Guts, renowned as the "Black Swordsman", is a mercenary and branded wanderer who travels the world in a constant internal struggle between pursuing his own ends and upholding his attachments to those dear to him.

His name is Guts and he earned his name from the manner in which he was found. While still in his mother's womb, his mother was hung. He was born from his mother's corpse. Guts was then found by a woman named Shisu in the after-birth and decay of being born from a corpse. 