Overview
Even if you force back what was lost, it still won't be the way it was. – Guts Guts , renowned as the "Black Swordsman" , is a former mercenary and branded wanderer who travels the world in a constant internal struggle between pursuing his own ends and upholding his attachments to those dear to him. Initially driven solely by his will to survive, Guts finds purpose in life upon joining the Band of the Falcon , significantly contributing to the faction's storied successes during the Hundred-Year War as captain of the band's raiders. He eventually becomes dissatisfied with clinging to Griffith 's dream and departs from the band to pursue his own. Following the horrors of the Eclipse prompted by Griffith, Guts embarks on a two-year war against the God Hand and apostles , becoming increasingly embittered on his quest for retribution. Over time, he realizes that protecting his regressed lover is more important to him, and that he cannot do it alone. Consequently, he puts aside his quest for revenge and fosters comradery with his new companions .
Personality
I'm used to fighting to survive. But what grows worse daily is the pressure not to die. Have I ever before wielded a sword so heavy? – Guts Known for his air of austerity, Guts is a hardened man with a brutally realistic outlook on life. This is a consequence of enduring waves of suffering and numerous betrayals since his youth, as nearly all highlights of his life have, in time, become lows. Despite his guarded, brooding exterior, he shows a more easygoing, compassionate side around the people he trusts, appearing markedly less unsociable and distant, though still retaining his dry candidness. Even as his inner darkness festers deep within him and its temptation becomes increasingly harder to resist, he retains his empathy and compassion, refusing to discard his humanity . In his formative years, Guts is devoid of true purpose in life, killing as a child mercenary merely as a means to survive. As a blank slate, he seeks validation from those he respects most, content as long as "one person [looks his] way". His precariousness slowly develops into individuality upon fostering comradery with the Band of the Falcon and particularly Griffith — someone whom he eventually seeks to stand beside as an equal. After leaving the Band of the Falcon, Guts embarks on a journey of self-discovery, in which he acknowledges his lifelong bond with and passion for the sword. Upon realizing this, he devotes himself to honing his craft and fighting ever stronger adversaries, finding a newfound purpose in life. After surviving the Eclipse, Guts grows vindictive, wanting nothing other than to hunt down and slaughter any apostle he encounters, and, more importantly, exact revenge on Griffith and the God Hand. He leaves behind a regressed Casca for two years to embark on his warpath against demonkind. During this time, Guts becomes largely self-centered and anti-social, indifferent to the suffering of others and detesting those whom he deems weak. His reclusive nature and hostility toward those attempting to connect with him stem from a fear of creating new emotional attachments, fearing he might lose new companions as he did during the Eclipse. Over time, largely due to the efforts of Puck , Guts ceases his solitary struggle and solicits the help of fellow travelers, slowly fostering new companionship with them. Despite his initial apprehension toward displaying affection for his new comrades, he comes to appreciate the bonds he makes with them and finds himself grateful for their individual strengths. Above all else, Guts personifies perseverance and resilience. Through all his trials and tribulations, he has never yielded to causality and continues to subsist against seemingly insurmountable odds. Guts is an ardent detractor of the idea of destiny, believing his actions to ultimately be of his own volition and paying no heed to such supposed certainty.
Background
Guts was born from the corpse of his hanged mother beneath a tree, left to die alone in a mire of blood and afterbirth. A mercenary group led by a man named Gambino eventually happened upon the site, presuming the infant to be dead. When the baby began wailing, to the mercenaries' surprise, an acquaintance of Gambino's, Shisu , immediately took to the child and came to his aid. Gambino allowed the woman to keep Guts for her own personal consolation, despite his cohorts considering the circumstances of Guts' birth ominous. Three years later, Guts' surrogate mother contracted the plague and died as he watched on. Under Gambino's tutelage, Guts began honing his swordsmanship at six years of age. He joined the mercenary band three years later at nine years old, looking up to his leader as a father figure. On the night following Guts' first skirmish, a mercenary named Donovan ambushed and raped him in his tent, revealing he bought the boy for a night from Gambino. In a following skirmish, the young mercenary isolated Donovan and eliminated him, refusing to believe the man's claim from the previous night. When Gambino lost his leg in battle, his relationship with Guts rapidly deteriorated. Guts was subjected to various forms of verbal and physical abuse for two years following Gambino's injury, culminating in Gambino making an attempt on his life. Believing Guts to be the cause of his misfortune, Gambino revealed he had sold Guts to Donovan, expressing his disgust for the boy's existence. Devastated by this revelation, Guts retaliated in self-defense and killed Gambino — the closest thing to a father he had ever known. Consequently attacked by Gambino's men and branded a father killer, he fled with aggressors on his tail, eventually running into a dead end and being shot off a cliff. From his high fall and a bout with a pack of wolves below, he fell unconscious and was eventually discovered by another mercenary band, that enlisted him as a child soldier. As a result of being on the losing side of a battle, Guts and his fellow mercenaries were captured and intended to work as laborers for their captors. On their way to the castle they were to help construct, Guts met a man named Martino , who befriended the injured young mercenary and seemingly aided in his escape. However, Martino used Guts' escape attempt as a decoy to make his own, leaving Guts to be recaptured and imprisoned. In a frigid cell, Guts met the forlorn spirit of a lone flower named Chitch , who nursed him back to health as he prepared for a bout with his captor's son. In the process of healing Guts, Chitch expended all of her remaining petals and ceased to be. Grateful for her aid, Guts decided to take Chitch's remains to a valley of other blooms like her after his escape. Following his eventual defeat of his captor's son and the subsequent storming of the castle by his mercenary band — who had been notified by Martino of the castle's location and potential spoils — Guts fulfilled his resolve to lay Chitch's remains in a valley of radiant flowers.
Golden Age Arc
During the siege of a military garrison defended by the Band of the Falcon mercenary group, Guts, now fifteen, joins the fray alongside a mercenary band and narrowly defeats an enemy leader named Bazuso , lowering the enemy's morale and allowing for the fort's capture. In his travels, he is attacked by several Band of the Falcon members seeking to claim his reward and exact revenge for his earlier interference. He easily eliminates most of them until he encounters Griffith , who quickly incapacitates him and has him brought to the band's encampment.
Source: Guts on Berserk Wiki