The humanity of Berserk (1997)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvsasUoYDgY - 13:43

     In a section of my summer anime class last year, I had a student who presented the anime

Berserk. This presentation also focused on the fighting in this anime, so I figured I would also find

out more about this anime for myself and talk about what I like about it.  Based on the explanation of

this anime from the video I use here, there is definitely a lot more to this anime than just fighting,

like the meaning behind the fighting, not just the fighting itself, which is important in all fighting

anime/anime with fighting in it, as well as what else the anime has to offer besides fighting.  In the

anime Berserk, this meaning is seen in the light of existentialism.

     Existentialism is an idea that people are responsible for their own development and existence.  In

the anime Berserk, trauma is also important, as is seen in the life of the main character Guts.

Existentialism, and especially trauma, are important in every aspect of the life of Guts from the

moment he was born from a corpse hanging from a tree of corpses.  He is raised by a band of

mercenaries that happens to pass by this tree of corpses and a newborn baby on the ground near this

tree, but as a result of more trauma over time with this band of mercenaries, Guts starts living

independently, relying more on existentialism and his sword as a means of survival.  It's the

humanity of Guts that makes Berserk stand out from most, if not all, anime.  Guts is an entirely

human character who uses existentialism to get through his trauma.  He also has his sword to help

him as it's a part of who he is and helps him with what he does.

     Guts' reliance on his sword is also how he meets other people, like the characters Griffith, Casca,

and the Band of the Hawk, another group of mercenaries led by Griffith (and eventually Casca).  At

first, Guts isn't sure about being part of another group of mercenaries since it didn't go well for him

before.  He initially thinks his dream is to help Griffith with his dream of being ruler of the Kingdom,

which is why Casca also wants to help Griffith, but Guts eventually leaves.  Before he can leave,

however, Guts has to beat Griffith in a sword fight, which he does with the help of his sword, which

not only breaks Griffith's sword, but also his dream (for now anyway - should have ended there as a

reality check for Griffith).

    During the time Guts is gone, he wonders what his dream actually is.  He think it's his sword since

it helps him with what he does, so by this logic, his dream is to live with the help of his sword.  But

live for what?  How can he live for his sword?  His sword helps him live, but as said before, it's part

of him, not entirely him.  This existential thinking, not so much trauma, at least not physical trauma,

brings him back to the Band of the Hawk.

      When Guts returns to the Band of the Hawk, he finds that it's now led by Casca.  Casca is mad at

Guts for what he did to Griffith before he left, since she still has feelings for him, even though

Griffith only has feelings for the princess to get to the Kingdom (trying to act on these feelings gets

Griffith in trouble - probably in jail at this point for doing that).  Casca then attempts to kill herself,

but Guts saves her, which is what Griffith did for her when she was younger (saved her from being

raped by nobleman attempting to abuse his power).  Both Casca and Guts relive their past trauma as

they realize they were meant to be together.  It's because of their past trauma that they can use

existentialism to make sense of their lives.  Guts' future is Casca and Casca's is Guts.

     Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.  Griffith comes back and ruins everything

by betraying Guts and Casca after they rescue him from prison just so he can rule the Kingdom (why

though?).  In addition to this betrayal, he also kills the rest of the Band of the Hawk, rapes Casca

while Guts can do nothing but watch helplessly, which results in Guts losing part of an arm trying to

stop it, and ruins the lives of Guts and Casca (seriously, why though?  Is ruling a Kingdom really that

important Griffith?).  I guess what you can get out of this is more existentialism and trauma (the

student who presented Berserk that I mentioned at the beginning of this writing also included this

moment in it, which is also why I try to make sense of it now).  

      Anyway, existentialism and trauma are the two big things I get from Berserk, which are two

things that stress the humanity of this anime and manga (sometimes anime just continues as manga -

why both are important).