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Berserk - Character Discussion -Spoiler Beware-

Berserk is my favorite manga.

Griffith is my favorite character.

spoiler[A lot of people think he's horribly evil, but I must say, I disagree. The most important thing to keep in mind is that Griffith's life ended during the Eclipse. After that, he was Femto. Femto is evil, Griffith is not.

Griffith spent his entire life (well, most of it) trying to accomplish his dream. He was willing to do anything to attain it, but he was also concerned for his soldiers. He sold his body to protect his men after the young boy with the toy knight died. He was a good leader.

When Guts left him, Griffith basically suffered a mental breakdown. He slept with Charlotte, leading to his imprisonment and torture for a year. When he was saved, he found himself helpless. Listening to Guts and Casca's conversation drove him over the edge. He tried to drive the wagon off and ended up throwing himself into the lake, where he tried to kill himself. Thus began the Eclipse.

The Godhand manipulated Griffith. He was completely unstable at that point, and they used a seemingly reasonable argument coupled with very powerful illusions. They showed him the thousands who had died for his dream, including that boy with the knight toy. Then they showed that he had to pile more bodies up to reach the castle, and explained that if he didn't do it, the sacrifices of the thousands who had died would be for nothing. In effect, they forced him to weigh the lives of thousands against the few remaining Hawks. It was a horrific decision to force him to make, and given his unstable condition and their tricks, it is not at all surprising that he cracked and said yes.

Thus ended the life of Griffith.]

coolerimmortal wrote:

Berserk is my favorite manga. Griffith is my favorite character. spoiler[A lot of people think he's horribly evil, but I must say, I disagree. The most important thing to keep in mind is that Griffith's life ended during the Eclipse. After that, he was Femto. Femto is evil, Griffith is not. Griffith spent his entire life (well, most of it) trying to accomplish his dream. He was willing to do anything to attain it, but he was also concerned for his soldiers. He sold his body to protect his men after the young boy with the toy knight died. He was a good leader. When Guts left him, Griffith basically suffered a mental breakdown. He slept with Charlotte, leading to his imprisonment and torture for a year. When he was saved, he found himself helpless. Listening to Guts and Casca's conversation drove him over the edge. He tried to drive the wagon off and ended up throwing himself into the lake, where he tried to kill himself. Thus began the Eclipse. The Godhand manipulated Griffith. He was completely unstable at that point, and they used a seemingly reasonable argument coupled with very powerful illusions. They showed him the thousands who had died for his dream, including that boy with the knight toy. Then they showed that he had to pile more bodies up to reach the castle, and explained that if he didn't do it, the sacrifices of the thousands who had died would be for nothing. In effect, they forced him to weigh the lives of thousands against the few remaining Hawks. It was a horrific decision to force him to make, and given his unstable condition and their tricks, it is not at all surprising that he cracked and said yes. Thus ended the life of Griffith.]

Griffith IS Femto. Not just that he decided to sacrifice all his friends and betray them for his own ambition.
But the main point is that was no change in Griffith's character whatsoever, neither when he transformed into Femto nor when he got reborn into the human world.
He didn't just see illusions, he thought of his life so far and decided himself about how to continue, did you forget that he used the Behelit in the first place?
It only activates when you are ready to sacrifice what you hold dearest, not just for no reason.
Back when he had sold his body to that noble (I forgot his name) he had a breakdown but he finally decided to follow his dream and stop caring about the sacrifices that had to be made for that.
Also when Guts rescued him he starting resenting him (he even tried to choke him which was obviously futile) because he thought Guts had taken his place and everything Griffith had, had been taken by Guts.
That is also why he raped Casca in front of Guts eyes, to show him he had taken everything back that once belonged to him and that he thought had been stolen by Guts.

Nonetheless he is also my favorite character.

Griffith IS Femto.

GUTS! enough said.

Femto is evil, Griffith is not.

Griffith IS Femto. Not just that he decided to sacrifice all his friends and betray them for his own ambition.
But the main point is that was no change in Griffith's character whatsoever, neither when he transformed into Femto nor when he got reborn into the human world.