Berserk/Characters/Band of the Hawk

This page is for The Band of the Hawk, both the Original band and the reformed band.

For the main characters, go to Berserk For the Apostles, the Godhand and other antagonists in this series, check out Berserk For everyone else, go to Berserk

Band of the Hawk - Original
The original True Companions of Guts with whom he spent the whole Golden Age arc. After taking a break from their company to find out his true purpose, Guts returns to them 1 year later but finds out that the Band has almost fallen apart from losing its leader, which leads to the whole Griffith Rescue arc.

With the exception of Rickert,

Voiced by: Akira Ishida(Japanese, TV series), Yuuki Kaji (Japanese, movies) Christopher Kromer (English, TV series)


""Whether it's good or bad, it's always unfortunate to wake up in the middle of a dream.""

The Smart Guy of the Band was a perceptive, genuinely kind guy with an unrequited crush on Casca. Yet he held no grudge towards Guts for having won Casca's affections and even helps them get together.

Exceptionally good at throwing weapons, he had a very good aim and was also a notable strategist, as seen during the Griffith Rescue Arc upon the fight with the Bakirakas.


 * Badass (Even though he was weaker than Guts and Pippin, he was still able to hold his own pretty well at their side.)
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Blue Eyes
 * Cassandra Truth / The Cuckoolander Was Right: Not a harsh example, but Casca was surprised when Judeau admitted that he believed in elves. And it turned out that he was right.
 * Dual Wielding: His secondary weapon on the battle field are two daggers.
 * : Tragically subverted, (see below).
 * Some of the most heartbreaking ever written. He tries to, but he only manages a comment on how she's crying.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Heroic Sacrifice: To save Casca during the Eclipse
 * His Quirk Lives On: The throwing knives strap that Guts wears at all time post-Eclipse is a Homage to Judeau, whom he considered a friend.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 * Knife Nut: His specialty is throwing knives.
 * The Matchmaker (For Guts and Casca. In the end, he only had the two's best intentions in mind, despite his own feelings.)
 * Nice Guy (A Badass one at that but still truly kind and generous.)
 * Only Sane Man (He was certainly one of the most level-headed members of the original Hawks.)
 * He is also the only hawk who keeps acting somewhat rational during the eclypse wile everyone else loses it.
 * Romantic Runner Up (He was secretly in love with Casca but never acted on his feelings out of respect for the reciprocated bond her and Guts had formed.)
 * Shorter Means Smarter (He was as tall as Casca, hence shorter than most males of the original Hawks, and was incredibly perceptive and shrewd. He even guessed out Guts and Casca before any of them could actually realize they were falling for each other.)
 * The Smart Guy
 * Weapon of Choice (Said throwing knives above.)
 * Weapon of Choice (Said throwing knives above.)

Voiced by: Masuo Amada(Japanese, TV series), Takahiro Fujiwara (Japanese, movies) (Japanese), Jeff Ward (English, TV series)


The stoic, taciturn, muscle guy of the Hawk, was a former miner who used to go alongside Guts on the battlefield and wielded a war hammer or a war axe. Despite his brutish appearance, Pippin was actually quite smart and only spoke up to say something important.

During the Eclipse,


 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Badass (When one is strong enough to wield a giant war hammer and crush skulls without blinking, one owns the title;)
 * The Big Guy: Taller, bigger and more massively built than Guts himself!
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Genius Bruiser: He tended to be much smarter than one would give him credit for.
 * Gentle Giant: He only used violence on the battlefield, and was pretty soft-spoken and patient otherwise.
 * Mighty Glacier (A good example of this)
 * The Quiet One (Never a man of many words, Pippin spoke only when necessary.)
 * Scary Black Man: Subverted - he's a hulking, muscular black guy, but he's really a cool-headed nice guy.
 * The Stoic (He was hardly ever shown smiling or mad.)
 * Stout Strength: Subverted. He may look fat but he's just solid.
 * Weapon of Choice (A big 'ol battle axe.)
 * The Stoic (He was hardly ever shown smiling or mad.)
 * Stout Strength: Subverted. He may look fat but he's just solid.
 * Weapon of Choice (A big 'ol battle axe.)

Voiced by: Tomohiro Nihimura(Japanese, TV series), Yoshiro Matsumoto (Japanese, movies) (Japanese), Marc Sebastian (English,TV series)


""You have nothing special! You can never be like Griffith!""

The resident Jerkass of the Hawks was a former pirate. Cocksure yet cowardly, pretty ineffectual and never seen kicking ass, he has a strong dislike for Guts but never acts openly against him. Nevertheless, he was also one of the Hawks' commanders.


 * All Just a Dream: What he would like to believe the Eclipse is.
 * Dirty Coward: For a seasoned mercenary, he was pretty cowardly.
 * Glory Seeker: If there's one thing that he benefits from upon joining the Hawks, it's making a bigger name for himself.
 * Inferiority Superiority Complex: Never passes up a chance to draw attention to himself, but at the mention of having an actual dream, his mouth falls shut.
 * Jerkass (Deliberately obnoxious and offensive to everyone, especially to Guts.)
 * Non Action Guy
 * Smug Snake (Appeared cocksure but was actually pretty cowardly on the battlefield)
 * Yes Man: Shamelessly kisses Griffith's ass every step of the way.
 * Smug Snake (Appeared cocksure but was actually pretty cowardly on the battlefield)
 * Yes Man: Shamelessly kisses Griffith's ass every step of the way.
 * Yes Man: Shamelessly kisses Griffith's ass every step of the way.

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima(Japanese, TV series), Minako Kotobuki (Japanese, movies) (Japanese), Michelle Newman (English, TV series)


""The Band of the Hawk is your family! Why would you want to leave?""

The youngest one of the group, is often seen with Pippin. He is the only one not to be involved in the Eclipse since he wasn't with the Hawks when it all went down and is taken to Godo's place by the Skull Knight along with Guts and Casca. He then cares for Casca with Godo's daughter, Erika, while Guts sets off to exact revenge on the Apostles.


 * Bishonen: What he evolves into when Guts comes back with Casca after the Conviction Arc.
 * The Blacksmith: A little while after being taken to Godo's place by the Skull Knight with Guts and Casca, he learns blacksmithing from Godo and helps Guts by putting together his new armour and his Arm Cannon
 * Cheerful Child
 * Child Soldier: By far the youngest member of the Hawks.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: About as much as one can get in a Medieval setting. He was able to fashion a prosthetic arm for Guts using spare parts he found around Godo's workshop. An arm that also doubled as an Arm Cannon and which could be used to mount a Repeating Crossbow.
 * Huge Guy Tiny Guy: A non romantic example. He was often seen hanging out with Pippin who was easily 3 times his size.
 * Promotion to Parent: Since Godo fell ill he's taken it upon himself to raise Erica.
 * Put On a Bus: Went his own path with Erika to a yet unknown fate after Guts and Casca set out.
 * Tagalong Kid
 * Weapon of Choice: Little guy could wield a crossbow pretty good.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Elves?: Since his encounter with Rosine, Rickert developed a bit of a phobia towards Elves. Puck, of all things, can make him uneasy.
 * Wide Eyed Idealist: The most optimistic of the Hawks, almost taken to an annoying level since he sees the Hawks as more of a family unit than a company of Hired Guns. Even after seeing half of his comrades get eaten, being told that the rest had died, seeing Casca insane, and seeing Guts take a dark shift in character, he still remained hopeful that Griffith would return and didn't really think to pressure Guts for the truth of what really happened for everything to come to that because he was too scared to ask.

Voiced by: Masato Kawanakako
""It doesn't feel real, does it? Like we're in someone else's dream...""

An average guy who joined the Hawks so he could live the life he wanted afterwards and open his own shop. He had a fiancée back in Wyndham but she eventually left him, and he ended up with nowhere to go other than helping Griffith fulfilling his dream.

Loyal to Guts before anybody else,


 * All Just a Dream: Like anybody else, he has a hard time to really believe what is happening to him and his buddies.
 * : In Guts', upon telling him about what happened to the rest of the Raid Party.
 * The Everyman: Dude just wanted to open a clothes shop with what he would have collected with the Hawks...
 * Number Two: To Guts.
 * Satellite Character: Mostly a background character but he shows up consistently.
 * Undying Loyalty: Completely devoted to Guts, even before Griffith, and would have preferred to follow him if the band were to fall apart.
 * : What ultimately happens to him during the Eclipse.
 * : What ultimately happens to him during the Eclipse.

Griffith's New Band of the Hawk
The new Band of the Hawk is a force of humans much like the first one, but led by greater Apostles that all gathered around Griffith and consider him as their leader. As said above, said Apostles appear much less monstrous than their weaker peers. Not much is known about their respective back stories so far.

Tropes that Griffith's New Band of the Hawk's members have in common:


 * Bishonen Line: The appearance of their apostle forms falls into the "awesomely badass" category, rather than the "freaky hideous Eldritch Abomination" category to which many apostles belong, demonstrating their great power, and also leaving open the possibility that they are not Complete Monsters.
 * Likable Villains: Pretty much all of them have some likeable qualities to their personalities - even Zodd. Debate is up for Rakshas, though.
 * The Nondescript: With the exception of Sonia and Mule, virtually nothing is known about Griffith's new sidekicks.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Aside from Zodd who was introduced before all the others, members of the New Band of the Hawk seem to be the former ones' counterparts:
 * Grunbeld is Pippin being the tallest one, wielding a war hammer, and unappreciative of unnecessary violence.
 * Rakshas is Corkus, as smug and obnoxious as Corkus was back in the days, albeit seen kicking ass once.
 * Sonia is Casca, infatuated with Griffith and the only female of note, except she's more harmonic and not an Action Girl.
 * Locus is Judeau, the most considerate and "friendly" of the group, even seen talking normally to humans.
 * Mule is Rickert, a naive kid who has no clue about who he's actually serving.
 * Irvine is Guts. Yes. An Aloof Ally who mostly stays on his own, brooding, much like Guts used to do back in the days, who develops a close relationship with the sole female of the group and whose Apostle form is very close to that of Guts' Enemy Within.
 * Some may also argue Zodd is Not So Different from Guts either, both of them being fiercely loyal to Griffith and living mostly for the battle, as well as having lost a part of them in battle (horn for Zodd, arm and eye for Guts). But their motives are very different and Zodd has no intention of going on his own just yet.
 * Villainy Discretion Shot: Pretty much all of the apostles who head Griffith's neo-Hawks are decent and noble enough, but they are still apostles, meaning that they must have crossed the Moral Event Horizon at some point in order to get to that point...

Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi(Japanese, TV series), Kenta Miyake (Japanese, movies), J. David Brimmer (English) (English, TV series), Peter Lurie (English, Sword of the Berserk)


""If this man is a true friend to you, be prepared! For when this man's dreams come crashing down, you shall meet your death! A death that you shall not escape!""

A centuries-old Blood Knight, Nosferatu Zodd (his full name) is a hulking and humanoid feline giant of tremendous strength. He is the first Apostle that Guts meets in the timeline and Zodd almost kills him along with Griffith until he realizes Griffith wears the Crimson Behelit. Upon flying away, he predicts the Hawks' unfortunate fate. His Apostle form is that of an enormous black humanoid tiger-like beast with horns and wings.

After the Eclipse, he is defeated by Griffith, losing one of his horns, and out of respect for Griffith's strength he joins the new Band of the Hawk as a demon commander. Extremely fond of battles and bloodshed, he seems to have a strange form of respect for Guts and considers him a Worthy Opponent, who only he should defeat. Not to mention that


 * Animal Motifs: The lion.
 * Appendage Assimilation: Did somebody chop off your arm, Zodd? Well, no worry, because you can just reattach it! Not before smacking the shit out of the person who severed your arm - WITH said arm - in the first place though! It's all good.
 * A Load of Bull/Panthera Awesome: His apostle form resembles a bat-winged Minotaur with a lion's face.
 * Badass: Just look at him and try to tell me that he isn't badass.
 * Bare Fisted Monk: in Apostle form.
 * Berserk Button: He really doesn't like it if someone interferes in a duel with a Worthy Opponent, to the point of using the This Is Unforgivable line when this happens (which is very strong in Japanese culture).
 * Big Red Devil: In his apostle form, which is a change from his Eldritch Abomination brethren.
 * Blood Knight: He loves fighting above all else. This trait also gives him a sense of honour, as he respects strong opponents and gets very angry if a duel is interfered with (see Berserk Button above).
 * Devil in Plain Sight: He never made his existence a secret and is quite notorious.
 * The Dragon: To Griffith post-Eclipse.
 * Enemy Mine: How him and Guts defeated in Vritannis.
 * Eyes of Gold: in the new adaptation
 * Fangs Are Evil
 * Full Frontal Assault: The first time Guts meets him. Tuned down with Barbie Doll Anatomy though. His Apostle form lacks any clothing though.
 * Good Wings Evil Wings: Has large bat wings to confirm his demonic heritage.
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Noble Demon
 * Pointy Ears
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: To the Skull Knight and to Guts.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: He has known the Skull Knight for centuries...
 * Red Baron: Known as "Zodd The Immortal".
 * Red Eyes Take Warning: In the anime and movies.
 * A Villain Named Zrg: Averted since Zodd is not a sci-fi villain and there isn't an "r" or a "g" in his name, but it still sounds like the typical trope. Zooooooooooooooodddd.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene
 * Weapon of Choice: Scimitars and two-handed swords.
 * Worthy Opponent: Despite his denial, Zodd deeply respects Guts and is extremely fond of fighting with him.

Voiced by: Tessho Genda


""To warriors, the battlefield should be a holy place. Our greater desire is to die amidst blood and carnage.""

Towering above all the other members of the new Band, his Apostle form is that of a crystalline dragon. He desired to battle Guts after their return from the Qliphoth and is very surprised to find himself reduced to his knees when Guts puts on the Berserker Armor.

He appears as a red-haired, massively built giant who wields a warhammer and a shield that doubles as a cannon similar to the one Guts has.


 * Animal Motifs: The Dragon.
 * Arm Cannon: Grunbeld's shield generally acts as one of these.
 * Badass: From his height to his fangs and his build, there is virtually nothing depriving him of the title.
 * Blood Knight: Same deal as Zodd.
 * Fangs Are Evil
 * Drop the Hammer: Grunbeld uses a warhammer in order to fight Guts.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: At the Spirit Tree, he he would question his orders, telling Guts that it isn't honorable to attack an old woman with so many troops.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Giant Mook
 * The Juggernaut (Oh yeah!)
 * Made of Diamond: Or more accurately, made of corundum.
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Our Giants Are Bigger: He is even taller than the towering Zodd.
 * Weapon of Choice: A war hammer and his cannon-shield.

Irvine


""I'm a hunter. I'm more relaxed when I'm alone.""

An aloof, solitary and quiet Warrior Poet who enjoys playing the lute. He rarely speaks to anyone in the Band yet has formed a close relationship with Sonia. He uses a demonic, sentient bow in battle and is able to fire several arrows at a time.

He appears as a blank-eyed, Darker and Edgier version of Robin Hood. His Apostle form is that of a shaggy, Hell Hound-like beast from the waist down while his upper body is similar to a Werewolf. He can use his hair as a weapon and lower-body beast sports two horns that he can use as a bow.


 * The Archer: Irvine's weapon of choice is a demonic sentient bow.
 * The ranges he can use said bow bring him into Cold Sniper territory, for instance, he takes out every with headshots. From about a mile downrange. Without flinching.
 * Beast Man: He defines himself as one, and ultimately appears as one.
 * The Hunter: Also defines himself as this and justifies his need for solitude because of this.
 * Loners Are Freaks: A strange case. He isn't seen talking to anyone in the Neo-Hawks except Sonia, but he is one of the most sympathetic Apostles shown so far, along with Rosine and the Nameless Apostle.
 * Nice Hat
 * Our Werewolves Are Different
 * Pet the Dog: His relationship with Sonia counts as this.
 * Prophet Eyes
 * The Quiet One: Aloof to everyone in the Band with the notable exception of Sonia.
 * Razor Floss: His hair, while in Apostle form, seem to have this effect.
 * Rescue Romance: There seems to be shades of this as he rescued Sonia from.
 * Warrior Poet: He likes playing the lute when he is not fighting.
 * Weapon of Choice: Bows and Arrows.

Rakshas


""One day, I'll get your pretty head.""

The most mysterious of all the Hawks seems to have no form other than that of a swirling black phantom wearing a tribal mask. Apparently a Kushan, he seems to have some beef with Silat. He said he joined Griffith's army so he could take his head. That's all we know at the moment.


 * Charles Atlas Superpower: we've yet to see him fight and we have no idea what he is (tough he is most likely an Apostle) or where he came from but it is implied he is very powerful, or at least very reliable when he wants. He sneaked on Zodd (literally hiding in his wings) to watch as Ganishka and Griffith fought!
 * Cool Mask
 * Enigmatic Minion: Virtually nothing is known about him.
 * Our Ghosts Are Different
 * Bedsheet Ghost: Looks very much like this except the sheet is black and there's something truly unnerving about him.
 * Psycho for Hire: He is quite sadistic and there is also the fact that he joined Griffith to kill him.
 * Satellite Character: The least seen of all the Neo-Hawks.
 * Sim Sim Salabim: Notably averted in comparison to all other Kushans.
 * Wild Card

Locus


""In this war, the physical world's trivialities will soon become meaningless. Dawn is drawing near. And a true sun will shine over us all.""

The Moonlight Knight is a Noble Demon with very strict principles and who firmly believes Griffith will bring about a much better world. In his human form, he appears as a dark-haired Bishonen with ten liters of testosterone and badassery. His Apostle form is that of a shining, metallic Centaur-like creature wielding a heavy lance.

Also notable for being among the least mean-spirited of all Apostles thus far and usually speaks normally with humans and has never been shown to be in need of human flesh for sustenance.


 * Anti Villain
 * Badass: His centaur form.
 * Badass Long Hair: In human form.
 * Bishonen: Less androgynous than the usual standard but he still qualifies.
 * The Fettered: Because of the above, he is also the Apostle with the most strict moral standards.
 * Knight Errant: What he was before joining Griffith.
 * Knight in Shining Armor: At least in appearance.
 * Knight Templar: Although he is clearly on the side of evil, he believes that all what the Neo-Hawks do is for greater good.
 * The Lancer: Literally.
 * Noble Demon
 * Our Centaurs Are Different
 * Spikes of Villainy: Quite ironically.
 * Weapon of Choice: A heavy lance.

Sonia


""That night I had a dream. A dream in which a kite and an owl were playing by the moonlight.""

Appearing as a young, cute, blonde girl, Sonia is an Anti Villain. Born with the gift of clairvoyance, she has a generally friendly disposition and is infatuated with Griffith. She doesn't fear the Apostles, and has even bonded with the distant Irvine. She resents Charlotte for being Griffith Love Interest since she considers herself the only being able to understand his true nature and feelings.

She has also struck a friendly relationship with Schierke upon meeting her in Vritannis and relates to her feeling of inadequateness among humans. She doesn't fight physically but often acts as the hub of thought of all the Hawks, relaying Griffith's orders to his subordinates and giving him instant information about any situation.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Be it Griffith or Irvine, she does have a thing for morally questionable guys.
 * Animal Motifs: She likes comparing people to birds: She's a kite, Griffith's a hawk, Schierke's an owl and Mule almost got his own specie as well at one point. Other than that, Midlanders are ducks, Kushans are crows and apostles are dragons.
 * Irony: Despite believing herself superior to regular humans and thinking that she has found a soulmate in Griffith (at least until Irvine came into the picture), her helmet is shaped like a duckbill...
 * Anti Villain
 * Creepy Child: She seems a little too easy around Obviously Evil Apostles. At one point, she even offers to sneak a corpse to one that moments ago was considering eating her.
 * Dark Chick
 * Forehead of Doom
 * Green Eyed Monster: She is very jealous of Charlotte's relationship with Griffith.
 * Hair of Gold <-> Blondes Are Evil: Her moral neutrality and her otherworldliness make her swing between the two.
 * Mission Control: Her way with telepathy makes her one of these.
 * The Nicknamer
 * Nightmare Fetishist: She is in no way even remotely unnerved by the demonic Apostles, their appetite for human flesh, or even the threatening (or lewd) intent they display to her.
 * Oracular Urchin: She often gives cryptic predictions to people she likes.
 * Perky Female Minion: She is always smiling and welcoming to everyone even though she looks down on regular humans and calls them "ducks".
 * Precocious Crush: On Griffth.
 * Smitten Teenage Girl: Same deal as Charlotte, but in an even more immature way.
 * Wounded Gazelle Warcry: Charges blindly onto the battlefield to fight, despite being by far the weakest of the Neo-Hawks, and is rescued in extremis by Irvine. Turns out she did so to motivate Midland's troops to help Griffith's army defeating.

Mule


A young and minor noble of Midland. He briefly resisted the Kushan invasion of Midland with his retainers, until he was rescued by Griffith and his new Band of the Hawk, subsequently pledging his sword to Griffith. As a member of the new Band of the Hawk, Mule's main concern is the protection of Sonia.


 * Anti Villain: If he can even be called a villain.
 * Bishonen
 * Blue Eyes
 * Dork Knight: He's skilled, noble, good-looking, idealistic... and yet Sonia walks all over him.
 * Generation Xerox: Is a clear-cut counterpart to Rickert in the Neo-Hawks and is just as clueless about Griffith's true nature.
 * Hair of Gold
 * I Am X Son of Y: He is Mule Wolcliff, son of Baraga Wolcliff.
 * Knight in Shining Armor
 * Naive Newcomer
 * The Reason You Suck Speech: Delivers a scathing one to Isidro upon fist-fighting with him.
 * Weapon of Choice: Short swords.