


Generally, the violence and mature nature of the original manga were toned down for the anime, although the story notably ends on a depressing note. Various characters from the manga were cut entirely or had their roles combined in the story, such as Puck, Donovan, and the Skull Knight. Cutting out the Skull Knight infamously caused a bit of a plot hole or cliffhanger since it was never explained how Guts or Casca escaped from the Eclipse event.

This version adapts the "Black Swordsman" and "Golden Age" arcs. The series revolves around Guts looking back at his days with the Band of the Hawk mercenary group, led by Griffith. This first animated version of the series was worked on by Oriental Light and Magic with Naohito Takahashi working as a director.
