Berserk by Kentaro Miura (comics)

Berserk (by Kentaro Miura)

It is a manga that everyone would recognize by name for the people who are quite related with comics. Most of people who do not know what is it, or only know famous ones such as Naruto, One Piece, or Bleach, for them, it is not easy to know. Not only it is not public that much, but the contents have seeming obscene and cruel.

There are several reasons why many people cannot read or meet it. Well, first of all, illustration is too deep and heavy. Of course it has deep and heavy content, and this means it is pretty unapproachable to public. Sometimes obscene and cruel description makes knit reader’s brows. Also it has amazingly realistic illustration. According to a research, people feel repulsion when they see exceedingly realistic character and it is not easy to feel palatable for them. We can say “wow, amazing. It’s like a Chinese art illustration” but, it is hard to feel friendly for them. Furthermore, the content is about god, human being, and Satan. However, there is no good role in this work. People in the world in this book made by the author are living for their selfishness, and even main Characters are also look evil. There is gods in the world but, they are not good, as well as human.

This book is about the fight between the guys name Guts and Griffith. In this part, I quote wikipedia’s explanation.

Guts (ガッツ, Gattsu)

Guts is the protagonist of the story. He is a tall, muscular man who has a prosthetic left forearm that has a magnetic grip, conceals a cannon, and can be fitted with a small repeating crossbow. He wields a huge sword called Dragon Slayer. Guts is a Byronic hero who is able to struggle against causality, but seemingly unable to overcome it.

Griffith (グリフィス, Gurifisus)

Griffith, the founder and leader of the mercenary army Band of the Hawk, is the antagonist of the story. Extraordinarily charismatic and handsome, his tactical skill gave him and his army the reputation of invincibility and made him the favored choice of the Midland King, who was locked in a century-old war with the Empire of Chuder. Griffith is willing to sacrifice everything for the dream of his own kingdom, believing that he is destined for things greater than the average man.

Casca (キャスカ, Kyasuka)

Casca was the only female soldier in the original Band of the Hawk and is behind only Guts and Griffith in swordsmanship. Her ambivalent relationships with both Guts and Griffith makes her capricious. Casca joins the Band of the Hawk after Griffith saves her from a sexual assault by a nobleman and, after Griffith is imprisoned, she becomes the leader of the Band of the Hawk and leads the mission to rescue Griffith along with Guts after he returns. The trauma of the Eclipse and the journeys afterward, especially her rape at Femto's hands, cost Casca her sanity and her relationship with Guts, though there is hope for a "cure" in Elfhelm.

Guts has crude appearance, but Griffith is beautiful. Griffith sacrifices his mercenary army Band of the Hawk for his dream. He is describing as a savior of the world such as Jesus. In Christian point of view, however, he cannot be Jesus, or a savior. Griffith is seemed a messianic savior what the Jews want. He is like an angel, beautiful, and every people bow and worship him, but this image is more like an Anti-Christ. Because Jesus was not look like an a.k.a saint image what we usually know; who has blue eye and looks pretty gay.

There is evil, but there is no good. There are angels, but they are evil. This is what it is. As a reader, we cannot see what is good, but we can find what is evil. There are so many things which are saying “I am the truth”, so it is hard to figure out what is the real truth. (In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did as seemed right to him. Judges 17:6) It is based on very postmodernism itself.

This is about the fight between the god and human. The god looks beautiful and perfect, but he stepped on the bodies for his dream, the human is living for the revenge toward the god, and the power that makes him move is deep rooted hatred. It is not looks tangible or visible, but this is the world that we are living.

A man draws his sword in order to hide his hurts and protestant the power of the destiny belongs to him.

Do you agree?