About

An Angel Makes Itself Look Scary To Ward Off Evil. A Demon Makes Itself Beautiful To Deceive Humans is a catchphrase often related to the Berserk anime and manga series. The catchphrase appeared online in August 2024 and has been used in memes that parody the concept of Biblically Accurate Angels images, gaining virality on TikTok, X / Twitter and Reddit with ironic image macros featuring characters from different media formats.

Origin

Although the exact origin of the phrase, "An angel makes itself look scary to ward off evil, a demon makes itself beautiful to deceive humans," is unclear, it draws significant similarities with the 2 Corinthians 11:14 Bible verse that says, "And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light."^[1]

Fans of the Berserk manga started using the catchphrase to represent the appearances of the main character and villain, as the protagonist Guts is drawn as an anti-hero with a ferocious appearance and aggressive facial expressions, while Griffith is designed with an angelic persona with some otherworldly beauty and purity.

On August 28th, 2024, TikTok^[2] user @berserkbeastmode posted one of the earliest mentions of the catchphrase, using fan art of Guts and Griffith to encompass the phrase's meaning. The video (seen below) amassed more than 78,000 plays and 1,500 likes in six months.

Spread

The catchphrase spread across various online platforms following its initial appearance on TikTok, usually with an ironic juxtaposition of appearances.

For instance, on September 15th, 2024, Instagram^[3] user @blackgreninja1 posted the phrase alongside images of a shark (representing the "scary angel") and a dolphin (representing the "beautiful demon"), which garnered over 2,400 likes in five months.

On October 26th, 2024, TikTok^[4] user @dezen__x posted a fan art inspired by Berserk's Guts and Griffith characters, adding the catchphrase as an exam question. The post (seen below) received over 7 million plays and 1.1 million likes in four months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References