Editing Golden Age Arc

{{Infobox/Arc
|image=Manga V5 Cover Art.png
|ename=Golden Age Arc
|jname=黄金時代篇
|volumes=3&ndash;14
|episodes=[[Episode 0-9 (Manga)|0-9]]&ndash;[[Episode 94 (Manga)|94]] (total: 102)
|highlights=* [[Griffith]] defeats [[Guts]] and enlists him in the [[Band of the Falcon]].{{qref|e0-14}}
* Guts and the Band of the Falcon encounter [[Zodd]].{{qref|e2}}
* The Band of the Falcon recaptures [[Doldrey]], thus ending the [[Hundred-Year War]].{{qref|e28}}
* Guts defeats Griffith and departs from the Band of the Falcon.{{qref|e36}}
* Griffith beds Princess [[Charlotte]],{{qref|e38}} resulting in his imprisonment and the Falcon mercenaries being exiled.
* Griffith [[Brand of Sacrifice|sacrifices]] his Falcon comrades for kinsmanship with the [[God Hand]],{{qref|e78}} as their fifth member Femto.
|prev=[[Black Swordsman Arc]] <small>(out-of-universe)</small>
|next=* [[Black Swordsman Arc]] <small>(in-universe)</small>
* [[Conviction Arc]] <small>(out-of-universe)</small>
}}
The '''Golden Age Arc''' is the second story arc of [[Kentarou Miura]]'s ''[[Berserk (Manga)|Berserk]] ''and the first story arc in the ''Berserk ''timeline, detailing Guts' life from his birth up to the events that lead him to become the Black Swordsman and reveals the relationship between Guts and the Godhand, particularly the one known as Femto. The arc is the most prominent and most well known of ''Berserk'', having been adapted as both an [[Berserk (1997 Anime)|anime series]] and a [[Berserk: The Golden Age Arc|film trilogy]].

== Story ==
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The [[Midland|Kingdom of Midland]] and the [[Tudor|Tudor Empire]] have waged war against each other [[Hundred-Year War|for approximately 100 years]].

The fighting abilities of lone swordsman [[Guts]] pique the interest of mercenary leader [[Griffith]], following the former's defeat of [[Bazuso]] during the siege of a Falcon-held fortress. The two later engage in a decisive duel, in which Griffith successfully recruits Guts into his [[Band of the Falcon]] by defeating the swordsman.{{qref|e0-14}}

For three years, Guts aids greatly in the Band of the Falcon's military efforts, gaining rank as the Falcon's Raiders Captain. With their consecutive military victories and ever-increasing fame, the band eventually wins over the confidence of the [[King of Midland]], who enlists their aid in Midland's [[Hundred-Year War]] with Tudor. In a siege on a Tudor-held fortress, the Band of the Falcon encounter the legendary swordsman [[Zodd]], believed to be immortal. Despite being overwhelmed by Zodd's [[Apostle|inhuman]] strength and ferociousness, Guts and Griffith leave with their lives after Zodd notices Griffith's mysterious [[Beherit#Crimson Beherit|Crimson Beherit]] and ominously withdraws thereafter.{{qref|e5}}

Midland's generals eventually set their sights on recapturing the border fortress of [[Doldrey]] &ndash; Tudor's seizing of which ignited the Hundred-Year War. Griffith assures the King of Midland that he and his mercenaries are all that is necessary to recapture the fortress. True to his word, Griffith successfully leads his mere 5,000 cavalry against the 30,000-strong legions of Tudor forces and recaptures Doldrey, thus concluding the Hundred-Year War.{{qref|e28}}

At the height of the Band of the Falcon's glory, Guts acts on his growing dissatisfaction with fighting for Griffith's dream and departs from the band,{{qref|e36}} to attain something of his own. Losing his most-treasured soldier throws Griffith's mind into turmoil, compelling him to impulsively bed Princess [[Charlotte]] on a fateful night.{{qref|e38}} Captured the morning after and imprisoned for treason against Midland's royal house, Griffith is sentenced to a year of prolonged torture by the incensed King of Midland and the Band of the Falcon members are consequently branded enemies of the state.{{qref|e40}}

A year later, having received word of his former comrades' continued activities, Guts reunites with Casca and the remnant Band of the Falcon, sharing an intimate moment with the former before aiding the latter in rescuing Griffith from beneath the [[Tower of Rebirth]].{{qref|e54}} The King, incensed even further both by Griffith's escape and by the fact that Princess Charlotte has chosen to go with them, sends a group of the famed [[Bakiraka]] assassins after them with express orders to bring the Princess back alive. The mercenaries are forced to release Charlotte before making their escape through the sewers. Charlotte is brought back to the King, but the King is not satisfied with this. Despite Charlotte's pleas to spare Griffith, the King sends the [[Black Dog Knights]], led by an apostle by the name of [[Wyald]], after Griffith and his band, with orders to kill them all.

When Wyald and his men find the Band of the Falcon, a furious battle commences in which Guts, Casca and the others are thrown into battle with the Black Dog Knights and eventually Wyald, who is defeated by Guts at the cost of his sword. Wyald eventually meets his end when he captures Griffith to try to find his Crimson Beherit, only to find that he does not have it, and is killed by being ripped in half by Zodd as punishment for trying to kill Griffith.

Now a crippled shell of his once-glorious self, having been completely ravaged by his [[Tower of Rebirth Jailer|torturer]], Griffith activates his Crimson Beherit in a moment of utmost despair. After rationalising his corpse amassing can't be stopped at that point if he still wants to attain his dream, he is granted new life by the [[God Hand]], reborn as their final member Femto in exchange for [[Brand of Sacrifice|sacrificing]] his Falcon comrades during the fifth [[Eclipse]].{{qref|e78}} The group of sacrificed mercenaries is feasted on by ravenous monsters called "[[apostle]]s"; Guts loses his left arm and right eye, and [[Casca]]'s mind collapses after being raped by Femto. The two are left the only surviving sacrifices of the hellish event only due to the [[Skull Knight]]'s intervention.{{qref|e88}}

Guts vows revenge on the apostles and God Hand.{{qref|e91}} After having a sword made for him by Godot, he breaks it on the hide of the [[Unidentified Roaming Apostle|first apostle]] to seek him out, before using another sword &ndash; the [[Dragon Slayer]] &ndash; to kill it. Armed with this weapon and a [[Cannon Arm|prosthetic cannon arm]], and clad in a set of black armor and cape, Guts embarks on a personal war against his sworn enemies as the Black Swordsman.{{qref|e94}}

== Major Battles ==
* Guts vs Bazuso{{qref|e0-11}}
* Guts' first duel with Griffith{{qref|e0-13}}
* The Band of the Falcon vs Zodd{{qref|e2}}
* Guts vs 100 Blue Whale Knights{{qref|e20}}
* The Battle for Doldrey{{qref|e25}}
* Guts' second duel with Griffith{{qref|e36}}
* Guts plowing through Midland guards while escaping the Tower of Rebirth{{qref|e55}}
* The remnant Band of the Falcon members and Guts vs [[Silat]] and his henchmen{{qref|e42}}
* Guts vs [[Wyald]]{{qref|e62}}
* The Skull Knight vs Zodd{{qref|e79}}
* Guts vs numerous apostles during the fifth Eclipse{{qref|e82}}
* Guts vs an [[Unidentified Roaming Apostle|unidentified roaming apostle]]{{qref|e94}}

== Anime and Manga Differences ==
* While [[Shisu]] isn't seen in any anime adaptation, she is briefly mentioned by [[Gambino]] in the 1997 anime.
* The 1997 anime omits [[Donovan]], while ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King'' alludes to him during Guts' coma.
* Guts' first battle with the Band of the Falcon is omitted in the ''[[Berserk: The Golden Age Arc]]'' film trilogy.
* [[Samson Coborlwitz]] is omitted in ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey''.
* The second attempt at murder (poisoned drink) against Griffith by the Midland nobility is not seen in the ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc'' film trilogy.
* Guts and Casca's dialogue by the tree is absent in ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc''.
* Neither the 1997 anime nor ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc'' establish the [[Queen of Midland]] as [[Julius]]' secret lover.
* Griffith's deduction of the King of Midland's lust for his own daughter is omitted from the 1997 anime.
* The King of Midland's sexual assault on Charlotte is cut from both the 1997 anime and ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc''.
* Valancia is excluded from ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent''.
* While both adaptations omit the [[Bakiraka]], Silat is only omitted from the 1997 anime and appears in ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc''.
* Both the 1997 anime and ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc'' omit Wyald and the Black Dog Knights.
* The arc ending is only present in ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent''. The 1997 anime ends with Guts losing his right eye.
*Unlike in the manga, ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc'' has cameos from [[Puck]], [[Farnese]], [[Azan]] and [[Serpico]].
* Neither adaptation includes the birth of the [[Demon Child]].
* Guts' fight against the unidentified roaming apostle is omitted from the 1997 anime and ''Berserk: The Golden Age Arc''. In the [[Berserk (2016 Anime)|2016 anime]], the roaming apostle is named the "Keeper of the Hounds", given a proper backstory, and doesn't encounter Guts directly after the fifth Eclipse. The keeper also serves the [[Snake Lord]]'s role as the apostle who Guts interrogates for the God Hand's whereabouts.
* In the 1997 anime, all moments featuring the Skull Knight are absent.

== References ==
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== Navigation ==
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[[Category:Arcs]]