Similarities between BERSERK and A LITTLE LIFE | BERSERK GOLDEN AGE Chapters! 

To an outsider, people just see Berserk as a brutal and violent story. But to me, it’s the quiet and tender moments that make Berserk special. It’s a story about people learning to heal, how to trust, and become vulnerable again. I think that’s what makes this story so therapeutic for people.

9:52 I understand why it could be interpreted that way. But on the flipside, you can also see why Guts is wary of men, especially those that show him any form of friendship or intimacy. The rough events of his childhood have shaped him to be very cautious (maybe paranoid is a better word here? I don't know) and I love that his character stays more or less consistent in this part of the story. I think that's good writing. Love the review! This series just gets better :)

I'm glad you're enjoying Berserk. I think one of the reasons people have warned you so much about Berserk is because many of us who got to know this channel because of your One Piece videos don't know the extent of what you've experienced content wise but you come off as being such a sweet person it can be hard to imagine you reading dark stories on the regular. It's very refreshing and nice to listen to reviews by someone as wholesome as you but even knowing you're up to it I can't help but catch myself thinking "oh no what about when she reaches this future part of the story." :P People just have this natural urge to be protective that way. I hope you continue to enjoy Berserk (and the other manga you've read) and I'm excited to see you continuing these reviews in the future. That said, this topic makes me want to ask a question. Most of your content is about novels and I do read the occasional fiction novel but not nearly as much as you have, but I'd definitely be up for checking the parts of videos you've made that cover novels I have read, but to find that in the first place is there some index I could reference? Like I have no idea if you've read something like The Stormlight Archives or A Song of Ice and Fire or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a number of other books, is there some way I could find out if you have videos about specific novels and then which videos cover those novels?

When you get to the "Lost Children" chapters. You'll understand why we like Berserk so much.

Glad your still reading Berserk, as dark as the series gets and is what I love about it the most is how beautiful the quiet and the happy moments are. The dark just makes those moments shine brighter and even when you think there's no way they will come back they do. To me Berserk is a story that fills me with hope because if Guts can keep struggling every day with all of the bad stuff that has happened to him and he can still find moments of peace and smile, it makes me feel I can too.

Guts is in a situation where he really should be dead, over and over again. The world, and fate, doesn't want him, and he carries this cursed scar that causes all of those who've died, to forever try and pull him down into that same damned fate of death and eternal hopelessness. However, BECAUSE Guts has been so hurt and so denied by fate, at the core of his being is a trauma reaction to always resist and always keep slashing at the enemy in front of him no matter what. I can't help but think this is about resisting suicide, and the terrible journey of turning your pain into your weapon, and a reason to live.

You read the correct translation. That panel has become a meme in the community

Oh, I wish that that's the end of trigger warning worthy events in Berserk. In a way, it kinda keeps getting worse. If you choose to continue reading it, keep bracing yourself. I look forward to seeing more though, assuming you feel up to it.

Got me interested in two books with one video. Fascinating stories

Not sure why I watched this because Berserk is just not my thing, but I’m grieving right now and I think this video made me want to give it another go. I think it’s a good idea to try a new thing or try something I might not have tried before because when we grieve our bodies are messing with different types of chemical reactions with more extreme emotions.

the art of Berzerk keeps getting better. It has a certain grotesque beauty to it that mesmerizes the readers

An important moment in the splash fight is its end when Griffith even amongst a beautiful moment reinforces that he has power over guts

There are more manga that reminds me of literature, Vagabond and Vinland saga are medieval ones, for suspense there is Monster and Chi no Wadachi

Definitely an interesting arc! Understandable why many people recommend getting to the Golden Age chapters because the quality of the story really starts to take shape here. I agree that Berserk does seem to be an exploration of trauma and asks how people are able to persevere, the content is not to my taste but I can still certainly understand the value of it.

I’ve read Beserk so many times and it’s a roller coaster of sad emotions and depression but also a sense of stoicism and overcoming those pains, I’m going to get a look of a Little Life! Can’t wait to see your other videos.

The tough stuff is what really got me interested. never seen anything before berserk with these kinds of dark storybeats. it does not shy away from pretty much anything , which i really like, since most media wont even glance at where berserk boldly walks.

I remember started reading Berserk years ago, for the fights and "tough stuff" for saying it in some way, but behind that graphic brutality, I keep reading for the characters and how their relationship evolves. It really feeld nice when Guts joins Griffith's crew, maybe he is finding his place, after going from just a battle into another. 9:20 In the translation that I read, a spanish one, Guts said something like "I not have that type of taste...", I guess it was supopsed to be a little gag or something, but Puck do that kind of stuff better. And yes, I also missed that little buddy reading this. I thought I could say more, but maybe next time, for me the fights were awesome, but the emotions were that keep me reading this. I don't find better word to express myself right now, just glad you're enjoying! I gonna check those books! If I wrote something weirdly, I'm a spanish speaker, just practicing some english on youtube comments so bear with me 😆

I'm not very interested in more actual and or real stuff, but I googled and read a resume of a little life. And it seems to really bring lots of similarities. But the thing is that the golden age is still the background of guts. Things will get more wholesome, but also a lot darker. Guts will raise and fall multiple times. But the Golden Age seems to be similar to the "Happy Years" of a little life, hance the title. But you just know that this will end, and that will throw guts in a bad place, like we saw earlier. I don't know, Jude seems to have suffered a lot. Maybe even more than Guts. But I really wanna know your thoughts on this parallel, because I think that, reading just the resume of a little life, I can see more similarities that will show in the future between Guts and Jude, and I'd like to know your opinions and see your reaction!

To this day I still don't know how Griffith actually felt/feels about Guts. He's quite a complex character.

There's a huge increase in quality at the start of the Golden Age, which is partially due to Miura's writing style changing. During the Black Swordsman arc, the core idea was just a psychologically scarred anti-hero with a unique fighting style wandering around killing things, with Puck added to provide levity. However, Miura knew he wanted to make the story into something more than that, and peppered in ideas that seemed like they could be interesting later. When the Golden Age started, Miura made a conscious decision to be more intentional in the writing, finding ways to tie together the scattered plot elements introduced in Black Swordsman. By the end of the Golden Age arc, he had already planned out the rest of the story. Most manga are serialized in anthology magazines, with either a chapter a week or a chapter a month, then are collected into volume releases after the fact. These magazines are usually sorted into categories based on primary demographic: Kodomomuke (lit., "intended for children") is targeted toward children under 10, Shounen (lit., "boy") is targeted toward boys aged 10-19, Shoujo (lit., "girl") is targeted toward girls aged 10-19, Josei (lit., "young woman") is targeted toward women aged 20-40, Seinen (lit., "young man") is targeted toward men aged 20-40, and Ero (short for "erotic") is pornographic works. There are other categories, but they're much more niche, and seldom get English translations. One Piece, Death Note, and SPYxFAMILY are all shounen series. Naturally, a lot of these demographics have crossover appeal; shounen has large female and adult fanbases, many shoujo series attract male fanbases, a lot of the more popular kodomomuke series have spin-offs targeted toward adult fans, etc.. Just about any genre can be made for any demographic, but there are a lot of common tropes, genres, themes, and tonal elements within specific demographics, i.e., series like One Piece, Naruto, and Dragonball are what most people would think of when they hear shounen, while Pokémon and Digimon are archetypal kodomomuke series. Berserk is, at first glance, everything you'd expect from a seinen series. However, Miura was also a huge fan of shoujo series, historical fiction, western sci-fi, and classic literature, and these influences are very apparent once you examine the series more closely. He also took influence from various shounen, josei, and kodomomuke series, western horror films, Shakespeare's plays, Star Wars, and the art of HR Giger, and one of his biggest influences was The Rose of Versailles, a shoujo romantic drama set in the years leading up to the French Revolution, with a lot of effort made to accurately portray the political nuances in France at the time. This variety of influences does a lot to elevate Berserk beyond just being a very good seinen series. I'd been exposed to a lot of Berserk's more upsetting and disturbing content in other works beforehand, but never to the level of graphic detail shown in Berserk. Something like child sexual abuse would merely be implied, then cut before the audience saw anything. Having a small child getting raped on-panel was very much new and shocking to me, even though i had been warned beforehand. That said, i kept reading because i was so invested in Guts as a character by this point, and there was something about the way it was written that made me already love the series. I'm very open-minded about any sort of content within art, provided it's handled well, and while Berserk does fumble a couple times, it handles all of themes with the respect and gravity they deserve. I'm biologically male, and i was sexually abused as a minor. What i went through is nowhere near as bad as what Guts went through; i was in my late teens, there was no violence or penetration, i was rescued immediately, and had a great support system. Regardless, seeing a male protagonist survive a worse version of what i went through, with the effects of this trauma portrayed realistically, and the healing that he geos through; all of that is very therapeutic and encouraging to me. Berserk can be interpreted in a lot of ways, with different portions having different themes, but, to me, the main theme of Berserk is healing from trauma. It's a very beautiful and personal story to me. I dont usually mourn for celebrity deaths beyond thinking "aw, that's sad" and moving on with my day, but i grieved for Miura like i'd lost a relative or close friend, because Berserk is such an emotionally intimate story to me.

really glad to see ur enjoying berserk, i would also recommend watching the 97 anime once you are done w Golden Age (if you would like) also, if its not too much trouble, would you be able to mark chapters in the video for sections you cover/ differentiating thoughts?

I'm glad you have continued reading this one. The art is going to continue to improve until it becomes some of the best in the medium. Really spectacular and detailed panels I also would like to let you know that you've made it through some of the hardest to read parts. If what you've read wasn't too much for you, you can definitely handle the rest. Please continue reading it. It's definitely worth your time

It was the correct translation. I think it definitely makes sense given the context of the SA and trauma responses

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I can't wait to see your thoughts on what's next to come.

Berserk is basically a series of "and then things got worse"

Thanks for the recommendation Shelly. I was just looking for a new book to read since I finished the First Law trilogy yesterday. I hope you will continue to do book recommendations when you see parallels like this!

I think if you do continue with Berserk that you will enjoy the later arcs the most

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on things to come. Keep going!

Griffith looks like Taylor Swift

What keeps me reading Berserk are the deep themes of the story. I will give you an example from the section you read. Guts was born and forced into the mercenary life. He was not taught anything other than how to fight. The only way he can survive is to fight. Guts knows nothing other than how to fight. As a result, Guts has no life purpose. No dreams. No goals. But Griffith knows exactly what his purpose is, what his dream is. Griffith wants to have his own kingdom. A man with no dreams contrasted with a man with the craziest most ambitious dream imaginable. This theme about dreams and life purpose is going to be the focus for the entire golden age arc. And it is going dive very very deep into this theme. Just to clear things up, Guts' mother was hung very late into her pregnancy. In real life, if the mother dies, the baby dies in the womb because of no oxygen. But in rare situations, if the mother is having contractions and dies, the baby can be born after the mother's death and survive. That is what I think happened with Guts and his mother.

Im a dude, and there are rare times a dude will ever find a dude friend as good as griffith. What a pal

Oh……I don’t think she is ready 😬

Even if i see trigger warnings as a honest worry over people I think it sometimes gets a little bit patronizing. Berserk is a viceral story a lot of times, but lets not understimate the capacity for people to get into it with nuance. I'd say that if you're ok at this point it'll be okay for the rest of the series

I agree that this arc is much better than the first chapters, I kept reading because of how enchanting and har to define Griffith was without being annoying or boring, I found that so interesting

there is fun information that Griffith and Guts some apect of their relationship reflect MIURA Kentaro and his best friend MORI Kouji wich also a mangaka. there is beautiful one shot where Mori talk about their past and friendship

I love berserk becuase of something I said in my last comment and will summarize here: it is a world of suffering in which you can feel a underlying hope that permeates into the pages. I am a one piece guy, OP stood out compared to other shounen becuase of the depth of the emotional Storytelling. One thing the berserk author (may he rest in piece) said that sticks with me is that he does not consider berserk to be on the Shounen Seinen side, he thinks it is closer to Shoujo and (I forgot the older genre name) becuase the plot is dictated by feelings rather than action. Personally, I think the best stories are when feelings and actions intertwine to create plot. Note about the genre: Shonen is the demographic of young boys. One piece is Shounen. Seinen is th3 demographic of older boys. Berserk is Seinen. Shoujo is the female Shounen equivalent. Sailor moon is Shoujo. I forgot the name of the female Senein equivalent nor do I have an example.

Oh boy, you think this is the dark part, im waiting till you read the eclipse 😂

you should do more of these similarities between so and so sections. I'd really like to expand my library

9:51 well any normal person would have that reaction. Not only does Griffith look like he’s gay at that scene he’s also being very weird. It not like a gay dude who’s making the moves on you and you can just go “sorry mate, I’m not into that”. And Guts was raped as a child so his reaction makes sense. Also the translation is correct. The scene is also meant to be comedic.

my thoughts while reading Berserk is always: "What is Kentaro trying to say here" For the longest time I couldn't grasp the real answer. The world is crumbling down and Guts just keeps struggling, if I were in his shoes, I'd give up in the first trauma. Such a complex story, makes me re-read it again and again.

Berserk definately is a thought provoking on subjects that many mangas doesn't touch upon, that's why it is top 1 on myanime list in manga category.

I would imagine Guts it kinda homophobic. I'ts a world of horror and pain, I guess there isnt much time for compassion towards someones sexuality. Also the way GRiffith said "you are mine" would warrant a homophobic remark from someone who was assulted as a child by a homosexual. definalety justifyable levels of anger from our guts here

So often today people conflicting peiple who hate gays with people who fear gays (calling people you think hate gay people 'homophobic'). By what I saw, Guts doesn't show any hate towards gays, but he is homophobic for a long while, and given his experience, it's a realistic trait to have in the character

The Golden Age is in the first 5 books (end of 1* and beginning of 5).

There’s certainly quite a bit of homoeroticism particularly in this arc. Although, some people might disagree with me but knowing some of the inspirations for Griffith and what Kentaro Miura liked reading, it makes sense. Don’t know if you got those vibes, what do you think?

3:21 "his mom's dead corpse", as opposed to a living corpse. 🤣 5:44 "this is like the most triggering" ... yeah... no. 21:52 you talked a lot about Guts's curse. In some ways, his ability to evade death could be a blessing. Of course, with blessing like this who needs a curse? Griffith was not a bad person. However, I cannot say he was a good person either: - He is ruthless in attaining his goal. - He does not mind using people as pawns.

Did you keep reading? :o no more videos of berserk ? :O

You forgot adding this to you berserk playlist

Berserk: Tale of a Trauma Survivor. on its surface level its garnered alot of fans simply for its shock value through the gore and sexual violence but is so much more.

Well, if you haven’t done a video in five months it probably be stopped reading. That’s fine. It’s not for everyone if it’s too dark for you that’s fine. Thanks for giving it a shot

Oh, I can definitely see the similarities with A Little Life. Interesting comparison.

I am both glad I read/watched berserk but am also slightly traumatized from it.

Guts' backstory didn't make me flinch. The golden age is Griffith's backstory and the culmination of events coming is much more triggering. I really enjoyed Kentaro's art and I found Guts' journey extremely compelling, I had to see how his humanity survived.

When you complete golden age arc you know 24:21

Did you drop Berserk?

Wow, I clicked fast.

The three movies of berserk skip the first ark, as you were talking about being better to skip that. The three movies just cover the golden age ark. Thats how i started into berserk. And i think its better. I think murata was still discovering things in those first few chapters. And golden age is when it really starts hitting off. Some people will debate if knowing who griffith is now makes it more imppactful vs the surprise youll get from the movies though.

are you done with reading berserk?

The reason why manga feels more like a written novel is because their was no comic book act in japan. People could just write what they wanted to write about. This is maybe unknown. But their was a comic book act in 1954 in usa. Which basically destroyed the comic industry and severley limited the genre. To require a very limiting amount of genres and was required to push americian propaganda into children. One of the only genres that could fit into these molds and was still popular. Was the super hero genre. Which could easily maintain an interesting story to children while also progandizing good americain values into children. This destroyed the adult comic book industry Just to show how extreme it was. This was a requirment. : "Policemen, judges, Government officials and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority"

I think if you were assaulted in the past as a kid, you wouldn't trust anyone let alone let someone "posses" you.

we warn you Berserk shouldn't be first read into manga!

I can't wait for you to see "The Horse" in a hundred chapters! Good luck. 🫡 Also, I don't see Gut's backstory as too sad either. I think for this world it would be kinda common. I think the real sorrow comes from watching him heal from that story while knowing how he is in the present. Knowing that he will at some point become worse and be deconstructed.

Guts is a medievil mercenary who has known nothing but war his whole life, not to mention what happened with Donovan, if Guts comes off as being "homophobic", it's because he is, why would he not be?