I saw a previous comment stating something like this, so this image is indeed confirmed or highly likely the next image we would've seen in a new Episode?Here's what happens next:
Episode 364
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Yes, it seems extremely likely to me that it would been in the first few pages of episode 365. That being said, I don't expect that Guts would have been able to strike down Griffith, nor that a full-on fight would have taken place. Between Casca overlooking the scene and Danan being not too far away (not to mention the gurus and the Skull Knight), I think it would have quickly ended with some very dramatic parting words and Griffith taking off into the night sky.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Maybe, but who's to say there wouldn't have more establishing shots, or the context might be a little different, etc. I mean, I'm surprised Guts looks so composed there, if not fully armored up. Obviously there was more to be said.
On the other hand, reading this episode as it was intended, leading to 365 and beyond, there's a lot of dark foreshadowing to me concerning the significance of Griffith, the most dangerous man in the world, getting on the inside of the island's defenses. It seems like something that shouldn't have happened normally, and could obviously be a very bad thing when you just look at it as a God Hand teleporting in. We all assume the child is a disadvantage for Griffith, but in this case it might have made things all too easy.
So, my reading of it is they're kind of fucked, which would of course be a great catalyst for the rest to come...
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Rhombaad
Video Game Time Traveler
The Exhibition.
OK thanks, I get it now. It would've been interesting to see what happened, but this last scene in Episode 364 it's really good setting things up for something we'll never get :( But grateful nonetheless, any new panel is a gift now.
DANGERDOOOOM
Rest In Peace, Kentaro Miura. We will miss you.
Do you think that really would have happened? I’m still wondering if he would at that instant because just a second ago he was looking at his son. I guess it’s all just speculation now, but I feel he would have hesitated and not swung at him. At least at that moment.Here's what happens next:
Well, he happens to be the most powerful being in the world as well, so if he couldn't get in, presumably nothing could. That being said, I think the real reason he got through without triggering any alarm bells is because he was in the form of the boy. It's not that they're incompetent or their defenses are powerless so much so that this situation is a never-seen-before scenario. Much like the boy doesn't make the Brand bleed, he didn't raise suspicions beyond noticing there's something special about him (they comment on it in some detail but I haven't checked it yet). So it's not like any member of the God Hand could just waltz in without anyone noticing.
Still, like you say it does put them in a really tight spot, because the super bad guy is now right there in their midst. However I don't think Griffith is about to wreak havoc here, especially since the boy can presumably still push him around in case his parents are endangered, like what happened on the Hill of Swords. I imagine he would have easily evaded whatever Guts tried (and maybe without needing to do much at all, given Guts' deteriorated physical condition), dropped some world shattering lines, then left. Maybe because reinforcements (i.e. Danan, the gurus, SK) were coming, maybe just because he had nothing more to say.
I don't think they're "fucked" as in the situation is hopeless, but I believe this reveal would have triggered the chain of events that would have eventually resulted in Guts' group leaving the island for their final journey. The main impetus would of course be the need to save their son, with revenge being second and saving the world third.
Before that happens though I think the island would have come under some form of attack. Either apostles or maybe a member of the God Hand like I speculated in the past, or why not even both. The group would also have needed to get their things in order, with the most important thing being for Guts to stop passively killing himself. But there's also the matter of Casca returning to fighting shape (with some new tricks), Schierke and Farnese furthering their mastery of magic, Isidro and even Azan getting better as well... Plus a bunch of character development. Lots of stuff!
Yeah I think it just fits perfectly. Keep in mind Guts hasn't realized it's his son yet at this point (while Casca apparently did or is very close to), and that his reactions to Griffith tend to be very intense and very violent. So I think he would have tried something, not clearly understanding the situation, but it wouldn't have gone far. And then he might have understood, perhaps from Casca, perhaps from Griffith himself, or maybe even from the Skull Knight. "I told you it would bring you pain".
Another interesting tidbit from this episode is apparently, if I am understanding Danan correctly, is that the muddled flow of time on the island can also sometimes end up being the opposite of how it was initially described (which was where very little time passes on the island, while much time/years can pass in the outside world), as Danan said that days could pass by on the island while the full moon of the night sky of the outside world barely progresses (i.e. meaning more time passes on the island, while less time passes in the outside world)?
Yes, Danan says that days can pass on the island while there's a full moon night in the outside world.
And if you'll remember, I told people from the very beginning not to draw strict conclusions about how time flows on the island, warning them that it might not be simply a matter of it going linearly slower following a fixed formula. Of course at the time not many listened.
This release summed up what i loved about the manga. The character interactions, the humor, the self-reflective moments, the suspense, and this awesome pull by the end of every release that leaves you wanting more. Im just insanely thankful that Young Animal and Studio Gaga gave us the chance to experience Kentaro Miura's final manuscript once again after his passing.
32 years, 41 volumes, insane dedication and the result of a unique talent. The only thing that comes to my mind is that im just thankful, seriously. This series gave me so much strength still does. Regarding the episode, it has to be one of my favorite ones from Berserk.
I particularly loved the page where Casca is sleeping with the boy. The full moon in the background, and her experience as Elaine shown through her perspective, only to flip to the next page and have this amazing re-drawn version of that iconic page from the Conviction arc.
The flow towards the end where the boy reverts back to Griffith is just done so well. I know most of us here on the forum were already aware and found the moonlight boy-griffith stuff obvious by now, but i love how Miura put that page with the demon child in this release shortly prior to Griffith taking over the body. It puts the journey of the boy and Griffith into a neat tidy context while at the same time creating immense suspense with Guts, Casca and Griffith.
The final line of the release is just iconic. The comparison of Femtos tear to morning dew is a nice metaphorical way of putting his characters emotional state into context. Only Miura would come up with such a great line. And honestly just like Griffith, as this release is settling in, i still have to shed a tear thinking about what this series and Miura meant to me. Thank you so much
And btw, that joke with the boy sucking on Puck and him remembering it from Casca is classic Miura. Im gonna miss his jokes
32 years, 41 volumes, insane dedication and the result of a unique talent. The only thing that comes to my mind is that im just thankful, seriously. This series gave me so much strength still does. Regarding the episode, it has to be one of my favorite ones from Berserk.
I particularly loved the page where Casca is sleeping with the boy. The full moon in the background, and her experience as Elaine shown through her perspective, only to flip to the next page and have this amazing re-drawn version of that iconic page from the Conviction arc.
The flow towards the end where the boy reverts back to Griffith is just done so well. I know most of us here on the forum were already aware and found the moonlight boy-griffith stuff obvious by now, but i love how Miura put that page with the demon child in this release shortly prior to Griffith taking over the body. It puts the journey of the boy and Griffith into a neat tidy context while at the same time creating immense suspense with Guts, Casca and Griffith.
The final line of the release is just iconic. The comparison of Femtos tear to morning dew is a nice metaphorical way of putting his characters emotional state into context. Only Miura would come up with such a great line. And honestly just like Griffith, as this release is settling in, i still have to shed a tear thinking about what this series and Miura meant to me. Thank you so much
And btw, that joke with the boy sucking on Puck and him remembering it from Casca is classic Miura. Im gonna miss his jokes
This episode is so sweet. Page after page of the children playing together, Casca being genuinely at peace, and a legitimate smile from Guts. It's one of the most pretty looking episodes of Berserk as well, in my opinion, and it's a real emblematic one to end on: tender, warm, and nuanced. It shows all the beautiful ways Berserk has evolved over time. A fantastic final episode.
What a wonderful way for the series to (probably) come to an end. It's been so long since we saw our dear characters have such peaceful moments.
Knowing this is the last bit of work Miura ever did feels especially sad.
While I know it might not be the best moment to say this, I just have to talk about something. Assuming the master didn't do all of the work, I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed by the talented people over at studio Gaga. I could honestly be fooled that all this was the master's doing. Amazing work.
Knowing this is the last bit of work Miura ever did feels especially sad.
While I know it might not be the best moment to say this, I just have to talk about something. Assuming the master didn't do all of the work, I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed by the talented people over at studio Gaga. I could honestly be fooled that all this was the master's doing. Amazing work.
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jackson_hurley
even the horses are cut in half!
Well from what I understand that was said here, they finished the inking and some panels. Which I also think I found the ones they worked on. I should compare with @Aazealh about that cause I think he also found which ones. 
So most of the episode is by Miura himself. Please correct me if I got that all wrong though.
So most of the episode is by Miura himself. Please correct me if I got that all wrong though.
It's almost poetic how this final episode Miura blessed us with brings so many heartwarming and bittersweet moments, things us fans have been clamouring for for years. The ending as well feels like a reflection of us readers. Like the boy we don't want to go. That tear on the final page feels symbolic of the entire Berserk fanbase after reading this episode and accepting that this is the end...
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
That's basically all I meant, that I don't think this was something Griffith/Femto could have achieved easily, or without being detected from far away and setting off an appropriate response, whereas clearly they weren't able to detect anything from the boy, and it objectively puts the Island in a compromised situation they couldn't have otherwise expected, even, or especially, from the incarnated God Hand.
"iT WaS aLl PaRt Of THe PlAn!" 
<(oh, fuck this guy)It's possible this was just a big revelation before a fight to come later (like if now Griffith can come back as he pleases with reinforcements, or maybe Zodd et all aren't far behind), it's certainly big enough on its own, but as we've noted before, the rule is usually that there's a fight, and this is a pretty delicious setup for him wreak havoc as you put it and for us to see him in an actual battle with magic users. Plus, if he devastated the place and left because of the child or something it would set off the rest of the series like Hill of Swords 2.0. It could have essentially checked all those boxes we thought were going to happen above (I mean, a God Hand already HAS shown up, your man is right there =). The fact that you don't think so though gives me self doubt since you're usually right.
Agreed, but I don't know how much of that they'd get to do in peace or at their own pace and how much of it would have to come with time as they worked on the fly. Certainly, Griffith throwing down the gauntlet and them preparing to face him again in earnest would have been a great alternative to something more climatic now.
I'm convinced that people will never accept that Berserk is done. The number of comments I saw that took the statement at the end of this episode as PROOF that Berserk was getting a continuation was astounding.I keep seeing people comment online saying studio gaga will eventually continue berserk. It literally says END on the last page.
Do they know how to read English? If anything it should be proof this is truly the end. They have not mentioned anything about Miura leaving manuscripts or notes to work with so anything they would come out with would not be authentic. Again, the fact that it literally says END is enough for me to understand lol. It would make no sense to later have a new episode after saying that.
Yes it ends on a cliffhanger, but it really was a nice slice of life episode and we get the reunion of the big 3 at the end. No matter how big a cliffhanger we got, I would take it just to have more of Miura's work and art to admire.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
The ideal scenario for people to get some inoffensive continuation or closure, other than resurrection, would have been if Berserk had had a respectable ongoing anime series that already deviated sensibly where appropriate for the medium and could have at least ended on its own terms with some closure for these characters by professionals that had collaborated with Miura. So, not an authentic continuation of the manga, but not a bastardization of it either, just its own thing people could take or leave and get some enjoyment from. Best not to dwell on this though, most outlets are reporting appropriately about the context and content of the editorial statement gently saying this is it, but people are going to read into what it says, or doesn't, what they want to hear. I mean, I still see people in disbelief "the SK.net guys were actually right about the Moonlight Boy" when I thought that was basically accepted as all but certain, if not already canon, unless proven otherwise (I guess Schierke's red herring provided some cover for deniers). At least we got saved a million dumb arguments about that one at the last possible moment.
The only other acceptable scenario I can think of would be if Miura's mangaka friends and assistants wrote and illustrated an unofficial tribute episode that sort of said goodbye to Guts, Casca, all the other characters and Miura himself in a meta way that clearly wasn't supposed to be the actual ending but was acknowledging the end and giving some closure to fans of Berserk and Miura. That's not too far off from this issue of Young Animal is trying to provide though, with the benefit of the actual last episode Miura made.
The only other acceptable scenario I can think of would be if Miura's mangaka friends and assistants wrote and illustrated an unofficial tribute episode that sort of said goodbye to Guts, Casca, all the other characters and Miura himself in a meta way that clearly wasn't supposed to be the actual ending but was acknowledging the end and giving some closure to fans of Berserk and Miura. That's not too far off from this issue of Young Animal is trying to provide though, with the benefit of the actual last episode Miura made.
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What an incredible final goodbye from Miura sensei, I am so grateful we got to see this.
Only because I spent 15 years hammering it in.
I think it was basically 90% complete. There's only one panel where it's obvious Miura did not draw Guts: the bottom one where he sends the boy back to Casca, Isidro and Isma after they share a dad+son moment. I could immediately tell when I saw it, but you know what? It's fine. And the rest of the stuff is almost seamless. I'm just glad we got this episode, and very grateful to the team for pulling through in what must have truly been the darkest of times for them.
If you think Femto is talking about how he feels lonely, then I don't think you're understanding the scene correctly. It's about how the boy's feelings linger only for a brief moment before disappearing.
It all seems pretty clear to me... And no, she does not immediately know who he is...
Uhhh, it's all in there. One is literally the first panel of the episode. Really, please just read it carefully...
It's possible this was just a big revelation before a fight to come later (like if now Griffith can come back as he pleases with reinforcements, or maybe Zodd et all aren't far behind), it's certainly big enough on its own, but as we've noted before, the rule is usually that there's a fight, and this is a pretty delicious setup for him wreak havoc as you put it and for us to see him in an actual battle with magic users. Plus, if he devastated the place and left because of the child or something it would set off the rest of the series like Hill of Swords 2.0. It could have essentially checked all those boxes we thought were going to happen above (I mean, a God Hand already HAS shown up, your man is right there =). The fact that you don't think so though gives me self doubt since you're usually right.
Well, the thing is, I don't think at this point in the series we would just have gotten a repeat of Flora's or of the Hill of Swords, where basically the good guys get devastated. Guts & company can't just run away towards a far off place anymore: they're already there! When they leave the island it will need to be with a plan of action to actually beat Griffith (however slight their chances might be). Plus, given Femto's typical disinterest and the boy's possible interference, I feel that there would be a non-negligible risk for him to try and wing it all by himself (while buck naked to boot). You just know the Skull Knight is lying in wait ready to spring (he hints it's why he's here in episode 363). In a way, Griffith is also in a pickle, he's "waking up" in probably the last place he wants to be!
Besides, there's much more development that needs to take place on the island, including stuff we already got teased like Schierke learning to summon Daimons. They can't leave precipitately because this is basically their second to last stop before the big showdown, and the next one (the Bakiraka fortress) won't afford nearly the same opportunities. So my take is: Griffith leaves after a quick skirmish (lasting from a few pages to a full episode) and some smack talk. He later sends in the troops and a big battle ensues. The good guys win, but it's harrowing. Guts' group leaves afterwards (they can't stay on the island for too long anyway) with renewed determination despite having only a slim hope.
Now, in theory Griffith himself could return with his shock troops and take part in the battle directly. They can't travel there by themselves anyway. But the main reason I like the idea of another member of the God Hand attacking (either alone or separately from the apostles) is because Conrad or Ubik could be killed (with tremendous effort) and the story would progress naturally. However Griffith can't be defeated at this point, and yet he also can't just crush them. Could there be a crazy stalemate where it still feels real and dramatic? Well, I'm sure Miura could have done it (or anything else), but it seems harder to pull off.
In any case, I have to go against the general sentiment here and say that I sure wish we could have gotten episode 365, because I bet you it would have been absolutely amazing, and an even better place to leave the series at. But as the Skull Knight would say: you don't always get what you wish for.
I keep seeing people comment online saying studio gaga will eventually continue berserk. It literally says END on the last page.
Like Walter's been saying, you can't fight hope with logic. It's not unlike the whole "fake news" phenomenon: people will distort reality to an amazing extent so that it fits their beliefs. They just perceive the world differently than normal people do. I'd love to talk to a neuroscientist about it.
Anyway, what's truly sad to me is the fact they can't comprehend that Miura literally was Berserk. It can't possibly be the same without him, regardless of whether a continuation project is eventually launched or not. But I guess maybe they don't even care. They just want more of the BRAND™. Good or bad, no matter what it is or who's doing it, they want to consume the BRAND™ because they've come to identify with it, like it's a sports team or a car manufacturer or something.
To be honest, I had always been sure of the connection between the baby and Griffith ever since the Moonlight Child's first appearance at the seaside (vol.28, if I don't mistake).
You'll have to forgive me for going into the pop-culture politics of the last decade, but a lot of people today have no respect or even appreciation for authorship.
There is a higher proportion of Berserk fans who understand that, no, without Miura, Berserk is finished, and anything that might come afterwards in its stead will be a new entity altogether, but there still are a lot of people who just want more brand product.
The connection between Griffith and the Demon Child is made clear in volume 21 when we see his body transform as Femto gets incarnated into the corporeal world. In volume 22, we then get the revelation that the child hasn't been completely destroyed in the process, that at least a part of him still lingers within Griffith. It's a key scene.
Of course, many of us on skullknight.net immediately made the connection between the boy and the demon child when episode 238 came out in April 2004, as it's pretty obvious what Miura was implying. But what was a lot less simple was reconciling the fact Griffith felt the child's emotions on the Hill of Swords with the fact the boy was an apparent reincarnation of said child.
The real difficulty was in determining that the Boy in the Moonlight has the same corporeal body as Griffith, shapeshifted during the full moon as Guts and Casca's child manages to take back control over Femto. And not just theorizing it, but having a basis to prove it.
Yeah, I know. I find that sad and repugnant.
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