Berserk is a fan favorite series beloved by manga fans the world over. From its ultraviolent fight scenes to its badass protagonist Guts to the rich philosophy behind the story, there is so much to love. But at its core, Berserk is a horror series. Guts is not a hero, but a slayer of inhuman demons called Apostles whose monstrousness reflects his own rage-filled spirit.
Some of these Apostles are nigh invincible beings. Others are so weak that ordinary humans stand a chance of defeating them. These are the five strongest--and five weakest--Apostles that Guts fought.
10 Strongest: Zodd
Zodd the Immortal was the first Apostle that Guts ever met. The two encountered one another during a siege when Guts was still fighting with the Band of the Hawk. Guts managed to injure the Immortal, impressing the warlike demon.
The two fought many times throughout the series. Famously, when the two dueled in the Field of Swords, Guts finally equaled the Apostle in strength--at least as far as Zodd's human form was concerned.
9 Weakest: Snake Lord
Both in the anime and the manga, the Snake Lord was the Apostle that fans got to see Guts fight it out with. This feudal lord ruled over a small village where he fed on the local peasantry and hired local thugs to enforce his will when he was not around.
Guts shot the Snake Lord's face off with the cannon in his arm and gutted him with his massive sword, the Dragonslayer. Then, Guts shot the lordling repeatedly with his crossbow before letting him bleed to death.
8 Strongest: The Count
Immediately after battling the Serpent, Guts went onto a castle town ruled by the Count. This Apostle could transform into a gigantic sluglike caterpillar creature. If he was injured, the Count healed up even stronger than he had been before the injury. Beyond this, he had the ability to possess the broken body of one of his men, supplementing the man's strength and turning him into an extension of the Count's own will.
In the end, Guts beheaded the Count. When the Apostle summoned the Godhand to heal him, they agreed, just as long as the Count sacrificed his daughter to them. The Count had gained his powers after sacrificing his wife, whom he found engaged in a ritual orgy with some of the pagans he had dedicated his life to hunting. He might have been able to kill his wife, but not his daughter, and so he died from the wounds Guts inflicted.
7 Weakest: The Apostle Woman He Slept With
On the first page of the Berserk manga, Guts slept with a woman in an open field under the stars. While moaning, she held him close, then transformed into a hideous giant monster, licking him with her massive tongue. He stuck his arm cannon in her mouth and fired, killing her with ease.
An earlier version of this character was present at the Eclipse, killing Corkus with a similar attempt at deception through the use of her body. As there is nothing else known about her character, she comes off as no more than a recreation of an unfortunate tired monster trope - the woman who seduces a man, only to be revealed as less beautiful than he expected. Such twists legitimize violence against women, in particular transwomen. Thankfully, the series has become more sophisticated since then.
6 Strongest: Grunbeld
One of the strongest Apostles in the entire world of Berserk, Grunbeld is a noble knight who loves battle. He fights with a massive warhammer and has a flamethrower concealed within his huge shield. Inspired by the Teutonic orders of warriors in the High Middle Ages, he is perhaps the strongest Apostle Guts has ever faced.
Grunbeld's monstrous form is a firebreathing dragon, which Guts encountered while wearing the magical Berserker armor - the only reason that the hero survived their battle.
5 Weakest: Unnamed Minions under Grunbeld
When Grunbeld led a host of Apostles into the forest grove where the witch Flora lived, some of them were fierce, while others were less formidable. In fact, a couple of them were even less impressive than the human companions traveling with Guts.
There is nothing to say about these as they were unremarkable. They lived, they fought, they died quick pitiful deaths, and the battle continued without them.
4 Strongest: Wyald
During the Hundred Years War between Midland and Chuder, the Band of the Hawk proved their valor as the most honorable and accomplished of the forces of Midland, but the Black Dog Knights achieved just as many victories through sheer terror and cruelty. Led by Wyald, a convicted felon, these savage soldiers committed every atrocity imaginable.
When the Hawks became outlaws after the war, the king sent Wyald and his men after them. Guts managed to inflict grievous wounds upon this massive Apostle, but in the end, he was slain by Zodd.
3 Weakest: Wandering Apostle at Godo's
After the Eclipse, Guts and Caska arrived at Godo's home. They were followed by a short piggish Apostle, who tracked their scent. Guts tried to kill this Apostle with one sword, but the blade broke. Then Guts took up the Dragonslayer.
The massive greatsword was designed to slay mythical dragons. A lowly Apostle weakling had no way of withstanding the sword in Guts's hands.
2 Strongest: The Godhand
Guts has fought with multiple members of the Godhand. Early in the comic, he attacked Femto, firing his cannon arm at the (un)holy entity that had once been his best friend. The cannonball had no effect.
Later, Slan appeared, forming a corporeal body for herself from the viscera and broken bodies of trolls Guts had killed. He injured her, but she in turn caused a wound that hurt his very soul. Guts was lucky to survive each of these encounters.
1 Weakest: Demon Child
The Demon Child was the undead stillborn fetus that resulted from Caska being impregnated by Griffith/Femto during the Eclipse. This was a literal zombie demon fetus.
Guts never technically fought it in the classical sense of there being a big battle, but he screamed at it a bunch and directed a lot of his fury at the half-human monster. It was eventually eaten by an Egg-Shaped Apostle.