The thing about hatred... It's the place where people who can't look sorrow in the eye without waverin' run off to.
– Godot[2]
Godot (pronounced /ˈɡɒdoʊ/ GOD-oh) was a blacksmith who lived in a remote mountainous area near Midland. He became famous because of his versatility, crafting anything asked of him, including the Dragon Slayer,[1] an oversized sword of impossible weight which requires inhuman strength to wield and serves as Guts' primary weapon after the Eclipse.
Personality
Godot was gruff, standoffish and rather rude. However, he was kindhearted, despite his grumpy exterior, taking in an orphaned Erica on a whim and raising her as his own daughter.[3] Later, Godot took Rickert under his tutelage when the boy had nowhere else to go following the Eclipse.[1]
Godot was also moralistic; he lectured Guts about his dubious decision to leave Rickert and a helpless Casca behind in favor of waging a vengeful war against the apostles. Equating revenge to a fruitless endeavor that only results in breaking the pursuer, Godot noted that Guts chose to run away and be consumed by his own malice rather than immerse himself in sorrow with those irreplaceable to him.[2] Godot greatly valued relationships with others; despite dedicating his entire life to his trade, Godot's single-minded dedication to his craft at the expense of everything else was not seen by the blacksmith as an example to be followed. Recognizing Guts' own commitments to both the sword and revenge, he presented his life as a cautionary tale to the swordsman, succinctly relaying his admonition through Rickert: "Don't turn out like me."[3]
Being a passionate blacksmith to the very end, Godot chose to repair Guts' equipment while he still had the strength to stand.[3]
Background
As a young man, Godot lived in a castle town far from the hut he would one day call home. When the castle town's sovereign, a king, sent out a proclamation to bring him a sword that could kill a dragon, Godot's liege lord entrusted him with the task of doing so. Tired of crafting ornate weapons for nobles who seek elegance and refinement in their armaments, Godot created the huge and unusable Dragon Slayer. At risk of being killed, Godot fled the castle town and settled down at his mine.[1] He would keep the Dragon Slayer in storage for many years to come.
During the Hundred-Year War, Godot happened to pass by a burnt house and encountered a crying Erica, now orphaned after an attack. Taking it upon himself to care for her, Godot brought Erica home and raised her as his daughter.[3]
Story
Golden Age Arc
After the Hundred-Year War, Godot continues to live peacefully with his daughter. He first meets Guts after the latter's departure from the Band of the Falcon, Erica having injured the swordsman by sending logs down the nearby waterfall. Curious, Guts asks the blacksmith why he chose his profession, to which Godot replies that his family has always been of the trade since his great-grandfather's days, and so he hammered iron from an early age before he could decide whether doing so was to his liking or not. Guts spends the next year at Godot's homestead, before returning to the Band of the Falcon.[4]
Later, during a solar eclipse, Rickert arrives at Godot's abode with the injured Guts and Casca, who are left to rest in Godot's ore cave.[5] When Guts recovers and prepares to depart some time later, Godot complains that Guts went through his stock-in-trade and took whatever he wanted; still, he offers Guts a sword as a farewell gift.[1] After the sword breaks during a fight between Guts and a roaming apostle, Guts is thrown into Godot's storage shed and happens upon the Dragon Slayer, which he uses to slice the apostle apart in a single swing.[6]
Conviction Arc
Upon Guts' return two years later, Godot is fully bedridden due to his old age. Guts greets his old friend, and Godot inspects the swordsman's prosthetic arm, now damaged and rusted from constant use. Godot chides Guts for abandoning the now missing Casca along with Rickert, and warns him that his quest for revenge will only lead to him becoming consumed by it, likening him to a drawn sword on the battlefield that has begun to break.[2]
Despite this, the old blacksmith decides to personally reforge and temper the Dragon Slayer, and to create a set of armor for the swordsman. After a full night of working non-stop with Rickert, Godot finishes the last of Guts' upgrades and bids him farewell for the final time. After Guts' departure, Godot muses on how Guts does not have time to acknowledge the finality of their parting, and how the way Guts lives and dies is beyond control.[3]
Millennium Falcon Arc
After Griffith's reincarnation, Guts returns to Godot's mine, where he is surprised to find Godot's headstone. Guts briefly mourns for his armorer and friend shortly before Erica informs him of Godot's last words, and that he died soon after Guts left.[7]
Abilities
Regarded as a genius blacksmith in Midland during his prime, Godot forged several weapons for a local lord before creating the Dragon Slayer. Godot also crafted the basis for Guts' mechanical prosthetic arm before Rickert assembled it from pieces he found in Godot's storehouse, proving that he had some degree of medical knowledge, which was necessary to make the prosthetic functional.[1] He imparted this knowledge to his daughter Erica, which allowed her to tend to the injured.[8]
Notes
- According to the Berserk Official Guidebook, as of the Conviction Arc, Godot is 68 years old, 155 cm (5'1"), and 51 kg (112 lbs). (NOTE: The Berserk Official Guidebook is highly questionable in its veracity.)
- Gear that appears to be BDSM equipment is present in Godot's armory, seen right before Rickert discovers the Dragon Slayer.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Berserk :: Volume 14, "Armament"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 17, "Cracks in the Blade"
- ^ a b c d e Berserk :: Volume 17, "To the Holy Ground (1)"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 10, "Sparks from a Sword Tip"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 13, "Awakening to a Nightmare"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 14, "One Who Hunts Dragons"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 22, "Ruptured World"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 38, "Pandemonium"