bruh

guts:

(Essay for the second issue of the Berserk fanzine.)

Author: Myself

Berserk is a character-driven manga, recognized for its dark themes and fatalistic storytelling. The world of Berserk is bleak and unforgiving. The main themes of the manga are pain, struggle, and coping with trauma. Born into this world, the three protagonists, Guts, Casca, and Griffith, are no exception to that reality. Their lives consist of so much pain that ultimately, their way to cope with it shapes and determines their futures and the people they eventually become. All three main characters face rejection, sexual abuse, and betrayal as their sources of anguish. All three handle those experiences differently. A glimpse into their backstories reveals a lot, the most prominent example being with the protagonist, Guts. As a child, he is abused, betrayed and denied love by his father. We meet him as a newborn, found by Shishu under the corpse of his dead mother, which is seen as a bad omen straightaway. He is then raised by Gambino, who blames him for Shishu’s death, which he believes is part of the omen. During his childhood, he is denied parental love and care, and taught only how to fight by Gambino. Regardless, he sees the man as his father figure.