So you finished the TV animated series and you have tons of questions, don't worry you're not alone. All of
us at some point were filled with questions and maybe even a little anger at the end of Berserk's anime series.
Here you will find the answers to the many questions that you might have.
The ending?
The end of Berserk ended with the answers to many questions we had during the first episode with
Guts as The Black Swordsman. How did Guts escape from the Eclipse ceremony? Did anyone else survive it? What the hell's going on?!
These are all great questions that I will answer but before that, I have to give the major differences between the
anime and the manga. The anime left out many essential parts which will lead to confusion if I give an answer right now.
Manga Differences
The biggest exclusion that the anime series had which was essential is the Skull Knight. (That's the friendly
looking guy to your right.) There are tons of questions about SK's past and many of those have not been answered since the
manga/story is still being created. We are introduced to this character after Guts leaves The Hawks, after the Guts and
Griffith duel. Guts is wondering about how his friends are doing, 1 year after his departure, when in the dark woods,
comes a mysterious figure. Guts trys some of his attacks but each time he tries, the enemy is no longer there. The evil presence
reminds Guts of his fight with Zodd. Skull Knight finally talks to Guts and warns him that one year from that day, will
be his destiny and doom. SK tells Guts the truth and that since Guts was born underneath a corpse, he is closest to death and struggles with it
every day, but he also wants to escape from it. SK vanishes leaving Guts to wonder what he is talking about.
Also some fights weren't even included in the anime series.
And believe me, there were some great battles! One takes place on the attempt to rescue Griffith from Midland's castle (underground dungeon).
The person who tortured Griffith isn't the same as in the series. He's completely different and someone you'd expect to live
underground like that. The outcome was, however, the same, but there was an extra battle that the TV series missed. The battle
was between a group of strange talented assassins. Of course Guts and company won, but it was a pretty sweet fight!
There was also Wylad. Who? A somewhat important character who is only around for 1 volume (Volume 11 to be exact).
This character is similar to Zodd and how he has two different forms, both supernatural. This fight is of course 1 on 1 with
Guts and is simply amazing. Also the bond between Guts and Caska gets stronger after this fight, and Griffith isn't blind to it.
There is also a emotional moments between Guts and a "destroyed" Griffith which I won't spoil - it isn't very important, but it definitely adds to
the character development.
Some would argue that the biggest exclusion that the anime series left out was Puck, Guts' side-kick fairy in the manga.
Puck was left out because the target of the anime series was to show how Guts, Griffith, and The Band of the Hawks. Since the
target was to show the flashback of when Guts was young, Puck was left out probably not to confuse the audience. Puck would have been
placed in the first episode, but instead he was replaced with a helpless young girl being harassed. Puck is definitely one of the
best characters in Berserk, but he only plays a bigger role after the flashback ends.
What Really Happened...
On to the main course. Remember our small friend, Rickert? Who could forget the
very strange way he dies in the anime series. It was when Guts and others went to find and rescue Griffith.
This part of the TV series was dead on accurate, with the slaughter of those Hawks in their camp while Rickert went to retrieve water.
We didn't actually see it, but were made to believe Rickert dies from those
monsters. Who comes to the rescue? Skull Knight, of course, and in dramatic fashion! We are still shrouded in mystery of
the Skull Knight, but one things for sure, he drives fear into the monsters! The monsters outnumber SK by a lot but still
retreat. Skull Knight leaves Rickert wondering and crying about the massacre that just took place.
On to the Eclipse ceremony. After Griffith re-discovers his Behelit, and the Eclipse festival begins, we see what the TV series didn't show us.
Outside of the eclipse is a huge tornado and Rickert goes there right on time. In his eyes, he sees two powerful figures,
Skull Knight and Zodd The Immortal. The Band of the Hawk sacrifice takes place and so does what happens to Guts and Caska.
Femto, the newest member of the God Hand, is finished with Caska and the enclosed Eclipse, high above, begins to crack.
Skull Knights comes breaking through and attacks Void (the inverted brain demon) but doesn't connect. Void uses some type of
warp hole to revert SK's sword back towards him. Skull Knight rushes down the "arm" of the hand with tons of monsters swarming him. With one
burst, SK completely shreds all the incoming monsters. Femto stares at SK and makes a motion with his hand to crush him.
More monsters follow this order but are cut into peices, with ease, by SK. Femto looks at his hand confused. Skull Knight
rushes down, grabs Guts and Caska, and retreats out of the Eclipse. The God Hand members are amused of what just happened but aren't the least
discouraged. The fifth "Angel" is born (Griffith aka Femto), and now darkness and evil will overcome the world.
So will the world of Berserk be destroyed with the creation of the 5th angel? Those who aren't bound by destiny
sure don't think so! There is so much story that I haven't mentioned, that it's scary. Berserk has lots of story to it, and
is still being created, so I hope everyone reading this decides to go out and find the manga. Still I know
most people can't get the manga, which is why I'll be trying to give you some information on what's currently happening on the
Berserk Manga. For the aftermath of the Eclipse, click here.
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