Griffith

A dreamer who traded his humanity for a kingdom, emerging as the God Hand member known as Femto.

Griffith is the main antagonist of Kentaro Miura's manga Berserk, originally introduced as the exceptionally handsome and charismatic leader of the mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk. His relationship with Guts forms the primary focus of the story, beginning when Griffith defeats him in battle and forcibly recruits him into the group. While initially a hero who leads his unit to end the Hundred-Year War and bring peace to Midland, his trajectory shifts drastically after he sleeps with Princess Charlotte following Guts' departure. This act leads to his imprisonment and a year of crippling torture, which drives him to sacrifice the Band of the Hawk during a solar eclipse.

Quick Facts

Series

Berserk

First

Berserk chapter L0:; "Golden Age (4)" (1991)

Creator

Kentaro Miura

Also known as

Wings of Darkness
White Hawk
Hawk of Light
Hawk of Darkness
Blessed King of Longing
The Absolute

Relatives

Charlotte (fiancée)

Lore & Background

As a street urchin, Griffith dreamed of acquiring his own kingdom. He became a masterful tactician and swordsman of near-unparalleled skill, founding the Band of the Hawk. After Guts left to pursue his own dream, Griffith's despair led him to sleep with Princess Charlotte in a moment of weakness. Imprisoned for a year and subjected to crippling torture, he realized his invalid state made achieving his dream impossible.

During a solar eclipse, Griffith triggered the Crimson Behelit he received as a child. Reminded of who he had always been, he chose to sacrifice the Band of the Hawk to become the final member of the God Hand. Rechristened as Femto, or 'the wings of darkness,' he used the souls of the sacrificed to ascend. Two years later, during the millennial Incarnation Ceremony at Albion orchestrated by the Egg of the Perfect World, Griffith incarnated into the Physical World through the body of Guts and Casca's tainted child.

Reader's Guide

Griffith serves as a complex antagonist whose ambition drives both his rise and his fall. Readers should note that author Kentaro Miura did not plan Griffith's antagonism from the start; it began during the third volume after realizing Guts needed an object for his anger, which naturally became a friend rather than a parent's murderer. Miura intended Femto to be Guts' enemy but later decided Griffith should fight in his original form 'powered up' to make their confrontation easier to convey.

When Griffith appeared like a protagonist during the struggle against Ganishka, Miura explained this was intentional: by having characters around him express feelings while Griffith hardly speaks of his own mental state, Griffith himself is elevated. To understand his role, focus on his transformation from a human leader who inspires desire and devotion in both women and men, to a God Hand member who sacrifices loyalty for a dream, and finally to the dictator of Falconia.