Berserk
Volume 1

This violent sword-and-sorcery adventure suggests a darker version of Record of Lodoss War. Guts (originally "Gatsu") is a brooding warrior, haunted by demons, who fights with an enormous two-handed sword. When he's defeated in hand-to-hand combat by the elegant Griffith, Guts joins the Band of the Hawk. They're supposed to be mercenaries, but Griffith's loyal corps behaves like a crack regiment in the century-long war between Midland and Chuder.