Berserk is a world-renowned Japanese anime officially launched in 2016. It is an anime television series based on the manga succession of the Golden Age Arc film trilogy. With that being said, this infamous production was also created by Kentaro Miura. Berserk became popular for its dark fantasy, sword, and sorcery genre – both the television and manga series became a huge hit. However, as popular as it may seem to be, one question still remains unanswered: “What encompasses Guts’ sword, the dragonslayer?”
The Dragon Slayer is massive, thick, heavy, and rough. It was made up of iron and crafted by an infamous blacksmith. A weapon with no special powers, however when maneuvered by Guts, the sword’s true powers come out naturally, serving its real and true purpose – to conquer demonkind to death.
The Dragonslayer is more than just a sword – it has a story behind that huge and massive piece of iron. In this article, we will not only tackle the sword’s overall dimensions but also the origin, symbolism and powers involved within the sword. Besides, thinking about how Gutscan kill all the demons drives anyone to think about how his weapon was made. Also, you can spot some exciting facts about the Dragonslayer that could increase curiosity, pushing people to start looking for the answers by watching the anime series.
The History: from Shamefully and Undeserving to Worthwhile Strength
The Dragonslayer, frequently perceived as a gift of God that descended from the heavens or forged from the deepest pits of hell as it may be impossible for someone to create such a massive weapon. However, these assumptions are all wrong. In the anime series, the Dragonslayer was created and molded by a blacksmith named Godot.
Godot is not a person with extraordinary strength and vigor. Similarly, he is just a normal person living an easy and unassuming life in the wilderness of the Midland Kingdom. He is different from the commodity as he has an exceptional ability and the potential to turn something simple into a massive and remarkable piece.
Godot is infamous for his astounding talent for producing weapons such as swords, shields, and armors. He is particularly doing this for wealthy patrons and their private armies. As he was doing his job and making money, one day, a piece of unexpected news came in, leaving him dumbfounded.
Here’s a quick backstory about how Godot received the exotic request.
Godot was living near the castletown far from the hut he used to call home. Suddenly, the king of the fortress sent out a proclamation particularly for all of the vassals around the town. It was indicated in the message that every blacksmith lineage must craft a sword capable of killing a dragon. Godot’s master entrusted the duty to him as he was regarded as a genius and had near-legendary ability in the field of smithing and engineering.
Godot was tired and distressed over the years of crafting ornate weapons for nobles seeking elegance and sophistication through their armaments. Godot accepted the challenge and took the task seriously. This drove him to create a rather unusable weapon because of its huge and massive overall dimensions. The sword was named after its proclaimed purpose which is to kill dragons thus ending up with the name “Dragon slayer”.
As Godot took this chance to express his anguish towards his liege who doesn’t even appreciate him. For Godot, his master is apathetic as he can’t value every accomplishment and effort he perpetrates so as to come up with the most endearing munitions. So, to regain the ungratefulness of his lord, he crafted the Dragonslayer with terrible hatred, therefore the sword turns out to be impractical and a useless novelty.
Godot’s master became furious and angry for what he had done. In his master’s perspective, Godot was a selfish and ungracious slave and worker because of the weapon he created. This scenario left the master dumbfounded, leaving him no choice but to threaten the blacksmith’s life. Godot, on the other hand, was scared for his life and his family as well. He was forced to flee from the castle town and back to his home, bringing the Dragon slayer with him.
He settled back at his mine which was his original home and kept the Dragonslayer in a storage box and propped it up against the wall. The position and how the sword was stored seemed like a symbol of a wealthy patron’s vanity or perhaps Godot’s foolishness. Years passed, the Dragonslayer served no master.
During the solar eclipse, Griffith betrayed the first Midland king and the Band of the Falcon, leaving Guts with a broken sword, missing eye, and impaired arm during his fight with a roaming apostle. Guts was burning with anger and at that point, his only plan was to take revenge against the apostle. The apostle was monstrous and Guts knew at that point that no ordinary sword can beat his rival. So, he decided to come to Godot’s mine to demand for a new sword.
After the battle, Rickert arrived at Godot’s abode with Guts and Casca who were both injured. They left the two injured fighters at Godot’s ore cave so they could rest and take back their energy. When Guts recovered, as he prepared to depart, he asked Godot for a sword so he directly went to Godot’s stock-in-trade and took whatever he wanted wherein Godot complained but still Godot gave him a sword as a farewell gift.
Guts faced another battle with an unknown apostle using the fine sword Godot have him. After a while, the sword broke and was torn into pieces. Guts became angrier than the last time. He returned to Godot’s abode and went straight to his stock-in-trade and there he spotted the Dragonslayer.
Gut seized and picked up the worthless sword and continued to battle with the apostle which was then defeated with the Dragon slayer’s sharp cutting edge. Guts knew at that point that the sword perfectly fits his style and approach. A scenario that left Godot in shock as he knew all along that the sword’s weight became a hindrance as no one can ever carry the sword properly making it unusable and unworthy to battle with. But Guts’ swung it perfectly without any sign of difficulty.
Guts began his journey with his new weapon who served no master for a long time but now it is different. Guts found the sword he was looking after after years of searching for the “right one” while the sword who everyone thought was useless, found its way to his new master.
Embarking a warpath against every demonkind, Guts effectively used the Dragonslayer to combat his rivals – evil spirits, monsters, and apostles. After almost two years of fighting against the hellhound, Guts again returned to Godot’s mine. As he stepped on Godot’s headquarters, he noticed immediately how old and weak the blacksmith became as he was fully bedridden.
Guts greeted his old friend and swordsman and Godot caught sight of Guts’ prosthetic arm, now damaged and rusted due to constant use. Godot teased him about abandoning him, Casca and Rickert. He also warned Guts that his quest for taking revenge can only lead him to awry by getting consumed by it – linking him to a gaunt sword that begun to shatter.
Despite the old man’s accusations, he decided to reforge the Dragonslayer and to create a new set of armor for Guts. After a long night of non-stop working with Rickert, they finally finished the upgrades of the armor and weapon.
Guts bid his last goodbye to the old blacksmith and to Rickert as well. After his departure, Godot was in grieve by the thought about how Guts doesn’t have time to acknowledge their final farewell and also how Guts is consumed by revenge thus living and eventually dies beyond control.
The Overall Dimensions and Weight: the Huge and Massive Dragon Slayer
The Dragon Slayer’s overall dimensions are believed to be slightly different from the one portrayed in the anime series compared in the manga, they are definitely not the same in size. The weapon in the television show is bigger, longer, wider, and thicker which varies significantly from the sword shown in the manga.
The dimensions that I will indicate in this post are the average size for both anime and manga series. A quick disclaimer that up until now there is still no available factual information regarding the size and weight of Guts’ Dragon Slayer. Every blog will only show you the estimated dimensions of the weapon.
But, don’t worry as we got your back and we have compared and compiled the information and observations we acquired from both the anime and manga series. It may not be the exact same size but it is close enough to the actual weapon and we are certain and positive about this as we performed thorough research.
How long is Guts’ Drangonslayer?
The blade of the Dragon Slayer is 6 – 7 feet long for both anime and manga. The width of the blade, starting from the handle, ranges from 15 – 18 inches, narrowing out to a size of 6 – 9 inches and sharping out to a point of 6 inches. While the thickness of the blade ranges from 1.75 to 2 inches.
How Heavy is Guts’ Sword in Berserk manga?
The Dragon Slayer is huge, massive, and heavy making it useless and unusable for the average person. It is believed to be made up of iron and weighs around 400 – 500 pounds making it impossible for a commoner to lift the sword. However, Guts was able to lift and strike it with a single swing.
The Power: Guts’ Superhuman Power with a Single Strike
The Dragon Slayer has exceptional powers as it functions as a bladed lacerate than just an actual sword plus the fact that Guts is more than capable of using it as he could cut through on point through various targets.
Did you ever wonder what powers the Dragon Slayer has that it can tear Guts’ rivals apart with just a single swing?
This is a big question mark for almost everybody. Let’s clear the confusion and answer this particular question.
The truth is, the Dragon Slayer does not have any powers within however when Guts uses it with his Berserk armor made by Godot, the sword’s full potential unexpectedly comes out of the light. Guts and the Dragon Slayer is so compatible, making Guts a powerful demonslayer.
Whenever Guts swings the Dragon Slayer, the sheer momentum brought by it can tear anyone caught in the attack. The impact of Guts’ single swing can tear multiple enemies at once. Even apostles in their true form can barely stand the power of the Dragon Slayer. Anyone who fights with Guts frequently experience severely damaged bones and internal organs from the attack of the weapon.
It is for a fact that Guts possess great masculinity because of his physique. However, whenever he activates his Berserk armor suit, his inhuman figure and ferocity allows him to use the weapon with significantly greater effect. With just a single swing of the Dragon Slayer, standard apostles can be dead in a matter of seconds and bigger enemies may seem tough to beat but with Guts and his Dragon Slayer, they can be cut down without any hassle.
Guts’ superhuman strength plus his indestructible Berserk armor suit made the Dragon Slayer’s cutting power significant and considerable. Aside from having easy access to normal enemies, the Dragon Slayer is also capable of breaking through Grunbeld’s cannon fire-repelling shield and even the corundum skin of the apostle’s dragon true form which was claimed to be made of steel making it stronger than other armor suits. Well, they are no exception from the Dragon Slayer’s true strength and power.
The Dragon Slayer has been constantly used to slay and cut through countless apostles, pseudo-apostles, and other hostile astral entities thus making it more tempered and ready to battle against the bigger enemies. It became an effective tactic to improve the Dragon Slayer’s vigor against monsters and evil spirits as it is capable of wounding profound entities such as the Sea God and other assumed forms that are part of the God Hand.
The Symbolism: Dark and Rusted Dragon Slayer
The Dragon Slayer has a story to tell behind its blooded, dark and rusted exterior. A weapon that was perceived as unuseful and unworthy, serving no master became a history when Guts found it on the blacksmith’s stock-in-trade. After the long years of constantly battling with the demons by using a delicate sword, the universe gave Guts the opportunity to combat such creatures by leading him to the Dragon Slayer.
Guts continued to take revenge against the evil creatures by piercing their body parts into fragments with his sword made up to a crude piece of metal. Together with the Dragon Slayer, Guts was indestructible and unbreakable throughout those dark battles which helped him shape up his mind, body, and his weapon for greater and tougher confrontations with bigger creatures.
However, because of the nonstop fighting using the Dragon Slayer, Guts does not have any idea that he was already pushing the sword to its limits. As he had no blacksmithing skills, he allowed the sword to deteriorate on its own – turning its perfectly polished to nicked and dented edges. It was also stained and rusted from the constant exposure to blood and other forms of bodily fluids coming from the evil creatures.
Before the blacksmith died, it was previously mentioned that Guts returned to Godot’s humble abode. The old blacksmith refurnished the Dragon Slayer under intense and high heat, getting rid of all the impurities and bringing it back to its old shape and style but with a greater and stronger exterior.
Here’s the symbolism of the Dragon Slayer.
The Dragon Slayer was worn out and extremely damaged from the constant battles against different demonkinds. Without a blacksmith who can reforge and scrap out all of its impurities, the weapon cannot bring out its full potential.
A particular lesson that Godot wants Guts to learn from the Dragon Slayer – to give up his vengeful quest and reforge himself with peace and acceptance so he would not break down and turn into scrap. The blacksmith desires for Guts to find his real purpose in life and not focus on taking revenge. However, Guts don’t have any plan to stop his tracks as his heart and mind is full of negativity leading to a scarred and rusted disposition in life.
If he stays on his track and continues to battle against the devil, his legendary persona could fall and break into pieces before the Dragon Slayer does.
The Best Dragonslayer Replicas
And now let’s talk about every Berserk fan dream: possessing a 1:1 scale Dragonslayer Replica. Due to the characteristics of this sword, one with the manga specifications has never been commercialized. By the way many fans of the the manga have tried to forge one at home, with astounding results i should say.
But now let’s take a look at what we can find available on the market:
The most common one you will find online is a stainless steel replica, much smaller than how it appears in the manga. Swordskingdom.com & heavenlyswords.com offers one at around 100$ with the following features:
- Overall Length with scabbard: 52.25”
- Blade Length: 38.5″
- Handle Length: 14″
- Blade Finish: Dull
- Double-Sided Blade Edge
- Wooden Mild Leather Wrapped Handle
- Fitting: Solid Metal, Silver Antique Finish Pommel and Guard
- Free Mild Leather Sheath
One advice I can give to the true fans of berserk that want to own a 1:1 scale Dragonslayer replica is to contact a blacksmith specialized in forging custom swords like Jeffrey J Robinson, but be aware…. The price to pay will be very high!
The Ending: Guts and His Dragon Slayer
To sum up, Berserk, by Guts and his sword, the Dragon Slayer is a dark fantasy anime and manga series that teaches us a great deal of moral lessons which we can apply in our daily lives. Guts is full of vengeance and his persona may seem like a strength, however, being a rebel only proves one thing – a pity on oneself.
Guts’ master plan was to take an action against the evil spirits thinking it would make him look like the scariest and the most powerful character in their world. It already became a habit to the point that he perceived it as his true and real purpose in life.
The only lesson I want you to take from this – making mistakes is expected from everybody as no one was created as “perfect”. However, taking revenge against anybody who has caused pain in your life is not the ultimate solution to fix the problem. Instead, it could cause a much bigger drawback in the long run.
So, take this time to remold and reforge acceptance and positivity into your hearts and minds as this could lead you to the right path giving you the opportunity to find your true purpose in life.