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I am a man generally dissociated from intense emotion. I adapt to my circumstances and fill the role I am given. That is my style.
– Serpico[1]

Serpico is a major supporting character in the series, serving as Farnese's servant and personal bodyguard. He is the illegitimate son of the noble Federico III of the Vandimion family who would join the Guts' traveling party along with his half-sister Farnese.

Personality[]

Despite his miserable upbringing, Serpico stands out as polite, gentlemanlike and sincere. He is very protective of Farnese, his half-sister, and caters to her every whim, viewing her as a guardian angel for saving him from his old life on the streets. In spite of Farnese abusing Serpico in the past, her safety and well-being is Serpico's highest priority. Serpico had developed a dislike of how much Farnese looks up to Guts, fearing that his inner darkness would be the death of his half-sister. However, after rejoining Guts' party and sailing to Elfhelm, Serpico learnt to trust the Black Swordsman and the rest of the group, fighting alongside the group and frequently conversing with them and empathizing with their struggles. His relationship with Farnese changed ever since his prolonged adventure with his party and the arrival of Roderick.

Serpico learned at a young age that violence begets violence, and avoided creating situations of conflict whenever possible. For instance, as a youth Farnese would oftentimes dupe nobles into dueling Serpico; well aware that Serpico was a far superior duelist to any of them, she wished to see them hurt and humiliated by him. However, Serpico would never seek to do either, and would virtually always end the duel with a draw while complimenting the skills of his opponent. This way, he would resolve these conflicts without either needing to kill his opponents or be concerned with future vengeance from them. Due to a troubled upbringing and dislike of conflict, he typically hides his actual emotional state behind a facade of incompetence and naivety.

However, Serpico's true nature is seen to be one of tremendous focus, ruthlessness, and emotional detachment. There is virtually nothing he won't do to protect those he cares for, and he tends to brush off even the most dire of situations with a sardonic quip. He is capable of dropping and raising his typical facade at a moment's notice as well, oftentimes confusing his human adversaries with how difficult he tends to be to read. After traveling with Guts for a time however, he noticed that he began to have a more difficult time maintaining his detachment and aloof coldness in light of the positive effects Guts had on Farnese, as he was grateful to see these effects but increasingly frightened that Guts might one day kill her under the influence of the Berserker armor.

Despite his skill and sometimes foreboding personality, Serpico is extremely uncomfortable around fire, as well as disliking the sight of blood, making him an unlikely warrior. His fear of fire stems from Farnese forcing Serpico to burn his mother at the stake to prove that he was not the son of a heretic.

Background[]

Serpico meets his dad

A young Serpico meeting his father.

Born the illegitimate son of Federico de Vandimion III and a former maid to House Vandimion in the Holy City, Serpico looked after his mother at a young age when she fell ill. During Serpico's fights with other children over food and medicine, he learned of his father's existence and was given a locket containing a picture of her mother and Federico. By chance, Serpico ended up in the service of House Vandimion at the age of 10, when he was found badly hurt by Farnese in an alley. Farnese took the youth to be her plaything. In time, after learning more about Farnese, Serpico developed a deep bond with her. One day, Serpico encountered Federico, who recognized him as his biological son after noticing the boy's locket. Federico did not want yet another son to worsen the conflict upon family succession, giving Serpico nobility status with constant advance in rank in exchange for keeping their familial ties a secret and looking after Farnese.

Serpico kills his mother

Serpico burning his mother at the stake.

Serpico joined the Holy Iron Chain Knights years later after Farnese was given command of the group, following her blindly, despite his dismay that they were executing innocent people the Holy See accused of heresy because of their low-class status and seeing the religious organization for the greed-based institution it is. He was even forced to burn his own mother, who now suffered dementia, at stake on Farnese's order to prove his loyalty.

HICKS

The Holy Iron Chain Knights arriving to the Eclipse.

A year after the end of the Hundred-Year War, Seprico accompanied Farnese on her mission to investigate a prophecy of the Falcon of Darkness said to be birthed during the fifth solar eclipse. After the solar eclipse, Farnese and her forces find the "red lake" mentioned in the Holy See's prophecy: a shallow stream dyed red with the blood spilled from the remains of countless bodies of men and horses. Soon after, Serpico accompanies Farnese on her mission hunt down and capture the black swordsman who the Holy See believe to have some connection to the "Falcon of Darkness".

Story[]

Conviction Arc[]

Chapter 119

Farnese and the Iron Chain Knights.

Two years after beginning her search for Guts, Farnese and her knights eventually find the swordsman during his hunt for Rosine, believing that he had slaughtered normal village children and men that were actual the apostle's transformed agents before reverting to their natural forms in death. During the confrontation that followed, Serpico covertly subdued Guts while making a frightened Farnese appear the one who took the swordsman down. Some time after bringing Guts to their camp, escorting the swordsman to his cage after he provoked Farnese to whip him, Serpico warns him not to upset Farnese like that again.

Serpico surrounded by demons

Serpico's pursuit halted by the spirits.

Later that night, when Guts escapes on horseback with Farnese as his hostage, Serpico pursues them and nearly got the swordsman within his sights to fire his crossbow. However, Serpico ends up being knocked off his horse when it got spooked by the spirits being attracted by Guts' Brand of Sacrifice. By the time Serpico found Farnese, fending off some of the possessed hounds prior to daybreak, he found her in hysterics as she pleads for him to kill Guts to maintain her dignity. But Serpico reminds his commander that their mission is only to apprehend Guts, though it did not avert him from testing his skills on him, allowing the swordsman to escape while he takes Farnese back to camp.

Serpico later traveled with Farnese to Albion, briefly battling Guts and later bearing witness to the supernatural horrors that occurred during the Incarnation Ceremony. Later, Serpico leaves the Iron Chain Knights to accompany Farnese to find Guts.

Millennium Falcon Arc[]

While spending the night in a abandoned house, attempting to convince Faranese to return to Vritannis, Serpico sleeps remembering his past before the two resume their journey. It was after crossing paths with Isidro, who was stealing their food, that Serpico crosses paths with Guts and is surprised to find out Farnese's intent was to travel with the swordsman.

Fantasia Arc[]

This section requires expansion.

Abilities[]

Physical Abilities[]

Serpico is an exceptionally skilled and deft fencer, falling just behind Guts in terms of swordsmanship. Farnese states that he could have defeated any of the courtly nobles of his childhood in fencing with one hand tied behind his back, and was angered that he held back in order to keep his opponents alive. At first, he doesn't seem a threat at all, but when Guts heads for Farnese during the Black Swordsman hunt, it seems that Serpico is responsible for throwing a branch at Guts' arrow wound to immobilize him. However, Serpico's great skill is not enough to make him a match for Guts in a head-on fight, leading him to tip other factors in his favor to keep ahead. However, the Sylph Cloak and Sylph Sword make him much more agile and boost his offensive capabilities. His speed and reflexes are of particular note, as during his second encounter with Guts, he was able to dodge point-blank fire from Guts's automatic crossbow, and pickpocket a small bomb from Guts in order to blind him and escape.[2] During this encounter, Guts noted that fighting him was significantly more difficult than fighting the Great Goat pseudo apostle he had killed a short while earlier.[3] During his second duel with Guts, Serpico, unarmored and wielding only a rapier, nearly managed to defeat Guts. Though Serpico used the environment to keep Guts from swinging the gigantic Dragonslayer at full speed, Guts's victory ultimately came via a reflexive reaction to Serpico's final plan of attack, and he later admitted to Isidro that he had not been holding back during the duel at all (though Serpico also noted aloud that Guts had tacitly agreed to duel with melee weapons only, and he did not use the Berserker armor's power).

Serpico is also a very good cook and the group often looks forward to the meals he prepares. Serpico has fought apostles every day alongside Guts and the others, thus gaining more combat experience. He was quick and strong enough to save Farnese and lift her up with one hand from falling off the Tower of Conviction.

Tactical Abilities[]

Serpico has a habit of acting docile, incompetent, or both in order to drop enemies' guards. In truth, he is intelligent and strategically minded. He acts fast and is adept at utilizing his environment to give himself advantages against powerful opponents. This tendency is most prominently featured during his bouts against Guts, whom he would only ever engage after giving himself decisive terrain advantages to offset Guts' physicality. The first time he and Guts clash, he is able to survive from a direct hit, and the second time, he puts Guts in a situation where he cannot draw his sword and is able to escape by quickly grabbing a miniature bomb from Guts and using it to cover his getaway. The third time they fight, he lured Guts into a room with tightly knit stone pillars that kept Guts from swinging his sword at full speed.

Equipment[]

  • Rapier: Serpico's primary melee weapons before he received his Sylph equipment, and a weapon that he has demonstrated such an aptitude for as to nearly be a match for Guts in melee combat. He kept the weapon even after receiving his enchanted gear from Flora, and has been seen to wield it alongside his Sylph Sword. It is useful in that, as a purely physical object, situations which would hamper the power of Serpico's magical gear have no effect on it.
  • Sylph Sword: Crafted from a white-shouldered eagle's feather and a branch of mistletoe, it was given to him by Schierke and Flora, along with the "Wind Cloak". Though its physical appearance was compared by Serpico to a literal feather duster, the "blade" is capable of producing air currents that can cut easily through most humanoid enemies such as Trolls or Daka. It is capable of utilizing several instances of this phenomenon at once, enabling Serpico to kill multiple enemies at a time. However, even under a full moon (which is said to increase the power of the weapon's magic) it was not able to sever one of the Sea God's mouth tentacles.
  • Sylph Cloak: Possessing the same origin and properties as the "Wind Sword", the cloak's magic is capable of supporting Serpico's weight to a significant degree. This grants him limited powers of flight, the ability to jump to a superhuman degree, and the ability to float from deadly heights without suffering harm. It also significantly increases his agility and general mobility through the use of directed air currents that he can use to propel himself in whatever direction he wishes. It can also summon strong winds to deflect melee attacks and projectiles. In conjunction with the Sylph Sword, Serpico even demonstrated the ability to create an air pressure barrier so potent as to disperse a lightning strike from Ganishka. It has the same kind of Sylph spirit and the pair of items have a somewhat strong attachment to Serpico as when Schierke offered him the items again, it jumps to him (controlled by the wind spirits).

Portrayal[]

Adult[]

Japanese Voice Actor(s)[]

English Voice Actor(s)[]

Child[]

Japanese Voice Actor(s)[]

English Voice Actor(s)[]

Notes[]

  • The Berserk Official Guidebook states that circa the Fantasia Arc, Serpico is 20 years old, 175 cm, and 63 kg. (NOTE: The Berserk Official Guidebook is highly questionable in its veracity.)
  • The name "Serpico" is related to "Serpe" – "serpent" – in Italian and Portuguese.[4]
  • Kentarou Miura has compared Serpico to André from The Rose of Versailles, as both men are intended to be a female reader's "dream".[5]
  • Despite Federico being his father, Serpico is not recognized as a member of the de Vandimion family and is seen as merely a servant to Farnese. This is due to Federico's wish to keep the relation a secret in an attempt to avoid further family squabbling, making sure he'd be granted a title of nobility and cared for in exchange.
  • In Berserk Musou, Serpico will use the Sylph Sword when entering Frenzy mode in his boss fights, even when he should not have access to it early in the story.

References[]

  1. ^ Berserk :: Volume 30, "Duel"
  2. ^ Berserk :: Volume 19, "Cliff"
  3. ^ Berserk :: Volume 19, "Ambush"
  4. ^ Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2013.
  5. ^ Berserk Official Guidebook

Appendices[]

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