English Dub Review: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Memorial Edition “Master of the Sword”

Overview:

Guts has to carry out a crucial mission for Griffith.

Our Take:

Griffith makes his intentions of getting his own kingdom very clear and he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve that goal. Under his leadership, the Band of the Hawk gets in good with the king’s graces. Griffith even tries to get closer to the king’s daughter Charlotte.

Count Julius, who’s next in line to the throne, doesn’t take too kindly to Julius. Griffith has a plan to get rid of him and he needs Guts to do it for him.

Guts completes the mission, but he runs into some complications. Not only that, but it’s obvious that this has taken a toll on his mental state. Even Casca realizes this and she shows a little bit of kindness towards Guts. All she does is tend to his wound, but given how she’s treated him up to this point, I still found that surprising.

Griffith is showing his true colors here. It was already clear that he’s not a good man by any means, but this episode shows how cunning and manipulative he can be. He’s getting a lot down without even having to lift a finger.

We also see the first time Guts shows any regret. He doesn’t say so, but it looks like he’s starting to question being with Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. Guts’ relationship with Griffith will likely be strained after this, but I’m interested to see what Guts’ next choice of action will be regarding Griffith.