Episode 374

[Dutchbannger]

The white eyes and panels showing Kushan soldiers licking their blades despite no bloodshed coming after, and the episode ending with Rickert standing among them his eyes normal seems like a pretty obvious hint that this assumedly kushan reamnant army is being controlled by Daiba. Maybe it's of their own volition as an anti Band of The Falcon but I think the "scary factor" in their designs here is being shown for a reason.

Of course how much these sort of details mean is probably much less now if the continuation is only going through quick beats that Mori remembers.

**actually looking back at the panel where the Kushan get scared by guts hand twitch seems to go against the pre established rules of mind control.

 

[hsvfan-jan]

Also, does anybody else think that the sorcerers will somehow "get their magic back" in the future?

I think Mori will get rid of them the second he can. From what we've seen so far in the continuation the team tries to reuse as many assets as possible, for example magic spells we've seen before (or dialogue, as discussed above). During the showdown on Elfhelm they weren't shown to do anything and their "dialogue" in this chapter reaffirms to me that we won't see anything from them anymore, at all.

 

[Vitris]

I think Mori will get rid of them the second he can.

I mean, he could've just let them die on the island, I don't really see the point in making them survive the collapse just to kill them later.

 

[Aazealh]

being controlled by Daiba.

Daiba shouldn't be able to mind control hundreds of human soldiers. The army of familiars he was once in charge of was only made possible because of Ganishka's power, and it still required a lot of acolytes to control them.

Of course, just because it shouldn't be possible doesn't mean it won't be how they handwave it away. Same thing with how the Bakiraka found the Sea Horse in the first place. There's no basis for the idea Daiba could have tracked them, but it might still very well be how it's presented...

In fact, I'm actually worried about how badly they're going to handle Daiba compared to the island's magicians. The idea that they might depict him as more capable than the Great Gurus is infuriating to me.

 

[AndroidLB]

one boat, which has 14 rows of 3 rowers each. Then we see 13 (or more) boats, which is 546 rowers

Just to correct on your math I can see there being 4 people sitting in one row so 728 at least, making this even more "absurd". Also on the second last page we see what looks to be Silat and his men on a Kushan galleass, so there has to be additional hundreds (~250 rowers) on it. So that's like 1000 men attacking the Seahorse. Geez

Also, we've seen that galleass being lead by Daiba before, so would it not be a surprise if he also was on that ship?

 

[Vitris]

The idea that they might depict Daiba as more capable than the Great Gurus is infuriating to me.

It's gonna happen, for sure.

 

[blodvind]

I mean, he could've just let them die on the island, I don't really see the point in making them survive the collapse just to kill them later.

What worries me is 1) that we don't get any explanations since we haven't gotten anything in 10 episodes so far about important stuff. I am still wondering why the armor didn't activate back in ep. 365.

2) that we do get explanations that don't make sense. For example, Daiba is controlling the Kushan and was the one who found the Sea Horse because he is a magic user; Guts is going to lose control because he has lost faith, and will give up his mind and body to the Beast of Darkness; nothing matters anymore to him. All of this under the banner of: come on guys, not everything needs to make sense, it is a fantasy story, you know, magic, duh.

The thing is, yes, we know it is a fantasy story but the rules have already been established by Miura and the continuation is ignoring them.

I think in the next episode, Guts will end up killing some people, maybe some Gurus? Or we can go back to Falconia and get a very exciting recap of how Casca reads books to random children.

 

[Aazealh]

Also, we've seen that galleass being lead by Daiba before, so would it not be a surprise if he also was on that ship?

Daiba's ship was destroyed during his battle against Guts' group. That being said, he's pretty much guaranteed to be on this ship with Silat and the others.

 

[Walter]

Just to correct on your math I can see there being 4 people sitting in one row so 728 at least, making this even more "absurd". Also on the second last page we see what looks to be Silat and his men on a Kushan galleass, so there has to be additional hundreds (~250 rowers) on it. So that's like 1000 men attacking the Seahorse. Geez

Ohh, I didn't even notice that little lane of guys on the left. Oh well. Yeah the number was already crazy. Now it's crazier.

We didn't get a chance to discuss it on the podcast, but I wanted to raise the practical issue of having a naval force of this size out on the unpredictable ocean of Fantasia. The second I saw the scope of it, I was like "what....?"

Does a force that size, armed with harpoons, stand a better or worse chance against unpredictable astral creature attacks?

I'm talking about big guys like these, shown in Volume 35 (in sequence L to R).​

Clustering your force seems like a bad idea. They'd want to spread out their target surface area in case of an attack. Then they could surround it and spear it when an attack happens. But such a huge force... I imagine it would easily be demolished in seconds by the creatures prowling those waters.

Or hey, maybe Fantasia isn't such a dangerous place after all?

 

[Odysseus]

Yeah, I'm at the point where I just wish they'd stop.

It really sucks, because I was really supportive of this when it started, but it's just so clear they are not capable of making this anything worthwhile. It all feels so incredibly phoned-in, not thought out, and half-hearted. Episodes drag forever while nothing happens, or rush through things at a break-neck pace, and somehow either way they feel hollow.

We're about to get Guts and Rickert's reunion, and I honestly dread it.

 

[Crustyleader]

My thoughts for the episode is pretty similar with you all, recap of the the previous episode and giving dialogues that really isn't necessary to move the story forward.
It seem that you guys said all that could be said about the Kushan/Bakiraka/Rickert/Daiba, so I got nothing to add.

I was thinking Schierke input could be a little help to the story when she come back to her body, if it isn't something that we are already aware about, than that is pointless.

I'll be turning into the podcast.

 

[Sølid]

Credit where it's due, they did an incredible job destroying this manga and what Miura built. Which I can say because they deemed their portion of the story as worthy enough to carry the exact same namesake as Miura's Berserk..

 

[Aazealh]

We're about to get Guts and Rickert's reunion, and I honestly dread it.

As one should. We all better brace ourselves. I'll say though, I will laugh if Rickert literally just slaps Guts back to his senses. That's so stupid and derivative, yet so simple, that it must be very tantalizing for Mori.

I was thinking Schierke input could be a little help to the story when she come back to her body, if it isn't something that we are already aware about, than that is pointless.

I imagine she's just going to say she found out that Casca's in the giant city at the foot of the World Tree. That'll presumably lead to a rescue operation with the ship docking in the new harbor that was conveniently created (along with the entire seashore) for that purpose.

Credit where it's due, they did an incredible job destroying this manga and what Miura built. Which I can say because they deemed their portion of the story as worthy enough to carry the exact same namesake as Miura's Berserk..

There's no denying the fact they're sullying Miura-sensei's legacy by pretending the series is just continuing uninterrupted. Still, no matter what they do, the greatness of his work is inviolable.

 

[Egg]

We didn't get a chance to discuss it on the podcast, but I wanted to raise the practical issue of having a naval force of this size out on the unpredictable ocean of Fantasia. The second I saw the scope of it, I was like "what....?"

Does a force that size, armed with harpoons, stand a better or worse chance against unpredictable astral creature attacks?

I'm talking about big guys like these, shown in Volume 35 (in sequence L to R).​

Clustering your force seems like a bad idea. They'd want to spread out their target surface area in case of an attack. Then they could surround it and spear it when an attack happens. But such a huge force... I imagine it would easily be demolished in seconds by the creatures prowling those waters.

Or hey, maybe Fantasia isn't such a dangerous place after all?

If Daiba can charm sea monsters, they could have used one for transportation. It will also be easy to capture the Sea Horse (with its mouth).

 

[Walter]

If Daiba can charm sea monsters, they could have used one for transportation

That’s a great idea actually! Would have made a much better impression than what we got, and also underscore the whole Fantasia aspect.

 

[Crustyleader]

I imagine she's just going to say she found out that Casca's in the giant city at the foot of the World Tree. That'll presumably lead to a rescue operation with the ship docking in the new harbor that was conveniently created (along with the entire seashore) for that purpose.

100 percent it surely will go that way.

 

[Sølid]

There's no denying the fact they're sullying Miura-sensei's legacy by pretending the series is just continuing uninterrupted. Still, no matter what they do, the greatness of his work is inviolable.

Oh no, I agree. Speaking for myself at least, they couldn't actually ruin what Miura has done. Maybe I could have been a little clearer there. It's more the fact this glorified fanfiction is being treated as official Berserk. Knowing that any future adaptations or anything will look at this and treat it as such absolutely makes me sick.

 

[guuuuuuuuts]

My guess for maybe two episodes out is that Rickert will reunite with Guts and help bring him back on his feet through a visual montage. Also, when Rickert publicly reveals his face everyone will be shocked, including the Kushan.

 

[TheItCrOw]

My guess for maybe two episodes out is that Rickert will reunite with Guts and help bring him back on his feet through a visual montage. Also, when Rickert publicly reveals his face everyone will be shocked, including the Kushan.

At the very least, upon their reuinion, Guts will finally be confronted with the question of where Casca is.

Knowing Mori however, Guts will probably answer with: "Who is Casca? Oh btw I need a new sword, mine doesn't work anymore " *collapses to the ground*

 

[jackson_hurley]

Seriously, I would not be surprised if Rickert's slap would no make another appearance but on Guts. Like @Aazealh said.

 

[TheItCrOw]

Seriously, I would not be surprised if Rickert's slap would no make another appearance but on Guts. Like @Aazealh said.

That would be so ridiculous, it could actually be funny

 

[Attractor]

Some people here are better on Berserk's continuity than the team that actually works on Berserk. I really don't know what to say.

 

[Odeon]

I went in with no expectations and wasn’t let down. To me reading this is a chore, but I can’t not read it

 

[guuuuuuuuts]

I am thankful that the studio did not have to tackle Caska's dream sequence on their own.

I wonder if the original concept was to shift the focus of the story to Caska's perspective for more episodes than 372. ...It would have been more impactful, because readers would still know Guts is making his way to her. I don't know.

 

[Vitris]

I read through the most recent episodes again, and I have to say that the whole thing with the Beast of darkness was basically useless. As Aaz and Walter previously said, its appearence in ep 373 doesn't make any sense, and it's a huge misconception about what the chains that bind it are; but besides that... what was the point of showing it? It breaks the chains in ep 371, then it mocks Guts in ep 373, and here Guts puts it back in chains. Nothing new was said by either the Beast or Guts, and the status quo hasn't changed even a bit. They really have no idea how to fill 21 pages of content. You can basically throw away half the pages in these episodes.