**SPOILERS FOR BERSERK**
Minor spoilers, but I warned you.
It’s hard to put into words but one of my favorite things about Berserk (specifically the early stuff) was that Guts of course was the one we’re meant to identify most with, but I found Griffith to be eerily relatable. One was brutal, jaded, driven by hatred and rage. The other was calm, intelligent, and many times, characterized by his kindness or care for others (the boy on the battlefield, the one who carried a knight toy) which is what made it so haunting, to know that he was not all bad before he would become irredeemable… and suddenly the exploration of their characters became about Guts learning to tame himself. To become gentler, more stable. Griffith delves further into his own darkness, using his charm and subliminal coercion through the visions of the Hawk. The reason why he wasn’t willing to kill Rickert at first was that he didn’t know whether he could be persuaded or not, and after realizing Griffith could no longer control one of his victims, could no longer subjugate him, he sent Rakshas to silence him. It challenges you emotionally just as the characters are evidently challenging themselves.
This isn’t a “Griffith did nothing wrong” post, but I really do think that the lens of pure good and righteous versus pure evil and malice flattens not only BOTH of their characters, but the story as a whole. I do hope to see more inside the psyche of Griffith, especially in regard to Casca. I’m still very curious about Griffith’s daydream, right before the Eclipse. How will he rationalize it? How will he attempt to convince her? When I say that Berserk is peak I really do mean it.