I didn't like Berserk anime that much as compared to the manga it skipped onto some details, and also it ends too early. Plus, the events after a point feel a little too forced to just make Guts literally steal the show. Griffith's personality was on the spot, but the development of his persona to what he becomes is not very well explained, and it leaves room for interpretation by the viewer.

I am going to skip through the rest of the side characters who play some role in the story to just talk about Casca that was a prominent character after Griffith and Guts. The development of her personality is too predictable; and by the current events she isn't anything but essentially a burden for Guts. It simply plays around on her being a woman as to why she's weak; she is aware of that and she works to keep competing despite whatever shortcomings she might have because she was attracted to Griffith.

I just wanted more out of Casca and Grifftih especially, but it feels like it was a letdown when it became clear that Casca would piratically just be a burden, and Griffith the reason for the main tragedy in the story. Somehow, Guts is able to retain his mind, but not Casca--what? Especially since Casca also was one who was exposed to battle, and the world's darkness much longer than Guts.

However, I don't mean that Casca should have been an "action girl" type and simply be magically mentally unscathed, but instead to have a more stand-out personality of her own without some choices that purposely defeat any independent development outside of relying to the male characters. We're talking about someone who has been into battle multiple times, and has earned the trust of their fellow soldiers. Do they really not deserve some independent personality besides some stupid cliches that are one too many times repeated in fantasy?

I think Griffith suffers of those cliches himself as the unbreakable, charismatic and handsome leader who falls from grace due to a single instance of defeat. Somehow, much worse than Casca as it feels way too forced that he is put into action to enact the events after the ritual. He's an interesting character who is slowly broken more to become the villain of the story, at which point he loses most of the interesting factors. (Hence why later on he returns in human form; otherwise it would just keep going and desaturated too much as a story)

Literally, the ritual felt like a session of sacrificing all the characters for the sake of Guts taking the show.