"I Want Wings" - Why We Hate Griffith in a Single Phrase (Berserk's Lost Chapter)

Well this video exploded out of nowhere... My first ever video on this new channel was a different Berserk video about Casca being the best character in Berserk, it's old so don't expect too much, but go watch it anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BLrLSkAcVg&t=2s

Guts: Hey Griffith, me and Casca are gonna hit up a chicken place, what do you want? Griffith:

Void be like: i want a big f**king brain

Always found it hilarious that Gaston realizes he's a minor character and it literally makes his head explode, top tier 4th wall break from Miura

I didn’t know Griffith’s choice in chicken would make him so hated

Griffith "i want wings" Me "what sauce do you want wit that"

I see the line of "i want wings" to mean that Griffith is eager to to cast away his humanity to become godlike. Also it has smacks of Icarus, having wings and arrogance to fly close to the sun.

he wants wings to reach his dream (the castle seen in his revealed past); because despite the sacrifice, standing on corpses wasn't enough. and who else, but a driven albeit misguided child could ascend to fantasia(?). cheers!

I love the line “I want wings” because it perfectly encapsulates how unfeeling and evil he has become. He just sacrificed all of this friends, and all he can think about is how he can trick out his new God bod

The reason I hate him is the scene JUST before the sacrifice when he is a kid and he says... “I can’t apologize. No, I will not apologize. If I repent everything will come to an end” This. This tells you what he truly is

9:20 Wings? WINGS? Griffith should've just bought a Red Bull.

I've had my eyes on griffith ever since guts joined them. so many red flags, and bad vibes.

the idea of evil = miura never thought about this, such a briliant idea.

"It exists and the Author is Dead" That reference to the idea of the Death of the Author didn't age well

Griffith: "No, I don't want to be chicken wings." Godhand: "Too f*cking bad."

It also highlights Griffith’s greed: he just got done being reformed, and the first thing he says is “I’m dissatisfied, give me more.” Not to mention the religious implications that wings themselves have!

Once, I had heard that one of the main reasons why Chapter 83 was taken out of canon was because Miura thought it gave too much away too early. It's still a neat idea even if it ends up being false.

There's only one other quote from a villain that I love more than "I want wings" and that is when Merton takes Lex Luthor to the source wall and warns him that only a twelfth level intellect would be able to handle all the knowledge of the universe and Lex tells him "then I am overqualified" and then becomes God of the multiverse. Good stuff

Griffifth: “I want wings” Behelit: “DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A FREAKING KFC TO YOU!!!??”

Something I always found interesting about Griffith's ascension to become Femto is that (If I recall correctly) he doesn't justify his actions but I always found there to be an interesting implication, although it's more noticeable in the 1997 anime in comparison to the manga itself. While he is looking back on his life thus far as he is about to make his choice, we are reminded of the losses and triumphs The Band of the Hawk had suffered as well as their members devoting themselves to following Griffith. The reason I find this to be such an interesting moment is that they emphasize the phrase, "We will follow you," and other phrases along the lines of how they will see through to whatever end and how they wish to help accomplish Griffith's dreams, and so on. Although it by no means validates or redeems Griffith's willingness to sacrifice his loyal soldiers, it almost feels like Griffith is being subjected to have flashbacks of these moments because not only do they spur him on further, but it almost feels like these moments are being used to provide a justification so that the audience can understand the gravitas of Griffith's heinous act of betrayal. The twisted nature of it all is that even though his followers who have long since literally fought his battles they also did promise their lives in devotion to Griffith's ambitions...just not in ways they could or would have chosen. Griffith is being told that they sealed their own fates by following him and that ultimately the end result is the same: Griffith in power of all he desires and his kingdom built on the remains of those who sacrificed their lives to help him get there. There is an undeniable difference in regards to all of this since what The Band of the Hawk actually agreed to was something more honorable and potentially beneficial as well as an act done willingly, not something they were bound to at the whim of a goal-driven psychopath with too much ambition and little to no remaining sense of morality. This moment is also a brilliant example of one of Berserk's other narrative elements that I feel it handles extremely well: Various choices made and deeds done by certain characters are in no way justified, but are made to be understood why these deeds of questionable morality are done, whether we like it or not. Griffith is never portrayed as worthy of any forgiveness and there is clearly no justifying his actions, but we do know why he did it and the position he is in. We hate him, but we know fully well why we hate him on more than just a surface level. It goes deeper than just the end result of his choice, all the way down to the fact that at this point he no longer requires a sense of vindication outside of, "I will achieve my dreams, and those who attempt to stand against me will be put down, their remains adding further platitudes to my ascent." He doesn't need to even feel justified anymore in his own head because he no longer feels remorse. The scene he relived while making his decision goes back to a memory of a young boy who wanted to join The Band of the Hawk and was granted the chance to do so. That boy with dreams of greatness and ambitions all his own died in battle not long after he fell in with the ranks of the band. Griffith looks back at this moment with the last shred of humanity he had and felt remorse, only to be reminded that such regrets were a part of following such ambitions. This was the moment where the shell of Griffith cracked and fell away, and the fifth member of the God Hand, Femto emerged in its place. Any Berserk fan has likely heard and clenched their fists at hearing the phrase, "Griffith did nothing wrong," but I can't help but take that one step further. At this point, Griffith is beyond caring about such distinctions, yes, but there was a time when he did. That being said, right and wrong were no longer of any consequence and the discussion of just or unjust actions of good or evil are no longer blurred or to be considered, there is only fortitude and might enough to fulfill ambition. We all know that Griffith did everything wrong that he could have, but even at his worst prior to gaining his hell-hated wings, he was still human enough to care about others to a certain extent. I feel that this singular moment, although it only implies certain aspects about Griffith's choice and how much or little it may or may not have affected his own mentality, is so brilliantly done and also speaks highly of Kentaro Miura's skill as a writher and a creative mind full of detail and literary prowess.