Warning: SPOILERS for The Elusive Samurai Chapter 78!One of the most awesome parts of Berserk is Guts’ gigantic sword, which may seem impractical and unwieldy, but one Shonen Jump manga just explained that there is actually a historical precedent for swords being that big. In doing so, it both answered criticism of Berserk while also paying homage to the iconic series.
The Elusive Samurai is a manga by Assassination Classroom creator Yusei Matsui focused on the period of Japanese history known as the Kenmu Restoration. The protagonist of the series is Hojo Tokiyuki, the last scion of the previous shogunate who is currently leading a rebellion to overthrow emperor Go-Daigo and restore the previous dynasty. In doing so, Tokiyuki has encountered various eccentric allies and enemies, each of which usually has a particular exaggerated quirk to distinguish them. This can be a physical feature, like the Lovecraftian features of main villain Ashikaga Takauji, or a personality quirk like worshiping a fictional idol, but no matter what it is it always makes these characters memorable. One such enemy is Tsuneie Iwamatsu, who wears a sort of domino mask and carries an extremely large sword similar to Guts’ Dragon Slayer.
In chapter 78, the backstory of this sword is finally revealed. After Japanese forces rebuffed the attempted Mongol invasion approximately 50 years prior to the events of The Elusive Samurai, weapons makers were able to examine the weapons those foreign fighters left behind. This sparked an explosion in weapon experimentation that resulted in attempting to combine the finer edges of Japanese swords with the heavier, clublike weapons of the invaders. This led to the creation of Iwamatsu’s blade, a gigantic black sword that greatly resembles the one Guts uses in Berserk. This weapon’s great weight enables it to smash through lighter swords and give its wielder an edge in battle if they have the strength to use it properly.
Of course, The Elusive Samurai has a tendency to visually exaggerate its character quirks, making it unclear if the great size of Iwamatsu’s weapon is a visual metaphor or actually true to life. But even if the exact size of his sword is off, its size relative to other blades is what matters most, and in that regard it is much larger than average to the point that the average swordsman could not wield it, just like Guts’ blade. And the historical reason for the blade’s size makes sense, showing that Dragon Slayer isn’t actually an unrealistic weapon for a powerful swordsman to wield. Which Guts shows throughout Berserk's many battles as he uses it to defeat countless enemies.
Part of what makes Iwamatsu’s weapon so cool is that it isn’t only rooted in Japanese military history, but in the history of manga as well. Berserk has become such an influential series, that many modern mangaka grew up reading Kentaro Miura’s masterwork of dark fantasy and have adapted elements of it into their own works. The latest chapter of The Elusive Samurai is a good reminder of that, serving as both a fascinating history lesson and a justification cum homage to Berserk’s most iconic weapon.
The Elusive Samurai Chapter 78 is available from Viz Media.