Berserk

ベルセルク
Berserk: The Prototype

Manga9.5396521 votesPublishing

ActionAdventureAward WinningDramaFantasyHorrorGoreMilitaryPsychologicalSeinen

to add this manga to your library.

About this title

Synopsis

Guts, a former mercenary now known as the Black Swordsman, is out for revenge. After a tumultuous childhood, he finally finds someone he respects and believes he can trust, only to have everything fall apart when this person takes away everything important to Guts for the purpose of fulfilling his own desires. Now marked for death, Guts becomes condemned to a fate in which he is relentlessly pursued by demonic beings. Setting out on a dreadful quest riddled with misfortune, Guts, armed with a massive sword and monstrous strength, will let nothing stop him, not even death itself, until he is finally able to take the head of the one who stripped him—and his loved one—of their humanity. [Written by MAL Rewrite] Included one-shot: Volume 14: Berserk: The Prototype

Publication notes

Berserk won the Excellence Award at the sixth Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002. As of August 2025, over 70 million copies of the manga are in circulation. The series has been published in English by Dark Horse Comics since November 4, 2003. It has also been released in Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, México, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey. In May 2021, the author Kentaro Miura suddenly died at the age of 54. Chapter 364 of Berserk was published posthumously on September 10, 2021. Miura would often share details about the series' story with his childhood friend and fellow mangaka Kouji Mori. The series resumed on June 24, 2022, with Studio Gaga handling the art and Kouji Mori's supervision.

Published

Aug 25, 1989 to ?

Authors

External links

MyAnimeList page Official Site Wikipedia Wikipedia

MAL rank: #1
Members (MAL): 792,026
Favorites (MAL): 137,403

Related titles

Adaptation

Spin-Off

Shousetsu Berserk: Enryuu no Kishi

Other

Berserk: Shinen no Kami 2

Main characters

Guts85833 fan favorites
External profile
Eyes: brown Hair: black, Height: 190cm (6'3"), Weight: Guts is the protagonist of the story. He is a tall, muscular man with a huge sword called the Dragon Slayer, a prosthetic left forearm that has a magnetic grip which also conceals a cannon. Guts is a tragic hero; he is born as one who may be able to struggle against Causality, but seemingly unable to affect it on a large scale. Note: His name has often times been translated by some English scanlation groups as "Gatts," or "Gutts," or "Gattsu." However, the official translation provided to Dark Horse Comics by Kentaro Miura himself, is in fact, "Guts."
Griffith16151 fan favorites
External profile
Eye color: Blue Hair color: Silver Height: 178 cm (5'10") Weight: 66 kg (145 lbs) Fighting style: Swordsmanship Strengths: Griffith, is the charismatic leader and founder of the Band of The Hawk. Extraordinarily charismatic, intelligent, and handsome, his skill with his sabre and tactics gives him and his band the reputation of invincibility, allowing him an opportunity to gain the favor of the Midland King during Midland's century long war with the Empire of Chuder.
Casca4859 fan favorites
External profile
Casca was the only female soldier in the original Band of the Hawk and is behind only to Guts and Griffith in swordsmanship. Her ambivalent relationship to both of them makes her moody and capricious. Casca joins the Band of the Hawk after Griffith saves her from a sexual assault by a nobleman.
Puck1919 fan favorites
External profile
A wind spirit from Elfhelm, a utopia on the island Skellig in the Western Sea. Elves in Berserk can only be seen by the open-minded; the devoutly religious cannot see Puck at all, though he can play with their face unbeknownst to them. Puck can secrete a powder from his wings to quickly heal wounds and can emit a bright flash to blind enemies. On occasion, he also resorts to his "Bloody Needle" attack, tossing a spiny object resembling a seed pod at someone. It deals no injury, but is painful enough to prompt most victims to cry out. Puck was the first to join Guts's journey, and is starting to show a strange attachment to the Behelit Guts took upon his battle with the Count. Puck often serves as comic relief along with Isidro. The two are frequently drawn in an exaggerated manner. He is very angry when he ever is mixed up with a Pixie or Fairy quick to state the difference. He also seems to have a brother-sister relationship with the newest comic relief character the female elf Evarella. (Source: Wikipedia)
Schierke1601 fan favorites
External profile
Schierke is a young witch-in-training, a disciple of the witch Flora. She is accompanied by an elf, Evarella. She aided Guts's group with a troll infestation in the nearby village Enoch, where she showed how powerful magic can be in Berserk. After a series of events, Schierke was forced to leave her home and Flora behind forever when they faced an attack Griffith ordered. Schierke, having lived a sheltered life, doesn't like the Human world or the Holy See's religion, but she finds life outside bearable due to her companions. Her magic skills and knowledge of the world are impressive for a child her age. One of her most used and handiest spells is the ability to hypnotize or temporarily desensitize others. But due to her youth, she tends to exhibit dangerous overzealousness. Her ability to sense "Od" (life force or spirit energy) means she can sense the power, intent, and alignment of all creatures and artifacts. As she sees Isidro as an incompetent monkey, there is some friction between the two, which frequently lends itself to comic situations. Though she initially couldn't stand Guts, Schierke has developed a slight infatuation with him. When Sonia gave her an offer to join the Band of the Hawk, Schierke thought of Guts before declining. Their journey together constantly brings them into even deeper understanding.
Farnese de Vandimion1124 fan favorites
External profile
Farnese is a noblewoman who led the Holy See's ceremonial guard, the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Since this position has been traditionally held by a woman, Farnese was appointed during her stay at the convent she was sent to by her father, Federico Vandimion. A bit of a pyromaniac (and possibly a pyrophiliac), Farnese's habit of maniacally burning things she didn't like, along with her lack of empathy due to her poor upbringing provoked her to hunt down and burn supposed witches and pagans at the stake. This fueled a secret sadistic pleasure that she constantly tried to deny.
Serpico951 fan favorites
External profile
Serpico is Farnese's companion and unbeknownst to her, her paternal half-brother. During his time with the Holy See, Serpico was Herald for the Holy Iron Chain Knights. When aggressive, Serpico belies his meek appearance and is comparable to a fox due to his shrewd observation and speed with a rapier. Despite Farnese's childhood abuse and her forcing him to burn his own mother at the stake, he cares deeply for his half-sister. Serpico was her servant since she found him beaten on a snowy street over a decade ago. Serpico's relationship with Guts has forever been plagued with animosity, due in large part to the dangers that inevitably surround Guts and anyone he takes into his Band. After a duel with Guts in the underground pillars of Vritannis, Guts spared his life. Their bond rekindled, and Serpico has since learned to trust Guts to protect Farnese when he can not. Serpico uses two items blessed by the wind spirit Sylph in order to battle with tolerance alongside Guts: a rapier that can generate razor sharp gusts of wind; and a cloak that constantly generates a swirling vortex around its wearer which can deflect projectiles, assist in jumping, and slow falls from great heights.
Isidro316 fan favorites
External profile
A runaway brat turned thief, Isidro dreams of becoming a great swordsman, which made him tag along with Guts. Despite his lack of strength and skill, he utilizes his small size and agility to his advantage, along with various tricks and tools. He has a great ego and plans to become the very best; he initially planned to "observe" Guts and steal his "techniques" to surpass him. But he slowly starts to realize the inconceivable difference in strength between him and Guts, but that there may even be ways for him to become a formidable warrior... His most important role however, is probably to serve as a comic relief along with Puck.