Guts VS Dimitri

Guts VS Dimitri is the 178th episode of Death Battle, featuring Guts from the Berserk series and Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd from the Fire Emblem series in a battle between vengeful betrayed warriors. Guts was voiced by Xander Mobus and Dimitri was voiced by Kevin Rivera.
==Interlude==
Boomstick: Guts, the brutal Black Swordsman of Berserk.
Wiz: And Dimitri, the savage savior king from Fire Emblem. Vengeance is an ever-malicious force that can turn anyone into a broken, traumatized–
Boomstick: Unstoppable one-man army!
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
==Guts==
Boomstick: In the realm of Midland, life really sucks all around. Demons run rampant, villages get pillages, and a helpless elf fairy has become target practice for some thugs. Batter up!
Wiz: Until, walking into the torment, comes a stranger clad in black, cleaving through anyone in his way with one humongous sword.
Boomstick: Wiz, that weapon is too big to be called a sword. Too massive and thick. More like a slab of raw iron that no normal man could wield.
Wiz: Except for the man with a simple but fitting name: Guts.
Boomstick: But what is it that makes Guts so terrifying?
Boomstick Well, we're about to get into some really, really dark shit. Fair warning.
Wiz: Born from... his mother's recently hanged corpse, Guts was taken in by a mercenary band led by Gambino.
Boomstick: Who definitely isn't winnin' "Father of the Year". Gambino put Guts through the wringer, training him with swords way too big for him before putting him into live combat at only nine years old.
Wiz: Training with such large swords made Guts inhumanly strong, but he needed a different kind of strength to endure the horrendous abuse he suffered from Gambino.
Boomstick: So he murdered the bastard in self-defense. He deserved it, trust me. With no home or family to speak of, Guts aimlessly wandered for years as a lone mercenary.
Wiz: Until he caught the eye of the ambitious Griffith. Impressed by Guts' bold battle prowess and blunt honesty, Griffith wanted him. So Guts joined his mercenary group, the Band of the Hawk.
Boomstick: Where Guts' gutsy fighting style made him the perfect captain. The dude was hardcore enough to fight 100 enemy soldiers on his own, and even helped end a 100-year-long war, all while earning respect and glory with Griffith and his group.
Wiz: For the first time, Guts found true friends and comrades to rely on.
Boomstick: But, when Griffith realized he couldn't keep Guts at his side... uh... really, really bad things happened.
Wiz: Upon the Eclipse, Griffith summoned a bunch of demons, became a super demon himself, and sacrificed Guts' new friends to the Abyss. If that wasn't bad enough, he marked Guts with a demonic brand, then raped his girlfriend, Casca, forcing Guts to watch as his eye was split open and he was forced to tear off his own arm.
Boomstick: Yeah, really bad things.
Wiz: Guts barely escaped with his life. He vowed to brutally murder Griffith and every demon, down to the last one. No small task, even for him.
Boomstick: And every big task needs even bigger weapons! Guts' bread and blooder— er, butter, is the enormous Dragon Slayer.
Wiz: Six and a half feet long and weighing over 300 pounds, Dragon Slayer is absurd! In Guts' hands, it can cleave through plated armor and even demons with skin of corundum, a real-life metal that is harder than steel.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, the latter of whom is seen wielding Dragon Slayer.
Boomstick: And since Guts has made killin' demons his favorite pastime, Dragon Slayer was exposed to so much demonic blood that it exists on the astral plane, meaning it can harm any supernatural monster.
As he finishes his sentence, Boomstick tries to hold up Dragon Slayer, but is unable to due to its heavy weight.
Boomstick: Gaw... God, this thing's heavy!
Wiz: Guts also carries a collection of explosives and throwing knives, but I'm partial to his mechanical arm, complete with a wonderous invention of a repeater crossbow and a secret cannon.
Boomstick tries again to lift Dragon Slayer off the ground, struggling as he does so.
Boomstick: Ugh, that's neat and all, but they aren't as awesome as Dragon Slayer here. God, how does he do this?!
He barely manages to get the sword in the air before we cut back to the analysis.
Boomstick: Ok, the repeater crossbow is pretty cool. It can fire a volley of four to five bolts per second, making it the go-to option for mowin' down groups of bad guys! And hey, if you gotta lose your hand, replacin' it with a goddamn super gun is the way to go. Even demons are afraid of this thing. See ya, snake face!
Wiz: With his collection of weapons and indomitable will, Guts slaughtered everyone and everything in his way.
Boomstick: Be it an army of trolls, a supersonic elf fairy, or some bible thumper whose blows were like cannons.
Wiz: But while Guts took the physical challenges in stride, his mental strife was a different story.
Boomstick: He had demons to deal with, literally and figuratively, always tormented by his inner Beast of Darkness.
Wiz: Guts tried to shoulder this trauma alone, even for a time leaving behind Casca, who survived but was mentally broken. Nothing would replace the comrades Guts lost during the Eclipse. However, through his resilience, he eventually saw the dangerous path he was on, and so reunited with Casca and eventually came to depend on new companions.
Boomstick: Including pretty boy Serpico. He doesn't look like much, but the guy is fast enough to dodge lightning at speeds over 100 times faster than sound! And Guts has kept up with him more than once.
Wiz: And thanks to the witch Flora, Guts got his deadliest, and riskiest, asset: the Berserker Armor.
Boomstick: Oh-ho boy! By shuttin' down all mental limitations, this armor gives Guts a huge amp in strength. Pain means nothing to him now, and it even heals injuries on the fly. Wait, did I say "heal"? What I meant was it pierces his torn flesh and broken bones together so he can fight until the actual last drop of blood has left his body. Man, that's hardcore!
Wiz: And EXTREMELY risky. Donning the armor has been nearly disastrous for him more than once.
Boomstick: Yeah, when he's in a stitched-up rage, the Beast of Darkness is gnawing on his mind, tempting him to go berserk. Bam! Title drop.
Wiz: Guts' tenacity is a sight to behold. He's held back a demonic dragon, withstood being impaled, and even teamed up with a fabled demon swordsman to take down an apostle that can channel lightning.
Boomstick: And sliced up a cloud dude in the RAWEST MANGA PANEL EVER! JUST LOOK AT IT! If that's not badass enough for you, he once killed a giant Sea God... from the inside.
Wiz: With its wail, this behemoth created a storm that covered an entire island. The kinetic energy of such a storm is immense. Gauging the size of the island, the energy required to induce such a storm would need to exceed 600 kilotons of TNT.
Boomstick: Yeah, that's right. Guts gutted a sea monster whose shout was a natural disaster.
Wiz: He needed to do that and much more to reach Elfhelm, where Casca's lost sanity was finally returned. Things were looking up for the legendary Black Swordsman.
Boomstick: But that bastard Griffith just wouldn't leave him alone!
Wiz: No matter how tragic his tale becomes, Guts will persevere for his allies, both past and present.
Boomstick: He has new friends, a renewed heart, a badass sword, and the last thing any man, demon, or god wants to do is mess with him. F**k yeah!
==Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd==
Wiz: On the continent of Fódlan lies the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, a knightly nation where the youth learn to swing a sword before they can write their own name. Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd was no exception.
Boomstick: The kid was a prodigy, able to spar with far more experienced warriors, in part because he was a Crest bearer.
Wiz: Or someone gifted mystical power through the blood of the Goddess, Sothis. Those born with a Crest gain anything from enhanced magic to superhuman strength.
Boomstick: At nine years old, Dimitri could lift giant boulders, run across mountains for hours, and constantly broke swords by accident. Most elites who had a Crest also had a massive ego, but not Dimitri.
Wiz: Right, Dimitri was strong but generally kind, like when he gave his childhood friend Edelgard a dagger. An earnest, if odd, gift.
Boomstick: Eh, I got shotgun shells for my first crush.
Boomstick: But life took a turn for Dimitri when a mysterious group murdered his dad and a bunch of knights, burning them all in front of him and leavin' the poor kid with some serious survivor's guilt.
Wiz: Guilt that only worsened when the country of Duscur was unjustly blamed for the Tragedy. Dimitri lamented that he could not stop Faerghus' corrupt nobles.
Boomstick: Don't worry, though. When those same nobles rebelled a couple years later, he fought them like a beast, slaying them all with sadistic glee.
Wiz: This savage side would emerge when Dimitri was reminded of the tragedy he witnessed. Otherwise, his chivalrous charm remained forefront.
Boomstick: With guidance from his dead dad's buddy, Rodrigue, Dimitri got into the Garreg Mach Officers Academy, where he led the Blue Lions house and learned the mystic arts.
Wiz: Well, he's not the most proficient in it, but Dimitri did learn healing and elemental magics, able to call down lightning or even channel it through his weapons.
Boomstick: Letting him electrocute tons of enemies at once. He learned this and more from everyone's favorite Smash Bros. character, Professor Byleth.
Wiz: Assuming you picked Dimitri's Blue Lions when you played Fire Emblem: Three Houses. We're getting a little meta here, but his story turns out very differently depending on the path chosen. Aside from the Blue Lions, there's Edelgard's Black Eagles...
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: And the Golden Deer, led by the crafty Claude von Riegan. AKA, the best house!
As he finishes, a banner for the Golden Deer falls behind Boomstick, accompanied by the sounds of a horn.
Wiz: (scoffs) That band of goofy misfits? The Black Eagles are a far more cohesive unit.
Boomstick playfully rolls his eyes as a banner for the Black Eagles falls behind Wiz, also accompanied by the sounds of a horn.
Boomstick: Nah. Fear the Deer, Wiz!
Wiz: (chuckles) You have no idea what you're talking about!
The hosts banter suddenly gets interrupted by the Death Battle Lab's monitor glitching out briefly before it shows the banner for the Ashen Wolves, where Jocelyn's voice then provides her opinion on the matter.
Jocelyn: Ashen Wolves for life, losers!
Boomstick: Of course Jocelyn picks the goths.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Anyway, in Dimitri's route, he mastered all manner of weaponry: lances, swords, axes, gauntlets, and more.
Boomstick: Some of these weapons use magic, some use poison, and others are used to slay giant monsters, but all of 'em made Dimitri an ace at warfare, especially when Byleth taught him some special skills.
Wiz: The Seal Movement technique stops foes in their tracks, Frozen Lance skewers enemies with ice, and Swordbreaker boosts evasion against blade users. To top it off, Dimitri can enter an Awakened state for even more power.
Boomstick: Dimitri led his classmates through thick and thin, but everything changed when he suspected the one behind the Tragedy of Duscur was his old dagger friend, Edelgard. Dun-dun-duuuuunnnn!
Wiz: To end Fódlan's oppressive Crest system, Edelgard and her empire declared war on Faerghus and the Church of Seiros.
Boomstick: Dimitri could be cruel before, but after this betrayal, he snapped, vowing to kill every last one of them! For five years, he slaughtered the enemy, all to appease the voices that called for Edelgard's head.
Wiz: He's not exaggerating. Dimitri truly believes his dead loved ones cried to him, unable to know peace until he claims vengeance.
Boomstick: As if prince turned murderer hobo wasn't scary enough, he wields the ultimate lance: the Heroes' Relic, Areadbhar.
Wiz: Forged from the bones of dragon-like Nabateans, Areadbhar is much stronger than ordinary metal. It can pierce any armor with its signature move Atrocity, and only Crest bearers can wield it without mutating into a monstrous Black Beast.
Boomstick: With his lance, Dimitri kept killing, but no bloodshed could calm him mind. He reached peak war crimes, torturing an enemy commander in blind rage.
Wiz: But when his actions led to Rodrigue making the ultimate sacrifice, Dimitri... was broken, terrified of yet another voice haunting him.
Boomstick: Except this time, he had his professor to help him out. We really gotta pay teachers more, y'all.
Wiz: Dimitri still felt hatred for Edelgard, but looked past it to the friends and kingdom he neglected, and made a choice.
Boomstick: Instead of killing every last one of them, he would save every last one by retaking Faerghus' capital.
Wiz: A task this wretch turned savior king had the strength to do.
Boomstick: Dimitri has dodged meteors goin' Mach 60, decimated a squad of soldiers with one spear throw, and defeated a wizard from the magic Illuminati!
Wiz: This is Thales, whose power shook a futuristic underground city.
Boomstick: And Dimitri just walked through his magic like it was nothing!
Wiz: Dimitri's also more than a match for Edelgard, who, in her route, bested the archbishop of the Church of Seiros, Rhea.
Boomstick: This is important 'cause after dragonin' up, Rhea survived two exploding Javelins of Light. AKA, magic nukes! Geez, and Dimitri can fight on her level?
Wiz: Indeed. But in the end, despite half a decade of slaughter, Dimitri was hesitant to kill Edelgard, in part from learning she wasn't responsible for the tragedy. Still, both monarchs had ideas for Fódlan that were simply incompatible.
Boomstick: And then, Edelgard pulled a fast one with that old dagger present. Dimitri definitely felt that irony.
Wiz: The war was over, and with his allies at his side, Dimitri claimed his place as a just king.
Boomstick: Unless... you know, you picked a different house. His story doesn't end very happy in those.
Wiz: But though the voices of the dead will haunt Dimitri until his final breath, so long as he has his friends, conviction, and compassion for the living, he will find... peace.
==Prelude==
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
==Death Battle==
The scene is a lush and dark, snowy mountainous forest, the moon overhead illuminating the dead of night. Weapons are heard clashing in the distance, lighting up massive pine trees.
At the site of the battle, King Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd is seen sliding back in the snow from a heavy blow after deflecting with his lance, Areadbhar. With the battle briefly paused and his opponent, stomping straight in his tracks, Dimitri questions his resolve.
Dimitri: 100 men strong. What drives your slaughter?
The camera looks up to see Guts briefly resting the Dragon Slayer on his shoulder, whilst isn't too keen on answering his question.
Guts: Tch, save the high and mighty crap 'til you're dead.
He then readies his sword as Dimitri and Guts stand against each other in silence, a silence which the latter breaks when he charges forward with a large swing from Dragon Slayer, which Dimitri blocks a few times with Areadbhar, knocking him around to his right side. As Guts throws down an overhead swing, Dimitri stabs at his opponent, grinding off Guts' greatsword and nearly striking his cheek.
After more fast-paced action, Guts traps Dimitri in a whirlwind-like motion and tosses him aside, only for him to immediately jump back and imbue his lance with Tempest Lance, sending Guts away in return. Keeping a distance, Guts stabs his sword into the ground and shoots out crossbow bolts from his mechanical hand at Dimitri, who parries some of them away and avoids a few more before casting Thunder.
Forced to close in with dark clouds forming overhead, Guts retrieves his weapon and in his sprint, dodges a few magic bolts before throwing a dagger at Dimitri, which buries itself into his upper left chest and making him recoil, stopping the magic. Guts closes in as Dimitri removes the dagger and tries to throw another stab...
Guts: Die!
...a stab which Guts avoids by using the flat end of Dragon Slayer to block and power through, clanging Dimitri's face with a heavy concussing blow to stun him. Gaining an opening, Guts puts most of his strength into his massive blade with a spin and slashes Dimitri in the back, cutting off the bottom half of his cape and leaving him to scream in agony.
Large amounts of Dimitri's blood steams as it lands on the cold snow while Guts tries to cut him down, but Dimitri rolls away despite the pain and calls out Guts' dishonorable act.
Dimitri: How dare you!
Quickly jumping back in, Dimitri impales Guts with Areadbhar into the lone tree within their environment, taking the moment to threaten him.
Dimitri: I will tear your head from your shoulders! The dead... must have their reven—!
Before he could finish his monologue, Guts merely headbutts Dimitri away, leaving the latter with a blood mark on his face. Grunting in both pain and mere annoyance, Guts throws two slow swings from Dragon Slayer at him, but Dimitri recovers in time to block both. Channeling more electricity, he then calls down lightning from above onto Guts, causing him severe pain, whilst keeping the Dragon Slayer in his grasp.
With an opening of his own, Dimitri stabs his spear into the ground to use Frozen Lance, impaling Guts with a barrage of large icicles. Dimitri goes to finish his immobilized foe, but Guts counters by using his free mechanical arm to throw spike bombs onto his chest, leaving Dimitri in shock to realize what will happen while Guts primes his hidden cannon.
Guts: Go to hell!
What comes after the blast is a massive explosion that sends a burning Dimitri away and sliding across the ground bleeding, while Guts is knocked away back into the tree, his right arm dislocated and impaled by an ice spear in the elbow, Dragon Slayer landing near him.
Guts: Agh... bastard...
Guts sees Dimitri standing up through the flames, his cape having been burnt off, who, unbeknownst to Guts, hears voices of his past.
Voice of the Dead: Avenge us...
As the bloodied Dimitri looks around and hyperventilates in horror over the fiery trauma he is experiencing, Guts' inner beast speaks to him.
Beast of Darkness: Yield to meeee...
Both combatants slowly find themselves being overwhelmed by mental stress and lose their sanity, as the camera rapidly switches between the two.
Dimitri: I promise. I'll kill them!
Guts: All of them!
Guts and Dimitri: Down to the LAST ONE!!!
Both give in to their violent natures: Guts activates his Berserker Armor, which pieces his broken body and arm back together. He then lets out a ferocious roar before charging forward with Dragon Slayer as Dimitri enters his awakened form to dissipate the flames around him before following suit.
They swing quickly and wildly at each other with their weapons, carelessly gushing out blood around them. Dimitri dodges a swing and impales Guts dead on in the chest, who, despite screaming in pain, ignores this and sacks Dimitri in the face with a punch.
Guts throws three fast swings at him, but Dimitri recovers and evades each one with a duck, backstep, and a sidestep before throwing a powerful stab at Guts' face, breaking his helmet. Still as relentless as ever, the berserk Guts roars until Dimitri stabs the ground beneath him, activating a Seal Movement shockwave that sends him flying into the air.
Dimitri: Enough of this!
Preparing for a critical blow, he leaps high into the air above his foe and prepares the use of his Atrocity ability.
Dimitri: THIS IS IIIIT!!!
He thrusts Guts down to the ground, causing large amounts of smoke to build up. As it dies down, it shows an exhausted Dimitri sitting over a motionless Guts, both covered in blood. Thinking the fight over, he weakly releases Areadbhar from his foe's presumed dead body and begins to walk away. However, Guts' hand twitches to grab his sword again.
Before he realizes it, Dimitri turns back to see Guts preparing an upward strike at him with his massive blade. He blocks in time with the shaft of Areadbhar, but this to his shock cuts his weapon in two and leaves him to fall back on the ground. As Guts tries to throw down one more swing to finish him off, Dimitri grabs Areadbhar's spearhead to defend himself.
Dragon Slayer stops mere feet from Dimitri's face to his surprise. Confused, the heavy-breathing and downed Dimitri inspects that Guts is not moving, remaining in a statue-like stance with his only remaining eye having gone completely white: all of the life had gone out of him.
Dimitri: Still standing?
Guts' demonic brand on the back of his neck begins bleeding as a large shadow of an apostle appears from behind him. A recuperated Dimitri stands, realizing the similar pain Guts had been through.
Dimitri: So we're both shackled to the dead.
He points his broken lance at the being and declares to them...
Dimitri: You foul beasts will not have his soul!
Sprinting past his former adversary with a smile and his broken weapon, a cackling Dimitri jumps off to defend him and face the demonic threat, leaving Guts' body in his posture within the azure moonlight.
==Results==
Boomstick: I don't know what's scarier: Dimitri, the demon, or Guts still standing there! Gah, he was a badass 'til the end...
Wiz: Being fast enough to dodge lightning, Guts actually had a slight speed advantage over Dimitri, though skills like Seal Movement and Swordbreaker helped Dimitri close the gap.
Boomstick: And while Dimitri had some minor healing magic to fall back on, it wasn't gonna compete with the raw endurance from the Berserker Armor.
Wiz: Still, Dimitri's absurd strength and wider pool of weapons and abilities gave him plenty of ways to wear Guts down. Against Dimitri's electricity magic, Guts' sword and armor were vulnerable conductors, making every clash an opportunity to electrocute him.
Boomstick: Sure, Guts has defeated lightning callers before, but he needed help. Not to mention moves like Atrocity can pierce through armored foes, bypassing half the point of wearing the Berserker Armor.
Wiz: Guts could power through some of Areadbhar's damage, but he wasn't invincible and could not heal from fatal wounds.
Boomstick: Then there's both fighters' raw power. Slaying demons is really impressive, obviously, but not always on par with uh, magic nukes.
Wiz: Remember, in Edelgard's route, she defeated Rhea, who survived two Javelins of Light. In Dimitri's route, he defeated Edelgard, while she was a powered-up Crest monster... That happened.
Boomstick: So if Rhea could take on the Javelins of Light, Dimitri should be at a similar level. So, let's find out how strong a javelin is.
Wiz: In Fódlan's lore, several javelins decimated a forest, forming the Valley of Torment. However, the exact number of javelins used to create the valley was never given, making the power of an individual javelin unclear.
Boomstick: But, we do know the javelins in this attack were supposed to hit the Garreg Mach Monastery, until the goddess Sothis nope'd them away and they hit the forest instead.
Wiz: We also know that the Javelins of Light are not limitless, with typically no more than six being used at once, even against structures similar in size to Garreg Mach.
Boomstick: So, if a similar amount were used in the attack that made the valley, each javelin would pack a payload that's over three gigatons of TNT.
Wiz: Even if we severely lowballed this and said the destruction was divided between 10, 50, or even 100 different Javelins of Light, surviving two javelins would still be greater than the best of Guts' feats, even scaled to the Sea God.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, the latter clearly distraught.
Wiz: Guts' persistence meant that he wouldn't go down easy, but against Dimitri's inhuman strength, devastating abilities, and fervent willpower, it was just a matter of time before the vengeful king wore through him.
Boomstick: (sadly) Sayin' it makes me Berserk, but Guts could only go so "Far-ghus".
Both take a moment to silently grieve the Black Swordsman's loss before we cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd.
==Comparison==
===Guts===
:+ Notably faster
:+ Armor provided superior endurance
:- Armor vulnerable to lightning
===Dimitri===
:+ Significantly stronger
:+ Atrocity bypassed armor
:+ More varied equipment & abilities
:- Notably slower
==Original Track==
God's Hand.png|Original Version
God's Hand Cover (Remastered).png|Remastered Version
===Composition===
The track for this fight is "God's Hand", composed and performed by Brandon Yates featuring Logan Adams (who goes uncredited on the original track cover) as lyricist and main vocalist, with mixing and mastering done by Anthony DiGiacomo. It is a lyrical metal track that compliments the dark, haunting, and savage anti-hero themes of the combatants, including some lyrics from "Blood and Guts". A piano remix of "Gats" from the Berserk anime is played throughout, and the metal solo has some inspiration from "The King of Lions" from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
===Title===
The title is in reference to two key aspects of both combatants. For Guts, it is a reference to the God Hand from Berserk, the villainous group that Griffith joins by sacrificing the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse, igniting Guts' quest for vengeance upon him. For Dimitri, it is a reference to a pivotal moment in his story when Byleth (whom became one with the Goddess Sothis) reaches their hand out in assistance. Alternatively, it could refer to how Dimitri's primary weapon, Areadbhar, is one of the Heroes' Relics gifted by the Goddess and is modeled after a hand, quite literally making it God's hand, or the "Reach for my hand" lyric in "The Edge of Dawn", the main theme of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the game where Dimitri first debuted.
===Cover Arts===
The original cover art done by John Mitchell depicts a wave of tormented souls from the Abyss that drag apostles (or those who get caught up with them) into it when they die, engulfing and clutching onto Dragon Slayer, the helmet of Guts' Berserker Armor, Areadbhar, and Dimitri's cape (the latter of which the souls are emerging underneath from), symbolizing how both combatants have been haunted and tormented by the deaths of their allies and swore to avenge them.
The cover art of the remastered version done by DekHead (which had been created well before the track's remaster following Rooster Teeth's shutdown) depicts a wave of tormented souls from the Abyss hunched over, wearing Dimitri's cape (the bottom of which is soaked with blood) and Guts' Berserker Armor helmet and wielding Dragon Slayer and Areadbhar under blue moonlight, referencing the name of the Blue Lions route in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, "Azure Moon". The cover as a whole is also a reference to the .
===Lyrics===
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Guts and Dimitri are that they are both brooding medieval anti-heroes in dark armor who, years after a traumatic childhood in which they lost their families right in front of their eyes, seemed to finally get their lives back under control as noble warriors with a new group of close friends (the Band of the Hawk and the Blue Lions, respectively), with the closest among them being an ambitious white-haired rival and best friend (Griffith and Edelgard, respectively) who are leaders of a prestigious military organization whose symbol and motif is a bird of prey (the Band of the Hawk and the Black Eagles, respectively), until said former friend betrayed them, robbed them of many of the other friends they made, and eventually threw away their humanity to become a powerful, black monster out of sheer desperation to realize their ambitions (Griffith joined the God Hand and became Femto, while Edelgard became a Hegemon Husk in the final chapter of Dimitri's route). As a result, both have lost their right eye and spiraled into a grim state of mind tormented by their inner demons and the losses of their former comrades, becoming full of hatred and wanting only to kill their former friend whom they found complicit with the tragedy that befell them and their allies (the Eclipse and the Tragedy of Duscur, respectively) no matter the cost, killing many people and monsters while doing so, only for said tragedies to have been ultimately perpetrated by mysterious factions that have been secretly manipulating events in their world (the God Hand and Those Who Slither in the Dark, respectively), whom their former friend allied with as part of their betrayal. In addition:
**Walking down a violent path of vengeance and bloodshed, both became ruthless killers who use giant, destructive bladed weapons (Dragon Slayer and Areadbhar, respectively) and cruel methods to kill whoever got in their way.
**Eventually, both slowly came to their senses, especially with the assistance of their surviving close comrades (Casca and Byleth, respectively), resulting in both becoming leaders of a new group of close allies (the Black Swordsman Party and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, respectively) to take down their former friend.
**Both bear cursed supernatural marks of godly origins (the Brand of Sacrifice and the Minor Crest of Blaiddyd, respectively).
**Both have had encounters with mysterious dark knights with a skeletal motif (the Skull Knight and the Death Knight, respectively).
**Both are playable protagonists of Musou/Warriors games (Berserk and the Band of the Hawk and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, respectively).
*This episode was announced five days after the fourth anniversary of the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Dimitri's debut game.
*This is the first episode that Xander Mobus voice acted in since his role as Agumon in Pokémon VS Digimon, marking his first time on the show in over seven years.
**This is assuming that "Dick Splitter" isn't Xander Mobus, which has been speculated onNO CONTEST!! MY HERO ACADEMIA VS NARUTO?! | Kaggy Reacts to All Might vs Might Guy DEATH BATTLE but never been confirmed.
*One of Death Battle's 2D animators, Susie Combs, drew art as a teaser for the episode.https://twitter.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1691110047282352129
**This is the third episode she made art for, after Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha and Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next six being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog.
*The Rooster Teeth version of the episode uncensors Boomstick's profanity, unlike the YouTube version.
*The version of God's Hand released on YouTube and Spotify and the version within the fight itself are significantly different, with the fight version not only cutting out significant portions of the lyrics (after Guts is pinned to the tree up to the headbutt, and then everything after the arm cannon is fired lacks them), but also a fair amount of instrumental differences throughout, with several sections either adding or removing instruments compared to the downloadable version. The reasons for this are currently unclear, though based on the commentary for the episode, Ben mentioned the track going through several revisions prior to release.
**A version of the track much closer to the fight's (albeit not exactly, due to retaining some lyrics during Guts' last attack on Dimitri) would later be uploaded to the Death Battle channel as part of their series of AMVs exclusive to Death Battle Champions.
*At the beginning of the season, a teaser trailer was released which included multiple hints for this episode:
**A Gravity Falls-inspired zodiac wheel with 16 symbols on it, each representing and hinting toward an episode in the season. After the release of the Season Finale, the Death Battle YouTube channel began revealing the answers to the zodiac wheel by posting the answers in pinned comments under the symbols' respective episodes. This episode was revealed to be represented by the crossed swords symbol.⚔⚔⚔ SWORDS ⚔⚔⚔ While this more clearly references Guts' status as a swordsman, Dimitri's status is more broad, given things such as his Swordbreaker ability, Fire Emblem's iconography typically alluding to swords (such as the silhouette of Falchion being Fire Emblem's series symbol in the Super Smash Bros. series), or the fact that Dimitri can technically equip a sword for combat and is proficient at doing so, even if he does not do so in the episode itself. It may also represent both combatants being medieval warriors.
**A cryptogram, which, when decrypted using the key "UNLUCKY", read "Kill them all, and treat them violent". This hinted toward both combatants' violent natures after being betrayed and them killing every enemy that got in their way of revenge, as well as Dimitri's "Kill every last one of them!" quote, while the key of "UNLUCKY" relates to how both combatants underwent several traumatic and unfortunate events in their lives, as well as how Dimitri's Luck stat in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is below average at best.
===Easter Eggs===
*Guts' "Background" slide has Griffith listed as one of his dislikes, albeit in all capital letters, referencing the scene of his angrily calling out the latter's name after his betrayal in the Eclipse.
*Dimitri's "Background" slide has "eating weeds" listed as one of his likes, referencing this memetic conversation Dimitri can have with Dedue during armor training before the timeskip in Three Houses.
*Boomstick calls Byleth "everyone's favorite Smash Bros. character" in Dimitri's analysis, poking fun at the infamous backlash Byleth received upon their reveal as the last fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's first Fighters Pass.
**The Smash Announcer from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can be heard saying Byleth's name after Boomstick does so.
***Amusingly, the voice actor for the Smash Announcer in that game, Xander Mobus, voices Guts in this episode.
*When Wiz starts talking about the other two main houses aside from the Blue Lions, a player's Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes roster is briefly shown on-screen with Shez being renamed to "Lucivyle", which is a nod to another Fire Emblem matchup, Lucina VS Grovyle from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.
**This is the second time this matchup has been referenced, after Killua VS Misaka, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
**During the Tournament of Champions later that year, Lucina VS Grovyle would be one of the matchups available to vote on for Week 6, though it lost to X VS Optimus Primal.
*At the end of Dimitri's analysis preview, Wiz and Boomstick get into an argument regarding Edelgard's actions in Three Houses that ends with Wiz claiming "Edelgard did nothing wrong!", referencing frequent discourse in the Fire Emblem community surrounding the character.
*After Jocelyn says "Ashen Wolves for life, losers!" in Dimitri's analysis cutaway, the Death Battle Lab's monitor shows Sasha Waybright from Amphibia, specifically a fantasy construct version of herself that wore an outfit reminiscent of Edelgard's post-timeskip design from the episode "All In".
*Boomstick refers to Rhea's dragon transformation as "Dragonin' up", which is a reference to Jake Long's catchphrase in American Dragon: Jake Long.
*Dimitri's calling Guts "100 men strong" is a reference to the time Guts single-handedly killed 100 men in one night, a feat which was mentioned in the latter's analysis.
*The shot of Guts and Dimitri standing off in front of a tree is a reference to this double spread panel of Guts and Griffith's duel from Berserk Chapter 35, with the setting of the duel also being an inspiration for the fight's setting.
*The way Guts dodges the first lightning bolt after Dimitri casts Thunder is similar to this moment from the opening of the 1997 Berserk anime.
*Guts tossing a dagger that hits Dimitri in the upper left chest is a reference to the ending of the Blue Lions route in Three Houses, where Edelgard does the same action and strikes him in the same area.
*The infamous, overused Dragon Slayer "clang" sound effect from the 2016 Berserk anime plays when Guts smacks Dimitri's face with the weapon's flat. Its specific usage when the Dragon Slayer hits Dimitri's face is likely a nod to how in the anime, it is often used in situations where such a sound wouldn't make sense to be made.
**Hilariously, the "clang" sound effect is heard again when Dimitri uses Frozen Lance, albeit played backwards.Ranking Every Death Battle Episode (Finale Part 1)
*Dimitri's "I will tear your head from your shoulders! The dead... must have their reven—!" line is likely a reference to his line preceding the Battle at Gronder Field, "Know that I will tear your heads from your shoulders. The dead must have their tribute."
**It could also be a reference to his line towards Edelgard when he found out she was the Flame Emperor all along, "I will take that head from your shoulders."
**Guts interrupting Dimitri mid-sentence with a headbutt is similar to when he did the same thing to Nightmare back in his first episode.
*Both Guts and Dimitri's lines of "I'll kill them! All of them! Down to the LAST ONE!!!" is a combination of the former's "Down to the last one!" line and the latter's "Kill every last one of them!" line.
**Both lines were respectively said by Wiz and Boomstick in the combatants' respective analyses.
*Guts and Dimitri's brief but rapid and berserk weapon clash is likely a small nod to Guts' fight with Zodd in the 2016 Berserk anime, in which they were repeatedly matching each other blow for blow.
**During this moment, a cloud resembling Discord's head can be seen in the sky in some shots, most notably when Guts and Dimitri rush toward and start slashing at each other halfway into the fight. Soon after, a stone carving of Bill Cipher is seen in the background when Guts and Dimitri are slashing each other and spilling their blood on the snow. Although the former is easy to miss and the latter is hardly visible in the episode itself, close-ups of the cameos were revealed in Bill Cipher VS Discord.
***This is the second episode to hide a Discord-shaped cloud in the background of the fight, after Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next four being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Goku VS Superman (2023), and Galactus VS Unicron.
***This is the second episode to hide a stone carving of Bill in the background of the fight, after Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next eight being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus VS Unicron, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
*A recreation of Three Houses' critical hit animation plays before Dimitri lands his final blow against Guts.
*In Dimitri's home game, Areadbhar has a durability of 20, which allows the weapon's user to attack with it 20 times before it breaks. In the fight, Dimitri lands exactly 20 hits on-screen before Guts breaks Areadbhar himself. This also includes the usage of Dimitri's skills throughout the fight like Tempest Lance, Frozen Lance, and Atrocity, which use up extra durability to make up for their extra benefits.
**Death Battle YouTuber Jonathan Frostathan clarifies on what attacks and times the weapon are used in for his retrospective review of the episode.
===Errors===
*In Guts' analysis, Wiz refers to corundum as a metal, whereas in real life, it is actually a hard, crystalline mineral.
*Throughout the fight, there are many instances in which after the camera switches scenes, the combatants and environment do not match up with the previous shot. In order:
**When Dimitri is knocked back by Guts and stabs Areadbhar into the ground to slow to a halt before the fight starts proper, the lone tree seen throughout the fight is behind Dimitri on the left side of the screen, but in the next shot for his first line, it's on his right.
**When Guts throws his knife, the tree is seen to be on his left, but as the camera switches to it striking Dimitri's shoulder and back to Guts', the tree is no longer on the latter's left, meaning the combatants have suddenly swapped positions.
**After Guts' headbutt, Dimitri faces towards the tree when it is behind Guts, but as he begins to cast Thoron, the two are seen to be a further distance away from the tree, with it now being to Dimitri's right side.
**When Guts throws his spike bombs onto Dimitri and prepares his arm cannon, the two are repositioned so that Guts can properly slam back first into the tree, which was not behind him before upon being impaled by Frozen Lance, as it was to Dimitri's right upon his use of that attack.
**When the scene cuts to a mid-air Guts being impaled by Dimitri's Atrocity move, the snowy forest is seen to be in the background behind them, but after Guts recovers, breaks Areadbhar, and throws his final swing, the background switches to that of the steep cliffside overlooking the valley. This doesn't make sense, as in that moment, the forest should have been to Guts' left and Dimitri's right, which would imply the combatants have swapped positions a second time for the fight's ending scenes.
*As Dimitri threatens Guts when he's impaled against the tree, a small patch with a cut black line can be seen near the brand on Guts' neck, which doesn't correctly match up with Guts' skin modeling.
*When Dimitri impales Guts with the icicles from Frozen Lance, they are seen to have turned red with blood on them, but when Guts primes and blasts his hidden cannon, one can notice that the icicles are no longer reddened with blood.
*In the early access uploads of the episode for Champions/FIRST Members, the fight animation's frame counter could be seen in the bottom-right corner when Guts is knocked back into the tree after his cannon explosion and when the Beast of Darkness speaks to him. This was fixed in the public release of the YouTube version, but not the Rooster Teeth one.
*Due to its model lacking them, Guts' bandolier belts disappear when he activates the Berserker Armor.
**Guts' chin also clips through the Berserker Armor's helmet for a split second as it activates.
===Other===
*This is the 32nd episode to feature a returning combatant, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Excalibur VS Raiden, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next eight being Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Bowser VS Eggman Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
**This is the 21st episode to feature a returning winner, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Excalibur VS Raiden, and Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next five being Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
***This is the 14th time that the returning winner loses, after Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, Venom VS Crona, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, and Excalibur VS Raiden.
**This episode marks the first time three episodes featuring returning combatants have been released consecutively (following Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha and Phoenix VS Raven).
*This is the 11th Video Game VS Anime/Manga-themed episode, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Pikachu VS Blanka, Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Guts VS Nightmare, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Mega Man VS Astro Boy, Pokémon VS Digimon, Lucario VS Renamon, and Shadow VS Ryuko, and with the next one being Joker VS Giorno.
**This is the second Nintendo VS Hitotsubashi-themed episode, after Kirby VS Majin Buu, and with the next one being Ash VS Yugi.
**This is the fifth time that the Video Game character wins, after Pikachu VS Blanka, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Lucario VS Renamon, and Shadow VS Ryuko, and with the next one being Joker VS Giorno.
*This is the 15th Anti-Heroes-themed episode, after Kratos VS Spawn, Vegeta VS Shadow, Ragna VS Sol Badguy, Wolverine VS Raiden, Dante VS Bayonetta, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Wario VS King Dedede, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, Sasuke VS Hiei, Deadpool VS Mask, Winter Soldier VS Red Hood, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, and Shadow VS Ryuko, and with the next three being Omni-Man VS Bardock, Kratos VS Asura, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
*This is the second episode to feature Logan Adams in the track, after Trunks VS Silver, and with the next one being Goku VS Superman (2023).
*This is the fourth episode in which the combatants are already fighting when the battle starts, after Weiss VS Mitsuru, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, and Miles Morales VS Static, and with the next one being Goku VS Superman (2023).
*Prior to this episode, Brandon Yates made a track for the matchup called "Vengeful Berserkers" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
**This makes it the fourth episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, and Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and with the next 11 being Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Simon the Digger VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
***This is the fourth one to be done by Brandon Yates, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, and Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and with the next 10 being Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Simon the Digger VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
**Coincidentally, a second "Part 2" commission track for the matchup was planned by members of Brandon's Discord server before this episode's announcement.At Your Service (Felicia and Flora vs Ram and Rem) [Fire Emblem vs Re Zero] (linked comment)
**Luis Cruz was also commissioned for sprite art of this matchup, which he posted the day the episode was revealed for Champions/FIRST members.https://twitter.com/CVAnimation/status/1685803912786325504
*This is the ninth episode in which the winner shows respect for their fallen opponent (via Dimitri attempting to save Guts' soul from damnation by hunting down the demons seeking Guts' corpse off-screen after the fight), after Goku VS Superman 2, All Might VS Might Guy, Korra VS Storm, Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar, Magneto VS Tetsuo, SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Gogeta VS Vegito, and Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and with the next two being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
*This is the second episode in which the winner goes to fight an outside force after their battle (as Dimitri goes to fight the demons after Guts' branded corpse), after Blake VS Mikasa.
*Excluding Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man and Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, this is the first episode since Sanji VS Rock Lee where Boomstick introduces the name of the combatants before Wiz since the change to the interlude presentation in Season 8, with the next one being Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
*The episode .
**This is the sixth episode to reach #1 on Trending, after Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon, Ganondorf VS Dracula, All Might VS Might Guy, Flash VS Sonic, and Gogeta VS Vegito, and with the next six being Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Galactus VS Unicron, and Bowser VS Eggman (for gaming).
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 10 Episodes
Category:'Anti-Heroes' themed Death Battles
Category:'Protagonists' themed Death Battles
Category:Death Battles with returning combatants
Category:'Video Game VS Anime' themed Death Battles
Category:'Swords' themed Death Battles
Category:3D animated Death Battles
Category:Fights with voice actors
Category:Death Battles with comparisons
Category:Trending Death Battles
Category:Death Battles with cameo appearances
Category:Fights animated by David