Kentaro Miura's Berserk is perhaps one of the most universally-acclaimed manga series in recent memory, and this isn't just because there's a good story and great characters involved.
There's also some extremely rich and detailed story and symbolism involved. At its heart, it's a tale of a great betrayal among 2 great friends, perhaps something closer, and the betrayal that unfolds between the two of them for the sake of the dream of one of them. That being said, it's deeply wrapped up in many subconscious clues at the grander scheme of things, and even a bit of foreshadowing towards the end. Let's take a look at some of the biggest of these now.
10 Zodd
Zodd at first seems like nothing more than a villain who can be thrown at Guts whenever Miura needs a strong villain that the reader needs a connection to. That being said, Zodd is much more than that. Zodd is a mirror of the Skull Knight, one of his greatest adversaries. Zodd, very obviously, in his similar appearance to Guts, represents what Guts could have become if he was willing to let himself perish under the will of Griffith. Zodd is essentially Griffith's lapdog, doing whatever he wants, eviscerating, and killing indiscriminately as he goes, which is perhaps what Guts would be if Griffith hadn't pursued his dream.
9 Skull Knight
The Skull Knight mentioned before in regards to Zodd is also a powerful symbol. Skull Knight, in the same way that Zodd is a reference to Guts at his worst, is a symbol of Griffith at his best. Skull Knight is likely to be the old emperor Gaeseric, the emperor of the last great empire upon which Griffith modeled Falconia. If Griffith were to atone for his sins, he would be very much like Skull Knight, traveling across the land to right his wrongs.
8 The Beast
The Beast which inhabits Guts serves as one of the greatest threats to him and to people around him, a far greater threat than any of the demons or apostles that could be thrown at him. The Beast represents the worst parts of Griffith, almost like Zodd does.
There's a reason that The Beast inside of Guts is an animal, and that's because he's the most animal parts of Guts. If Guts were ever to give in to his bloodlust, he'd be no more than an animal, forced to roam the earth murdering everything in his path.
7 The Behelit
The Behelit is an egg, which is not at all a coincidence. Once the egg is fertilized with the wish of the hopeful apostle of the Godhand, he's given the Lovecraftian hidden knowledge which he would be better off without. The knowledge of the reality of their dream, of realms bigger than them, of truths that are staggeringly large, driving the knower to madness. When the Behelit awakened and Griffith realized his dream, the Behelit awoke from his, crying tears of blood... A prelude to the bloodshed to come.
6 Femto
While Femto and Griffith are referred to with the symbol of the hawk, there's a parallel to the symbolism of another bird. Griffith flies high, close to the sun like Icarus from Greek myth, a child with wax wings who fell to his death after flying too close to the sun. The eagle is also famous for being able to look at the sun, a privilege bestowed upon not even humans. Griffith looked at the sun too, the dream which he was flying towards, and now he lives as a God. Will he too plummet into the depths of the sea?
5 Demon Child
The Demon Child is not just the offspring of two who were likely true lovers corrupted by the abominable spirit of one who was once thought a friend but represents much more than that.
The child is a symbol of what could have been without the venomous profaning of Griffith's presence not just in the lives of Guts and Casca, but in the lives of everyone who calls the new kingdom of Falconia home. Considered from the other side of the coin, a body that was once rotten, being the world before Griffith, is sanctified by his presence, just like the new empire.
4 Brand Of Sacrifice
The Brand Of Sacrifice is perhaps the most ubiquitous symbol in any sort of media, and it's made its appearance in more than a few tattoos as well. The Brand Of Sacrifice isn't just the thing that marks the one who's been branded as a target of The Godhand, Demons, and apostles, because if fans really think about it, Guts seems to always have carried that brand from his birth. He was merely officially bestowed it during The Eclipse. From his selling to Donovan to his birth from a corpse, hardship has followed Guts always. The brand is only a physical reminder.
3 The Left Hand
Guts loses his left forearm in a battle. This is more than just a silly coincidence because, throughout history, Left has been associated with evil for whatever reason. As recent as the '50s, at least in America, the left hand, and especially people who were left-handed, have been considered evil enough that parents would train left-handed kids to write with their right.
In magic, there's often talk of Left-hand and Right-hand paths. The Left-hand is that of ego-deifying, and the right is one of submission to God or fate. Guts being rid of his left is a symbol of his quest to live only for good, whether he knows that or not.
2 The Eclipse
The Eclipse. It appears to be the end of the world to many, and to the members of most of the Band Of The Hawk, it literally was. For the people in power, for the system, to the status quo, the end of an era might be the better option in the long run, or merely the natural order of things. It seems that The Eclipse wasn't necessarily an apocalypse, at least for the world at large, but if Gaeseric's tale tells us anything, it's that in Berserk, time is a circle and not a line.
1 A Blind Eye
The fact that Guts lost an eye might at first imply to the reader that Guts' blindness in that the loss of his eye represents an inability to see. That couldn't be further from the truth. Let's take a sample from a source for Berserk itself, Norse mythology. Odin hung himself upside-down on the World-Tree, and blinded himself so that he could have forbidden knowledge. Guts surviving The Eclipse is a symbol of him too having obtained this forbidden knowledge, knowledge of a world he never should have seen. The lines between the worlds are fading, and Guts sees through that line.