The usage of signs in the manga, Berserk

 The manga titled, Berserk, was written by the author Kentaro Miura in 1990. It is still being written today but by Miura's close friend Kouki Mori since Miura passed away in 2021. It is a tragic story about a character named Guts who has suffered through many events in his life but still makes the decision to push forward. The first sign usage to look into with berserk is the symbolic sign. One of the iconic things about Berserk is the Brand of Sacrifice that has been place on Guts and his partner Casca. This symbol was place on them in a tragic event and will haunt them to the end of their days. The brand resembles that of the Norse rune of the Berserker. This rune was given to Viking warriors that were the strongest and resembled the toughness or strength that helped them survive their battles. Guts in the same way throughout the story begins to see the mark as not a curse, but as a reason to keep going. The second sign is the iconic sign. Guts has a friend, turned enemy, named Griffith who was the leader of a group of mercenaries called the Band of the Hawk. Since Griffith was the leader, he wore a helmet that bared resemblance to that of a hawk's head. The hawk resembles Griffith's desire to soar above everyone else and become a ruler. He will do anything to achieve his dream and we see this when he betrays his entire Band of the Hawk by sacrificing them with Casca and Guts being the only survivors. The third sign is the indexical sign. The event where the Band of the Hawk was sacrificed is called the eclipse. When it happened, a dark cloud smothered out the sun to where you could only see the edge of it hence it being an eclipse. In ancient cultures like the Aztecs, an eclipse was believed to be the end of the world and for the Band of the Hawk, it was. The final sign used is the ideological sign. As mentioned before, Guts has suffered deep trauma throughout his life and after Griffiths betrayal, we are introduced to the Beast. The beast is the representation of all of the suffering Guts has gone through and is sort of a different personality for Guts. Later in the story he receives a type of armor called the Berserker Armor and it makes Guts into a danger for not only his enemies, but for his allies and himself. When he activates the Berserker armor, the Beast takes over Guts and he becomes a mindless creature that has only rage. The first time he activated it to beat the monster that him and his party were fighting, he indirectly tried to kill some of the members of his party and required the help of a mage name Schierke to snap him out of his rage. He later heals form his trauma and is able to use the armor without the Beast taking control of him. 

Berserk, Kentaro Miura

Old Nordic Symbols: Norse Runes & Viking Ornaments (Meanings & Examples) (nordicperspective.com)