There's something about Rakshas

I love this guy, my other favourite :rakshas:
Draculoid said:
Considering we don't even really know what his body looks like, I feel as though there is a lot of of mystery considering his appearance in its entirety.
What I always wonder about is why he wears that mask? He probably has something to hide, I guess, right? I always thought that it probably has some relation with the fact he wants Griffith's "beautiful head" for himself... Maybe he was deformed somehow for fighting, like some other Baakiraka, but he's vain and didn't want it, so that's why he was exiled? (I guess it's pretty far-fetched, lol... :troll: )

The spider apostle form sounds awesome by the way, that would suit him well, but knowing Berserk it'll probably beyond the expectations and blow our mind, I'm really looking for to see it. I doubt he would be a snake, we'd already have too much of those (Silat also resembles one a lot I think)
 

Aazealh

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Gill said:
What I always wonder about is why he wears that mask? He probably has something to hide, I guess, right? I always thought that it probably has some relation with the fact he wants Griffith's "beautiful head" for himself... Maybe he was deformed somehow for fighting, like some other Baakiraka, but he's vain and didn't want it, so that's why he was exiled?

Uhh... He's an apostle, for one thing (which is most certainly related to his exile), and he has 3 eyes. Based on that it's not hard to guess that he might not be the most handsome guy around.
 
I think people underestimate Rakshas because we have not yet seen his form as an apostle. Rakshas said he'd someday take Griffith's head, and somehow I think it will, perhaps helping Skullknight or Guts.
 
How do we even know Rakshas is an apostle? Just because all the other fighting members (of course excluding Jaris, Mule and Sonia) are? I don't remember there being a mention of it, and somehow I got the impression that Rakshas isn't an apostle.. :rakshas:
 

Aazealh

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RanShi said:
How do we even know Rakshas is an apostle?

A leading officer among the apostle army, of which all other similar officers are apostles, he possesses three eyes and can contort his body in ways so unnatural that they clearly are supernatural. Everything in the story points to him being an apostle, and I can guarantee you with utmost certainty that he is one. What else would he be anyway?
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
RanShi said:
How do we even know Rakshas is an apostle? Just because all the other fighting members (of course excluding Jaris, Mule and Sonia) are? I don't remember there being a mention of it, and somehow I got the impression that Rakshas isn't an apostle.. :rakshas:

He is most definitely one. The scene where he join Griffith is pretty clear to me that most of all the apostles are gathering toward the one they recognize as their leader ; Griffith. And as Aaz and others might have pointed out already he doesn't really look human.

Edit : I got beat to the point! but still... Apostle he is!
 
Aazealh said:
A leading officer among the apostle army, of which all other similar officers are apostles, he possesses three eyes and can contort his body in ways so unnatural that they clearly are supernatural. Everything in the story points to him being an apostle, and I can guarantee you with utmost certainty that he is one. What else would he be anyway?

Okay, this convinced me. I just went with him being as "human" as the other Bakiraka.. cause they were kinda freakish too. But this really makes sense. At least it seems more probable that Rakshas is an apostle than not. And now I'm VERY excited as to what his apostle form is gonna look like... a spider definitely sound like a legit alternative.
 

Alucroas

Abomination
RanShi said:
Okay, this convinced me. I just went with him being as "human" as the other Bakiraka.. cause they were kinda freakish too. But this really makes sense. At least it seems more probable that Rakshas is an apostle than not. And now I'm VERY excited as to what his apostle form is gonna look like... a spider definitely sound like a legit alternative.

Three eye-holes in Rakshas' mask is not indicative of him being a tri-clops. The caravan Ganishka rode in has eyes all surrounding the central section, so do the clothes being worn over the elephants. Three+ eye-holes in his mask seems more like a aspect of decorative Kushan art.

Kushan_army.jpg


Being able to contort his body in ways so unnatural that they are "clearly" supernatural? The only image I can find of Rakshas contorting his body allow the viewer to clearly distinguish both shoulders and forearms with relative clarity.

The officer part is fair enough, however, Sonia (a human) being a medium to Apostles does make me question just how what method he uses of judging whether or not a human or apostle should be allowed any important role in his army.
 

Aazealh

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Alucroas said:
Three eye-holes in Rakshas' mask is not indicative of him being a tri-clops.

The three glows in the holes are pretty indicative.

Rakshas.jpg


Alucroas said:
Being able to contort his body in ways so unnatural that they are "clearly" supernatural?

Rakshas has turned himself into a mere ball the size of a watermelon. He's also contorted his body at an impossible angle in mid-air, at the last second, to dodge a chakram. As for his arms?

Rakshas05.jpg


Alucroas said:
The officer part is fair enough, however, Sonia (a human) being a medium to Apostles does make me question just how what method he uses of judging whether or not a human or apostle should be allowed any important role in his army.

There's having an important role, and there's leading apostles in combat.

Rakshas-23.jpg
 
Why do so many people want Rakshas to not be an apostle? He might be one of the last big apostle transformation reveals we get in the series. And I'm expecting something awesome and terrifying. What's the point in even trying to rationalize that not being the case?
 
Rupert Sinclair said:
Why do so many people want Rakshas to not be an apostle? He might be one of the last big apostle transformation reveals we get in the series. And I'm expecting something awesome and terrifying. What's the point in even trying to rationalize that not being the case?

I don't know but I do enjoy his character his story and banishment also really interest me as in I want to learn more about him
 

Aazealh

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Rupert Sinclair said:
Why do so many people want Rakshas to not be an apostle?

Beats me. Same people were saying Irvine wasn't an apostle before he transformed. And Locus before that. And Grunbeld back in the day too.
 

Alucroas

Abomination
I don't "not want Rakshas to be an apostle", I just think it'd be much cooler/interesting if he turned out to be something else, what with the mystery surrounding what he is under that cloak, ontop of the fact that he wants to cut off Griffith's head. One can only imagine what must be running through his mind after getting a front row seat to Femto warping Skullknight's portal and super-imposing it onto Ganishka's face, followed by the astral realm merging with the physical. I imagine it's going to be a bitch-and-a-half trying to kill him and he'll most definitely fail.

The other problem I have with this is that whenever Rakshas does decide to set his assassination plans into motion, what's to stop him from falling under the same spell Ganishka did when he had his first, direct confrontation with Griffith? Ganishka practically shat bricks while being mesmerized at the same time. So if Rakshas actually is an apostle, how would K. Miura go about making this event any more memorable without it just being another repeat? It's not like the circumstances would be any different (not counting Ganishka's tormented past). Griffith is a God Hand and Rakshas is just an apostle who would be compelled to obey him and bask in his light.
 

Aazealh

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Alucroas said:
One can only imagine what must be running through his mind after getting a front row seat to Femto warping Skullknight's portal and super-imposing it onto Ganishka's face, followed by the astral realm merging with the physical.

Uh, superimposing it? The slash cut through Ganishka's face. That is how the worlds were merged, because Ganishka was cut open and all of what he had absorbed was spilled into the world.

Alucroas said:
I imagine it's going to be a bitch-and-a-half trying to kill him and he'll most definitely fail.

Well obviously Rakshas isn't going to kill Femto, I think we can safely come to that conclusion. Whether he actually makes an attempt is what remains to be seen, and that's anything but sure to me. His declaration when he first met Griffith was strange (in line with his general strangeness), and his intent is still unclear as far as I'm concerned. It could have just been a roundabout way for him to say he'll protect Griffith. What's sure is that he's been working for him just like the others so far.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
I've never took Rakshas comment too seriously in his introduction. And we see him a couple of times just watching/protecting Griffith. I always took his comment as some kind of a jest.

If he survives the end of the series, maybe he'll take Griffith's head when is body has turn back to what he looked like before he became Femto. (if that process applies to god hand members, which I have no idea if it's the case vs apostles dying.)
 
jackson_hurley said:
I've never took Rakshas comment too seriously in his introduction. And we see him a couple of times just watching/protecting Griffith. I always took his comment as some kind of a jest.

Maybe. But since his appearance, it was very clear that he's not "just" working for Griffith. Or it doesn't seem it.

jackson_hurley said:
If he survives the end of the series, maybe he'll take Griffith's head when is body has turn back to what he looked like before he became Femto. (if that process applies to god hand members, which I have no idea if it's the case vs apostles dying.)

That would be very cool. :rakshas:
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Tripas said:
Maybe. But since his appearance, it was very clear that he's not "just" working for Griffith. Or it doesn't seem it.

True. But, as I think it has been mentioned before, he come after all from the kushans. So I guess he wanted to see how things were gonna turn out for his "emperor". We did see him show Silat what Ganishka was and all.

He's just a big curious apostle that's all. :ganishka:
 
jackson_hurley said:
If he survives the end of the series, maybe he'll take Griffith's head when is body has turn back to what he looked like before he became Femto. (if that process applies to god hand members, which I have no idea if it's the case vs apostles dying.)

I see no reason why it would, as Griffith's original body was destroyed during the Eclipse and reborn in astral form. His new corporeal body has no connection to it, having incarnated via the demon child. Apostles don't operate under the same principle, and I could be making a baseless assumption here but I believe they're reconstituted from their original bodies, which is why they revert to their pre-Apostle state upon death.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Doc said:
I see no reason why it would, as Griffith's original body was destroyed during the Eclipse and reborn in astral form. His new corporeal body has no connection to it, having incarnated via the demon child. Apostles don't operate under the same principle, and I could be making a baseless assumption here but I believe they're reconstituted from their original bodies, which is why they revert to their pre-Apostle state upon death.

I guess we'll know when a god hand will die. But I'm inclined to think the same thing as you. They are after all more powerful then apostles.

The only thing that makes me hesitate a little bit is that, apostle or god hand, both uses the same way to become what they are, which is : a beherit and a sacrifice. And they get their power from the same place, just not on the same level. (please correct me if I'm wrong here)

ps: Either way, I don't think Griffith/Femto's body will just dissolved when he'll die. So Rakshas will get his beautiful head. :serpico:
 

Aazealh

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Doc said:
I could be making a baseless assumption here but I believe they're reconstituted from their original bodies, which is why they revert to their pre-Apostle state upon death.

When their soul is imbued with evil, their physical body reflects it by undergoing a transformation.

jackson_hurley said:
The only thing that makes me hesitate a little bit is that, apostle or god hand, both uses the same way to become what they are, which is : a beherit and a sacrifice. And they get their power from the same place, just not on the same level. (please correct me if I'm wrong here)

Like Doc explained to you, the process is not actually the same. Femto's fleshly body is not the body Griffith had during the Golden Age arc.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Aazealh said:
Like Doc explained to you, the process is not actually the same. Femto's fleshly body is not the body Griffith had during the Golden Age arc.

Yes yes I understand that part (thank you both) and I agree totally. What I'm more wondering is when Femto is gonna die, since he has now a body of flesh, will his body still be a Griffith looking one? Damn I'm having a hard time to explain my question. Anyway it's not really important so don't pay it attention I'll get my answer when he'll die. :guts:
 
Not sure if this's the right topic. I was pretty excited reading the new episode and the Rakshas discussion in that respective topic. So I thought I'd give my Hindi language professor in Bombay a call to generally ask him about different topics dealing with mythology of the rakshasas and kind of indirectly probe about our popular fella :rakshas:. Here's a quick gist, some lost in translation because my Hindi's pretty bad these days -

- A rakshas is typically a being that has fiery red eyes and various abilities since there were many kind of rakshas's in Hindu mythology (rakshas roughly translates to demon without getting technical, it's a very common word used loosely in regular Hindi tongue)

- they tend to be gruesome and are depicted in paintings as demons drinking human blood (he admitted there's no hard evidence though, most bad demons in stories were said to enjoy eating humans and drinking their blood)

- they can disappear, levitate/ fly (I asked him how)

- disappearance was because they could perform something called Maya which's a magic of illusions

- some rakshas can change their size rapidly by shrinking ant-size or growing as tall as skyscrapers (I remember seeing that in Ramayana)

- they can mimic other creatures and can change form to deceive humans (Ravana changed his appearance to an old sage to deceive Sita)

My professor knew my knowledge isn't the best and was trying to give me examples from Ramayana. I remember bits and pieces of the story growing up. I'm not Hindu so I never paid attention to any of the mythology, it would've come handy NOW.

Anyway, given the above, some of it makes sense with our fella. He could've been a gifted guy who along with weaponry skill also possessed the skill of Maya OR he embodied all the qualities of a rakshas when he became an apostle (I read in another topic that the Bakiraka don't familiarize themselves with magic ... so my guess could certainly be wrong). Wouldn't be surprised if his back-story has something to do with extremely religious parents and something going wrong where he becomes the Hindu equivalent of a demon.

I also asked my professor generally about the third eye and he said generally in Hindu mythology it's considered to be a key to entering the spiritual realm or a higher plane or allowing one's spirit to enter another's body. Old sage's who were said to have a third eye could communicate without speaking.

Not sure how the third eye explanation fits into Raks' character but if he can perform maya and enter certain non-physical realms, could that help us understand how he could hide in Zodd's cape ... rephrase - perhaps he teleported under his cape at that given time? Then there's that other panel where he appears behind 2/3 people and the vague - shaking like - depiction of his head/ mask may hint at him 'beaming' the Star Trek way haha?!

About his physical form .. AH ... my professor said rakshas have a bunch of teeth and long claws, I asked joking 'Tiger claws?!' and he said claws that could rip metal. I was hoping to get an answer on a specific design. If we consider beings that have a third eye - salamanders or iguanas I think, some frogs, fish ... I don't know, I can't imagine him being any of those. Not a frog!
 

Aazealh

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IncantatioN said:
Anyway, given the above, some of it makes sense with our fella. He could've been a gifted guy who along with weaponry skill also possessed the skill of Maya OR he embodied all the qualities of a rakshas when he became an apostle (I read in another topic that the Bakiraka don't familiarize themselves with magic ... so my guess could certainly be wrong). Wouldn't be surprised if his back-story has something to do with extremely religious parents and something going wrong where he becomes the Hindu equivalent of a demon.

I also asked my professor generally about the third eye and he said generally in Hindu mythology it's considered to be a key to entering the spiritual realm or a higher plane or allowing one's spirit to enter another's body. Old sage's who were said to have a third eye could communicate without speaking. Not sure how the third eye explanation fits into Raks' character but if he can perform maya and enter certain non-physical realms, could that help us understand how he could hide in Zodd's cape ... rephrase - perhaps he teleported under his cape at that given time? Then there's that other panel where he appears behind 2/3 people and the vague - shaking like - depiction of his head/ mask may hint at him 'beaming' the Star Trek way haha?!

You're taking things way too far. While Miura clearly took some inspiration from the mythical Rakshasa to create the character, the similarities seem to be relatively superficial, as is usually the case for his mythological or folkloric references. So you really shouldn't expect too many similarities, like the use of the Maya or the ability to "teleport".
 
Really interesting! Thanks for sharing this. It's cool to learn something about the mythical beings that Miura got Rakshas' name from. :rakshas:
 
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