Here we are, everyone. The end of Berserk’s most iconic and beloved arc. Which is interesting to me, because these chapters have never been adapted! They’ve technically done the Golden Age three times, and we’ve never seen these scenes!
Which I just don’t understand. Because this ending is literally perfect.
Today, we’re covering:
- Armament
- He Who Hunts Dragons
Fueled by his anger and grief, Guts prepares himself for his crusade of vengeance. Luckily for him, Godo, Erica, and Rickert have him covered. Not so luckily: one of the Apostles is on his and Casca’s trail. Can Guts survive against the first beast of his hunt? More importantly: should he even hunt them to begin with?
These chapters do a great job of setting up the moral conflict for Guts that’ll take center stage in the story going forward. On one hand, we understand that him going off to hunt demons is a distinctly bad idea. It’ll more than certainly get him killed. That, or it’ll turn him into an even worse monster than they are.
It also goes to great lengths to show that Guts could be happy if he stayed. Rickert and Erica’s shenanigans are fun and goofy, beyond setting up his new arsenal, and they’re made even more enjoyable by Godo scolding them like a wise old grandpa. It’s an odd little family, but a happy one. If Guts could heal anywhere, it would be with them.
But then there’s Casca. We get a heartbreaking and disturbing look at how their relationship has devolved with her new mental state, and it hurts! After seeing Guts break down into tears, listening to Casca wailing in terror of him through the night, it’s hard to blame him for wanting to leave.
Then he’s attacked by a gross pig demon. All bets are off after that.
This fight with the pig demon really isn’t much. It’s just to showcase Guts’ weapons, showing us that he’s finally become the man we met back in the Black Swordsman arc. The arm cannon – which was invented by Rickert – the machine crossbow, and of course: the Dragonslayer. All of his badass tools from the beginning chapters of the story are back and in glorious fashion.
One thing I adore about these chapters is how cool Miura managed to make the Dragonslayer. Back at the beginning of the story, it was just a comically large sword. But now, it has a story to it. We learn that Godo basically made it as a joke, believing that no one would be able to wield it. Yet he firmly believes that if anyone could wield it, it would be the strongest weapon in the world.
More than that, it’s the perfect weapon for Guts. Ever since the very beginning of the Golden Age, he’s been using swords that are much too big for him. All throughout the saga, those swords have been shattered by the Apostles he’s faced. The whole arc has been building up to the moment Guts gains that iconic heap of raw iron through the evolution of not only his skills and his strength, but his weapons.
And when he swings it for the first time, it is nothing short of GLORIOUS!!
As amazing as this moment is, I love how it isn’t treated like a heroic scene. Rather, Guts is treated like he’s the real monster here, not the giant pig. It’s a subtle hint as to what is to come, and it’s punctuated by my favorite line in the entirety of Berserk, and maybe even all of fiction.
If dragons are dragons because men can’t kill them, then what’s a man who hunts dragons?
Rickert, ‘He Who Hunts Dragons’
This feeling of dread is only further punctuated by the final few pages. As Guts walks away, beginning his quest for revenge, he acknowledges to himself that the reasoning he used to convince Rickert and the others was a lie. He knows full well that nothing good will come of what he’s doing. But he’s so angry, so distraught, that he can’t think to do anything else.
And so, the Golden Age ends. But not before delivering one last striking full-page spread.
Holy fucking shit, the Golden Age is incredible! It definitely had its low moments – cough cough, Wyald, cough cough – but as a whole package, it’s one of the most gripping, shocking, and emotional stories I’ve ever read! It’s no wonder this arc has been adapted into anime as many times as it has! It’s genuinely incredible!
To think that all of that was just the prequel! The epic that is Berserk has only just started! And everything that follows is just as good as this, if not better!
For the most part.
Get ready, strugglers. The real hardships begin now.
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