Caska, the strong and weak female character

I was dining with a friend, and we were discussing female characters in anime, and in that conversation, I did not want to talk too much about the “obvious” trope that annoys me. More often than not, female characters in most anime genres are very weak, like ladies in distress. In that position, they will serve little to the plot, usually as the object of the desire of men, or these women are the ones to be saved. Their personality is often shy and passive. Because of that personality, they will be subjects of destiny, they have no choice.

I haven’t finished reading Berserk yet. And until the point I am at (the end of the Golden Age arc), that anime is all about freedom of choice. Guts and Griffith, the protagonists, are always finding tough choices on the path that they are on in order to achieve their goals. The choice to do care or not care, the choice of killing people (and demons), and many more.

Caska on the other hand, is not a protagonist. She is someone who grew up in Griffith’s band as a warrior and achieved so much. She was able to reach one of the top positions in that band, and yet she lives in the shadow of Guts and Griffith. The author explores the angst of Caska’s envy, while Guts gets extremely strong as a swordsman and gets all the attention of the band, but especially Griffith’s attention. Caska is in love with Griffith through the whole Golden Age arc, he is, in that scenario, the greatest swordsman, a beautiful man, but also the savior of Caska’s life. She is manipulated by her desires, which come from admiration and a sense of duty. The author explores Caska’s feelings through her rampages, where she complains to Guts every time he’s gone berserk, but also through her expressions.

She has never had any chance with Griffith, and she knows it deep down. He is indeed a person who sees her as a tool to achieve his ultimate goal, which everybody gets to know at the end of this arc. Yet, she is ready to give her life to protect him, as she says while Griffith talks to a princess that he is charming. She could have followed Griffith for protection and left at any time, but of all the choices she had, she chose to be the sword that would fight to fulfill Griffith’s dream. Whatever that was, she did it for him and for how impressed she was with how much he wanted it.

Caska knows that she will never be a lady. She goes on to consciously recognize, little by little, that she never had any chance with Griffith. While that happens, she also starts to admit that she admires Guts as well, and right when their relationship starts to flourish, disaster happens.

While she has tough skin, something that she has learned to keep her image as a warrior, she also has a “weak side”, for example, when she gets sentimental or when she shows physical weakness. Instead of accepting this (or getting around it) as something that isn’t necessarily bad, she has a tough time trying to hide that side of her, something that people pressure her not to have. Throughout the anime, this has caused her a lot of shame.

She is indeed a profound character who has to pass through physical pain as a warrior, but she also she evolves internally to accept her own feelings, as tough as they are. While that’s true, she is also portrayed with stereotypical women in anime problems like being weaker than men (in particular the protagonists), being hysterical, going to war during her period, being very sexualized and her major plot line is about love.

She is a realistic character, and that’s what I love the most about her. Although she does not check all the boxes, like other strong female characters, she contributes to the storyline with her plausible personality. She knows what she wants, still she passes through transformations during the story. In the terrible world that’s portrayed in Berserk, she looks like a real person in her imperfections. She is a character that has limited choices, because of who she is, but also because of the circumstances. In the end, the story is enriched with her presence.