“Berserk” was authored by the late Kentaro Miura. Set in a Medieval Europe-inspired fantasy world, the first three volumes follow a lone “Black Swordsman” named Guts; he’s got one eye, a mechanical right arm, and a violent disposition. Every night, he slays ravenous demons who follow him wherever he goes.
The manga starts in media res, but at the end of volume 3 — and until volume 14 — it flashes back to explain how Guts became the man we meet him as. This arc is collectively called “The Golden Age” and make no mistake, it is a prequel. Trying to read “Berserk” chronologically, rather than in the publication sequence, is a mistake.
During “The Golden Age,” a teenage Guts — already a warrior — joins a mercenary group, The Band of the Hawk. The Hawks are led by the charismatic Griffith, who wishes to one day become a king. Guts grows close with both Griffith and his right-hand woman Casca, while the Hawks ascend the Hawks ascend as the most celebrated heroes in the kingdom of Midland, earning the favor of the royal family. Then, Guts decides to leave and chart his own destiny. A spurned Griffith recklessly sleeps with the Midland Princess Charlotte and spends a year imprisoned and tortured.
The Hawks (led by Casca and a returned Guts) rescue Griffith, but as a shell of his former self, his dream is out of reach. So, he makes a deal with four devils called the God Hand. In the worst anime/manga betrayal ever, Griffith sacrifices all his followers to be reborn as the fifth finger of the God Hand: Femto, clad in a black avian shell resembling Griffith’s old battle armor (but now with real wings). Guts is one of the Hawks’ only survivors and dedicates his life to revenge against Griffith.
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