Episode 356

Welp, that hurt.
Thankfully I love everything Griffith, and I'm really interested in Falconia and the Astral Beam.
 
Episode 357: In a death defying duel between Griffith and the Giant leader, Griffith suddenly transforms into the Moonlight Boy and teleports to Fantasia where we return to the POV of Guts' crew :ganishka:

At least we have an answer to where Zodd and Grunbeld have been, It's expected that Griffith's shock troops would be at the front lines. It's also interesting to see creatures introduced to us in volume 34, oddly these creatures seem more intelligent than the astral monsters we've seen so far, they form flags, suits of DIY armour, and crude weapons. I wonder what the overall point of this battle is, are the Falcons simply defending their borders? is this a form of expansion of Falconia's territory? or does Griffith want to recruit the giants? Either way this will provide some well needed context of the state of Fantasia, since the last Griffith POV episode focused mainly on Rickert, I hope this time we will see the next steps in Griffith's plan.
 
I like the giant's armour made out of human stuff like a regular armour used for leg padding and a boat used for a helmet. Priceless!

I must add that Sonia's face doesn't seem to happy about that attack (might be that I read her wrong) but she does seem happy... Might be she's starting to be against such savagery? I would not necessarily bet on that though.

Thoughts?
 
Walter said:
My favorite moment here is the King Giant drinking (looks like a cocktail?) from a bell
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That's the bell ringy bit, not an olive on a toothpick!

[quote author=Walter]
It's interesting that trolls are scurrying around the feet of the giants.
[/quote]

They've got leashes on as well.

[quote author=Walter]
Well the flag markings certainly beg the question what kind of civilization they have, apart from their obvious focus on warfare.
[/quote]

I assumed the flag markings came with the skins (tattoos) rather than being put on them by the giants. Though the skinning work itself is pretty fine, compared to the lack of skill involved in wearing an entire bear butt or tying some troll hide around your legs.
 
MrFlibble said:
I wonder what the overall point of this battle is, are the Falcons simply defending their borders? is this a form of expansion of Falconia's territory? or does Griffith want to recruit the giants? Either way this will provide some well needed context of the state of Fantasia, since the last Griffith POV episode focused mainly on Rickert, I hope this time we will see the next steps in Griffith's plan.
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The lack of giant trunk on the horizon suggests to me that Griffith is a long way from home right now. But it's hard to tell with those big, stormy clouds. If it is as far as I assume, then it lends a bit of credence to the idea Griffith is doing some recruiting rather than border protection. These guys look like they can follow orders at least.

I agree that it's exciting to see why what developments Miura is going to present with Griffith. If we do make it as far as his coronation it will be really exciting because that's been his end goal since the beginning as far as i'm aware. The last check on his dream list ticked off. And where do you go from there?

Hopefully, while we're here we might also see if there were any repercussions to Rakshas' failed assassination.

jackson_hurley said:
I must add that Sonia's face doesn't seem to happy about that attack (might be that I read her wrong) but she does seem happy... Might be she's starting to be against such savagery? I would not necessarily bet on that though.

Thoughts?
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Maybe she's still thinking about the encounter between Rickert and Griffith.
 
I have a feeling that we will see Griffith stumbling soon. In a very minor sense, nothing lethal but something that makes him and/or others question why that happened. I can't really think of any reason for why it would happen now but I don't really think we will see Griffith untouchable all the way until the very end. Sure we saw Rickert's slap but that could be something Griffith didn't mind, because it's Rickert. I just think that the plot is going to get more complicated due to the world being more chaotic in its nature. I hope for that at least.
 
Lithrael said:
That's the bell ringy bit, not an olive on a toothpick!
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Ahh, of course! It did seem like a conspicuous design choice at first, now it's obvious :ganishka:

They've got leashes on as well.
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Oh yeah, they're snacks!

I assumed the flag markings came with the skins (tattoos) rather than being put on them by the giants. Though the skinning work itself is pretty fine, compared to the lack of skill involved in wearing an entire bear butt or tying some troll hide around your legs.
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It looks to me like they skinned humans, put them on a flagpole, and then marked on them with paint as war banners.
 
Was a bit surprised by the switch in pov but was quickly seduced by the art in the episode. These new giants look amazing especially their boss, doesn't look like much time has passed which is good for coronation purposes, we will see it live. hopefully the giant boss puts up a good show before he gets swept up, eagerly forward to what's coming next!.

Oh and haha Zodd does't look too big anymore compared to these guys, he doesn't even look hyped about the fight :ganishka:
 
Walter said:
Oh yeah, they're snacks!
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Boat snack! :troll:

[quote author=Walter]
It looks to me like they skinned humans, put them on a flagpole, and then marked on them with paint as war banners.
[/quote]

I really doubt it. They look way more like designs the humans would have tattooed or painted to me. The lines are clean and symmetrical and stuff. They're not inconsistent with existing human warpaint/tattoo designs. The giants' style seems to be 'we found this and thought it was neat and repurposed it' rather than 'we made this.' I suppose it could be Giant art though, the designs would wrap awkwardly if they were on live humans. Either way I'm left wondering how the humans were killed cleanly enough to skin whole like that. Must have been captives or something rather than killed in battle.
 
Lithrael said:
I really doubt it. They look way more like designs the humans would have tattooed or painted to me.
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If you mentally wrap these skins back around people some of these "tattoos" are a bit weird, Like the guy with a single dragon stretching from his right shoulder to his left knee. It's not really synonymous with real world tribal tattoos. Plus, the architecture and armour these giants a wielding seem to suggest they've been preying on run of the mill Midlanders.

Lithrael said:
Either way I'm left wondering how the humans were killed cleanly enough to skin whole like that.
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Perhaps it's the same secret giant tech that helps the breasts to stay so voluptuous post-skinning.
 
Lithrael said:
I really doubt it. They look way more like designs the humans would have tattooed or painted to me. The lines are clean and symmetrical and stuff. They're not inconsistent with existing human warpaint/tattoo designs.
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It doesn't look like body art to me though. It looks like the giants used skin as a flat canvas. The way the contours of the "eyes" are drawn consistently regardless of the folds in underarms, for example. If that was body art, it wouldn't have made any sense until it was laid flat. I also don't understand why people would tattoo a big giant's mouth (presumably) over their abdomen, versus a giant doing it after the human had been skinned.

Bigger question, Griffith and his apostles are on a crusade against such creatures. But what would go down if they came across Ubik's merry men? Or Conrad's skeleton krew?
 
Walter said:
Bigger question, Griffith and his apostles are on a crusade against such creatures. But what would go down if they came across Ubik's merry men? Or Conrad's skeleton krew?
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it would be interesting if they showed us conlict between God hand members. that would reveal a lot about where the story is going.
 
Put me in the camp of post-death body painting for the human war banners. I think there's probably a graphic designer giant in the crew with an exceptionally steady hand.
:ganishka:
 
Walter said:
Bigger question, Griffith and his apostles are on a crusade against such creatures. But what would go down if they came across Ubik's merry men? Or Conrad's skeleton krew?
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Are they even in the current world layer?
 
Grail said:
Put me in the camp of post-death body painting for the human war banners. I think there's probably a graphic designer giant in the crew with an exceptionally steady hand.
:ganishka:
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Lol, ok, yeah, on reflection it looks like you guys are right.

Also having fun picturing them doing up the knots on their backs for each other.
 
I don't mind a POV change. Anything is better than a hiatus. :magni:

I agree with the other posters saying this seems like its far away from Falconia.

What this says to me is that its only a matter of time before Griffith lays siege to Elf Helm. All astral creatures must die it seems. Not only that, but one would think that Elf Helm is one of the "spiritual mistletoes" that are talked about in earlier volumes. One theory might be that the God Hand have to eliminate all the mistletoes in order for the world tree to fully blossom & completely fuse the astral layers?

Side note:
Very interesting to see Sonia's facial expressions. (almost as if she's dragging her feet a bit in her task) I have been filling the speculation threads with ridiculous Sonia theories lately and the way she's drawn here only adds to my intrigue.

Very short & to the point chapter that communicates a surprising amount.
 
Walter said:
My favorite moment here is the King Giant drinking (looks like a cocktail?) from a bell, the kind you'd see atop a church. Then he tosses it down, squishing a troll. This is my kinda guy! :guts: It's interesting that trolls are scurrying around the feet of the giants. I wonder if they function like parasites, eating the scraps the giants leave in their wake.
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Haha yeah he's pretty great. That being said, he's got sweat on his temple and you can see that the "cup" is trembling in his hand before he drops it on the trolls (who are tied like pets), so I don't think he's feeling very confident about facing Griffith at all. But anyways, like I was telling Grail, it's not like the goal of this sequence is the death of the giant king. That fight is just an introduction to more important matters to the plot. :slan:

Walter said:
It didn't look like it in ep 306, seemed like an even mix, but could be. I still wonder about the environment, and if/how that changed as a result of the blast as well. The shift is a little frustrating, but we're still slowly getting the answers to things we pondered almost 10 years ago.
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Haha damn, ten years already... Time fucking flies. :flora:

Lithrael said:
One of the things that interests me is what they'd be doing marching way the heck out of their home territory to get in a fight with Falconia. Did they really just eat themselves out of all of Scandanavia-analog already? Or is Falconia Famous Among Monsters?
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I think you might have this in reverse. This could be a raiding expedition that Griffith and his troops are conducting a ways away from Falconia. Also, aside from the giants themselves I don't think there's necessarily an overwhelming connection to Norse mythology here, nor that it would imply that these giants actually come from "up North" compared to where Falconia is situated. You can see that they've preyed on Holy See troops for example (one of the shields), so... yeah.

Mangetsu said:
I had been asking myself anyways when we will be getting a switch to Griffith, due to his soon to be coronation and wedding. This episode is definitely the set up for going towards that direction.
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Keep in mind that we don't necessarily need to see the coronation or the wedding in real-time as they happen. Could be through a flashback if Miura deems it more appropriate. Like something Raban or Mule would reflect on. Hell, it could have happened already! :iva: I mean, I think we'll probably get to see them live but the point is that these events, while symbolic, aren't necessarily super important to the plot given that Griffith is already a god-king (with Charlotte as his obedient consort) as it is. If anything I hope there'll be more than meets the eye when it happens.

RaffoBaffo said:
I'm really interested in Falconia and the Astral Beam.
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The Astral Beam? What do you mean?

Squiddot said:
If we do make it as far as his coronation it will be really exciting because that's been his end goal since the beginning as far as i'm aware. The last check on his dream list ticked off. And where do you go from there?
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Being king was Griffith's dream when he was human. To him it was the biggest thing a man could possibly be. But that was long ago. Femto is beyond mankind's rules, and therefore his ambition is now on another scale. Guts told the Great Gurus as much in their village. As a result, the coronation is somewhat perfunctory. Ask yourself: what will it change?

Walter said:
Bigger question, Griffith and his apostles are on a crusade against such creatures. But what would go down if they came across Ubik's merry men? Or Conrad's skeleton krew?
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I'm not sure that's really possible. There's no doubt the rest of the God Hand "got in" when Femto unleashed the Blast of the Astral World, but I'm not convinced that what we saw then now exists physically in the world. It certainly would be a sight to behold, though.

Truder said:
it would be interesting if they showed us conlict between God hand members. that would reveal a lot about where the story is going.
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Well, personally I really don't think the story is going towards a conflict between members of the God Hand...

Faded said:
Not only that, but one would think that Elf Helm is one of the "spiritual mistletoes" that are talked about in earlier volumes. One theory might be that the God Hand have to eliminate all the mistletoes in order for the world tree to fully blossom & completely fuse the astral layers?
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I get why you use the "mistletoe" reference, since those giant spiritual trees are parasitic to the World Spiral Tree, but that's a pretty big misnomer.
 
I can't say I'm not a bit dissapointed because of the switch, but I welcome this episode with open arms. We are advancing, and that's always a good thing. Not to mention the incredible art Miura always delivers, and this creature hunt Griffith is leading is quite interesting, let's see where it goes from here.
:puck:
 
Two things from Puella I forgot to mention earlier:

Episode title is "Jötunn (1)", with the kanji meaning "giants" and the furigana indicating the name. It's a Norse mythology reference.

There's not much text in the episode, but Sonia chastizes Mule for not being careful enough, then she speaks to Griffith through telepathy. She tells him where the Giant King is (east of the battlefield), that there's a clear path to him, and more importantly to be careful because she senses a large and ominous shadow that is hidden in the bushes behind the soldiers.
 
I love how the Giants have all sorts of recycled shields, armor and even a rooftop used as armor. In the two page spread it looks like one is using a cannon, and another a battering ram as a club in addition to the trees of the others. Very creative details that tell us right away that these giants are dangerous and yet have no real culture of their own. They are just scavenging human things.

Interesting that the giants don't really get any good hits on Griffith's army. No humans or apostles really take any damage. It seems like this is all pretty routine for the Band of the Falcon.

I'm surprised we don't see Grunbeld or Zodd get any hits in here after they've been featured the way they are. Probably something for next episode.

Walter said:
BTW: Any Hardcore History listeners get a "Celtic Holocaust" vibe here?[/spoiler]
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Yep, I love that series. It really puts events like this and the general approach to ancient warefare into a historical context
 
Finally Berserk got back to what matters. Killing giant monsters. :ganishka: This change is here to stay for the next chapters. See you next year Casca.
 
Slightly disappointed that we got a narrative shift, but I have no doubt the shift will work fine when collected. Otherwise, it was a simple but effective narrative opener episode. The visuals were great too, the details in the giants design really elevate their memorability for what are likely to be two-off episode obstacles. Curious what the ominous shadow will turn out to be, and if Sonia's demeanor is indicative of any significant immediate development.
 
I love that there is a giant king. I know its hardly similar, but it was enough to give me a dark souls 2 giant lord flashback. Fun world that Miura is building.
 
While the switch was a bit unexpected for me, I think it opens new and intresting venues through which the story may move on. The information we have about Falconia and the world in it's current state is limited, so this change of POV might be to explore such aspects, as well as to give us some new info concerning Griffith's plans. If we are lucky we might get a glimpse at what the rest of the God hand might be doing
 
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