Episode 367

I could be completely blanking here because Its been a while since I reread a lot of berserk, but is it not possible that the world spiral tree has "roots" which are connected to elfhelm, or at least the cherry blossom trees?

I thought that if this was the case, Danann could be referring to something (apostles? New band of the hawk?) coming from these "roots", causing the island to break apart as it did.

Edit: Or was it the spirit trees which withheld the growth of the world spiral tree? In which case disregard everything I said.

Of course maybe the island breaking apart was simply Griffith's doing alone. It's hard for me to tell.

Please let me know if I'm just misunderstanding some things here.
 
Welp, Sonia isn't there, so Zodd just got there on his own, or he followed Griffith, which wouldn't make sense because he was so late. No one will be able to replicate Miura's extreme attention to story and plot detail, although that was just a simple mistake by Mori and the team. Pretty good episode though, very exciting events. At least this project will show us the broader strokes of what Miura was planning.
 
Succeed how and in what way? And why?

I'm just curious.
I don't know if that's how it works but...
If the boy is controlling Griffith, maybe he will be fragilized/exposed.
Perhaps Skully is just waiting this exact moment to strike with his sword, which will finally land a critical hit on him.

Anyway I'm just rambling here, probably it won't happen but imo it's better than Casca being abducted.

 
So it seems next arc they’ll return to Falconia to rescue Casca from Griffith. Wonder if Guts can convince Skull Knight and Danann to join him.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Pretty straightforward happenings in this episode until toward the very end. I have to admit, seeing things go crazy in the final moments was the first little spark of feeling I've had for the continuation since it was announced. I was caught off guard, just like Danan. :isidro: Now, can that little spark become a flame? We'll see...

Griffith uses strong wind to blow the blossoms from the tree, which seems to have disrupted the island's defenses. Then something immediately happens: the earth shakes and starts to break apart. And from those fissures, we see specter-like beings emerge. These look unlike anything we've seen, but if I had to make any comparison, it'd be to the concentrated specters that overtook Albion. My guess is that they are ancient spirits trapped for whatever reason below the ground on Skellig, and they pooled together over centuries. We have to presume this is happening elsewhere on the island, too.

As for what Griffith's intent here is, I think it's like he's uncorked the lid of some poison that will consume the island. Meanwhile, he seems poised to take off with Casca on Zodd and leave the mess to the rest.

I don't think he'll be successful. Well... I simply don't want him to be successful. Because removing Casca from the group right now feels like a very boring possibility among many at this moment. She just reaquired the agency to be a real character again, after going through so much. Foisting her off to Falconia wouldn't be nearly as impactful as her slowly sorting things out with Guts, taking charge of the new group, and discovering all those great new dynamics between characters that we've been longing for all these years. In Falconia she would presumably be locked in a tower like a princess until the end of the series. Sorry, that just sucks.

Which is why I don't think it will work out that way. Things have gone swimmingly for Griffith so far. But he's still standing within the territory of the highest concentration of opposing forces he's faced since becoming a member of the God Hand. Skull Knight, Ged, the other gurus, Danan, they were all caught off guard. But for them to do nothing through this sequence of events? Sounds extremely unlikely. This feels like the first strike of the next round, now that the fight with Guts is effectively concluded. And we're counting down to the last 3 episodes to go in this chapter, as things escalate and forces greater than the Dragon Slayer test their mettle against Griffith.

If it plays out that way? Sounds good to me. I can squint and sort of feel how Miura would have swum through these waters. It's a good feeling, if a little awkward.

Now, on to the inevitable list of "what were they thinking?" moments:

Zodd
Why is Zodd here? It's not clear yet. I hope he didn't come expecting to be a useful defensive wall for Griffith, because that already failed. So, is it transportation? Griffith can sprout wings. Also, how is Zodd here exactly?

Sonia
According to Sonia just 10 episodes ago: "Only Lord Griffith and I can come and go through the branches without getting lost." Beyond her assurance, we also see why it's the case. Traveling through the branches produces calleidoscopic visions of different destinations. So uh... what the fuck, man? Where's Sonia? I'm at a loss for how to account for this.

Guts
We saw Guts spend a full episode swinging fruitlessly at Griffith. He's huffing and puffing and making no progress at all. Then Zodd shows up, and Guts successfully breaks through him to ... do what, exactly? We already know that he can't hit Griffith. Is this time going to be different? No. So why even bother with the same old tactic? There's no suspense in this moment. I think it only happened as a convenient way to frame that shot of Casca+Griffith+Guts all on the same page in a dramatic moment. But the formula itself is flawed and nonsensical.

The Beast
The other problem I have with Guts is that he's just doing such a damned good job of keeping the Beast in check. Way too good a job. His greatest enemy is out of reach. And this enemy is getting step by step closer and closer to Casca. I can envision how this would go under Miura's hand, and it isn't this. The wrong things are being emphasized at this moment. It falls flat, and it feels inconsistent. It's the biggest problem of the whole sequence of episodes, in my opinion. The makara on the beach outside Vritannis was too big a threat to his friends, and he had to give in to the Beast to keep them alive. But Griffith and Zodd being here is... no big deal? Help me figure this one out.

Farnese and Schierke
Listen. I get it. You're just two gals facing off with a member of the God Hand, and you get flustered. What chance do you have? But you're both there cradling your unconscious friend. You two were her last defense. And then ... what exactly happens? Where’s you go? What happened? Farnese will protect Casca with her life in Qliphoth, slicing off monster appendages with her silver knife. But Griffith comes walking toward her, who she knows is the "main culprit" of Casca's trauma, and she just ... what, exactly? Where'd she go?

I wanted to add that I think looking at the partial episode leaks as they came out was a huge mistake for me. We're already in a frame of mind to second-guess what we're seeing. So only seeing snippets of things is just asking for trouble. It led to a few headaches myself, ultimately resolved once I saw the full episode. I fell into the same trap I warned others about earlier. Fuck the partial leaks. I won't even bother next time.
 
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Like the previous episodes this one had hights and lows, but if i'm honest i see more lows specialy in the art department this is what i was worried about, the team clearly needs more time to work, that aside it seems that the island is not gonna last, what i found interesting is the fact that the cherry tree losed all his petals and how Danaan looked distressed it remind me the spring blossoms episodes, remember that Chitch was attached to the flower and how when the flower died she disappered i'm thinking if something like that could happend to Dannan.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Well, the full episode doesn't really change my view after seeing that leaked page, it was obvious what was gonna happen.
The art is still pretty good considering, as for the rest, I think Berserk crossed the Rubicon, the narrative choice to kidnap Casca and kick her to the sidelines again is laaaazy (probably Miura intended that to occur, who knows?), and it happens in such a quick and undramatic way, everyone is out of character either reacting poorly (Guts) or not at all (Farnese, Schierke).
This is Mori writing what he remembers and my man is clearly not filling in any blanks, these are broad, broad strokes, so hopefully Berserk-lite will reach the end as quickly as possible.

edit: spoiler tag
 
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Good Episode overall. I really like how they draw Griffith. But once again the lack of dialogue is showing and I feel like Schierke and Farnese should have an reaction to Griffith walking towards them. Mori did say that he doesnt want to improvise but in this case I wouldnt mind him improvising a bit so that certain characters have the right reactions. Also Zodd didnt say (not even in his mind) a word too.
 
Man this episode really made me worried about this whole thing. :sad:

There are more than a few moments where it feels like a piece of story has been removed and is not being shown to us. It makes you confused about what really just happened there. You find yourself wandering and speculating and you recognize you are not sure what to make of it and it can be interpreted in more than one way.

And more importantly, it seems like at least in some occasions these gaps are going to do a little bit of character assassination (hell, one example in this episode did more than just a little damage) and betray the characters that we've known for so long...
 
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Man this episode really made me worried about this whole thing. :sad:

There are more than a few moments where it feels like a piece of story has been removed and is not being shown to us. It makes you confused about what really just happened there. You find yourself wandering and speculating and you recognize you are not sure what to make of it and it can be interpreted in more than one way.

And more importantly, it seems like at least in some occasions these gaps are going to do a little bit of character assassination (hell, one example in this episode did more than just a little damage) and betray the characters that we've known for so long...
I understand the worry. On the one hand, I can respect Mori and Studio Gaga for not wanting to show even a bit of anything Mori doesn't remember perfectly Miura telling him, but on the other hand, not having much internal dialogue, not including a character just because Miura didn't explicitly say they were in a scene...sometimes I think it might have been better to label this "Berserk Continuation" or "Berserk 2," like someone said in a different thread, so that Mori would feel more comfortable filling in the gaps himself and trying his best to reach towards Miura's will, even for parts Miura might not have explicitly laid out in their conversations.
 
Where did Schierke and farnese go ? i don't see them when he hugs casca ? i think griffith will take casca to his kindom so when the moonlight take over his boy won't go far like that + where is skull night ?
 
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There's a lot to digest here, some good, some bad, and some...unclear.

The Good

There's definitely a lot of excitement going on. Griffith is doing something on the island that's threatening to tear it apart from the inside, and that definitely has me nervous in all the best ways. Skellig was supposed to be the last safe haven, the greatest concentration of those opposed to the God Hand, and the source of some of the most powerful magic in the world, and now just one member appears to be putting it on the brink of destruction like it's nothing (though he had to take advantage of some fortuitous circumstances to make it happen). And I especially liked how he was able to do so with that sinisterly subtle touch of his, seemingly calling on a gust of wind that just seems to blow all the leaves off the great cherry tree. Kind of like how wind just seemed to miraculously appear when he confronted Ganishka, forcing the emperor our of his mist form.

Granted, I'm expecting, or perhaps more accurately hoping, that this won't completely destroy the island and that after this initial blow, Danann, the elves, the gurus, the witches, the Skull Knight, and our heroes will be able to rally and launch a counterattack that will result in perhaps a (small) victory of sorts. Taking Walter's speculations from the last episode thread into account, it would appear Griffith is aiming to make an evacuation, rather than launch an invasion, though not without causing as much damage as he can in the process. I definitely want to see what's going to happen next.

Concerning the fight with Zodd, while I'll echo the sentiments that it was poorly handled and that our flyboi feels kind of...pointless here, I am actually pretty excited to see one thing happen in terms of the overall narrative. Namely, the fact that Guts was able to get past him. Last time they clashed, Zodd completely blocked Guts and prevented him from even getting within sword-distance of Griffith. That wasn't the case at all this time. No, it didn't accomplish anything, Guts still wasn't able to cut Griffith, but he was able to outmaneuver Zodd and reach him. It's progress. Not a lot, but progress nonetheless. Maybe next time, he will make Griffith bleed. Maybe next time, he will slay Zodd once and for all.

The Mixed

I really don't like the idea of Casca being kidnapped, not when she just came back to us. Narratively, it makes sense why Griffith would do it. The Child is proving to be too great of a liability, and the best method he has in getting that issue under control might be to put his parents, or at least just his mother, in a location that's safe, secure, and most importantly, close by. Unfortunately, if Casca is brought to Falconia, I have a hard time picturing what she would be able to do there besides sit pretty. While it would open up the possibility of her interacting with old friends like Charlotte and Luca, and perhaps, I dunno, forming a resistance from within, Griffith is not going to let her wander around freely and put seditious ideas into his people's heads. More likely, he's just going to lock her up. Even if she were to somehow escape, she would have one helluva time staying free when no doubt every Apostle in the city would be on high alert looking for her.

That being said, this is obviously something Miura planned, and Miura not once ever disappointed me. He always knew how to catch you with a curveball that you never saw coming, but which still made logical sense without the scope of the story. So I'm willing to take a "wait and see" approach here.

Like Walter, I'm hoping this abduction is going to fail. That in terms of the greater story, Casca's not so much going to be a damsel in distress, but that the attempt at kidnapping her will cause a chain of events to unfold that will lead us to the next major leg of the plot, if not the final one. I expected that Casca and Guts would be split up again because the former won't be able to properly heal while in the presence of the latter, and I also expected that whatever happened on the island, it would result in the crew dividing into smaller groups going on their own separate journeys that would all in some way contribute to Griffith's downfall. And this abduction might be the catalyst for it. How exactly, I can't really say. Maybe it causes some of our heroes to embark on a fierce chase in the branches of the World Tree that will lead to some them and Casca getting lost and ending up in different corners of the world. Whatever. I'm interested in seeing where this leads, but I'm nervous that it may end up disappointing me.

The Bad

The pacing is too fast. Everything is just breezing by to the point where it feels like we're missing whole pages. Such as how did Guts truly get past Zodd? Or what the hell happened to Schierke and Farnese? They appeared on a grand total of three panels in this episode, do jack-all in all of them, and disappear without a trace once Griffith reaches Casca. The action just isn't good at all. And that's to say nothing of the general lack of emotion we see in the whole thing. We don't see any indication that Guts is struggling to hold back the Beast, even though he is facing his greatest enemy and the source of all his rage. All of this is most definitely a result of Mori's strict adherence to what Miura told him, or at least what he can remember what Miura told him, and his refusal to make up anything original. While it's admirable how he's trying to respect his friend's vision, the simple truth is there are still gaps that need to be filled in because there are many details Miura obviously wouldn't tell him for whatever reason. And that's leading to some sloppy, truncated storytelling.

Then there's the whole issue of Zodd's presence, or more accurately, Sonia's absence. We can see plain as day she's not riding on Zodd's back, so unless she's sitting up in the World Tree branch he emerged from and playing solitaire, we might have ourselves a major contradiction in the lore. Maybe there's a good explanation in how he was able navigate his way through the trees, but...well, my skepticism just shows how without Miura at the helm, I'm always going to be questioning what's going on in this manga from here on out.:sad:
 
I'm worried about Dannan after this episode. Besides becoming weakened at Griffiths presence, the falling of the cherry blossoms is reminiscent of how Chitch passed on. I fear the placement of those episodes before this section of the story had some foreshadowing implications I wasn't aware of until just now :(
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
There are more than a few moments where it feels like a piece of story has been removed and is not being shown to us. It makes you confused about what really just happened there. You find yourself wandering and speculating and you recognize you are not sure what to make of it and it can be interpreted in more than one way.

And more importantly, it seems like at least in some occasions these gaps are going to do a little bit of character assassination (hell, one example in this episode did more than just a little damage) and betray the characters that we've known for so long...

Those are the hard limits of attempting to not improvise too much while also doing a direct continuation of the manga (versus a summarized illustrated version). Unfortunately there's no solution to the problem, nor should we expect it to get better.

sometimes I think it might have been better to label this "Berserk Continuation" or "Berserk 2," like someone said in a different thread, so that Mori would feel more comfortable filling in the gaps himself and trying his best to reach towards Miura's will, even for parts Miura might not have explicitly laid out in their conversations.

It should be called something else regardless. I frankly find it ridiculous Hakusensha thought it was fine to not distinguish between the series as it was and this new endeavor (independent of its quality). That aside, I want to point out that they already are filling gaps to some extent. I don't doubt Miura talked to Mori a lot, but he can't have told him precise dialogue or background details or specific poses and reactions, etc. There's a lot of things they have to make up for it to be viable at all.

So for people who care about Miura's vision, I think it's important to keep in mind that this is essentially an interpretation of how he must have roughly described his ideas, before they were fully formed. And as we move forward it's likely the team will have to interpret more and more things.
 
I just read the episode.

1) First thinking: "Where is Sonia?" "How did Zodd arrive on the island?"

2) I was convinced that Skull Night was together with Danan, but it's not so. Consequently, I believe we'll see him in the next episode. At least, I hope it.

3) The choice narrative about Casca (kidnapping), I don't like so much. But before to give an opinion, I want to read the new episode and see how it developes the story after "that final".

4) I haven't understood what happened to Schierke and Farnese...

5) The art was so and so.
 
the art got a little worse this episode, it seems the trend, as they strive to keep the releases the stress and tight deadlines will impact the art, some of the Serpico panels were down right terrible, the only real consistent part were the backgrounds, backgrounds for the most part look great.

panels very confusing, as many pointed out, farnese and schierke were all over the place

and what hurt most is the lack of dialogue, what is Schierke thinking on seeing an godhand for the first time, face to face, the cause of guts and casca sorrows, and on his "pretty" form, does she gets conflicted? would she see the shadow of Femto? and Farnese, that have grown sow much as person taking care of Casca, will simply let griffith take her?

and casca herself, is just being reduced to a plot device, a "sorry guts, your princess is in another castle, go do angry man all over again"
i understand that most of the broad strokes were Miura points, and that the team is doing the best job possible, but still, it should indeed be "Berserk Lite" or something else
but i'm sure the majority of the new fans, who just like to consume new media at a neck breaking pace, from a deluge a half baked stream tv shows will more than happily accept a deluge of mediocre berserk content
 
I’m thinking a Casca abduction doesn’t necessarily mean she’s now a plot device. Maybe an escape or a rescue mission is due soon.

In general my thoughts have been summarized pretty well from Walter and Cyrus.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I’m thinking a Casca abduction doesn’t necessarily mean she’s now a plot device. Maybe an escape or a rescue mission is due soon.

Yeah, I talked about it in the chat and in short I don't think Miura would have just left her stuck in a cell for the remainder of the series. I don't believe it's what he wanted for her character, and it wouldn't make sense even just from a storytelling perspective. That said, it would have been difficult to weave these two storylines at once. As usual, the worry is that in the current context, such a scenario won't be properly explored and developed.
 
I wish I didn't care so much for Berserk because I do think they are going beyond their capabilities. That being said, of course this version can't be said to have much in common to what Miura would have done, even with the team knowing all the major story beats.

Thought bubbles are a terrible loss in such a flurry of action such as this, specially when the composition, storyboard and art don't make the impact of the scene speak for itself... I would appreciate if they paused a little in their sprint to show the emotion in characters faces and them reacting to things once in a while (after all that is one of the core strengths of the manga medium which they purposefully chose to use for their continuation).

I very much appreciate their work, and am excited to know those anchor points of story that are known to Mori. If I could tell them anything to ease the heartburn I have with these releases is to not be scared to input their own sensibilities of what the characters are dealing with internally and carefully add some life to this bullet point Berserk that is guiding 100 percent of their work.
 
If I could tell them anything to ease the heartburn I have with these releases is to not be scared to input their own sensibilities of what the characters are dealing with internally and carefully add some life to this bullet point Berserk that is guiding 100 percent of their work.
I also would not mind them trying to add a bit of dialogue themselves. Of course it won't be accurate to miura but atleast combined with his story it will add some gravity to the episodes and they have the context of the events happening to guess what the characters would say.
 
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