Episode 311

Aazealh

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Chaos said:
Maybe it could be to his benefit, though? Specifically, I mean if he were (for some reason) to resume his quest to kill Griffith. With the "numbing" of the brand, perhaps that would be something of an edge he has. [...] So I guess it comes down to if The Brand was functioning as more of a "radar" prior to the merger, or if the pain factor was still a significant one.

Well I'm not so sure it could benefit him, that's the problem. One thing that's clear is that the Brand definitely allowed him to "feel" things, not just monsters but also people like the Skull Knight or Flora. It wasn't just a matter of feeling intense pain whenever something was nearby. Similarly, Casca was able to feel the presence of her son through her Brand when he was in the vicinity (distinguishing him from mundane evil creatures, even after Femto took his body over).

Now he can't do that anymore, but as seen in this episode, his Brand apparently still bleeds when evil things are around. Moreover, what Guts says about noticing if anything gets close could imply that he would still feel pain while fighting a "serious" adversary.

Chaos said:
Femto's "Level of Evil" (Think that's the right term.)

I don't think there's really a term for it. :void:

Chaos said:
In Volume 21, with The Reincarnation occurring, Guts is brought to his knees from the pain. In Volume 22, his brand is still bleeding quite a good bit with Griffith close by, though it would appear he's built up a tolerance to the pain caused by the brand. This is also shown in Volume 26 with Guts' interaction with Slan.

If you look at volume 26 I think it's made pretty clear that Guts was incapacitated when Slan played with his Brand. On one panel he's in agony, the next he's limp and defenseless in her lap. In volume 22 he was within reach of Griffith, so we can attribute his resistance to his extreme rage (not unlike what happens in volume 3), but also to the fact he didn't actually stay close to Griffith for too long. There's also the possibility that members of the God Hand can trigger the Brand's reaction to their presence at will, but that's only hypothetical.



On a different topic, what did you guys think of the reveal that the creature the pirates were hanging out with was a monstrous sea cucumber? Not what I had expected, but you can clearly see the resemblance when you compare it to a real one (not to mention that it explains all the references to food). And these things measure up to 4 m (13 ft) too!

Sea_cucumber.jpg
Sea_cucumber2.jpg

That aside, any guesses as to what the pirates' "dessert" will be? It appears that something really has taken control of the ship (probably the same entity that turned the pirates into what they are, and whose eyes can be seen through the ship's portholes), but with the sea cucumber gone it could be anything. I also wonder how it will play out, since it might be hard for it to be impressive after the "sea god".
 

Walter

Administrator
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The merging of worlds has put everyone in the Berserk world in similar shoes to Guts. That's something we predicted long ago, but with Guts' brand losing its reliability, it makes him even less unique. The other effect of the brand, that it attracts evil beings to him, has been countered with Schierke/Flora's temporary seal. It all adds up to an interesting shift Miura's taken. Obviously, Guts is still special in that he's a one-man army, but existentially, the playing field has been leveled.

And again I ask, I wonder what will happen with spirits when they leave bodies now... :magni:

As for the future of the pirates/pirate ship, it could truly be anything. A sea cucumber... who could have foreseen that? I think the creature controlling the ship could just be an assortment of evil creatures drawn to the pirates' ship after the merging, creating a big amalgamation of evil sea creatures.
 
Isidro barely ever listens to Schierke, so I'm half betting he goes into the cave anyways against the advice of another strange girl. The close-up of the idol shows some dark splotches on the horizontal ribbing...interesting to see what it actually is
 

puella

Berserk forever
Aazealh said:
http://aazealh.net/Divers/Sea_cucumber.jpg http://aazealh.net/Divers/Sea_cucumber2.jpg

Well, I'm quite surprised that my favorite food could look that creepy! :magni:

Magnifico: Don't tell me you're thinking of putting them on the menu this evening!

Japanese people are heavy consumers of sea cucumbers. They especially like to eat them raw with some vinegar. Miura might have gotten the idea for this new monster while eating some himself! My point is, ahem, you're giving people the wrong idea about this most delicious, nutritional and sadly expensive delicacy, Aaz!! :zodd:

I always feel sorry for the many harmless sea animals that inspire monsters only because they don't have hair and have horrible eyes.

Anyway, it occurred to me that our relentless Isidro might have a small romance with the girl. Why not? Maybe they'll have a thrilling adventure in the cave like Tom Sawyer and Becky, who ended up kissing? :isidro: The boy hasn't had real romantic experience so far despite his very dynamic and enthusiastic nature. Schierke is too boring and serious for him, though they'll probably get along eventually.

As for the idol, it reminds me of a conception from old Asiatic folklore. A powerful being has been worshipped by some villagers for a long time, but when a warrior arrives there, he finally reveals its true identity, that of a simple animal who's blinded them by changing its appearance.

This episode was really interesting, I can't wait for the next! :chomp:
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
puella said:
Anyway, it occurred to me that our relentless Isidro might have a small romance with the girl. Why not? Maybe they'll have a thrilling adventure in the cave like Tom Sawyer and Becky, who ended up kissing? :isidro: The boy hasn't had real romantic experience so far despite his very dynamic and enthusiastic nature. Schierke is too boring and serious for him, though they'll probably get along eventually.
I hope she turns out to be a bad guy and tries to use Isidro for information on the group, while Schierke tries to point this out to everyone to unsuccessful result. Which ultimately leads up to Isidro having to choose between who to drop to their doom, Schierke or Island girl. :ubik:
 

everymonday

If you understand this pic...
Oh! Great episode.

This village resembles Lovecraft's Innsmouth much. And the words about sea god give us a good point to think like that.

However, Innsmouth's villagers were amphibious mutants and here we have a human girl (though, it is confusing to see her naked in the beginning :???:). It might also turn out she IS that very sea god, actually.

Also, the creature they met on the last pages resembles an overgrown incubus (can't recall the exact name -- a little pest calling nightmares). But it is more likely to be an octopus with a big mouth. I wonder if it is intelligent, friendly and can speak. :ubik:

I really anticipate the next episode. :chomp:
 
puella said:
Anyway, it occurred to me that our relentless Isidro might have a small romance with the girl.

Interesting thought! Another interesting thought is, if he did, would Schierke get... jealous?

:schierke:

Offhand, I'd say no, no she wouldn't. But stranger things have happened. :idea:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
And again I ask, I wonder what will happen with spirits when they leave bodies now... :magni:

Not just that, but after what happened to the pirates, I wonder all the more how things are playing out for people all over the world. Attacked by harpies, trolls, hydras, goblins and who knows what else during the day, and haunted by evil spirits at night? That's not a way to live. I bet you some people will be quickly remembering the old beliefs (and the associated practices to ward against bad stuff) they'd discarded in favor of the Holy See's teachings. Either that or every temple with an appropriate Falcon altar will be mysteriously protected. :griffnotevil:

puella said:
I always feel sorry for the many harmless sea animals that inspire monsters only because they don't have hair and have horrible eyes.

I guess it just comes down to which one eats the other. :iva:

Mage said:
I'm half betting he goes into the cave anyways against the advice of another strange girl.
puella said:
Maybe they'll have a thrilling adventure in the cave like Tom Sawyer and Becky, who ended up kissing?

To be honest I'm torn between the desire for a spelunking adventure and the apprehension that something really bad will happen. The next episode really is ripe with possibilities... It's going to be awesome! :guts:

puella said:
As for the idol, it reminds me of a conception from old Asiatic folklore. A powerful being has been worshipped by some villagers for a long time, but when a warrior arrives there, he finally reveals its true identity, that of a simple animal who's blinded them by changing its appearance.

It was that black cat all along! For centuries he's been getting free fish from the villagers! :beast:

everymonday said:
This village resembles Lovecraft's Innsmouth much. And the words about sea god give us a good point to think like that.

However, Innsmouth's villagers were amphibious mutants and here we have a human girl (though, it is confusing to see her naked in the beginning). It might also turn out she IS that very sea god, actually.

Also, the creature they met on the last pages resembles an overgrown incubus (can't recall the exact name -- a little pest calling nightmares). But it is more likely to be an octopus with a big mouth. I wonder if it is intelligent, friendly and can speak.

We've already commented on all of this... That's why people should read threads before posting in them. The girl was naked because she was fishing, the thing at the end of the episode is just an idol, and you got the name right: incubus (plural: incubi).

Bekul said:
Interesting thought! Another interesting thought is, if he did, would Schierke get... jealous?

Of course! Even if she doesn't admit it. It's all part of the plan! :void:
 

Daijyashin

Berserk is Divine and Human
Sea cucumber...Good finding. (PS. Even the Lamprey finding was cool, especially since I haven't never seen such ugly sea creature! IMO of course).

Aazealh said:
That aside, any guesses as to what the pirates' "dessert" will be? It appears that something really has taken control of the ship (probably the same entity that turned the pirates into what they are, and whose eyes can be seen through the ship's portholes), but with the sea cucumber gone it could be anything. I also wonder how it will play out, since it might be hard for it to be impressive after the "sea god".

I don't know. I mean, at first we see some spirits in the ship that looks like the tentacles of the sea monster, then the pirates are turned in some weird supernatural beings, and of course we see those eyes in the ship's portholes. So to me it's not clear at all what kind of forces are by the pirates side.
 

Aazealh

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Marik said:
I don't know. I mean, at first we see some spirits in the ship that looks like the tentacles of the sea monster, then the pirates are turned in some weird supernatural beings, and of course we see those eyes in the ship's portholes. So to me it's not clear at all what kind of forces are by the pirates side.

Well I think in that regard Walter's idea is sure to be at least partially correct, meaning that there was more than one entity at work. What we saw behind the boss in episode 308 was likely the sea cucumber's tentacles, but we know that something else took control of the ship, and we still have no explanation for the pirates' transformation. My guess right now is that whatever is controlling the ship is also responsible for the pirates' state, but we could still be in for a big surprise at this point.
 
Aazealh said:
Not just that, but after what happened to the pirates, I wonder all the more how things are playing out for people all over the world. Attacked by harpies, trolls, hydras, goblins and who knows what else during the day, and haunted by evil spirits at night?

Everyone will be living that "day in the life" of Guts, and probably will still have it easy.
 
I agree with everymonday when he says that the village idol looks like an Incubus on steroids. Regardless of what it is exactly (Maybe an eye of the aforementioned Sea God?), it definitely looks organic.

And i wouldn't put past anything supernatural about the fishing girl just yet.
 
Zerk said:
I like it when there's action, and suspense, or major story development. Thanks for the heads up

You don't think landing on an island who Schierke describes the Od of as being so strange that they should leave immediately, that makes Guts brand bleed through the seal, villagers who hide from any human contact, a Sea God, taboo cave that is very likely that Isidro will enter, mysterious girl, promise of the pirates to return, and their ship about to fall apart, mysterious cat, mysterious Sea God idol... you don't think /any/ of that is interesting?

You don't think any of that is major story development, or suspenseful, at all?

:puck: :azan: :femto:
 
Um......................... no, not really. When things get a little more heated then it can get interesting, for now this is foreplay to me.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Zerk said:
Um......................... no, not really. When things get a little more heated then it can get interesting, for now this is foreplay to me.
Hell, at the very least this episode was full of suspense! Maybe you should reread it a bit slower and think of it more as the beginning of one plotthread rather than as "THEYAREN'TINELFHELMYET." There's really a sense of dread hanging over this episode. :magni:
 
I wouldn't call that very suspenseful... that's just a tease. The best suspense in Berserk is when Guts is in battle against an opponent many times stronger than himself and death or serious injury lurks at every wrong move.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Zerk said:
I wouldn't call that very suspenseful... that's just a tease. The best suspense in Berserk is when Guts is in battle against an opponent many times stronger than himself and death or serious injury lurks at every wrong move.
Well, considering the foreshadowing in this episode, we know Guts and crew are in for something big. :azan:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Zerk said:
I wouldn't call that very suspenseful... that's just a tease.

Then you don't know what suspense is, or you can't recognize it when you see it.

Zerk said:
The best suspense in Berserk is when Guts is in battle against an opponent many times stronger than himself and death or serious injury lurks at every wrong move.

Yes, because clearly there is no danger of anyone encountering an immensely powerful enemy right now. :schierke: Seriously, thanks a lot for those enlightened comments (When's the next issue? When's Guts fighting Femto?) but I think we'll be able to do without them in the future.



But since we're at it anyway, what do you guys think will result from the current situation? Someone likened this island to Enoch earlier, which is interesting considering how much of a major turnpoint Enoch ended up being. Guts meeting Slan and being gravely wounded, acquiring the armor, the others getting new equipment, learning about the world from Flora, the addition of Schierke and Ivalera to the group, etc.

So what about this island? Will the outcome be positive (new equipment, power, knowledge, comrade), negative (someone wounded or dead, lasting damage of any sort) or both? I think it would feel "too soon" if Guts was to be wounded again this time, so I'm curious to see how it plays out, especially since Isidro is on the frontline. Will it be Schierke who'll save the day? Or is it time for the boy to shine by himself?
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Aazealh said:
But since we're at it anyway, what do you guys think will result from the current situation? Someone likened this island to Enoch earlier, which is interesting considering how much of a major turnpoint Enoch ended up being. Guts meeting Slan and being gravely wounded, acquiring the armor, the others getting new equipment, learning about the world from Flora, the addition of Schierke and Ivalera to the group, etc. So what about this island? Will the outcome be positive (new equipment, power, knowledge, comrade), negative (someone wounded or dead, lasting damage of any sort) or both?
In all reality, I'm thinking that learning about the world and new equipment will happen in Elfhelm, while perhaps new girl will join the group (PLEASE! :troll:), and maye a character injury/death(PLEASE NO :sad:). So basically chances of a bit of both positive and negative are possible here in my opinon, just hopefully nothing as bad as a character death or new spiritual wounds to Guts. Although, we may also learn some new information about magic during the upcoming fight with whatever the sea god is.

Another thing I'm excited about is a chance for Schierke to summon something bigger and better than the sea god, and hopefully also Isidro getting a chance to shine and do something besides kill or distract minor enemies... which doesn't seem too likely considering he's not really equipped for fight anything water-based *pushes up glasses*. How about Farnese though? Think she'll get a chance to do something magic-related yet? Perhaps have to cover for Schierke if she's incapacitated in some way? Or maybe Farnese will end up possessed due to her slight training with magic, but being nowhere near Schierke's level(who has almost lost herself in the past in that way) :farnese:
 

Aazealh

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Dar Klink said:
Another thing I'm excited about is a chance for Schierke to summon something bigger and better than the sea god

That would be quite the sight. Clash of the Titans! :ubik:

Dar Klink said:
hopefully also Isidro getting a chance to shine and do something besides kill or distract minor enemies... which doesn't seem too likely considering he's not really equipped for fight anything water-based *pushes up glasses*.

I think it'll really depend on how things will present themselves. Even if he had a water-dagger Isidro would most probably still not be able to directly confront the sea god. Schierke herself was at a loss when they faced the Kundalini (ironically they ended up using fire against it), and this creature has the potential to be even more powerful.

Dar Klink said:
How about Farnese though? Think she'll get a chance to do something magic-related yet? Perhaps have to cover for Schierke if she's incapacitated in some way? Or maybe Farnese will end up possessed due to her slight training with magic, but being nowhere near Schierke's level(who has almost lost herself in the past in that way)

That's a very interesting possibility actually. By now she's dabbled in magic enough that she could try to be useful.
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Aazealh said:
But since we're at it anyway, what do you guys think will result from the current situation? Someone likened this island to Enoch earlier, which is interesting considering how much of a major turnpoint Enoch ended up being. Guts meeting Slan and being gravely wounded, acquiring the armor, the others getting new equipment, learning about the world from Flora, the addition of Schierke and Ivalera to the group, etc.

So what about this island? Will the outcome be positive (new equipment, power, knowledge, comrade), negative (someone wounded or dead, lasting damage of any sort) or both? I think it would feel "too soon" if Guts was to be wounded again this time, so I'm curious to see how it plays out, especially since Isidro is on the frontline. Will it be Schierke who'll save the day? Or is it time for the boy to shine by himself?

I think the island is so Guts and Company can learn about the effects of the world, possibly seeing how these people were worshiping something that earlier wasn't real, but now is. I think it's interesting that they are possibly going to learn about this now instead of at Skellig. Then again, they most likly are going to learn about that to a greater extent at Skellig.

At the [this] island, I think it's possible Isidro and the island girl are going to develop something and she'll die. I also think[HOPE] Azan makes the reveal to the other characters who he is.
 
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