Useless questions I ask myself pondering over Berserk

[GhizmoTheKeeper]

Short explanation: I am rereading Berserk (again) atm and many little odd things catch my eye. That being either single panels or small bits of information inside a panel or scene in form of text, imagery or both. Many of those being not or only partially relevant for the story yet my mind cannot ignore them. So before I go and anger Aazealh by creating a full fletched serious thread within Speculation Nation I will post here to get aforementioned things out of my head and hopefully some of your ideas. And if I just misunderstand something, my neck is already hardened from all the slapping, so feel free to give it a go.

Episode 1, MVP under the radar: Skull Knights' horse

First of all: is it the same horse all the time? Or does Skully just switch the horses like the witcher, calling each of them "Roach" or "Potatoe"? Here, there are already some funny scenes appearing in my brain.

SK: "Ok Zodd, stop. I need to put the armour back on the new horse."

ZD: "BuT oUr DuElL!!!!1!"
SK: "I told you three miles ago, we needed to stop for water. Now it's dead from exhaustion and I need a new one."

ZD: "B.. But!"

SK: "IF YOU'D LEND A PAW IT WOULD BE MUCH F*ING QUICKER"

ZD: "Sigh, ok fiiiineeee..." *straps saddle with paws*

Back to the original topic. Let's say the horse is always the same. Is it immortal (timewise)? Is it a zombie horse? Most of the times it looks like a "normal" war horse except the ever glowing eyes. It does not know fear, it is incredibly strong and enduring, always carrying a rider in full armour while being fully armoured itself. It's seemingly quick enough to not get caught by any attacks coming from the apostles. It jumps through dimensional gaps and is chill while not ONCE being called a good boy(girl) - sad!

 

[Aazealh]

First of all: is it the same horse all the time?

Yes.

Is it immortal (timewise)? Is it a zombie horse? Most of the times it looks like a "normal" war horse except the ever glowing eyes.

It seems to have undergone the same treatment as the Skull Knight himself, which means it would be a "spirit horse" encased in a special armor. It is definitely not a normal horse by any means.

When it comes to horses, I think there are more intriguing cases: the first is Griffith (once Femto gets incarnated), since his horse does perform a few remarkable feats. The second and more interesting one is Locus. What happens to the horses he rides when he transforms? Do they return alive when he transforms back? Are they absorbed? Left as a dead pile of meat?

 

[GhizmoTheKeeper]

It seems to have undergone the same treatment as the Skull Knight himself, which means it would be a "spirit horse" encased in a special armor. It is definitely not a normal horse by any means.

Do you think of it as an animal that turned into a tool or do you think it is an independent spirit with its own thoughts? I guess it would be best just to think of it as just an overpowered mount, nothing more. Kinda like Torrent in Elden Ring if you played it.

The second and more interesting one is Locus. What happens to the horses he rides when he transforms? Do they return alive when he transforms back? Are they absorbed? Left as a dead pile of meat?

Well my serious guess would be that the horses molecular structure is forcefully altered when in contact with Locus and that he can somehow choose to materialize the horse back to its original state like a human flexes a muscle. But I mean... the horses armour has to go somewhere too, so the idea of storing the material either inside a transformed apostles body or in some kind of bag of holding you get for free on your trip with Behelit-Airlines. Allthough other apostles return naked. So the possibility of leaving heaps of flesh behind is still possible and would be a very Berserk thing imo.

 

[Aazealh]

Do you think of it as an animal that turned into a tool or do you think it is an independent spirit with its own thoughts? I guess it would be best just to think of it as just an overpowered mount, nothing more. Kinda like Torrent in Elden Ring if you played it.

I think it has its own will. It's a living being. The most likely guess is that it was Gaizeric's steed when he was still alive. It serves its master in undeath like it did in life.

Allthough other apostles return naked.

Each apostle has its own thing going so looking at what others do isn't necessarily the right answer. Specifically, most apostles discard their equipment as they transform; only their body is affected. But Locus, like Irvine, actually fuses with his gear. His armor (and his horse's) aren't destroyed in the process. Another question is would he transform differently if he wasn't mounted when he does?

 

[Supreme King Gaizeric]

The most likely guess is that it was Gaizeric's steed when he was still alive.

Hi Aaz, just chiming in here. I'm particularly interested in the way you spelled "Gaizeric" with a z. I have been reading your messages from this forum for a couple of months now, and I have never seen anything but impeccable writing on your end. Was this a simple typo, or was his name Gaizeric all along? I'd like to know because he is my favorite character and I've never seen anyone spell it like that.

It would be crazy if that was the case. I usually name myself "Gaiseric" everywhere so I'd have a lot of username changing to do.

 

[GhizmoTheKeeper]

Hi Aaz, just chiming in here. I'm particularly interested in the way you spelled "Gaizeric" with a z.

Hello Mr Supreme King Sir! Though I cannot speak for Aazealh, I know a little japanese. This -> ゼ is the symbol (katakana) for the syllable "se" in the original written form of his name. Because of those little lines in the upper right corner -> ". This syllable is pronounced as its "softer" version.
So here "se" becomes "ze". If you arrange the katakana for his name as the syllables they represent it would look something like this:

ガイゼリック --> Ga - i - ze - ri - (k) - ku

We could go deeper into etymology of his titles and other word play inside the manga - but my best guess would be that Aazealh calls him Gaizeric, because it is technically the most correct form of pronouncing the original. You can drop the (k)ku to the simple ending "c" because words written with this specific set of symbols are intended to represent loanwords from other languages and/or foreign names. I hope this helps, cheers!

 

[Aazealh]

Hi Aaz, just chiming in here. I'm particularly interested in the way you spelled "Gaizeric" with a z. I have been reading your messages from this forum for a couple of months now, and I have never seen anything but impeccable writing on your end. Was this a simple typo, or was his name Gaizeric all along? I'd like to know because he is my favorite character and I've never seen anyone spell it like that.

Glad you asked! It's not a typo.

Since you're a fan of the character, you must know that his name is taken from a historical figure: Gaiseric, king of the Vandals (born in 389 – died in 477). Well, in Japanese, Gaiseric is spelled ガイセリック. But in Berserk, the character is named ガイぜリック, like Ghizmo astutely remarked. It's a small difference, easy to overlook. ぜ (ZE) instead of セ (SE). But it's a difference nonetheless. And it was done deliberately. It indicates that Miura wanted to distinguish the character from the real-world person, even if ever so slightly.

So I've decided to reflect that in the spelling I use. I believe it's more accurate. Note that it's not an isolated case. For example the name "Ganishka" is based off Kanishka, real-world emperor of the real-world Kushans. The historical figure is known as カニシカ in Japanese, or alternatively カニシュカ. But in Berserk, the emperor's name is ガニシュカ. There are a number of such cases in the series.

 

[GhizmoTheKeeper]

Episode 2, another ominous D in manga, great!

I jest of course so fellow OP readers please calm yourselves :-*

Dragons.
We got elves. We got giants, trolls, Cthulus' little cousin, golems, witches and the list continues.
One can probably say with some certainty that dragons exist in the world of Berserk. Unfortunately, the only images of dragons I can recall are those two shots of a dragon sitting on top of a castle tower and the landscape with flying creatures that seem to be dragons.
We also have Grunbeld who either decided or just got provided the form of a wingless dragon. (Maybe he pops out the wings someday, who knows)
He talks as if he knows exactly how and what dragons are and his attitude suggests a real "natural" dragon would not be something someone could easily challenge or overcome.

Is it possibly by design that we did not get to know any "real" information about Berserks' dragons? Are they just mindless but incredibly powerfull lizards? Or are they maybe what many other fantasy authors depict them as: intelligent, possibly ancient beings with a culture, language and all that.
If so, are they evil? A big stretch would be ancient dragon civilizations inside the Astral World worshipping a kind of sun god or elemental king ('cause fire 'n stuff) while some of them pay the mortal realm a visit from time to time.
I could very well see Guts + crew encountering an ancient dragon at some point after Elfhelm. After bro-fisting Skull Knight that dragon could maybe give some insight to the history of its kind. Also it could be plausible for such intelligent dragons to hold a grudge agains the God Hand because the man made idea of evil somehow has overthrown the order made by the godly entity dragons (and maybe other beings) worshipped or where created by.

I really hope there were some plans by Miura Sensei for something concerning dragons the Mori team can follow. If dragons play no role at all or just function as said mindless beasts I would consider that wasted potential for intriguing story lines. Also I would consider the Dragonslayer being named as it is (while being a sword with a name, which is rare enough) a missed opportunity for connecting strings as well. I know, it has been made from Godos' imagination of what a weapon to butcher a dragon with would be or look like but come on... at least get Grunbelds head with it!

 

[Aazealh]

One can probably say with some certainty that dragons exist in the world of Berserk. Unfortunately, the only images of dragons I can recall are those two shots of a dragon sitting on top of a castle tower and the landscape with flying creatures that seem to be dragons.

If we see dragons, then it does mean dragons exist, yes. We also hadn't seen giants (or hydras, harpies, etc.) before Fantasia. It's worth noting however that the creatures we see in episode 306 may actually be wyverns. If Miura wanted to make that distinction, then in theory dragons could have existed separately and not been depicted yet.

He talks as if he knows exactly how and what dragons are and his attitude suggests a real "natural" dragon would not be something someone could easily challenge or overcome.

What you're trying to say is that people are familiar with the concept of a dragon in Berserk's world, and yes they are. Remember that astral creatures used to cohabit with humans in the past. Those legends still endured even before Femto merged the astral and corporeal realms. A good example of that is the fact Guts' sword is called the Dragon Slayer.

Is it possibly by design that we did not get to know any "real" information about Berserks' dragons?

It can only be by design. It's not like information could be inadvertently revealed by the author. I think it's quite clear that Miura simply kept it for when our main characters would return to the mainland.

Are they just mindless but incredibly powerfull lizards? Or are they maybe what many other fantasy authors depict them as: intelligent, possibly ancient beings with a culture, language and all that.
If so, are they evil? A big stretch would be ancient dragon civilizations inside the Astral World worshipping a kind of sun god or elemental king ('cause fire 'n stuff) while some of them pay the mortal realm a visit from time to time.

There's a large spectrum between "mindless" and "keenly intelligent beings with a language and culture". I don't think "mindless" would be appropriate to describe these creatures, even if all they did was eat humans and sleep. Animals (be it an ox, boar, mouse, kestrel...) have a mind of their own.

That being said, my personal expectations weren't for Miura to depict them as some kind of advanced civilization with their own gods or such. What I envision is more like an apex predator with a rudimentary form of intelligence. A scenario I particularly enjoy thinking about is Daiba "charming" a dragon like he had done with the Kundalini. I think that would make for a delightful 'surprise' if Rakshas were to attack the Bakiraka's fortress.

I really hope there were some plans by Miura Sensei for something concerning dragons the Mori team can follow.

No doubt Miura would have done something with the design he introduced with Fantasia. However it's not guaranteed at all Mori & team will cover it, and even if they did, I wouldn't expect them to do it justice.

at least get Grunbelds head with it!

I don't think there's much doubt that Guts was meant to kill eventually Grunbeld.

 

[4M4M]

Glad you asked! It's not a typo.

Since you're a fan of the character, you must know that his name is taken from a historical figure: Gaiseric, king of the Vandals (born in 389 – died in 477). Well, in Japanese, Gaiseric is spelled ガイセリック. But in Berserk, the character is named ガイぜリック, like Ghizmo astutely remarked. It's a small difference, easy to overlook. ぜ (ZE) instead of セ (SE). But it's a difference nonetheless. And it was done deliberately. It indicates that Miura wanted to distinguish the character from the real-world person, even if ever so slightly.

So I've decided to reflect that in the spelling I use. I believe it's more accurate. Note that it's not an isolated case. For example the name "Ganishka" is based off Kanishka, real-world emperor of the real-world Kushans. The historical figure is known as カニシカ in Japanese, or alternatively カニシュカ. But in Berserk, the emperor's name is ガニシュカ. There are a number of such cases in the series.

That's amazing stuff, Aaz. So is it Aasealh in the US?

 

[Aazealh]

That's amazing stuff, Aaz.

Thanks. I posted about it on Patreon last year.