It’s hard to talk about Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Descent without sounding like you’re describing a fever dream. If you’ve seen it, you know. If you haven't, well, honestly, brace yourself. This isn't your standard "hero defeats the dragon" fantasy flick. It’s a 110-minute descent into absolute emotional and psychological carnage that serves as the finale to the Studio 4°C movie trilogy. By the time the credits roll, the bright, mercenary-filled days of the first two films feel like a lifetime ago.
The movie covers the infamous Eclipse. This is arguably the most traumatic event in the history of manga and anime. For years, fans of Kentaro Miura’s work debated if a movie could actually capture that level of cosmic horror. While the 1997 television series handled it with still frames and a haunting soundtrack, the 2013 movie decided to go full throttle with high-budget animation and some of the most unsettling CGI ever put to screen. It’s visceral. It’s cruel. It’s basically the reason why Berserk fans have trust issues.
Why the Eclipse in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III Still Haunts Us
Griffith. That’s the crux of it. Most stories have a villain you hate from the jump, but Berserk spent two movies making you love this guy. He was charismatic. He was a visionary. Then, in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III, we see what happens when a man who lived for his dream is stripped of every single thing that made him human.
The pacing here is a slow burn that turns into a wildfire. The first half of the film is actually quite quiet. We see the Band of the Hawk—now a shadow of their former selves—trying to rescue Griffith from the Tower of Rebirth. When they finally find him, it’s a gut punch. He’s a husk. His tendons are cut. His tongue is gone. He can’t even hold a sword. The tragedy isn't just his physical state; it's the realization that the man who led them to glory is effectively dead.
Then comes the Behelit.
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The transition from a gritty medieval war drama to a surrealist nightmare is jarring. It’s supposed to be. When the sun disappears and the God Hand descends, the movie stops being an action film and becomes a horror masterpiece. The "Descent" subtitle isn't just flavor text; it describes the literal and moral sinking of Griffith into the abyss. He chooses himself. He chooses his "Castle in the Sky" over the lives of every person who ever loved him.
The Animation: A Mixed Bag of Brilliance
Studio 4°C took a lot of heat for their use of 3D CGI in the first two films. It looked clunky at times. However, in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III, the blend finally starts to make sense. Why? Because the Apostles—the demonic monsters that make up the God Hand’s army—are supposed to look wrong. They are unnatural entities. The slightly "off" look of the CGI actually enhances the body horror.
Characters like Void and Ubik look like they stepped right out of a Bosch painting. The sheer scale of the Eclipse—a literal sea of faces and screaming mouths—is something that traditional 2D animation might have struggled to render with such density. Director Toshiyuki Kubooka leaned into the grotesque. You see every drop of blood and every agonizing expression as the Band of the Hawk is systematically torn apart. It’s a technical achievement, even if it’s one that makes you want to look away.
The Controversy of the "Uncut" Version
If you’re watching this, make sure you know which version you’re getting. There’s a broadcast version and an "Advent" or uncut version. The difference is significant. Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III contains some of the most controversial scenes in anime history, specifically the assault on Casca.
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It’s a scene that has been analyzed to death by scholars and fans alike. Is it gratuitous? Is it necessary for the plot? Honestly, it’s meant to be the ultimate betrayal. Griffith doesn't just want power; he wants to break Guts, the only person who ever made him forget his dream. The movie doesn't pull punches. It’s an ugly, harrowing sequence that cements Femto as one of the most hated antagonists in fiction. It’s not "fun" to watch. It’s a test of endurance.
Many viewers find the movie almost impossible to rewatch because of this third act. But that’s sort of the point of Berserk. Miura’s world is one where struggle is the only constant. Guts is the "Struggler," and this movie shows exactly what he is struggling against. It’s not just monsters; it’s the crushing weight of fate and the betrayal of a brother.
Sound Design and Shiro Sagisu’s Score
We have to talk about the music. Shiro Sagisu, famous for his work on Neon Genesis Evangelion, brings a sense of grand, operatic doom to the proceedings. The track "Blood and Guts" is iconic for a reason. It captures the frantic, hopeless energy of the slaughter. The sound design during the Eclipse is equally effective. The wet, crunching sounds of bones breaking and the otherworldly whispers of the God Hand create an atmosphere of total claustrophobia. Even in the open desert, you feel trapped.
The Legacy of the Golden Age Trilogy
Looking back, the trilogy—culminating in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III—was a bold experiment. It tried to condense dozens of manga chapters into six hours of film. Naturally, things were lost. The "Bonfire of Dreams" speech felt rushed in the movies compared to the manga. The character of Wyald was cut entirely (though many fans would argue that’s a good thing given how weird that subplot gets).
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Despite the cuts, the third movie succeeds because it nails the emotional landing. The ending—where a broken Guts emerges from the Eclipse, missing an arm and an eye—is the perfect setup for the Black Swordsman persona. It explains the rage. It explains the "Dragon Slayer" sword. It explains why Guts is the way he is.
Most people who finish this movie immediately go buy the manga. That’s perhaps the greatest compliment you can give it. It serves as a brutal, beautiful gateway drug into the larger world of Berserk. It’s a reminder that animation can be used to tell stories that are deeply uncomfortable and profoundly human, even when the characters are becoming literal demons.
How to Approach Watching Arc III
If you’re planning to dive into this, here’s the reality of what you’re getting into. Don't go in expecting a happy ending. Berserk doesn't do those.
- Watch the first two first: It sounds obvious, but the emotional payoff of the third movie depends entirely on you liking the characters. If you don't care about Judeau, Pippin, or Corkus, the Eclipse won't hit as hard.
- Check the rating: This is a hard "R" or "18+" for a reason. It features extreme violence, gore, and sexual assault. It is not for the faint of heart.
- Consider the Memorial Edition: In 2022, the trilogy was recut into a TV format called Berserk: The Golden Age Arc - Memorial Edition. It adds several deleted scenes, including the "Bonfire of Dreams," and polishes some of the older CGI. If you want the most "complete" version of the story, that’s the way to go.
- Prepare for the Manga: The movie ends on a cliffhanger. If you want to know what happens to Guts and Casca after the Eclipse, you’ll need to start reading from Volume 14 of the manga (or better yet, start from the beginning to see what the movies missed).
The "Golden Age" is a tragedy. We know from the very first episode of the 1997 anime or the first chapter of the manga that things end badly. Yet, watching the descent in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III still feels like a shock to the system. It’s a masterpiece of dark fantasy that remains just as impactful today as it was over a decade ago. It’s a reminder that even in a world of demons and fate, the most terrifying thing is often a human heart with too much ambition.
Actionable Next Step: If the visuals of the movie intrigued you, the best way to honor Kentaro Miura’s legacy is to pick up the Berserk Deluxe Edition Volume 1. The movies are a great summary, but the pen-and-ink detail of the manga provides a depth of character and world-building that no film can fully replicate. If you’ve already seen the film, look into the Berserk: Memorial Edition on streaming platforms to see the restored scenes that were originally cut for time.