Berserker: The Kushan, explained

Key insights

• The Kushan Empire has a large, organized military with powerful magicians and supernatural creatures.
• The Bakiraka clan, former elite bodyguards of Midland, sided with Emperor Ganishka to return to their lost homeland.
• The Kushan employ horrific tactics such as mass slaughter and enslavement, and use supernatural creatures and war machines in battle.

Berserk is an extremely dark and graphic Seinen manga series that has seen many emotional ups and downs over the years. However, none of the Valleys were as brutal or infamous as the Solar Eclipse, in which Griffith lost all of his humanity by sacrificing the entire Band of the Falcon to become a sinister member of the God Hand known as Femto. From there he founded his kingdom under the name Falconia.

But even though Griffith brought death and ruin to those closest to him in order to achieve his goals, he did not take into account the involvement of the Kushan. These people were present in the world of Berserk fairly early on, but now they claim to be enemies of Griffith and his kingdom. So let's look at who the Kushan are and what significance they have to the overall story.

Who are the Kushan?

Why are they so important?

The Kushan Empire is vast and lies very far from the land of Midland and far east of all nations under the banner of the Holy See. Due to the rapid expansion that Falconia was undertaking across much of the world, the Kushan Empire feared that it might be next, leading them to go to war against Griffith and all of his forces.

The Kushan Empire was first shown in the series during the reign of Emperor Ganishka, who was also an Apostle, although unlike others like him, he was in conflict with the God Hand, particularly Griffith, and attempted to defeat him, to exert his control over every corner of the world. However, the ruling class of this empire is made up of many clans, all fighting each other for absolute power, the most notable of which are the Bakiraka. These powerful clans come together for a meeting called Kurultai, where they discuss the land and its future.

The main reason why the Kushan are so incredibly powerful is due to their incredibly large and well-organized military system, which consists of many powerful magicians and supernatural creatures. Such was their strength that they waged war against the Holy See, which resulted in them invading and currently occupying much of Midland.

Additionally, they are extremely skilled and resourceful in the way they approach warfare. By taking over much of the country, they have created large war machines and siege engines to use against their enemies, and have also kidnapped large numbers of slaves from the many lands they have conquered in order to have a cheap and plentiful labor force as well as an opportunity to continually increase your own ranks of soldiers.

I control the largest territory in the world. I won't give it up. Even though it is smeared and stained with blood, this world is mine.

One of their most effective war strategies is the Pishaca Gana; These are essentially dangerous supernatural creatures controlled by the various wizards within the ranks of the Kushan Army, led by the infamous Daiba. They work with the military and are often accompanied by creatures called Daka, themselves a hideous mixture of a human fetus and a lot of evil sorcery. These create these massive half-human, half-demon creatures that are very powerful.

The premise of the Kushan Empire's entire structure is that it is ruled by fear, which is reinforced by the terrible tactics they used after their invasion of Midland. They often slaughtered entire cities and kept the survivors as slaves or even livestock. However, they suffered heavy losses against Griffith and his forces, leading to the collapse of most of the Empire's presence in Midland.

The Bakiraka clan

A strong force of Kushan warriors

The Bakiraka were once one of the most powerful clans in the Kushan Empire, but were driven out of it centuries ago, leading to their presence in the Midlands. As a result, their pride suffered a severe blow, as their alien fighting prowess made them known across the continent as nothing more than a clan of hired assassins. The clan always allied with whoever they considered to be the strongest, which is why they were elite bodyguards to the Midland royal family.

In order to restore the clan to its former glory, they sided with Emperor Ganishka in his war against Griffith, seeing that it was a way for them to return to their homeland. This clan, particularly Silat, has played one of the most important roles of any major faction throughout history and currently plays a large role in whatever the future may hold for Guts and his companions.

Berserk can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime.