Berserk Deluxe Volume 4

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Guts agreed with the Band of Hawks to rescue Griffith. So the first part of this book is actually them heading down the dark and gloomy castle to save their friend. This actually has some really funny moments with Casca and Guts that made me smile or laugh out loud. It helps lighten up the mood and keep it fresh. Which is good because... It has everything. There are battles galore, monsters, intense interpersonal dramas, as well as deep & complex characters. I also can't forget to mention the plethora of sex, torture, and exceedingly traumatic events that span as far as the eye can see. Oh dude, don't get me started on that badass battle with Wylad or whatever the hell it's name was. Guts is a total badass. 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. 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. It’s a shame that Miura’s masterpiece wasn’t able to be finished, but he’s created the most influential manga of all time that heavily impacted millions of reads and thousands of artists all over the world.

Berserk Deluxe Volume 4 by Duane Johnson, Kentaro Miura

Overall, this is horrifying, scary, sad, and amazing all in one. One of the best arcs of Berserk really gets to shine here and Miura handles grief and loss so well. Schierke is a young witch that serves to explain the more magical, fantastical and metaphysical elements of the world of Berserk while aiding Guts’s crew in their journey to fight against the alarming uprising of demonic creatures overrunning the land.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 get to see a side of Guts we’ve never experienced up until this point. 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. Then the Eclipse event begins, everything Guts thought he knew about his best friend is washed away, leading to a horror show that just begins at the very end of this volume. Guts and his crew set out to Elf Island to restore Casca’s memories before deciding how to settle the score with Griffith once and for all. The arc was tying up loose ends at a very nice pace, answering questions that many readers have been contemplating since the beginning of the series such as the identity of Skull Knight, the origins of the God Hand, Griffith true motives, how Casca confronts her trauma, the purpose of the Berserker Armor, Guts finding the answer to his life’s purpose, the secret history and lore of the greater universe and much more. My favorite part of Berserk so far. Not only are a lot of the characters growing into their own shoes, but relationships are getting damaged and the feelings of our characters are getting more complex. It's insane that Kentaro Miura is able to show us how the trauma affects the characters to this extent.

Berserk Deluxe Edition: The Complete Hardcover Collection

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. Guts is an unstoppable badass, but he constantly suffers and contemplates his meaning in life. His sheer strength and relentless rage can’t hide the wounded little boy deep inside him. 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. Most of all, they’re painfully human. These three represent the absolute best and absolute worst in all of us. That’s what makes them equally compelling, empathetic and utterly repulsive at times. I thought Larry Correia was king of the extended fight scene. In this book he he has some serious competition with Kentaro Miura as there is a protracted battle that goes on for, wait for it, easily half this book. I would not have thought that could be accomplished without it dragging on for too long and becoming repetitive. It does not and more importantly, it is necessary to deliver the message that it ultimately does. I guess this is my way of saying that if you think this volume had any chance of becoming a literary discourse on the meaning of life, don't worry. It most certainly does not! Although, you may find the end bit a metaphysical discourse that will keep you pondering.

This is the most complex arc of the series as it's split into multiple perspectives which hasn’t really been done up until this point. 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. Overall an explosive arc that’s equally horrifying and beautiful. It has one of the most satisfying reunions and redemption plots of all time. 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. 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.