Bro, tell me when miyazaki said in any interview that his games were inspired by berserk? The only references you can say are berserk is the blacksmith with the same name as the rickert and artorias. These speculations have gotten out of control that in a little while they will say that elden ring is the berserk game, miyazaki takes references from a lot of things about dark fantasy coincidentally where Miura did too and that's why people think it has similarities... Search about the interviews him and show me when he says berserk was the biggest influence on his games.
@@TOUGE27 you could've literally just looked it up instead of ranting? There are quite a few direct references along with many many things that look the exact same, like artorias and gael using guts moves or behelit and cracked red eye orbs looking the same.
@@tigerfestivals5137 He never says that, but if you read some interview (found it at resetera elden ring omnipotent tread) about ds 1, you can found that him at least read berserk and first concept armor of catarina really looks like bazuso armor, how said concept artist in inteview
the Dragon Slayer armor in DS3 is essentially the PERFECT blend of Dark Souls original design and Berserk inspiration. it has the same theme and is visually similar to Ornstein's classic set with the detailing of the berserker armor AND the head shape of Moonlight Knight Locus
If I remember correctly, the greatsword in Elden ring is a direct reference to the Dragon slayer. It’s description mentions a coarse iron lump and that’s it’s perfect for killing Inhumane foes. Not lonely that, it also states that to Handle it, one must have reached Inhuman levels of strength
That was a confirmed inclusion and homage to Berserk, Miyazaki even hinted at it himself to reassure people who wanted to play as Guts. The sword is found in the area copied from the Red Eclipse and it's in the caravan whose surrounding very much resembles both the caravan scene in the Black Swordsmen arc and the Eclipse itself when Griffith crashes in the caravan.
The Greatsword in Darks 1, 2, 3, and Elden Ring is Gut's sword before the Eclipse. The Crypt Sword in Dark Souls 2 is the closest sword to the Dragonslayer unless you count the Burning Battle mod for DS3 which is literally called 'The Dragonslayer' and is the sword. And it has the Berserk armour. And yes I know, the description is a nod to how the manga describes the Dragonslayer.
The greatsword in demons souls is described pretty much word for word as " a hideous hunk of metal, more than a sword, requiring inhumane strength" or something along those lines. Yes, the greatsword being a berserk reference isn't something vague. It's literally an addition to every single game as a very obvious and intentional homage.
@@pbabiesinspace6112 The one in DS1 could be pre-eclipse, but from 2 onwards, the weapon called 'Greatsword' pretty explicitly looks like the dragonslayer.
Don’t know if this was really inspired by berserk, but the massive golden tree (erdtree?) in elden ring looks similar to berserk’s world spiral tree. I thought that was the most obvious reference.
A thing you may have not noticed is that at the beginning of Golden age Guts gets shot in the arm when he's running away for this old group, the pose he stands in with the limp arm is very similar to artorious's pose, also the phrase 'Dark souls' is mentioned in one of the first chapters of berserk when we first see the godhand, speaking of which, 4 godhand with one final more important one, 4 major bosses in each dark souls game and a final one (not fully including ds2 because of the multiple bosses in the final room)
That Dark Souls reference in the manga. I realized that right away. Even the panel explaining dark souls. And just the panel itself where its all drawn a spiral of souls like disappearing into nothingness. Like white in color. Pretty much how any enemy npc dies in game and withers into like white dust. The quote: "Like a drop of water, youll simply dissolve. Becoming no more than another swell in an ocean of dark souls." Man as soon as I read that I was hooked on the manga.
I feel the vast majority of these are just reaches or historical things. When you said the tree was inspired by Berserk, when Miura was very likely inspired by Yggdrasil, I started reading comments while it kept going. I never thought about the similarities between Wolf and Guts though.
I think the spirit tree in berserk was inspired by Yggdrasil, for sure. But the bright glowing tree in the far distance with branches going across the sky. It’s very very reminiscent of Berserk. Though both are likely a reference to the World Tree
Some of the "references" are possibly inspired by real things. Such as the catching pole, that was likely inspired by a thing used in 18th century. And the winged knight helmet was clearly inspired by early 16th century grotesque visors.
Well Berserk probably took inspiration from those as well, most things are inspired by something. "Good artists borrow, Great artists steal" ~ Many great artist from the past.
The Logarius Wheel, though I believe is more possibly inspired by Berserk than most things in here, seems awfully similar ti a form of execution known as the Breaking Wheel in the Middle Ages.
While I agree on most of those, I say most are convenient simply, I mean a lot is dark fantasy in general you can say. While Berserk is most iconic within those references, other media had similar things before, mostly Armor design and such or certain areas. With certain genres or designs it tends to be similar simply, like a knights and castles in medieval settings and so on. And yes a lot is confirmed of course, just saying not everything needs to be a reference, and it is just similar due well inspired from the start, so mind goes to such design choices. It is like saying any racing game is inspired by Need for Speed as a dumb example.
also we tend to alter or even borrow the things that have inspired us in the past even unknowingly so it could be he maybe was borrowing something he seen from it but did so unknowingly
@@hiimhunter7649 i mean yeah but there’s also stuff that’s pretty blatant, alvina is a thousand times more reminiscent of the Cat of Sheshire than it is anything in berserk
The wheels at 4:40 in both DS and Berserk are inspired by "breaking wheels" which was an actual torture method from medieval times. A good chunk of these can likely be attributed to the fact that both DS and Berserk pull from generic Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history for a lot of their dark and gruesome imagery. The whole section on the disciples is honestly the weakest, since most of those could be a toss up between history inspired and Berserk inspired. The Mozgus connection is somewhat plausible though. Some of the armor comparisons are also pretty weak. The Taurus Demon and Capra Demon could just as likely be references to the Minotaur and Baphomet (the Goat Demon most people confuse for Satan). The Goat Demon in berserk is definitely inspried by Baphomet, since it looks so much like many depictions of him. I can't believe you threw in the Iron Maidens though.... they're literally just iron maidens......
Yeah he threw them in and then he literally said "they are probably just iron maidens but it's cool." Showing that he is not making connections out of blue.
Miyazaki saying he is a Berserk fan just makes it clear that there are loads of references to Berserk in Souls games. Yeah, Berserk draws from Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history so if you draw from Berserk you also draw from Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history... So what's the argument here and why do people try to gatekeep Berserk by implying that "these are very stretched findings?" Yeah, Capra Demon could be reference to Minotaur and Baphomet but there are different ways to design or add them into the game. What makes these a Berserk reference is how they are used and how they are designed. Not to mention the concept arts being a direct "port," from manga drawings.
The reference comes from the design and how it was used in the game. And there isn't a clear line between Berserk reference & dark fantasy / medieval reference. Something very obviously a Berserk reference to you could just be Miyazaki drawing from Dark Fantasy / Medieval stuff and something very obviously a Dark Fantasy / Medieval reference could be just Miyazaki seeing it in Berserk and adding it into the game.
So Berserk invented: -armor -weapons -demons -Norse Mythology -stepping on swords -hats -prosthetics -witches -lizzards Jokes aside some of the references are pretty obvious, while others are just something that you would expect to see in medieval fantasy setting. Also you missed the field of swords in Elden Ring with one big sword in the middle. Might be a Berserk reference.
@@owenc.q8514 The atmosphere of his games are always very similar, yes. A common theme of struggling against decay, and pushing on despite not really knowing what's going on.
While there is undeniably a lot of Berserk inspiration in the Souls series, some of the connections are likely that they pull from the same source of inspiration from history. After all, they're both dark fantasies.
Even tho Gael fight style is similar to guts I think his design was inspired by lord yupa from nausica of the valley of the wind, I'd love to see you make a similar video between dark souls and the movie since I think hidetaka miyazaki take inspirations from hayao miyazaki's movies.
@@kirowaterlaw9432 GRRM is George R. R. Martin. the Silmarillion is the 10 thousand year history book that Tolkein made for the Lord of the Rings. Featuring things like the giant golden tree Laurelin, that filled the world with Golden light. Morgoth, the most powerful of the godlike Valar, who turned traitor and tried to take the light of the Gold and Silver trees, and keep them for himself. and the Numenorians; a race of greater men, which come from a land across the sea. Martin ripped off these, and many more to make Morgott, the Numen, and the Erdtree. Not saying that Elden Ring's story is made worse by this, if you're gonna rip something off, rip off the best story you can, but it does mean Martin himself is a fucking hack who's as original as my original character Johnic the Hedgehog, donut steal.
@@kirowaterlaw9432 Yes GRRM was a gigantic tolkien fan and GRRM is responsible for the world building in this game. So all these "berserk" references are actually not
Berserk fans really go around thinking that Miura came up with everything lol. While some like the Hunter's Mark are very clear references a lot of these are massive stretches
I feel like not all of these are consciously made references to berserk, more of a by-product of the huge influence that berserk has had on the dark fantasy genre in general.
"more of a by-product of the huge influence that berserk has had on the dark fantasy genre in general." I don't want to say that Berserk doesn't have any influence. But most of these things are very standard. It might have a big influence on the japanese view of dark fantasy. But for europeans thats just... well technically its history.
the losing of an arm is a very common trait in samurai movies. It's also common in Metal gear solid for characters to lose one arm. im suprised Solid Snake didn't, guess ocelot took the slash for him, because every other main character lost his arm. Im saying this because in guts case it was more severe. it was torn apart by a beast and he was left one eyed.
It is soo great to see this and to know that all of Bandai Namco, Fromsoftware, Miyazaki are all die hard Berserk fans. It litreally all make sense as to why they would put soo many refrences in their games, like its truly a love letter to Berserk fans. This is how pay a homage to arguably the best series of all time Berserk. Thing is it's crazy how Berserk have inspired, and influenced soo many and I mean like MANY anime, manga, games even to this day. Give you a crystal clear idea of how much of a masterpiece series it is. Berserk is timeless, it was, it is, and it will always be true work of art.
You can tell the creators of Dark Soul and Elder Rings favorite Anime was Berserk! And it truly made me feel like they miss the Creator Of Berserk! 😞 Rest in Peace Miura Kentaro you will never be forgotten your Legacy will now live on! 😭😭😭🐺🕊️
I'm sure this has been told before, but at least for the Tree, Tolkien's Silmarillion (the two shining trees of Valinor) is probably the main inspiration for Elden and Berserk both.
Just like Artorias. The Fume Knight is a Berserk reference with his cool armor and his Fume Ultra Greatsword both looking very similar to the Berserker Armor and Guts’s huge Dragonslayer sword.
A lot of these a definitely references but some feel like a bit of a stretch. World trees are pretty common in fantasy and probably not something taken directly from Berserk. I think its good to remember that Berserk took inspiration from the real world, particularly when looking at suits of armour. Or even techniques like Mikiri counter Also the nameless King I really don't see it.
lots of these i wouldn’t say are a a direct reference like the people people strewn up in a wheel is actually a real life medieval torture method and the tree in elden ring could also be a reference to the world tree in norse mythos, but great video nonetheless
Reading Berserk’s storytelling on the human spirit compared to Dark Souls’ non-existent narration leaves you one extra layer out of the loop. It goes from a game shrouded in atmospheric mystery back down to a cool dark fantasy game engine that Miazaki wanted to use to make Berserk real.
Something I couldn't find a comment on and noticed wasn't in the video; The Abyss Walker's Armor Set. While more blue than black in color; it comes with a scarf hanging off the back, a more polished left arm, and the helmet is very cone-shaped(albeit vertically aimed than horizontally. Even with what little I knew of from Berserk back when Dark Souls 3 came out; that set combined with the Colossal Great Sword was an obvious nod to Guts's Black Swordsman armor.
Seath must be inspired by Grunbeld. The crystal dragon thing is quite unique despite Grunbeld obviously not being able to fly he is still called a dragon
Listen I’m not saying that he isn’t a fan but making connections on something so minuscule on the fact that there’s wings and ridges or a helmet, like come on ever heard of a Valkyrie.
Dunno if it was mentioned here but in one of the souls games, demon souls actually, the big sword from the dragon, called dragon smasher or something like that... Its description is 1:1 a berserk easter egg or whatever you wanna call it, if i remember it correctly, it says something like "its not a sword big slab or so"... wich kinda refers to berserks line, its too big to be called a sword blabla... its a hunk of steel.
Your thinking of the greatsword from ds3's description, the dragon bone smashers is "A bladeless, thick mass of iron used for smashing. According to the ancestors of Stonefang's excavators, it's said this weapon was created to face dragons, and is imbued with magic to protect the wielder from fire." Nowhere close
@@sirkelendor5429 It's pretty dang similar. Paraphrasing from Berserk: "It could hardly be called a sword, more like a thick slab of iron. It is said to have been created for the purpose of slaying dragons"
4:41 This most likely is a reference, but I have a feeling people IRL used to do this... I read a Witcher book the other day that describes this exact scene of corpses being tied to wheels on stakes. Edit: it's called the "breaking wheel". It was used as a form of torture, execution and gibbeting.
0:56 why do people insist on calling it a Valkyrie... imagine if Asterix was considered part of the Norse mythos... Winged helmet are iconic features in all European cultures... Celtic (example: Vercingetorix), Greek (ex: Hermes) or Roman (ex: Mercury)
Yeah that was quite annoying, same for the Riccard Smith "Even there Design are similiar" Bro one's locked away in some ancient Ruins with Ghosts and Hollows....
i just started reading berserk about a month ago, been getting the deluxe editions and currently about 150 pages into the third deluxe edition. all of the references you showed in the video that are parts ive seen in the manga so far actually kind of blow me away, and ive also watched the movies and anime and the references in those also blow my mind. its crazy seeing how much berserk inspired the soulsborne series, and while some of them may be a stretch, theres still a massive amount of references that you almost cant even debate. really enjoying berserk so far, my first manga so far and even though everything ive read so far is stuff ive watched, there is a certain feeling i cant put my finger on that is portrayed so much better in the mangas than on the screen. i really cant wait until i get to the part the anime ends at currently, where the berserker armor is first being introduced. gonna be so exciting to read :D
funny that the mark of sacrifice is simply so alike the hunters' only with the upper part removed, Like a sacrifice is prey, and the hunter would seek his quarry
You mentined the Eclipse and showed the Soul of Cinder fight and forgot to mention how that entire boss area is just the Hill of Swords where Guts fights Zodd :P
@@justsomeguyontheinternet2677 considering that the eclipse reference is right above it and the connections between both, I wouldn't bet on it being a coincidence
I like the word "inspired" u can steal as much u want from others and not being creative and still getting all the credits, it is like a free ticket to legally steal
4:37 In Germany this had been called "Rädern" - Breaking wheel en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel People had been tied to a wheel and were left to die by gravity. If they survived three days (correct me on this), they were released by the mercy of god.
There’s a thing similar in France too. We have an expression, "rouer de coups", which I can’t translate literally, and which means "to hit someone repeatedly and violently". This expression comes from the "roue", the wheel, which was a medieval torture used in public executions. The person sentenced to death was tied on a wheel (and it looked like how the people are tied to the wheels in the manga/the game). Then someone made the wheel turn and hit the person on the wheel while he was turning, breaking every of his bones.
Just pointing out berserk was very inspired by medieval and Renaissance history, and dark souls is medieval fantasy. So perhaps some of these 'references' are actually coincidences since both franchises take place in a gritty medieval world.
HOLY SHIT! THE REAL LIFE IRON MAIDEN LOOKS IDENTICAL LIKE THE ONE IN BERSERK! THE REAL LIFE WAS INSPIRED BY BERSERK! This is how ridiculous this video is to me.
There's a few references I picked up that weren't included in the video: - Shiva of the East and his bodyguard may be inspired by Silat, since they're both from the east, and both seem to be part of a clan that hone their skills - in DS2, the Demon of Song boss looks rather inspired by the apostles in berzerk, with the uncanny hybridisation of human faces and arms onto animal bodies. - in DS2, there are elephant enemies called Mastodon knights, which I think reference the Pishacha from berzerk. - there's an armour set in DS2 called the iron clad set, which I think looks more closer to Bazouzo than the catarina set. - in DS3, there's a goat-looking enemy called ghru, without any weapons or clothes, that has a flashy jump attack that stomps on you, which I think is in reference to the Goat pseudo apostle when guts discovered the occult cults lair. - in Irithyl of the Boreal Valley, there are dogs with human faces. This was a reference to berserk where guts is fending off demons from farnese. - there is a theme of fighting 4 main bosses to progress to the final 5th, which seems akin to the God-hand, with void signifying the final boss. - in farron keep, there are slugs around a swamp. I think it may be in reference to berserk chapter 319, with the similar concept - Gwyndolin's feminine features seem to borrow from griffith, although minus the knight armour and hawk aesthetic. - the things betwixt and the old fire keepers look to be inspired by Flora and her home. They look different, but the concept rings a bell. - the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo, and the giant archer in Undead Settlement, both speak in the similar way and mannerisms as pippin. Perhaps embodying that 'gentle giant' aspect. Those are the ones I found. Let me know what you think.
One that I really like is at the Soul of Cinder boss room. All of the swords are planted blade down into the ground. You could argue the ash scattered around the area is like the snow, along with the swords, is a reference to The Hill of Swords in chapter 178. This is where Guts, Rickert, and Griffith's first reunion happens after the Eclipse.
Some great references but a few that are also just references in berserk. The erdtree in Elden ring comes from the world tree in Norse mythology. It’s not an original idea from Berserk.
There is one essential thing missing when talking about the greatswords: In DS2 there is a weapon called Crypt Blacksword which bears a strong resemblance to the Dragonslayer.
A lot of these are major reaches and coincidences, like the centipede thing is something that is actually rooted within Japanese mythology and prevalent throughout a lot of media
This video almost turned into the kimba ones... Look at this tree! It's ALMOST identical!!! Incredible! Yeah dark fantasy never had knights, skull shaped armors, big sword, monsters, dragons, castles and Yggdrasil is just a plant lmao. Now i want a parody of this xD
You want to check Berserk chapter 013 panel ~12 - the doll that princess Charlotte gives Griffith hoping for him to return back to her is incredibly similar to the doll from DS3 that lets us go to Irithyll. Noticeable is also the fact that Pontiff gave those dolls to his knights so that the dolls would somehow draw them back home to Irithyll. Or perhaps it just duplicates some medieval toy :)
Fwiw, the Elden Ring tree draws just as much from Tolkien(the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telperion that gave light to the world before the Sun and Moon) which itself is riffing on Norse Myth(Yggdrasil, the World Tree). Bit of a "Simpsons did it" scenario.
a lot of these are just standard dark fantasy tropes, kinda reading in too deep for appeal, but some of them are valid and there is general inspiration
can't make a direct reference, but that grandma which was explaining stuff to Griffith during the eclipse, reminded me of the finger readers in elden ring.
THE only thing i want from Elden Ring is to have "In loving memory of Miura Kentaro" line in the credits.
??
I mean after years of inspiration to his work it the right thing to do
I'm willing to put everything in the line betting that there will be a quest where he'll be present in the game itself
Bro, tell me when miyazaki said in any interview that his games were inspired by berserk? The only references you can say are berserk is the blacksmith with the same name as the rickert and artorias. These speculations have gotten out of control that in a little while they will say that elden ring is the berserk game, miyazaki takes references from a lot of things about dark fantasy coincidentally where Miura did too and that's why people think it has similarities... Search about the interviews him and show me when he says berserk was the biggest influence on his games.
@@TOUGE27 you could've literally just looked it up instead of ranting? There are quite a few direct references along with many many things that look the exact same, like artorias and gael using guts moves or behelit and cracked red eye orbs looking the same.
Miyazaki outright saying that he's a huge Beserk fan and referenced it a bunch in his games is a pretty big link too.
When did he say he was a fan of Berserk?
@@tigerfestivals5137 He never says that, but if you read some interview (found it at resetera elden ring omnipotent tread) about ds 1, you can found that him at least read berserk and first concept armor of catarina really looks like bazuso armor, how said concept artist in inteview
I didn't know his second name was miyazaki so I thought you where talking about studios ghiblis miyazaki
Then what the hell did the Game of thrones creator did for Elden Ring anyway.
Wait....which Miyazaki are you taking about, Jotaro?
In Bloodborne, Ludwig the Accursed/Holy Blade looks awfully similar to a certain horse in Berserk.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
DONT GIVE THE RULE 34 ARTISTS MORE INSPIRATION
Worst part is that it probably was inspired by “that” design wise… it looks way too similar, hard to believe it was a coincidence lol.
LOOK AT R**E HORSE, R**E HORSE IS AMAZIING!
NO! None of that. Shame on you.
@@unfathomable3434 they don't need inspiration, they need God lol
There is also that Elden ring Prisoner starting class that have a Helmet Very similar to the griffith one when he was rescued
They also made a replica of the Tree with hanging corpses in the Albinauric Village
3 musketeers 'man with the iron mask'
Someone didn't see the end of the video😂
the Dragon Slayer armor in DS3 is essentially the PERFECT blend of Dark Souls original design and Berserk inspiration. it has the same theme and is visually similar to Ornstein's classic set with the detailing of the berserker armor AND the head shape of Moonlight Knight Locus
It looks more like the Berserker armor than anything.
The Ruin Knights from Ds2 look an awful lot like Locus tbh
O
If I remember correctly, the greatsword in Elden ring is a direct reference to the Dragon slayer. It’s description mentions a coarse iron lump and that’s it’s perfect for killing Inhumane foes. Not lonely that, it also states that to Handle it, one must have reached Inhuman levels of strength
That was a confirmed inclusion and homage to Berserk, Miyazaki even hinted at it himself to reassure people who wanted to play as Guts. The sword is found in the area copied from the Red Eclipse and it's in the caravan whose surrounding very much resembles both the caravan scene in the Black Swordsmen arc and the Eclipse itself when Griffith crashes in the caravan.
The Greatsword in Darks 1, 2, 3, and Elden Ring is Gut's sword before the Eclipse. The Crypt Sword in Dark Souls 2 is the closest sword to the Dragonslayer unless you count the Burning Battle mod for DS3 which is literally called 'The Dragonslayer' and is the sword. And it has the Berserk armour. And yes I know, the description is a nod to how the manga describes the Dragonslayer.
The greatsword in demons souls is described pretty much word for word as " a hideous hunk of metal, more than a sword, requiring inhumane strength" or something along those lines.
Yes, the greatsword being a berserk reference isn't something vague. It's literally an addition to every single game as a very obvious and intentional homage.
@@pbabiesinspace6112 The one in DS1 could be pre-eclipse, but from 2 onwards, the weapon called 'Greatsword' pretty explicitly looks like the dragonslayer.
The "Greenpath" OST in Hollow Knight is amazing, appreciate you for using it.
I feel Ranni and Blaidd are a reference to Schierke and Guts in his berserker armor and now I absolutely love them more than I already did.
The most obvious reference in Elden Ring was the Wolf howling in the trailer
You mean the literal wolf knight, who sits exactly in the Berserker armor pose?
@@grimnir8872 and many other incoming
Don’t know if this was really inspired by berserk, but the massive golden tree (erdtree?) in elden ring looks similar to berserk’s world spiral tree. I thought that was the most obvious reference.
@@grimnir8872 probably just a coincidence....
Or maybe it was the giant tree made outta light
3:35 this weapon is called - man catcher/catchpole. It was used IRL back in the 16th-18th centuries.
Apparently the chinese police still use those.
Of course but nobody has this knowledge except thanks to berserk
@@erops7933 I knew that weapon way before reading berserk
@@edgar7456 I don't care
@@erops7933 your first statement was just plain wrong. You lacking knowledge doesn't mean everyone is as low as you are
A thing you may have not noticed is that at the beginning of Golden age Guts gets shot in the arm when he's running away for this old group, the pose he stands in with the limp arm is very similar to artorious's pose, also the phrase 'Dark souls' is mentioned in one of the first chapters of berserk when we first see the godhand, speaking of which, 4 godhand with one final more important one, 4 major bosses in each dark souls game and a final one (not fully including ds2 because of the multiple bosses in the final room)
Let's include ds2 and say the major 4 were the Old Iron King, the Ivory King, Aldia and Vendrik. Makes it better imo
That Dark Souls reference in the manga. I realized that right away. Even the panel explaining dark souls. And just the panel itself where its all drawn a spiral of souls like disappearing into nothingness. Like white in color. Pretty much how any enemy npc dies in game and withers into like white dust. The quote: "Like a drop of water, youll simply dissolve. Becoming no more than another swell in an ocean of dark souls." Man as soon as I read that I was hooked on the manga.
I feel the vast majority of these are just reaches or historical things. When you said the tree was inspired by Berserk, when Miura was very likely inspired by Yggdrasil, I started reading comments while it kept going. I never thought about the similarities between Wolf and Guts though.
In Tolkien's work there also is a golden glowing tree, so that could also be an inspiration.
I think the spirit tree in berserk was inspired by Yggdrasil, for sure. But the bright glowing tree in the far distance with branches going across the sky. It’s very very reminiscent of Berserk. Though both are likely a reference to the World Tree
Clearly still inspired design-wise, smartass.
@@abhorrentabsconder Why are you angry lmao
@@jbe0 more reminiscent of Tolkien's Middle Earth. This particular tree literally is the fount of light of the world during some specific period
Some of the "references" are possibly inspired by real things. Such as the catching pole, that was likely inspired by a thing used in 18th century. And the winged knight helmet was clearly inspired by early 16th century grotesque visors.
Well Berserk probably took inspiration from those as well, most things are inspired by something. "Good artists borrow, Great artists steal" ~ Many great artist from the past.
The Logarius Wheel, though I believe is more possibly inspired by Berserk than most things in here, seems awfully similar ti a form of execution known as the Breaking Wheel in the Middle Ages.
@@aringsinukuan769 i can see it. One of mozgus minions used a wheel as a weapon
The wheel was a real torture device in the middle ages, it is depicted in a lot of the paintings and drawings of that era. Its called Breaking wheel.
And who said berserk wasn't inspired by historical things?? One inspired the other and it went on
Also you can see characters breathing which is also Guts does!!!! Totally a reference and not just something everyone does.
LMAO
One big reference is Miyazaki is also Japanese as is Berserk
bro this is an insane reference!!! even the design is similar. thank you Miyazaki for giving us the best berserk game!!
There’s nothing wrong with inspiration, I’m not sure why people are so split on this video.
While I agree on most of those, I say most are convenient simply, I mean a lot is dark fantasy in general you can say. While Berserk is most iconic within those references, other media had similar things before, mostly Armor design and such or certain areas. With certain genres or designs it tends to be similar simply, like a knights and castles in medieval settings and so on.
And yes a lot is confirmed of course, just saying not everything needs to be a reference, and it is just similar due well inspired from the start, so mind goes to such design choices. It is like saying any racing game is inspired by Need for Speed as a dumb example.
also we tend to alter or even borrow the things that have inspired us in the past even unknowingly so it could be he maybe was borrowing something he seen from it but did so unknowingly
@@hiimhunter7649 i mean yeah but there’s also stuff that’s pretty blatant, alvina is a thousand times more reminiscent of the Cat of Sheshire than it is anything in berserk
And berserk has it's fair share of influences too. The Tree in berserk is most likely inspired by the tree in J.R.R. Tolkiens silmarilion
@@SF-ks9tgironic
That's what I'm saying some, but not every other thing.
Watching the 1997 berserk anime with my dad and then playing Dark Souls right after, it was fun seeing all the similarities.
3:38 that weapon is called a man catcher and it was used in the 18th century, most likely not a reference to berserk
About 20%of these are inspired but most of them seem like a large stretch
exactly
The wheels at 4:40 in both DS and Berserk are inspired by "breaking wheels" which was an actual torture method from medieval times. A good chunk of these can likely be attributed to the fact that both DS and Berserk pull from generic Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history for a lot of their dark and gruesome imagery.
The whole section on the disciples is honestly the weakest, since most of those could be a toss up between history inspired and Berserk inspired. The Mozgus connection is somewhat plausible though. Some of the armor comparisons are also pretty weak.
The Taurus Demon and Capra Demon could just as likely be references to the Minotaur and Baphomet (the Goat Demon most people confuse for Satan). The Goat Demon in berserk is definitely inspried by Baphomet, since it looks so much like many depictions of him.
I can't believe you threw in the Iron Maidens though.... they're literally just iron maidens......
Yeah he threw them in and then he literally said "they are probably just iron maidens but it's cool." Showing that he is not making connections out of blue.
Miyazaki saying he is a Berserk fan just makes it clear that there are loads of references to Berserk in Souls games. Yeah, Berserk draws from Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history so if you draw from Berserk you also draw from Dark Fantasy and actual medieval history...
So what's the argument here and why do people try to gatekeep Berserk by implying that "these are very stretched findings?"
Yeah, Capra Demon could be reference to Minotaur and Baphomet but there are different ways to design or add them into the game. What makes these a Berserk reference is how they are used and how they are designed. Not to mention the concept arts being a direct "port," from manga drawings.
The reference comes from the design and how it was used in the game. And there isn't a clear line between Berserk reference & dark fantasy / medieval reference.
Something very obviously a Berserk reference to you could just be Miyazaki drawing from Dark Fantasy / Medieval stuff and something very obviously a Dark Fantasy / Medieval reference could be just Miyazaki seeing it in Berserk and adding it into the game.
Not method but dead souls with spining wheel coming to kill guts was what inspired ds by berserk
That's right, also the blacksmith, they're just blacksmiths, the medieval European Smith are not a reference to berserk
So Berserk invented:
-armor
-weapons
-demons
-Norse Mythology
-stepping on swords
-hats
-prosthetics
-witches
-lizzards
Jokes aside some of the references are pretty obvious, while others are just something that you would expect to see in medieval fantasy setting. Also you missed the field of swords in Elden Ring with one big sword in the middle. Might be a Berserk reference.
Apparently one of the fields of swords references a lone warrior fighting for vengeance, only to fall to the HAND OF GODrick.
@@judahboyd2107 Yeah but we can agree that Miyazaki was inspired from Bersek while creating the whole dark souls games and elden ring?
@@owenc.q8514 The atmosphere of his games are always very similar, yes. A common theme of struggling against decay, and pushing on despite not really knowing what's going on.
While there is undeniably a lot of Berserk inspiration in the Souls series, some of the connections are likely that they pull from the same source of inspiration from history. After all, they're both dark fantasies.
1:52 "designs are similar" - ...what?
Good video. Whether coincidences or references, any video that references Berserk is a plus for me.
source: the voices in my head
Even tho Gael fight style is similar to guts I think his design was inspired by lord yupa from nausica of the valley of the wind, I'd love to see you make a similar video between dark souls and the movie since I think hidetaka miyazaki take inspirations from hayao miyazaki's movies.
Gael is even called LordYupa in the game files, funnily enough
The Erdtree actually draws inspiration from the trees of Valinor, from the Silmarillion. You can thank GRR Martin for that
>Silmarillion
>GRRM
What
@@kirowaterlaw9432 GRRM is George R. R. Martin.
the Silmarillion is the 10 thousand year history book that Tolkein made for the Lord of the Rings. Featuring things like the giant golden tree Laurelin, that filled the world with Golden light.
Morgoth, the most powerful of the godlike Valar, who turned traitor and tried to take the light of the Gold and Silver trees, and keep them for himself.
and the Numenorians; a race of greater men, which come from a land across the sea.
Martin ripped off these, and many more to make Morgott, the Numen, and the Erdtree.
Not saying that Elden Ring's story is made worse by this, if you're gonna rip something off, rip off the best story you can, but it does mean Martin himself is a fucking hack who's as original as my original character Johnic the Hedgehog, donut steal.
@@kirowaterlaw9432 Yes GRRM was a gigantic tolkien fan and GRRM is responsible for the world building in this game. So all these "berserk" references are actually not
@@BasicallyGoblin Berserk fans cant handle when you prove them wrong
Uuuhmmm
Norse mythology always had the yggdrasil--
There is a repeat crossbow in one of the Ds2 DLC, it looks more like guts crossbow
The Taurus demon is based of the Minotaur
The only one I disagree with is the mikiri counter, stepping on an opponent's sword is a trope in kung fu movies and the like
It's an actual Ninjutsu technique as well.
Berserk fans really go around thinking that Miura came up with everything lol. While some like the Hunter's Mark are very clear references a lot of these are massive stretches
🥱
I feel like not all of these are consciously made references to berserk, more of a by-product of the huge influence that berserk has had on the dark fantasy genre in general.
And Berserk in turn is heavily influenced by other fantasy (like J.R.R Tolkien)
"more of a by-product of the huge influence that berserk has had on the dark fantasy genre in general."
I don't want to say that Berserk doesn't have any influence. But most of these things are very standard. It might have a big influence on the japanese view of dark fantasy. But for europeans thats just... well technically its history.
if you notice carefully the characters in dark souls have two arms and two legs just like in berserk
I hope some day From Software get to straight up make a Berserk Souls game. Considerring how much love the have shown for the material.
Hell yeah looking forward to that day.
Sekiro=drororo
Dark Souls and elden rings=berserk
Anime love 😎😎😎😎😎😎🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
@@muhamadirfanisamily7663 no
the losing of an arm is a very common trait in samurai movies. It's also common in Metal gear solid for characters to lose one arm. im suprised Solid Snake didn't, guess ocelot took the slash for him, because every other main character lost his arm.
Im saying this because in guts case it was more severe. it was torn apart by a beast and he was left one eyed.
Guts cut his own arm off, it wasn't torn off by a beast
@@arumaru3433 oh yeah i forgot. He was being held down from the arm by a beast and in desperation he cut it off
@@yusukeelrica horrible beasr
And people say Berserk dont have a good game yet 😂
It is soo great to see this and to know that all of Bandai Namco, Fromsoftware, Miyazaki are all die hard Berserk fans. It litreally all make sense as to why they would put soo many refrences in their games, like its truly a love letter to Berserk fans. This is how pay a homage to arguably the best series of all time Berserk. Thing is it's crazy how Berserk have inspired, and influenced soo many and I mean like MANY anime, manga, games even to this day. Give you a crystal clear idea of how much of a masterpiece series it is. Berserk is timeless, it was, it is, and it will always be true work of art.
bro oxygen in demon's souls is another fucking reference to berserk, oxygen existis in berserk too, this is INSANE, THANK YOU MIYAZAKI
You can tell the creators of Dark Soul and Elder Rings favorite Anime was Berserk! And it truly made me feel like they miss the Creator Of Berserk! 😞
Rest in Peace Miura Kentaro you will never be forgotten your Legacy will now live on! 😭😭😭🐺🕊️
I'm sure this has been told before, but at least for the Tree, Tolkien's Silmarillion (the two shining trees of Valinor) is probably the main inspiration for Elden and Berserk both.
Big part of Tolkien’s world is inspired by norse mythology. It’s funny how far it reaches.
Artorias spin attack move is a blatant reference to the attack used by guts vs grunbeld
Just like Artorias. The Fume Knight is a Berserk reference with his cool armor and his Fume Ultra Greatsword both looking very similar to the Berserker Armor and Guts’s huge Dragonslayer sword.
A lot of these a definitely references but some feel like a bit of a stretch.
World trees are pretty common in fantasy and probably not something taken directly from Berserk.
I think its good to remember that Berserk took inspiration from the real world, particularly when looking at suits of armour.
Or even techniques like Mikiri counter
Also the nameless King I really don't see it.
lots of these i wouldn’t say are a a direct reference like the people people strewn up in a wheel is actually a real life medieval torture method and the tree in elden ring could also be a reference to the world tree in norse mythos, but great video nonetheless
The mercenary armour (minus the helm) in DS3 is a dead ringer for Guts’ armour.
Missed the cerulean crystal tears being a reference. They look exactly like griffiths crystslized tear during the eclipse
Reading Berserk’s storytelling on the human spirit compared to Dark Souls’ non-existent narration leaves you one extra layer out of the loop. It goes from a game shrouded in atmospheric mystery back down to a cool dark fantasy game engine that Miazaki wanted to use to make Berserk real.
Something I couldn't find a comment on and noticed wasn't in the video;
The Abyss Walker's Armor Set. While more blue than black in color; it comes with a scarf hanging off the back, a more polished left arm, and the helmet is very cone-shaped(albeit vertically aimed than horizontally. Even with what little I knew of from Berserk back when Dark Souls 3 came out; that set combined with the Colossal Great Sword was an obvious nod to Guts's Black Swordsman armor.
Seath must be inspired by Grunbeld. The crystal dragon thing is quite unique despite Grunbeld obviously not being able to fly he is still called a dragon
Artorias’ left arm is disabled similar to guts. They are also both consumed by darkness and go mad.
Listen I’m not saying that he isn’t a fan but making connections on something so minuscule on the fact that there’s wings and ridges or a helmet, like come on ever heard of a Valkyrie.
as you can see, in dark souls, the player seems to breathe oxygen, which is the same like guts from berserk
Having played Elden Ring now, Radhan's armour is a lot closer to King Gaiserik than Nameless King.
Some of these are really reaching, but I love when I notice: "Hey that's straight out of Berserk"
Dunno if it was mentioned here but in one of the souls games, demon souls actually, the big sword from the dragon, called dragon smasher or something like that...
Its description is 1:1 a berserk easter egg or whatever you wanna call it, if i remember it correctly, it says something like "its not a sword big slab or so"... wich kinda refers to berserks line, its too big to be called a sword blabla... its a hunk of steel.
Your thinking of the greatsword from ds3's description, the dragon bone smashers is
"A bladeless, thick mass of iron used for smashing. According to the ancestors of Stonefang's excavators, it's said this weapon was created to face dragons, and is imbued with magic to protect the wielder from fire." Nowhere close
@@sirkelendor5429 It's pretty dang similar. Paraphrasing from Berserk: "It could hardly be called a sword, more like a thick slab of iron. It is said to have been created for the purpose of slaying dragons"
I love that this series has brought so many new fans to this Anime/Manga. I always felt like it was so under appreciated.
I have to point out:
the big tree and valkyrie are taken as is from viking mythos, and alvina looks more like a alice in wonderland reference
Did you know medieval Europe is a reference to Berserk
4:41 This most likely is a reference, but I have a feeling people IRL used to do this... I read a Witcher book the other day that describes this exact scene of corpses being tied to wheels on stakes.
Edit: it's called the "breaking wheel". It was used as a form of torture, execution and gibbeting.
yeah I was gonna say look up 'breaking wheel'. we know miyazaki reads berserk but most of this is reaching
0:56 why do people insist on calling it a Valkyrie... imagine if Asterix was considered part of the Norse mythos... Winged helmet are iconic features in all European cultures... Celtic (example: Vercingetorix), Greek (ex: Hermes) or Roman (ex: Mercury)
yeah i'll never understand the valkyrie fetish, the only half-important one is brunhild and she's just a regular person basically lmao
maliketh is a walking berserk reference
9:33 where the hell is that in berserk
"even their designs are similar" yeah, one's big, the other is small, dang.
Yeah that was quite annoying, same for the Riccard Smith
"Even there Design are similiar"
Bro one's locked away in some ancient Ruins with Ghosts and Hollows....
i just started reading berserk about a month ago, been getting the deluxe editions and currently about 150 pages into the third deluxe edition. all of the references you showed in the video that are parts ive seen in the manga so far actually kind of blow me away, and ive also watched the movies and anime and the references in those also blow my mind. its crazy seeing how much berserk inspired the soulsborne series, and while some of them may be a stretch, theres still a massive amount of references that you almost cant even debate. really enjoying berserk so far, my first manga so far and even though everything ive read so far is stuff ive watched, there is a certain feeling i cant put my finger on that is portrayed so much better in the mangas than on the screen.
i really cant wait until i get to the part the anime ends at currently, where the berserker armor is first being introduced. gonna be so exciting to read :D
Those "wheel people" are in reference to the medieval torture of the "breaking wheel" which actually happened to victims
funny that the mark of sacrifice is simply so alike the hunters' only with the upper part removed, Like a sacrifice is prey, and the hunter would seek his quarry
Just goes to show how iconic Berserk is to the game culture. The appeal and tones of the manga fit well with any dark medieval game genre.
Alot more references in Elden Ring, this vid needs a part 2
Life is a Berserk reference if you think about it
BRUH MALIKETH IN ELDEN RING IS LITERALLY JUST WEARING THE BERSERKER ARMOR LOL
You mentined the Eclipse and showed the Soul of Cinder fight and forgot to mention how that entire boss area is just the Hill of Swords where Guts fights Zodd :P
A battlefield strewn with swords. How original! Not like that’s a trope or anything, must be a beserk reference.
@@justsomeguyontheinternet2677 considering that the eclipse reference is right above it and the connections between both, I wouldn't bet on it being a coincidence
@@nicodetonado The sun getting blocked by another object, must be a berserk reference
@@kunibertrandolf1886 everything in the game is a Berserk Reference
it's almost identical design
I like the word "inspired" u can steal as much u want from others and not being creative and still getting all the credits, it is like a free ticket to legally steal
Clearly, Miyazaki knew the Conviction Arc is the best one
4:37
In Germany this had been called "Rädern" - Breaking wheel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel
People had been tied to a wheel and were left to die by gravity. If they survived three days (correct me on this), they were released by the mercy of god.
There’s a thing similar in France too. We have an expression, "rouer de coups", which I can’t translate literally, and which means "to hit someone repeatedly and violently". This expression comes from the "roue", the wheel, which was a medieval torture used in public executions. The person sentenced to death was tied on a wheel (and it looked like how the people are tied to the wheels in the manga/the game). Then someone made the wheel turn and hit the person on the wheel while he was turning, breaking every of his bones.
Just pointing out berserk was very inspired by medieval and Renaissance history, and dark souls is medieval fantasy. So perhaps some of these 'references' are actually coincidences since both franchises take place in a gritty medieval world.
"With the only difference being the lack of pants" is my new favorite sentence.
3:42 that's actually a thing that existed
Not everything is a goddamn berserk reference
1:10 that's definitely Radahn too
HOLY SHIT! THE REAL LIFE IRON MAIDEN LOOKS IDENTICAL LIKE THE ONE IN BERSERK! THE REAL LIFE WAS INSPIRED BY BERSERK!
This is how ridiculous this video is to me.
There's a few references I picked up that weren't included in the video:
- Shiva of the East and his bodyguard may be inspired by Silat, since they're both from the east, and both seem to be part of a clan that hone their skills
- in DS2, the Demon of Song boss looks rather inspired by the apostles in berzerk, with the uncanny hybridisation of human faces and arms onto animal bodies.
- in DS2, there are elephant enemies called Mastodon knights, which I think reference the Pishacha from berzerk.
- there's an armour set in DS2 called the iron clad set, which I think looks more closer to Bazouzo than the catarina set.
- in DS3, there's a goat-looking enemy called ghru, without any weapons or clothes, that has a flashy jump attack that stomps on you, which I think is in reference to the Goat pseudo apostle when guts discovered the occult cults lair.
- in Irithyl of the Boreal Valley, there are dogs with human faces. This was a reference to berserk where guts is fending off demons from farnese.
- there is a theme of fighting 4 main bosses to progress to the final 5th, which seems akin to the God-hand, with void signifying the final boss.
- in farron keep, there are slugs around a swamp. I think it may be in reference to berserk chapter 319, with the similar concept
- Gwyndolin's feminine features seem to borrow from griffith, although minus the knight armour and hawk aesthetic.
- the things betwixt and the old fire keepers look to be inspired by Flora and her home. They look different, but the concept rings a bell.
- the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo, and the giant archer in Undead Settlement, both speak in the similar way and mannerisms as pippin. Perhaps embodying that 'gentle giant' aspect.
Those are the ones I found. Let me know what you think.
One that I really like is at the Soul of Cinder boss room. All of the swords are planted blade down into the ground. You could argue the ash scattered around the area is like the snow, along with the swords, is a reference to The Hill of Swords in chapter 178. This is where Guts, Rickert, and Griffith's first reunion happens after the Eclipse.
Bro called malenia a Valkyrie🤦♂️
Damn now I wanna replay dark souls so I can feel like Guts when leaving Andre
stepping on an enemies sword is a real swordfighting technique
the video concept and hollow knight soundtrack give me chills...
Some great references but a few that are also just references in berserk. The erdtree in Elden ring comes from the world tree in Norse mythology. It’s not an original idea from
Berserk.
a lot of these are obvious inspirations, but most of these seem like real big stretches and seeing patterns and comparisons when there arent any.
I think the erdtree is more a reference to the 2 trees that lit the world in early lotr history
There is one essential thing missing when talking about the greatswords: In DS2 there is a weapon called Crypt Blacksword which bears a strong resemblance to the Dragonslayer.
no but the dragonslayer is in dks3
Sir Alonne and the Iron King's relationship parallels to Guts and Griffiths relationship before their falling out.
A lot of these are major reaches and coincidences, like the centipede thing is something that is actually rooted within Japanese mythology and prevalent throughout a lot of media
Yeah and the mikiri counter
Nope, most of these are all things factually copied not just from the manga but from exact panels.
Amazing video, that was a lot of work to get all those connections im sure, great job
This video almost turned into the kimba ones... Look at this tree! It's ALMOST identical!!! Incredible! Yeah dark fantasy never had knights, skull shaped armors, big sword, monsters, dragons, castles and Yggdrasil is just a plant lmao. Now i want a parody of this xD
Elden Ring Warning :
There's a weapon in Elden Ring thats very similar to guts arm cannon
You want to check Berserk chapter 013 panel ~12 - the doll that princess Charlotte gives Griffith hoping for him to return back to her is incredibly similar to the doll from DS3 that lets us go to Irithyll. Noticeable is also the fact that Pontiff gave those dolls to his knights so that the dolls would somehow draw them back home to Irithyll.
Or perhaps it just duplicates some medieval toy :)
Fwiw, the Elden Ring tree draws just as much from Tolkien(the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telperion that gave light to the world before the Sun and Moon) which itself is riffing on Norse Myth(Yggdrasil, the World Tree).
Bit of a "Simpsons did it" scenario.
a lot of these are just standard dark fantasy tropes, kinda reading in too deep for appeal, but some of them are valid and there is general inspiration
can't make a direct reference, but that grandma which was explaining stuff to Griffith during the eclipse, reminded me of the finger readers in elden ring.