This is volume 38 in the Berserk series and was the beginning of a new story arc. It was well done but not my favorite volume in the series; this series just keeps going on and on with no resolution or end in sight.
After that we switch back to Guts and crew. At the very end of this volume Guts and crew finally make it to the island of Skellig where they hope to cure Casca with Elven magic. However, the island of Skellig holds many dangers. The illustration remains amazingly well done. The story remains a bit unfocused and wanders a lot. I continue to read these because I enjoy the illustration and the characters. Overall a good continuation of the Berserk series. The story does make some progress, but wanders a lot again.
It would be good to see some resolution and solid progress in the story at some point here. Mar 22, Alexandra rated it really liked it Shelves: manga-graphic-novels , You have everyone fooled!
Dec 08, kash rated it it was amazing. Jun 29, atlas added it. Dec 01, Lucas Clarke added it. I think about him a lot, mostly through Guts as filter.
He is, often, one of the most well crafted characters of all time. Griffith too, who Miura guided excellently and who truly is the bonfire to which we all are drawn deeper and deeper. It has faults.
I find little to love in much after the reunion with Casca. Some glimmers here and there, and the most arresting arc is Hawk of Light. But, god, there is no doubt that some of the most beautiful manga ever came out of those chapters. Especially the last Rest easy Miura.
Jul 28, M. Ashraf rated it liked it Shelves: berserk. Mar 21, Monsour rated it it was amazing. Dec 13, Michael Sorbello rated it it was amazing. Guts is a severely traumatized vigilante that wanders the world, throwing himself into one battle after another in hopes of finding a meaning in the tremendous suffering he's endured.
His sword is his only trusted companion and he's consumed by a lust for vengeance. Griffith is a charismatic mercenary with dreams of ending a hundred year war in hopes of attaining his own kingdom.
Little do his comrades and enemies know, he's not the flawless hero many believe him to be. When the paths of these two men clash, the entire world drastically evolves around the earth-shattering conflict between their indomitable wills. A grimdark epic with compelling protagonists, stomach-churning horror, heartbreaking drama and a lovecraftian sense of metaphysical worldbuilding that's as fascinating as it is terrifying.
Berserk has been my favorite manga, fantasy story and perhaps favorite story ever made for over a decade now and I was really sad to hear that the man behind the masterpiece passed away earlier this year. Berserk is infamous for being the most gratuitously dark, brutal, shocking and depressing fantasy story ever written, but it is also rich with intense human emotion, philosophical depth, perseverance through unimaginable suffering and horrifyingly realistic depictions of psychological trauma.
The series tackles the complex nature of morality vs. The definitions of good an evil are blurred beyond recognition, the heroes are just as flawed and capable of terrible deeds as the villains. The lead characters Guts and Griffith consistently challenge these themes and definitions through their shocking yet horrifyingly human actions. Miura inspired me as well and I regard him for being the person who taught me just how influential, meaningful and life changing art and literature can be when I first read his series over a decade ago.
He changed the way I view entertainment and taught me how to appreciate the deeper meanings in everything I experience. Berserk is to me what Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings is to millions of others.
Rest In Peace to a legendary man. Below is a review of the entire series, broken down arc by arc. I originally wrote these individual reviews back during my first reading of the series, so keep that in mind. If you find yourself to be not too impressed with the first volume, I highly recommend reading until at least volume 4 before deciding if this series is for you or not. The first three volumes serve as an interlude to help prepare you for the atrocities to come and may seem somewhat underwhelming in terms of plot, but believe me when I say the payoff is highly rewarding and memorable.
The Black Swordsman arc is awesome for fans returning to the series or rereading the series, but it often gives newcomers the wrong impression. For newcomers, this arc is a confusing yet exciting sword and sorcery tale of a vengeful barbarian warrior hunting demons in hopes of settling the score with his mortal enemy Griffith, and the evil lovecraftian beings that govern the world from the abyss known only as the Godhand. For returning readers, the Black Swordsman arc is much deeper than it seems, packed with genius foreshadowing, subtle character depth and truly impressive worldbuilding that will probably fly over the heads of newcomers.
Guts seems like a simplistic, edgy anti-hero at first glance, but he's so much more than that. Guts is one of the greatest characters the fantasy genre has to offer.
Sigmund Freud could probably write a novel-length psychological analysis of this severely troubled and broken man. Guts is more complex than he leads people to believe as well. He's not a sociopathic antihero, he's a man that has no choice but to lie to himself to keep his emotions from crushing his spirit and getting innocent people involved with his deadly affairs.
He's cruel and harsh for the greater good. It's the only way he can keep himself from going insane and continue to put up a good fight against terrifying creatures that are far stronger than he is. There's a bit of a joke in the Berserk community that says that no matter how bad your life might be, Guts will always have it worse. It's really not that hard to believe after you've read a bit of the series. His life was one big catastrophe literally from the moment he was born.
Not to mention his rival Griffith who is equally complex and incredibly rich with psychological depth, but there will be more on that as you delve further in. I would strongly recommend this series for hardcore fans of fantasy and horror, so long as you're prepared to be traumatized for life by the disgustingly harsh nature of its content.
This arc mainly serves to set up a lot of future plot points by introducing us to the Behilit, the God Hand, and the fact that even the demonic apostles are capable of emotions and having a family.
Nothing is as it seems and no one is safe or innocent. It might not seem like it in the beginning, but the Black Swordsman arc is arguably one of the most important as it solidifies the themes of struggle, survival and wavering humanity that Guts deals with on a daily basis and sets up the flow of the rest of the story.
It peels back the layers and reveals little by little how Guts grew up to be such a mentally broken and morally outraged character. It makes you sympathize with him and understand why he acts the way he does. We return to the origins of Guts and learn about the series of battles, traumas and conflicts he gets himself wrapped in one after the other.
We get introduced to a wonderfully intense group of mercenaries that go by the name of The Band of the Hawk. Among the Hawks are Casca the hot-headed female warrior, Judeau the smooth talking assassin, Corkus the drunken realist, Pippin the gentle giant, Rickert the blacksmith and of course, the infamous leader of men named Griffith. Griffith is the most interesting of the motley crew as he is very complex and unpredictable.
He has a playful side, a merciless side, a charismatic side and a childish yet vulnerable side. He can't be put into any single category. The gallant and elegant master of the sword has more layers than an onion. His brotherly rivalry with Guts is also a lovely and dementedly joyful sight to behold. This is the major turning point of the series and it only gets better and better from here. After a life of grief and trauma, Guts reluctantly joins Griffith on his quest to attain his own kingdom while simultaneously struggling to come to terms with his own identity.
We see his vulnerability, his wounded soul, his ability to show affection to others, his role as a battle commander, and his blossoming relationships with Casca and Griffith; the two people who end up having the biggest impact on his entire life for very different reasons. This is the arc that has the most in common with Game of Thrones, focusing on personal character dramas rather than constant brutal battles, action and lovecraftian horror being thrown at you left and right.
While the battles and action sequences in Berserk are amazing, where it truly shines are its quiet moments of vulnerability where we get to see the most raw, heart-wrenching and introspective emotions of the severely damaged cast of protagonists.
Guts is an unstoppable badass, but he constantly suffers and contemplates his meaning in life. Casca is more fierce than most male soldiers on the battlefield and she has an attitude to match, so when we see her more feminine and loving side it makes her complex journey of self-realization all the more powerful.
Griffith is a godlike war hero that millions of people worship, yet he has the deepest flaws, insecurities and inner darkness than any other character in the entire series. These three represent the absolute best and absolute worst in all of us. The Eclipse marks the major turning point in the story from Game of Thrones style medieval drama to the lovecraftian nightmare fest that we only get a small taste of in the Black Swordsman arc.
This is where the horror elements of Berserk are dialed up to the absolute extreme. You thought the story was gruesome and horrifying before? You haven't seen anything yet. The Lost Children arc is not only arguably the most gruesome of them all, but it also completely wrecks your emotions as well. The relationship between Guts and Jill shows us that Guts is still in touch with his human side after the atrocities of the Black Swordsman arc may have convinced us otherwise.
It solidifies his bond with his unlikely companion Puck, explores the lasting effects of trauma inflicted on him by the Eclipse and by Casca's heartbreaking condition and there's a rollercoaster of action, horror and small glimpses of hope in a sea of darkness. I've always loved how Jill and Puck brought Guts's humanity back to the surface after being stuck in such a devastating and harmful state for so long.
This arc also humanizes the act of becoming an apostle which adds a layer of emotional depth to their depraved existence and makes the antagonists feel like more than simple fodder for Guts to slash through. The Lost Children arc feels a bit underwhelming in a few areas compared to the shocking finale of the Golden Age arc, but the ending of this arc finishes with quite a few shockers of its own to bring back the hype and despair of the series.
This arc is one of my favorites for a few reasons. It shows that apostles can be victims in their own right by exploring the sad life of Rosine who only sought to escape abuse and had to resort to inhumane methods to bring this about.
This is made further relatable by contrasting her situation with that of Jill's as she's also severely abused by her father and wants nothing more than to escape from that life. It also shows that Guts still has a human side. Despite how broken and full of hate and bloodlust he is, he still cares for Jill and throws himself in harm's way multiple times to protect her. Considering how tragic and terrifying Guts's childhood was, it's not too surprising that he would have a soft spot for kids that also happen to be suffering from abuse.
After the arc is done, we're thrown into another great arc which introduces us to the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Farnese and Serpico are fascinating characters, Azan is a cool guy and the shadiness of the group as a whole raises a lot of red flags. Guts and Puck also become much closer during this time which solidifies their companionship.
The Lost Children arc is often written off as a short filler mini-arc, but I think it serves its purpose more than well in just 3 volumes. The amount of story packed into these few volumes is incredible. Griffith is manipulating people's dreams from the beyond while a plague ravages the entire country.
The people see this as a sign that the foretold messiah will soon come to save the world from darkness when really it's just Griffith leading them to believe that. After being visited by an omen in his dreams, Guts decides to return to Casca after not seeing her for two years because he's been going on a murderous rampage. After the tragic outcome of the Lost Children arc, Guts begins to accept that his quest for vengeance is futile, and that there are more important things in his life than violence.
This is where the arc gets really emotional. Figuratively speaking, Guts receives the harsh scolding and the much-needed therapy he's needed for a long time from Godo the blacksmith. Rickert, Erika and Puck are also there to knock some sense back into Guts's thick skull, giving him the mental and emotional support and guidance he desperately needed to get back on his feet after the tragedy of the eclipse.
We're then introduced to a horrifying priest that loves unreasonable torture, genocide and bashing people's brains out with a bible. The Holy Iron Chain Knights mean business and there's tragedy and death all over the world.
Guts's path to redemption, the mad religion dedicated to a false messiah, the foreshadowing of Griffith's return, this arc is packed full of all kinds of heavy emotions. Religious tyranny, satanic orgy cults, cannibalism do to starvation, extreme torture methods using real historical tools such as the Judas Cradle, breaking wheels, rack torture, flaying and burning at the stake, etc.
Luca is a saint and Nina is a sinner, yet Luca brings everyone together and loves them all unconditionally. It has one of the most satisfying reunions and redemption plots of all time. Guts has reunited with his beloved Casca and her mind is still in shambles from the trauma she experienced during the Eclipse.
With a new band of loyal companions at his side, Guts begins to learn how to trust, grow and love as he once did during his time in the Band of the Hawk while struggling to reconcile with his inner darkness and his hatred towards his former friend Griffith.
The Kushan Empire has risen to power and is waging war with the unguarded kingdom of Midland. Griffith is back in the human world, building an army of knights, demons, apostles and any other willing companions in his journey to 'save' the world from war to fulfill his dream of attaining his own kingdom no matter the sacrifices and immoral actions he must commit to make his dream a reality.
Not my favorite arc, but definitely the most chaotic, action-packed and lore heavy of them all. The Fantasia arc marked another major turning point of the series.
If Lost Children and Conviction were the age of darkness, this was the beginning of the age of misguided light. Griffith changed the world in truly remarkable ways, both fascinating and terrible. Just as the arc was heading for a climactic buildup to the finale, it ends on a tear jerking cliffhanger that serves as the untimely ending of the series as a whole.
Aug 10, Jess rated it really liked it Shelves: owned , art-and-comics , horror-and-mystery , fantasy-and-magical-realism. Within its white walls are an equitable system of workers and demons bored enough to constantly fight each other. Rickert also has the sore and sad revelation that the new world is built upon the greusome deaths of his friends. After Rickert slaps the White Hawk himself, we find that Silat of all people looks to join forces with him.
The Kushan assassin thwarts an attacker from killing Rickert. The Party landed on the island of the elves, and I was excited to see more world building there too.
The labyrinth of puzzle rocks provide both an interesting challenge and a clever fantasy idea. Sep 03, Nikkie rated it it was amazing. Miura, don't make me wait years for another update! I really really enjoyed revisiting this world and boy howdy has it sure changed! Goodness, it's good to be back and without the massive tone shift that usually accompanies mang I have been waiting YEARS for a Berserk update and I finally got my wish and oh please, Mr.
Goodness, it's good to be back and without the massive tone shift that usually accompanies manga series that go on long hiatus I'm looking at you, Loveless and yes, I'm still bitter. I don't follow scanlation sites, so I'm not sure how much material has been produced for after this volume, but even if we were to go to a one volume a year release schedule, I'd still be satisfied. Just please, please, please keep giving me more Berserk!
Jul 18, Emily added it Shelves: favorites. The best volume in a while. Griffith's quest of manufacturing his christ allegory and Rickert's responses to it continue to be a highlight. And the climactic action punctuating it all is among the best in the series. This is among the best Berserk has to offer. The only complaint is that the switch to digital art is a bit jarring and can make some of Guts' crew look off-model at times The best volume in a while.
The only complaint is that the switch to digital art is a bit jarring and can make some of Guts' crew look off-model at times May 25, TheLesserReader rated it it was amazing. The art style changed.
Jan 03, David Meyer rated it it was amazing. Feb 09, ArmandoReads96 rated it it was amazing. I started this series on Jan. Legit became obsessed after volume 1, and completely devoured all of it. This is the first manga series I've read and it's freaking amazing. Never have I been this captured by any piece of literature.
I suppose I c I started this series on Jan. I suppose I can just reread it all over again! Jan 26, Cat Randle rated it it was amazing.
It's good to see what is happening in Falconia. There the downside of not worshipping Lord Griffith. Rickett learns he can't stay in the perfect city. This novel contains 10 full-page illustrations by Kentaro Miura.
Berserk Volume 38 Berserk Volume 39 Berserk Volume 40 With 40 volumes and counting, start that the beginning or catch.
Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is a runaway manga locomotive, a crashing colossus of teeth-rattling action, spine-chilling horror, and taboo-breaking humor that fires the boilers of its devoted devotees and burns the rest.
From creator Kentaro Miura comes Berserk, a sprawling adult fantasy epic of fierce imagination One of the most popular long-running adult manga series ever published. First new Berserk volume since! The inspiration for three anime feature films and two TV series. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets.
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