Guts

This page is dedicated to Kentaro Miura, the author of Berserk.

"GRIFIIIIIIIITHHH!!!!"

- Guts' iconic scream as he rages against Griffith.

Guts (ガッツ, Gattsu, sometimes romanized as Güts) is the main protagonist of the manga Berserk written by Kentaro Miura. He is a mercenary who travels from company to company so he is always fighting.

The dynamic and turbulent relationship between Guts and Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk, forms the primary focus of the manga for the first thirteen volumes. After the events of the Eclipse, Guts seeks revenge on Griffith, who is now Femto. In the process, he is reunited with Casca after a separation of two years and following the Incarnation Ceremony at Albion, Guts travels with a new group of companions.

Why He Rocks

 * 1) For starters, his exceptionally well-done and incredibly tragic yet compelling backstory that makes him a very sympathetic and realistic character.
 * 2) Amazing character development, as he starts from an uber-masculine powerhouse of rampant demon-slaying destruction with little concern for others who get in his way and a vicious determination to slay all monsters in his path, to a person who sacrifices his vengeful intent towards the divine entities that made his life so terrible in the first place, opting to use his life to defend the only person he has ever truly romantically loved.
 * 3) He's a great combatant and a determined warrior who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
 * 4) While he was in the Band of the Hawk, Guts was always very supportive of his comrades. He admired all of his fellow Hawk members because they all had dreams they were willing to stake their lives on, and always put their welfare above his own.
 * 5) During the Hundred-Year War, he saves Casca twice and even holds off one hundred soldiers to buy enough time for Casca to escape. He's also very supportive of her, encouraging her not to let herself be killed on the battlefield. Then, after conquering Doldrey, he lifts her up to go to Griffith's side when she expresses sadness over Griffith always being so far away and distant at the end of a fight. When Guts prepares to leave the Band of the Hawk, Guts even tells Casca that he hopes things go well with her and Griffith.
 * 6) He always encouraged Griffith, believing in his strength and his ambition sometimes even more that Griffith did, and prior to the Eclipse, their relationship was extremely well-developed.
 * 7) Much like Kratos, despite his brutality, Guts is a person who only wants to live a peaceful life and isn't completely heartless.
 * 8) He has numerous memorable moments, like when he swung the Dragonslayer sword for the first time or when he teams up with Zodd to take on Emperor Ganishka.
 * 9) His moments when wielding the Berserker Armor are absolutely epic, especially his fight against Grunbeld.
 * 10) His introduction is absolutely great.
 * 11) His personality, abilities, and outlook on life make him the perfect foil to Griffith.
 * 12) His anger at Griffith is very understandable, considering he betrayed him in the absolute worst way possible during the Eclipse, though thanks to his allies, he's able to control it.
 * 13) He has a very good design which makes him very memorable.
 * 14) He's very edgy but in a good way which further adds to his iconic status.
 * 15) He can be funny at times, especially when putting up with some of the humorous antics of his companions.
 * 16) He has good leadership skills.
 * 17) A brooding loner by nature, Guts is callous, serious and self-absorbed, yet open to people (especially his companions) and anti-heroic by the most part and is actually cunning and strategic (though not on the same degree as Griffith, obviously).
 * 18) Despite being the main protagonist he's neither a hero or villain as he has both strengths and flaws as he may act villainous for reasons but at the same time he can act heroic as well.
 * 19) While a loner, Guts still has people he loves and cares for, mainly his teammates and his girlfriend Casca.
 * 20) *Speaking of Casca, both Guts and Her had Awesome Chemistry
 * 21) His 1997 anime leitmotif is hauntingly beautiful, and captures his character perfectly.
 * 22) Nobutoshi Canna, Hiroaki Iwanaga, Marc Diraison, Kaiji Tang and Michael Bell all do an outstanding job voicing him.
 * 23) His name "Guts", along with his other aliases, like particularly the "Black Swordsman" and the "Hundred Man Slayer", is really cool and badass.
 * 24) Despite all the tragedies he has gone through, Guts never gives up and keeps fighting to protect his lover Casca and face all the dangers he encounters.
 * 25) Because of all the above, Guts is one of the most badass anime and manga protagonists as well as a pretty memorable one.
 * 26) While Berserk (2016) was atrocious because of its flaws like the animation, he still kept most of his charm and likable personality.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While he's likable, he can be a bit unlikable at times. More often than not, he tends to act like a jerk around some people at times, which is why he doesn't have a good reputation.
 * 2) His anger tends to get the better of him sometimes. In fact, he can get very angry very easily, though he's able to control it, as said before.

Trivia

 * Guts has been mainly inspired by Kenshiro, the protagonist of Fist of the North Star.
 * According to the manga's official guidebook, Guts is 204 cm (6 ft, 8 inch) tall and weighs 115 kg (253 lb, 8.5 oz).
 * Guts has inspired a number of characters like Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, Father Nier from NieR Gestalt, Striga from Castlevania (2017) and Artorias from Dark Souls.