Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Berserk.
Warrior-protagonist Guts spends much of Berserk felling incoming foes, both humans and monsters alike. However, despite his impressive physical strength and tireless stamina, he doesn’t do the grim task alone. Rather than relying solely on his bare hands to fight, Berserk‘s stalwart hero often makes excellent use of a giant sword to assist him in his enemy-slaying goals.
Having spent nearly his entire life honing his sword-fighting skills and building his arm muscles, Berserk‘s strongman has no issues swinging his mighty weapon with ease. Moreover, in spite of having considerable competition in the way of other eye-catching weaponry throughout Berserk, this sword is particularly unforgettable. So, what are the origins, name, and powers of this special piece of metal, anyway?
The sword’s history, name, and powers
After Berserk‘s infamous Eclipse Arc, Guts is introduced to his new weapon at the home of Godot, a skilled blacksmith. While staying there, the warrior finds and uses the giant sword to slay a rampaging apostle who arrives as an uninvited guest, cleaving him in two.
Having met what is to be his signature blade for the rest of Berserk (so far, at least), Guts learns that Godot forged it in the past for his former king, who wanted a weapon made that could slay a dragon. However, because his liege lord was unhappy with the result, which seemed unusable by any swordsman because of its sheer length, width, and weight, the smith was forced to flee in disgrace.
Dubbed “Dragon Slayer” by its maker, the sword was kept hidden for years until Guts’ discovery, as Godot deemed it to be unusable. However, The Black Swordsman is able to wield the weapon without any hang-ups, and goes on to utilize it against spirit, monster, and apostle combatants for the remainder of Berserk (thus far).
Insofar as utility is concerned, Dragon Slayer has that covered. Berserk‘s kick-ass super-sword can slash a body to pieces and cleave through various targets, all with a single swing of Guts’ arm. Also, it can be used as a shield, or as a means of squashing or flattening opponents. It can even damage the internal organs and bones of apostles (in full-on beast form) upon impact.
When paired with The Berserker Armor, Dragon Slayer’s powers level up significantly, allowing Guts to cut down apostles instantaneously and eviscerate scores of other foes. To put it plainly, the weapon’s raw slicing power is basically on a god-tier level. To top it off, with each malevolent supernatural being that it slays, the sword’s effectiveness goes up. At present (in Berserk‘s storyline), it can even wound members of The Godhand when they’ve taken on assumed forms (such as “temptress” Slan).
All in all, Berserk‘s Dragon Slayer is a metal monster. Although estimations vary, it’s thought by some to be about 60 inches long, 12 inches wide (sans the point), and 2 inches thick, weighing a total of 408 lbs. To put this in perspective (although there are copious variations), an average sword is about 35 inches long, 1.5 inches wide (minus the point), and .25 inches thick, and weighs around 2 lbs.
Ultimately, based on these numbers, swinging Dragon Slayer for every kill provides quite the daily workout for Guts, don’t you think?
