The BEST episodes of Berserk season 1
Every episode of Berserk season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Berserk season 1!
In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true and man has no control, even over his own will. In medieval times war raged throughout the countryside. Feudal lords would give large sums of money to mercenaries who could rid them of their enemies. One such mercenary is Guts. He wields a sword almost larger than he is and holds tremendous strength and courage. When he joins a band of mercenaries known as the Band of the Hawk, he finds a purpose to fight for other than money and helps the Hawks to become the most feared enemy on the battlefield. This anime is adapted from the manga of the same name created by Kentaro Miura.
#1 - Time of Eternity
Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/1/1998
Griffith's men are sacrificed to the demon's appetites. Guts fights on, at first to save Griffith, then to save himself from the result of Griffith's ambition. Judeau and the others there are all killed, except Caska. Griffith emerges as Femto, the fifth God Hand demon. Femto rapes Caska, and Guts cuts off his own trapped arm to help her. It is all in vain. Demons hold him down, impaling his right eye, while he screams in fury. A healed Guts leaves Godo's house for destinations unknown, to have his revenge on God Hand.
#2 - Separation
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/18/1998
Griffith will not let Guts simply leave. He says that Guts belongs to him. With a single swing of his sword, Guts defeats Griffith by cutting through his sword and leaves the Hawks. Later on, Griffith seduces Charlotte in her room and is caught (and sentenced to imprisonment).
#3 - The Great Eclipse
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/25/1998
Seduced by the promises of demons and his dreams from his childhood, Griffith agrees to fulfill his destiny and become one of the God Hand demons. A seal is branded onto the Hawks after Griffith confers with God Hand.
#4 - Eve of the Feast
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/18/1998
Breaking away from the King's pursuing armies, the few Hawks left contemplate their future. Guts comforts Caska, who is despondent over Griffith's condition. Griffith begins to dream/hallucinate and escapes in a wagon. As the Hawks pursue him, a solar eclipse suddenly transforms the landscape into a scene from hell.
#5 - Infiltration
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/11/1998
With Guts help, Caska and the Hawks hope to rescue Griffith. While they are off, a group of injured Hawks are wiped out by demons. Guts, Caska and the rest of the rescue group break a wounded, emaciated Griffith out of the Tower of Rebirth.
#6 - Nobleman
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/10/1997
Guts, sent by Griffith, assassinates Yurius and his son Adonis. Griffith gets closer to Charlotte. The Hawks depart for yet another mission.
#7 - Prepared For Death
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/7/1998
Guts and Caska try to fight their way back to the Hawks while the enemy army they were fighting from before try to stop them.
#8 - Confession
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/4/1998
Guts returns in time to save the remaining Hawks from annihilation. Caska is angry at him, then tries to kill herself in frustration, but Guts stops her. He and Caska become romantically involved.
#9 - Zodd the Immortal
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/1997
In another raid, Guts and Griffith come across a demon known as Nosferatu Zodd. Amazingly, they survive the combat against the powerful creature though both men are injured.
#10 - Bonfire of Dreams
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/14/1998
Caska finds Judeau's division of Hawks and leads them back to where Guts was fighting alone. Although injured, he defeated all the enemy soldiers by himself. They return to the Hawks' camp and Caska tends to Guts' wounds. But since Guts knows of Caska's feelings for Griffith, he pushes her to him and walks off.
#11 - Together
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/24/1997
Caska is still unconcious, so Guts shelters them in a cave while the rain pours down. She comes to and tells Guts about her past and about Griffith's. She was a peasant's daughter and was bought by a nobleman, who tried to rape her. Griffith came by and threw down the sword which she used to kill the man. Ever since then, she has been with Griffith. She also reveals that Griffith financed his amibitions by selling himself to Gennon, a governor of Chudan.
#12 - The Conqueror
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/28/1998
With the help of Nosferatu Zodd (who threw a sword down on the battlefield after Guts broke his), Guts defeats the defender of Doldrey Castle in one on one combat.
#13 - Tombstone of Flames
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/11/1998
Griffith has his revenge by having the Queen's castle burned down, then covers his tracks by having Gatts kill the men he had hired to set the fire. With Griffith's position secure and winter coming, the Hawks relax at the castle. Guts, now 18, decides it is time for him to move on.
#14 - The Battle
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/17/1997
On a stormy battlefield, Caska, Griffith's second in command, is wounded while fighting the leader of an enemy army. Guts runs to her rescue but when she passes out at the edge of a cliff, he cannot catch her in time and they both fall into the river below.
#15 - Moment of Glory
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/4/1998
With the victory at Doldrey, Griffith is promoted to White Phoenix General, an aristocratic title. The Queen of Midland and other court conspirators try to poison Griffith.
#16 - The Black Swordsman
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/1997
A blacksmith is forging an enormous sword while a dark man with only one eye and one arm stands back and watches. The dark man approaches a castle by a large town. There is an Inn there where some castle guards burst in with a girl demanding a fight, but instead just have some drinks. The grandfather of the girl attempts to rescue her, but is badly beaten in the attempt. Suddenly one of the castle guards is shot in the head by a crossbow bolt and others soon follow. The dark man walks into the inn and shoots another castle guard in the shoulder. He walks up to the injured castle guard and orders him to tell his master the Black Swordsman has come. He slays another soldier with his enormous sword and leaves the inn. The injured castle guard goes to his Master's Minister and explains about the Black Swordsman. The minister orders that this criminal must be found. He is afraid of bringing the news to his master. While a search begins, the injured castle guard tells his master wha
#17 - The Decisive Battle
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/21/1998
The King of Midland and his various generals confer about Doldrey Castle, long since captured by the Chudan Empire. Griffith plans an attack and the King agrees despite the protests of his other officers. Only one other general supports Griffith's actions. The Hawks attack Doldrey.
#18 - Sparks
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/25/1998
Guts is on the road again, occasionally entering in tournaments for practice. He arrives at the home of Godo the swordsmith and stays there for a while while Godo crafts a new sword for him. Guts practices more on his sword techniques with the help of Godo's little daughter Erika. Then he finds out about what happened to the Hawks and Griffith.
#19 - Assassination
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/3/1997
Griffith saves Charlotte when her horse bolts during a fox hunt. Yurius, the king's younger brother, attempts to have him assassinated, but the assassin's arrow strikes Griffith's pendant and leaves him unhurt. Griffith plots his revenge.
#20 - First Battle
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/1997
Guts and Griffith begin their sword fight. After Guts gets knocked down, he says how good Griffith is with a sword; using only one hand (Guts likes the challenge). Griffith tells Guts they can carry on the fight after he has fully recovered, but Guts tells him to shut up and they carry on. Meanwhile Corcas and a few other members of the Hawk run up the hill to see what is happening. They want to help Griffith, but Casca orders them to stay back as this is what Griffith commanded. Griffith finds the sword fight fairly easy with Guts and soon enough he starts to swing at Guts' sides causing him injury. In desperation Guts pick soil up with the end of his sword and throws it into Griffith's face. While Griffith is temporarily blinded, Guts lifts up his sword to make the finishing blow, but as his sword lands, he finds Griffith balanced on top of the blade. Griffith informs Guts that he can't use his sword, but Guts laughs and says 'in battle, there is only one way you should be using your
#21 - The Hand of God
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/1997
Griffith and Guts develop their friendship. Griffith shows his "Ha-ou no Tamago" pendant. Guts reminisces about his childhood. He had been adopted by a fighter named Gambino, who trained him to fight. But Gambino became violent and despondent after being injured and one day tried to kill Gatts. In self defense, Guts killed Gambino and ever since, has been a traveling sword for hire.
#22 - Conspiracy
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/1997
Griffith and Guts continue to have success in battle and Griffith is made a count. General Yurius is furious about this, and the minister Foss plants the idea of murder in his mind. The plan is to shoot Griffith with a poison arrow during an upcoming hunt.
#23 - Band of the Hawk
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/15/1997
There is a great battle-taking place at a fort. The attackers are doing well, except one thing stands in their way - Baruso. Baruso is a huge grey knight and he states that none shall pass him. The leader of the attackers orders his knights to attack him and if they do, they shall receive a huge bounty. No one attempts to fight; they merely stand back in ore. But then a young 15-year-old Guts steps forward with a large sword intending to defeat Baruso. He is mocked and laughed at by the other soldiers. But it is when Baruso mocks him the most that Guts charges at Baruso. After a brief clash of sword and axe, Guts cracks Baruso's axe and then slices at his side with his giant sword. While Baruso falls to the ground begging for mercy Guts raises his sword and finishes Baruso off. The on looking defender's leader Griffith decides it is time to evacuate the fort. Guts receives his bounty from one of the leaders. The leader insists that Guts joins his army as a high-ranking soldier where he
#24 - A Wind of Swords
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/5/1997
Guts is now a commander in Griffith's army and he is taking great risks in battle. Although he succeeds, Casca takes him to task for it. Griffith is knighted and the nobles become jealous. Guts saves the Hawks in battle, to Casca's chagrin.
#25 - The Sword's Owner
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/1997
Griffith and Guts are injured and Griffith uses this in his political machinations; getting closer to the nobles and the King. He also flirts with the King's daughter. Guts and some of the Hawks feel that Griffith is pulling away from them.