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1%% Official Portrait Guidelines: Character portraits should either be in portrait orientation or perfectly square if possible, and in landscape format only if there is no alternative. Portrait oriented and square portraits should be exactly 300 pixels wide, while landscape portraits should be either 300 or 350 pixels wide in any case, the longer measurement of a portrait should not exceed 1.5 times that of the shorter measurement. The primary character portrait—the one that is displayed by default—should always be a drawing by Miura if available, even if it is not in color. However, as long as Miura is the artist, color is preferred over black-and-white. Portraits from other adaptations may be added in drop-down boxes. Portraits should be photoshopped to erase blemishes and correct levels, color balance, and contrast.
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3[[WMG:[[center: [- ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Berserk}} Main Character Index]]'''\
4[[Characters/BerserkGuts Guts]] | [[Characters/BerserkGriffithFemto Griffith / Femto]] | [[Characters/BerserkCasca Casca]] | [[Characters/BerserkGutsCompanions Guts's Companions]] | [[Characters/BerserkBandOfTheHawk Band of the Hawk]] | [[Characters/BerserkKingdomOfMidland Kingdom of Midland]] | [[Characters/BerserkAntagonists Antagonists]] ([[Characters/BerserkGodhandAndApostles Godhand and Apostles]]) | '''Other Characters''' | [[Characters/BerserkVideoGames Video Games]]]]-]]]
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6'''BEWARE OF UNMARKED {{SPOILER}}S!''' ''While we make an effort to cover some of the most important spoilers, we cannot guarantee that every potential spoiler will be hidden, or that those that are will be hidden consistently. Character bios in particular are likely to discuss late events in the manga. Lastly, some tropes are going to be spoilers because of their mere presence. You have been warned!''
7----
8This page is for recurring and minor characters who don't fit into the other pages. The categories are roughly the order in which they were introduced in manga publication, except for Guts' Youth which consists of characters that Guts met before he knew Griffith in the in-universe timeline, and the Recurring Characters category which is grandfathered in.
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10[[foldercontrol]]
11
12!Recurring Characters
13
14[[folder:The Skull Knight]]
15!!'''AKA:''' The Skeleton Knight (''Videogame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk'')
16
17!!! '''Voiced by:''' Tsutomu Isobe (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho''), Creator/AkioOtsuka (Japanese, ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'', ''Anime/Berserk2016'', and ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk''), Creator/JamiesonPrice (English, ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'' and ''Anime/Berserk2016'', credited as Taylor Henry in the latter), Alfonso Vallés (Spanish, ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'')
18
19[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skull_knight_300.jpg]]
20 [[caption-width-right:300:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skull_knight_advent_horseback.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see him in ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc III - Advent''.]]
21
22-> ''"We already subsist... within the current of causality. We who exist beyond the physical are still merely shadows on the water. Maybe you aren't a shadow on the water... but instead, a fish that breaches the water's surface."''
23
24The Skull Knight (髑髏の騎士 ''Dokuro no Kishi''), Guts and Casca's MysteriousProtector, is a badass, [[WarriorPoet philosophical]], [[TheUndead undead]] warrior that also opposes the Godhand. He often scares the Apostles into submission and his mere presence was sufficient to make Rosine and The Count flee. He seems to have some unfinished business with Void and often opposes Zodd himself, though neither has ever had the better of the other. He collects the Behelits from slain Apostles, and [[DimensionalCutter can cut through reality]] [[ThinkingUpPortals to teleport to another place]] using his behelit-covered Sword of Actuation.
25
26He rides a spectral horse and appears to be a giant skeleton wearing elaborate silver armour.
27----
28* AdaptedOut: His absence from ''Anime/Berserk1997'' was very noticeable and [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole particularly problematic]], since it requires the show to gloss over the issue of how Guts escaped the Eclipse alive. So far, thankfully, he has been included in every adaptation since then.
29* AloofAlly: To Guts, intervening only when he gets in too far over his head.
30* AmbiguouslyHuman: Is he a rogue Apostle? A human who's spent too long under the effects of the Berserker Armor? Something else entirely? We have no idea. There are decent odds that he used to be [[spoiler:Emperor Gaiseric, founder of Midland]], but it's not a sure thing, and even if that is the case, we don't know what happened to him in the many, many years since then.
31* AnimatedArmor: By all accounts, the armor ''is'' his body; there's nothing inside of it.
32* ArchEnemy: Void is the Godhand member whom he hates the most, indicated by how he immediately tries to attack Void when he crashes the Eclipse. The implication is that something happened between them in the distant past and ItsPersonal.
33* BadassCape: Wears a tattered black mantle just like post-Eclipse Guts and makes it look equally as badass... if not more so.
34* TheBerserker: [[spoiler:[[TranquilFury Not so much now]], but Schierke tells that the previous wearer of the Berserker Armour died because it compelled him to keep fighting until it destroyed their body, and he was the previous wearer.]]
35* BigDamnHeroes: One time upon the Eclipse when he [[spoiler:breaks into the dimensional vortex, fights past the Godhand, cuts his way through the Apostles, and snatches the heavily wounded Guts and Casca from Femto's clutches right before he gives them the CoupDeGrace.]] The second time was in the Qliphoth where he [[spoiler:interrupts Slan, who was torturing and tormenting Guts and gives him the opportunity to free himself from her grasp.]] The third time, he rescues a woman from falling to her death by doing a supernatural mid-air catch.
36* BigGood: The closest thing ''Berserk'' has to a cornerstone for the good guys, being the biggest opposition to the Godhand who has provided help to Guts and his companions many times.
37* BlackKnight: A wandering knight of unknown identity, wearing all-covering armor, sporting a dark-colored horse and cape, whose appearance and reputation strike fear into both humans and monsters. Also, an example of the DarkIsNotEvil subtype, as he opposes the God Hand and has rescued the good guys from certain death several times.
38* BladeSpam: His signature attack, which helps make quick work of any surrounding Apostles foolish enough to charge at him all at once.
39* CoolHorse: See HellishHorse.
40* CoolSword: Owns a unique sword with a guard shaped like thorn branches, and a serrated blade which he can coat in [[MadeOfEvil Behelits]] to make it capable of cutting the fabric of reality. This reality-warping technique is called the "Sword of Actuation"--or more accurately, the "Sword of Priming" (呼び水の剣, ''Yobimizu no Tsurugi'')--where "priming" refers to the priming of a water pump as a metaphor for its function.
41* CreepyGood: There’s no getting around it, the guy looks like the personification of death incarnate. His sword at full strength is pure NightmareFuel. However, his on-screen heroics are some of the closest the Berserkverse has to a classic fantasy “knight in shining armor” archetype.
42* CrownShapedHead: The Skull Knight has small bony protuberances forming a circle on his skull where a crown might sit.
43* CynicalMentor: Despite giving precious guidance to Guts in his quest, he always points out that there are high possibilities for him to fail miserably in the end, which simply motivates Guts to succeed even more.
44* DarkIsNotEvil: This is a man with glowing, bright red eyes who goes around wearing (or possibly [[AnimatedArmor is]]) a massive suit of skeleton-themed, spike-covered armor, wields a sword that's also covered in spikes and serrations, and rides a supernatural jet-black horse. Yet in terms of character, he's a KnightInShiningArmor and is one of the few unambiguously heroic people in the setting.
45* DemBones: His helmet is modelled to resemble a silver skull, while the rest of his armour is covered with bone designs.
46* TheDreaded: Most apostles would rather flee the scene than try their chances against him. When you have centuries of DemonSlaying under your belt ''and'' can stand up to the Godhand itself, you deserve that fearsome rep. The members of the Godhand themselves are visibly startled when he enters the Eclipse.
47* DubNameChange: Sort of; although he is never called by any name in the third ''Golden Age'' film, the Spanish edition mentions him in the credits as "Skull ''King''", likely because the translation team jumped on the conclusion he was officially meant to be [[spoiler:the fallen king Gaiseric]] as it was hinted through the film.
48* EvilWeapon: His CoolSword is [[MadeOfEvil made of Behelits]] and since Behelits are evil entities owned by Apostles to summon the Godhand, that might make its properties pretty sinister.
49* FloweryInsults: He delivers a really awesome insult to Slan in Qlipoth, which the English renders as "Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea". Sadly this doesn't do justice to how dense the wordplay is in the original Japanese phrase, 胎海の娼姫 / ''Harawada no Shouki'' ([[https://www.reddit.com/r/Berserk/comments/66azd4/does_whore_princess_of_the_uterine_sea_hint_at/dghiwp1/ excerpted from Walter Bennet]]):
50** '''Intestines''' - The translation "Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea" overlooks the play on words Miura's doing. "Harawada" is a word Miura coined himself by combining harawata (intestines/organs) with wada (ancient word for the sea). So here, SK is also making fun of the form she took -- gross intestines, despite her high stature on the bad guy food chain.
51** '''Princess/Courtesan''' - SK pairs the words "Whore" and "Princess" 娼姫, likely referring to her lusty appetite/personality while also mocking her stature as a demon lord, in the same way that Slan pokes fun at SK by calling him "your highness/king."
52** '''Amniotic Sea''' - This could be referring to a number of things. It could be SK poking fun at Slan's actual vagina being as big as the ocean (Walter's preference), or the origin of the God Hand beginning at the Abyss (which by its nature has an ocean connotation), or Slan's ability to manifest creatures of darkness from her womb (which she refers to later on).
53* {{Foil}}: Yet another one to Guts:
54** Both men are great warriors who seek vengeance against the Godhand, and one member in particular--Void for Skully, Griffith for Guts--but while the Skull Knight has been on the warpath against them for hundreds of years, Guts has put aside his vengeance in favor of protecting the person he loves.
55* {{Foreshadowing}}: Throughout his appearances, the story drops hint after hint that Skull Knight and the legendary Supreme King Gaiseric are actually one and the same. All but outright confirmed in Chapter 361 when Gedfryn addresses him as "Your Majesty."
56* GenerationXerox: A non-familial variation. The Skull Knight muses to both Guts and Schierke that his own relationship with Flora was much like the one they have now.
57* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: Both he and his horse are (probably) creatures of the undead, with dark, cavernous eye sockets lit by glowing eyes.
58* HeelFaceTurn: Implied, [[spoiler:if he really is Emperor Gaiseric. He went from being a violent, ruthlessly efficient, and powerful warlord to a demon-slaying HorrifyingHero who combats the evil forces dictating the fates of humanity]].
59* HellishHorse: Almost always riding a equally ghastly horse with glowing eyes, ornate armour, and unnatural speed able to outpace most Apostles. It’s not clear where he got it from, [[spoiler: but considering Gaseric was famed for his horsemanship, it’s entirely possible that this is the same steed he rode as a mortal, having followed him into undeath]].
60* HeroOfAnotherStory: Long before Guts' time, the Skull Knight was the one and only force of good who stood up against the Godhand, foiling their monstrous plans time and time again. He's also heavily implied to be [[spoiler:the former warlord Emperor Gaiseric]], which is an epic tale in and of itself. Most impressive, however, is a flashback that shows [[spoiler:there were four previous Godhand members before Void]] and possibly implies [[spoiler:he killed them.]]
61* HeWhoFightsMonsters: He gives Guts a warning to this effect.
62-->'''Skull Knight''': Yours is a black path through the night. When you confront those who lurk in the darkness, you also envelop yourself in it.
63* HorrifyingHero: Wouldn't be too surprising if the people he's saved thought he was the GrimReaper taking them over to the other side... which is exactly what happened with the prostitute Luca during the Tower of Conviction arc, when he prevented her from falling to her death. She seems to think he's an avatar of Death itself... though strangely enough she's not frightened of him.
64* HorsebackHeroism: Since he's rarely ever seen dismounting his horse, this has pretty much become his standard operating procedure whenever he needs to pull a BigDamnHeroes moment. Guts and/or company stuck in a bind? Cue Skully riding in to save the day... in all his nightmarish, bony glory.
65* ItsPersonal: Hates all members of the God Hand, but Void in particular, the implication being that there's a personal grudge between them. In the Chapter of Elf Island, a flashback shows that [[spoiler:he was involved in an Eclipse which took the life of his beloved, and in the ensuing grief and rage he was consumed by the Berserker Armour. Void is the only member of the current God Hand who was present at that past Eclipse]].
66* KnightInShiningArmor: Sure, he looks scary, but he really is an honorable knight who slays the wicked and rescues any [[DamselInDistress Damsel]] or BadassInDistress.
67* KnightlySwordAndShield: Has ''Knight'' in his name and carries an absolutely CoolSword and [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe shield]]. Both are strong enough to not only turn apostles into mincemeat but protect him from attacks (even his own).
68* {{Leitmotif}}: Gets his own theme music in ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc III'', titled "[[GratuitousGerman Totenkopf]]" (''Death's head'').
69* LightningBruiser: Don't let that towering, heavily-armored visage fool you into thinking he lumbers when on foot. He can slice faster and [[InASingleBound jump higher]] than any mortal man of his stature has any right to be ([[BadassNormal Guts]] being the exception).
70* TheLostLenore: In the Chapter of Elf Island, [[spoiler:The Skull Knight is revealed to have loved the Priestess of the Cherry Blossoms, who was branded and died in his arms when they were part of an Eclipse. While visiting the island, Guts and company accompany the Knight when he visits her grave beneath the roots of a spirit tree. The implication is that her death is the biggest reason for his vendetta against the God Hand]].
71* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Effectively defends himself using a shield bearing an emblem of a rose surrounded by thorny brambles. The most notable thing it's protected him from is his own sword after Void manipulated space to direct a strike aimed at him back at the Skull Knight.
72* MasterSwordsman: Very likely the greatest swordsmen in all of Midland. He can swing his Sword if Actuation with such [[BladeSpam rapid ferocity]] and grace that he makes battling against multiple gigantic abominations look like [[CurbStompBattle a stroll in the park]].
73* MisterExposition: When weird supernatural stuff is happening that Guts and company can't understand, he's usually the one to explain to him at great length what's going on. Granted, he tends to be a tad cryptic about it sometimes.
74* MonsterKnight: Although a creature of the undead, he hasn't lost his mind or his warrior's sense of honor.
75* MountedCombat: The majority of Skull Knight's battles are fought from beginning to end on horseback. His control over the animal's movements is so ridiculously precise that it almost comes across as just an "extension" of his body rather than a mount.
76* MysteriousProtector: A non-romantic, non-[[ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] one. He always shows up to help when Guts fights a number too big even for him such as Grunbeld, Slan, or the Kushans' demonic crocodiles.
77* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
78** [[SarcasmMode Thank you so much]] for accidentally [[spoiler:using your CoolSword to bring Femto's plan to fuse the planes of reality to fruition,]] Mr. Skull Knight, the world really needed a chance to get even more terrible than it was already.
79** It may go even further than that since it's implied that [[spoiler:Void, the original arch devil, had its origin in Gaiseric's incredibly ancient empire and was apparently an old acquaintance of Skully.]] Just what the hell did they do to cause such a mess?
80* OddFriendship: He and Flora are old friends, nothing wrong with that. Still, the sight of a kindly old witch and a frightening-looking skeleton knight together does look pretty weird.
81* OneManArmy: Easily right up there with Guts and Zodd as the "apex" of mass killers... maybe even outranking them both. While the former two have mostly carved their legends out of slaughtering human soldiers (albeit not without their own share of Apostle asskicking), Skully here focuses on targeting TheLegionsOfHell at their home turf. And boy howdy, does he plow through the ugly bastards like they're nothing!
82* {{Plunder}}: He regularly collects the Behelits of any Apostle he kills, using them to power up his SituationalSword whenever the need arises.
83* RealityWarper: His Behelit sword's main ability is this. See above. [[spoiler:It's this power that Femto uses to defeat Ganishka and fuse reality with the Astral Plane.]]
84* RedBaron: If he and Gaiseric are the same person, then he was also known in the past as the "Demon King" and "King of Galloping Death" from his reputation as a ruthless conqueror.
85* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: [[spoiler:When Guts and Casca were facing certain death in the Eclipse, he crashed through the barrier surrounding the ceremony and snatched both of them out of the clutches of the LegionsOfHell, cheating them of their sacrifice.]]
86* TheRival: In all his three hundred years of scouring the earth, Nosferatu Zodd has only found one opponent he could never defeat: ''this'' guy. It's telling how the so-called "God of the battlefield" is practically obsessed about settling his "score" with Skull Knight once and for all, while the latter himself only seems to regard Zodd as a recurring nuisance at best. Skully's real beef is with Void, the first of the Godhand; it is implied that they've got some history together that hasn't been expanded upon yet.
87* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] to be his motivation for waging war against Void and his ilk in chapter 362 via flashback. [[spoiler:The last thing Skull Knight saw before he was consumed by the Berserker Armor was his lover dying in his arms; a Brand of Sacrifice is clearly visible on her shoulder, and the next page shows a massive swath of landscape has been marked with a burning brand, likely a mass sacrifice on the level of the Eclipse, if not an Eclipse ceremony itself!]]
88* ScarySkeleton: The appropriately named Skull Knight has a skull for a head, although nobody knows what's under the armor. When you add the glowing eyes, the ominous voice, the spiky armor, a serrated sword made of behelits, and an appropriately ghoulish horse this guy is creepy. But he has saved Guts and the heroes before and is a self-proclaimed "foe of the inhumans".
89* SerratedBladeOfPain: The forte of his sword is covered with painful-looking serrations.
90* ShadowArchetype: Slowly, but steadily implied the more he and Guts encounter one another -- particularly once the younger warrior dons his old armor and the toll from wearing it begins to take effect. He is what Guts might ultimately become if he continues spiraling down the path of hatred and destruction: a hollowed shell of a man (figuratively and literally speaking) doomed to an eternity of wandering the Interstice [[PowerAtAPrice as price]] for accumulating enough strength to wage war against the greater forces of evil. Skull Knight himself seems full ''aware'' of this when he comes to warn Guts about the dire consequences of relying too much on the Berserker Armor -- as if meaning to say, "don't end up like me."
91* ShouldersOfDoom: Wears a pair of pauldrons encrusted with spikes that would be absurdly large on an ordinary human. Since he clearly isn't human, this isn't really a problem.
92* ShroudedInMyth: Gaeseric's rule was about a thousand years ago, and it's hard for anybody who wasn't there to separate the fact from the myth. Charlotte's history teacher told her that the continent on which Midland now exists was divided into numerous, constantly warring groups, until Gaeseric conquered all of them and established an empire encompassing the entire continent for the first and only time in history; no record survives of his life or origins before his rise to power. He was called a Demon King for his ruthlessness in battle, and for his use of a skull-shaped helmet. Judeau chimes in that this must have been the model for a fairy tale he knows about a Skull King; the legend says that this king conscripted workers from all over the land and made them do forced labor to construct a magnificent capital city, which became the place for the King and his circle to live in debauchery while levying heavier and heavier taxes on the people. Eventually, God punished him by sending five (or was it four?) angels who destroyed the city with lightning and earthquakes in the span of a night. Charlotte says the city, at least, actually existed; the Kingdom of Midland takes its name from that capital city whose name meant "in the middle of nations". What's more, the Midland Royal family is said to be indirectly descended from Gaiseric. The true story of Gaiseric's rule is eventually revealed to the reader, after a lot of cryptic clues throughout the manga.
93* SituationalSword: His CoolSword is MadeOfEvil, thus meant to be used only in dire situations. It can cut through reality itself, but only when coated with a hefty supply of Behelits, and the effect isn't permanent.
94* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Invoked by his armor. The Berserker armor's initial skull-shaped helmet is attributed to him being its former bearer, and it's hinted he was once Emperor Gaiseric, who was famous for his skeleton-themed armor.
95* SkullForAHead: We can't tell whether the skull ''is'' his head, or if it's just a helmet, albeit probably a magic one.
96* SoulJar: [[spoiler: His armor is designed to contain his soul. It’s the only thing that lets him stay in the physical world rather than pass on as any other spirit]].
97* SpikesOfVillainy: Wears armor that's covered in spikes from head to foot. Despite appearances he's actually [[DarkIsNotEvil good]], but still badass and frickin' scary to look at, especially if you're an Apostle.
98* TheStoic: He keeps a general demeanor that's almost devoid of emotion, enhanced by the fact that his face, being a skull, is of course unable to express anything. Despite that, when angles are played with, he can look angry or even sympathetic -- notably demonstrated in chapter 52 where he saves Rickert from getting killed by Apostles. As he's staring down the Count, Miura draws his eye sockets with such raw intensity that he almost looks as if he's seething with rage. Then later, as Rickert breaks down in despair, Skull Knight [[MeaningfulLook glances at the boy with an air of sorrow]] before quietly departing.
99* TheTragicRose: The rose is his heraldic symbol, and its sharp thorns are emphasized on his equipment. It's an appropriate symbol for a warrior who has experienced great suffering, including the sacrifice of his body to the Berserker Armor and the recent loss of a dear friend. Life's beauty looks especially fragile to him from his perspective as an immortal undead.
100* SuperStrength: He can swing his sword with enough force to cleanly slice [[SuperToughness an Apostle]] in half with one attack.
101* TheUndead: His skeleton-themed armor gives the impression that he's some kind of undead knight. [[spoiler: Which he is, as confirmed in a later chapter: He was still a living person back when he wore the Berserker Armour but ended up consumed by it, and now exists as a spirit occupying a magical armor. In his own words, he's "a dead man stalking the endless night."]]
102* UsedToBeASweetKid: Implied. When he goes off to defend Flora's home against oncoming Apostle forces, Flora muses how she would have liked to see his "bashful smile" one last time.
103* WarriorUndead: [[spoiler:The Skull Knight is an [[TheUndead undead]] warrior who was consumed by the Berserker Armor and now lives on as a spirit that occupies a magic suit of armor]]. He's actually a good guy, slaughtering Apostles by the dozen and seeking to destroy the Godhand. He also has an ongoing duel with BloodKnight Zodd Nosferatu.
104* WorldsBestWarrior: Likely the deadliest fighter in the whole series. The other biggest candidate, Nosferatu Zodd, has an ongoing feud with the Skull Knight simply because he's the one thing Zodd has ''never'' bested in combat.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:The Demon Child]]
108!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/ToaYukinari (''Anime/Berserk2016'' and ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk'')
109
110[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demon_child_300.jpg]]
111 [[caption-width-right:300:The child's original appearance. Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moon_child_300.jpg[[/labelnote]] for his "cute" form.]]
112
113->''"You know... [[LoveInterest this one]]. [[MoralityChain Not to be lost]]. Not to be destroyed."''
114-->--To Guts, waking him from his berserk rage.
115
116When Guts and Casca physically consummated their relationship, the result was Casca becoming pregnant--apparently without her knowing. When Griffith transformed into Femto and [[RapeAsDrama raped Casca to insanity]] during the Eclipse, her unborn child got tainted by the experience, causing her to deliver her baby prematurely.
117
118The child has the appearance of a hideously deformed and apparently mindless FetusTerrible that is still irresistibly drawn to its parents, like all children. It usually shows up [[ExtremelyProtectiveChild to protect its mother]] and tries to contact its father many times, but Guts [[ThatThingIsNotMyChild refuses to acknowledge]] his tarnished spawn and lashes out angrily at it whenever it appears. Still, this frightening fetus is the one to [[spoiler:warn him from the impending danger menacing Casca at the Tower of Conviction and it also appeared to protect its mother from the ghosts summoned at the mock Eclipse of Griffith's resurrection.]] Drained out of all its energy, [[spoiler:the child was found by the Nameless Apostle, who swallowed it whole. Griffith then used the child's body to resurrect himself, killing the Nameless Apostle and (seemingly) the child along with him.]]
119
120Later, right after conversing with the Skull Knight about the possible cure for Casca's state, Casca is found on the beach with a [[CreepyChild strange little boy]] in her arms. The child, who looked ''very much'' like a cross between Guts and Casca, somehow helped in repelling the attack of the Kushan crocodiles and is implied to have stopped Guts from turning against his companions at the end of the fight. It disappeared mysteriously afterwards.
121
122The kid's made yet another appearance on the island Guts and Co. stopped at while fighting the pirates. It's strongly implied that the fetus and the strange boy are one and the same, although Schierke thinks that the boy could be an emissary of the elf King--or even the king himself. It is eventually revealed that [[spoiler: the Demon fetus and the Moonchild are indeed the same person but, more importantly, the Moonchild is actually a form that Griffith himself takes [[{{Lunacy}} every night of the full moon]]. Since Griffith seems to have no power over this shapeshifting, it seems that the Child takes over his body every full moon and ventures off to check on his parents.]]
123----
124
125* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: In ''Anime/Berserk2016'', the origins of the Child are never explained at all, so its importance to Guts and Casca is a massive unknown, even all the way up to when [[spoiler:Griffith reincarnates himself through the Child's body]].
126* AscendedDemon: He was born tainted by evil and appeared to be a hideous FetusTerrible who, like all things demonic and malicious, caused the brands in Guts and Casca to bleed. But ever since Griffith physically reincarnated into the world, the child has also taken on a more human appearance. And while he used his powers to protect his parents in both forms, his current one does not even provoke a reaction from the Brand, signifying that he's no longer demonic in nature.
127* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: DoubleSubverted. Guts and Casca conceive their child around that point in the story where their relationship is taking a happier turn and they're optimistic that the Band of the Hawk will bounce back from its difficulties. Then their hopes are dashed in the Eclipse, and Femto's rape of Casca causes the child to be born misshapen and tainted by evil. To Guts this seems like the last insult after everything he and Casca have been through, and at first he rejects their offspring as a demon. Even the Skull Knight initially says "It would be best to kill it [...] someday it will bring woe upon you both." Yet fate works in mysterious ways indeed: the child ends up becoming more of a miracle for them than they could ''ever'' have imagined. First, when Casca strays from the safety of the cave and gives birth to him, his presence prevents the evil spirits from harming her. Then after two years during which Guts has been running away from Casca by WalkingTheEarth on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, the child gives him a vision of Casca in danger, leading to him getting a WhatTheHellHero lecture from Godo and remembering his priorities. Meanwhile, the child protects Casca from all sorts of perils using his strange powers until Guts can reach her. Another time, when Schierke can't free Guts' ego while he's swept up in the Berserker Armor's blind rage, the Child reaches through to him by reminding him that he's not just a monster after blood; he's Guts the Black Swordsman who protects Casca, the branded girl. The child is even the one who helps guide a battered Guts to the merrows who pull him from the Sea God's sinking body, thereby rescuing him from drowning. Both physically protecting them and constantly reminding them what they mean to each other, it's safe to say that right now Guts and Casca wouldn't be together ''or'' alive without him!
128* BadassAdorable: Post mock-Eclipse. Yeah, he might not have had enough screen time to make it absolute, but every time we've seen him he's warding off a big, scary, Hellhound spirit that constantly tries to goad his father into killing his mother - and he succeeds each time!
129* BadPowersGoodPeople: Understandably got relatively evil powers from being corrupted by evil, but he uses his powers to help his parents.
130* ChekhovsGunman: Remember that weird, deformed baby who appeared in the first few chapters with little to no explanation? That's Guts' ''kid''. And during the Conviction Arc, he's selected by fate itself to be the [[spoiler:vessel by which [[HesBack Griffith reincarnates himself into the mortal plane]].]]
131* ChildByRape: Downplayed. The Skull Knight explains that Guts is actually the Child's father, contrary to Guts' initial assumption that it was concieved from Femto raping Casca, but its monstrous form comes from having been [[TouchedByVorlons tainted in the womb]] during the rape.
132* TheComicallySerious: Sometimes, the traits that make the boy so eerie can turn around and make his antics funnier. He always looks so serious and laser-focused even while he does typically childish things like climbing on top of Guts, stealing laundry, or trying to eat Puck.
133* CreepyChild: The boy on the beach seems a little bit too knowing for his tender years. He wanders off without adult protection as if he knows exactly what he's doing, and his comings and goings are mysterious to say the least. Not villainous but still unsettling.
134* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite being monstrous and [[TheCorruption partially]] MadeOfEvil, LoveRedeems.
135* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Even hideous, corrupted demon-babies love their mamas and papas.
136* EvilDetectingBaby: Non-crying example. Can't be a coincidence that he always shows up whenever Guts and company are about to encounter a big nasty monster (provided he's not being restricted by his lunar-based appearances).
137* ExtraParentConception: The horrific reality of the Child's parentage is that he has Guts' eyes, Casca's hair and... Griffith's freaky supernatural powers, no doubt from his "contributions" during the Eclipse. This just takes their [[LoveTriangle triangular relationship]] to a whole different level.
138* ExtremelyProtectiveChild: Always comes to his parents' aide in times of needs.
139* FearlessInfant: Even in his more expressive and self-aware toddler form, the Child is never fazed by any of the horrific calamity around him.
140* FetusTerrible: It's a horrifying fetus monster, [[SubvertedTrope but it never does anything evil]].
141* FireOfComfort: What he used one time to snap Guts from his Berserker rage.
142* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler: Griffith becomes completely dormant and/or powerless when the Moonchild takes over his body. And while the Moonchild still shows an ability for mystic powers, he never uses his powers for something other than the protection of his parents and their friends.]]
143* GenerationXerox: The Child's origin story shares some rather uncanny similarities with that of Guts', both being born under unusual circumstances to gruff seemingly unloving mercenary fathers and to ill-fated yet loving mothers. Not to mention that like a younger Guts, the Child really wants to be accepted by his father (both of which had resentment for said son due to the condition of their lovers) and probably just wants to have a normal family.
144* TheGrotesque: You just can't help but feel sorry for the little guy. Had none of this shit surrounding [[TwoGuysAndAGirl Guts, Griffith, and Casca happened]], he would have been a normal little boy in an unusual ([[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether being raised by mercenaries and all]]) but nonetheless loving family surrounding. [[ChildrenAreInnocent He was a victim]] in this all in the end.
145* HeroicBastard: Technically a bastard since Guts and Casca weren't married when they had him, but nevertheless a benevolent one.
146* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Though supposedly evil, the little guy uses the last of its strength in order to protect its mother after expending it, presumably, for an entire month in order to keep Casca safe from danger when she left the safety of the elf mine.]]
147* HumanoidAbomination: A horribly deformed child corrupted by forces completely out of his and his parents' control -- forced to wander the shadows as a grotesque fetus. Even when he takes on a more human form, there's still something very peculiar about him.
148* ImmuneToFate: Implied to be the case with this kid. Like his parents, the Child by technicality was supposed to die in the Eclipse, but the Skull Knight was able to get to him and his parents in just the nick of time, largely because Femto spent too much time ''raping his mother in front of his father'' instead of just killing them and ensuring the kid would die before he would even be properly born. Thanks to Femto's rape of Casca, however, the Child has been cursed with an evil nature which has transformed him into TheGrotesque...but at the same time, the Child is capable of warding off evil spirits, retains enough of a sense of self to protect and care for both his parents and likely has a deeper connection to the astral layers of existence than even his father. For all we know, the Child likely has the potential to defy the laws of fate to an even greater degree than Guts.
149* IncorruptiblePurePureness: [[spoiler:Upon arriving on Skellig, much to the puzzlement of everyone who noticed, the Astral Beings were instinctively drawn to the Moonlit Boy. The Witch Elders noticed that the spirits found absolutely no malicious intent from the Child and even the Elves had fully dropped their guards against him. Meaning that despite hosting the soul of a Godhand member within his body, the boy was a completely pure example of innocence given physical form.]]
150* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: By all accounts [[spoiler: Griffith cannot prevent the Child from taking over his body. Plus, he apparently becomes completely harmless in this form, as the Child shows nothing but benevolence towards Guts, Casca, and their companions]].
151* LikeFatherLikeSon: Like Guts, the Child was a victim of a tainted existence before he was even properly born. But on a more positive note, the Child also seems to possess Guts' ability to defy fate. Casca had been pregnant with the Child during the events of the Eclipse--she had been fated to die along with the baby inside her but was rescued at the last moment by the efforts of the Hawks as well as the Skull Knight. Though the Skull Knight urged Guts to kill the Child, lest it bring him suffering in the future, the Child (as stated in BabiesMakeEverythingBetter above) ''helps'' Guts and Casca in their various misadventures more often than not.
152* LightIsGood: His astral body looks like a vague outline of himself made out of light, and he always appears in this form to lend assistance to Guts, usually by illuminating his vision while blinded in rage by the Berserker Armor. Even his physical form is often accompanied by a bright aura that gives a halo-like effect, further emphasizing the boy's association with light.
153* LoveRedeems: Although he accepted a nature of evil in the womb, the child loves his parents too much to actually be evil.
154* {{Lunacy}}: He only appears to Guts and Casca on nights when the moon is full, since magic is most powerful at that time. [[spoiler:Turns out the reason for this is because Griffith ''[[SharingABody transforms into the kid]]'' every full moon.]]
155* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: When it is born, Guts at first believes the baby is [[spoiler:Griffith's ChildByRape]] or some kind of demonic parasite and attempted to kill it. The Skull Knight confirms that Guts is the father saying that Casca was impregnated by him roughly a month before the Eclipse. However, the baby was tainted and deformed [[spoiler:due to the rape]]. [[ThatThingIsNotMyChild The news did not make Guts]] [[OffingTheOffspring very happy either way.]]
156* MindHug: Basically describes the Moonlight Boy's powers when applied to Guts. Whenever Guts goes berserk under the armor's influence, he is bombarded with lighted and positive energy, being reminded of [[PowerOfFriendship his friends]] and [[PowerOfLove Casca]]. [[CooldownHug Like mother]], like son.
157* NakedOnArrival: We first see the Child in human form as a naked little boy on the beach.
158* NeverGivenAName: He was never properly given a name upon his "birth" because Casca is too insane to come up with one and Guts was in no mood to humanize him. The most official names comes from the chapter each of his forms appeared in: "Demon Child (''Yoma'')" and "Boy in the Moonlight (''Gekka no Shōnen'')"
159* ScrewDestiny: His mother's survival during the Eclipse also ensured his survival in a time where he had been foretold to die by the powers that be. After being tainted by Femto's demonic seed, he repeatedly defies his inherently evil nature by aiding his parents time and again through times of immense hardship.
160* TheReveal: Chapter 358 reveals that [[spoiler:Griffith and the Child inhabit the same body]].
161* ShapeshiftingHealsWounds: [[spoiler:Though Griffith possessing the child transforms him to match Griffith's original body, it also made the child's form when Griffith isn't in control a healthy-looking human instead of a mangled fetus.]]
162* SharingABody: Chapter 358 reveals that [[spoiler:Griffith transforms into the child (likely not of his own will) every time a full moon appears, which explains why Griffith has some instinctual drive to want to protect Casca, and perhaps also explains why he hasn't [[JustShootHim just killed Guts yet]].]]
163* SoulPower: Has power over evil spirits and demons, and is also implicated that he can turn into an astral body of light.
164* StaringKid: He has a peculiar but nonetheless cute habit of staring at Guts, hiding behind Casca when Guts stares back, and then staring at Guts again.
165* TheStoic: What makes him so unsettling is just how unexpressive he is. No matter what he's doing, the child just has this serious, knowing look on his face you would never expect a toddler to wear.
166* StrayingBaby: Invoked earlier while he was a misshapen supernatural fetus, as he had to leave upon his birth not only to escape the sunlight but also to escape the wrath of Guts. Played straight later when he was introduced in his "normal" toddler form, as he was seen being in one place one moment and then in an entirely different one (namely climbing on Guts) the next. He then falls off Guts and nearly lands on a pile of precariously placed daggers had Guts and Casca not caught him in the nick of time. He also had a habit of climbing on things he wasn't suppose to on Roderick's ship.
167* StrongFamilyResemblance: The boy on the beach looks like a perfect blend of a youthful Guts (skin-tone, face) and Casca (hair), though his true origins are still enigmatic... Miura probably thought that giving him Guts' ears would have been a dead giveaway.
168* TouchedByVorlons: He was developing as a normal baby inside of Casca's womb, until Femto had his way with her... The terrible circumstances of how he became supernatural aside, the Child's main power is that of control over demons and evil spirits. His powers also seem to override his father's EnemyWithin, allowing him to bring Guts back to the light by reminding him [[PowerOfLove about his love for the Child's mother]], [[MoralityChain Casca]].
169* TransformationOfThePossessed: [[spoiler:Griffith possessed the child's body to physically incarnate. Most of the time, it looks as Griffith did before the Eclipse. When Griffith's power over the body wanes and the child take control, he looks as he presumably would if he'd been born normally.]]
170* TheVoiceless: There's no reason to think he is physically unable to speak, but he apparently chooses not to--at least not in the usual way. He talks to Guts when he touches his mind as a body made of light, perhaps through telepathy.
171* WeirdnessMagnet: Justified, enforced, AND lampshaded. The kid is pretty much ''the'' definition of "weirdness."
172* WellDoneSonGuy: In an odd manner of speaking. He appears before Guts numerous times out of a simple yearning for his father but is only ever met with suspicion and hostility. It's only when he takes on a more human form that Guts adopts a more humane attitude towards him, and even though Guts doesn't know the child is his son, he still notes that the boy seems like he just wants to play whenever he comes to lend aid.
173[[/folder]]
174
175[[folder:The Beast of Darkness]]
176
177!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/NobutoshiCanna (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho''), Creator/KazuyukiOkitsu (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk'')
178
179[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beast_of_darkness_300.jpg]]
180[[caption-width-right:300:The Beast in its astral form. Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beast_of_darkness_roar_300.jpg[[/labelnote]] for its "normal" form.]]
181
182-> ''"Keep killing... eternally..."''
183
184A HellHound-like abomination with a pointed snout and eyes shaped like lightning bolts, the Beast is [[TheHeartless the personification of Guts' hate and blood lust]]. It used to live in harmony with him along the two years during which Guts would seek revenge on the Apostles only to then start acting against him when Guts realizes that [[MoralityChain there are more important things than revenge to his life]].
185
186Probably Guts' worst enemy after Griffith/Femto, the Beast is also one of the most malevolent beings in the ''Berserk'' universe who seems to have no purpose other than burning Guts in his own hatred and using him as a medium to operate in the physical world. Recognizing Casca as the only thing keeping Guts from succumbing to its influence, it constantly tries to goad Guts into killing her so it could take over his body and quench its desire for blood and revenge, claiming that this what Guts ''truly'' wants.
187
188The Beast has faded into the background for the time being but has promised to eventually come back stronger and more ferocious than before. [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse Which it fulfills with a vengeance]].]]
189----
190* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Technically a ''zoomorphic'' personification in form, but having human-like intelligence, it is the living embodiment of Guts' hatred and rage.
191* AnimalisticAbomination: A monstrous black wolf with a gigantic fang-lined maw and red lightning-shaped eyes. It used to be the trope picture.
192* AxCrazy: One of the most bloodthirsty characters in an already unstable cast and a borderline OmnicidalManiac to boot. Justified. As [[MadeOfEvil the personification of Guts' hatred and bloodlust]], were you expecting anything else?
193* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: When it takes over Guts' body, his sane personality is buried within his own mind. Schierke has to go in and help him fight his way out of the Beast's control.
194* CanisMajor: The Beast initially appears as a medium-sized dog with jagged red eyes and shark-like teeth; but as it grows more powerful it becomes larger and more monstrous until it resembles a massive, shaggy wolf-like monster.
195* ChainedByFashion: The Beast is incredibly powerful and dangerous, and the rattling chains attached to it symbolize Guts and Schierke's measures to contain it inside Guts' subconscious.
196* TheCorrupter: Tries to get Guts to give into his hatred and bloodlust, repeatedly attempting to goad him into using the Beherit he took from the Count to become an Apostle himself.
197* DarkIsEvil: The evil entity that goads Guts to commit acts of inhuman butchery, its whole body is made of darkness and it resides in the black, shadowy depths of Guts' mind.
198* TheDarkSide: Goes without saying that it represents [[ThePowerOfHate the darker side of Guts' heart.]]
199* EnemyWithin: To Guts, being the personification of his hatred and bloodlust.
200* EvilFeelsGood: Tries to persuade Guts that there could be no satisfaction greater than killing everything around him, in order to draw him closer to TheDarkSide.
201* GlowingEyesOfDoom: When the eye slots of the Berserker armor's visor--shaped just like those of the Beast itself--are glowing [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]], it means that Guts' enemies are about to feel the power of his SuperpoweredEvilSide, and that his allies had better get out of the way for their own safety. Conversely, when the helmet shows Guts' eyes it means that he is back in control and the Beast is chained up in his subconscious.
202* TheHeartless: The Beast was born from Guts' rage and hatred.
203* HellHound: A supernatural and malevolent canine creature with glowing red eyes, its vicious nature broadly puts it in the hunter subtype of the hell hound that exists only to chase down and kill its victims. Of course, having no independent agency, it has to do this through Guts.
204* HesBack: [[spoiler:A dark example. In Guts' despair over losing Casca to Griffith again, the Beast manages to break free of its chains to reassert control over Guts to make him [[SuperpoweredEvilSide The Black Swordsman]] again.]]
205* KnowWhenToFoldEm: It eventually accepts that Guts' ties to his companions have superseded his hatred and thirst for vengeance, and claims it won't struggle against him anymore, instead [[WeWait waiting]] for Guts to lose those precious people in time and willingly resume his single-minded, bloody crusade against their [[Characters/BerserkGriffithFemto true enemy]]. [[spoiler:After Griffith abducts Casca, Schierke -- worried Guts might lose control of the Berserker Armor -- projects her consciousness into Guts' mind to find him in the middle of a HeroicBSOD despairing how he still wasn't strong enough to protect Casca. Cue the Beast of Darkness breaking free of its chains and almost chomping down on Schierke's astral form.]]
206* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Is it "just" a part of Guts' mind, or an evil spirit intent on possessing him? Or did it ''start'' as a part of Guts' mind but has since gained (or is gaining) an independent existence thanks to the Berserker Armor and/or all of Guts' gallivanting around in the Interstice and Astral Worlds? In a world fueled by ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve, it's hard to tell (and the subject of WildMassGuessing among the fandom).
207* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Its snout is lined with multiple rows of shark-like fangs.
208* MurderTheHypotenuse: A non-LoveTriangle example. The Beast especially wants to get [[LoveInterest Casca]] out of the picture, since she's the [[MoralityChain only person who is stopping Guts from turning to darkness.]] The Beast hopes to achieve this by getting Guts to kill her for it.
209* NeverGivenAName: The Beast Of Darkness hasn't actually been named as such in-universe thus far, the Moniker for The Beast actually comes from its description by evil spirits in chapter 133, named after the titular EnemyWithin it introduces.
210* ThePowerOfHate: The seething, undying hatred that Guts has for Griffith has been the reason for his {{Determinator}} staying power for so long, and the Beast reminds him that the hatred it represents has made him powerful enough to destroy his enemies time after time. Of course, it's deconstructed by the fact that Guts will lose his humanity if he keeps this up, but that is ''exactly'' what the Beast wants to happen.
211* SoulEating: The Beast feeds on the spirits of those Guts kills to become stronger. However, this isn't a significant boost, but a gradual growth in power that only becomes apparent whenever it takes control of Guts: each time, Guts seems to be more powerful when the Berserk armor takes control. Guts and Schierke are vaguely aware of this but only chalk it up to Guts losing a little more of himself whenever he uses the armor, an oversight that could come back to bite them later.
212* SplitPersonality: A manifestation of Guts' hatred and rage which split into a separate personality within his mind, and competes with Guts' sane personality for control over his body and will.
213* SplitPersonalityTakeover: The Beast of Darkness has tried to take over Guts' body both on its own and by indwelling the Berserker Armor. While it has only taken over Guts' body for short periods so far, the Beast's ultimate goal is to make Guts' sane personality lose or surrender control to it permanently.
214--> '''Beast of Darkness:''' Surrender! At that moment, no one will be able to stand in our way. You will be swallowed whole by me. Raging with hatred and ecstasy, so that these fangs will chew... on the true light that burns me.
215* SuperpoweredEvilSide: When Guts is in a fight that's hopeless unless he summons extra power, he allows the Berserker armor and the Beast to take him over. This separate personality enables him to ignore injury and removes the limits on his physical prowess, but also makes him like a mindless, bloodthirsty animal who can't distinguish his allies from his enemies. Schierke has come up with a way for Guts to use the armor's power without the accompanying shift in personality, but it still takes a toll on his body.
216* {{Tulpa}}: One theory that might explain the Beast's origin, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane as noted above]], is that it was born in Guts' mind as a manifestation of his vengeful thoughts and gained an independent will and existence of its own.
217* VillainousCrush: The Beast of Darkness [[EnemyWithin within Guts' mind]] desires to ravage Casca and eat her, this is a more metaphysical example as the Beast only lusts for Casca due to Guts' own attraction to her and frustration that he cannot love her like he did before the Eclipse. So it's more the darkness in Guts urging him to use Casca and throw her away [[TheyWereHoldingYouBack as she keeps him to the light side]].
218* WeWillMeetAgain: Always reminds Guts that even if it has temporarily retreated into his mind, it will NOT be out of the picture anytime soon. [[spoiler:And once Griffith abducts Casca, the Beast keeps its promise.]]
219* WingdingEyes: Its eyes are shaped like glowing red lightning bolts.
220* YourMindMakesItReal: Its primary goal is for Guts to kill Casca during one of his dreams where both converse or during a fit of anger since these are the times where it is the more powerful.
221* YourSizeMayVary: Being a creature of Guts' mind, he grows and shrinks from moment to moment. Sometimes he is represented as a life-sized dog and other times as a CanisMajor who dwarfs Guts himself.
222* YourSoulIsMine: It devours the evil spirits that Guts kills and grows stronger with every battle.
223[[/folder]]
224
225[[folder:The Four Kings of the World]]
226
227[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_04_20_at_94931_am.png]]
228
229A powerful group of four guardian angels (or spirits) that dwell deep within the Astral World. These beings govern over air, water, fire, and earth, acting as benevolent figures who love and protect humanity. They are documented as the four cardinal guardian angels in the Holy See's scriptures, though most priests still deny the existence of magic.
230
231----
232* CelestialParagonsAndArchangels: Definitely fit the bill. They are powerful guardian spirits of humanity, or at least can be called for help.
233* DivineIntervention: They intercede on behalf of those who successfully pray to them, but it seems only witches know the proper rituals that get their attention.
234* EldritchAbomination: Just like everything from the Astral World, they are utterly alien beings far beyond human comprehension, but these are explicitly benevolent and have helped Schierke by warding off evil monsters or assisting in freeing Guts from the influence of the Berserker Armor.
235* TheDividual: They are addressed as the "Four Kings" and have claim over individual elements, but they are four parts of a greater whole. Very similar to the Holy Trinity of Christianity.
236* TheGodsMustBeLazy: The only thing you can really criticize them for is that despite their profound love for humans, they have been basically allowing the Godhand to run rampant with their schemes, completely unopposed. This might be because, unless properly asked, they feel it's not their place to directly intervene in the wills of humanity (the Godhand are ascended humans after all), no matter how vile the action.
237* GoodCounterpart: The Four Kings are the antithesis of the Godhand in every way. They only wish to help and passively guide humanity, and there's no hint that they were [[DeityOfHumanOrigin once human]]. The Kings' existence (and similarly powerful and benevolent astral beings) proves that the Godhand are just another group of fish in a cosmos-wide pond; [[WorldHalfFull they may be powerful, but they are not the sole rulers of the universe]].
238* HolyBurnsEvil: Their power is effective against even massive kaiju-level threats, like the ''Sea God''!
239* HolyIsNotSafe: It is, however, dangerous to summon them as ill-trained practitioners risk becoming lost in the Astral Plane searching for them.
240[[/folder]]
241
242!Black Swordsman Arc
243[[folder:Adolph]]
244!!! '''Voiced by:''' Eken Mine (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Kenta Sasa (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Richard Springle (English, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Doug Stone (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
245
246[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adolf_300.jpg]]
247[[caption-width-right:300:Click[[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adolph_250_a_2.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see him in ''Anime/Berserk2016''.]]
248
249-> ''"I don't have much respect for that profession--killing other people for a living. Live by the sword, die by the sword."''
250
251An old priest traveling in a wagon with his daughter Collete, Adolph sees Guts walking through the rain and offers him a ride, disregarding Guts' statements that he's pursued by evil spirits. On the road he mentions that a nephew of his left home as soon as he could to enlist as a mercenary, and died five years ago on some battlefield. When the spirits come at night, both Adolph and Colette fall victim to evil powers that they didn't believe existed.
252
253----
254* ActualPacifist: As a priest, and someone who's lost a family member to war, he considers violence to be ignoble.
255* ArbitrarySkepticism: When Guts tells Adolph that he's being chased by a legion of evil spirits, he laughs and says that Guts is safe with him because he's a priest and has God on his side. The appearance of a frightening incubus that night shocks him and he asks if Guts was being serious before, to which Guts says, "You're sayin' you believe in God, but not in evil spirits?"
256* GoodShepherd: Deconstructed. He's a good priest who practices charity toward strangers and lives a holy life, but his faith cannot protect him from the evil spirits that follow Guts.
257* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: If he hadn't insisted on taking in a weary traveler who was walking through the rain with evil spirits at his back, he and his daughter would still be alive.
258* NamedByTheAdaptation: Had no canonical name before the 2016 anime, in which he introduces himself as Adolph.
259* NoNameGiven: In the manga and ''Anime/Berserk1997'', nobody mentions his name.
260* OffWithHisHead: In the manga and 2016 anime, he gets decapitated by his daughter's possessed corpse.
261* RelatedDifferentlyInTheAdaptation: He's Collete's father in the manga and the '16 anime, but the '97 anime has him as her grandfather.
262* SparedByTheAdaptation: In ''Anime/Berserk1997'' he avoids getting killed on-screen because of how his role and introduction were changed. No such luck in ''Anime/Berserk2016'', however.
263* WeHardlyKnewYe: Gets introduced and then killed off in the space of just one episode.
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Collette]]
267!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomoeHanba (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Creator/NatsukiAikawa (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Michelle Medlin (English, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Creator/GinaBowes (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/CarmenCalvell (Spanish, ''Anime/Berserk1997'')
268
269[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collette_300.jpg]]
270[[caption-width-right:300:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collette_250_a.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see her in ''Anime/Berserk2016''.]]
271
272-> ''"Have some, if you'd like. It's homemade wine. It'll warm you up."''
273
274Colette (コレット ''Koretto'') is Adolph's kindhearted teenage daughter, who tries to make Guts comfortable once he's aboard the wagon. She thinks Puck is adorable, and seems to have a bit of a crush on Guts. Sadly, her story ends that same night when she gets killed by one of the skeletons attacking Guts.
275
276----
277
278* AdaptationDyeJob: Appears to have fair hair in the manga, which changes to brown in the '97 anime, and gets re-established as a blonde in the 2016 anime.
279* CompositeCharacter: In the '97 anime, she replaces Puck as the victim of the Snake Baron's thugs.
280* TheCutie: A youthful, innocent, and gentle character who arouses others' protective instincts.
281* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: After she is possessed she's cut in half by Guts.
282* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: She's impaled by a spear wielded by the skeletons attacking Guts.
283* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: As soon as she's dead, a ghost possesses her corpse and uses her as a puppet to attack Guts.
284* KillTheCutie: She was such a nice girl, there was no way she'd make it through the episode alive.
285* NiceGirl: Nothing but pure nice in her personality, as we see when she offers Guts some wine to warm him up, and puts a blanket over him as he drifts off to sleep.
286* PrecociousCrush: Shows some signs of feeling attracted to Guts, such as her blushing and nervousness after she offers him a blanket.
287* SlasherSmile: As soon as Guts sees her appear in the back of the wagon with a sword in one hand, her father's severed head in the other, and an evil smile on her face, he knows Colette isn't really Colette anymore.
288* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the 1997 anime she doesn't get killed on-screen, since she's introduced in the tavern and the part with the skeletons doesn't happen. Then in the 2016 version, it's back to getting killed for her.
289* WeHardlyKnewYe: Gets introduced and then killed off in the space of just one episode.
290[[/folder]]
291
292[[folder:Vargas]]
293
294[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vargas_300.jpg]]
295
296-> ''"I beg of you, black swordsman, Deliver us from this demon!"''
297
298Once the Count's doctor, Vargas (バルガス ''Barugasu'') saw how the Count's personality changed after acquiring the Behelit and was one of [[HeKnowsTooMuch the first to see his true, demonic form]]. Refusing to be a part of the Count's experiments, he tried to escape with his wife and two sons. They were captured and subjected to the Count's tortures. Vargas had parts of his body cut off and eaten including both legs below the knee, his nose, and the eye and flesh on the right side of his face. He was forced to watch the Count grotesquely devour his wife and sons. By taking a drug to fake his death, he escaped from the castle and managed to steal the Count's Behelit, though he was unable to discover its secrets. Hiding in constant fear, but motivated by seething hatred, he lives for the day when he will take his revenge.
299
300Seven years later he encounters Guts and Puck and begs them to slay the Count, telling them everything he knows about the Count and the castle layout. [[spoiler: He is eventually captured and publicly beheaded by the Count in an attempt to lure Guts out of hiding, and shows up again as a damned spirit to drag the Count into the Underworld.]]
301
302----
303* ActionSurvivor: Survived a gruesome torture session at the Count's hands but didn't escape unscathed.
304* AnArmAndALeg: Suffered the loss of both his legs below the knee during his imprisonment.
305* ArtificialLimbs: Vargas has two peg legs as a result of his amputations.
306* BarbieDollAnatomy: When we see him naked while being forced to watch his family being eaten, he is drawn with no genitals even though one male prisoner in the same scene has uncensored private parts. Since there is no apparent wound, however, this is probably censorship rather than a case of castration.
307* BandagedFace: Used to cover the flesh that was eaten away from the right side of his face.
308* BuryYourDisabled: After seven years of hiding, the Count finally caught up to him.
309* CollectorOfTheStrange: He has a number of rather...unique objects in his home. Including a Behelit. And a pickled Elf.
310* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: Throws smoke bombs at the guards and tells Guts to follow him into hiding, emphasizing there's no time to hesitate. Despite the fact that he's never seen Vargas and doesn't know if he can trust him yet, Guts goes along with him.
311* DarkIsNotEvil: The guy is deformed and driven by revenge but he's actually pretty gentle and saves Puck. Puck for his part tells him he's a good person.
312* DefiantToTheEnd: As the executioner's axe is about to fall, he tells the Count that death is coming for him too and screams out to Guts to hold up the Count's severed head before the people.
313* DiesWideOpen: His eyes are wide open at the moment of beheading, and when Guts finds his head in the graveyard some time later he is still wide-eyed with a look of vengeance.
314* DyingCurse: His last words to the Count are that death will be paying him a visit, and that his hundreds of victims will drag him down to hell with them. [[spoiler:In the end, Vargas was as good as his word.]]
315* EvilCripple: Subverted. He ''looks'' like one, but he's just a disfigured man who wants to kill the monster that did it to him, and who is still basically good on the inside.
316* FacialHorror: He's missing his nose, eye, and about half of the skin on his face.
317* ForcedToWatch: The Count swallowed his wife and sons right before his eyes.
318* NotSoDifferentRemark: Guts notices that Vargas has been maimed in the same ways as himself and has also lost his loved ones to an Apostle, but cannot stand the idea of himself having anything in common with a grotesque weakling who can't even take his own revenge. When Guts refuses to intervene in Vargas' execution on the grounds that it was his own fault for opposing the Count despite his weakness, Puck calls Guts out on the truth: He's ''afraid'' of Vargas. He's afraid that he's also fighting a losing battle--afraid to admit that he's ''just like him''.
319* TheGrotesque: Horribly disfigured and mutilated after having been half-eaten by the Count.
320* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason why the Count tortured him so horrifically.
321* MauveShirt: He was important to the plot and survived long enough to help Guts, but he wasn't protected from the Count's vengeance.
322* NonActionGuy: Meaner than the usual standard but his condition doesn't allow him to fight and he knows it. He has no choice but to ask Guts to take revenge for him, since he can't do it himself. He also doesn't follow Guts past the sewers, recognizing that he would only slow him down.
323* OffWithHisHead: Gets executed by the Count in this fashion, but before he loses it he tells the Count that his head will be next.
324* {{Revenge}}: He's not fit for exacting it himself, but more than anything, he wants the Count to pay for everything that he's done, and does what he can to make that happen. [[spoiler:In a way, he finally gets his revenge in the afterlife.]]
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Theresia]]
328
329[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theresia_kneel.jpg]]
330[[caption-width-right:300:The first of many to be [[BreakTheCutie broken]] through the series.]]
331
332
333-> ''"Father doesn't let me leave this room. He thinks there are still heretics lurking about the city, even now. He won't let anyone from the city or anyone even remotely connected to the city near me. This is my world. Outside this window, my little piece of sky."''
334
335Theresia (テレジア ''Tereshia'') is the Count's sheltered teenage daughter who has been confined in her room by him for seven years since her mother died and he underwent a disturbing change in both appearance and personality. She was given Puck as a pet from her father that she now fears and exposes the whole story of the Count to him.
336
337She's eventually able to leave her room during Guts' and the Count's battle and avoids narrowly getting caught in the crossfire.
338----
339* AwfulTruth: For her, the awful truth came in two stages. The first was seeing her father's monstrous Apostle form for the first time. The second was finding out that rather than what she was told, [[spoiler:her mother betrayed her father by participating in pagan orgies, and in order to escape his despair he sacrificed his wife to the Godhand in exchange for being transformed into an Apostle.]]
340* BigNo: Several times. The first time she shouted it very loudly when she didn't want Puck to leave her to find Guts. She also screams it when she first sees her father's hideous Apostle form, and when Femto urges the Count to brand her as his sacrifice.
341* BreakTheCutie: Guts finished off what her dysfunctional family started. [[spoiler:May have ended as CorruptTheCutie, since Guts also taught her about hate and revenge.]]
342* DaddysGirl: Double subverted. When we're introduced to Theresia, the Count adores his daughter and is absurdly protective of her, yet she is repulsed by him and knows that something is wrong with him. It isn't until after [[spoiler:Guts kills the Count]] that we find out she really does love her father.
343* DeathGlare: After Guts [[spoiler:saves her from falling]], she glares back at him with hatred through her tears, saying that all she's suffered was caused by him.
344* DrivenToSuicide: When she emerges from the horrific events that played out before the Godhand, [[spoiler:Guts suggests that she end her life by slitting her wrists with his knife, and she takes it as if to do so. Puck places himself in front of the knife and begs her not to do it, but it's ultimately subverted when the ledge gives out beneath her and Guts saves her from falling, as it was really his BatmanGambit to make her hate him enough to keep living.]]
345* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler:Guts forces her to watch him stabbing her father's monstrous, decapitated head, and then she is forced by Ubik to watch the true events of what happened to her mother from seven years ago, just before she has to watch her father get DraggedOffToHell after refusing the call to Sacrifice. Poor girl.]]
346* GildedCage: Her room in the Count's castle is quite luxurious, with a huge fireplace, large canopied bed, and fine furnishings. However, she is practically imprisoned there by her father. She even says to Puck, "I know what it feels like to be locked up in a cage."
347* GirlInTheTower: Her father imprisoned her in her room in the castle, ostensibly to protect her from the evil heretics in the outside world.
348* HatesBeingAlone: Because of her loneliness, she quickly bonds with Puck and can hardly bear to let him go. She ends up following him outside her room, fearing that he might come to harm.
349* HatesBeingTouched: Specifically, she will not allow her father to touch her because he frightens her, and screams when he reaches out to her. This rejection causes the Count a great deal of anguish, which he redirects into rage against the Black Swordsman.
350* IllKillYou: What she says to Guts after he leaves her to deal with her loss. [[spoiler:This was exactly what Guts wanted her to say because then she would have a reason not to kill herself.]]
351* IneffectualDeathThreats: At the time she says it, she's in no position to follow through with it. Thanks to [[DiedDuringProduction Miura's tragic passing,]] we'll never know if she would ever come back to get even.
352* LittleNo: Utters one while watching Guts torture her father.
353* LonelyRichKid: Since she is not allowed to leave her room, she's had no chance to make friends her age or interact with anyone besides her father. She has much in common with Charlotte in that regard.
354* MadnessMantra: After the horrific events she experiences, she repeatedly says that she wants to go back to her room, and that if she has to stay where she is now she would rather be dead.
355* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Can definitely qualify for this since her father loved his "[[ColdBloodedTorture experiments.]]"
356* MindRape: Theresia and her father experience this together at the hands of Ubik, who shows them what really happened seven years ago.
357* MoralityPet: When her father interacts with her, we see an unexpected side of him that is still capable of love and kindness even though he continues to deny her her freedom. If not for Theresia he almost certainly would have lost what little humanity he still had, and for her sake, he [[spoiler:refuses to be saved by the Godhand in exchange for sacrificing her, condemning himself to eternal suffering as a result.]]
358* ProneToTears: She's a very sensitive girl, partly because of her sheltered upbringing. She cries a lot, and indeed she has a lot to cry about.
359* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:The last we see of her is her vowing to one day kill Guts.]]
360* TearsOfFear: Cries in terror as a result of the horrors that befall her.
361* UglyGuysHotDaughter: She looks nothing like her father, and at first Puck's brain can't even process the information that she's his daughter. The explanation seems to be that she inherited all her looks from her mother, who was a world-class beauty.
362[[/folder]]
363
364!Guts' Youth
365
366[[folder:Sys]]
367
368[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sys_300.jpg]]
369[[caption-width-right:300:Sys picking up the baby who would become Guts.]]
370
371The lover of the mercenary Gambino, Sys (シス ''Shisu'') was the person who found and adopted Guts as a newborn lying beneath the corpse of his hanged mother, only three days after she had miscarried a child of her own. Despite the advice of his men that taking in a child born in such unnatural circumstances would bring bad fortune, Gambino agreed to let Sys keep him to console her, not expecting the tiny baby to live much longer. However, the result was the other way around. Three years later, Sys contracted the plague and lay dying while Gambino was away at a siege. Despite the warnings of the women tending to her, young Guts approached his adoptive mother on her deathbed and held her hand until she died.
372
373----
374
375* AdaptedOut: ''Anime/Berserk1997'' treated Guts' childhood as a flashback in episode 4, but it skipped the part where Sys found him under the tree and therefore did not include her. ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc I'' similarly skipped her in Guts' flashback to childhood.
376* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Sys was the only one who ever loved Guts in his childhood, so of course she became a DisposableWoman and MissingMom.
377* DisposableWoman: Sys appears only to show how she picked up baby Guts to raise as her own despite Gambino wanting to leave him there. She dies from the plague a couple panels later, and is only mentioned thereafter by Gambino to show how much he despised Guts for allegedly [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead being the cause of her death]].
378* GoodParents: The sight of her cradling baby Guts is enough to suggest that despite her mental instability she was a loving parent.
379* LoonWithAHeartOfGold: Sys seems to have been struck with insanity as a result of her miscarriage, but her motherly instincts led her to take in baby Guts when Gambino and the others wanted to leave him for dead.
380* MissingMom: It's clear that Guts loved her when he was three years old, but he probably didn't remember her much as he grew older because she died when he was so young. He actually spent most of his childhood with no mother figure because of her early death.
381* MoralityChain: She was one for Gambino, being the only person he loved and the reason that he didn't leave Guts to die as a baby. Her death is the root cause of his [[AbusiveParents horrible treatment]] of Guts.
382* SmallRoleBigImpact: And ''how''. Sys is only seen alive for a few panels, but she's the reason Guts even survived as a baby. If she hadn't found and adopted him, the entire series as we know it would not have happened.
383* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Shisu is the official Dark Horse spelling of her name, but Sys is used in other formats as well (and was probably the intended spelling, just like Rosine/Roshinu, the latter being the romaji rendering of the Japanese pronunciation of the katakana).
384* WeHardlyKnewYe: Her death comes soon after her first appearance.
385[[/folder]]
386
387[[folder:Chitch]]
388
389[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chitch_face_300.jpg]]
390
391-> ''"Poppo fun by itself, but poppo with someone else even more popopopohh. So strange!"''
392
393A childlike flower spirit whose flower grows in a cold prison cell in the Viscount's castle, Guts encounters Chitch (チッチ ''Chitchi'') during a story taking place shortly before he met the Band of the Hawk. Out of gratitude for Guts getting rid of the rat that was gnawing on her flower, she fills him with warmth collected from the sun and heals his wounds using leaves from her flower. She is lonely in her cell, which she cannot leave because she is anchored to her flower. Recalling that he saw a field of flowers just like hers somewhere nearby, Guts promises to take her there when he gets free.
394
395----
396
397* TheAloner: She's anchored to a flower growing in the cracks of a prison cell. There are no other spirits nearby for her to interact with, and no human ever takes notice of her before Guts does.
398* CatchPhrase: "Poppo!" Apparently, to her, it means sunlight or warmth.
399* ChildrenAreInnocent: She has a demeanor that's very much like that of a child, and thinks only of making friends and helping people.
400* TheCutie: She's an absolutely adorable and innocent little spirit, and is the first person that ever showed unconditional kindness to Guts since his childhood.
401* ForHappiness: Chitch thinks that warmth shared with others just spreads the love around and makes everyone happier.
402* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She uses up all of her flower's leaves to heal Guts, causing both it and herself to die.]]
403* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:All of her efforts to heal and help Guts cause her flower to wilt and die.]]
404* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Guts initially thinks she's just a hallucination. The fact that he wakes up covered in leaves and with his wounds healed shows that she was real, but despite this Guts is never quite sure whether he dreamed it all.
405* OurFairiesAreDifferent: She resembles an elf, but appears to be very different from Puck and Ivalera. Unlike them, she's tied to a specific flower which she can't stray far away from, has no wings, and heals people using her flower's leaves.
406* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler:Her kindness is precisely what got her killed.]]
407* VerbalTicName: An odd example: it's not her own verbal tic that names her, but that of the rats that attack her flower.
408[[/folder]]
409
410[[folder:Martino]]
411
412[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martino_300.jpg]]
413[[caption-width-right:300:"Ho there, boy! You're still alive?!"]]
414
415-> ''"Whoops, Sorry! I forgot it's not the mercenary way to go around snooping into each other's shady pasts. But you know...you kill, and you die. Maybe it's ''because'' of that rotten-ass battlefield that someday, somewhere, you might meet some war buddies. And for ''him''...for ''them'', it'd be kind of worth it to put your life on the line."''
416
417Martino is a seasoned old mercenary who appears in "Spring Flowers of Distant Days", a three-chapter flashback story taking place shortly before Guts joined the Band of the Hawk. Shackled behind Guts in a line of prisoners being taken to labor on the construction of a castle for a certain Viscount, Martino helps to support Guts when he begins to falter and ends up befriending him.
418
419Unbeknownst to Guts, Martino actually had a plan [[spoiler: to use him as a decoy to escape from slavery. And while he does seem to have betrayed Guts, Martino comes back later and eventually springs him free upon storming the castle Guts was jailed in. Guts begrudgingly accepts to call it even between them but refuses to associate any further with Martino afterwards.]]
420----
421* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:He had no problem with deceiving Guts and putting him in danger, and probably wouldn't have lost any sleep if he had died. However, his liking for Guts was apparently not insincere as he returns with a rescue force as soon as possible, and is genuinely glad to see him alive. He even says he'll make sure that Guts receives a bonus!]]
422* BigOlEyebrows: A really impressive pair to go with his goatee.
423* CallForward: He talks to Guts about the possibility of mercenaries finding deeper meaning behind their bloody work through camaraderie born of the battlefield, and tells him that risking your life for the sake of another might make it worth all the toil. His suggestive language – Martino says for ''his'' sake, singular, before broadening his answer – is a clear nod to Guts' fateful bond with Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. It also suggests that [[HiddenDepths Martino himself]] once had someone he felt this way about.
424* TheCavalry: [[spoiler:Shows up with the cavalry to save Guts at the last minute.]]
425* ChainedHeat: Martino cooperates with Guts and helps him to escape, [[spoiler:with the actual intention of making him the decoy.]]
426* LovableTraitor: [[spoiler:He kind of throws Guts under the bus in order to escape, but he does return to save him, and afterward he basically assures Guts that he knew he could handle it. Part of what makes him such a likable villain is that you can't stay mad at him for betraying you, although for Guts it was partly because Martino reminded him of Gambino.]]
427* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:"Martino" sounds pretty close to "Gambino", and he reminds Guts of what Gambino was like.]]
428* MistakenForGay: One way to interpret the following exchange: Guts emphatically tells him he's ''not'' for sale, to which he laughs, "Duly noted!"
429* OldSoldier: He's been around the block concerning the mercenary business, and is full of both philosophical and practical insights about soldiering.
430* SlippedTheRopes: [[spoiler:After setting Guts free, Martino dislocates his thumb and slips out of his shackles. This shows that he could have gotten out of them any time he wanted, and merely needed a distraction to help him escape.]]
431* TakingTheBullet: The second time that Guts falls, Martino shields Guts from the soldier's lash with his own body. After this Guts begins to trust him more.
432* ATasteOfTheLash: See "Taking the Bullet"
433* WarriorPoet: He has something of a silver tongue, and a bit of philosophy as shown in his page quote.
434* WorkingOnTheChainGang: Ended up chained to a bunch of other war prisoners destined for forced labor [[spoiler:but managed to escape this fate himself.]]
435[[/folder]]
436
437!The Golden Age Arc
438
439[[folder:Godo]]
440!!! '''Voiced by:''' Ikuo Nishikawa (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Takashi Inagaki (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016'' and ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk''), Greg Abbey (English, ''Anime/Berserk1997'')[[note]]Creator/SeanSchemmel in the first episode[[/note]], John Snyder (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'', credited as Abbott Kefford)
441!!! '''Guidebook Stats:'''[[note]]As of Chapter of Elf Island[[/note]] Height: 155 cm (5 ft, 1 in); Weight: 51 kg (112 lb, 7 oz); Age: 68
442
443[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godo_300.jpg]]
444[[caption-width-right:300: Godo watching over young Rickert and Erika.]]
445
446-> ''"Even more than a blood-rusted sword, vengeance is somethin' you soak and sharpen in blood. You sink the blade called your heart deep into blood in order to fix the nicks called sorrow. The more you sharpen, the more it rusts, so you sharpen it again. In the end all that's left is a pile of rusts and scraps."''
447
448Godo (ゴドー ''Godō'') is the master [[TheBlacksmith blacksmith]] whom Guts stays with for a year in order to train. Despite making his first appearance before the Eclipse, his role became much more prominent during the Conviction Arc.
449
450He made most of Guts' armor and equipment, and also gave him some valuable advice. He has a young adopted daughter named Erica and began to teach Rickert the way of the blacksmith after the Eclipse.
451
452----
453* AdaptedOut: Curiously, while several characters who were previously cut out of the 1997 anime were brought back for ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'', it was the opposite with Godo: he had a prominent role in the 1997 anime, but by the end of ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc III'' he didn't make an appearance. Erica is still in it, so his existence is indirectly acknowledged; we can only speculate about why they didn't introduce him with her at that time. Fortunately, he is back in the 2016 anime adaptation.
454* TheBlacksmith: He makes Guts' {{BFS}} and other gear. He likes the sparks that fly upwards when he strikes the metal.
455* CoolOldGuy: A crusty but awesome old guy who makes amazing weapons, mentors the young, keeps Guts supplied with cool gadgets, and even makes his badass protege sit down to receive a scathing lecture about having the right priorities.
456* CoolSword: Surprisingly, he's actually pretty derisive towards this trope. After years of crafting nifty-looking beautiful blades for nobility, he felt that obsessing over the beauty and exoticism of a sword was a sign that a person had no plans to actually wield one. In his eyes, a sword is strictly a tool used for killing; much of what informed the creation of the Dragonslayer was trying to make it as ugly and utilitarian as possible while still being a {{BFS}}.
457* FamilyBusiness: He says he's a blacksmith because his ancestors were and he was already holding a hammer before he could walk.
458* AGoodWayToDie: He [[spoiler: dies peacefully in his bed of old age without regret, with those who love him by his side, having seen his [[{{BFS}} greatest creation]] put to good use]]. As Guts himself puts it, in the CrapsackWorld they live in, this is everything one could ever ask for.
459* HospitalityForHeroes: Because he thinks that Guts and Casca have been through enough already, Godo takes them in after the Eclipse and waives all fees for room, board, repairs, and new equipment. However, after giving Guts a bunch of free stuff he quips that he'll make Rickert work off the cost of the food and arms as his apprentice.
460* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Godo's pretty gruff and abrasive in general, but he lent Guts a hand (and equipment) many times at no extra charge, allowed a safe sanctuary for Casca, apprenticed Rickert, and even adopted an orphaned girl.
461* LifeWillKillYou: [[spoiler:Eventually, Godo dies of old age.]]
462* MagnumOpus: The creation of the Dragonslayer certainly qualifies; as Godo told Rickert, he was a young man working for kings and nobles and had grown tired of making refined and elegant weapons. When the king announced a contest to create a sword that could slay a dragon, Godo created a monstrous tool too big to be called a sword, because he wanted to make a point that to kill an impossible creature you would need an equally impossible weapon. That insolence forced him to leave court and set up shop in the middle of nowhere, but he kept that slab of iron as a reminder of when he bit off more than he could chew. Years later, Guts comes to him and needs a weapon. Godo gives him a finely made sword sharp enough to cut another sword in half, but when a demon appears Guts finds that a sword made to kill humans is too fragile for the job. Instead he takes up the Dragonslayer and butchers the creature, and it has been his trademark weapon ever since. Godo ultimately acknowledged that the Dragonslayer was his greatest creation, and the last act of forging he ever did was to repair it so that Guts could go and rescue Casca from the Tower of Conviction.
463* MentorArchetype: Gives Guts equipment and advice, is the only one who can make him shut up and think about his course of action, and to top it off, [[spoiler:[[MentorOccupationalHazard dies in the end]]]].
464* MusclesAreMeaningful: Godo is seriously jacked for an old timer, no doubt thanks to a lifetime of dedicating his body to the forge. He retains this physique even on his deathbed, enabling him to muster just enough strength to do one last repair job on his MagnumOpus, the Dragonslayer.
465* RefugeInAudacity: In-universe reason for why he made the Dragonslayer [[{{BFS}} what it is]]. He was commissioned to forge a sword that could slay a dragon. Since he didn't really believe in dragons, or that they could really be killed, he made a sword no one could possibly wield that could kill things that didn't exist. And almost got hanged for it.
466* SpringtimeForHitler: He designed the Dragonslayer to be a completely ridiculous weapon that no person could ever use, along with being incredibly ugly and inelegant, as a way of mocking the out-of-touch noble who commissioned it for him. When Guts came along, he proved that it was actually highly effective in the hands of someone who could bear it in battle. Of course, part of the reason for this is that he did go all-out when smithing the sword; mockery though it may have been, he was ever the professional.
467* UltimateBlacksmith: He lives in the middle of nowhere, but is famous for the quality of his work.
468* WhatTheHellHero: Godo drops a big one on Guts, calling him out on abandoning Casca to [[RevengeBeforeReason blindly pursue vengeance]]. His words are what ultimately make Guts [[DeclarationOfProtection change his priorities]].
469[[/folder]]
470
471[[folder:Erica]]
472!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/YukiMasuda (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk1997''), Creator/AyanaTaketatsu (Japanese, ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'', ''Anime/Berserk2016'', and ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk''), Michelle Medlin (English, ''Anime/Berserk1997'' & ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc''), Creator/BriannaKnickerbocker (English ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
473!!! '''Guidebook Stats:'''[[note]]As of Chapter of Elf Island[[/note]] Height: 139 cm (4 ft, 7 in); Weight: 43 kg (94 lb, 13 oz); Age: 11
474
475[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erica_rickert_300.jpg]]
476[[caption-width-right:300:Erica and Rickert]]
477[[caption-width-right:300:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goldenageerica.jpg[[/labelnote]] for Erica in ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc''.]]
478
479-> ''"I'm coming along. We're family."''
480
481The blacksmith Godo's adoptive daughter, Erica (エリカ ''Erika'') is a cheerful and energetic child with mechanical aptitude who loves helping out around the shop and wants to be a blacksmith herself. Guts practices his swordsmanship with her help during his year-long hiatus from the Band of the Hawk when he stays at Godo's home. After the Eclipse she is the only person that Casca is not afraid of, and takes care of her while Guts goes on his demon hunt. Unfortunately, Casca gets away from her during a trip outside, requiring Guts to reassess his priorities and commit himself to finding her.
482
483Following [[spoiler:Godo's death]], Erica is left in the care of Rickert. Eventually the two of them are forced to leave their home because of trolls coming down from the mountains, and while escaping pursuit fall into the hands of a patrol including Laban and Irvine, who take them to [[spoiler:Griffith's new capital. There she and Rickert are moved into lodgings near a stable, where she strikes an odd friendship with Ganishka's former sorcerer Daiba and bonds with Luca and her girls.]]
484
485----
486* AdaptationDyeJob: Erica has light/blonde hair in the manga, but in the anime, it's brown.
487* BicepPolishingGesture: As she shows Daiba while she's helping him around the stable, she's a blacksmith's daughter: it's all in the arms!
488* BlackBeadEyes: Her eyes are often drawn this way in lighthearted moments.
489* TheBusCameBack: As of episode 332, Erica and Rickert are back in the spotlight as refugees.
490* TheCaretaker: After the Eclipse, she was the person who watched and took care of Casca the most.
491* CheerfulChild: Erika is one of the most upbeat kids in this shitty world, so much so that she carelessly waves a mallet around in joy!
492* CuddleBug: Puck practically got all the juice squeezed out of him when Erica got a hold of him.
493* GirlFriday: What she is for Rickert at the moment, serving as his primary aide as a weaponmaster and blacksmith.
494* HappilyAdopted: Erica was orphaned at a very tender age when her home village was attacked and burned to the ground. Luckily for her, Godo (who was on the run) came across her and adopted her as his own, hence why she grew up loved and happy. She has grown to feel the same way about Rickert, who is like her older brother now that [[spoiler:Godo has passed on.]]
495* KindHeartedCatLover: In chapter 339, she is seen feeding and playing with the local cats.
496* NotBloodSiblings: Played for laughs in volume 38, when she mentions to Pepe that she and Rickert aren’t actual siblings and Pepe seems to suspect something juicy. Later, when Erica hisses at Pepe and Fouquet for trying to gold dig on Rickert, they both tease her as a potential brocon.
497* PutOnABus: While Guts sets out with Casca to find the cure for her insanity, Erica stays with Rickert.
498* RecklessSidekick: She has a moment in Chapter 340 when [[spoiler:she gets captured by an empowered Rakshas during his confrontation with Rickert and Silat after Luca explicitly told her NOT to get involved.]]
499* WrenchWench: Erica aspires to be a blacksmith when she gets older, [[GoodParents and Godo sees no problem with this]]. She's often seen assisting Rickert with his work for the time being.
500* WhatTheHellHero: When Guts blames Rickert for not looking harder for Casca when she escaped, Erica calls him out on it, saying it was ''his'' fault for leaving Casca alone for two whole years in the first place, and that Rickert searched and searched but had to come back because of her and Godo.
501[[/folder]]
502
503!Conviction Arc: Chapter of Lost Children
504
505[[folder:Jill]]
506
507[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jill_300.jpg]]
508[[caption-width-right:300:''"Maybe I can change something."''[[labelnote:credit]]Color image by [[http://frog-machine.deviantart.com/art/Jill-Courage-554582581 frog-machine]].[[/labelnote]]]]
509
510-> ''"I don't have wings, so I guess I'll look up at this sky and crawl along the earth."''
511
512Jill (ジル, ''Jiru'') is a quiet, sensitive girl who lives in a village that is being plagued by violent attacks from fairy-like creatures at the time that Guts and Puck arrive. Her father, Mr. Zepek, is a reminiscent drunk, who basks in the memory of his former days in the military and gets violent when he feels like his wife and daughter aren't giving him enough respect. Her mother actually cares about her welfare, but she has been browbeaten by her husband into terrified obedience. After Jill discovers that the leader of the creatures attacking her village is her best friend Rosine, thought to have died in the forest long ago, she sets out after Guts and Puck into the Misty Valley despite the many dangers and trials that await them...
513
514----
515* AbusiveParents: Her dad drinks constantly and violently 'disciplines' Jill when she calls him out for not taking care of his family. Furthermore, he refuses to lift a finger to rescue his daughter from mortal danger when the 'elves' attack.
516* ActionSurvivor: Jill is an ordinary innocent bystander who gets sucked into supernatural danger. She can't fight and has to be rescued several times, but a combination of luck and surprising courage see her through to the end alive.
517* TheAntiNihilist: After her experiences with Guts, Jill finds within herself the fortitude to at least try and make a difference in her own life, even if she may suffer all the while.
518* AttemptedRape: Both a bandit and one of her father’s drunken friends try to have their way with her. Thankfully, neither get very far and in the former case Jill even [[GroinAttack fights back a bit]].
519* BloodSplatteredInnocents: She gets splattered with the blood of her best friend shortly before she is doused in cocoon fluid, leading to her LaughingMad moment below.
520* BreakTheCutie: This sweet, pure-hearted girl was neglected and abused by adults for all her life to begin with. During "Lost Children" she sees numerous people in her village gruesomely killed, nearly gets killed multiple times herself, witnesses the lethal "games" of the children who were turned into elves, and is forced to watch her childhood best friend Rosine and her new friend the Black Swordsman fight to the death.
521* BringMyBrownPants: Jill understandably pisses herself when she sees a [[WhenTreesAttack tree turn into a monster and attack]].
522* ChildhoodFriends: Rosine and Jill were inseparable playmates as children, and still feel a special bond from having grown up together.
523* GirlishPigtails: Pigtails emphasize her peasant simplicity and youthful innocence, while also showing she's the girly-girl to Rosine's tomboy.
524* GoThroughMe: Uses this tactic early on when Rosine is about to dive-bomb a wounded Guts, forcing Rosine to swerve away by leaping in the way and shouting at her to stop. After Guts defeats Rosine, she does it again by throwing herself across Rosine's body as Guts prepares to bring down his sword.
525* LaughingMad: After being doused with cocoon fluid by Guts to protect her from the fire and also covered with Rosine's blood, her mind briefly snaps from the horror she's experiencing and she starts laughing. Jill later remarks that that moment may have "washed away [her] childhood."
526* MoralityPet: Both villainous Rosine and extremely dark AntiHero Guts get their PetTheDog moments by protecting Jill, who is the only person that Rosine still loves or cares about and, Guts' only soft spot.
527* NaiveEverygirl: A naive, innocent, and insecure girl who gets bullied and taken advantage of, Jill serves as a relatable stand in for the audience. She loses her childhood illusions through her ordeal but hangs on to her optimism and good heart.
528* PluckyGirl: By the end of "Lost Children" she has [[CharacterDevelopment developed]] from an insecure and vulnerable girl into an optimistic female {{Determinator}}. Even if she has to go back home to her harsh everyday life, she's decided to struggle and fight in her own small way and believe that she can change something.
529* PrecociousCrush: Despite the age difference between them and Guts acting mean in order to drive her away, Jill is implied to feel attraction towards him because he's strong, handsome, and the only person besides Rosine who's ever protected her. Rosine believes that Jill has fallen for him, and it might have something to do with why Jill didn't immediately accept Rosine's offer to turn her into an elf.
530* RefusedByTheCall: Guts does desperately need companions, and for her part Jill does bring out some good in him. However, he rejects her plea to take her with him away from her home life when she decides that he is a far better person to be around than the likes of the villagers and her father. It's for good reason that he does: Jill may have faced down Rosine, but she is still a child and following Guts would mean being subjected to the hell that follows him every waking moment.
531* SecurityBlanket: Guts lends her his cape after he rescues her from the bandits, and after a near miss with her father's lecherous drunken friend she clings to it to comfort herself through the night.
532* SleepCute: There are two occasions when Jill falls asleep next to Guts, establishing how much she trusts him and teasing at her precocious feelings towards him. First, she curls up next to him while he’s sleeping in the old windmill and falls asleep in his lap, and again after the two fall off a cliff while he was protecting her from ghosts, where she ends up asleep while lying on top of him.
533* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Rosine was always the adventurous and outdoorsy tomboy when they were young, while Jill was the girly one who was frightened of the snakes and bugs Rosine collected.
534* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Granted, "hot" means "cute/adorable" in this instance, but it's still surprising that a guy as unattractive as Mr. Zepek could have a daughter as cute as Jill. Maybe she gets her appearance from her better-looking mother?
535* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After her story arc reaches its end, Jill has yet to make a reappearance in the story, and it's unknown if she [[spoiler:survived Femto's merging of the layers of reality]].
536* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: Jill has one of these moments when she's flying with Rosine over the Misty Valley. It gives the reader a glimpse that though the [[CrapsackWorld Berserk-verse is fucked up,]] [[SceneryPorn it really is a beautiful place.]]
537[[/folder]]
538
539[[folder:Mr. Zepek]]
540
541[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zepek_300.jpg]]
542
543-> '''Mr. Zepek:''' ''"I'm Home!"''\
544'''Jill's Mother:''' ''"...Dear?"''\
545'''Mr. Zepek:''' ''"I'm headin' out soon!...Hey! Where'd you put it?!"''\
546'''Jill's Mother:''' ''"It?"''\
547'''Mr. Zepek:''' ''"Y'know, ''it'', IT!! The armor I brought home from the war! Hahaaa! Looks like luck's finally smiling on me!"''
548
549Zepek (ゼペック ''Zepekku'') is Jill's abusive, good-for-nothing father, who spends most of his time drunk with his so-called war buddies instead of taking care of his wife and daughter. He claims to have served in the military and wears an old helmet everywhere he goes.
550
551----
552
553* AbusiveParents: He physically abuses Jill, and either through neglect or callousness fails to protect her from sexual abuse, kidnapping, and life-threatening peril.
554* AlcoholicDad: He is constantly drunk and slurs his speech, apparently preferring to drink instead of doing anything useful.
555* BerserkButton: Feeling disrespected. He starts hitting Jill when she calls him out on his bragging and failure to take care of his family and goes completely nuts when she gives him a glare of contempt.
556* DadTheVeteran: A source of conflict between him and Jill. He thinks that Jill owes him respect for his service, while she tells him that nobody wants to hear about some old battle he lost and he should think about his family for a change.
557* DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: He has a bum leg that he says got messed up in the war, but he just uses it as an excuse to neglect his family.
558* DomesticAbuser: He beats Jill's mother when he gets angry with her, which is often, especially when she tries to intercede on Jill's behalf.
559* DrowningMySorrows: Given his self-centered nature, it's mostly feeling sorry for himself.
560* DudeWheresMyRespect: He is extremely upset that nobody, especially Jill, gives him the respect he thinks he deserves as a father or as a veteran.
561* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When Jill comes back into town with Guts, he appears with a wine jug in hand accompanied by his drinking buddies, demanding to know where she was all night. What was he doing while she was missing? Getting drunk and reminiscing about the battlefield! She calls him out on being a failure of a dad, and in response, he starts beating her while ranting about how he suffered for his family and deserves her respect.
562* GloryDays: He lives in the past, reminiscing about some old battle he was in and complaining about how nobody respects him anymore.
563* GloryHound: The main reason he volunteers as the guide for the Iron Chain Knights is to win some respect and admiration for catching the Black Swordsman.
564* HateSink: He's a rotten, abusive, selfish, and sorry excuse of a man with absolutely no admirable or sympathetic qualities.
565* ItsAllAboutMe: He's so self-absorbed and deep in his own misery that he can't be bothered to notice or care about his wife and daughter. He's completely unconcerned each time Jill goes missing or is endangered, and he only volunteers to help the Holy Iron Chain Knights track down Guts just to relive his supposed glory days in the army.
566* {{Jerkass}}: A mean old drunk, an abusive dad and husband, and just an all-round self-centered jerk.
567* KarmaHoudini: In a world where people die left and right often in horrible ways, this scummy imbecile ''somehow'' makes it to the end of the arc and gets to continue being a cantankerous shithead to his family.
568* MilesGloriosus: He would like for everyone to think that he fought gallantly in battle and still has it in him, but he panics and flails ineffectively when the villagers gang up on Guts and hides when the elves attack. He had no intention of following Guts on his own, but he becomes a lot bolder once he has the Holy Iron Chain Knights to back him up.
569* NeverBareheaded: He's never seen without his old helmet on his head. Jill takes issue when she comes home to see him wearing it and says it makes him look like a fool.
570* NeverMyFault: He will blame ''anyone'' for ''anything'' rather than admit his own mistakes. He calls his wife useless and claims that Jill "turned out the way she did" because her mother didn't discipline her, ignoring the fact that ''he'' is the useless one and his "discipline" is really just abuse. He also says that because Jill ran off it's not his fault if something happens to her, and never even tries to find or rescue her.
571* PapaWolf: Subverted. Azan assumes that Mr. Zepek wants to lead them to the Black Swordsman to get his daughter back, but he only cares about the glory of apprehending an infamous criminal. Rescuing Jill is an afterthought at best.
572* ParentalNeglect: Apart from physically abusing Jill, most of the worst damage he does comes from negligence. He had no idea where his daughter was the night she got kidnapped and didn't think to look for her while she was getting kidnapped and nearly killed, nor does he seem to notice that one of his drinking buddies has been trying to molest her--which may have been why she ran away in the first place! When the elves attack he prevents his wife from going outside and says that Jill got herself into trouble so it isn't his fault what happens to her.
573* PerilousOldFool: Downplayed, since he's only about middle-aged, but he's definitely a washed-up soldier who overestimates his abilities. At least he aims well enough to shoot Guts from a distance.
574* PhonyVeteran: Implied. It's ambiguous how much of his purported war record is actually true. He has some old military gear and turns out to be a decent shot with his crossbow, but he's a drunken braggart whose word is unreliable and doesn't possess much courage. He may have served in some capacity, but his stories--if true--are almost certainly exaggerated.
575* ShellShockedVeteran: Another equally plausible explanation for his current, miserable state is that he was traumatized by fighting. As the series is very happy to show elsewhere, PTSD does bad, bad things to a man.
576* VillainousRescue: Zepek saves Jill from certain death when he gets a couple of lucky crossbow shots on Guts, preventing him from killing her while she tried to [[GoThroughMe shield Rosine]] from the swordsman's finishing blow. Purely coincidental, though, since Zepek was only interested in taking down the Black Swordsman. Jill's safety was never a factor.
577[[/folder]]
578
579!Conviction Arc: Chapter of the Birth Ceremony
580
581[[folder:Luca]]
582!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/MiyukiSawashiro (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/WendeeLee (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
583!!! '''Guidebook Stats:'''[[note]]As of Chapter of Elf Island[[/note]] Height: 174 cm (5 ft, 8.5 in); Weight: 63 kg (138 lb, 14 oz); Age: 27
584
585[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luca_nina_300.jpg]]
586[[caption-width-right:299:Luca (right) with Nina (left)]]
587
588-> ''"People are shallow things. If anyone has a bit more than they do, they're jealous, and if one has less, they look down on them."''
589
590Luca (ルカ ''Ruka'') is a comely, brown-haired HookerWithAHeartOfGold in the St. Albion refugee camp who acts as the TeamMom for a small group of younger fellow prostitutes including Lucie, Fouquet, Pepe, and Nina. Being part of a profession that is looked down upon, she knows all too well how petty human nature can be and encourages her girls to share their earnings with their neighbors to avoid attracting envy and condemnation. She also conducts regular business with Jerome, one of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, who ends up being her LoveInterest. One day Luca encounters an insane, wandering Casca by chance after her escape from Godo's cave, disguising her in bandages to help her avoid the attention of both the Iron Chain Knights and male customers and telling others that Casca is Elaine, her sister who suffers from Syphilis. When Guts saves her and Pepe from the persecution of the Iron Chain Knights, Luca helps him to search for Nina and Casca and gets pulled into the supernatural events of the mock Eclipse. At one point she briefly meets the Nameless Apostle, who reveals himself to her in order to leave someone with the knowledge of his story and goals.
591
592Despite her minor role, Luca is still notable for being one of the very few genuinely good characters in Berserk's CrapsackWorld ([[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished points for not being maimed, raped, or killed for being so]]) and for being one of the most capable female characters introduced post-Eclipse. Deep in thought, fair, and not afraid to go in the midst of battle despite her obvious weakness, [[WeakButSkilled she is smart enough to deal with any given situation and come out on top]]. Hence, all of the other prostitutes, even the envious and chicken-hearted Nina (pictured with her), look up to her as a mother figure and deeply respect her. Due to all of the above, [[EnsembleDarkhorse she is one of the most beloved minor characters of the series]].
593
594----
595* ActionSurvivor: Very effective at coming up with quick solutions to handle life-threatening situations.
596* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The redhead to Casca's brunette and Nina's blonde during their time together.
597* BreakingTheFourthWall: She at one point huffs at the fact that she's not a main character.
598* TheBusCameBack: In episode 334, she and her remaining girls (since Nina went her own way and is no longer with them) return to the spotlight by welcoming Erica and Rickert to their new lodgings in Falconia.
599* DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff: When she finds Nina crying alone after having gotten the cultists to chase Joachim off a cliff, she slaps her hard across both cheeks and gives her a really harsh spanking until she sobs that she's sorry for everything she did. Then, when Nina is expecting the punishment to continue, she instead [[RestrainedRevenge gently pats Nina on the bottom]] and comforts her while she cries.
600* EveryoneHasStandards: It turns out that she and Jerome [[spoiler:don't have that MaybeEverAfter after all.]] Hypothetically, she might have been willing to [[spoiler:stay on as Jerome’s mistress after he got married]], but [[spoiler:the girl he married was too innocent and Luca would have felt guilty about deceiving her]].
601* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: She may be a prostitute, but she is one of the most compassionate characters in the story and risks her life to save the people she cares about.
602* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:She lets Jerome get married to someone else and leaves them alone because she likes his wife and doesn't want him to cheat on her. Fouquet teases her about this, asking Luca if she really has no regrets about it.]]
603* MamaBear: She's the TeamMom, and if you threaten any of her sisters she will defy you to her last breath.
604* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of the Birth Ceremony Arc, she and Jerome like each other but do not get an official RelationshipUpgrade at the end, leaving their future ambiguous. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that Jerome got married to a noble girl, and Luca left him because she didn't want to be a homewrecker.]]
605* TheMistress: Jerome offers to make her his official mistress when he gets married to a girl chosen by his family. [[spoiler:Jerome does get married but Luca decides not to go through with it since the wife he gets is too naive and she would have felt bad about deceiving her.]]
606* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Miraculously averts this, thank God!
607* OddFriendship:
608** Formed one with [[spoiler:[[EvilSorcerer Daiba]]]] of all people when both started living in Falconia, and is shown nagging him whenever he acts stubborn.
609** With the Egg of the Perfect World, listening to his story and taking pity on him after his death.
610* PluckyGirl: Luca's no WideEyedIdealist, but no matter what happens she's optimistic and never gives up.
611* PutOnABus: After the dust settles over St. Albion, she and her girls [[spoiler:(minus Nina, who decides to go with Joachim instead)]] set out to find someplace where they will be safe.
612* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: At first she doesn't think that Jerome is serious about her and tries to keep her feelings professional, but when his actions prove that he is a good man and truly devoted to her she allows herself to fall for him too.
613* TheSmartGirl: Despite being uneducated, Luca has lots of practical knowledge about surviving and getting by in the world and comes up with good plans.
614* SympathyForTheDevil: She's the only person who was ever aware of the Nameless Apostle's lonely existence, and she makes a tribute to him after his death for it.
615* TeamMom: As the oldest and most experienced of the prostitutes, she feels responsible for keeping them safe and tries to act as a surrogate mother to them.
616* WeakButSkilled: A mere human who is just practical and smart enough to handle herself and her protégées efficiently without [[{{Wangst}} wangsting it up]] or complaining. In a CrapsackWorld like that of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', that's really an achievement.
617[[/folder]]
618
619[[folder:Jerome]]
620!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/DaisukeHirakawa (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/ToddHaberkorn (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
621[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jerome_luca_300.jpg]]
622
623-> ''"Looks like I've really lost my edge. But, oh well...[[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight It's a rotten duty anyway]]. Now my mind's made up. Maybe [[DefectingForLove going wrong for the sake of a woman]] is more in character for a [[ChivalrousPervert libertine like me]]."''
624
625A noble-born HandsomeLech enlisted in the Holy Iron Chain Knights, Jerome (ジェローム ''Jerōmu'') is Luca's LoveInterest. Although he pays her every time they have sex, he wants to have a more serious relationship with her and offers to take her home as his mistress when he becomes the head of his household.
626
627When the supernatural events at the Tower of Conviction spiral out of control, Jerome does all he can to protect Luca and her friends.
628
629----
630* ArrangedMarriage: As his family's heir, he is expected to marry a suitable girl of noble birth. [[spoiler:He eventually does, off-screen.]]
631* BigOlEyebrows: Has large bushy eyebrows that fit his rugged, roguish personality.
632* BlueBlood: Like most members of the Iron Chain Knights, he is the son of a rich and noble family.
633* ChivalrousPervert: Although unapologetically interested in women's bodies, he also respects and cares about them as people. After cutting his session with Luca short, he gives her a pearl necklace in addition to payment for her services, seriously asking her to go home with him so that he can provide her and her "sister" with a better life. When the crap hits the fan he also risks his neck to save Nina because he knows how much she means to Luca.
634* CowardlyLion: Downplayed. Likes his creature comforts and would rather save his own skin than die for some abstract idea of honor and glory, but if it comes to protecting Luca or someone she cares about he won't give up or abandon them even if he's freaking out a bit.
635* DefectingForLove: Works for the KnightTemplar antagonists of the Conviction Arc but is not evil himself, and eventually decides to go directly against his Order because he cares about Luca more.
636* EstablishingCharacterMoment: He is first seen having sex with Luca, during which he expresses his contempt for Farnese and the church's fanaticism. After Elaine a.k.a. Casca interrupts them, he excuses himself, but first gives Luca a necklace and promises to take good care of both her and Elaine if she will come with him and be his mistress. This establishes the fact that he doesn't believe in the heretic hunting mission and is a bit of a lech, but also that he's really a good guy on the inside.
637* HandsomeLech: Attractive to the ladies due to his combination of good looks and noble parentage, and happens to be quite a sex fiend. Despite being part of a monastic order of knighthood, he regularly sneaks off to sleep with prostitutes.
638* {{Hunk}}: Has a chiseled muscular build and masculine, roguish good looks.
639* InterruptedIntimacy: Was enjoying some quality time with Luca when Casca poked her head through the tent flap, scaring him limp and almost causing him a heart attack.
640* MaybeEverAfter: At the end of the ''Birth Ceremony'' chapter, he and Luca have acknowledged their feelings for each other but do not get an official RelationshipUpgrade at the end, leaving their future ambiguous. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that Jerome got married to a noble girl, and Luca left him because she didn't want to be a homewrecker.]]
641* NiceGuy: He has shades of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold when it comes to [[HotBlooded Isidro]], who annoys him, but towards anyone else, he is a genuinely good guy. He doesn't agree with how the [[CorruptChurch Holy See]] persecutes people (and thinks that Farnese is positively nuts), and wants to give Luca a better life by at least making her his mistress when he becomes head of his household (and even offers to get Casca a good doctor, when Luca was passing her off as her syphilis-stricken sister). He is also quick to apologize when he finds out he misjudged Serpico, and helps Luca and her friends get out of trouble.
642* NonActionGuy: Downplayed. It initially seems the case, as most of the other sons of nobles only enlist in the Holy Iron Chain Knights to get some military notability (and otherwise have little to no knowledge on combat), yet Jerome proves to be a reasonably competent fighter and lends Guts a hand during the mock eclipse, even managing to [[spoiler:kill the Twins with a little help from Puck.]] Still, he's not on Guts or Serpico's level, and prefers to run away rather than fight if he can.
643* PutOnABus: It is not clear for a while what happens to him after the Conviction Arc. [[spoiler:We later hear from Luca that he went home and got married, and therefore did not accompany Luca on her travels.]]
644* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Though he's enlisted in a troop of soldiers who hunt witches, as well as being under the constant threat of punishment from Farnese (or worse, Mozgus), Jerome went out of his way to help Luca and her company when they where in the Tower of Conviction.
645* TallDarkAndHandsome: Tall, black-haired, and handsome-faced, you could say he's quite the catch.
646* UnclePennybags: As a noble son he has the disposable income to buy Luca a pearl necklace, and is such a generous tipper that it helps the prostitutes to survive in a situation of scarcity. While not a philanthropist, exactly, he's free with his purse for people he particularly likes, and Luca's girls teasingly remark they wish they had a sugar daddy like him.
647[[/folder]]
648
649[[folder:Nina]]
650!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/NatsumiTakamori (''Anime/Berserk2016''), Ryan Bartley (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
651[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nina_300.jpg]]
652 [[caption-width-right:300:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nina_barrel_berserk_2016.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see her in ''Anime/Berserk2016''.]]
653
654-> ''"I'm scared, so scared...I can't stand it, Luca. Of dying...of living...of this world...of God!!"''
655
656Nina (ニーナ ''Nīna'') is a member of Luca’s group of prostitutes who suffers from an unspecified illness that makes her cough up blood. She is a {{Foil}} to Luca's courageous and self-sacrificing nature, being weak-willed, [[GreenEyedMonster envious]], and most of all, afraid. Her personality is very unstable because she is extremely needy and dependent towards Luca, but at the same time prone to resent and lash out at those she cares about as a defense against her own self-hatred.
657
658Convinced of her own worthlessness as a human being, and conscious of having a terminal sickness, she finds her escape by sneaking off to join the drug-fueled orgies of the heretical cult of the Great Goat Head, unbeknownst to Luca. Despite her promiscuous activities--or perhaps precisely because she craves real affection, she develops a relationship with a young man named Joachim who admires her. She also grows close to Casca, which unfortunately leads to the heretics worshiping the mute girl as a witch. Nina commits many acts she is ashamed of out of fear and struggles to come to terms with her own nature, but Luca never gives up on her and suggests that as a coward, she just might turn out to be the most stubborn of survivors.
659----
660* BitingTheHandkerchief: Bites the hem of her sleeve while crying and trembling inside a barrel with monsters outside.
661* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The blonde to Luca's redhead and Casca's brunette during their time together.
662* BringMyBrownPants: Her entire body goes limp the very second she steps into the torture chamber. Her bladder soon follows.
663* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler: After her HeelRealization and reconnecting with Joachim at the end of the mock Eclipse, she chooses to set out with Joachim on her own path, preferring to learn how to fend for herself instead of relying on Luca and building up resentment yet again, for whatever time she has left to live.]]
664* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Her ever-present fear leads her to betray people close to her to save herself, or seriously think about doing it. This is one of the many things she hates about herself.
665* DepravedBisexual: She makes out with a bunch of other women before doing it with Joachim during the heretics' orgy.
666* DirtyCoward: Because of her cowardice, she often ends up metaphorically throwing someone else under the bus rather than sacrificing herself for that person or sharing the risk with everybody like Luca would do; What's more, she's internalized the idea that she's a despicable coward. However, she's not portrayed as completely unsympathetic, because her inner monologues show that she does ''want'' to be brave but panics and can't bring herself to actually go through with it. And when faced with a Torture room like that, there are few people who wouldn't get cold feet.
667* DontYouDarePityMe: Because of her own lack of self-esteem, she starts to resent Luca and accuses her of looking down on other people by trying to help them. While she does get over it, she's still afraid she will come to resent Luca's help again in the future if she stays with her, which is why [[spoiler:she goes away with Joachim.]]
668* {{Fingore}}: She makes a full confession to Mozgus' torturers just before they rip out one of her fingernails.
669* {{Foil}}: Compared to Luca, who is brave, mature, resolute, and always thinks about others, Nina is deeply insecure, envious, occasionally petty, and constantly fearful.
670* HatesBeingAlone: Has a needy personality and tends to cling to other people. Even though she sometimes wants to get away from Luca because being near her makes her feel inferior, she is too attached to her when all's said and done. [[spoiler:When Luca tells her to hide in a barrel, Nina refuses at first, saying she can't bear to be alone at such a scary time.]]
671* HeelRealization: She ultimately knows what a sorry person she is, and resents herself for it. [[spoiler:In the end, [[CharacterDevelopment she finally decides to do something about it]], and sets out to find her own strength.]]
672* TheHeretic: Secretly a member of the heretic cult that meets in the caves near Albion. However, her motivation is not so much theological disagreement with the church or even contempt toward its corruption, but the fact that their orgies and rituals allow her to hide from God's judgment and try to forget that her days are numbered.
673* ImAHumanitarian: Implied. Since conversion to the pagan cult requires one to consume a broth of human flesh, she most definitely has partaken in cannibalism at least once.
674* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Has an unspecified but persistent coughing sickness where she coughs up blood. She feels like her days are numbered. [[spoiler:Downplayed, as she's still not dead at the end of the Conviction Arc, and it's ambiguous how much longer she has to live.]]
675* KickTheMoralityPet: She has Joachim take part in a pagan orgy that involves cannibalism. When he flees, she calls for him to be killed before he can report them to the authorities. She also betrays and abandons Casca on a few occasions where she's afraid of what will happen to her if she doesn't. In both of these cases she feels intensely guilty and wishes she hadn't hurt them out of fear.
676* LaserGuidedKarma: ''Every'' time she attempts or even considers throwing someone under a carriage to save her skin, she always suffers even more.
677* TheLoad: During the disaster, she has to be dragged along and protected by the competent people such as Luca, Jerome, and Isidro while being unable to contribute anything. She knows that she's a burden and hates it.
678* MoralityPet: Her LoveInterest Joachim and CuteMute Casca are both people she cares about who depend on her.
679* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After the heretics chase Joachim off a cliff at her behest, she starts sobbing because she reacted out of fear and didn't really want him to die, and hates herself for being such a DirtyCoward. She feels much the same way when she incriminates Casca in order to save herself from torture.
680* NayTheist: Nina believes in God, but she is terrified that He will judge her harshly for her weakness, and seeks to reject Him by taking part in the pagan cult.
681* NervousWreck: Always jumps to the worst-case scenario when something bad happens, and has zero ability to cope with fear or anxiety.
682* ReallyGetsAround: Normally this trope would be redundant for a prostitute, but the multiple partners she's had in the heretic's orgies aren't even related to business. Joachim is the only one she actually loves, though.
683* TheResenter: Towards Luca. Though Nina respects her, she hates feeling the need to be so dependant on her.
684* WeakWilled: Her very own FatalFlaw. She has absolutely no fortitude under fire and panics at the slightest sign of danger for her well-being, which prompts her to throw other people to the wolves or to flee instead of helping.
685* {{Tsundere}}: A dark example, as she often shifts between being caring and spiteful to those she’s close to, due to her cowardice.
686* YourDaysAreNumbered: She’s afflicted with a disease which she feels will kill her in time, and hasn’t quite yet come to terms with that. She is also well aware if she's dying anyway, she would be morally and logically a good choice for a HeroicSacrifice, but gets cold feet when she sees what it would involve.
687[[/folder]]
688
689[[folder:Lucie, Pepe, and Fouquet]]
690!!! '''Lucie Voiced by:''' Mii Miki (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/JulieAnnTaylor (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')\
691'''Pepe Voiced by:''' Creator/YuiKondo (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Deborah Gatton (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')\
692'''Fouquet Voiced by:''' Nana Hamasaki (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/DorothyEliasFahn (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
693
694[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucas_girls_350.jpg]]
695[[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: Fouquet, Pepe, and Lucie. Click [[labelnote:here]]quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucas_girls_250x350.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see them in ''Berserk (2016)'']]
696
697Lucie (リュシー ''Ryushī''), Pepe (ペペ ''Pepe''), and Fouquet (フーケ ''Fūke'') are three young women who are Luca's apprentices as prostitutes. Despite their difficult situation, they make the best of things with humor and have hopes and dreams just like any other girls.
698----
699* AnimalMotifs: Pepe is frequently compared to a cat, especially with her propensity for a CatSmile. When she and Fouquet try and claim Rickert, Pepe gets cat features while Fouquet gets a pig snout.
700* DamselInDistress: Pepe gets arrested for questioning and is helpless to resist, which initially provides a chance for Luca to show her selfless courage by standing with her, and then an opportunity for Guts to rescue both of them in his BigDamnHeroes entrance.
701* GoldDigger: Pepe and Fouquet both express a desire to get a sugar daddy like Jerome, telling Luca that she has it lucky. Justified, since they're poor prostitutes who can only survive by trading their bodies for money and goods, and having a rich lover would make a big difference in their quality of life. As soon as someone mentions that Rickert is a Band of the Hawk alumnus who knows Griffith personally, Pepe and Fouquet try and sink their claws into him as their MealTicket in a scene that's PlayedForLaughs.
702* SatelliteCharacter: They're seldom ever seen far from the company of Luca or each other, and aren't individually characterized as strongly as she or Nina.
703[[/folder]]
704
705[[folder:Joachim]]
706!!! '''Voiced by:''' Kosuke Onishi (''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/ChrisHackney (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
707
708[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joachim_300.jpg]]
709
710-> ''"I wanted to apologize to you. Back then I was scared of you. I thought if I didn't betray you, you all would kill me. I can't just say this now, but I really felt, I thought, maybe if we were together, and still...I was a coward who abandoned you."''
711
712A shy young man from the refugee camp, Joachim (ヨアヒム ''Yoahimu'') is in love with Nina. While she initially acts cold and professional towards him, Nina ends up developing feelings for the young man and invites him into one of the pagan orgies organized by the cultists of the "Goddess of Blazes" (aka Slan) but, [[NightmareFetishist given the depraved nature of their "goddess"]], he finds out the hard way that the seemingly innocuous orgies also include [[EatsBabies cannibalism]], which isn't something he can deal with. Upon trying to escape from the premises, he ends up falling into a chasm, while Nina looks on, unresponsive.
713
714He shows up alive and well at the end of the mock Eclipse [[spoiler: and works things out with Nina about the whole ordeal and [[PutOnABus eventually sets out with her, without saying goodbye to anyone, to a yet unknown fate]]]].
715
716----
717* CovertPervert: Despite his shyness, he has a strong sexual attraction to Nina. Although he found the orgy to be rather scary and was uncomfortable being touched by women other than Nina, he was willing to take part in several pretty debauched things in order to be with her before he drew the line at [[EatsBabies eating babies]].
718* DirtyCoward: Like Nina, he internalizes the idea that he's a no-good coward. In fact his reaction toward Nina was more understandable since she tried to kill him first, but it seems like he ''wants'' to forgive her and is just too afraid to trust her again.
719* {{Forgiveness}}: [[spoiler:In the aftermath of the Eclipse, Joachim and Nina decide to forgive each other and start over.]]
720* HeKnowsTooMuch: Nina tells the cultists to kill him because he will expose them to Mozgus and the Iron Chain Knights if he escapes alive.
721* MoralityPet: He acts as Nina's morality pet, sharing the role with Casca, being someone she cares about who depends on her. She ends up [[KickTheMoralityPet kicking the morality pet]] by trying to kill him, but she immediately feels remorse and wishes she could take it back. [[spoiler:In the end, they patch up their relationship and decide to try to be braver and kinder for each others' sakes.]]
722* NonActionGuy: He doesn't have any fighting instinct, and reacts to danger by running or hiding. [[spoiler:This serves him well, as he is one of the few refugees to survive the whole mock Eclipse.]]
723* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: He gets chased off a cliff by the cultists, who decide that he couldn't have survived from that height and don't look for his body. As fate would have it, he survived by falling into a river and being pulled out by the Nameless Apostle while he was unconscious, and manages to get up and report the cult to the Holy Iron Chain Knights.
724* ShrinkingViolet: He has a hard time speaking up for himself, often only managing to stammer out a few words, and gets very anxious when Nina starts drawing attention to him in public.
725* TheStoolPigeon: After surviving his fall he leads the Holy Iron Chain Knights to the cultists' hideout. However, he feels guilty for betraying Nina and realizes that killing her out of revenge isn't what he wanted, since he's still in love with her.
726* YouAreWorthHell: When Nina asks him if he could fall to hell if it was together with her, he says yes. For her sake he almost completes initiation into a heretical cult, risking the punishment of the Inquisition and--according to the Church's teachings--the damnation of his soul. He ends up rejecting both the cult and her when he discovers their cannibalism, but [[spoiler:when he finds Nina after the mock Eclipse is over he decides to forgive her and share her hardships.]]
727[[/folder]]
728
729!Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Holy Demon War
730
731[[folder:Flora]]
732!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/SumiShimamoto (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho'' and ''VideoGame/BerserkAndTheBandOfTheHawk''), Creator/PhileceSampler (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
733[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flora_300.jpg]]
734
735->''"The world does not exist merely in two dimensions. There exists profound depth within itself. This world could never be summarized by materialism or any single doctrine. Accept the great mysteries, and explore the universe from within your world. That is the way of magic."''
736
737Flora (フローラ ''Furōra'') is a wise and compassionate elderly witch living in solitude in the forest near Enoch Village. She served as Schierke’s mentor, and provided Guts and company with knowledge about the spiritual world as well as magical artifacts to assist them, including the [[ArtifactOfDoom Berserker Armor]]. She is also a friend of the Skull Knight and one of the most benevolent and good characters in the setting.
738
739----
740* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Despite her saying that she didn't have much time left to live upon meeting Guts and Co, she shows up again as a spirit during Schierke's time in Casca's dreamland to help Schierke and Farnese escape the pursuing demons. It seems like Schierke is now able to summon her as a spirit. ]]
741* BigGood: In the part of the story dealing with Enoch village, her power and wisdom unite the most effective forces opposing the BigBadDuumvirate of the God Hand, including the Skull Knight, Schierke, and Guts' party. [[spoiler:Sadly, she doesn’t live long enough to act as this for the plot afterward.]]
742* CoolOldLady: Despite being a ProperLady, she is implied to have done many adventurous things when she was younger and lived to a ripe old age without the awesome wearing off.
743* DyingMomentOfAwesome: See YouShallNotPass.
744* TheExile: In the Chapter of Elf Island, [[spoiler:Gedfryn tells Schierke that a young Flora served the Priestess of the Cherry Blossoms, and was very fond of both the Priestess and the Skull Knight. However, after the Eclipse that happened back then, Flora violated a taboo and was banished from the island]].
745* IWasQuiteALooker: When she conjures a wall of flame in front of Grunbeld, her aged appearance reverts to the prime of her life when she was ravishingly beautiful.
746* KillItWithFire:
747** Holds back the army of Apostles attacking her demesne with a wall of fire so magical that even Grunbeld's dragon form is unable to control it.
748** She later does it again [[spoiler:in Casca's dream, to wipe out the army of monsters hounding Schierke and Farnese.]]
749* TheMentor: The older and more powerful mentor to Schierke who sends her on her quest. Like many examples, she is a former hero who has become too weakened to fight the great evil herself and therefore passes her knowledge onto a young pupil who can take up that responsibility. [[spoiler:In the classic vein, she also dies so that Schierke can continue without her. She even turns up later as a SpiritAdvisor!]]
750* MsExposition: She provides information on how magic works in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', and the [[LayeredWorld the various layers in the world.]]
751* NeverMessWithGranny: Despite being an old lady, she's one of the most powerful magic users in the setting and can fight back against anyone who attacks her sanctuary.
752* OddFriendship: She and the Skull Knight seem to be old friends. Aside from both being mentor figures, what exactly these two have in common is not (yet) known.
753* OlderThanSheLooks: She looks like she’s aged gracefully into her 60s, but it’s implied she’s [[Really700YearsOld several centuries old.]]
754* ProperLady: A paragon of ladylike gracefulness and composure, she is also incorruptibly pure, self-sacrificing, and kind.
755* SolitarySorceress: Flora is a powerful, benevolent witch who lives deep in the woods that border Enoch village, with only her pupil Schierke and her golems to keep her company. Over the years some villagers who have heard the stories about her have gone into the woods to seek her help, but her mansion is located in an interstice between the physical plane and the astral world, so it can't be found by normal humans unless she wants them to find it. Morgan was lucky, for she gave him a medicine that saved his mother from death.
756* SoProudOfYou: Tells Schierke that she feels nothing but pride for her student's accomplishments [[spoiler:in Casca's dream.]]
757* SpiritAdvisor: During the Elf Island arc, [[spoiler:she turns up in Casca's dream in front of Schierke and Farnese, reminding her apprentice that she ''did'' say [[WeWillMeetAgain they'd meet again in dreams]], tells her that she is SoProudOfYou, and proceeds to unleash a wave of fire that wipes out the monster army harassing the pair.]]
758* WeWillMeetAgain: Tells her student they would meet again in dreams [[spoiler:shortly before dying. Later, it turns out [[SpiritAdvisor she was being quite literal.]]]]
759* YourDaysAreNumbered: By the time we see her, it's strongly implied that she doesn’t have much time left. In fact, she outright tells Guts and the gang that she's going to die soon.
760* YouShallNotPass:
761** Pulls a successful one on the Apostles by conjuring a wall of fire, blocking them off from pursuing Guts and his companions.
762** Does it again and succeeds again [[spoiler:in Casca's dream, allowing Schierke and Farnese to reach Casca's final fragment.]]
763[[/folder]]
764
765[[folder:Morgan]]
766!!! '''Voiced by:''' Masaru Motegi (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho''), Manta Yamamoto (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/StephenMendel (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'', credited as Sam Mann)
767
768[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/morgan_300.jpg]]
769
770->''"As travelers you might not know this, but this area has for a long time held many legends of fairies, witches, and the like. Although that is the realm of fable and folklore, there were some who said they had actually seen them. But there had been no hard proof, and even among natives there were not many who believed the legends through and through, until that cursed night came."''
771
772An old native of the Enoch Village found unconscious from injuries in the woods by Guts and his companions, Morgan (モーガン ''Mōgan'') tells them after being revived that his village is being terrorized by trolls. With the local lord absent because of the war against the Kushan Empire and no chance of getting anyone to believe such an outlandish story, Morgan and five other villagers entered the woods to find and beseech help from the witch Flora. They were attacked by trolls before they found anything, and all but Morgan were killed. Upon returning to the village Morgan is met with skepticism and disappointment, as the villagers doubt that a child dressed as a witch could save them.
773
774During the fight against the trolls, Morgan grows close to Isidro and tries to offer him guidance. As a parting gift he gives the boy a small falchion that had belonged to his father.
775
776-----
777* AncestralWeapon: The falchion he gives to Isidro was a possession that Morgan's father won in a bet with a sailor long ago. Morgan notes that its lightweight is more suited to someone Isidro's size.
778* CassandraTruth: Not everybody believed his story about meeting Flora in the woods, and he faces skepticism when he brings Schierke and Guts' party to fight the trolls.
779* CoolOldGuy: Downplayed in that he'll be the first to admit he's not the spring chicken he used to be, but he tries to selflessly serve his community and is one of the few people who understands what Isidro's going through.
780* MentorArchetype: Tries to guide Isidro on the right path by passing on his heirloom weapon and giving him advice from his own experience.
781* TheRunaway: [[spoiler:After the fight in the village, Morgan confesses to Isidro that when he went into the woods 50 years ago he was running away from his responsibilities at home rather than seeking a cure for his ailing mother. If he had not met Flora by chance, he doesn't know what he would have done. ]]
782* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:When Isidro loses his balance while fighting trolls inside the church and is about to be killed, Morgan dives on top of him and is hit by the troll's morningstar. Thankfully, because of Schierke's spell and Puck's elf dust, he survives and recovers.]]
783[[/folder]]
784
785[[folder:Enoch Village Priest]]
786!!! '''Voiced by:''' Yoshimitsu Shimoyama (Japanese, ''VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho''), Daisuke Takahashi (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/DCDouglas (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
787
788[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enoch_priest_300.jpg]]
789
790->''"This is a test given by God to this village. All we can do is pray and endure."''
791
792The parish priest of Enoch village is a stern and serious man. He doubts that the oddly dressed companions and child witch brought back by Morgan will be of any help, and tells his flock not to put their faith in magic or superstition. After Schierke's magic saves the village, however, he admits that he was wrong and promises to be more tolerant.
793
794----
795* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Played with. He was unwilling to try something that might save everybody just because it would be against orthodoxy and had to be persuaded by the results. Schierke explains that there's nothing wrong with believing in something beyond normal human perception; the problem is assuming that the force you're reaching out to will conform to your expectations. Magic-users believe, all right, but they don't believe ''dogmatically''.
796* CharacterDevelopment: At first he is intolerant of magic and worship of the old spirits, but Schierke and Guts' companions persuade him to become more open minded.
797* FaceDeathWithDignity: He attempts to do this when the trolls close in on the rooftop, but he is visibly in a cold sweat and clenching his teeth. Fortunately it isn't necessary, as Schierke's spell overpowers the trolls.
798* PrinciplesZealot: At first he believes that it would be better for the villagers and himself to die than to receive magical assistance, considering the fate of their souls to be more important than their lives.
799[[/folder]]
800
801!Millenium Falcon Arc: Chapter of Falconia
802
803[[folder:Federico do Vandimion]]
804!!! '''Voiced by:''' Zenki Kitajima (Japanese, ''Anime/Berserk2016''), Creator/BradVenable (English, ''Anime/Berserk2016'')
805
806[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farnesedad.jpg]]
807
808-> ''"Ability? Magnifico, you've done nothing more than walk upon the road I've paved."''
809
810Federico do Vandimion (フェディリコ・ド・ヴァンディミオン ''Fediriko do Vandimion'') is the patriarch of the illustrious Vandimion family in Vritannis, whose children include Farnese, her brothers Giorgio (ジョルジオ), Poliziano (ポリティアーノ), and Magnifico, [[spoiler:and her half-brother, Serpico.]] He’s a cold, calculating man who burdens his children with the expectation of maintaining the family's dignity and wealth, and shows little affection for them as a father. He is also a major financial backer of the Vritannis Alliance, a gathering of armies from various countries put together under the auspices of the Pope to combat the Kushan threat.
811
812----
813* ControlFreak: According to his wife, he needs to arrange things and people so that they fit exactly into his plans, or else he can't relax. The fact that he can't control Farnese makes him fear her, although Farnese doesn't even realize this because she hasn't the courage to say no to him when in his presence.
814* ImplausibleDeniability: Deliberately abuses it in one of his bigger PetTheDog moments. After Farnese and her friends rescue the city's nobility from a small army of Kushan demon-tigers in a spectacular magical battle, they end up facing down the city guard, who are legally obligated to BurnTheWitch. Federico immediately cooks up a wildly implausible story about hallucinogenic drugs and specialist warbeast breeding procedures, knowing that the truth matters far less than giving everyone a morally and politically pleasant alternative to arresting their saviors.
815* {{Jerkass}}: Despite his many qualities as a leader and his PetTheDog moments, one must remember that this is not a kind man we're dealing with here.
816* LackOfEmpathy: The feelings of others mean little to him.
817* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:One day in the mansion he happened to notice a young Serpico wearing a locket around his neck and, upon seeing the portrait it contained of himself and Serpico's mother, realized that the boy was his bastard son.]]
818* ManipulativeBastard: People, including his children, are by and large only useful to him as pawns to preserve his family’s status, influence, and wealth.
819* ThePatriarch: He rules over his family with an iron fist and isn't concerned much with his children's wellness.
820* ParentalNeglect: Puts all of his attention into his financial empire, and ignores his children insofar as they don’t bring him shame.
821* PetTheDog: For all of his flaws, he ''did'' grant Serpico a title of nobility [[spoiler:after finding out the latter was his son]], and bailed Farnese and her friends out after they rescued him and most of the city's nobility from rampaging demon tigers through less-than-kosher means.
822* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Surprisingly, ''yes''! After Guts and company saved his and many other nobles' lives from a Kushan attack, he jumped to their defense as the aristocrats started to grow suspicious of them and the "heretical" magic they seemed to wield. Before that, [[spoiler:on realizing Serpico was his son, he calmly explained that he couldn't legitimize him for solid reasons (he had three legitimate sons already fighting for an inheritance, a fourth would make everything worse for everyone) and gave him a position in his household.]]
823* WellDoneSonGuy: All of his children want his approval, and he either gives or withholds it based on whether they meet his unforgiving standards. Giorgio and Poliziano have achieved what he desires by becoming powerful and successful, but he dismisses Magnifico as a mediocre businessman and considers Farnese to be a source of shame.
824[[/folder]]
825
826[[folder:Lady Vandimion]]
827[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farnesemom.jpg]]
828[[caption-width-right:300: "Your father fears you."]]
829
830-> ''"Listen to some advice. Be careful of her when she's obeying what someone says. Especially when she seems submissive. She's not the kind of woman who's at peace with the schemes of men. You'll be sorry if you don't listen, just like your father."''
831
832The highly intelligent and perceptive wife of Federico do Vandimion, and the mother of their children Farnese, Magnifico, Giorgio, and Poliziano. She is a well-known {{socialite}} who used to be more concerned with attending various parties and spreading her husband's influence rather than minding her kids, who she never really took care of. Still, she is very supportive of Farnese and warns Magnifico against trying to manipulate his sister.
833----
834
835* DeadpanSnarker: Fond of sarcastic remarks.
836* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: She's "Lady Vandimion" to the public, and "mother" to her children.
837* FoolishHusbandResponsibleWife: Despite not acting directly against her husband, she's indeed much less of an asshole than he is, and tries to encourage Farnese to stand up to him. She often remarks how Vandimion men make the same mistakes, whether it's the father or the sons.
838* HandsOffParenting: As was usually the case in noble families back in the Medieval Era (up until UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in fact), she only gave birth to her babies but let them in the care of nannies and servants in the Vandimion estate.
839* PimpedOutDress: Always wears the finest garments, especially when attending balls.
840* SatelliteCharacter: She works mainly in her husband's sphere of influence, and prefers to work behind the scenes rather than being the center of events.
841* ShipperOnDeck: Believe or not, it looks like she's one for ''Farnese and Serpico'', despite him being [[spoiler:Farnese's half-brother.]] Though it's possible she doesn't know this.
842* SilkHidingSteel: She may be a refined lady and lack physical combat ability, but her will doesn't bend for anyone. She is very good at reading people, knows what makes her husband and sons tick, and uses this knowledge to subtly manipulate them.
843* {{Socialite}}: She is most in her element at fancy parties where she can enjoy the atmosphere and watch the interactions of others unfold.
844* SoProudOfYou: Tells Farnese, "I don't exactly remember raising you as such, but as a mother, I'm proud to have a daughter like you."
845* StrongFamilyResemblance: You can see where Farnese got her looks from.
846[[/folder]]
847
848[[folder:The Pope]]
849[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lepope.jpg]]
850[[caption-width-right:300:The Pope, center, supported by Charlotte and Anna]]
851
852-> ''"Hear me now, all of you children of God gathered in this place. A divine revelation has been given! The Hawk of Light you see here is your savior! Weigh all your hopes upon him!"''
853
854The supreme leader of the Holy Church, the Pope has spent most of his reign acting as a figurehead to be manipulated by his more ambitious and powerful subordinates. He is introduced lying on his deathbed as he overhears the gossip of church officials and looks back on his life. Born into a noble family where he received both parental love and material comfort, he grew up without experiencing any strong positive or negative emotions and feeling disconnected from the world. He entered the church because he had no interest in the secular world, not because of devotion to God, and became pope practically by accident because of the machinations of others. Just as he is about to accept his death, Griffith appears to him in a prophetic dream and he wakes up overcome with religious fervor.
855
856Guided by Mule and Sonia, he arrives at Vritannis in the aftermath of Griffith's victory over Emperor Ganishka's army, declaring to the assembled armies that Griffith is the foretold savior who will deliver the people from darkness. He is currently ministering at Griffith's side, and looks forward to the day when he will conduct Griffith's marriage to Princess Charlotte and crown him as the new King of Midland.
857
858----
859* BigGood: From a ''technical'' standpoint. As the shepherd of all believers and the source of legitimacy for both the Holy Alliance and Griffith's Midland Regular Army, he has some claim to be head of the good guys. After all, Griffith might be the messiah, but everybody still looks to the Pope for reassurance, right? Alas, the fact that he has absolutely [[UnwittingPawn no idea]] just what kind of "[[DarkMessiah messiah]]" he actually supports, nor has done any real good for the common man in all his years of holy servitude, means he's really nothing more than an overrated, misguided tool -- ready to be exploited by evil forces far beyond his comprehension. In the grander scheme of things, he's nowhere even near Skull Knight's level, the closest the [[CrapsackWorld Berserk-verse]] has to an actual Big Good.
860* BlueBlood: He is from a distinguished family and probably became pope partly because of his lineage.
861* TheCallPutMeOnHold: This man spent his whole life doing nothing but to wait for a divine message from God that never came and was resigned to dying without a purpose. Miraculously, he receives that elusive inspiration he was looking for on his deathbed and it rejuvenates him enough to finally start being proactive... except it wasn't God who approached him at all, but a malicious demon pretending to be, so instead of finding his call, he ends up becoming a pawn of evil, albeit in blissful ignorance.
862* CharacterDevelopment: Of sorts. In the space of just one scene, he JumpedAtTheCall and GrewASpine.
863* CoolOldGuy: Downplayed. For what it's worth, he's humble, kind, and displays conventional wisdom, especially towards young people like Charlotte, Sonia, and Mule. He may be an utter failure as a religious leader, but hey, at least he's a decent individual.
864* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Yes, despite being the friggin' ''Pope''. Having had everything he needed handed to him over the course of his life, he drifted into the Church because it was easier than not doing it, ending up the Pope because everyone else vying for the role screwed each other out of it. He effectively spent his life doing absolutely nothing of worth, and at the end of his days, finally realizes this and desperately wants a chance to rectify it. Then Sonia and Mule arrived.
865* DreamingOfThingsToCome: His dream of Griffith arriving as the messiah was prophetic, and when he woke from it he recognized Mule and Sonia as the messengers who would lead him to Griffith.
866* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Presumably he had a name before donning the papal tiara, but he is only ever referred to as the Pope.
867* ExtremeDoormat: Before his "upgrade" to UnwittingPawn, he had no will or desires of his own and simply did whatever he was told to do by the ambitious people who made him the pope.
868* GoodShepherd: Deconstructed. He's the highest religious authority in the land and wants to lead his flock into a peaceful and happy future. In practice, however, the old man is largely ineffective and has only played into the hands of a corrupt, amoral church far throughout his life. Before his vision, he never seemed all that eager to do good just for the sake of it, more or less admits to being apathetic to the world's concerns, and only springs into action because "God" wills him to. Even in his believed chance at a higher calling, he ''still'' winds up serving the forces of evil -- only this time, he's [[UnwittingPawn duped]] into it.
869* GrewASpine: When he wakes up from his dream, he suddenly begins making decisions for himself and dismissing the protests of his subordinates, reminding them who's boss.
870* HatOfAuthority: His jeweled papal tiara is nothing to sneeze at since it represents his authority over all believers.
871* JumpedAtTheCall: As soon as he receives divine purpose, he wants to go to Vritannis without delay and gets more energized and excited than he's felt in his whole life.
872* KingOnHisDeathbed: When first introduced he is lying in bed expected to die at any moment, with the officials of the Church already passing judgment on his reign and discussing who should replace him.
873* LikeYouWereDying: He knows that it's only a matter of time before he really dies, but has resolved to make his last mission the time of his life. He is determined to live at least long enough to crown Griffith and conduct his marriage to Princess Charlotte.
874* PuppetKing: He spent most of his reign as a figurehead, up until he GrewASpine, and is now instead an [[UnwittingPawn unwitting]] [[{{Irony}} puppet]] of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Godhand]]. Out of the frying pan, into the fire...
875* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: When Mule and Sonia appear uninvited in his pavilion, he quiets the protests of his officials and listens to what the young messengers have to say. Next, he goes to Vritannis and arrives just in time to give his blessing to Griffith and the Midland Regular Army when the Midland Nobles and Federico Vandimion are questioning their legitimacy.
876* UnwittingPawn: After countless years spent floundering away in meaningless existence, he suddenly receives his "true calling" during the twilight of his life through a supposed vision from God heralding the arrival of the messiah. He then decides to devote his remaining days hyping and deifying this figure to the rest of Midland, helping him spread his influence. Too bad said figure, Griffith, is [[ItsAllAboutMe anything]] ''but'' a [[LightIsNotGood force of good]], and this poor old sod has no clue whatsoever.
877[[/folder]]
878
879!Fantasia Arc: Chapter of Elf Island
880
881[[folder:Isma's Mother]]
882[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ismas_mother_250.jpg]]
883
884-->''"Welcome home[[IKnowYourTrueName ...]]Isma."''
885
886A merrow who fell in love and had a child with a human fisherman, Isma's mother left them for unspecified reasons with the promise that she would one day return for her daughter. In the meantime, she left a magical sea charm on the door to protect them from harm. Isma has grown up without knowing her mother and isn't sure whether to believe that merrow exist or that her mother will ever come back for her.
887
888During Guts' battle with the Sea God, Isma's mother reveals herself to Isma in an emotional underwater reunion. Singing together with her daughter and a school of friendly merrows, she helps Guts to vanquish the Sea God and rescues him from its collapsing body. She and the merrows guide the ''Seahorse'' safely to Elfhelm, where she temporarily wishes Isma goodbye at the shore, warning the party that if they stay too long in its time flow they will be cut off from the outside world.
889
890----
891* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Despite being the mother of a teenage girl, she looks young enough to be her daughter's older sister. Possibly a case of OlderThanTheyLook, since it's unclear whether merrow age at the same rate as humans.
892* ActionMom: Saves her daughter from Sea God's tentacles, and teaches her how to fight like a merrow by dodging attacks and wielding her voice.
893* TheCavalry: Shows up with merrow reinforcements just in time to save Isma from a tentacle, neutralize the Sea God's heartbeat with their song so that Guts can land the final blow, and rescue Guts from drowning inside the Sea God's collapsing body.
894* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: It's not entirely clear why Isma's mother had to leave her husband and daughter, and Isma must have wondered if it was because her mother didn't love her, but in fact, she loved them dearly and probably wouldn't have left them unless she had no other choice. Perhaps the intolerance of the villagers or the anger of the dormant Sea God forced her into hiding with the other merrow. In any case, Isma has forgiven her now that she knows her mother was watching over her all along, and they're currently making up for the lost time.
895* GodivaHair: Has long bangs that tend to partly cover her breasts when she surfaces, but it's Downplayed because her hair floats freely while she's swimming and the author doesn't go out of his way to cover her all the time.
896* InterspeciesRomance: She, a merrow, loved and had a daughter together with Isma's dad who was a human fisherman. Evidently they got around the MermaidProblem somehow; perhaps she has VoluntaryShapeshifting like Isma.
897* IKnowYourTrueName: All spirit creatures have a true name, and by telling Isma hers she became able to transform. It's a secret that they can only tell to one whom they absolutely trust.
898* MalignedMixedMarriage: Isma never refers to her mom and dad being married, but in any case, it seems that the villagers were intolerant of them being a couple.
899* MamaBear: Fights and risks her life against an all-devouring sea monster to protect her daughter.
900* MakeMeWannaShout: Like other merrows, she has the power to harm evil creatures such as the Sea God using her magical song.
901* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Merrow, as they're called in Berserk, have some distinct features. They have fish tails from the hips down, gills, ears shaped like fins, and live underwater. As far as we've seen, they might be a OneGenderRace and require human mates to reproduce. Other powers include a powerful song that can be used as a weapon. ''Berserk'' merrows are definitely benevolent towards humans, although lately, they have been in hiding because of human prejudice.
902* MissingMom: Was absent for most of her daughter's growing up, but she's back and trying to make it up to her.
903* NoNameGiven: For the time being, we have nothing to call her except "Isma's Mother." Presumably, her true name is a secret since anyone who knows it would have power over her, and she hasn't given us a mundane name either.
904* OpenMindedParent: Seems willing to let Isma go on her own adventure and make her own mistakes, leaving her with a means of contacting her in case she's in trouble.
905* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Merrows are inhuman enough to not need clothing and have no taboo against nudity, which is about as Justified as this trope can get while still functioning as {{Fanservice}}. Since she lived with humans she probably understands the concept of human modesty, but still isn't ashamed to appear before humans in the state that's natural for her species in the sea.
906* SoProudOfYou: When Isma and her mother are reunited, you can see how proud she is that her daughter grew up to be so beautiful, kind, and brave.
907[[/folder]]
908
909[[folder:Morda]]
910[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/morda.jpg]]
911
912-->''"Not so fast, interlopers. You've just ruined my darling doll. There shall be no escape for you; you may burn!"''
913
914Morda (モルダ ''Moruda'') is a glamorous and rather mischievous witch who goes a bit overboard in trying to apprehend Guts and co. for trespassing in Elfhelm. She is impatient with how the island's magic users study magic in isolation from the outside world, and her attitude tends to rub Kukka the wrong way.
915----
916
917* BloodKnight: She's having fun when she releases the wicker man, saying it's a shame not to use it and expressing excitement at the prospect of burning her enemies to death. Her fellow witches admonish her to rein herself in.
918* EpicFlail: The wicker man she summons swings a pair of enormous spiked logs on a chain, one on each arm.
919* FlyingBroomstick: A witch who flies sidesaddle on an enchanted broomstick, and manages to look glamorous while doing it.
920* HotWitch: Compared to ChildMage Schierke and the graceful old lady Flora, she's the most overtly sexy witch we've seen yet, with the possible exception of [[spoiler:Danann.]]
921* ItAmusedMe: Unleashes the wicker man despite the disapproval of others, in no small part because she wants to see what happens.
922* MsFanservice: An attractive witch who wears a provocative skin-hugging gown that shows off her legs and cleavage.
923* PoweredByAForsakenChild: The wicker man gets its power from the souls of human sacrifices who were set on fire inside of it.
924* TokenEvilTeammate: Though not evil, she is clearly the most morally dubious of the good-natured Elfhelm inhabitants. She laments to Schierke how the magic users used to be feared and now the village resembles a playground in her eyes. She also eagerly uses the "forbidden" wicker men who were created using human sacrifice long ago, a realm of magic more associated with the apostles and the Godhand than the spirit based magic normal witches use.
925[[/folder]]
926
927[[folder:Kukka, Theune, and Iony]]
928[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trio.jpg]]
929[[caption-width-right:300:The trio meeting Schierke.]]
930
931Kukka (クッカ ''Kukka''), Theune (テュネ ''Tune''), and Iony (ヨニ ''Yoni'') are trio of witches who initially attempt to scare away Guts and his party after they cross the magic barrier. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, they accompany the group to see the monarch of the island.
932----
933
934* BigThinShortTrio: Iony, Theune, and Kukka respectively.
935* GirlishPigtails: Pigtailed Kukka is the youngest of the trio.
936* NervousWreck: Iony seems to be a bit high-strung.
937* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Kukka is very much like Schierke: mature for her age, and perhaps a little uptight.
938[[/folder]]
939
940[[folder:Gedfryn]]
941[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ged.jpg]]
942
943-->''"Like me, this goat is old. The footsteps of children overtake us."''
944
945Gedfryn (ゲドフリン ''Gedofurin'') is a wise old wizard who rides on a ram and controls the weather. As one of the governors of the island's magic-users, he properly welcomes the party to Elfhelm and takes them to see the monarch.
946----
947
948* TheArchmage: One of the most experienced and learned, even among wizards. The Evil Genius translation has him addressed by the title "archmage."
949* CoolOldGuy: Despite looking like he could be several hundred years old, he's a likeable grandfatherly figure with cool magical powers.
950* EyesAlwaysShut: His eyes are closed most of the time, making him look like he's squinting. He does give Schierke a little wink when she asks if the person who contacted him in a dream was Flora.
951* HandicappedBadass: His power over the weather implies he's an immensely powerful magic user, but he's so physically frail that he needs to ride a goat to get around.
952* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: He looks positively ''tiny'', looking much shorter than the various kids in Guts' group. His heavily degraded legs likely have something to do with it.
953* MrExposition: He provides a lot of information to Guts and company (and the reader by extension) on issues regarding ''Berserk'''s cosmology, particularly the WorldTree, the Spirit Trees, and how Griffith's actions on them are affecting the world.
954* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Feels the ripples of the havoc Griffith is wreaking with the world through his magical attunement.
955* {{Seers}}: He receives visions about faraway happenings and glimpses of the future.
956* {{Telepathy}}: Got a dream message from Flora before Schierke's arrival telling him to take care of her when she reached Elfhelm.
957* WeatherManipulation: Summons rainclouds to put out the fire caused by Morda's wicker man. According to Schierke, manipulating weather so nimbly is an incredible feat.
958[[/folder]]
959
960%%!!Masters Skyrbil the Perplexed, Thraein the Settled, and Ginnar the Ponderous
961
962%%A trio of geriatric archmages who serve as the island's governors along with Gedfryn.
963
964[[folder:Danann]]
965!!Danann the Domestic/The Flower Storm Monarch
966
967[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elf_ruler_300.jpg]]
968[[caption-width-right:300:Danann in full majesty; Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/danann_incognito.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see her in her witch disguise.]]
969
970A kindly witch who introduces herself as Danann (ダナン ''Danan''), caretaker for the elderly mages. Upon guiding Guts' party to the throne room, however, she reveals that she herself is none other than the Flower Storm Monarch (花吹雪く王 ''Hanafubuku Ō'') whom they have been seeking all along.
971----
972
973* {{Ambadassador}}: Danann considers it part of her duties to act as an ambassador to the sorcerer community by disguising herself as a witch and helping out with chores. However, despite her elegant appearance and kind demeanor, the fact remains that she is an immensely powerful supernatural entity.
974* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Unlike Griffith, whose beauty hides evil, her unearthly beauty is straightforward proof of her pure and benign nature.
975* BenevolentMageRuler: Rules the island of Elfhelm with the help of her phenomenal powers, and is loved by her subjects.
976* BigGood: The highest ranking and most magically powerful authority figure whom Guts has yet encountered outside the Godhand, who can help lift the curse that no one else can cure.
977* CherryBlossomGirl: Cherry blossoms are her FlowerMotif, to the extent that in her true form her dress is made of flower petals and her entire body is pink.
978* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Deals with Puck and Magnifico's ridiculous coup attempt by pointing out how impractical their idea was in the first place, and sentencing them to helping the brownies for the day, which they react to with pleas for mercy.
979* DreamWeaver: She grows literally magic mushrooms that link the dreams of those who sleep while inhaling the spores, enabling her to guide Schierke and Farnese from their own dreams into Casca's.
980* EyesAlwaysShut: Drawn with her eyes always closed to indicate her soothing and easygoing nature, she significantly opens her eyes when she reveals herself as Elfhelm's ruler.
981* FriendToAllLivingThings: She is naturally trusted by magical creatures of all kinds, and emits a kind of aura or fragrance that is soothing to any humans in her presence.
982* GoodWingsEvilWings: Possesses multiple pairs of delicate insect wings befitting a fairy queen.
983* HiddenDepths: Even though she's functionally a nature spirit, Danann has a surprisingly firm grasp of economics that she demonstrates when she points out that Magnifico would most assuredly ''not'' get rich selling her subjects as pets because the Blast of the Astral World has brought forth a massive influx of elves to the world, meaning whatever market value they have has already dropped like a rock.
984* TheHighQueen: The benevolent and powerful monarch of Elfhelm, whom all witches, wizards, and magical creatures hold in awe.
985* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: There's no ''way'' her skin-hugging, strapless, NavelDeepNeckline dress would stay in place like that if it wasn't literally by magic.
986* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler:While in need of confirmation, Schierke notices that she bears a strong resemblance to the Lady Priestess of the Cherry Blossoms, Skull Knight's beloved from his mortal life.]]
987* MeaningfulName: Named after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_De_Danann Tuatha Dé Danann]], a supernatural race in Irish mythology.
988* ModestRoyalty: Her personality isn't really that different after the reveal than when she presented herself as a simple witch, and after revealing her title she still asks Guts and co. to continue calling her "Danann."
989* NavelDeepNeckline: About as exaggerated as it gets with a flower-petal dress that bares cleavage from her neckline right down past her navel.
990* OurFairiesAreDifferent: She has insectoid wings and antennae, but unlike the pixies she is human-sized. She's also the real deal, in other words what Rosine could only ''wish'' to be.
991* QueenIncognito: Pretends to be just a normal witch in order to observe the character of her guests while they're at ease.
992* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite Magnifico's plot to overthrow her and enslave her people, all she does is scold him for his poor grasp of basic economics and for choosing Puck as his cohort, then sentence them to menial labor.
993* TheReveal: Drops her disguise and reveals herself as the monarch, much to her guests' surprise.
994* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Exaggerated, as she not only does the kind of high-responsibility things you'd expect of a ruler, but also does mundane things usually delegated to servants, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the elderly, for the sake of keeping good relations with the neighboring wizard village.
995* SheIsTheKing: The kanji for the Japanese text used, 王 (Ō), is a gender-neutral term like "monarch", but until the reveal, it was translated as "King" in the English localization because that’s what was assumed. This led English readers to be pretty surprised when Danann revealed it was her; since Guts and company don’t seem surprised by the gender of the ruler, it seems to have been just a little translation goof.
996* SupremeChef: Makes baked goods so delicious that old wizards and young visitors alike can't resist stuffing their faces.
997* StaffOfAuthority: Carries a gnarled wooden staff that sprouts blossoms at the end when she reveals her powers.
998[[/folder]]
999
1000[[folder:Hanarr]]
1001
1002A dwarf smith who resides in a crevice on Skellig, who, like Flora, shares a long history with Skull Knight.
1003----
1004
1005* NoBadassToHisValet: The Skull Knight might be one of the strongest warriors in the world [[spoiler:and a king in life]], but even he isn't spared the caustic tongue of this blacksmith.
1006-->'''Skull Knight''': It is thanks to you that I am in good health, my friend. \
1007'''Hanarr''': Good health, eh...BAH! You're just rattling in your coffin!
1008* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Like many fantasy dwarves, he's a little bearded guy whose job is blacksmithing, and the items he forges are among the best in the world. That said, he doesn't quite look like a typical dwarf; his beard is kept rather short, [[PointyEars his ears are notably pointy]], tusk-like teeth protrude from his lower jaw, and there's a thick coat of hair running down his shoulders, arms, and back. He is more similar to the original dwarves of Norse myth than the normal fantasy variant, being responsible for creating godly artifacts similar in power to dwarf made Thor's hammer Mjölnir or Odin's spear Gungnir.
1009* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: A deliberate one to Godo in appearance and role, a crotchety old man responsible for the Berserker Armor in the same way Godo was for the Dragonslayer.
1010* UltimateBlacksmith: Both [[WorldsStrongestMan Guts]] and [[BigGood Skull Knight]] trace their ethereal armor back to him, which definitely qualifies Hanarr as this trope.
1011
1012[[/folder]]
1013
1014!Berserk: The Prototype
1015[[folder:General Information]]
1016These characters only appear in ''Berserk: The Prototype.'' This story, which was included in volume fourteen of the Dark Horse translations, is part of ''Berserk's'' EarlyInstallmentWeirdness continuum, created in 1988 when Kentaro Miura was still in college. The installment is non-canonical, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but would have taken place during the Black Swordsman Arc]].
1017
1018'''Some general differences between ''Berserk: The Prototype'' and the official story run:'''
1019* Several differences in Guts' appearance and characterization, including a more cocky but also humorous (and dare we say, '''UPBEAT''') attitude, [[EyePatchOfPower a badass eye patch]] over his right eye, and his repeating crossbow is not attached to his artificial arm.
1020* Guts and Puck travel together from the start of the story. How they met is never revealed.
1021* Guts' main motivation for hunting apostles is to [[YouKilledMyFather avenge the death of his mother,]] who was torn apart before his eyes by a group of them, instead of being one of the only survivors of the demonic massacre of the Band of the Hawk.
1022* The Brand of Sacrifice has an alternative design, being more rounded at the bottom. Also, Guts' brand is located on his chest instead of his neck and is much more obvious.
1023* The apostles seem to worship [[GodOfEvil a deity of darkness]] named Vauna ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS or maybe Vana]]) instead of the five demon gods of the Godhand that comprise the primary villains proper.
1024[[/folder]]
1025
1026[[folder:Fricka]]
1027[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frikka_a.jpg]]
1028[[caption-width-right:250:''"Th...Thank you."'']]
1029
1030A young girl whose family and neighbors live under the heel of the evil lord Vlad Tepes. She was going to be given as a sacrifice to him, but would have instead been raped by the bandits who attacked the wagon carrying her had Guts not killed them while he was [[IWasJustPassingThrough supposedly in search of food]]. He takes her back to her village where her parents embrace her and explain the situation to Guts. Her father thinks she should run away, but Fricka doesn't want to because some other girl would be sacrificed instead of her. She ends up being taken to the castle again, but [[BigDamnHeroes Guts comes just in time]] to save her and kill Vlad Tepes, after which she is joyfully reunited with her family.
1031
1032----
1033* AttemptedRape: Right off the bat, we see the bandits who attacked her wagon are about to rape her. She's saved when Guts arrives in the nick of time and kills them with his crossbow and humongous sword.
1034* DamselInDistress: Vulnerable female character who gets kidnapped and has to be rescued by Guts twice.
1035* GoodParents: Unlike a lot of parents in the series proper, both of Fricka's parents love their daughter and want to save her from being sacrificed.
1036* MementoMacGuffin: She asks for something belonging to Guts as a keepsake, so he gives her his eye patch. This would be the last time that Guts would be seen with it, as Miura would stick with the closed-eye character design for Guts from that point onward.
1037* PrecociousCrush: Naturally, she falls for her hero, [[ChickMagnet Guts]], even though she's still just a prepubescent girl. This trend would continue into the actual manga, which has two young girls his junior being attracted to him as he [[WalkingTheEarth walks the earth]].
1038* ReusedCharacterDesign: Amusingly enough, she looks like a younger, female Griffith, although she may have been created first. She also bears a resemblance to Theresia from the Guardians of Desire arc.
1039* SpellMyNameWithAnS: ''Fricka'' or ''Flicka'' (or ''Frikka'')? No translation can seem to agree.
1040* TakeMeInstead: After Guts saves her from the bandits, her father calls her foolish for not running away. She replies that if she doesn't go then some other girl will be taken, and goes quietly when the troops come for her rather than let someone else take her place.
1041* VirginSacrifice: It's implied by her young age, beauty, and pure heart that Vlad Tepes enjoys preying on girls who are likely to be virgins. Granted, it's not like there's any ritual reason, he's probably just an evil pervert.
1042[[/folder]]
1043
1044[[folder:Vlad Tepes]]
1045[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlad_tepes_c.jpg]]
1046[[caption-width-right:250:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlad_tepes_apostle.jpg[[/labelnote]] for his transformation.]]
1047
1048The monstrous tyrant who lords over Fricka's village, Vlad Tepes is an Apostle who received his powers from Vauna, the God of Darkness. He earned a fearsome reputation in a war with another country ten years ago when he impaled five hundred prisoners on stakes and left them on the border as a warning. After he ran out of enemies he turned on his own people. He has been killing young maidens from the village, four of whom were never seen again, and Fricka was to be the fifth. At first Guts refuses to aid the villagers after he saved Fricka from her first abduction, [[ChangedMyMindKid but later changes his mind]] and confronts Vlad Tepes in order to slay him.
1049
1050----
1051* AristocratsAreEvil: [[SarcasmMode Surprise, surprise]]. Yet another nobleman who not only oppresses his people, but is also a people-eating monster. Guts goes on to face two of these guys in the first chapters of the manga proper.
1052* BaldOfEvil: Not to mention, he's bald and evil.
1053* BerserkButton: Guts challenges him as a "Dog of Vauna", provoking him into transforming and demanding to know who would know the name of the God of Darkness who rules Apostles.
1054* CompellingVoice: When he tells Fricka to come closer, she finds her body obeying against her will (or maybe it was because of his [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]).
1055* CompositeCharacter: He is like a combination of the Baron of Koka Castle and the Count from the Black Swordsman Arc. Actually, since he preceded them, each of them is a DecompositeCharacter based on Vlad Tepes.
1056* EyesAlwaysShut: Initially has the appearance of squinting all the time, which combined with his habit of smiling makes him look like a pleasant fellow from a distance. Don't be fooled, though: as soon as the guards have left, he opens his eyelids to reveal HellishPupils reminiscent of the Baron.
1057* EyeScream: Guts begins the fight against him by shooting a crossbow bolt into his eye, which he pulls out with his eyeball still stuck to it as if it only made him angry!
1058* FatBastard: A corpulent, throne-sitting tyrant who has clammy hands and smells like something rotting. Not quite as obese as the Count, we'll give him credit for that.
1059* FauxAffablyEvil: When Fricka is brought into his presence he welcomes her with a smile and complements her youthful beauty, but he's just cruelly toying with his victim.
1060* FeudalOverlord: He's the local lord, and it seems there's no higher authority to prevent him from oppressing his peasants.
1061* HellishPupils: When Fricka sees his vertical-slitted pupils, she realizes he's definitely not human.
1062* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: As indicated by his obvious namesake, he executes prisoners by impaling them on stakes and leaves them on display.
1063* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Who else but that (in)famous [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler Romanian fella]] known for impaling people on stakes.
1064* MindOverMatter: He can telekinetically controll spears (and boulders, when he transforms).
1065* OneWingedAngel: When Guts survives his initial attack and provokes him to fight seriously, he transforms into his terrifying Apostle form with the legs of a bull or goat, clawed hands, and a head with horns, a pig snout, and fangs. This is the first Apostle Miura designed, and elements of him would make it into the designs of other demons in the series proper.
1066* RedRightHand: When Fricka gets close to him in his human form, she notices his hands are cold and he smells like something rotting before his HellishPupils alert her that he's definitely inhuman.
1067* ThisCannotBe: After Guts mortally wounds him he says, "Impossible! There's no way a human could beat me, an Apostle of Vauna..."
1068* WhatTheHellAreYou: At first he underestimates Guts as a mere human, but when it becomes clear that Guts is a match for him he demands to know who he is, refusing to believe that any human could beat him. Guts answers this by showing him his brand and saying [[PreMortemOneLiner "Who else but a human would hate you bastards this much?"]]
1069[[/folder]]
1070
1071!Publicity
1072[[folder:Clara de Porras]]
1073[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clara_de_porras_300.jpg]]
1074
1075[[https://twitter.com/Clara_de_Porras Clara de Porras]] is a publicity character created by Miura to be the official Twitter spokesperson for ''Anime/BerserkTheGoldenAgeArc'', which she has been doing since June 2011. In the [[http://www.berserkfilm.com/members/ original contest]], users who engaged in posting and "maneuvers" on Twitter and [=MyPage=] could earn ranks in the Band of the Hawk, as well as exclusive bonuses such as a chance to be listed in the end credits of the film.
1076----
1077* {{Mascot}}: She's a fictional character whose job is to hype whatever new ''Berserk'' media is coming out.
1078* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Her character design borrows heavily from Farnese.
1079* [[invoked]]ViralMarketing: The contest she held was intended to get people to spread word of mouth about the films on social media.
1080[[/folder]]

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