One of the things I think is great about characters like Guts and Griffith is that they are not simple cliches unlike so much other anime and manga characters, Guts though may be a bit typical tough guy, but has emotions, thoughts and these come up in his actions all the time no matter how small.
First off, how he has changed through out the manga. I believe there is a very good chance that Miura intended Guts to be a bastard type character through the whole manga, altogether like he is in the first black swordsman part, this can be seen because he is obviously bitter and such, but when it looks back to his past he has a very similar attitude to when he is younger around when he killed Bazuso.
Even with his personality (before, during and after his bitter personality) most anime characters and such who share traits as the short tempered tough guy would usually be among the ones that have no real depth, eg: Kazuma from scryed, that little cunt in vandred (in some ways) and others I cant think of from the top of my head.
He seemed like he was getting alot better During the Roshinu part comparing to when he fights the snake baron and count in the first 3 volumes, though he still hadnt totally accepted Puck and was still a bit of a bastard to him.
Even though he said he was willing to kill her if she had been changed it may have been the first part since he was the black swordsman that he showed compassion to another human and tried to help her. He didnt do a brilliant job in the very end by leaving her with her loser father which I suppose couldnt be helped but I think he was thinking about protecting her in several cases during that part of the story.
What I find interesting is that although he becomes nicer in many ways from that point on this is also the part where the beast within comes out and starts tampering with him. I think we really see a bloodlust come out of him around the Roshinu times eg; when the burning childrens spirits start hanging around him, and though they did seem innocent and confused at the time Guts was clearly enjoying killing them. Ok he has had a strong blood lust from the start but it was quiet clear that point that something in his mind was beginning to snap within him.
From this point on he does change in many ways for the better even as the beast slowly begins to have a effect on him. I think what really brought the beast out around the time it did was how pissed off he got when Roshinu caused so much damage to him, once he got out of the water to finish her off he may very well have killed Jill as well who was trying to protect her friend, then shortly afterwards the beast comes out telling him that his blood lust will continue to grow.
I think once he accepted Puck as his first real companion on his journey is when he starts to lighten up alot more despite his inner darkness. Once again this is proven when Farnese who was a total bitch to him is saved by Guts who goes out of his way to save her a few times when he takes her hostage, yet during this time his blood lust is still as high as ever when he is killing the demon dogs, and soon has bad memories of caska being raped that makes him crazier, yet his intentions to protect her do not change for the whole night.
Rickert tells Puck that he was worried Guts would change for the worse before he left and he believes it was puck that helped him stay human. This is probably true seeing from the time he has accepted him to when he took Caska with him to protect full time and with all the others who have come into the story since, the beast may continue to take over him slowly, (particularly with the berserker armor a large factor) he is able to keep his sanity and ethics on a higher level when he is around companions that he can trust. This is what kept him more human when he was with the Hawks and this is what will keep him human while he continues his journey.
I think his recent personality since everybody has come together is much more apathetic and calm then in the past, but also sad and disturbed in a way like a person who has seen too much in his life. Seeing he is only 23 or so im sure there will be plenty of personality change from this point on, and I look forward to seeing how his character will develop as time goes.
First off, how he has changed through out the manga. I believe there is a very good chance that Miura intended Guts to be a bastard type character through the whole manga, altogether like he is in the first black swordsman part, this can be seen because he is obviously bitter and such, but when it looks back to his past he has a very similar attitude to when he is younger around when he killed Bazuso.
Even with his personality (before, during and after his bitter personality) most anime characters and such who share traits as the short tempered tough guy would usually be among the ones that have no real depth, eg: Kazuma from scryed, that little cunt in vandred (in some ways) and others I cant think of from the top of my head.
He seemed like he was getting alot better During the Roshinu part comparing to when he fights the snake baron and count in the first 3 volumes, though he still hadnt totally accepted Puck and was still a bit of a bastard to him.
Even though he said he was willing to kill her if she had been changed it may have been the first part since he was the black swordsman that he showed compassion to another human and tried to help her. He didnt do a brilliant job in the very end by leaving her with her loser father which I suppose couldnt be helped but I think he was thinking about protecting her in several cases during that part of the story.
What I find interesting is that although he becomes nicer in many ways from that point on this is also the part where the beast within comes out and starts tampering with him. I think we really see a bloodlust come out of him around the Roshinu times eg; when the burning childrens spirits start hanging around him, and though they did seem innocent and confused at the time Guts was clearly enjoying killing them. Ok he has had a strong blood lust from the start but it was quiet clear that point that something in his mind was beginning to snap within him.
From this point on he does change in many ways for the better even as the beast slowly begins to have a effect on him. I think what really brought the beast out around the time it did was how pissed off he got when Roshinu caused so much damage to him, once he got out of the water to finish her off he may very well have killed Jill as well who was trying to protect her friend, then shortly afterwards the beast comes out telling him that his blood lust will continue to grow.
I think once he accepted Puck as his first real companion on his journey is when he starts to lighten up alot more despite his inner darkness. Once again this is proven when Farnese who was a total bitch to him is saved by Guts who goes out of his way to save her a few times when he takes her hostage, yet during this time his blood lust is still as high as ever when he is killing the demon dogs, and soon has bad memories of caska being raped that makes him crazier, yet his intentions to protect her do not change for the whole night.
Rickert tells Puck that he was worried Guts would change for the worse before he left and he believes it was puck that helped him stay human. This is probably true seeing from the time he has accepted him to when he took Caska with him to protect full time and with all the others who have come into the story since, the beast may continue to take over him slowly, (particularly with the berserker armor a large factor) he is able to keep his sanity and ethics on a higher level when he is around companions that he can trust. This is what kept him more human when he was with the Hawks and this is what will keep him human while he continues his journey.
I think his recent personality since everybody has come together is much more apathetic and calm then in the past, but also sad and disturbed in a way like a person who has seen too much in his life. Seeing he is only 23 or so im sure there will be plenty of personality change from this point on, and I look forward to seeing how his character will develop as time goes.
