Episode 316

puella

Berserk forever
Did you guys notice how Isma has specific eyebrows? They don't go all the way over her eyes. In real life many people have ones like hers. It can even make some women reluctant to remove their eye makeup. However Isma still looks pretty, with her very round eyes and single eyelids. I'm not sure if it's related to her half-Merrow nature, but I think Miura gave her a strong individuality when he created her. I want the same haircut. :iva:
 
Aazealh said:
Last time she was in a trance, so she couldn't notice what happened. This time she has a chance to catch the boy red-handed.

I can hardly wait. The potential story development from that is just incredible. :guts:
 

creampuff_war

haven't you already paid enough for your life?
okay, just read the new episode. gotta say, i'm kinda ready for Guts to go ahead a kill a mutha f'er. I was thinking farnese. trying to protect Casca? or maybe serpico retying to protect everyone? hey, there has to be some consequence for unleashing the berserk armor.

if Guts doesn't kill anyone from his party, there has to be something special, something we haven't seen yet, to get him from letting the beast fulfill his blood-lust. if the moonlight boy stops him completely, then the moonlight boy must become a stable character, at least within the framework of the next five episodes or so.

obviously, i think isma looks to be joining the main group, maybe she will be the one who faces the wrath of an uncontrolled guts. but, either way, if she is to join, then she's going to have to unleash some sort of spiritual power in order to a) keep Guts from crushing a teammate, or b) destroy the sea monsters and let Guts be coaxed down by the moonlight child.

Splendid episode, can't wait to see what Guts has in store for his companions. i really don't think anyone from the hawks is going to interfere, that would be too much deus ex machina.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
creampuff_war said:
okay, just read the new episode. gotta say, i'm kinda ready for Guts to go ahead a kill a mutha f'er. I was thinking farnese. trying to protect Casca? or maybe serpico retying to protect everyone?

As effectively shocking as that would be, for the same reasons I don't think Miura is going to throw away the investment he's put into those characters; not here, and not just for that. If Miura wanted to have Guts actually kill an ally, which doesn't seem as likely now anyway with the intervention of the child, he could make that point simply by killing off one of Roderick's nameless men. Plus, it's just not a good bet assuming Bones is is going to get killed on planet instead of the red shirt. Speaking of which, a little perspective and respect for Farnese and Serpico is in order as well, they're main supporting characters, not cannon fodder. Also, aside from the Eclipse, when it was literally preordained by him, Miura really doesn't kill off regular characters, let alone in this fashion.

creampuff_war said:
hey, there has to be some consequence for unleashing the berserk armor.

Well, it's already destroying Guts' body and soul in addition to the danger it poses to his friends, that's pretty damn consequential. It may not always be apparent in the short term as he continues to habitually use the armor, but in the long term, there's no avoiding the consequences, which is suspenseful in itself.

creampuff_war said:
if Guts doesn't kill anyone from his party, there has to be something special, something we haven't seen yet, to get him from letting the beast fulfill his blood-lust. if the moonlight child stops him completely, then the moonlight child must become a stable character, at least within the framework of the next five episodes or so.

obviously, i think isma looks to be joining the main group, maybe she will be the one who faces the wrath of an uncontrolled guts. but, either way, if she is to join, then she's going to have to unleash some sort of spiritual power in order to a) keep Guts from crushing a teammate, or b) destroy the sea monsters and let Guts be coaxed down by the moonlight child.

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at with these... requirements? Just a kind of rhetorical speculation? In any case, there's plenty of other reasonable outcomes that could stem from those scenarios, and it's not constructive to judge them within such a short range of episodes.

creampuff_war said:
Splendid episode, can't wait to see what Guts has in store for his companions. i really don't think anyone from the hawks is going to interfere, that would be too much deus ex machina.

All that we can agree on.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Griffith said:
Speaking of which, a little perspective and respect for Farnese and Serpico is in order as well, they're main supporting characters, not cannon fodder. Also, aside from the Eclipse, when it was literally preordained by him, Miura really doesn't kill off regular characters, let alone in this fashion.

True, but I am a little worried for Farnese because of where she and Serpico are in their character arcs. Farnese has just got herself completely turned around; she not only helplessly tries to but actually fights to protect Casca. I'm sure I'll be proved wrong by future developments, but at the moment, her character development is basically done, and if that's true it's not unlikely that she will soon leave or die to make room for more growing characters.

Serpico on the other hand is sort of stuck on pause as long as Farnese is around and being competent. Farnese's death would be the obvious way to open Serpy's can of worms. Of course, her leaving the party with Roderick after the current story arc wraps up would also force Serpico's hand character-wise.

It'd be pretty deliciously ironic if Guts ended up accidentally killing Serpico though. But beyond seeing what that'd do to Farnese, it wouldn't do much for the story, so I don't think it's actually likely. We already saw Guts' instant regret for killing someone he didn't want to yonks ago; that ground's been covered.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
creampuff_war said:
if Guts doesn't kill anyone from his party, there has to be something special, something we haven't seen yet, to get him from letting the beast fulfill his blood-lust. if the moonlight boy stops him completely, then the moonlight boy must become a stable character, at least within the framework of the next five episodes or so.

When you look at the episode, and when you know what happened the last time the boy intervened, it's hard to believe that anyone is going to be killed. Also, I don't know what you mean by "stable character", but I'm quite sure that the boy won't stick around for too long. He'll be gone before morning.

creampuff_war said:
obviously, i think isma looks to be joining the main group, maybe she will be the one who faces the wrath of an uncontrolled guts. but, either way, if she is to join, then she's going to have to unleash some sort of spiritual power in order to a) keep Guts from crushing a teammate, or b) destroy the sea monsters and let Guts be coaxed down by the moonlight child.

You realize that half the episode was spent establishing that she's a simple fishergirl, not a warrior or a witch? While her merrow heritage is likely to play a key role at some point, she's not going to turn into a badass all of a sudden. Besides, the boy is already in the process of keeping Guts from doing something tragic (and it might not incapacitate him), and most of the sea slugs are dead at this point.

creampuff_war said:
i really don't think anyone from the hawks is going to interfere, that would be too much deus ex machina.

If your only problem with it is that it would be a deus ex machina then something's very wrong. Why would one of Griffith's apostles be there in the first place, and why would they help Guts, of all people?

Lithrael said:
True, but I am a little worried for Farnese because of where she and Serpico are in their character arcs. Farnese has just got herself completely turned around; she not only helplessly tries to but actually fights to protect Casca. I'm sure I'll be proved wrong by future developments, but at the moment, her character development is basically done, and if that's true it's not unlikely that she will soon leave or die to make room for more growing characters.

Are you serious? It's not the first time Farnese manages to do something in combat, and even if it were, it still wouldn't mean that she wouldn't be getting any more character development. It's "basically done" you say? What about becoming a witch to better understand the world, so that eventually she wouldn't be afraid of it anymore? That's her true goal. And then there's the interactions with the group and the love side of things that I'm not even getting into.

Really, I can't see the logic in what you're saying. You seriously think Farnese is likely to die or leave to make room for other characters (who?) just because she finally has some self-confidence? What a waste that would be. Besides, the development serves the character, not the other way around. Following your reasoning, half the characters in the story should be gone at this point.

Lithrael said:
Serpico on the other hand is sort of stuck on pause as long as Farnese is around and being competent. Farnese's death would be the obvious way to open Serpy's can of worms. Of course, her leaving the party with Roderick after the current story arc wraps up would also force Serpico's hand character-wise.

Isn't he the perfect counter-example to what you're saying about Farnese? He's barely evolved since he was first introduced. And I think you're wrong about what he needs, too. He has to find his own way, not forced but willing. Farnese' evolution has been leading to it for a while. Slowly but surely.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Lithrael said:
True, but I am a little worried for Farnese because of where she and Serpico are in their character arcs. Farnese has just got herself completely turned around; she not only helplessly tries to but actually fights to protect Casca. I'm sure I'll be proved wrong by future developments, but at the moment, her character development is basically done, and if that's true it's not unlikely that she will soon leave or die to make room for more growing characters.

I don't think that's true though, Farnese is in flux as much as anybody, in the middle of multiple ongoing threads regarding her personal development and relationships with... well, everyone. She's no more done than when she left Vritannis not too long ago, and she probably wouldn't have left if she had been (within her character or for general literary purposes). She still hasn't accomplished what she set out to do in that episode, and one would have to believe that's all a red herring to heighten her life being tragically cut short (again, not typically Miura's style). Hindsight is 20/20, but from what I see, Farnese's development is still ongoing and it's unlikely she's meant to die soon.

Lithrael said:
It'd be pretty deliciously ironic if Guts ended up accidentally killing Serpico though. But beyond seeing what that'd do to Farnese, it wouldn't do much for the story, so I don't think it's actually likely. We already saw Guts' instant regret for killing someone he didn't want to yonks ago; that ground's been covered.

That'd be a pretty radical occurrence for a number of reasons actually, I don't think it's comparable to anything Guts has done in the past.

Henry Spencer said:
Gambino? Or are you referring to Adonis?

Regardless, this would be different because it wouldn't just be his personal regret but the way it would alienate him from his friends.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Yeah, I meant Adonis, that would be the more comparable situation IMO cause it was more a reflex and then 'oh damn' where the situation with Gambino was more emotionally charged leading up to it.

Aazealh said:
Really, I can't see the logic in what you're saying. You seriously think Farnese is likely to die or leave to make room for other characters (who?) just because she finally has some self-confidence? What a waste that would be. Besides, the development serves the character, not the other way around. Following your reasoning, half the characters in the story should be gone at this point.

Haaahahaha OK. Fair enough. I guess I've just been reading too many hack writers lately where the fate of a character is directly related to that kind of thing. I probably ought to get some better recs from the 'what are you reading' thread. :iva:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Blaze of Glory said:
Oi which sense do you suppose Guts will lose this time?
It doesn't work like that. It's clearly not a binary relationship of 1 use = 1 lost sense. What SK said is that as Guts continues to use the armor, he would gradually lose "many things," including sight, color, warmth, taste, muscle control (trembling hands). Feel free to check the translation: http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=2905.0

All that being said, I'm dreading that it will take a heavy toll this time. The last time we saw it impact him was his vision, and that was a frightening experience for Guts. It could be even worse this time.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
I'm thinking guts will lose his sense of smell this time, which may be a good thing considering all the seafood he's been ripping apart.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Imagine the stench of Slan when Guts was up against her. Yeah, I think it'd be alright if he lost his smelling abilities. What would be awful is if he lost his sense of touch before he got a chance to give the freshly awakened Casca a kiss. :casca:
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
I've always hoped that the elf king would do some type of magic that would guard guts from the armors effects.

maybe give him back his right eye too, i can always hope! :guts:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Truder said:
I've always hoped that the elf king would do some type of magic that would guard guts from the armors effects.

maybe give him back his right eye too, i can always hope! :guts:
Wouldn't that be a little too easy? I like the dangerous price Miura gave the power of the armor. It fits so seamlessly in with all the other elements of the series that show that power comes with a price. I wouldn't want that to be written away with some magic from the elf king.
 
Walter said:
Wouldn't that be a little too easy? I like the dangerous price Miura gave the power of the armor. It fits so seamlessly in with all the other elements of the series that show that power comes with a price. I wouldn't want that to be written away with some magic from the elf king.

Aye I agree, the same with Guts gaining back his other eye. He'd curbstomp all of his enemies if he got it back.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Walter said:
Wouldn't that be a little too easy? I like the dangerous price Miura gave the power of the armor. It fits so seamlessly in with all the other elements of the series that show that power comes with a price. I wouldn't want that to be written away with some magic from the elf king.

Exactly. What's the point of losing something if you get it back several volumes later? Might as well have the Elf King resurrect the Falcons. I just hope Guts doesn't lose too much more. I'm really worried about what the armor is doing to him.
 

Aphasia

ALL MYSTERIES MUST BE SOLVED
Gobolatula said:
Imagine the stench of Slan when Guts was up against her. Yeah, I think it'd be alright if he lost his smelling abilities. What would be awful is if he lost his sense of touch before he got a chance to give the freshly awakened Casca a kiss. :casca:

That last part could actually make an interesting scene. It feels like something Miura would do. Something bitter sweet. This is assuming Casca is awakening in some form or fashion. I've been re-reading all the golden age. 2-11 or so. I'd almost forgotten how vivid Casca's personality was. I can't wait to see what happens in the story regarding her, and how it will influence Guts desire for revenge. So many things have changed since the eclipse.

Blaze of Glory said:
Aye I agree, the same with Guts gaining back his other eye. He'd curbstomp all of his enemies if he got it back.

Or his real arm, heh. Reminds me of some fun speculation threads debating whether Guts needed his Iron arm more than his real one.
 
Walter said:
It doesn't work like that. It's clearly not a binary relationship of 1 use = 1 lost sense. What SK said is that as Guts continues to use the armor, he would gradually lose "many things," including sight, color, warmth, taste, muscle control (trembling hands). Feel free to check the translation: http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=2905.0

All that being said, I'm dreading that it will take a heavy toll this time. The last time we saw it impact him was his vision, and that was a frightening experience for Guts. It could be even worse this time.

Wasn't his sense of taste already beginning to dull around the first encounter with the "Moonlight Boy"? I haven't read that episode since it was first released, but I recall Guts pausing with a spoon of seafood stew in his mouth as if he was startled by its taste (or lack thereof).
 
finally! I'm a bit late, but I'll start reading the EPISODE now, I'll edit this post later.
Isidro protecting Isma, is it just me, or Isidro is starting to look a lot like young guts?

wow Guts, eating the sea monster, seriously?
guts' inner beast must be really hungry.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Lauro said:
finally! I'm a bit late, but I'll start reading the chapter
EPISODE.

Isidro protecting Isma, is it just me, or Isidro is starting to look a lot like young guts?
He's always resembled young Guts, to me. I don't think the similarity in their hair is a coincidence. I think Miura is intentionally poking at our memories to make that comparison ourselves.
 
Walter said:
EPISODE.
He's always resembled young Guts, to me. I don't think the similarity in their hair is a coincidence. I think Miura is intentionally poking at our memories to make that comparison ourselves.
Sorry :sad:

Guts is starting to learn how to control the beast himself it seems, or its just a moment of pure strong will.
wait a sec, is the boy that white spirit?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Madam President said:
Wasn't his sense of taste already beginning to dull around the first encounter with the "Moonlight Boy"?

Yes, and even before that his hand was shaking.

Lauro said:
Guts is starting to learn how to control the beast himself it seems, or its just a moment of pure strong will.

See what was discussed in this thread and the previous one. The Beast of Darkness has been in chains since episode 290, chains that represent Guts' feelings for his companions. It's not "control" (nor something he learned), but they can hold it back to some extent.

Lauro said:
wait a sec, is the boy that white spirit?

That's how he appears to Guts right now, yes. Nothing new; it was the same on the beach in volume 28.
 

Bubbles Float High

God hand, shmod hand..
This is so awesome!!!

I also noticed Isidro looking pretty hardcore. And I don't think I would have caught the "chains" if not for the forum.

So far fetched but in that last scene I was thinking about the old Caska.. :casca:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
For info, Young Animal #23 (released on November 26) will carry Berserk.

While it might not mean much, this makes 2009 the year with the lowest amount of prepublished episodes so far (eight), and marks 2010 as the possible beginning of an upward trend, with as many episodes as in 2008 so far (nine) and a possibility of surpassing it if the last YA of the year also has an episode.
 
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