Berserk: The Horror Version of Game of Thrones
By: MSJ
Berserk is a manga about Guts, a man on a quest for revenge as he leaves a trail of blood and corpses in his wake. The setting is a dark fantasy series akin to Game of Thrones wherein typical conventions for medieval fantasy such as chivalry, honor, and justice are replaced by visceral violence, corruption, and greed. It may sound like a usual man from nowhere story about knights and the toll that revenge may take on a person, but it is so much more. The series is filled to the brim with horror of various fashions as Guts faces off against twisted beasts that could very easily be straight from one's nightmares, if not hell itself.
Human bodies contort and grow in otherworldly proportions as men take on strange nightmarish appearances similar to creatures from hell. Human characters prove to be some of the worst monsters imaginable as nearly every atrocious act of violence that mankind has birthed is on full display in Berserk. Women ravaged, men eviscerated, and children are not safe from the terrors of war. The series is at times unbearably dark, even in some of the happier parts of the story pain and tragedy is always lying in wake. Specifically, the ironically titled "Golden Age arc". This arc in particular acts as an origin story for Guts and several of the other characters in the series detailing how Guts became the feared Black swordsman on a hunt for revenge. Much of the more supernatural aspects are not present as the characters develop at this stage of the story as mercenaries fighting in wars for the highest bidder. Even without demons and supernatural creatures. the human characters provide numerous instances of unnerving malice to one another that in isolation the arc could have been an entirely different series. Despite occurring during a period of constant war and savagery the characters faced "The Golden Age" arc marks the happiest moments in the characters lives. That is up until the eclipse the exact moment in which Berserk's true story begins to unfold as the main cast is forced into a hellish dimension to be sacrificed to the gods of Berserk's world.
"The Eclipse" is the moment in the series where readers begin to realize that tragedy is a key aspect in Berserk's world as characters that the reader has become attached to for all the good they intend to put into the world they meet undeserved violent ends all for the sake of attempting to save their comrade. From "The Eclipse" onward the series becomes a nightmare for the inhabitants of Berserk's world as devilish creatures relegated to folklore begins to permeate the world as the lie in wait to wreak havoc on any unfortunate soul. Berserk as a series is keen to toy with expectations and the concept of good versus evil. Readers are often left with a feeling of uncertainty as the protagonist Guts hurls himself into every blood-soaked battle with a tinge of glee. His cruelty towards his opponents will leave the reader reeling in disgust as he is not a noble hero, but a man determined to win a fight at any cost. Contrasted by certain antagonists of the series that do not seem evil from a glance, but are in servitude to some higher calling despite their methods being reprehensible. Even the character designs serve as a way to subvert expectations of readers with Guts, the main protagonist being clad in black armor while exuding an air of menace(As shown in the title for this article). This facet of the series is what makes it so relatable in the sense that it is not about good or evil, but the lengths that human beings will go to carry out their goals, a theme that is most poignant with the main villain of the series. With the high concept supernatural aside Berserk is a very human story of a tragedy that will break your heart and leave you cowering in fear from each moment of tragedy that befalls the characters.
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Berserk is a manga about Guts, a man on a quest for revenge as he leaves a trail of blood and corpses in his wake. The setting is a dark fantasy series akin to Game of Thrones wherein typical conventions for medieval fantasy such as chivalry, honor, and justice are replaced by visceral violence, corruption, and greed. It may sound like a usual man from nowhere story about knights and the toll that revenge may take on a person, but it is so much more. The series is filled to the brim with horror of various fashions as Guts faces off against twisted beasts that could very easily be straight from one's nightmares, if not hell itself.
Human bodies contort and grow in otherworldly proportions as men take on strange nightmarish appearances similar to creatures from hell. Human characters prove to be some of the worst monsters imaginable as nearly every atrocious act of violence that mankind has birthed is on full display in Berserk. Women ravaged, men eviscerated, and children are not safe from the terrors of war. The series is at times unbearably dark, even in some of the happier parts of the story pain and tragedy is always lying in wake. Specifically, the ironically titled "Golden Age arc". This arc in particular acts as an origin story for Guts and several of the other characters in the series detailing how Guts became the feared Black swordsman on a hunt for revenge. Much of the more supernatural aspects are not present as the characters develop at this stage of the story as mercenaries fighting in wars for the highest bidder. Even without demons and supernatural creatures. the human characters provide numerous instances of unnerving malice to one another that in isolation the arc could have been an entirely different series. Despite occurring during a period of constant war and savagery the characters faced "The Golden Age" arc marks the happiest moments in the characters lives. That is up until the eclipse the exact moment in which Berserk's true story begins to unfold as the main cast is forced into a hellish dimension to be sacrificed to the gods of Berserk's world.
"The Eclipse" is the moment in the series where readers begin to realize that tragedy is a key aspect in Berserk's world as characters that the reader has become attached to for all the good they intend to put into the world they meet undeserved violent ends all for the sake of attempting to save their comrade. From "The Eclipse" onward the series becomes a nightmare for the inhabitants of Berserk's world as devilish creatures relegated to folklore begins to permeate the world as the lie in wait to wreak havoc on any unfortunate soul. Berserk as a series is keen to toy with expectations and the concept of good versus evil. Readers are often left with a feeling of uncertainty as the protagonist Guts hurls himself into every blood-soaked battle with a tinge of glee. His cruelty towards his opponents will leave the reader reeling in disgust as he is not a noble hero, but a man determined to win a fight at any cost. Contrasted by certain antagonists of the series that do not seem evil from a glance, but are in servitude to some higher calling despite their methods being reprehensible. Even the character designs serve as a way to subvert expectations of readers with Guts, the main protagonist being clad in black armor while exuding an air of menace(As shown in the title for this article). This facet of the series is what makes it so relatable in the sense that it is not about good or evil, but the lengths that human beings will go to carry out their goals, a theme that is most poignant with the main villain of the series. With the high concept supernatural aside Berserk is a very human story of a tragedy that will break your heart and leave you cowering in fear from each moment of tragedy that befalls the characters.
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