Berserk is often upheld as the epitome of the medieval dark fantasy and grimdark sub-genres. It explores philosophical themes like the war between choice and destiny where humans are unwilling pawns on a chessboard manipulated by demonic overlords. The protagonist, Guts, is a complex and tragic anti-hero who struggles to survive and hold onto his sanity and humanity amid this landscape.

Violence often goes hand-in-hand in dark fantasy anime, and Berserk is rife with it. Many fans and would-be viewers express critique and even acute distaste for the level and brand of extreme violence against women in the Berserk series. This is rather understandable as the series is notorious for this aspect.

An Appeal to “Historical Accuracy” Does Not Justify the Level of Violence Toward Women in a Work of Fantasy

There are two main schools of thought, or arguments, regarding the treatment of sexual violence towards female characters in Berserk. One argument is that the violence works as is within the framework and theme of the story because it serves Berserk‘s dark plot and violent world. The idea is that as Berserk is a medieval-inspired anime, the level of violence makes sense.

The medieval era was a vastly patriarchal culture. Some women had limited rights, mostly based on class, if any at all. The few rights they may have had were virtually unenforceable. These elements all contributed to a vastly normalized level of violence towards women, including sexual violence.

Berserk also never shies away from practically every form of violence, it seems. Violence in all its forms fits the grimdark sub-genre and the dismal tone of Berserk. Guts’ story is tragic, from his lonely beginning as he’s born from the corpse of his hanged mother, to his demon-tortured present. The series intentionally explores many avenues of cruelty as well as those that perpetrate cruelty.

Guts symbolizes the concept of choice in the world of Berserk, and a key theme of the story is to explore the cycle of violence and trauma. Guts is often put in a position where he could easily become the monster who once hurt him, or the monster who he once stopped from hurting others. And then he must choose to stop himself. While depictions of sexual violence do tie into that theme with Guts’ character, it doesn’t necessarily need to be done in a fetishizing art style.

The Problem Isn’t That Sexual Violence Exists, but How That Violence Exists Within Berserk

It’s key that Berserk‘s world is inspired by the medieval era. It is a historical fiction fantasy, and not a biography or a devoted attempt to document one specific era and land within history. Berserk draws inspiration from several different battles, wars, and regents from across the medieval era and even the Elizabethan era, from the English Tudor royals to Joan of Arc lifting the siege on Orleans, which inspired Casca helping capture Doldrey Castle.

Not only does Berserk cherry-pick the rules and setting of its historical world, but it’s hard to use historical accuracy as a justification in a fantasy anime. Berserk is ultimately a work of fiction where the mangaka also imagines that elves exist, like the character Puck. By that logic, there is a choice about what does and doesn’t exist in the world of Berserk, and it’s important to be purposeful in those choices.

More importantly, it’s key to examine how sexual violence towards women functions in the art and story narrative in Berserk. Many fans and casual viewers have observed, and critiqued, the sexual assault on women in Berserk, citing that it borders on fetishization. The sheer number of violent incidents and the degree of detail qualify as gratuitous to many. Past a certain point, these events and the level of their grisliness don’t add to the overall plot or Guts’ character development.

There Is a Marked Difference Between Genders in Berserk

There is also a marked difference between how the male and female characters are depicted as victims or survivors in sexual assault scenes in Berserk‘s text and artwork. Guts’ childhood sexual assault is horrific, and it’s by no means as subtle as other works may have depicted such a traumatic memory. However, compared to virtually every other female character’s assault scene in Berserk, Guts’ traumatic scene is sparing, and it fades to black. In contrast, Casca’s scene in the Eclipse has drawn-out depictions of violence which many viewers feel is fetishized.

Sexual violence is littered throughout Berserk. Guts interacts with it often. But more often than not, this particular brand of violence is used as set dressing rather than any actual significant story building or character building. This recurring element arguably detracts from Kentaro Miura’s otherwise soulful, poignant writing.

While it could be argued that Casca’s assault matters for Guts’ plot, this part of the story could easily be communicated without panels of exploitative art. With all the creative and intellectual choices in the world at such an accomplished artist’s fingertips, it could have been done with far more respect and deftness and the same amount of horror as befitting the tone and theme of the grim sub-genre. Griffith is the villain of the story, and while telling the story is one matter, the mangaka’s pen didn’t need to be his henchman.