Volume 1

So my buddy basically forced this into my hands and told me I had no choice. First manga I've ever read, so take this review with that in mind. Honestly? The story was better than I expected. It drops you right into the action with Guts, this massive dude swinging around a sword that's basically the size of a car, cutting through demons and anyone unlucky enough to cross him. He's a savage and I love that about him. No hand-holding, no long origin dump, just here's this guy and he does not care about you at all. There's something refreshing about a protagonist who isn't trying to be likable. The story itself is dark and pretty violent but it works. It's not gratuitous for no reason, it builds a world that feels brutal and has real stakes. The monsters are genuinely creepy and the whole vibe has this grimy medieval horror feel to it that I wasn't expecting to get into but did. My one complaint is the black and white art. I get that's just manga, but it's not really my thing. That said, the actual artwork is hard to deny. Miura clearly put insane detail into every panel, and some of the full page spreads are genuinely impressive even without color. Would I pick up Volume 2? Probably not. Not because it was bad, just not really my format. If you're already a manga reader this seems like a no brainer though. As a first timer I can see why people go crazy for it.