Rereading Berserk

[SSJ2]

I thought she was there in one of the films, not that they're canon.

It seems odd that she was randomly gathered with other apostles ahead of the eclipse if she wasn't going to be there. She had immediately gone back to her home post-eclipse which wasn't anywhere near where the event happened. Why would she leave there in the first place if she didn't have to?

can imagine Rosine as leaving completely after being threatened by Skull Knight when considering Apostles don't necessarily seem to need to feast on humans and her main goal is to pretend to be an elf rather than fully indulging in eating humans.

Maybe, but she seemed pretty reluctant to leave when the SK showed up. It didn't look like she was all that afraid and she was even playing around iirc.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Despite her powers, Rosine is still quite the childish girl at times. I can definitely see her changing her mind on a whim when her main goal in being there is some entertainment and Skull Knight spoilt the fun.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 28:

Schierke shows herself to be a well utilised character here beyond being the token magic user of the fantasy party with how she's showcased to be a fish out of water as a fantastical being in the mundane parts of Berserk's world and her banter with Guts helps create a good bond between them. We also get introduced to the Moonlight Boy, though it'll be later on that there'll be more worth talking about concerning him. Also, the way the blood and dark materials manifest when using the Berserker Armour here are quite reminiscent of the symbiote from Spider-Man, which is fairly fitting when both draw on the darker parts of one's mind and may have been intentional considering Miura's love for western sci-fi.

The end of the volume definitely seems to suggest Miura planned for some kind of bond between Schiereke and Sonia in later events, most likely being each other's opponent when Guts' party were to finally clash with the New Band of the Hawk.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 29:

Along with the ties between Schierke and Sonia, there seems to be a more obvious conflict between Isidro and Mule that Miura was building up. Also interesting to note how the proper, chivalrous knight is basically serving the Antichrist whereas the detestable rogue is following one of the few characters who can be called a true hero in this story (at least now), displaying how much Miura liked to use inversions and breaking preconceptions. Unfortunately, the plot thread that ties them together leaves much to be desired as the Pirate Captain is as standard of an enemy as you can get and even his future actions in the plot could've easily been rewritten around someone more interesting or completely omitted. Also, the way in which Azan is reintroduced is weird to say the least. He's just sleeping in a random boat with all his armour on because...?
The later scene with the New Band of the Hawk has some nice parallels to the relationships of both the original and Guts' new group. Sonia is filling out Casca's former role of idolising Griffith whereas Charlotte is the one drawing his attention like Guts (pretty fitting when considering Guts was a reason for him tasting something sweeter than her snacks ), and it can also be compared to how Farnese and Casca currently function towards Guts.

On the flipside to the padded aspects of the pirate fight though, the display of the arranged marriage plot line is pretty good with the fleshing out it gives towards Farnese's family and the political unease of alliances realistically displaying how most motivations in war are.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 30:

The Guts VS Serpico rematch is a good fight. Not only are there some great strategy and tactics on Serpico's part, but him graciously accepting defeat does highlight the contrast between him and Griffith when it came to accepting Guts as their better. On the subject of breaking conventions, Roderick establishes himself as a great change of pace from the typical characterisation Berserk has for nobles with him fearlessly drawing his sword against a Pishacha and defending Farnese like an absolute Chad. It's also nice how he and Farnese work together to take down a Pishacha similar to the perfect couple Roderick would like them to be. The fight ends with a good character moment from Farnese in her reaching the point in the hero's journey of the return home, realising she's changed too much to gain anything by returning to her family.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 31:

Still not sure if I like or hate the Batman Guts design . As for the implementation of a controlled Berserker (and that was intentional ) Guts, I would've preferred a few more conflicts before it being controlled, but it was a bit too much of a wildcard to keep uncontrolled much longer without an actual casualty from the group and it at least provides more focus to the physical damage the armour causes. One thing I'm certainly not in agreement with though would be Manifico and Roderick offering needless exposition and Manifico cementing himself as a pointless comic relief character. It also seems very cheap that Schierke could conjure up enough magic for Guts to break through the Kundalini not long after saying she had no magical power left all to get that plot point quickly resolved (particularly through the "believe in yourself" trope), but I can buy it when she only specified she couldn't summon high level elementals at the moment.

Daiba may be a minor character, but he gets some decent fleshing out with his respect for Guts and Serpico's might as well as interest in how magic is used differently here compared to in Kushan territory. That alone makes him more interesting than his master will be until his backstory is revealed. Speaking of which, Ganishka punishing Daiba with a bolt of lightning seems really stupid as being a little bit careless could've easily cost Ganishka one of his most valuable assets and make his chances of victory against Griffith even more non-existent . One thing I do like with Ganishka here though is his attempt to recruit Guts and Guts refusing him. Guts has a good reason to join him in an attempt to defeat Griffith, but him refusing not only shows his desire not to align himself with the Apostles he's fought so fiercely against but also his renewed conviction to protect Casca and his friends over his thoughts of revenge. Ganishka also guessing Guts must be a captain of the Hawk would've certainly struck a nerve too, considering he wouldn't be wrong in the past tense.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 32:

The Guts and Zodd teamup is a great point of the story. Along with the double-page spread of them wounding Ganishka being amongst the top tier of Berserk artwork, them acknowledging the more current common enemy works well with the implications that Zodd may have gained a less antagonistic role towards Guts that could've perhaps played into Griffith's defeat. There was also an implication of what awaited Skull Knight with Sonia's reference to Zodd's counterpart (assuming she wasn't referring to Guts), which implied his goals may have been more morally ambiguous than they seemed. It also shows Zodd fully acknowledging himself as an honourable warrior rather than a wild beast, quite fitting with him essentially being Apostle Guts and this being quite similar to Guts' early character arc in the Golden Age.

The battle against the Kushan works well with Griffith's overall goal of the arc. Had he wanted to, he could easily kill Ganishka at any time, but he wishes to implant an image in the eyes of the world of being the ideal legendary hero he's framed himself as from the start and making things as dramatic as possible. Many of the events and images do a great job at this, particularly him forcing Ganishka to kneel to him and later having divine approval from the pontiff as well as a marriage to a princess like a typical fairy tale hero.

We also get the first image of the boat . We can see the decline of Azan's characterisation here with the formerly renowned knight that presented himself as no pushover in the Conviction Arc struggling at points with Isidro's tricks .

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 33:

The events on the boat are honestly some of the best chapters in Berserk, with Miura's art playing a major role in this. Along with more clear, meaningful points such as Guts' vision becoming blurred as a repercussion of using the Berserker Armour, Farnese and Schierke's reactions to how Guts views Casca or Guts' realisation of Skull Knight's words perhaps being true in that he can't return back to how things were nor fully protect her with the tools he uses for battle, there are quite subtle details that elevate the events such as the impact shown in Guts diving to save Casca or the steady pace at which his bandages unravel. There's also further ties between the Golden Age trio's dynamic and that of Guts, Casca and Farnese with how similar Farnese's outburst with Casca is to that of Casca blaming Guts for not realising the effect he has on Griffith, as well as being quite the meaningful reaction in itself. The way in which the Beast of Darkness is shown not only to still be a threat for Guts to overcome, but its more wolf-like appearance here as well as its chains make an obvious reference to Fenrir. There's quite a lot of elements to do with Norse mythology within Guts' character, but I'll save elaborating on them until after the reread as a ramble of theories on an ending we'll probably never get.
Also, CHADerick was the one to jump in and save Guts as well as finesse Boss Meng Pirate Captain. Top tier support character.

The plot in Midland is okay with Silat showing further development in foregoing his loyalties to Ganishka. Ganishka's artificial Behelit is a good idea that makes a lot of sense with how the Godhand ritual is quite similar in having one consumed by Astral World energy and there's still a sacrifice involved in Ganishka sacrificing the majority of his army. It's also reminiscent of how mixing elements of the Astral Realm with that which gives life such as amniotic fluid can pervert the natural order much as Femto did to Casca's child, this time on a larger scale.

 

[Papasmurf]

God I wish I could get back the 8 years we spent on the boat, nutritious as it may have been to Guts' character here

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Finished the Empire of the Millenium Hawk Arc:

Even by the standards of Miura's art, the images of the Apostles battling Ganishka's minions is fantastic. Also, seems Miura was making his Go Nagai influence apparent with that one owl Apostle that looks a lot like SIlene.

Ganishka's backstory comes a tad too late. It helps rationalise his behaviour, though it having been brought in just before he dies doesn't help his one-dimensional characterisation prior, even though I do like that he represents a dark version of what Guts could be if giving into thoughts of attaining Apostle power and the inevitable fate that awaits someone with it. The events following with Femto using him as the catalyst to bring about Fantasia is great in showing the irony of Ganishka's rebellion playing right into the God Hand's...hands and opening up the potential for the story (that would unfortunately never be delivered on).

The arc was overall significantly less consistent in quality than those prior. The early events within it as well as those with Guts' party later on feature some of the best chapters and moments in Berserk such as the usage of the Berserker Armour, Guts coming to terms with the consequences of his journey, etc. and the character writing from Guts' side of the story is well done for the most part bar a few major exceptions (Isidro, Puck and Captain Fagbeard). With Griffith's story in the arc, it works well in showing his need to create a compelling story in the eyes of the regular man and fuel the Realm of Idea for his ultimate goals. The arc also has perhaps the best world building out of any in Berserk with it going into greater detail on the world's magic system and politics. The main thing dragging down both stories in the arc, however, would be Ganishka with how he's more of a plot device than a character throughout most of it, something quite egregious when Miura put such effort into previous antagonists of far lower scale in their influence such as the Count, Rosine or Mozgus. It also doesn't help that it's by design an intermediary arc that focuses more on setting up future events than having too many great payoffs of its own, something quite notable when many of them will most likely not be fulfilled now. I guess I'll rate it about a 7-7.5/10.

Now, onto the lesser events on the boat with the Fantasia Arc.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 35:

The drop in quality with this arc is pretty evident from the start with how Bonebeard is turned into a recurring comedic enemy, making it more apparent how he's the most pointless character in the manga and just a shitty version of Adon. At least Adon had some juxtaposition as a morally depraved knight to make his comic relief antics more unique, whereas Bonebeard's just a jabroni who makes Buggy live up to his hype by comparison .

One subtle detail I like is how the order the characters are walking in when reaching the island is very fitting with their characters. Manifico is at the front as the most oblivious, then Roderick is the one truly leading the group and Serpico next to him as the fastest being the best defence against ambushes. The female trio are in the middle as they require the most protection and Guts is at the back of the named characters much as how an alpha wolf stays at the back to protect the pack, as well as being a contrast to how he'd always ride at the front and straight into the fray when he was the Hawks' Raider Captain.
Isma was born from her dad fucking a mermaid, confirming the entire Pre-Elfhelm portion of this arc is an elaborate reference to The Lonely Island's "I'm On A Boat" . I will say the gag of Schierke looking into Isidro's mind and seeing Isma's cleavage is probably the best Isidro gag in the manga despite how low brow it is, which I guess says a lot about Isidro's use as comic relief.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 36:

Farnese protecting the group and showing the results of her training shows her development with how much her beliefs have changed and is a redeeming element of the Sea God events that show it isn't complete filler. You could say the same about Isidro showing his improved skills against Bonebeard, but that's far less apparent and there isn't even as much of a payoff with it when Isma helped him out and Bonebeard fell back...again.

For the fight between Guts and the Sea God, I like that Guts uses the air pressure in a similar manner to what Pippin did against the Bakiraka. There's some obvious amalgamations between various mythologies and a little H.P. Lovecraft with its design and implementation (eg. being within it having a maddening affect on humans) and it being so large and powerful when likely a creation from the Realm of Idea makes sense with how vast humanity consider the seas and oceans as well as it being a very universal fear when it comes to things such as drowning, sea predators, etc.

Perhaps the most underrated piece of information revealed here is the idea of Astral creatures having a true name that gives someone control over them. This explains how Isma's father was able to impregnate her mother when assuming it works much in the same way as a mermaid's cloth from folklore, but it being mentioned this applies to spirits makes you wonder how far its influence goes amongst Astral creatures, such as whether or not it may have foreshadowed the key behind defeating Griffith as (assuming Femto is his true name now) Guts may have knowledge of it and Casca may have had a name she intended for her child she was unable to communicate. There is the glaring question of how Puck never brought up such a major factor prior, but if one thing's remained consistent about the characterisation of someone who'd never seen the Elq Queen, it's him being far from omniscient on magical matters.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 37:

The Beast of Darkness motivating Guts to kill the Sea God does seem like a precursor to how Guts should utilise his rage and the Berserker Armour, giving him the extra boost of adrenaline without doing major damage to himself and others. Also CHADerick leading the search for Guts and going straight into the Sea God's mouth is a reminder of how this guy has the biggest balls in the series other than Guts.

A large portion of the volume is dedicated to the Spring Flowers of Distant Days mini-arc. On the surface, it seems like an okay but unessential trio of chapters, but it does have some interesting points such as how Chitch serves as a parallel for Guts' current self with her sacrificing part of herself to protect another and reminds him that times spent with others are more fun than loneliness. His comment on warmth also seems to intentionally mirror what he says to Farnese just before this mini-arc to further highlight this.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 38:

The chapters of Rickert in Falconia are pretty good, probably being the best we got out of the Fantasia Arc beyond payoffs such as Casca getting her memory back. It's good to see how these characters that have interacted with Guts through completely different story arcs such as Luca or Daiba and how they interact with each other. It's a pity Jerome got shafted with Luca breaking things off with him offscreen. Guy seemed like he could've been a better version of Corkus, but Miura didn't seem to care about delivering on that. In any case, we get quite a bit of interesting info presented such as Griffith making his display and departure of souls public likely being a way of making the masses less likely to fear death and, thus, willing sacrifices for whatever Gaiseric's Empire 2.0. nationwide sacrifice he seemed to have planned. Along with the satisfaction of the comeuppance, Rickert slapping Griffith does present some questions in how he did it when Griffith seemingly can't be attacked. Most likely, Griffith let it happen due to not needing to counter it or perhaps Rickert's sheer conviction in being able to do so allowed him to when considering how relevant the idea of the Realm of Idea and the mind's belief have been the past two arcs.
Shame that Raksas will never get further fleshed out or have a proper conclusion to his character as he's probably the most interesting Apostle under Griffith's command other than maybe Zodd with his background, motives of killing Griffith, powers and little character quirks like his obsession with his mask. The battle with him shows how much both Rickert and Silat have matured with some decent strategies in general. Griffith's lack of input in stopping Rickert (which was probably either Locus' order or Raksas going rogue) does show either it was nowhere near as important to him as Guts leaving his control or just how much Griffith has changed when it comes to his emotional responses when unable to control what he wishes to.

 

[SSJ2]

Rickert is stronger than the Idea of Evil.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 39:

It's here that Miura's shift in art style after switching to digital becomes impossible to ignore, with characters such as Farnese barely resembling their previous look. The art itself is still good, particularly for backgrounds, but undeniably a huge step down from the series' peak art in the Millenium Empire Arc and the start of Fantasia.

Some interesting information is revealed through exposition. Barytes being said to cause depression and obsession seems to suggest they're the cause for the Beast of Darkness manifesting in Guts psyche, though still provides him enough autonomy to make his character decisions completely his own. They also help strengthen the idea that Gaiseric's capital was destroyed by the Elemental Kings rather than the God Hand. Secondly, it being revealed that spirit trees help stop the world tree from spreading too far makes it apparent that, had Miura been able to get to it, Femto would've probably targeted Elfhelm at some point whether Guts went off to fight him or not.

The dreamscape is pretty good for what it is, with it providing a magical solution that Guts has been seeking for Casca but neither making it too easy to attain nor handwaving away the real psychological damage done with a major part of Farnese and Schierke's journey involving them feeling Casca's emotions from her memories and helping her overcome the trauma.

One small part I'd view as the highlight of the volume would be Guts, Serpico and Roderick hanging out. The location draws some obvious parallels to the Campfire of Dreams, as does its usage as a way of characters open up to each other with Guts' admittance of not being limited in what he can accomplish alone, Serpico acknowledging Farnese has changed for the better and Roderick simply being a boss and reflecting on fine ways to die.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Volume 40:

Even if serving a purpose in personifying the trauma the Eclipse caused Casca, the penis creatures as well as the golem fighting them and Mozgus literally eating dicks is by far the funniest part of the manag .

Casca's memories returning is, of course, one of the most anticipated events in the manga and it's good that it wasn't a simple quick fix, with it being obvious that emotional and psychological wounds would linger. It does seem a bit overly convenient that the worst memories are completely blacked out of her psyche, but I guess it makes sense when it comes to the repercussions of her heart being placed in the doll prematurely and it's better than no consequence at all.

The battle between the Hawks and the Jotnar, whilst nice to look at, is 100% filler until the aftermath with Grunbeld restoring this world's version of Stonehenge. Pretty interesting wording for Sonia to say she'd go to the ends of the world for Griffith, implying she would've probably been the one to direct War Demons to Elfhelm had Miura managed to get that far.

Now, all that remains are the 6 chapters not within a volume yet. Not long to go now.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Read up to the last chapter Miura produced.

Griffith's dark hair confirming he physically transforms into the Moonlight Boy is a major reveal. It does raise the question on how it didn't happen several other times with a full moon such as when he took Charlotte, though I'd assume it would've been revealed it was only during the strongest of full moons it happens or in random intervals. Also, I'm guessing that him going to Elfhelm in the boy's body would've been the inciting incident of war being brought to Guts' party even if they didn't seek it.

Casca's trauma helps further showcase that regaining her memories wasn't a quick fix, though her return to her intelligent personality is still good with her also something some change when it comes to her responses to characters and being far less reserved than she was in the Golden Age. Chapter 362 has easily the biggest reveals within the arc with us learning more of the Berserker Armour and it hammering (no pun intended) in the message that how people use something has more impact than the object itself, with the reveal of the previous God Hand being the most shocking part of the arc. It does somewhat contest with the theory that the God Hand may not have been the ones to destroy Gaiseric's capital due to the issue of the amount, though the position of all the skulls being branded and the natural forces that destroyed it are still questionable aspects.

Even though it would've been great for Miura to have gone further, I can appreciate Guts had still mostly succeeded in his goal at that point and was in a peaceful place, though it was obviously far from closure with reveals such as Flora's role in changing Danan's body or attaching Gaiseric's to the armour as well as the impending threat the Moonlight Boy would bring. Shame a lot of the chapter is bogged down by Isidro's filler antics.

So, we reach the inconclusive end of the Fantasia Arc. When not having the inconsistent release schedule as a factor, the arc itself is fine. Things such as the Sea God could've been skimmed down heavily and the attempts at humour from Isidro and Puck could be a bit distracting from the pacing and darker events, but the arc wasn't bad with us getting some of the biggest reveals in a long time such as Casca regaining her memories, Skull Knight being confirmed as Gaiseric or the reveal of the previous God Hand. It was a decent set up for events, even if many of them won't be delivered on. 6/10.

Now, the most we can probably do is speculate on events that covered been. Along with the invasion of Elfhelm, I imagine the Moonlight Boy would've been integral to Griffith's defeat or Guts' fate. Guts has a few elements similar to Norse mythology such as losing an eye as Odin did, losing his arm as Tyr did to Fenrir and the concept of the Berserker Armour overcoming him being similar to Odin being eaten whole by Fenrir only for his son to slay the wolf. Perhaps the power of the armour would've overcome Guts during the apocalyptic endgame of the series and the Moonlight Boy would stop him either by helping him finally overcoming the Beast of Darkness for good or by force. Unfortunately, all we have now are theories. RIP Miura .

 

[Yoshi]

CC left the day after getting current on Berserk.

 

[Papasmurf]

Come back to us!