A Berezin integral over independent Grassmann variables selects the coefficient containing every variable. Fix the real orientation by . For an antisymmetric matrix , only the order- term in the exponential survives:
Anticommutation collects its top coefficient into the signed sum over pairings that defines the Pfaffian. Reversing the order of variables gives , cancelling the prefactor sign. The real Grassmann Gaussian integral is therefore
with this orientation, and a fixed sign times this answer with other orientations. In dimension two, write ; the exponential is , and integration gives . Although , writing a positive square root would give in this test and would lose the correct sign.
For the complex Grassmann Gaussian integral, treat and as independent integration variables. Every surviving top term contains each and each once. Expanding the exponential assigns one matrix entry from every row and column, and anticommutation supplies the permutation sign. Hence
where is a nonzero constant fixed by the order and normalization of the differentials, independent of . This argument works for singular matrices as well and does not assume that is Hermitian.
For the explicit check, put . Moving all the variables before the barred ones gives
The linear and constant terms integrate to zero. Thus the integral is a fixed orientation sign times , exactly the determinant. Choosing the top-monomial integral to be gives .
For the required real-complex compatibility of Grassmann Gaussian integrals, let and . Substitution gives
Indeed because the variables anticommute and . The real quadratic matrix is consequently , of size . The linear change of Grassmann variables has a constant nonzero Berezin integration Jacobian, so it changes only the allowed normalization factor. For even , the two blocks give
For odd , implies . Each of the separate and quadratic exponentials has only even degree and cannot saturate an odd number of variables, so the real integral vanishes too. This covers the odd case without attempting to define a Pfaffian of an odd-dimensional matrix.