Berserk: Volume 13

Wow! To start off this has to be one of the most graphic mangas i have ever read. Don't let that put you of from it though! The characters are engaging and interesting and the plot is fantastic. If this were mid-evil Europe this is what it probably would have been like( minus the demons. It has it all betrayal, violence, love, hate, anger. so pick berserk vol 1 and read!

This is THE volume of Berserk and conclusion the 2nd arc of the series tying its end with the beginning of volume 1. If you thought the previous volumes were about as gory as it gets you are DEAD WRONG. You know something is up when the cover has a bloodied armless Guts holding a completely nude Casca in anger. This is Guts first encounter with the dreaded Godhand and also the marking point in his life when everything turns upside down. His leader Griffith betrays him and takes to the "dark side". His lover Casca raped right in front of him with nothing he can do. He fellow members of the Band and friends mutilated, torn, ripped, and gutted right before his eyes. Nothing has prepared you for what Guts is about to witness and endure. This IS Hell.

This is what fans were waiting for, the volume that makes everything come together. Now we finally understand Guts behavior when we first met him in volume 1, as the Black Swordsman, and we also get to find out how he lost his arm and why he hates Griffith. This volume almost feels like a rebirth of all the main characters, since they suffer a transformation that is so drastic, that it is hard to picture it by using a different metaphor. The level of violence is at an all-time high, but once again, there is a clear purpose behind it, and in this case it comes with an important psychological aspect. You could almost say that Guts undergoes a proficient psychological torture. The nature of the action also permits Miura to showcase his talents, since the complexity of the drawings, and the level of details they require, are astounding and must have taken a huge amount of time to achieve. This volume also contains the scenes that are seen at the end of the anime, but it also goes way beyond that. I recommend those people that want to see what happens after the anime, to start the manga from the beginning anyway, since there are many novel elements in the previous volumes. I am looking forward to the next installment, since Guts starts on his new journey, one that promises to be full of action, violence, and hateful vengeance!

31+ Volumes in( in japan) and 13 is still one, if not the most important volume in the whole series. It explains why Guts is the way he is and sets the tone and story for the remainder of the series so far. A fair warning, the violence and disturbing imagery in this volume are at an all time high, so if you can't handle it don't bother getting into the story.

Near mastubatory in graphical beauty, Berserk has been ongoing in Japan for over a decade and a half now, and with every tankobon, or GN, it continually gets better with every release. In Volume 13 all fates of every member in the Band of the Hawk converge, and in oh so sexy black blood that practically flows off of the page. If you've seen the last 3 episodes of the anime you'll pretty much get the gist of what happens but there are new things added, kind of like in volume 12 when the Dog Warriors are introduced and have half the book dedicated to them...or was that volume 9? 10? Whatever, they're all great. *SPOILERS* The Band of the Hawk are stuck in a void where faces of sorrow, pain and fear cover the sky, earth and horizon, then the God Hand appears, makes a speech and closes it's fist around Griffith after he agrees to make the final sacrifices for his bridge to the kingdom his entire band, who he's been with for years. I guess you could say the Band of the Hawk is now fist-f***ed...anyhoo, they all get killed slowly, it's painful to watch/read. Griffith transforms, flys from above and demon-rapes Caska in front of Guts, who cuts his own arm off in a desperate, near impossible attempt to save his one true soulmate, only to be pushed down again and have his eye pierced. Then the Skull Knight makes his first appearance and fights Zodd outside of the giant red Hurricane that is the void. He goes inside to rescue them and brings them out and *gasp* Ricket is still ALIVE?!?!? ZOMGWTFLOLZ! SPOILERS END** In summary, this is the best released volume yet in America...well, aside from the first 3. If you want to know why Guts is missing his left arm, right eye, has that eternal brand on his neck, and what caused him to have such animosity towards Griffith, this is volume in which all is explained and brought to the light. This is also the start of a New Arc which is about 100x better than the first 13 volumes...and I am not exaggerating...not in the least. I read volumes 12-30 in a 3 day period and I still was salivating for more. I offered to have sex with a Japanese businessman for a plane ticket so I could then sell my body to Kentaro Miura so he could pump out volumes faster. One line Review: If you thought the lance in the Fun-hole of thr young, amputated blond maiden in Volume 12 was great or disturbing, just wait till the end of this volume!