“In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will.”

William Tecumseh Sherman once said, amongst many other things, that war is hell. And Hell, when regarded in a biblical sense — which, when concerning Berserk, chock full of biblical allusions as is, seems a fine thing to do — is supposed to be eternal. Does that mean war is eternal? Does it mean war is an eternal hell?

Berserk is, at its core, a two-pronged fantasy epic. The prongs are made up of these subjects: revenge, redemption. Our protagonist, Guts, is constantly forced into sharp corners to make a choice between the two, all the while having otherworldly creatures tell him over and over that what he so pugnaciously fights against is merely predetermined. And yet, that foreseen future is clouded and indeterminable, for both Guts and the reader. Perhaps one of the most brilliant things Kentaro Miura has done with this story is that, with whichever path Guts chooses throughout — and he vacillates every now and then, particularly for the first half or so of the manga — us, the readers, can both agree and disagree with his decisions. As he flies into blind furies, killing the monsters he loathes with all his being and destroying his own body in the process, we dislike him for not following the path of righteousness, but are able to agree that his indignant disposition is entirely justified, particularly upon the revealing of his terrible past and the reason he so hates the Apostles and the God Hand. Similarly, when he see him choose the righteous, ofttimes just as difficult path, we can accept that this decision is most likely the more morally correct one, but secretly we wish that he would tear apart whatever beast stands before him, one of a legion of things which took everything he loved and cared about from him.

This manga is lengthy — at 340 chapters as of writing this — and shows no signs of stopping soon, what with the incomplete story itself, the long waits between chapters, and frequent, protracted hiatuses. It moves in arcs, typically with the primary villain being slain by Guts at its end, and every arc grants an important addition to the overall story (as an arc should). While critics of Berserk complain of the way in which information is introduced, often saying that it could be shown in a more compressed or concise manner, the subtle way in which major plot devices are foreshadowed combined with the explosive nature of their formal presentation is cause for no complaints from myself. The story has an obvious current direction with a mysterious and far-off end; while the current place the manga is at has been treated as the worst part of the story thus far, it has been clear what it means for the Berserk universe on the whole, and where the story will go from there.

Berserk is hailed by many as the greatest manga to date. While I certainly would not agree with that statement at the moment (though if it ever ends, I may have to reconsider it), the reasons beyond a solid story for that communal thought are easy to agree with. Berserk, undoubtedly, has the best art of any manga. Trust me and the community when we say that Berserk and Kentaro Miura are the current pinnacle of manga when it comes to visuals alone. If you do not believe me, simply Google “Berserk best panels” or something of the like. Truly, Miura’s dedication to extreme detail turns out stunning and beautiful on a consistent basis. This alone may justify the irregular release schedule: anyone who knows anything about mangaka knows that the job has horrid work hours, with many authors working from deadline to deadline on little to no sleep. Many have the resolve to become a mangaka, but none so far have come close to putting as much exhaustive detail into their works as Kentaro Miura.

Perhaps one of the greatest things Miura has done, though, is the battle of, and battle for the distinction of, good and evil.

Several characters throughout Berserk can be considered, without a doubt, evil. Those of you who have read it or have watched the anime or have simply seen tidbits of various characters here and there will know exactly of whom I could be speaking of. However, many characters embody desires or ideological points of view that are somewhat more ambiguous in nature. Guts, our protagonist, is obviously one of these, for reasons outlined previously. Others, though, are abound. Some do their questionable actions based entirely off of selfishness, while others see what they do as . . . just. Or, at the least, justified. Many of these characters die, but the ones that live on undergo some of the greatest character development I have seen in probably any work of literature, alongside a raging of philosophical ideals akin to that of Watchmen.

Berserk is not without its problems, though these problems may be few and far between. Ones that I occasionally agree with are a vagueness of story and unnecessary plot elements. These, however, are often overridden later on when the point of a certain action or development is revealed in full -- something I look forward to as the current arc recedes in the rearview mirror. One that I definitely agree with, and often point out myself, is the rise of terrible humor. Chibi comedy. I can stand it in spurts, but some characters are growing far too chibi far too often for it to not be annoying. Not to mention that it does nothing to further the story or the art. These moments are stains on what is otherwise a masterpiece.

Now, to get this out of the way: Berserk is a seinen that deals with very mature themes rather . . . unabashedly. Rape, murder, theft, all those evils of the world are brought to the forefront of the manga with Miura’s relentless penmanship. That means, yes, gore, sex, rape, loss, insanity, all that is shown in graphic detail. If you are queasy or conservative about those sorts of things, do not even bother picking up the first volume of the manga. I myself have no complaints about Miura’s depictions of violence, but many people do, and those people need to understand that it is simply what you will experience in the brutal world of Berserk.

Overall, Berserk is one of my favorite manga of all time (although I have not read too much manga to begin with), though is by no means my favorite, mostly due to its incomplete story and inconsistent release schedule, as well as, in more recent chapters, a rise in dumb chibi comedy that I find distasteful for the type of manga it is.


Do I recommend Berserk? Hell yes. The art is absurdly good, the story thus far is compelling, the characters are diverse, interesting, and non-stagnant, and it produces excellent philosophical conundrums, questions, and systems. Just know what you’re getting into: graphic imagery and a long wait for the finish line.