Hmmm...according to Puck in v17, these Stonehenge-like structures served as shrines of sorts to the Elves (according to Dark Horse's translation, anyway), and Guts even used it to take refuge from the spectres and incubi. So to see Griffith, a God Hand, appropriate it for his own purposes is...kind of unnerving me. Not only can his army launch an invasion seemingly anywhere in the world, which is already a scary proposition, but it's like nothing is sacred anymore.
Episode 357
- Thread starter Heiji-sama
- Start date
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Wow, full episode really does justice to the importance of the stones, and very cool how they lend a kind of "structure" and installation to ground it as a form of transportation we can suspend our disbelief for.
Maybe the God Hand prefer to see it like everything is sacred now, especially them.
(-o-) <- Conrad
Also, they're definitely going to have one of these transport stations on Skellig, though perhaps it's in disrepair and has been overrun by an evil force!?
Cyrus Jong said:
Maybe the God Hand prefer to see it like everything is sacred now, especially them.
(-o-) <- ConradAlso, they're definitely going to have one of these transport stations on Skellig, though perhaps it's in disrepair and has been overrun by an evil force!?
Keratos said:
I don't think it's an either/or situation. According to Puella, in this episode says Griffith that they will need to find all kinds of relics over the world to help them with their military action. Meaning that the conquest is the objective and the relics are tools to fulfill it.
Something else I find interesting is the importance of Sonia's help in all of this. Griffith goes out of his way to point it out, and I guess it could be taken as him just "being nice" to her, but I don't think so. I think she really is extremely valuable, probably more than people have given her credit for in the past. That got me to think back to her chance encounter with Schierke in Vritannis and what role that might play in the future.
Cyrus Jong said:
These are shrines for astral creatures, yes. Probably not unlike the shrine the Lady of the Water Depths used to have before Enoch's folks built a Holy See temple on top of it. And yeah, I agree that Griffith making use of these is pretty chilling, but then again, that's what the God Hand does, isn't it?
Kompozinaut
Sylph Sword
Really enjoyed this one, as usual. In particular, Sonia's projection to the Jotunn that their commander was slain, and the Stonehenge portal. And for whatever reason, I always like seeing Mule's reactions to everything Griffith does. This gives me more reason (almost certainty at this point) to believe that we'll see Guts and Co. travel through the World Spiral Tree's branches to get back to Midland in a snap. I had been putting all my money on the beherit being the key to access it though, but this episode shows there are multiple methods of accessing the branches so I'm not so sure anymore.
So, Griffith and his army can quickly cover long distances using this method. It reminds me of the warrens from the Malazan series.
And I'm probably getting way ahead of myself here, but I wonder if we'll not only see existing stone circles being used like this, but also new ones built from scratch. Being able to have these structures wherever you want would be extremely useful.
And I'm probably getting way ahead of myself here, but I wonder if we'll not only see existing stone circles being used like this, but also new ones built from scratch. Being able to have these structures wherever you want would be extremely useful.
Khalamir said:
I doubt we'll see them building new ones. The old relics were built by humans to pay tribute to and connect themselves to the metaphysical dimension of the astral world and the forces of nature it encompasses. Now that this dimension has been squashed within the corporeal realm and antagonized, it seems unlikely that the kind of spiritual power needed to sanctify these monuments would be present in any human community.
It would also be pretty unexciting for them to be able to put what is virtually a warp portal wherever they desired. It's not as if the neo-Band of the Falcon isn't overwhelmingly powerful enough already.
Cyrus Jong said:
I actually completely forgot about that scene! Nice catch. It'd be cool if there's a little call back to it
As always, I enjoyed watching Raban and Mule get to freak out over the crazy stuff that Griffith does. I'll be very curious where this search for relics takes them. Though if they've crossed all the other mythical creatures from Fantasia's opening off the list, and they now have a means of riding in the sky......dragon battle, anyway? Please?
Khalamir said:
I agree with this, also there are many examples of "astral gates" dotted around the world of Berserk, Godo's mine, the misty valley, the foundations of the church in Enoch. They even bring it up during the exposition on volume 39. I wouldn't be suprised if the God Hand utilise all kinds of former shrines and sacred grounds.
Really like the vibe of this Episode. I hope we stick around with Griffith and see this leading up to his coronation+Wedding. The pontiff cant stay alive much longer.
This episode really does a lot to show the extent of Griffith's strategy moving forward. We've always known that he plans to literally rule the world - well an empire that large will take serious infrastructure to maintain. The Romans had their roads, Griffith plans to use the world-tree. You seldom see antagonists with such a practical approach to world-domination, and it's chilling and exciting. This kind of meticulous strategy is also so very like the Griffith we've always known. There's no way he's merely reading from the godhand's playbook - I reckon they've entrusted the practical facets of taking over the world to him because that's what he's good at, and what he's always wanted, what his destined role has always been.
The stonehenge travel was really cool. When the path twists before they get to the branches of the world spiral tree I was reminded of volumes 2 and 3 with the homage to "Relativity" by Escher. If only there was a goofier member of the band of the falcon that could have been like, "I think I'm going to be sick" as they go through the portal and ride on the branches of the world spiral tree. I wonder if Griffith is using Sonia to track down astral creatures by navigating through the world spiral tree and if so what are the chances of her finding Skellig (Although there might be some additional safe guards to hide Elfhelm). I thought it was interesting that sonia was used to broadcast the death of leader of the giants to the battlefield, I wonder if the giants could see the projection. If that's the case it's very demoralizing action for the giants, especially since they were all killed afterwards. While travel was hinted at by the moonlight child after the events of the sea god, it was executed so well and so cool! WHAT'S THE MEANING OF STONEHENGE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klJhWr_FTaE
DirtiestM said:
Yes, I also find the idea of Sonia showing up in Elfhelm to be quite interesting.
DirtiestM said:
Well yes, the whole point of sending out that image of the dead giant leader was to demoralize his troops. It no doubt helped reduce casualties on Falconia's side.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
DirtiestM said:
I think Zodd and Grunbeld have already maimed or killed all those guys, at least among the Apostle contingent.
DirtiestM said:
I prefer a more traditional interpretation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAXzzHM8zLw
We should have seen this all coming.
Aazealh said:
Yeah, it's safe to say anything Griffith does is for the benefit of better, stronger, faster world conquest. So, none of this is too surprising unless you kinda thought he won already, which wouldn't be unreasonable!
Griff, it's over man, whatever you and the God Hand are up to it's all clear now; you don't need to conquer the world's ant colonies too. I know this is all for a specifically calculated world domination, but it's fun to think that Griffith/Femto is the perfect obsessed instrument for it that will never stop, one that will conquer and remake the world and then conquer it again no matter how many castles he wins, because there actually is no castle or dream except to continue chasing it.
Griffith said:
Haha, yeah... And what I find interesting is that Guts said as much when the great gurus asked him about it in episode 345. He understands that Griffith's ambition was to be king only because it was the highest thing he could think of when he was human, but that it's essentially limitless. There'll always be something more. Meanwhile, ironically, a lot of readers seem to be focused on the idea that Griffith absolutely needs a crown and a marriage certificate in order to validate his achievements.
It surprised me how quickly the plot has moved in the Griffith POV, he has already wiped out most of the astral creatures in the east of his territory, it still makes me wonder if his war demons can keep up with this expansion, missions against the Kushan are one thing, but fighting the population of evil mythical creatures is another, what if they run into a creature on the level of the Sea God or a Kundalini, no doubt Griffith would need to replenish his casualties.. somehow , come to think of it, how are the Falcons meant to deal with specters?.
Still, this is a masterful strategy, by flooding the world with monsters and exterminating them, it allows Griffith to morally annex the entire world. I also wonder if there are any reality altering consequences to what he's doing, I can't imaigne that the astral planes on an existential level, wont be affected by having entire ecosystems wiped out, wiping out polytheism in the physical world led to an overabundance of evil spirits and negative energy, what happens when the same thing happens to this new world?.
Either way this would be an interesting opportunity to expand into other countries, perhaps even other continents, it's wishful thinking, but I think it would be a waste to focus only on Europe if the entire planet has been inflicted with astral creatures.
, come to think of it, how are the Falcons meant to deal with specters?.Still, this is a masterful strategy, by flooding the world with monsters and exterminating them, it allows Griffith to morally annex the entire world. I also wonder if there are any reality altering consequences to what he's doing, I can't imaigne that the astral planes on an existential level, wont be affected by having entire ecosystems wiped out, wiping out polytheism in the physical world led to an overabundance of evil spirits and negative energy, what happens when the same thing happens to this new world?.
Either way this would be an interesting opportunity to expand into other countries, perhaps even other continents, it's wishful thinking, but I think it would be a waste to focus only on Europe if the entire planet has been inflicted with astral creatures.
Miura's comment, courtesy of Puella:
Looking down at the sunrise from my studio at dawn, lines of troops coming from Comic Market! ...This is it, the title of this episode! ( ☆∀☆)
** In Japanese, both 'sunrise' and 'dawn' are the same word that is used for the episode title.
Looking down at the sunrise from my studio at dawn, lines of troops coming from Comic Market! ...This is it, the title of this episode! ( ☆∀☆)
** In Japanese, both 'sunrise' and 'dawn' are the same word that is used for the episode title.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
He's all benevolent now, but just wait until Episode 358: Get Off My Lawn!
Summary: Griffith expels a group of troublesome children from the Castle Falconia courtyard because their incessant racket won't allow him to concentrate on meeting his literal world shaping deadlines! A political firestorm erupts and loyalties are shaken when the children's bones are later discovered in Zodd's doggy dish.
jackson_hurley
even the horses are cut in half!
Griffith said:
Damn what would this board be without you Grif? HahahaThank you as always Aaz (and of course Puella) for the comment!
Digital magazine is out https://www.hakusensha-e.net/top?id=16906
Hopefully, the delay is because Miura's working on a bombshell, whether in Falconia or Elfhelm. I'm expecting the next batch to be especially good. Hopefully we see the Godhand, Skully, or Casca and Guts. The Bakiraka village would be pretty amazing too.
BiQ_
" ... "
While I'm not sure the next scene will be of Guts & Casca, although I do hope so, while I'm actually expecting us to see Rickert and friends next... we are sooner (or maybe a bit later?) going to see Guts' and Casca's first true interaction in a godawful long time. Miura only gets a one pass at it (well, except for possible small-scale edits for tankoubon release, I guess) and this will be one of the defining character moments for the work he is, lets be honest here, going to be most remembered for.
While I admit being impatient to see how it goes, this is also those times when I really-really-especially-strongly wouldn't dream of blaming him for taking the time to get it absolutely right.
While I admit being impatient to see how it goes, this is also those times when I really-really-especially-strongly wouldn't dream of blaming him for taking the time to get it absolutely right.