Berserk
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- For other articles related to the word "berserk" see Berserker_(disambiguation)
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Berserk (ベルセルク Beruseruku) is a heroic fantasy manga by mangaka Kentaro Miura.
With over 20 million volumes sold, it is one of the most successful adult manga ever. Berserk takes place in a fictional country called Midland, which bears many similarities to Europe in the Middle Ages. It centers around the life of Guts, an orphaned mercenary warrior, and his relationship to Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called The Hawks. Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy content of violence and nudity.
As of now there are 29 volumes in all.
There are currently two Berserk video-games available, one for Dreamcast (Sword of the Berserk), which continues the story after the ending of the TV-series, and one for Playstation 2, simply entitled Berserk. In addition to the video-games, Berserk has spurred on a range of different merchandise from lighters to keyrings. Statues and action figures are produced by Yamato, through their Art of War line. The original soundtrack of the anime series by Susumu Hirasawa is available on CD.
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Berserk Manga
Miura first began work on what was to become Berserk in 1988 with a 48-page prototype, which won a prize at the Comi Manga School where he was enrolled at the time. The following year, the first volume of the manga was released. Three more volumes appeared until Berserk was serialized by Young Animal in 1992, and new episodes are still being released in the semi-monthly (every second and fourth Friday of the month) magazine. Volumes are released biannually in Japan by Jets Comics, and contain 8-11 episodes depending on the release.
In America, the manga is translated and published by Dark Horse Comics, which has released seven volumes so far, the first in October 22, 2003. As with other Dark Horse manga releases like Hellsing or Trigun Maximum, the Japanese reading format from right to left is preserved in the English release. Volumes 7-28 are available on the Internet in fan-made scanlations.
For a list of the chapters, see the Chapter Listing.
Berserk Anime
In 1997, production began on a 25-episode anime series of the first thirteen volumes to increase awareness of the manga in Japan. The series was made by Studio VAP, and is also known as "Kenpû denki Berserk". It first aired on Nippon Television at 1:45 AM, Tuesday 7/10/1997. The last episode aired 31/3/1998. In America, the anime series has been dubbed/subtitled and published by Media Blasters, and has never aired there but is available on DVD and VHS. The production was supervised by Kentarou Miura and follows the manga closely.
Characters
Note: All subsequent names come from the American translation, and Miura's statements about the official transliterations of the characters names in the beginning of Volume 27.
Main characters
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- Guts (ガッツ lit. Gattsu)
Although Miura has claimed he heard of Götz von Berlichingen, a German knight (1480-1562), about whom Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a theater drama, after Berserk began, Guts' character resembles that of the knight, both in name and in having a prosthetic arm. In the series, he is drawn as a tall, muscular white male with a sword about 6'5" long and 17" wide(Dragon Slayer). He can also use his prosthetic arm as a cannon. Guts is a Tragic Hero; he is born outside the strands of fate, but unable to change destiny despite his never-ending efforts to do so. The first half of the series revolves around his adolescence in a mercenary band after being adopted by Gambino, the leader, and his subsequent joining of the Band of the Hawks. The dynamic and very turbulent relationship between Guts and Griffith, the leader of this group, form the primary focus of the manga for the first thirteen volumes. In the second half(in which he loses his left arm and his right eye), Guts is no longer part of The Hawks and travels Midland alone.
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- Griffith (グリフィス lit. Gurifisu)
Griffith is the founder and leader of the mercenary army Band of the Hawks. He is an extraordinarily charismatic and handsome person, whose tactical skill gives him and his army the reputation of invincibility. This makes him the favoured choice of the king of Midland, who is locked in a long and devastating war against the Empire of Chuda. His most important characteristic is that he is willing to sacrifice everything for his dream of glory, his belief being that he is destined for things greater than the average man can aspire to. Griffith is of common heritage, so he must prove himself by mettle in a court where everything depends on birthright. He also gets romantically involved with Princess Charlotte, daughter to the King of Midland. - Casca (キャスカ lit. Kyasuka)
Casca is the only female soldier in the Band of the Hawk and is second only to Griffith and Guts in skill. She is in love with the former and jealous of the latter, and her ambivalent relationship to both of them makes her moody and capricious. Casca joins the Band of the Hawk after she is saved by Griffith from a sexual assault by a nobleman.
The following main characters only appear in the manga.
- Puck (パック lit. Pakku)
Puck is a Wind spirit from Elfhelm: an island that lies across the sea. Elves in Berserk can only be seen by openminded persons; devoutly religious men or women are unable to see them. They also have the ability to heal wounds with a special powder secreted from their wings. He often appears for comic relief.
- Skull Knight (髑髏の騎士 lit. Dokuro no kishi)
The Skull Knight has the appearance of a human skeleton in armor, wearing a black cape and riding a ghostly horse. He opposes the God Hand, the pantheon of evil deities in Berserk's mythology. He is very powerful, able to match Zodd, an apostle of the God Hand, in single combat. Throughout the storyline, the Skull Knight aids and saves Guts multiple times, but his actual motives are not made clear. Speculation ties him to King Gaiseric; a long dead conqueror that united the entire continent and ruled until God sent 5 or 4 (it is not known exactly how many) angels to punish him for his gluttony. Some fans say he is often used as a deus ex machina, as Miura occasionally uses him to save characters in the story who would otherwise die. His actions rarely seem that way, however, since most of his deeds are explainable upon close examination. - Farnese (ファルネーゼ; lit. Fuarunēze)
Farnese is a noblewoman who leads the Vatican's Holy army, the Iron Chain Knights. Since this position has always traditionally been held by a woman, Farnese was appointed due to the zest with which she pursues heretics rather then her command talents (which are lacking). Farnese is an interesting character; her love of fire and her lack of empathy means that she is constantly burning "witches" at the stake. - Serpico (セルピコ lit. Serupiko)
Farnese's servant, Serpico is also the Herald for the Iron Chain Knights. Despite his seeming lack of aggression, Serpico is often compared to a fox due to his cunning and his speed with a blade. Due to an incident involving his mother, Serpico hates fire. He is an excellent cook and cares deeply for Farnese, having been her servant since a very young age. - Isidro (イシドロ lit. Ishidoro)
Isidro is a young boy with dreams of becoming the best swordsman on earth. Having been suitably impressed with Guts massive sword and the incredible speed with which he wields it, Isidro follows Guts in order to "steal" his sword techniques. Besides being a dead shot with any kind of rock or throwing weapon, Isidro is also an excellent thief...and voyeur. It is also worth noting that he has a knack for making up good plans or courses of action in the heat of battle. - Schierke (シールケ lit. Shīruke)
Schierke is a young witch in training, a disciple of Flora the witch. Her magic powers are impressive for a child of her age, but since she is still young she occasionally makes mistakes. Her ability to sense "OD" (basically life force, or spirit energy, if you will) means she can sense the power, intent, and alignment of enemies and friends-though she isn't always dead-on with her assessments, being a young girl. There is also some sexual tension with Isidro, and she looks up to Guts almost as a father.
The Hawks
- Judo (ジュドー lit. Judou)
The Band of the Hawk's resident jack-of-all-trades. A former circus performer who wields throwing knives, Judou is also well-aware of the world around him and frequently comes forward to reveal information about the Hawk's enemies. - Pippin (ピピン lit. Pipin)
A massive dark-skinned man who wields an equally massive mace. A former miner, Pippin now lends his strength to the Band of the Hawk. - Corcas (コルカス lit. Korukasu)
A loud-mouthed ex-thief. Corcas is fond of delusions of grandeur and is constantly at odds with Guts. - Rickert (リッケルト lit. Rikkeruto)
Rickert is perhaps the youngest man in the Band of the Hawk; at the start of the series he looks more like a 12 year old then a soldier. Rickert looks up to Guts and Griffith as people to follow, and isn't afraid of getting into the thick of combat in order to win.
God Hand and Apostles
The bad guys, messengers of the Idea of Evil (the god created by man).
- Femto (フェムト lit. Femuto)
Femto is the incarnation of Griffith as a member of the God Hand. In the Incarnation Ceremony, which only takes place once a thousand years, he is reincarnated with a human body but given the gift of supernatural charisma, continuing to chase his dream of a kingdom. Femto's body appears as a dark red armor with wings on the back. - Void (ボイド lit. Boido)
A member of the God Hand with a huge exposed brain and a skeleton-like appearance. Apparently the nemesis of the Skull Knight, and seems to be the leader of the group. - Slan (スラン lit. Suran)
The female member of the God Hand. A temptress who appears to have a "Fascination" with Guts. - Ubik (ユービック lit. Yuubikku)
The third God Hand, Ubik (also seen translated as Ubrik), appears to be a deceiver. It is him who convinces Griffith to continue walking towards his dream, as a demon, rather than committing suicide as was his original intent. - Conrad (コンラッド lit. Konraddo)
Conrad is a mystery. It is suspected that his particular motif is plague and disaster; in one village he is shown as having destroyed the populace with the Black Plague, his body materializing from the hundreds of plague-carrying rats that infested the town. It is important to note that the God Hands cannot take corporeal form in the mortal plane; as such, when they do take mortal form it is not a true body and instead a construct, formed by whatever is at hand at the time. - Zodd (ゾッド lit. Zoddo)
Apostle, who seeks to meet the strongest opponent. He now serves under the reincarnated Griffith. Zodd has a strange relationship with the Skull Knight, and constantly engages in battle with him.
Minor characters
- Gambino (ガンビーノ lit. Ganbiino)
Guts' adoptive father, and leader of a band of mercenaries. Gambino trains Guts to be a mercenary like himself. In the manga Gambino sells Guts for a night to Donavon, a perverted soldier. Guts secretly kills Donavon in battle after learning he was sold by Gambino. This is where the anime and manga conjoin. Gambino is hit by a blast in battle and loses his leg and the ability to fight. He takes his anger out on Guts, revealing that he sold Guts to Donavon for three silver coins, and Guts in turn stabs him and runs away.
- Flora (ガンビーノ lit. Flora(?))
Schierke's mistress, she trained Schierke in the arts of magic and taught her everything she could about magic and OD (spirit energy, life force, etc). In addition to being a powerful witch of indeterminate age, she is a old friend of the Skull Knight, whom she sees as "Still having a human heart". This would imply that Flora knew the Skull Knight before he took on his current ghoulish form.
Anime episode titles
- The Black Swordsman
- Band Of The Hawk
- Baptism of Fire
- Hand Of God
- Sword of Wind
- Zodd the Immortal
- The Sword Master
- Conspiracy
- Assassination
- Nobleman
- Battle Engagement
- Two People
- Suicidal Act
- Campfire of Dreams
- The Decisive Battle
- The Conqueror
- Moment of Glory
- Tombstone of Flames
- Parting
- The Spark
- Confession
- The Infiltration
- Eve of the Feast
- Eclipse
- Perpetual Time
External links
- An interview (http://www.thespectrum.net/berserk_info_creator.shtml) with Kentarou Miura about Berserk.
- SkullKnight.net (http://www.skullknight.net/) - encyclopedia and community.
- BerserkFan (http://www.berserkfan.de.vu) - German Berserk Fanpage.
- Berserk Storyline (http://berserk.aucifer.com/story.php) - Summary of the story in the anime
- Arctic Nightfall (http://www.arcticnightfall.com/berserk/main.php) - Fanpage with information, screenshots and character descriptions
- [1] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318871/) - IMDb page for Berserk. Contains names of voice actors and more.
- The Hawks (http://www.thehawks.org/) community / Bittorrentde:Berserk
fr:Berserk ja:ベルセルク (漫画) it:Berserk (fumetto) pl:Berserk (serial) pt:Berserk (anime)
Categories: Anime | Manga