Guts, a lone mercenary, is defeated in a duel by Griffith and ends up fighting for him instead, the start of an uneasy bond inside the Band of the Hawk that also draws in the warrior Casca. This TV cut restructures the three Golden Age Arc films into episodic form, adding new scenes and animation not in the original theatrical release. It retells the trio's rise and the fractures forming beneath that alliance with expanded detail rather than fresh story.