Sea God arc praise

[delirious_foxx]

i haven't seen any talk about the sea god arc and its my favorite, so here it is. i haven't been able to pinpoint why it stuck out to me so much but i hope to figure that out in this post. i know its not as special as other arcs, but i love the characters in it that get introduced.

i love seeing isma find her family and find out she's a merrow, and they teach her how to help out by singing. it's so sweet. the merrows are really cool and probably my favorite part, actually. then they rescue guts after he kills the sea god and that was such a neat panel. there's a lot of amazing double-page spreads, the art is always so good.

also there are creepy pirates that remind me a lot of pirates of the carribean, the pirates that turned into skeletons

guts used the berserker armor again which is always badass to see, BUT it worsened the effects on him. i believe this was guts' last kill, correct me if i'm wrong.

we also see roderick abs

 

[Odysseus]

The battle with the Sea God is probably among the highest points for Berserk's artwork, with many incredibly elaborate two page spreads. It was a good note to go out on for Berserk's traditional art before the switch to digital.

As for story, the sequence of Schierke holding back her tears while guiding Guts to deal the final blow to the Sea God after realizing he has totally lost his senses due to the pressure of the Sea God's heart is one of my favorite interactions between the two. I also generally like the Lovecraft vibes some of the stuff in the village has, especially the visit to the restaurant. Farnese also has a lot of good development during the climax, and seeing the moonlight boy again is nice.

On the whole it isn't one of my favorites, it does feel like a side quest in the journey, and the fact Isma never got a chance to do more is sad, but it is still an enjoyable chapter in the Berserk saga. It isn't technically part of the Sea God story, but "spring flowers of distant days" which follows it is excellent as well.

 

[Aazealh]

I hate to nitpick (no I don't) but that's not officially an "arc" of the story. It takes place during the Fantasia arc and the Elf Island chapter.

As for why it's great, well it's structured as a short, self-contained adventure, which is rare in Berserk but definitely fun (and also inevitable since it's on an island). It's Miura's take on a classic Lovecraftian story where an isolated fishing village gets taken over by an ancient evil god, and it serves to demonstrate the kind of changes the world has undergone with the advent of Fantasia. A very exciting premise as far as I'm concerned. And generally-speaking, it's got great horror moments, great action, great humor and great character development.

I would also say that it's pretty special and unique in the way it's set up: to have the group face an unknown, powerful and more importantly gigantic astral creature. It shows that faced with this sort of threat, the Berserk's armor is essentially a requirement for Guts to survive, which is important to give the reader perspective about the dangers Fantasia harbors. They're now in a very different world. It also provides an occasion for the boy to appear and help his parents a second time, which was necessary before the reveal at Elfhelm.

It introduces the character of Isma, and I very much like how she challenges the dynamic between Isidro and Schierke. The interactions between the three of them are just great. Beyond that, it features Farnese's graduation as a magic user, and subtly introduces certain important notions, like the key concept of Mana (true name), which would have been essential in the future, or the fact the merrows were the ones who battled and imprisoned the Sea God (a glimpse at the complex relations between different astral beings).

Lastly, it provides a necessary buffer between the end of the battle against Ganishka and Rickert's arrival in Falconia.