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In life, unrelated to one's social standing or class as determined by man, there are some people who, by nature, are keys that set the world in motion. They are the true elite, as dictated by the golden rule of the universe.
– Griffith
Griffith (グリフィス Gurifisu?) is the main antagonist of the Berserk series and current leader of Midland's regular army and the Neo Band of the Hawk.
Originally human, amassing a reputation as a great leader during his mercenary days, Griffith sacrificed the original Band of the Hawk and his humanity on the day of the Eclipse. Following the event, christened "Femto" by the God Hand, Griffith now exists to fulfill his desire for a kingdom, which comes to pass with the creation of Falconia.
Appearance
Griffith's appearance since the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc
Griffith is of average height, possessing an athletic muscular build and a somewhat pale skin tone. He has long, curly white hair and blue eyes. He is noted to be a very beautiful man, and has feminine features that many Midlanders have commented surpass that of women's; some can barely recognize that he is male. After regaining his physical form during the Incarnation Ceremony, Griffith appears the same, though his eyes now have slit pupils to reflect his true nature as one of the God Hand. In battle, Griffith wears a set of silvery-white armor with his iconic hawk-beak helmet.
Personality
Griffith has always carried himself in a well-mannered, exemplary fashion, well-nigh indistinguishable from that of nobility; his mannerisms, coupled with his keen intellect, often leave people astounded at his humble origins.[2][3] His most notable trait, however, is his otherworldly charisma. Leadership has always come naturally to him. Those who choose to follow Griffith typically are overcome with emotions upon their first encounter with him, either entranced by the thought of splendor and grandeur at his side, or reeled in by his strong sense of ambition and conviction.[4]
Griffith lamenting the death of a child soldier.
Even as a child, Griffith's strong sense of self and ambition were apparent. It is in the back alleys of his childhood city that he first sets his sights on acquiring his own kingdom. He has a multi-faceted demeanor in the earlier years of the Band of the Hawk, at times appearing carefree, and almost child-like, while other times demonstrating ferocious killing intent and deadliness.[4] This juxtaposition of undeniable distinction and common-born idiosyncrasies is what attracts people of varying walks of life to his mercenary band.[4] In spite of his large following, in his earlier years, Griffith's ego is never noticeably inflated; after one of the Band of the Hawk's earlier skirmishes, he takes the time to lament the death of a ten-year-old Hawk-in-training, remembering the boy's name and even expressing regret over compelling the boy to join his cause.[5]
The deaths of those fighting for his dream take a toll on him, however. In order to cope with their loses and ensure they aren't in vain, Griffith slowly begins to rely on cold logic and reasoning, placing higher precedence on success than compassion—paradoxically expressing compassion for his comrades by suppressing it. It is not long before he is completely apathetic to his comrades' deaths.[2] Even then, he still possesses his humanity, and questions his immoral schemes, at one point inquiring of Guts if he is a cruel person.[6] The high esteem to which he is held does eventually have an effect on his ego, however. Despite the affection he displays towards some comrades, Griffith comes to believe that they are beneath him, nonetheless, considering them nothing more than tools for achieving his dream, with none of them fitting his criteria of a true friend.[3]
The once strong sense of camaraderie between Griffith and Guts.
Among the tens of thousands of allies and enemies he encounters, Guts is the only one who manages to stifle Griffith's calculated decision making and cause him to forget about his dream.[7] He explicitly displays care for Guts, on several occasions risking his life to save the swordsman[8][9] and even losing his composure upon Guts' endangerment.[10] It is because of this that his ego crumbles after Guts' departure; so accustomed to seizing all of his desires, Griffith forgoes all logical reasoning upon losing his most treasured soldier, throwing away everything he has obtained and endangering the Band of the Hawk because of merely one loss. When he invokes the Eclipse and is presented with a reflection of his true self, he comes to terms with who he truly is—a slave to the god named dream, first and foremost—and the consequences of achieving his dream, subsequently sacrificing his comrades and his humanity out of his own free will.[7]
Griffith's rebirth as Femto brings about the crystallization of his ambition, now undeterred by moral inhibitions and focused solely on the realization of his dream,[11] fully aware of the nature of humanity and the role he is destined to play as its ultimate judge.[12] Having abandoned his humanity during the Eclipse, Femto is emotionless, only ever showing subtle expressions while feigning humanity under the guise of Griffith. He has stated that, save for the residual feelings of his Demon Child vessel, he personally feels nothing[13]—with his heart now frozen as a member of the God Hand.[13][14] His efforts to appear human frequently fail, however, as Midlanders have often times stated that Griffith now possesses an untouchable, inhuman presence.[15][16] Regardless, Femto is still, in essence, pre-Eclipse Griffith, devoid only of his humanity and emotions,[13] still bearing his ambition, ego, and memories.[11]
Abilities and Skills
... Those who've been completely charmed by Griffith...those who figure as long as they stick with Griffith...they'll get to see great things. Anyway, all of us are here because of his charisma.
– Judeau
Griffith's charisma enchants his Hawks.
Supernatural Charisma: Even prior to his rebirth, Griffith is a magnetic figure who easily reels in admiration and devotion.[4] His angelic beauty in conjunction with his allure and persuasiveness make his presence undeniable and his ambitious dream ever so captivating. The range of his charm is only enhanced by his legendary success, with people of all walks of life admiring his high climb from nothing. Amongst even the Midland nobility, Griffith operates as efficiently as he does in battle, his illustriousness winning over the affection of nobles and commoners alike. Griffith's reincarnation brings about the tenfold increase in his already staggering charisma. With his return to the physical realm, the idolization he once garnered warps into exaltation, his presence now rightly described as inhuman by affected devotees. Inducing submission into others has become an effortless task for him; even highly revered individuals collapse to their knees upon their first encounter with him. Most telling of his newfound influence is the alliance he has formed between demonkind and humanity, leading both the sinful black and blind white sheep, in accordance with the prophecy of the Holy See's scriptures.[17]
Griffith's parry technique.
Master Swordsman: Griffith has always been an expert in the field of swordsmanship. With his precision piercing, he has swiftly dispatched enemies with one stab from his sword,[10][18] capable of easily puncturing vitals if he so chooses. To combat denser, larger swords, he uses a skillful parrying technique, which involves using the opponent's sword weight against them, deflecting the larger blade down the side of his lithe sabre and creating openings for offensive strikes.
Immense Strength: Griffith's cutting power is also considerable; he is able to completely sever Nosferatu Zodd's arm in a pincer strike with Guts, making him one of the few humans, at that time, to inflict heavy damage on the apostle.[19]
Enhanced Agility: Griffith has been shown to be very fast and agile, being able to easily react and dodge attacks.
God Hand
Griffith is unchallenged by man.
After his transcendence into Femto, Griffith no longer exists within the reasons of the physical realm, and as such, cannot be harmed by anything of mortal design.[20] However, Griffith can be injured by anyone and anything that can affect astral-based beings, such as the Dragonslayer. Griffith also possesses the God Hand's ability to manipulate causality, making his absolution akin to that of a story's author; those partaking in his fable have no chance of ever challenging him.[21] Thus, fate and fortune are on his side, which alongside his now overwhelming charisma and enormous Od, make his dominance in the physical realm inevitable.
More glaringly astral is his telekinetic ability to manipulate gravity. He has manipulated repulsive force to repel physical attacks,[22] as well as created gravity wells to catch enemies with an invisible attractive force capable of crushing the afflicted into oblivion.[23] Most notable is his ability to warp and distort space, which he has used to easily grab a space-cleaving tear from the Sword of Actuation and redirect it entirely.[24]
Trivia
- "Griffith" is an anglicized form of the Welsh name "Gruffudd" — a variation of the name is "Griffin", playing into Griffith's avian theme.
- Griffith is the only human character to have defeated Guts in combat.
- Griffith's God Hand name "Femto" is a mathematical prefix for 1/1,000,000,000,000,000, which is one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth of the measurement unit this prefix is used for (a femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second, a femtometer is one quadrilionth of a meter, etc.).
References
- ^ a b c Shikaisha., Nakajima, R., Shimizu, Y., Mochizuki, M., Okada, M., Suzuki, M. (2016). "Berserk Official Guide Book". Tokyo: Young Animal Comics.
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