Berserk: How will Guts' Story End? (2024)

Ever since 1988, the late Kentaro Miura's legendary series Berserk has captivated audiences from all across the world, with much of the fan base touting the manga as 'the greatest story ever told' across all forms of media. This sort of praise can only really come if the series in question is an objectively good story which has a varying amount of different themes that really hit home to different readers for different reasons. Berserk is a mature manga that talks about the importance of friends, family and hope while also tackling very serious and dark topics, all wrapped together in a package with some of the most breathtaking art ever put to the paper in a manga.

Kentaro Miura made sure that everything about this story was as perfect as it could be, and it can be seen why this enduring franchise rests so comfortably in the hearts of every single fan, especially when it comes to the main character Guts'. Guts' is one of the most complex, deep and nuanced characters in fiction and at the crux of it all, he is very human; complete with all the strengths and flaws that all people tend to have. He is a character that initially comes off as very dark, broody and edgy, but as the series go on, Guts' starts to open up and people see the kind of person he truly is. His main character feature is his will power and resilience, as he has seen the absolute worst horrors that anyone could possibly conceive of and has felt pain of physical and mental magnitudes that are too great for anyone to bear. Despite this, he never loses himself and always focuses on the good of his life.

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How Will His Story End?

Guts' subverts many character tropes associated with the typical main character of an anime, in the sense that he is dark, ruthless, and brooding, while at the same time, he chooses to never lose himself, is always compassionate, and never stops fighting for those that he loves. While always wanting to stick by his ultimate goal of killing Griffith and the Godhand, he learns to love and take care of his friends and learns to appreciate his life, no matter how hard it has been for him.

This is where the infamous Griffith comes in. Griffith was the leader of the Band of the Falcon, a group of mercenaries of which Guts' was initially a part of. This band served as Guts' first true family but was eventually ripped from his hands as Griffith betrayed the group and killed them all to join the Godhand, a group of immensely powerful demons. Ever since Chapter 74 of Berserk, when the Eclipse happened for the first time within the pages of the manga, fans of the series have been waiting for the eventual showdown of Guts' and Griffith.

Since 1996 till now in 2023, Guts eventual fate has been the topic of much debate among fans of the series and ever since the passing away of the legendary mangaka of Berserk, Kentaro Miura, the series has finally reached its final arc. So far in this arc, as of the latest chapter 374, we have seen Guts at the very lowest stage that he has ever been in as Casca has been taken away by Griffith, making all the trials and tribulations that Guts went through over the years a complete waste as he failed to protect the one person he cared about more than everything else. As of now, Guts isn't speaking to anyone as he constantly has to battle the Beast of Darkness within himself, who urges him to lose control and give into his rage.

Now, the way that the story of Berserk has gone so far for Guts has been extraordinarily grim. He has had to deal with death and loss ever since his introduction and as of the latest chapter, he has lost everything. In typical Berserk fashion, one could actually assume for the ending of the series to either be bittersweet or sad as the rest of the story has been. However, according to an interview Kentaro Miura did with Yukari Fujimoto back in the year 2000, he said that he is more inclined to give Berserk a happy ending.

This is something that the readers and fans of the series are very glad to hear as this opens the possibility for everyone's favorite character to finally be happy. Now, there are a few ways that fans theorize that this could happen. One of these theories states that after Chapter 374 where we see Guts almost give in to the Beast of Darkness, he may be brought back to his original state by fan favorite character Rickert, who we saw was on his way to meet Guts. This is a monumental moment in the series because Rickert is also a former member of the Band of the Falcon and one of Guts' oldest friends who also survived the Eclipse, and this would mark the first time since they meet each other since Chapter 182, which came out all the way back in July 2001.

This could mean that despite being at his lowest point, Guts will not succumb to the Beast of Darkness, and with Rickert's help, he will regain his composure and sail out to save Casca. What's even more interesting is the fact that the Kushan Empire has taken the crew captive, which could have a very great narrative thread where they eventually choose to help Guts' defeat Griffith and his army. Though they may have differing goals, it would be great to see different plot points all converge for the final showdown of the story.

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Now, this is where the story itself could end in a few different ways, the most commonly believed one of which somehow, Guts will end up defeating Griffith but will himself die in the process. After giving his life to save Casca again as well as getting his revenge on the man who took everything from him, Guts will finally receive a bittersweet end, dying happily and peacefully knowing that Casca is safe and that all of his hard work and suffering weren't for nothing.

One more way that this could be worked out is by Guts defeating Griffith the old-fashioned way, which could end in the latter's death. However, what would really be a game changer is if the series ends with Griffith's and the Godhand's defeat by the hands of Guts and Skull Knight, with Griffith being cast down from his seat of power but not dying at the end of it. This would torment Griffith to live the remainder of his days as nothing more than someone who has nothing, seeing Guts and Casca have a happy life despite doing everything in his power to prevent that from happening. At the end, he himself sacrificed his humanity for a dream that he could not even keep, and those that he made suffer ended up living their lives how they wanted.

The final theory, however, is the most fascinating as it states that Griffith will get cast down from the Godhand, by the Godhand themselves. It states that this was Void's plan from the start and that this was something that he has been doing for ages, as we saw him in a flashback to a thousand years ago when he destroyed King Gaiseric's kingdom with the help of the Godhand. However, the Godhand members seen in this flashback are all different except for Void himself, leading many to theorize that Void himself is the master planner and routinely does this to achieve his own goals of power.

In any case, the end of Berserk will undoubtedly come as a shock to everyone who will witness it, and whether the series will end in a happy or sad way for Guts, it will be an ending that everyone will remember as the conclusion to the greatest story ever told.

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