Griffith resorts to kidnapping and murder to strike at the cabal plotting against him at the court of Midland, and his counterstroke causes the death of the Queen and many nobles. No longer wishing to be the instrument of another man's ambition, Guts leaves the White Hawks. His departure devastates Griffith, Caska, and the others. In a moment of weakness, Griffith acts rashly and seduces Princess Charlotte. The King imprisons him and decimates the Hawks. Guts spends a year training with a master swordsmith, but when he learns Caska is now the leader of the remaining Hawks, he rejoins his friends for a final mission--to rescue Griffith from the dungeons of Midland. Although the animation is often minimal, director Naohito Takahashi doesn't flinch from the darker implications of the story, as many filmmakers do. (Rated 16 and older: graphic violence, profanity, nudity, sexual situations, torture) --Charles Solomon
From the Back Cover
Griffith stands at the peak of victory. The remaining opposition attempts one final act of treachery, and for that they will burn. Guts fights as Griffith's right hand until the very end, and now that the status of the Hawks has reached its peak, he has decided to take his leave and to find a new path. But, to call his sword his own, there stands one obstacle in his path: the promise he made when he lost that fateful duel three years before...
February 4th, 2005 11:31 AM
