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The Most Brutal Chapters in Manga | Berserk: The Eclipse

Joe's Probably Reading

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I've covered a lot of dark books on here. This is the first one that made me flat-out angry, and I'm pretty sure that's what Kentaro Miura was going for.

This is a full-spoiler deep dive into the Eclipse: the back half of Berserk Deluxe Edition Volume 4 into Volume 5, the climax of the Golden Age arc. Griffith's fall, the betrayal, the God Hand, the brand, and yeah, the scene everybody warns you about. New here? This one picks up right at the Eclipse. I covered the whole Golden Age build-up in earlier videos.

I get into why this stretch hits so hard: what dark fantasy actually means, the flashback structure that turns the whole arc into a countdown, why the artwork itself is the real writing here, the deal-with-the-devil at the center of Griffith's choice, and what all the symbolism is doing. Plus the one real reservation I've got.

⚠️ FULL SPOILERS the whole way through. There's no spoiler-free version of the Eclipse. If you haven't read it, go read it first.

My verdict: 5/5. The highest and the heaviest rating I've ever given.

Did the Eclipse stay with you the way it stayed with me? Drop a comment, and subscribe for more.

#BookReview #BookTube #JoesProbablyReading #Berserk #KentaroMiura #Manga #DarkFantasy #MangaReview #TheEclipse #Seinen

20 Comments

@JoesProbablyReading Creator 2 months ago (edited) Pinned

Thanks for all of the great manga recommendations. These are the current top 25. If you think something else should be in the top 25, just leave a comment and that will count as a vote 😊 I'll dive into the top 5 for sure, and then spread out from there into more obscure (from about 350 titles total recommended):

1. 89 votes · Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
2. 77 votes · Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue
3. 66 votes · Monster by Naoki Urasawa
4. 49 votes · Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano
5. 37 votes · Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
6. 31 votes · One Piece by Eiichirou Oda
7. 30 votes · 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa
8. 20 votes · Akira by Katsuhiro Ootomo
9. 20 votes · Gantz by Hiroya Oku
10. 20 votes · Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara
11. 19 votes · Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
12. 19 votes · Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror by Junji Itou
13. 17 votes · BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei
14. 17 votes · Claymore by Norihiro Yagi
15. 16 votes · JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki
16. 15 votes · Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida
17. 14 votes · Homunculus by Hideo Yamamoto
18. 13 votes · Pluto by Naoki Urasawa
19. 12 votes · Death Note by Tsugumi Ooba
20. 12 votes · The Climber by Shinichi Sakamoto
21. 11 votes · Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi
22. 11 votes · Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories by Junji Itou
23. 10 votes · Fist of the North Star by Yoshiyuki Okamura
24. 10 votes · Re:ZERO ~~Starting Life in Another World~~ by Tappei Nagatsuki
25. 9 votes · Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto

@grapespace 2 months ago

"babe wake up, another old man had his spirit crushed by the Eclipse"

@Seanshaw001 2 months ago

Griffith... may his name be forgotten forever

@satir6156 2 months ago

Don't forget that Miura shows us someone refusing the deal (The Count) just before the start of the Golden Age. There is no question that Griffith could have said no.

@eslamnosseir3030 2 months ago

The worst part of grifith sacrifice that he did not just let them die , these people who are sacrificed their souls are going to be in the vortex of souls and they will be in eternal suffering

@LaserTurtle 2 months ago (edited)

Those that died with brands of sacrifice are trapped forever in that death spiral you saw in the Black Swordsman arc in book one. There is no afterlife for them, forever, unless the godhand are ever stopped. The Band of the Hawk are trapped in damnation. It's far worse than just death. Guts has the same fate if he fails.

@lmmortalZodd 2 months ago

You misunderstood something. He doesn't need to sacrifice the people that love him. He has to sacrifice the people that HE loves. He has to give up what HE values most, in essence give up his humanity. It's a brilliant allegory about the cost of dreams and ideology.

@iowa2777 2 months ago

R.I.P. Kentaro Miura.

@RyoMassaki 2 months ago

It's been 15+ years since I saw the anime for the first time.
I am still angry.

@GhostMan407 2 months ago

the eclipse is so talked about because its shocking and extremely dark, but imo there are so many arcs to come with even better story and character writing

@MartinVegsund 2 months ago

Finally you got to the eclipse! Ever since you announced that this would be its own video I have been so impatient for your reaction. I love how you manage to reflect not only on the artwork, but also the psychological themes. And that why is think that you will enjoy Monster already as much, if so even more. Great video!🙌

@Voitan 2 months ago

It almost feels like a literary graduation into somber realization. There are villains, there are bad guys, and evil in fiction, but in The Eclipse, it reinforces into your gut, your soul, that real evil is cruel, exhausting, nauseating, not "cool", and horrible. If a book can help teach people, "hey don't be like this guy," I think Berserk will always pass on for future generations a sobering lesson.

@Lord_Byron619 2 months ago

45:21 the look of disgust and the "FUCKING GRIFFITH" Yeah, I felt that 💔

@ferofax 2 months ago

That Faustian Bargain, compared to Griffith's Choice, resonates so much with me. Not because I experienced it, but because if you understand it fundamentally, you can see it happening everywhere in the world. IN REAL LIFE.

People that didn't sell their soul for power, but people that sold EVERYBODY ELSE for power. They take the deal, somebody else suffers instead of them.

So I have a deep, visceral disgust for people that do shit at the expense of everybody else.

@runekongstadlarsen7569 2 months ago

i am sorry

@DK-Dusk 2 months ago (edited)

Griffith ..... May his name be forgotten forever ....

@sonny9897 2 months ago

it honestly is such an amazing story, dark but still beautiful

@runyoball 2 months ago

This story really tests the limit of perseverance. I understand it’s fiction and no human could handle what happens in berserk but it’s so inspirational and makes you grateful for your own life haha.