Manga Review – Berserk Vol 4 by Kentaro Miura (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
Release Date: July 27, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-1593072032
Stand Alone or Series: 4th volume in the Beserk series
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Now that the evil Count has been killed and dragged to Hell by the demon lords of the Godhand, Guts, the Black Swordsman, hooks up with his former benefactor, the mercenary Gambino. But it’s a deadly reunion, one that nearly takes Guts’ life. The following years see Guts wandering from battlefield to battlefield, where his awesome skills as a slayer catch the eye of both warring parties, including the legendary Griffith, warrior leader of the Band of the Hawk, who is eager to test his combat skills against those of the Black Swordsman. As usual, anytime that Guts is involved there will be hell to pay!”

This is the 4th volume in the Berserk series and starts the storyline involving Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. I enjoyed it and continue to find this series very well done. I am always very impressed with how much progress the story makes in each volume.

In this volume we get to see how Guts was raised from a boy to be the badass fighter he was in the earlier books. We also meet Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. For those who have watched the original anime this is where the Golden Age story arc starts; so this will be familiar to Berserk anime fans.

The illustration continues to be amazing. The story makes a lot of progress in this book and a lot of great new characters are introduced. The action scenes are plentiful and well done.

Overall this was an excellent continuation of the series and I enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend to mature graphic novel readers who enjoy fantasy manga packed with action and violence but balanced with a good story and engaging characters.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge