Changes in Casca

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
This is my first thread, so constructive criticism is appreciated.

The thing I anticipate most in the story of berserk is the return of the sane Casca. :casca:
Over time, Casca has gone through many changes, both physically and most certainly emotionally/mentally.

I'll start off with her physical appearance:

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Her face changes from short and round with thick eyebrows to a slightly thinner more womanly face. But I didn't realize that she loses muscle as well. So if she were to come back to her normal self, I wonder if she will mention how weak she has gotten. Will she retain her swordsmanship?

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Miura also draws the younger Casca to look more like the current Casca in volume 28. (thinner face & eyebrows) pretty interesting!

And now for the mental changes.

Casca is a very dynamic character (a roller coaster of emotions if you will). Casca goes from being an annoying tomboy (who idealizes :griffnotevil:), to a girl who gets in touch with her womanly side :guts: (and becomes lovable), to being reduced to the mentality of a child :???:. (who currently sees Guts as an evil being from hell who intends to rape her every minute of the day) I skipped a bunch of the smaller changes, such as the love she grew for her demon-child. Already she has had many changes in her personality.

A critical moment that lies ahead in the story line is the awakening of Casca. What will she be like? Will she resent Guts? Will she start where she left off? Will she become some sort of emo? Will she cut her hair back to normal? Will she become a lesbian who hates all men? Will Guts grow a beard? Anything can happen, maybe she will stay childlike permanently (noooo!) or she could seek revenge on Griffith. I personally would love to see Casca get intimate with Guts again, but according to Skully, she might not want to be brought back (foreshadowing oOoOoOo..), and then Miura will laugh at seeing me weep for the old Casca (the lovable one).

So for now, I'm expecting the worst :sad: so I can be delightfully surprised later. :guts:
 

Aazealh

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Truder said:
Her face changes from short and round with thick eyebrows to a slightly thinner more womanly face. [...] Miura also draws the younger Casca to look more like the current Casca in volume 28. (thinner face & eyebrows) pretty interesting!

That's just the evolution of artwork and it concerns every character, although she's also supposed to be more feminine now than she was at the time.

Truder said:
it also looks like she has lost considerable muscle mass. so if she were to come back to her normal self, I wonder if she will mention how weak she has gotten.

Clearly those years of idleness have taken a toll on her musculature, but that was to be expected. Much like the way Guts lost weight after being wounded in volumes 26 & 27.

Truder said:
I wonder if she will retain her swordsmanship as well.

I don't see why she wouldn't, and as a matter of fact I know a trio of dead bandits who can confirm she was still a good swordswoman in volume 23.

Truder said:
Casca goes from being an annoying tomboy (who idealizes :griffnotevil:), to a girl who gets in touch with her womanly side :guts: (and becomes lovable), to being reduced to the mentality of a child :???:.

I think that's a bit too simplistic, even as a summary. You should at least mention that she was a great leader of men, maybe second only to Griffith, a formidable warrior whose loyalty was ironclad and who was prone to abnegation, as well as a very perceptive and caring woman in general, who knew Griffith better than he knew himself and who could cure Guts of his childhood trauma. Her "annoying" side from Guts' point of view is explained by her protective feelings towards Griffith and the Band of the Falcon. I think those are very important parts of her personality.

Truder said:
a critical moment that lies ahead in the story line is the awakening of Casca.

That promises to be a tremendous event. And you know, I wouldn't be too worried about it if I were you. A huge part of the story revolves around Casca and thanks to the foreshadowing we've all been waiting for her return for a long time, so I don't think Miura would ever make it anticlimatic and simply leave her as she is. I already believed she would be cured years before the King of the Flower Storm was first mentioned.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Aazealh said:
I don't see why she wouldn't, and as a matter of fact I know a trio of dead bandits who can confirm she was still a good swordswoman in volume 23.

ha ha funny that you mention this example, I've just read it today. :casca:
 
Truder said:
The thing I anticipate most in the story of berserk is the return of the sane Casca. :casca:

This is actually one of the things I dread the most in the upcoming story. While I usually have full faith in Miura, this event your are speaking about seems so complicated with all the possible implications it could have on the future of the story as well as all the loose ends that will need to be addressed.. When I imagine it taking place, I have to cringe as if I was the author burdened with the horrible task to actually write that part of the story and do it justice.

I for one hope that Miura handles it beautifully, but I really like everything that Berserk has become and I hope that it continues to get better in better and surprises me all along the way.
 

Aazealh

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Jaze1618 said:
I for one hope that Miura handles it beautifully, but I really like everything that Berserk has become and I hope that it continues to get better in better and surprises me all along the way.

I find your lack of faith disturbing. :femto:

If you've liked everything so far then you owe it to the author to trust him for the rest. And really, isn't the fact he's taking all the time he needs to work on it not enough proof to you that he's making sure it's perfect?
 
Truder said:
The thing I anticipate most in the story of berserk is the return of the sane Casca. :casca:

Same here!

Truder said:
But I didn't realize that she loses muscle as well. So if she were to come back to her normal self, I wonder if she will mention how weak she has gotten. Will she retain her swordsmanship?

As Aaz pointed out, after all this time without fighting or training, the loss of muscle was to be expected. The contrary would have surprised me a lot! But I'm confident that she will gain it all back once she's sane again (that is, assuming she wants to)

Truder said:
I skipped a bunch of the smaller changes, such as the love she grew for her demon-child. Already she has had many changes in her personality.

Well I don't think this is a "small" change in Casca's personality. Her motherly instinct is clearly strong, and partially shakes her off of her mental condition occasionally (I'm referring to what happens with the moonlight boy, she behaves like a mother instead of her usual childlike state, and she's very protective towards the child). I'm sure it will have a crucial importance once she comes back to her senses. For now, she is deeply attached to the demon child, but will it still be the case when she's sane again? Will she even remember him? (I sure hope so!) And how will it affect her decisions in the future?


Truder said:
A critical moment that lies ahead in the story line is the awakening of Casca.
Yeah, and all the possibilities that it implies is what makes it so exciting and fascinating. I mean, sometimes when I try to imagine how it can be like, it makes me dizzy! :ubik: :ubik: :ubik:
I am very anxious to see how things will go with Guts, of course, but I'm also very curious about the relationship she will have with all the members of the group, especially Farneze.

Truder said:
Will she become a lesbian who hates all men?
Hahaha I actually considered this possibility! After Shierke initiated her to witchcraft, will Farneze take another step in her journey of self discovery and open herself to another new experience? Poor Roderick didn't see that one coming! :ganishka:

Truder said:
Anything can happen, maybe she will stay childlike permanently (noooo!) or she could seek revenge on Griffith. I personally would love to see Casca get intimate with Guts again, but according to Skully, she might not want to be brought back (foreshadowing oOoOoOo..), and then Miura will laugh at seeing me weep for the old Casca (the lovable one).

It seems extremely unlikely to me that Casca just stays like that. And concerning what Skully tells Guts about her wishes, its so vague I try not to interprete it too much.

Truder said:
So for now, I'm expecting the worst :sad: so I can be delightfully surprised later. :guts:
I'm expecting Miura to exceed my expectations as he always does :puck:
 
I am 100% sure that Miura will make us cry. I bet he will put his heart and soul into writing these episodes, and whatever decisions he will make regarding his characters i am sure that he will not let any of his fans down. Regarding to Casca i have thought about it a lot, i believe her relationship with Farnese will take a turn into the worse, because Casca wont be so open and lets not forget Farnese never actually met the real Casca. Farnese will feel useless again and she will be intimidated by Casca. As far as Guts go i believe that what he did (the almost rape situation) will cause mayor problems for Casca, i think that she will not trust him and that she will have a hostile feeling against him. Hell she might even blame them for bringing her back and making her remember how their leader betrayed them. But what do you all actually believe? Let's take that Casca comes back into sanity will she remember her time after the eclipse (having a baby, being almost burned down) or will she not remember a thing and she will think she just awoke from the eclipse.
 
Aazealh said:
I find your lack of faith disturbing. :femto:

If you've liked everything so far then you owe it to the author to trust him for the rest. And really, isn't the fact he's taking all the time he needs to work on it not enough proof to you that he's making sure it's perfect?

This isn't about making a logical choice to trust the author. This is an automatic physical reaction to the thought of anyone having to write that part of the story. My imagination certainly falls short because I can't imagine what a good handling of that scene would look like, more so I FEEL that it's impossible.

Taking a step back from my Feelings on the matter. Logically, I am with you 100%. Miura's got a great track record when it comes to surpassing my expectations. I NEVER question the direction the story moves in as far as being entertaining and more jaw dropping than expected. I also agree that he's great for taking the time required to make things work right. But when I try to imagine that the story actually does go the way as proposed by the opening post of this thread, I imagine it would be a nightmare for someone to actually write that portion of the story. *Enter Synesthesic Cringing*

Surely I've contradicted myself somewhere in these last two posts. But I hope my intent was made clear enough.
 

Aazealh

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Staralfur said:
For now, she is deeply attached to the demon child, but will it still be the case when she's sane again? Will she even remember him? (I sure hope so!) And how will it affect her decisions in the future?

Aside from that, there's the issue of her ability to detect her son regardless of his appearance. Will she have retained it? And will she remember that she felt him in Griffith on the Hill of Swords? I can't even imagine how she'd feel if she learned that aside from raping her, he'd made her child into a monster and then forcibly took over his body. It's such an escalation in atrocity that there's no word for it. Then there's the intriguing case of the Moonlight Boy...

Jaze1618 said:
This is an automatic physical reaction to the thought of anyone having to write that part of the story. My imagination certainly falls short because I can't imagine what a good handling of that scene would look like, more so I FEEL that it's impossible.

Ok, I see what you mean. But you know (and I hope you'll forgive me for insisting), that's also why you're just a reader and not the author. :guts:
 
Aazealh said:
Aside from that, there's the issue of her ability to detect her son regardless of his appearance. Will she have retained it? And will she remember that she felt him in Griffith on the Hill of Swords? I can't even imagine how she'd feel if she learned that aside from raping her, he'd made her child into a monster and then forcibly took over his body. It's such an escalation in atrocity that there's no word for it. Then there's the intriguing case of the Moonlight Boy...

That's the most interesting part of Casca regaining herself to me; Will she be able to remember any of the things she experienced between the eclipse and her becoming sane again? And if she does, how will that affect her feelings about Guts, Griffith and everyone else. If she remembers everything, will she still retain her distrust of Guts or will she go back to loving him like she did before? Or, if she can't remember any of it, how will she react to the information? Or maybe she becomes more or less of a blank slate. And then there's all the different shades of gray in between. It's definitely going to be a critical moment in the story and I can't wait to see how Miura answers my questions.
 
P

Pez

Guest
Triple Life said:
If she remembers everything, will she still retain her distrust of Guts or will she go back to loving him like she did before?

I really hope nothing like this will happen. It would go against the story involving how she trusts and understands him. If she truly loves him, then she should be able to acknowledge the darkness inside of him. She did not hate him after he choked her during sex :guts:

I just do not see this happening. Then again, I am not quite sure at all what will happen. If she remembers all that has happened, she might get drawn in to an even more repressed state (it is quite embarrassing for her, all of the things she did while she was ill). Then again, if she remembers nothing, than she lost years of her life and everything that has happened to those around her...
 
What I don't get is, why isn't Casca clad in some form of protective armour? I mean, since she's branded, it would make sense to have her thoroughly protected with armour instead of just plain cloth garments.
 

Aazealh

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perros said:
What I don't get is, why isn't Casca clad in some form of protective armour? I mean, since she's branded, it would make sense to have her thoroughly protected with armour instead of just plain cloth garments.

1) She's not exactly cooperative and so having her wearing something convenient is for the best.
2) Her brand is currently not a problem thanks to the talisman she received from Flora.
 
I would laugh my ass off if the Elf king made Guts and Co hunt down some Mandragora to heal Casca.

Yes, it seems that recovering her mind is central to the plot right now (And has been for quite a while). My first introduction to the series was all about Guts trying to get a cure through the Dreamcast game. Full cannon or not, I would guess from the game she may well NOT remember from right before the eclipse onward as the implication is that to her it was all a bad dream. We shall see how it all plays out. I'm curious how Farnese will react in all this. The "real" Casca may not like Farnese.... or other things may occur. It will be a tremendous change though because while I think Serpico is a superior swordsman to Casca, having her back in the fold will greatly change the game and it may well go from "Rescuing Casca" to saving the world.
 
Sword said:
I would laugh my ass off if the Elf king made Guts and Co hunt down some Mandragora to heal Casca.

Yes, it seems that recovering her mind is central to the plot right now (And has been for quite a while). My first introduction to the series was all about Guts trying to get a cure through the Dreamcast game. Full cannon or not, I would guess from the game she may well NOT remember from right before the eclipse onward as the implication is that to her it was all a bad dream. We shall see how it all plays out. I'm curious how Farnese will react in all this. The "real" Casca may not like Farnese.... or other things may occur. It will be a tremendous change though because while I think Serpico is a superior swordsman to Casca, having her back in the fold will greatly change the game and it may well go from "Rescuing Casca" to saving the world.

I personally think Casca won't remember anything after the events of Griffith defeating Guts in the duel and having him join the Hawks: Casca will loathe Guts all over again while giving Griffith her undying love, then memories will start appearing. As the story progresses, maybe there'll be parts where she is daydreaming, reminding her of how Guts defeated 100 men all on his own, the intimate waterfall episode, and how he and Griffith fought Zodd, etc. At this point we can only speculate as there's no indication how'll she react when she regains her memory, if she even will regain it. :???:
 

Aazealh

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perros said:
I personally think Casca won't remember anything after the events of Griffith defeating Guts in the duel and having him join the Hawks: Casca will loathe Guts all over again while giving Griffith her undying love, then memories will start appearing.

No thanks.
 

Walter

Administrator
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perros said:
I personally think Casca won't remember anything after the events of Griffith defeating Guts in the duel and having him join the Hawks: Casca will loathe Guts all over again while giving Griffith her undying love, then memories will start appearing.
On what basis is your personal belief grounded?
 

aksaC

Sex'n Swordplay
Joey said:
As long Casca gets her memory back eventually and has happy ending with Guts in finale, I be a happy camper. :guts: :casca:

Heh... That might happen, but somehow I feel the odds are against the happy couple. :sad: :???:
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
I don't expect Casca to be the same person she was when she fully comes back. I am very interested in seeing her talk to all her "new" friends.
 
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