Berserk Vol. #20

By Danielle Van Gorder     June 10, 2008
Release Date: December 05, 2007



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Kentaro Miura
Translated by:Duane Johnson
Adapted by:Duane Johnson

What They Say
The Black Swordsman Guts' former captain and lover, Casca, has been taken by the Holy Iron Chain Knights to the "Tower of Conviction." There waits the fanatic torturer of the Holy See, Mozgus, who plans to treat the rumored witch to the proper agonies of the damned.

Guts is on his way to rescue Casca and dish out some chastisement of his own on any who get in his way, but forces in the demonic realms are in motion and are being drawn to the torture tower. It may all be a prelude to a second Eclipse and an unprecedented release of malign spirits into the world!


The Review
Guts and his allies are facing off against Mozgus and his disciples, but it isn't going to be an easy fight, since some dark power has granted Mozgus a power similar to that of the apostles. During the course of the fight Luca falls from the tower, only to be rescued by the Skull Knight, who is at the tower for reasons of his own. While the exact implications of her acts aren't clear, what is obvious is that over the course of this volume she has played a pivotal role in something huge.

As the battle progresses it becomes clear that there's far, far more at stake than just their lives and Casca's. Generations of pain and suffering on holy ground has caused something evil to take root that just might lead to the world itself being ripped asunder - and might call forth a power that Guts is intimately familiar with. When the entire world surrounding the tower goes insane, Guts is left to make an impossible choice once again.

Berserk is epic from beginning to end, but this volume overall had a feeling of climax as several story threads came together into something new. The fights were as badass as you'd expect, with some really amazing moments that had my jaw hanging loose. Mira knows how to use his page layouts to great effect, and there were some panels in particular that left shivers down my spine. Every time I thought that THIS was the moment that couldn't be topped, something else came along that was completely unexpected or fraught with implication. The story hasn't exactly been meandering for the last several volumes, but in this one it picks up the momentum of a freight train - and I'm thrilled to be along for the ride.