As the name might suggest, this entire trilogy of chapters is all about Casca. Not just her backstory, but also her motivations, her personal struggles, and most importantly of all: her connection to Griffith.
Fittingly, Guts more or less takes a back seat for all of this. He only interjects one time, and only when the conversation turns towards Griffith. Whenever Casca is speaking solely about herself, Guts is quiet and attentive, taking it all in. You almost get the sense that he’s done exactly this more than a few times before.
Which, as we’ll find out later, he has. But alas, we’re not at that chapter yet.
Casca’s childhood was about as dark as you’d expect from Berserk. Interestingly, it mirrors Guts’ own traumatic experiences in many ways. Whereas Guts was sold knowingly as a sex slave to another mercenary by his father, Casca’s father unknowingly sold her to the same fate. Guts had no one to help him, and thus had to endure the agony, whereas Casca was rescued by Griffith. It’s a small detail, but it goes to highlight how truly similar these two are, despite how often they clash against each other.
During this section, we get to see the Band of the Hawk in its infancy, back when they were just a band of thieves. This isn’t a particularly earth-shattering thing. But it’s nice to get that little bit of extra history. Plus, seeing the younger designs for the key members is a treat.
A good chunk of this section is devoted to Griffith (as most things in the Golden Age are). It’s here that we learn about an episode in which Griffith was confronted by the grim reality of war. In an effort to avoid it, he makes a… less than savory deal with a less than savory gentlemen (which is also a nice bit of setup for the Battle of Doldrey). Casca sees him truly vulnerable state, during which the mask he always wears slips ever so briefly.
If Casca was stunned by Griffith before, she was absolutely enamored with him after that. Of all the soldiers in his army, she was the only one that Griffith showed such vulnerability to. She thought that this man, who she saw as nothing short of a god, opened up to her.
At least, so she thought. Then Guts showed up.
This section is short and brief, only a small part of this little beat in the story. Even still, it’s one of my favorite parts of the entire Golden Age. In just three chapters, Miura turned Casca from the bitch that got mad at Guts for existing into one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the series! And this was just the beginning!
Because next time, we get to talk about my favorite part in all of Berserk!
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