Manga Review: Berserk Vol. 1

By Rudy Rosas

“Berserk Volume 1” is a series by Kentaro Miura (it was published on Nov. 16 1990) . “Berserk” is a part of the dark fantasy genre which is characterized by its grim tone, violence, gore, and exploration of mature themes. It is very much targeted towards adults, not really teens but I feel like if you believe you are mature enough or the genre of dark fantasy does not bother you, then I say it is worth a read. 

The plot of “Berserk” consists of a man named Guts that hunts down apostles. These apostles are demons in that world that can take on human forms sometimes, but he does not do it for the good of humanity, he does it for himself for his own vengeful nature. My opinion about this first volume is that it is an entire that leaves you wanting to explore more of its world. “Berserk” is set in the late medieval and early Renaissance era.

What happens in this volume is Guts is hunting down a man named the count, who he believes to be an apostle. Along in this volume Guts meets an elf named Puck who is the comedy relief in this volume. Miura in this book is trying to convey that Guts is a man that’s very inhuman, sometimes even more than the apostles. Guts believes you deserved to die if you couldn’t save yourself. This overall explains the structure and irony of his character is that he is just as much of a monster as the apostles he hunts . 

Gut’s philosophy obviously has many flaws but it is interesting and makes you think “why is he like that”. Though this book sounds interesting there obviously are problems with it. The first issue would be that the graphic content it contains often turns off a lot of readers and people who aren’t into the brutality of it. Another problem is that the volume throws you straight into the chaos with very little explanation, which can feel disorienting for readers. The evidence I have is in the very first few pages, it throws you into a very graphic situation which introduces you to what style this book has.

Now it is time to discuss the positives. The first interesting topic is the unique protagonist’s Guts. He is an extremely unique character and his weapons make him stand out as a character. His weapons consist of the dragon slayer (an oversized sword), his prosthetic arm which is also a cannon as well can shoot barrages of arrows. Another positive aspect is Miura artwork in the very first pages though graphic, the artwork eclipses it in its beauty. 

My overall review of this book is that it has a lot of positives and negatives but I would recommend this book to people who can handle mature themes. It is not meant for people who just want to get into that dark fantasy genre as well as for the people who can not handle blood, violence, assault or in general dark things. For books I would instead recommend something like “Vinland Saga” or “Full Metal Alchemist” because they share the same gritty themes of “Berserk” just without the darker content.