex, psychological backstory for Griffith's actions (at least leading up to the Eclipse), that explain them, if not absolve Griffith of them.

** People still remember Theresia and expect her to make a return, even to this day. She hasn't been seen or even ''mentioned'' in over 20 years. That she's one of only a tiny handful of characters outside the core cast who is aware that Griffith and Femto are the same person is often pointed to as having ChekhovsGun potential. Her father the Count is also quite popular for much the same reasons, being a [[CryForTheDevil surprisingly sympathetic]] Apostle who [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice willingly condemns himself to an eternity of damnation]] rather than sacrifice his daughter to save himself.]]

** Conrad is the odd one out of the Godhand in that he really isn't scary. Not only does he have the least threatening name, but his design invokes none of the BodyHorror nor the UncannyValley that the others do: he just looks like a really fat dude who keeps his eyes shut and his mouth pouting (a mouth shape some fans in more recent times liken to Twitch's [[MemeticMutation memetic]] "Pogchamp" emote), and his voice in the movies sounds like a high-pitched guy who's out of breath. It's probably for the best that he's the least important of the five.

** A contender for the Chicken Apostle's title could easily be the already memetic [[https://i.redditmedia.com/8xk2zA-rorKz_O_c2i3pOLa-OJtzgub4CRzGzRsz9HM.jpg?w=216&s=30ec81b72fa604b584b95900b7ab8bb0 Snail Apostle]].

* AmericansHateTingle: Although [[FairyCompanion Puck]] is decently well-liked in Japan, many American fans absolutely ''loath and despise'' him, especially the ones that have no patience for his particular brand of humor. The most likely and obvious reason being that he's a cute, androgynous, PluckyComicRelief fairy creature that comes across as [[MoodWhiplash hugely out of place]] in a series that prides itself on brutality and darkness. In Japan, a force of over-the-top cuteness like Puck is [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} nothing strange or surprising]], but to many Americans, he's a bafflingly childish character whose inclusion clashes horribly with the [[CrapsackWorld grim]], [[{{Gorn}} graphic]] [[DarkFantasy tone]] of the story.

* CatharsisFactor: Although it doesn't do much in the long run, [[spoiler: Rickert SLAPPING Griffith is absolutely a glorious sight to behold. It even resulted in Rickert becoming a MemeticBadass.]]

** Schierke. Is she receiving too much spotlight in detriment of other characters of the party, or is it needed for her and Guts's character arcs?

*** Isidro gets this too for similar reasons as Puck.

** Chapter 359 has one of the greatest moments in the entire series - [[spoiler:Casca ''finally regains her sanity'', reunites with Guts, remembers who Guts is after the shock wears off, [[StillGotIt and absolutely kicks golem ass like she never stopped]]. After ''20 years'' of being catatonic, seeing Casca overcome her trauma with help from the people who care about her, brought many fans to outright TearsOfJoy.]]

* ArchivePanic: 39 volumes and no end in sight. Miura suggested in Spring 2009 that the manga was about 60% done at the time, but since then Miura passed away, meaning the series is unlikely to have an ending.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: Miura took his time when working on Berserk. And holy shit, it shows!

** ''[[UpToEleven The series itself]]'' is starting to get hit with this by longtime fans, as it's been running for ''[[LongRunner 30 years]]'' and Guts doesn't seem any closer to finally settling things with Griffith.

** The interpretation of Griffith's personality and actions are so contentious that bickering on the forums is virtually continuous. Is Griffith an evil sociopath who crossed the MoralEventHorizon by [[spoiler: sacrificing the Hawks and raping Casca]], or was there some kind of justification for what he did? Was he in love with Guts, did he see him as a friend, or did he just view him as a possession? Did he really care about the Band of the Hawk, or were they just tools to him? Are Griffith and Femto like a split personality, or are they the same person, and is Griffith responsible for Femto's actions? Did Griffith's actions lead to a better situation for humanity by freeing them from the Kushans and creating Falconia, or did he mess up the world and only give safety to people who are willing to worship him? Will he be content to rule like a king, or does he have something more sinister in store? Were his downward spiral and more questionable pre-Eclipse thoughts and actions his own fault, or was the crimson Behelit exerting a malign influence on him? And is he secretly plotting to destroy the Godhand because he's so filled with himself? You could read through these questions all day.

** The interpretation of Griffith's personality and actions are so contentious that bickering on the forums is virtually continuous. Is Griffith an evil sociopath who crossed the MoralEventHorizon by [[spoiler: sacrificing the Hawks and raping Casca]], or was there some kind of justification for what he did? Was he in love with Guts, did he see him as a friend, or did he just view him as a possession? Did he really care about the Band of the Hawk, or were they just tools to him? Are Griffith and Femto like a split personality, or are they the same person, and is Griffith responsible for Femto's actions? Did Griffith's actions lead to a better situation for humanity by freeing them from the Kushans and creating Falconia, or did he mess up the world and only give safety to people who are willing to worship him? Will he be content to rule like a king, or does he have something more sinister in store? Were his downward spiral and more questionable pre-Eclipse thoughts and actions his own fault, or was the crimson Behelit exerting a malign influence on him? You could read through these questions all day.

** IT'S NOT "GATSU/GATTS"! IT'S "GUTS"! Since the official releases (both manga and anime) are widely considered to have good translations, fans who came into the series through shoddy scanslations are typically looked down upon for using incorrect character names.

** ''[[UpToEleven The series itself]]'' is starting to get hit with this by longtime fans, as it's been running for ''[[LongRunner 30 years]]'' and Guts doesn't seem any closer to finally settling things with Griffith. Due to the [[DiedDuringProduction author's death]], this may well be permanent.

** Fans often joked that Casca would never regain her sanity while Muria lived, owing to her status as Guts main reason for going after Griffith. Muria's passing came quite close to her finally gaining her mind back.

** Fans often joked that Casca would never regain her sanity while Muria lived, owing to her status as Guts main reason for going after Griffith, Murias passing came quite close to her finally gaining her mind back.

%%* DarthWiki WhatAnIdiot:
** Whose idea was it on the Tudor side to leave the gate of Doldrey wide open during the battle, so that Casca could rush her force inside the castle? If it was Adon's plan it was stupid even for him: he should have split up the invaders by closing the gate after Casca and the vanguard were inside, leaving the rest locked out. However, that also means that both Gennon and Boscone screwed up by leaving him the authority to do that in the first place, since it would have been much safer to lock them out and let Boscone's army mop them up. If they just left the door open as a matter of course, however, that really takes the cake.
** While we're talking about Doldrey, Griffith would have to be pretty stupid and overconfident to count on his enemy making such a mistake as leaving the front door open while the main force was too far away to defend, when he seemingly had no inside help or intelligence that would help him make sure they would. Even if Adon hatched a harebrained scheme to lure Casca into a trap, Griffith had no way of knowing that, and clearly didn't since it came as a complete surprise to Casca, whom he would have told if it was part of the plan. Fans who found this irritating appreciated the movies for changing the whole operation to be much more plausible.
** Again, Griffith. If you absolutely ''had'' to go throw away all of your hard-earned work [[spoiler:by sleeping with the princess]] you should have at least taken [[Anime/LupinIII Lupin's]] [[WebVideo/BerserkAbridged advice]] and ''take an alternative route''.
** Griffith achieves victory after victory, even managing to win back Doldrey and put an end to a 100-year war with another kingdom. Instead of appreciating his loyalty to king and country, the Queen and her cohorts decide to assassinate him, simply because they can't stomach his lack of noble blood. The Queen shows no remorse for her betrayal, even when the news of [[spoiler:his apparent death]] drives her daughter to tears. Of course, in the manga, she ''did'' have another, much more understandable reason, but in ''Anime/Berserk1997'' neither she nor Foss mention this motivation.

* SoBadItsGood: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2rV8oKWSdM Tell Me Why]] by Penpals, the opening theme song of the 1997 adaptation, to the point of MemeticMutation. The off-tune guitars, loudly mixed drums, and [[SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein unintelligible]] {{Engrish}} vocals do nothing to stop the song from being beloved by fans, and an unintentionally ''very'' entertaining song.

** Some fans view Casca's status in the story as such, seeing her as an interesting and complex character in her own right that had a lot of potential for character growth plot wise, but that was suddenly brought to a halt when she was driven insane by the Eclipse; some fans take it a bit further by saying [[StuffedIntoTheFridge how it was unfair for Casca to be fridged for the sake of Guts' character arc]]. Fans eagerly await the day that Casca will be cured so that maybe she'll get some more development in.

* IronWoobie: Gut's life has a constant ride of trauma, death and pain, with whatever brief moments of respite he is granted being cruelly ripped away from him, yet he continues struggling for existence and a place in the ruthless world he lives in. He's nowhere [[NominalHero near being a good person]], but his life has been so painful even in comparison to his wrongful actions that he doesn't even qualify as a JerkassWoobie.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Whose idea was it on the Tudor side to leave the gate of Doldrey wide open during the battle, so that Casca could rush her force inside the castle? If it was Adon's plan it was stupid even for him: he should have split up the invaders by closing the gate after Casca and the vanguard were inside, leaving the rest locked out. However, that also means that both Gennon and Boscone screwed up by leaving him the authority to do that in the first place, since it would have been much safer to lock them out and let Boscone's army mop them up. If they just left the door open as a matter of course, however, that really takes the cake.
** While we're talking about Doldrey, Griffith would have to be pretty stupid and overconfident to count on his enemy making such a mistake as leaving the front door open while the main force was too far away to defend, when he seemingly had no inside help or intelligence that would help him make sure they would. Even if Adon hatched a harebrained scheme to lure Casca into a trap, Griffith had no way of knowing that, and clearly didn't since it came as a complete surprise to Casca, whom he would have told if it was part of the plan. Fans who found this irritating appreciated the movies for changing the whole operation to be much more plausible.
** Again, Griffith. If you absolutely ''had'' to go throw away all of your hard-earned work [[spoiler:by sleeping with the princess]] you should have at least taken [[Anime/LupinIII Lupin's]] [[WebVideo/BerserkAbridged advice]] and ''take an alternative route''.
** Griffith achieves victory after victory, even managing to win back Doldrey and put an end to a 100-year war with another kingdom. Instead of appreciating his loyalty to king and country, the Queen and her cohorts decide to assassinate him, simply because they can't stomach his lack of noble blood. The Queen shows no remorse for her betrayal, even when the news of [[spoiler:his apparent death]] drives her daughter to tears. Of course, in the manga, she ''did'' have another, much more understandable reason, but in ''Anime/Berserk1997'' neither she nor Foss mention this motivation.

* IKnewIt: Chapter 362 introduces a particularly insane one of these, all but explicitly stating that the central characters of the legend of Emperor Gaiseric (Gaiseric himself, his nemesis the Wizard of the Tower of Conviction, and the "four angels" summoned by the wizard to destroy the Emperor) are, respectively, [[spoiler:Skull Knight, Void, and a previous generation of the Godhand]]. Said identities have been the most commonly speculated ones since the legend was introduced, ''twenty real-time years'' prior.

** Griffith is a very attractive {{Bishonen}} who also has fluffy hair, which enhances his sexiness even further. Somewhat downplayed however, as his attractiveness doesn't excuse him sacrificing his comrades during the Eclipse as well as physically and emotionally assaulting his right-hand woman and making one of his companions, Guts, watch to get back at him leaving him. His new form has no regret for those actions. Despite this, people still see him as attractive nonetheless and it's led to widespread DracoInLeatherPants status.

** Some fans also disregard Wyald's presence in the story, saying that he was just an unnecessary sexist and violent addition to a storyline that would have made just as much sense - if not more - without him raping up a storm. This is encouraged by the fact that [[AdaptedOut he's completely absent]] from both of the animated adaptations of the Golden Age.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Although it's somewhat downplayed due to him being an [[CompleteMonster absolutely irredeemably evil bastard]], some fans are actually still rooting for Griffith to accomplish his goals and set forth his new "utopia", mainly because it will be [[RuleOfCool awesome to watch.]] This reached its peak in the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc, where people were actively cheering for him in his battle against [[HateSink Emperor Ganishka.]]