Without exaggeration, Berserk is one of the darkest manga ever written. Mangaka Kentaro Miura’s long-running magnum opus struck a delicate balance between genuine moments of humanity and the absolute worst people can do to one another. Unfortunately, the latter was so nightmarish that it became synonymous with Berserk.

Berserk became (in)famous for having some of the most violent and disturbing scenes in all fiction. It got to the point where some fans wondered what was going on in Miura’s mind. While some would say Berserk went too far in some places, an equally passionate group would argue that these moments of suffering defined the manga.

Updated by Alan A. Mehanna, on March 12, 2024: This list has been updated to adhere to CBR's most recent standards for formatting.

Disturbing and sensitive topics will be discussed. Please proceed with caution.

15 Mozgus’ Inquisition Chamber

Chapter 135

Bishop Mozgus was a fanatical priest who believed torturing “heretics” would make them see the light. He had a dungeon just for that. In the heart of Albion’s castle, Mozgus and his torturers ran an inquisition chamber where they performed all kinds of atrocities on the human body. Those who survived were blessed, and those who died were damned.

The scariest thing about Mozgus was that of Berserk's cast; he was the one closest to reality. Mozgus’ methods and fanaticism reflected the likes of the Spanish Inquisition. In typical Berserk fashion, each torture was drawn in graphic detail. Despite this, Mozgus was tame compared to the dark and disturbing Berserk's worst horrors.

14 Rosine "Saved" Children Through Cruelty

Chapters 109-110

Children and babies were never safe in Berserk, but Rosine took this to the darkest extreme. Rosine was an Apostle who used her powers to live out her fantasies of ruling an elf kingdom. She kidnapped village children and then turned them into "elves." Their idea of fun and playing like adults was to kill each other in real combat.

The kids became elves through a disgusting metamorphosis that involved being melted in a cocoon. Worse, the elves reverted to their human forms in death. Rosine justified these with her understandably immature but limited belief that all adults were evil. Guts then proved her point when he brutally attacked and almost killed her.

13 The Great Goat's Attack

Chapters 147-148

By Berserk’s standards, a hedonistic orgy perpetrated by a cult dedicated to Slan was mild. This one, seen in the middle of the Conviction arc, wasn't even the first of its kind in the manga. What set it apart was what happened at the halfway point. In the middle of the debauchery, lost souls attacked the cultists and took over their bodies.

Amidst all this, the cult’s figurehead – a man wearing a goat’s head – was possessed and turned into an actual Baphomet. The Great Goat proceeded to assault Casca and even revealed its nether regions, which were now a living snake. Before things could get worse, Guts thankfully interfered and killed the Great Goat.

12 The Horrors In The Troll Cave

Chapters 216-217

A common consensus among Berserk fans was that the otherwise strong Millennium Falcon arc was held back by Guts’ sidequest in the troll cave. This wasn’t just because it slowed down a resurrected Griffith’s clash with Emperor Ganishka, but because the trolls were too reprehensible even by Berserk's standards.

Like in fairy tales, the trolls raided villages and kidnapped women. However, Berserk then revealed that the trolls did this to procreate in their cave. After the trolls violently assaulted the captured women, baby trolls violently exploded out of the women's wombs. The impossibly strong Guts slaughtered the trolls, much to readers' relief.

11 Wyald's & The Black Dog Knights' Rampage

Chapters 59-69

The Apostles were already some of the fantasy genre's vilest monsters, yet Wyald put them all to shame. Wyald was an Apostle who volunteered to hunt down the Band of the Hawk after they freed Griffith from prison. He and his Black Dog Knights fulfilled their mission by assaulting and killing everyone in the first village they came across.

Things only got worse when Wyald caught up to his targets. Wyald assaulted Casca, only for Guts to stop him at the last second. Everyone in Berserk and even readers were so disgusted by Wyald that nobody mourned his death. Wyald only had a few chapters, but he left such a mark that he was cut from all Berserk adaptations.

10 Guts Let The Refugees Of Albion Die

Chapters 133-143

As an anti-hero, Guts wasn't beholden to a good-natured hero's morals and expectations. However, Guts' instinct for violence and selfishness were pushed to their logical extreme during his fight against Mozgus. In brief, Guts chose to protect Casca and kill Mozgus, even if the price was letting thousands of scared refugees die horribly.

Guts' love and conviction for Casca were admirable, but he still doomed innocent people for her sake. Even if the people of Albion lost themselves to fear and Mozgus' fearmongering, they didn't deserve to be eaten alive by cursed spirits. This was one of the ostensibly stoic Guts' toughest decisions, and one of the darkest things a manga anti-hero ever did.

9 Revisiting The Eclipse In Casca's Nightmares

Chapters 348-354

The only thing worse than seeing the Eclipse for the first time was revisiting it. This was what Schierke and Lady Farnese did in the elf kingdom of Elfhelm. To restore Casca’s humanity, the two entered Casca's mind and traversed her dreams, which were turned into a hellish nightmare by repressed memories of the Eclipse.

Casca’s dreams were abstractions of her trauma. Here, she saw herself as a tiny doll protected by a wounded dog who stood in for Guts. They were besieged by phallic monsters that represented Griffith’s assault and betrayal. It’s one thing to see the Eclipse, but it’s another to see it reimagined from the perspective of the one who suffered the most.

8 The Deaths Of The Band Of The Hawk

Chapters 78-85

Berserk's Eclipse is arguably one of the most nightmarish events in all fiction. Here, beloved characters like Corkus, Pippin, Judeau, and the rest of the Band of the Hawk were brutally killed and tortured. Worse, they were sacrificed by their commander Griffith. He reciprocated their loyalty by sacrificing them for his dreams.

By this point in the manga, both Guts and the readers cared deeply for the Band of the Hawk. Seeing them eaten alive (and worse) by the Apostles was a bridge too far for even Berserk's most dedicated fans. The only catharsis that Berserk provided was seeing Guts viciously murder the Apostles when he became The Black Swordsman.

7 Griffith Sacrificed The Band Of The Hawk

Chapters 73-77

He may have started out as one of Berserk's most beloved and inspirational characters, but Griffith became the most despised manga villain in history thanks to the Eclipse. Griffith was always fated to become the fifth God Hand, but he still chose to sacrifice everyone for his own sake. This, unsurprisingly, angered Guts and readers.

Griffith was ruthlessly ambitious but still a hero and leader to the Band of the Hawk. Seeing him turn to the dark side and kill everyone who looked up to or even loved him made him irredeemably evil. What hurt more than just seeing a beloved character become evil was how Griffith made his choices of his own free will.

6 Guts Almost Killed His Newborn Child

Chapter 92

Shortly after the Eclipse, Casca was revealed to be pregnant with Guts’ child. However, being in such close contact with the damned (the Apostles, the God Hand, and especially Femto) cursed the child. Not only did Casca give birth very prematurely, but the child was possessed. The child was even implied to be half-demon.

Guts was understandably scared, but then he almost killed the infant in an impulsive rage. By pure luck and some last-minute hesitation, Guts' attempted murder was stopped when the child disappeared at dawn. The Demon Child lived long enough to protect Casca from restless souls before dying to become the vessel for a reborn Griffith.

5 Lady Farnese’s Traumatic Night

Chapters 122-125

Put nicely, Lady Farnese was very repressed. She was aroused by burnings at the stake, and she flagellated herself as prayer. Farnese could barely control herself, and the impulses got stronger in Guts' presence. This was because both Farnese and the spirits of the damned were lusted for Guts.

When Guts kidnapped Farnese to escape, the spirits pursued them. The souls possessed stray animals, including a horse that assaulted a half-naked Farnese. Things only got worse when Farnese was possessed: under the spirit’s influence, she assaulted Guts and tried to commit a murder-suicide, only for daybreak to cast the spirit out.

4 The King Of Midland Assaulted His Daughter

Chapters 59 & 231

While this atrocity might pale in comparison to Berserk's cosmic horrors and depictions of humanity’s capacity for evil, its relative groundedness made it all the more heinous. The impotent and pathetic King of Midland lusted after his underage daughter, Charlotte. He acted on his desires in one of Berserk’s sicker moments.

The king had Griffith imprisoned and tortured for daring to sleep with Charlotte, but it didn't take the latter long to figure out that the king was acting out of jealousy. Angry that Griffith saw right through him, the king assaulted Charlotte, though she kicked him off. The king died two years later of illness — alone, delusional, and estranged from Charlotte.

3 Gambino Sold Guts For Three Silver Coins

Golden Age (1-2)

It goes without saying that Guts led a hard life, but his origin story was a lot harsher than anyone expected. A young Guts was adopted by the mercenary Gambino, who treated him roughly, but eventually became something of a father figure. However, Gambino’s fatherhood didn't last; all it took to end it were three silver coins.

After a skirmish, Gambino was approached by his fellow mercenary, Donovan, who offered to buy the 9-year-old Guts for the night. Guts killed Donovan and Gambino shortly after, but Gambino's betrayal broke him forever. Minus a few hints, this part of Guts' backstory was almost always cut from Berserk's adaptations for a reason.

2 Casca’s Fate During The Eclipse

Chapters 86-87

As nightmarish as the Eclipse was, Casca’s fate was undeniably the most terrifying and heart-wrenching moment of Griffith's sacrifice. Instead of devouring her, the Apostles brutally assaulted Casca before handing her to Femto (a reborn and evil Griffith). He then repeated the violation, only now with Guts being forced to watch.

It was only through the ominous Skull Knight’s interference that Casca and Guts survived, but Casca's mind didn't recover for a long time. Ever since the Eclipse, Casca regressed to a childlike state. She only recently returned to her original self, decades after the fact. The memories of the Eclipse were enough to horrify her and readers.

1 Guts Forced Himself On Casca

Chapters 189-190

Guts committed many atrocities in the name of revenge, but the worst thing he did was force himself on Casca. Worse, this happened when Casca was in her childlike state. After Casca's old instincts as an honorable warrior took over and she killed a gang of men who tried to assault her, Guts blocked her attack and then forcibly kissed her.

Things got worse when Guts almost lost himself to the Best of Darkness, who tempted Guts to vent his repressed desires and anger onto the defenseless Casca. Guts snapped out of it, but the damage was done. Guts spent the rest of the manga trying to repair his ties with Casca. Meanwhile, readers saw him in a disturbingly different light.