Episode 325

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Handmade_lion said:
A lot of people are quite "bitter" about this more pirate-focused portion of Berserk.

If anything it's sea-focused, not pirate-focused (what a surprise, considering that the characters are traveling by ship). The boss and his crew have had recurring appearances, but their overall role has been a relatively small one, especially since their death. They were just heralds of sorts for the Sea God after that, and they disappeared for good 2 episodes ago anyway. The real star here is and has been the ancient, monstrous god that Guts is currently inside of. A creature so colossal its size rivals that of an island, like the mythical Leviathan from the Bible.

Handmade_lion said:
Let me first say, it is a difficult thing to make a best-to-worst or worst-to-best list with something like Berserk. It's all good, and it all looks good. Even with the pirate, or a slower part of the story

For the record, this is hardly one of the slower parts of the story. Volume 36 is almost non-stop action, and this is one of Guts' biggest fights yet. The word "epic" is hackneyed nowadays, but it actually properly describes the current events.

Handmade_lion said:
Jill from the Lost Children Arc (?)

Lost Children chapter. And the girl from the Dreamcast game is named Rita.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Not to turn this into the Berserk Pacing Thread, but at this pace Wyald would have taken about a year to get through. Imagine the WHO IS THIS DUMB MONSTER WITH HIS SILLY REMARKS, THIS IS THE LOWEST POINT IN BERSERK WHEN DOES GUTS LOSE HIS EYE AND ARM?!

In any case, awesome episode, but I can't wait to read this Sea God part as a whole. Also, when are we due for a more wind related something or other? We've gotten plenty of water spirits, the Blaze Rod, and the Lord of Rotting Roots, I'm ready for some sort of huge wind elemental spirit whether it's against them or summoned for them.
 
X

Xem

Guest
Dar Klink said:
In any case, awesome episode, but I can't wait to read this Sea God part as a whole. Also, when are we due for a more wind related something or other? We've gotten plenty of water spirits, the Blaze Rod, and the Lord of Rotting Roots, I'm ready for some sort of huge wind elemental spirit whether it's against them or summoned for them.

Not sure I understand the question, there's Serpico, Ganishka, Griffith,... ?
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Deci said:
Not sure I understand the question, there's Serpico, Ganishka, Griffith,... ?
I didn't really count them, Serpico has the sylph, Griffith summoned a wind against Ganishka, and I'm not sure if Ganishka counts... but I mean something akin to the Sea God or at least the Lord of Rotting Roots or Blaze Rod that Schierke summoned.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Dar Klink said:
I didn't really count them, Serpico has the sylph, Griffith summoned a wind against Ganishka, and I'm not sure if Ganishka counts... but I mean something akin to the Sea God or at least the Lord of Rotting Roots or Blaze Rod that Schierke summoned.
I don't think there necessarily needs to be a tour of all the relevant elemental spirits. However with that being said, the EARTH elementals haven't been seen at all.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Walter said:
I don't think there necessarily needs to be a tour of all the relevant elemental spirits. However with that being said, the EARTH elementals haven't been seen at all.
You mean the ones like Sylph and Salamander? I thought Lord of Rotting Roots was Earth aligned, at least the encyclopedia says so. I do see what you mean though. Also, Puck/Ivalera are wind aligned, as is the King of Elfhelm I'm guessing.
 
Dar Klink said:
Also, Puck/Ivalera are wind aligned, as is the King of Elfhelm I'm guessing.

Yes, they are. The elves like Puck and Ivalera are classified as Pixies, as they represent the wind element, while the elves that belong to earth element are the Dwarves.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Señor Caudillo said:
Yes, they are. The elves like Puck and Ivalera are classified as Pixies, as they represent the wind element,
They're _piskies_.

while the elves that belong to earth element are the Dwarves.
They're a species of elf associated with earth (and still not one we've seen yet), but they're not what I was referring to. I meant the earth elemental analog to salamanders, undines, and sylphs. We haven't seen those yet.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Dar Klink said:
I'm not sure if Ganishka counts...

Water & wind is how he managed his cloud form.

Dar Klink said:
I thought Lord of Rotting Roots was Earth aligned

Earth & water.

Dar Klink said:
Also, Puck/Ivalera are wind aligned, as is the King of Elfhelm I'm guessing.

Hehe, someone called the "King of the Flower Storm" is likely to be associated with the wind element one way or another, yeah. :slan: Don't worry anyway, we'll surely get to see Schierke summon a wind spirit sooner or later (since this is what you really want).

Walter said:
They're a species of elf associated with earth (and still not one we've seen yet), but they're not what I was referring to. I meant the earth elemental analog to salamanders, undines, and sylphs. We haven't seen those yet.

Yeah, they're the only elementals we haven't been introduced to yet. We don't even know their name, although based on the others it is most likely to be "gnomes".
 
Walter said:
I can blame people who say the quality of the series has degraded simply because they're impatient. That's what Handmade_Lion was referring to.

As one of the few who's been following episode by episode since 2000, I've never had a problem with the pacing/breaks, as the story and quality of the art has consistently impressed me every time. I just hope Miura doesn't develop amyloidosis (or befall an accident) before he's done. :schnoz:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Mage said:
As one of the few who's been following episode by episode since 2000, I've never had a problem with the pacing/breaks, as the story and quality of the art has consistently impressed me every time.

I haven't been following the series episode-by-episode as long as you have (I started in 2004), but I feel the same way. Whenever a break comes, I take it easy and enjoy other hobbies, or reread the series again, or at the very least the latest Japanese tankōbon. That isn't to say I'm not disappointed when there's a break in publication; but I certainly don't get angry about it.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Generally the problem is one can't properly judge what's literally a work in progress until they can see it in a more complete context (something that seems like a digression might make perfect sense in the context of what's to come). That's why I try not to even form opinions about pace, or how much I like or don't like a certain part of the story until at least a volume or two has proceeded that point, or that thread has been tied. This is especially true on an episode by episode basis, where you're literally only seeing a few individual, or merely parts of, scenes from a huge, multifaceted story arc ("I'm really not liking this fraction of 1% of the story I'm seeing out of context!" ). A more specific issue that lends to reader malaise is while the complexity of the story has grown exponentially, the release schedule has slowed. So Miura's covering a whole lot more, but he can still only show one part at any given time, and less frequently. That doesn't mean the story has gotten worse, on the contrary, largely outgrown the release format. Compare that to a more straightforward Black Swordsman story about hunting an Apostle, and of course that going to be a better read episode to episode because it's a relatively simple and linear narrative where a lot can happen in each issue. So, while this sort of complex storytelling might not be preferable in this format, the story is only going to be better for it, and once this portion is in its entirety the pseudo-pacing issue that plagues episode releases won't even be a factor anymore.
 
By the way, there's probably a simple explanation as usual, but I wonder why Guts didn't try using his arm cannon prior to collapsing? Unless the blast radius is limited to point-blank shots, the heart's a big enough target that he likely would've hit it despite the distance. How effectual it'd be given the distance, the heartbeats, and the extreme air/water pressure is another matter, but better than not landing a single touch.

Of course, given an opening (such as from the merrows), maybe he could shoot the heart point blank and rupture it :badbone:
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
jackson_hurley said:
That just makes me wonder when WAS the last time we saw him use the arm cannon? i just miserably forgot that fact!

Geez, you guys have amnesia, or just read the episodes so fast, you do t consider to take a look at panels.
 
Mage said:
By the way, there's probably a simple explanation as usual, but I wonder why Guts didn't try using his arm cannon prior to collapsing? Unless the blast radius is limited to point-blank shots, the heart's a big enough target that he likely would've hit it despite the distance. How effectual it'd be given the distance, the heartbeats, and the extreme air/water pressure is another matter, but better than not landing a single touch.

Of course, given an opening (such as from the merrows), maybe he could shoot the heart point blank and rupture it :badbone:

It's true that at this point, after suffering so much bodily trauma due to "telekinetic" booming coming from Sea God's heart and having also lost his sense of direction as a result (thus leaving Guts simply unable to even take aim), using the arm cannon is very likely out of question. For now, at least. As for for why didn't try using it earlier, before he collapsed, I think that again it goes back to Sea God and that explosively loud heart of his. Seeing how the extreme infrasonic wave (?) that his heart's beat emits is powerful enough to knock him off his feet and cause physical damage, Guts may have realized that it's probably potent enough to deflect a shell from his cannon as well. Something like what Femto did, back in vol 3. So to Guts, shooting off his cannon while the heart is still strong, either way it simply would have been a waste of ammunition, in my opinion. But if anything, I imagine him saving up the cannon fire for the last coup de grâce, once he's got all of the heart's line of defenses completely mown down. :guts:
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Th3Branded0ne said:
you do t consider to take a look at panels.

Of course I do, what do you think?! :) But unlike you (maybe) I don't only have Berserk to read as a series (and don't always have the time to reread the series for these little things that I don't consider important (and by not important I mean the "how many times did Guts use the cannon" kind of questions) It was just a wondering moment for silly me. But as I think about that I didn't see you answer the question yourself so I take it you might not remember yourself when it was that he use it last. :guts:

On a more related subject : I really dig page 2-3. This sea god is just humongous, but I have a feeling we will not see it in it's entirety, which I don't mind that much to be honest because it leaves you to guess yourself how big that thing can actually be. 9makes it a lot scarier for me)
 
Mage said:
By the way, there's probably a simple explanation as usual, but I wonder why Guts didn't try using his arm cannon prior to collapsing? Unless the blast radius is limited to point-blank shots, the heart's a big enough target that he likely would've hit it despite the distance. How effectual it'd be given the distance, the heartbeats, and the extreme air/water pressure is another matter, but better than not landing a single touch.

Of course, given an opening (such as from the merrows), maybe he could shoot the heart point blank and rupture it :badbone:

I just figured there wasn't enough time to shoot it. When he first reached the heart, he had to fight against its guardians. He could have taken a shot at the heart then, but there was a very good chance he wouldn't have gotten a decent shot off. When you're talking about a one-time use weapon (I assume he wouldn't have time to reload while the guardians are attacking him), it'd be a bad idea to not be as careful and precise as possible when using it. After he finished off the guardians, he immediately started getting hit by the heart's beat.

I guess he could have taken the shot instead of trying to swing his sword at the heart when he first reached it or right after he got hit with the beat the first few times, but he didn't. Maybe he just didn't think about it and instinctively went to attack with the weapon he is the most familiar with. If he could go back and do it again, he probably would've taken the shot when he first reached the heart before the guardians showed up. But hindsight is 20/20, right?

Or maybe him just shooting the heart and instantly killing the sea god with no drama would make for poor story-telling. Who knows?

Unless he used it after Episode 314, he does have it loaded though (he reloaded it immediately after using it against a sea cucumber tentacle). So there's always that card up his sleeve, I suppose.
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
jackson_hurley said:
Of course I do, what do you think?! :) But unlike you (maybe) I don't only have Berserk to read as a series (and don't always have the time to reread the series for these little things that I don't consider important (and by not important I mean the "how many times did Guts use the cannon" kind of questions) It was just a wondering moment for silly me. But as I think about that I didn't see you answer the question yourself so I take it you might not remember yourself when it was that he use it last. :guts:

Ok, since I didn't point you out in the right direction, here are some pics when Guts used the arm cannon last in volume 35.


This one is after he comes out of the tavern and the pirate ship arrives.
gutsk.jpg



And here is when they are in the ship and Guts comes back for action.
gutss.jpg
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Dar Klink said:
In any case, awesome episode, but I can't wait to read this Sea God part as a whole.

Yea me too. In fact I almost want to hold off until I can read volume 35, volume 36, and as far as the rest of this part of the story goes until the Sea God is finally destroyed and the crew wash up on the shore of Elfhelm. :guts: Seriously, as a whole this is easily one my favorite sections of Berserk. Seeing the different sea monsters devour each other at the start of the new arc, arriving on the Island and the intense mystery and bloody action that followed and seeing Guts travel inside the inside sea god itself! Its an incredible self contained part of the story is sure to have an incredible climax. I just love how slowly we see more an more of the monster starting with the sea cucumbers and finally the sea god itself. From the begging this part of the story was masterfully crafted. I can't even put it into words.

Aazealh said:
The real star here is and has been the ancient, monstrous god that Guts is currently inside of.
I'll admit, I laughed.
 
I think because we all assume that elfhelm will be a major story turn, anything between getting us there we wish would hurry up. But i imagine reading it in an actual volume it will be a pretty damn cool journey. It is the biggest thing guts has had to face yet and when it is slotted in between what happens at elfhelm (whatever awesomeness that may be) everyone will appreciate it. :puck:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Bramwell said:
I think because we all assume that elfhelm will be a major story turn, anything between getting us there we wish would hurry up. But i imagine reading it in an actual volume it will be a pretty damn cool journey. It is the biggest thing guts has had to face yet and when it is slotted in between what happens at elfhelm (whatever awesomeness that may be) everyone will appreciate it. :puck:

Nah, I guarantee there'll be some people whining about why they're on Elfhelm for so long. "When will Guts and co. go back to Midland to fight Griffith?! They've been on this island forever!" It'll never end.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Handmade_lion said:
I do hope Guts won't be hard of hearing after this!
CASCA: Guts... I've been gone for so long, haven't I.

GUTS: WHAT?!?

I do have a bad feeling about his hearing now. And his eyesight. On the boat in volume 33 while he was watching Casca, his vision started to get messed up for a moment. The look on his face was "OH GOD NO..."

This battle is going to leave Guts in a whole new level of beaten up.
 
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