Character Analysis: Griffith

 

Hello. Today I got into a deep dive into the psyche of Griffith from the classic anime Berserk from 1997. 

TW: Very graphic details will disturb you and reader discretion is advised, so if you don't want to read what I've typed that is totally up to you and keep in mind, there are spoilers. Now I'm not justifying his actions, I'm just giving insight as to what he went through and why he did what he did.

Griffith was first introduced in The Black Swordsman arc as the leader of a mercenary group called The Band of the Hawk, both the group and title were named after the White Hawk on Griffith's helmet. The word "Griffith" comes from a Welsh origin which comes from the name Gruffudd. The prefix "Griff" means strong grip and the suffix "udd" means "chief/lord". Thus making Griffith a natural-born leader. He's very charismatic, smart, good-looking and ambitious, with his skills with his sword giving him a reputation, and being adored by the kingdom of Midland who are at war with the Tudor Empire. Griffith believed that he was destined for great things and was willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of having his own kingdom, and valued the lives of others who were of use to him. The source of his ambition was the Crimson Behelit, an object that's shaped like an egg and has a closed mouth with two eyes separated from each other. Also called the egg of the king, it would lead someone to be a great ruler. 

This was sign of foreshadowing, that egg would lead The Band of the Hawk to their imminent doom. 

The only people that Griffith trusted were Guts and Casca, his close confidants. 

As a child, Griffith was stricken with poverty, to the point where he couldn't even afford a slice of bread. In the alleyways, he played with street urchins and procured junk trinkets. He had much better ambition than other kids. During afternoons, he gazed at a castle and it was then that he dreamed of having his own castle. With his Band of the Hawk formed years later and recruiting Casca when she was only 12 after being raped, the group was first employed by Tudor. The feudal lord Gennon was a pedophile who fancied Griffith and he had to sell his own body to get the fortune that he needed for survival.

In the manga, Griffith was first introduced as Femto, a member of the demon lords, The God Hand. At the beginning of The Golden Age arc, manga readers want to know how Griffith became Femto in the first place and even wanting to respect him. Now, I don't think Griffith is bad guy, is being a demon lord bad? Yes. And I'm going to get into that. 

After the Midland kingdom and the Band of the Hawk defeats the Empire, Guts has no reason to be in the group anymore and decides to leave, and this of course puts Griffith into a depressed state and was willing to kill Guts if he left. Just like how Griffith recruited Guts by dueling with him, they have their second duel and Griffith loses when his sabre breaks. Guts imminently leaves and Griffith gets into a mental breakdown by sleeping with the princess by committing statutory rape by sleeping with the princess, this leads to his imprisonment and torture and the Band of the Hawk are label wanted criminals. 

A year goes by and Griffith's in the worst shape that he's ever been in. His body resembling a skeleton, wears his helmet and his throat so dry that he barely talked, Griffith became a shell of his former self and was crippled beyond belief. After being rescued by Guts, Casca and two other Hawk members, Pippin and Juneau, Griffith was in seer desperation and triggers his behelit, summoning The God Hand in the process.   The Eclipse is considered to be the darkest and scariest moment in all of Anime, and part of the reason why is when Griffith was given a choice by the demon lords to sacrifice his comrades to the Apostles. Upon seeing his true-self, he becomes convinced that no matter how many lives lost, he will always achieve his dream, and becoming a martyr to a god called "dream". With everything that Guts has been through, and that moment he had nothing else to lose and has submitted himself to The God Hand and sacrificed his comrades to these monsters. 

With Griffith now Femto, you now know the reason as to why Guts wanted to kill Griffith at the end of The Black Swordsman arc in the books. That, and that he raped Casca right in front Guts' very presence. 

Two years have gone by and Griffith has entered the physical plane after The Egg of the Perfect World orchestrated the Incarnation Ceremony at Albion, using the body of Casca's malformed child as a vessel with the gift of supernatural charisma. Griffith has created a new Band of the Hawk composed of Apostles and humans and making the sole military leader of Midland's armies. He wins the loyalty of the Holy See, who are basically Pagans and marries Princess Charlotte(don't worry, by this point she's 18). After defeating the Kushan Empire, Griffith has achieved his dream by having his own kingdom, calling it Falconia, because he's falcon demon and all that jazz. And if anyone opposes him, they will executed by the Holy See.

And that my friends is my analysis on Griffith. 

Like I've said, he's not really a villain, he was once a captivating leader of a mercenary group and had a great friendship with Guts and due to his core morale being crushed by Guts' departure, he lost his way and got brought down emotionally and physically. At his lowest point, he had no other choice or anywhere to turn and summoned deities that are pure evil beyond compare and sacrificed everything that he knew to achieve his dream. Thus becoming another character Femto, who is evil. Griffith and Femto are two completely different people. Gone was Griffith and Femto was born. 

Thanks for reading and don't forget to share your thoughts down below.