Berserk (Manga)

Berserk is a long-running dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Miura premiered a prototype of Berserk in 1988. The first volume of the manga was published on 26 November 1990 by Hakusensha in its Jets Comics collection. After three more volumes were published, Berserk was serialized in Young Animal in 1992 and is still being released. Berserk's setting is inspired by medieval Europe. It centers around the life of Guts, an orphaned mercenary warrior, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the Band of the Hawk. As he ages, Guts changes from a solitary boy into a man who realizes the value of camaraderie. The story contains elements of both fantasy and horror, as it explores both the best and worst of human nature. Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy violence. It was adapted as an anime, Kenp Denki Berserk, which was produced by Oriental Light and Magic and aired on Nippon Television from 7 October 1997 until 31 March 1998. It ran for 25 episodes and covered the first arc: Golden Age.