Berserk

Berserk, also known in Japan as is a Japanese anime television series based on Kentaro Miura's manga series of the same name. The series was produced by Nippon Television and VAP, animated by Oriental Light and Magic and directed by Naohito Takahashi. It was broadcast for 25 episodes on Nippon TV from October 1997 to April 1998. Berserk was formerly licensed for English release in North America by Media Blasters, who lost the rights to the series in 2012. Berserk has been well-received, with critics praising its storytelling, characters, setting, and soundtrack by Susumu Hirasawa. Plot Guts is a lone mercenary warrior who wanders Midland looking for battles, driven solely by his will to survive. After being defeated by Griffith, the ambitious and charismatic leader of a fearsome mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk, Guts becomes a full member of the group. Guts quickly rises through the ranks, becoming Griffith's best warrior. One day, Griffith shows Guts his Behelit, a mysterious demonic relic, and tells him about his dream to rule a kingdom of his own. Three years later, the Band of the Hawk have grown in power and numbers, with Guts serving as a commander of the group. Guts encounters Immortal Zodd, a fearsome giant warrior, who after nearly killing him and Griffith, spares their lives upon seeing Griffith's Behelit, warning Guts of an inescapable death when Griffith's dream dies. While recovering, Griffith starts getting closer to the King of Midland's daughter, Charlotte. At one point, Guts overhears a conversation between Griffith and Charlotte at a royal dinner party, where Griffith says that to him, a true friend is someone who has their own dream. Someone he can call his equal. The Band of the Hawk is eventually hired full-time by the kingdom of Midland, helping to win the Hundred Year War against the Tudor empire. In the meantime, Guts develops a closest relationship with Casca, the Hawks' unit commander and only female member. Some time after the Hawks' victory, Guts decides to leave the group to stop living for Griffith's dream. Griffith challenges Guts to a duel, telling him that he joined the Band of the Hawk because he lost, and that he can only leave the Hawks if he can defeat him. After defeating Griffith with a single swing of his sword, Guts reaffirms his decision and walks away.