Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent (2013)
When Dreams Become Nightmares
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent is not merely the conclusion of a trilogy — it is the birth of Berserk’s true identity. This film adapts one of the most infamous arcs in manga history: The Eclipse. What begins as a desperate rescue transforms into an unrelenting descent into cosmic horror, betrayal, and irreversible loss.
Unlike the first two films, which build ambition, friendship, and triumph, The Advent strips everything away. It answers the question Berserk has been quietly asking since the beginning:
What is the cost of a dream?
This is where hope dies, legends fall, and monsters are born.
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Movie Overview
Title: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent
Japanese Title: ベルセルク 黄金時代篇 III 降臨
Runtime: 107 minutes
Release Date: February 1, 2013
Studio: Studio 4°C
Original Manga: Written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Action, Psychological, Tragedy
Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (region-based), DVD / Blu-ray
Theme Song: “Aria” by Susumu Hirasawa
Story Summary
Following Guts’ departure, Griffith’s world collapses. In a moment of weakness and obsession, he sneaks into the royal palace and is discovered with Princess Charlotte. The result is catastrophic. Griffith is arrested, imprisoned, and brutally tortured for an entire year.
The Band of the Hawk, branded as traitors, are hunted down and slaughtered. Casca barely survives while leading the remaining members into hiding. Once proud heroes, they are reduced to fugitives, broken and scattered.
Guts eventually learns of the Hawks’ fate and returns, rescuing Casca and vowing to save Griffith. When they finally find him, they discover a shell of the man he once was — physically mutilated, mentally shattered, unable even to hold a sword.
As despair overwhelms Griffith, his Behelit activates.
Reality collapses.
The world is swallowed by darkness as the Eclipse begins — a ritual beyond human comprehension. The God Hand appears, revealing the truth of causality and destiny. Griffith is offered a choice: sacrifice the Band of the Hawk and be reborn as a demon king… or remain broken and human.
Griffith chooses his dream.
The Hawks are slaughtered in a nightmare of blood and terror. Casca’s mind is destroyed. Guts loses an eye and an arm while screaming helplessly against fate itself.
Griffith is reborn as Femto. The Black Swordsman is born.
Major Arcs Covered
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Fall of the Hawk Arc — Griffith’s arrest and torture
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Rescue Mission Arc — Guts and Casca save Griffith
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Eclipse Arc — The sacrifice and birth of Femto
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God Hand Revelation — Fate, causality, and demons revealed
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Birth of the Black Swordsman — Guts’ transformation begins
Main Characters
- Guts — Reduced from hero to survivor, Guts emerges with nothing but rage, loss, and an unbreakable will to defy destiny.
- Griffith / Femto — The embodiment of ambition without restraint. His rebirth as Femto marks one of anime’s most chilling transformations.
- Casca — The emotional heart of the story, whose trauma represents the true cost of Griffith’s choice.
- The God Hand — Void, Slan, Ubik, Conrad — manifestations of fate itself.
- Skull Knight — A mysterious warrior who defies causality and rescues Guts and Casca.
Themes and Style
- Betrayal and Sacrifice — The ultimate violation of trust.
- Fate vs. Free Will — Can destiny be resisted?
- Ambition’s Corruption — Dreams become monsters.
- Trauma and Survival — Living after the unthinkable.
- Cosmic Horror — Humanity dwarfed by godlike forces.
Animation & Music
Studio 4°C abandons restraint in this film, fully embracing horror and surrealism. The Eclipse sequence blends traditional animation with aggressive CGI to create an overwhelming, suffocating atmosphere.
Susumu Hirasawa’s music becomes almost ritualistic — haunting chants and mechanical pulses elevate the Eclipse into something mythic and terrifying.
This is not comfortable animation. It is meant to disturb.
Connection to the Berserk Timeline
This film concludes the Golden Age Arc and directly leads into:
Everything that defines Berserk — apostles, revenge, trauma, defiance — begins here.
Where to Watch
You can watch Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent on:
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Amazon Prime Video (region-based)
Popularity & Reception
The Advent is considered one of the darkest anime films ever made. While controversial for its brutality, it is universally praised for faithfully adapting Kentaro Miura’s vision.
The Eclipse remains one of the most unforgettable moments in anime history.
Final Thoughts
The Advent is not entertainment — it is an ordeal.
It destroys the illusion of heroism and replaces it with raw truth: dreams demand blood, fate is cruel, and survival itself is an act of rebellion. This film does not offer comfort or closure — only the beginning of an endless struggle.
Berserk is born here. And once witnessed, it can never be forgotten.
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