Adolf

A full head of white hair and pale blue eyes give Adolf the weathered look of an aging countryman. The 1997 adaptation ages him further still, casting him as Collette's grandfather rather than her father and putting a cane in his hand to steady his steps.

Faith and warmth define him. The manga frames Adolf as a devout, openhearted man who cherishes his child and values ordinary domestic joys over any pursuit of glory. He mourns a nephew who marched off to soldiering, wishing the young man had built a household and family rather than dying an anonymous grunt. The 1997 version keeps that tenderness, showing an old man who wants nothing but the best for his granddaughter and who tries, feebly, to hold back attacking bandits. He is even credited with sensing the elf Puck, whom he calls a fortunate spirit.

Along a rain-soaked road during Guts' two-year hunt for apostles, Adolf halts his carriage and offers the wanderer a seat. Wary of clergy and shadowed by malevolent spirits, Guts refuses several times before relenting. Over wine he meets Collette, and the driver, noticing the enormous blade and a fresh wound, presses him about his trade. He voices his distaste for those who kill and die by the sword, then shares the story of the nephew he lost to war. When Guts falls asleep, an incubus torments his rest; the swordsman slays it, alarming father and daughter alike. As his brand begins to bleed, Adolf and Collette are told to shelter inside while Guts faces the pursuing dead. The panicked horses fling Collette from the carriage, and a skeletal spear erupts from the ground to run her through. Her grieving father can only cry out as the slaughter rages, and moments later a spirit wearing Collette's body strikes his head from his shoulders.