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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is easily my favorite manga I've read. What captured me the most was the atmosphere and emotional depth. It is a bleak medieval setting, and the big pages along with the detailed and stunning artwork make it even more immersive.
Guts starts out in the story as a brute, but you slowly learn that there is something deeply human beneath his exterior. He has great determination—he keeps going no matter how broken he gets.
The story is full of violence and horror, but it's not just for shock value. It accurately represents the cruelty of the world and how fear has shaped its people.
I’m very intrigued and want to keep reading, but I do not own any of the next volumes. I want to know more about Griffith, and the last page is a huge cliffhanger!
dark
sad
tense
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Puck and I love Guts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Considering how famous Berserk is, I knew surprisingly little about it going in. Funnily enough, despite not knowing much it wasn’t what I expected. The art was gorgeous, but I can’t say that I was very invested in neither the plot nor the characters (do people actually like Puck?).
From what I’ve seen, most people seem to say that The Black Swordsman-arc is the weakest. The last chapter of that arc, plus the first chapter of the next, definitely left me intrigued. So, I’m going to give The Golden Age-arc a go before coming to any conclusions about the series as a whole. My ratings of these three first volumes therefore shouldn’t be understood as my assessment of the series.
Rating for the individual volumes:
Volume 1: 3 ★
Volume 2: 3 ★
Volume 3: 3.25 ★
From what I’ve seen, most people seem to say that The Black Swordsman-arc is the weakest. The last chapter of that arc, plus the first chapter of the next, definitely left me intrigued. So, I’m going to give The Golden Age-arc a go before coming to any conclusions about the series as a whole. My ratings of these three first volumes therefore shouldn’t be understood as my assessment of the series.
Rating for the individual volumes:
Volume 1: 3 ★
Volume 2: 3 ★
Volume 3: 3.25 ★
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wild how much Miura's art improves even in the first volume. Guts is still a little too archetypally "cool guy" and Puck a little too "comedy sidekick," but the cool stuff the cool guy does is undeniably cool.