nostyleart
Quixotic
What a wild ride it's been..
I can't wait to get translations and see how her persona has changed.It looks like Guts is triggering it for her, much like previous assaults had. It seems like they are able to talk, but the sight of him makes her go full PTSD. I love the amount covered in this episode. Great new armor designs and Casca's new gear is reminiscent of her original set, and it looks really cool.
That's not from Elfhelm, it's the magicians of Skellig who keep these. And as we've been told, they're "taboo", or at least the Wickerman was. As for their actual origin, it's not too hard to guess. It must be tied to the creation of that community back in ancient times (Gaiseric's time, and a chaotic time similar to Fantasia). As I speculated back when we first saw the Wickerman, it gives us an insight into how humans dealt with such a world back then, and to how they dealt with each other too. I believe it will play a key role in explaining the conflict between mankind-led-by-the-God-Hand and the astral world in the future. I've been frustrating Walter for months because I have a big post about this stuff that I started after 358 and still haven't finished. Will try to get it done.
I would be all aboard for Casca to be the one that says, no you fucker, you wont leave again! We stick together and pull throw.I agree that Guts will almost certainly pull away from the group now that his goal is accomplished, but I think Casca will have something to say about that.
Shame she's not physically able to tell him that to his face.I would be all aboard for Casca to be the one that says, no you fucker, you wont leave again! We stick together and pull throw.
She doesn't have to....directly i mean, just having her tackle the issue, putting her foot in the ground and deciding for herrself, no your not going to run away again, were going to have to deal with this sooner or later.Shame she's not physically able to tell him that to his face
What was supposed to be the culmination of Guts' journey and his most hard-won victory to date has just become another crushing defeat on the road. That last image of his silhouette walking away from the group feels foreboding, like he's going to leave everyone behind once more. Just like he did to the Falcons all the way back in the Golden Age. And just like he did to Casca after the Eclipse. Guts vowed he would never abandon Casca again. But now, it doesn't seem like he'll have any choice.
Great episode. I loved it despite how heartbreaking it is.
On the topic of the next episode, I saw this post on /a/ not too long ago. And honestly, I can see this happening in some way.
>next chapter, Skull Knight will talk to Guts
>will explain to him that Casca's trauma manifests differently
>Guts trauma manifested as hatred, while Casca's manifests as shock and despair
>he will tell Guts that he inadvertently caused the astral merge
>but that it may have been a blessing in disguise
>all five members of the God Hand now exist within our physical dimension
>asks Guts to join him and track them down
>Guts will remark that seeing Casca like this has only made him revile Griffith more
>he will accompany Skull Knight
>but will remark that he will only come if his party will join him
>he'll mention how he will never abandon his companions again, and it will show him walking away from the Hawks in the snow / leaving Rickert and Casca in the cave
>Skull Knight will agree, and will remark that having witches alongside them will prove helpful
>Skull Knight has been recruited
And as much as I would have loved to have a quiet tender moment between her and Guts upon her restoration, the PTSD attacks are quite compelling.
As a long time fan, it was surreal seeing some of these interactions unfold, but this episode was also filled with such bittersweetness! You can really feel Guts's conflict here. After so much travel, pain and uncertainty, I'm sure there's nothing he'd like to do more than look at Casca and talk with her, but he can't even do that much right now!
I agree that Guts will almost certainly pull away from the group now that his goal is accomplished, but I think Casca will have something to say about that. Overall, I was really excited by how Casca is jumping back into things. Even without being able to understand the dialogue, Casca's expressions and actions suggest to me that she's eager to return to her old self. I don't think I was alone in assuming that Casca would be in a darker place after the scream, but she seems to be moving quickly in a positive direction.
As a sidenote... was not predicting the return to her old hairstyle! I guess my stylish bob guess is out of the running!
Then we get to see Casca kicking ass once again. Plus, something I was truly hoping for happened: she and Isidro sparred together!
Hello
I just saw this episode right now and oh my god,it was beautiful yet painful to read.
So many emotions conveyed with just 27 pages.
I'm glad to see that Miura is still a damn good writer,I never expected him to go this way with the story,nor I expected that it would be so good.
Even the art was beautiful in this episode,the details,the character faces and expressions,his compositions... everything.
One of the best ones in a while.
Anyway,I just thought about something in particular,so excuse me if it's a silly question,but:
Have Skull Knight ever meet the Moonlight Boy?
Or does he know him?
I think they didn't appear at the same time yet. I wonder if Skully will notice something weird (if you know what I mean) about him.
What was supposed to be the culmination of Guts' journey and his most hard-won victory to date has just become another crushing defeat on the road.
That last image of his silhouette walking away from the group feels foreboding, like he's going to leave everyone behind once more. Just like he did to the Falcons all the way back in the Golden Age. And just like he did to Casca after the Eclipse. Guts vowed he would never abandon Casca again. But now, it doesn't seem like he'll have any choice.
On the topic of the next episode
Have Skull Knight ever meet the Moonlight Boy?
Or does he know him?
I think they didn't appear at the same time yet. I wonder if Skully will notice something weird (if you know what I mean) about him.
I don't think that's how things are going to go down. One, Skull Knight is pretty good at tracking down the God Hand by himself, I don't know how he expects Guts to help on that front. Two, this is just reducing Guts' character down to "GRRR, HATE GRIFFITH, RRRR!" when what Guts should be feeling is devastation, sadness, perhaps even resignation. And three, I think the arrival of a certain guest on the island (or would it count as a couple of guests?) is what's going to be the real catalyst to determine what everyone is going to do from here. Not some conversation with Bone Daddy.Great episode. I loved it despite how heartbreaking it is.
On the topic of the next episode, I saw this post on /a/ not too long ago. And honestly, I can see this happening in some way.
>next chapter, Skull Knight will talk to Guts
>will explain to him that Casca's trauma manifests differently
>Guts trauma manifested as hatred, while Casca's manifests as shock and despair
>he will tell Guts that he inadvertently caused the astral merge
>but that it may have been a blessing in disguise
>all five members of the God Hand now exist within our physical dimension
>asks Guts to join him and track them down
>Guts will remark that seeing Casca like this has only made him revile Griffith more
>he will accompany Skull Knight
>but will remark that he will only come if his party will join him
>he'll mention how he will never abandon his companions again, and it will show him walking away from the Hawks in the snow / leaving Rickert and Casca in the cave
>Skull Knight will agree, and will remark that having witches alongside them will prove helpful
>Skull Knight has been recruited
I'm not saying that Guts thinking about leaving RIGHT NOW. The only thing he's doing in this episode is putting distance between himself and Casca. What I am saying is that the imagery used feels like it could be foreshadowing future events.I think it's plausible to assume he'll think about leaving, and that Miura will address the subject, but I hope Guts is not that naïve as to believe she would heal that quickly so in their second encounter everything would be alright -if that was the case, the utter deception of the result would be a natural cause for him leaving-. Also, don't forget that the last time Casca screamed was after seeing Guts too (I'm not saying this time he was the trigger instead of thinking of Judeau), and we don't know yet his reaction then, as we're not shown the immediate aftermath of their first encounter; why should we assume he's leaving for sure just because there's that reminiscent panel? Maybe his reaction then was the same as the shown here. If he stayed the first time and tried a second, why shouldn't there be a third if he vowed not to abandon her?
I agree, from our perspective as readers, this is progress. But I don't know if Guts will see it the same way when he can't even be in the same room as her now.That's not how I would put it. Obviously Guts is dejected, that's normal. But it's still ENORMOUS progress. She's back. There are still hurdles, but she's back. And they have a group of supporting friends to help them through it.
I agree, from our perspective as readers, this is progress. But I don't know if Guts will see it the same way when he can't even be in the same room as her now.
And one thing I wonder is if he might not need to shed the Black Swordsman look and identity as a result of all that. Because that's what seems to be associated with Casca's trauma, and that's not ALL of what Guts is. It's just "an image", as Miura would say. I'm rambling but I think t here's a strong thematic stake going on here.
Like I said before, I think there's something going on with the whole Black Swordsman persona, I feel like it might play a role in Casca's association of Guts with the apostles, the Eclipse, etc. In volume 14, when they asked him why he dressed like that, he said it was because he would be fighting in the dark. I think that darkness he's shrouded himself in isn't anodine here.
Guts might be tempted to strike it on his own, and it's his friends and of course Casca herself who will need to grab him back.
Obviously not the focus of the episode, but I wonder if Danan's ability to make armor spring to life with the fighting prowess of its former user is a skill she's ever used before?
That's not how I would put it. Obviously Guts is dejected, that's normal. But it's still ENORMOUS progress. She's back. There are still hurdles, but she's back. And they have a group of supporting friends to help them through it.
I addressed that in a big post earlier on, but I'll just that while I think Guts will consider ostracizing himself from the group in some way (with the reasoning that they'll be better off without him), he ultimately won't do it, and they won't let him do it anyway.
I don't think the Skull Knight will join Guts' group.
As a reminder, the timing of the Skull Knight's appearance on the beach in volume 28 was really extremely close to that of the Moonlight Boy. They've never faced each other, but it's probably better not to assume too much regarding what he knows or doesn't. And he was there when Casca gave birth in volume 14.
She seems to be a bit more mature as well (not just physically).
It's also a good thing that she remembers past events and characters, it would've been a shame had she needed to start from scratch, and quite frustrating for us I imagine.
It's been a while since we've seen Guts have a change of look by the way, but I have a hard time imagining him leaving behind the Berserker's Armor and the Dragonslayer
Danan doesn't seem to say anything about the former user's fighting prowess being part of the equation when animating those straw puppets.
Having the enchanted armors in the beginning of the episode was a genius way to bring back Skull Knight into the fray....
I definitely see that happening and in some funny way were it's right in front of Guts and Casca and they share some witty banter or a exchange a smug look.