No manga has been able to successfully capture the true essence of Berserk, but a new series called Kangibanka evokes the former’s Golden Age, the arc that precedes the calamitous Incantation of Doom where Griffith transforms into the demon Femto and Guts becomes the Black Swordsman.
The Golden Age tells the story of a lone mercenary named Guts getting swept up into the escapades of the Band of the Hawk and, subsequently, devoting his life to ensure the overly ambitious dream of its charismatic leader, Griffith, is achieved. The most stunning development during this time is the relationship between Guts and Griffith. Although Guts originally resists Griffith’s charm, Guts eventually succumbs to the same phenomena that befalls most men who are naturally drawn to Griffith; he is awed by Griffith’s dream of one day owning his own kingdom. Despite the fact that his upbringing makes this impossible, Griffith is so determined and so sure of himself that men can do nothing else but believe him and, for those who have the means, feel compelled to do whatever they can to help him gain what he so rightfully deserves.
In Kangibanka, a boy named Kyubei and his younger brother stumble across their own version of Griffith, Tamon Maru, as they traverse through an unforgiving world during the Sengoku period, a more than century-long, near-constant civil war. Like Guts – who has no family – these brothers are orphans, forced to navigate a world where men prey upon the weak, as was also the case with Guts. Like Griffith, Tamon leads his own troupe, but instead of a band of grown mercenaries, he heads a group of children who are forced to rob others and protect their own just to survive. Like Berserk‘s Guts, Kyubei initially rejects Tamon’s offer to join him, but then it happens; he hears Tamon’s dream, a dream equally as ludicrous as Griffith’s, but one that Tamon truly believes he’ll achieve despite the odds. It is Tamon’s goal that he and his gang will one day become feudal lords of their own land where theft doesn’t exist. The sheer determination of this strange thief is so great that Kyubei can’t help but feel compelled to help him.
Besides the demons in Berserk that later ravage the land, the series diverge from each other based on how both Guts and Kyubei later come to view their leader’s dream. Guts, partly compelled by a need to become Griffith’s equal, soon feels burdened by Griffith’s dream and leaves to pursue his own, though returns after Griffith’s name and ambitions crumble. Kyubei experiences a similar struggle on the death of Tamon, but can’t find it in himself to abandon what Tamon started. Rather than being driven away by the burden of his leader’s dream, he endeavors to see it through, even though it was never his dream to begin with.
The tragic irony of both manga series is that each story is destined to end in death and destruction. The conclusion of Berserk‘s Golden Age heralds the Invocation of Doom, the sacrificial ceremony where Griffith subsequently ceases to exist and becomes the demon Femto in return for his comrades’ lives. Caska and Guts are the only members of the mercenary troupe who survive the slaughter, with all of their comrades being painfully devoured by demons and apostles to bring new life to the Child of Darkness. Though they survive, Caska loses her mind and Guts is plagued by a thirst for revenge that cannot be satiated. Although Griffith could very well obtain his kingdom, he has lost his humanity, his comrades and the love of the one man who was actually his equal. Similarly, whatever happens next, none of the characters in Kangibanka will live to see the end of the Sengoku period, as the near-constant civil war lasts for more than a century. Each manga concludes that while dreams are powerful, life will still find a way to destroy them.
