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Why Gaizeric with a 'Z'

Added 2021-10-25 21:42:32 +0000 UTC

A little while ago, I teased that "Gaiseric", the name of the mythical emperor who conquered an entire continent a thousand years before the events of Berserk, should actually be spelled "Gaizeric".

Why is that, you might ask? After all, "Gaiseric" isn't something Miura came up with, it's the name of an historical figure. Gaiseric (born in 389 - died in 477) was king of the Vandals, a Germanic tribe. He is most known for the conquest of Carthage and the sack of Rome. His exploits are the reason the term "vandal" has the connotation it does in modern languages.

Well, the answer to the above question is simple. In Japanese, Gaiseric is spelled ガイセリック. But in Berserk, the character is named ガイぜリック. It's a slight difference, easy to overlook. ぜ (ZE) instead of セ (SE). But it's a difference nonetheless. And was done deliberately. It indicates that Miura wanted to distinguish the character from the real-world person, even if ever so slightly.

It's also not an isolated case. For example the name "Ganishka" is based off Kanishka, real world emperor of the real world Kushans. The real world figure is known as カニシカ in Japanese, or alternatively カニシュカ. In Berserk, the emperor's name is ガニシュカ. There are other examples of Miura modifying names like that, though it is not something he did systematically.

We can only guess as to why he did it, but it might simply be to nudge readers away from hastily drawing conclusions about the characters. Because other than their names and the fact they were rulers, neither Gaizeric nor Ganishka share much in common with the real-world figures whom they were named after.