Episode 331

[fenril]

The episode gave Guts interpretation of SK's comment on Casca. Guts thinks she might not actually wanted to be healed by thinking "Yes, she could not accept it, that is why she went out of her mind"  which I think is kind of interesting.

Am I the only one finding Farnese is getting more out spoken especially when she made a rough comment on Guts.    PLease don't let these 2 pair up, if that day comes I'll quit reading the manga ! 

[Aazealh]

The episode gave Guts interpretation of SK's comment on Casca. Guts thinks she might not actually wanted to be healed by thinking "Yes, she could not accept it, that is why she went out of her mind"  which I think is kind of interesting.

Well it's been one of our own possible interpretations ever since that episode was released... And even before that in fact. I've always thought the main reason she lost it was because it was too much for her to bear. Hell, it's already very hard for Guts, just look at his reaction when he simply thinks about it.

Am I the only one finding Farnese is getting more out spoken especially when she made a rough comment on Guts.

Nah, she's becoming more confident. Really confident, as opposed to her posturing when she was head of the H.I.C.K. It's really nice to see how far she's come. Truly a master work of character development.

[Walter]

It makes me wonder (as it's been mentioned) if Skellig might be attacked by apostles or if the gang intend to use a similar form of transport to make their way to Falconia later on.

It seems to be a very specialized phenomena: the boy's power + the full moon + the tree. I doubt it's something just _anyone_ can do.

PLease don't let these 2 pair up, if that day comes I'll quit reading the manga !  

I believe you have nothing to worry about.  

[Gill]

This episode was pure artgasm, and... Berserkgasm maybe?
For me, the transparent branches and the moonlight boy standing on them was the best, this detail and realism with just black-and-white screentones is simply incredible.

I doubt that the boy is Griffith himself spying on them, but maybe he's his son, too? Because I'm starting to think that Griffith didn't only "demonize" the baby during the rape, but actually added a bit of himself to it, becoming a third parent somehow (probably not by purpose). Since he was already belonging to another dimension during the intercourse, the resemblance to him only appears in the boy's astral form, while his physical body is a mix of Casca and Guts. Maybe, that's why the boy now seems to follow Griffith's orders or something, because Griffith is actually his other father? Maybe Griffith only realised that it's his son after incarnating, so he gave him a body and manipulating him somehow.
Now, really just speculating:
I think the only thing the boy wants is to be with his parents, that's his instict, but he has a hard time deciding which parents should he join, Guts&Casca, or Griffith, because both offer him something - Griffith gave him a normal physical body, but Guts and Casca can give him a family - and that's why he seems to seek for Casca's company but be related to/influenced by Griffith at the same time. (ok I think maybe I'm getting too far )
I'm not sure if an idea like this came up before but at the moment it seems logical to me.

[Aazealh]

I doubt that the boy is Griffith himself spying on them, but maybe he's his son, too? Because I'm starting to think that Griffith didn't only "demonize" the baby during the rape, but actually added a bit of himself to it, becoming a third parent somehow (probably not by purpose).

That's not how it's portrayed in the manga. The Skull Knight directly tells Guts that Casca was pregnant with his child, but that Femto corrupted it. And the child clearly had a thing for his parents (he often manifested himself to Guts & Casca, even in spite of Guts' adverse reactions), but we never saw a connexion with Femto, and it was never hinted at.

Since he was already belonging to another dimension during the intercourse, the resemblance to him only appears in the boy's astral form, while his physical body is a mix of Casca and Guts.

His astral form only resembles Griffith's since Femto was incarnated and took over the boy's body. Before that, it was that of a misshaped baby.

Maybe, that's why the boy now seems to follow Griffith's orders or something

The boy definitely does not seem to follow any orders at all, and especially not Griffith's. He's just coming to hang out with his parents whenever he can, and accessorily protects and helps them. His actions are pretty obviously contrary to Griffith's interests.

Maybe Griffith only realised that it's his son after incarnating, so he gave him a body and manipulating him somehow.

I'm shaking my head here...

[JezzaX]

It seems to be a very specialized phenomena: the boy's power + the full moon + the tree. I doubt it's something just _anyone_ can do.

I wouldn't assume they would be using the same method as the boy, but since he's someone other than SK that now has a fast method of moving around, maybe there could be something at Skellig for the group to achieve something similar? Not entirely likely, but not entirely impossible.

[Oburi]

The end of this episode is truly amazing. The post-Fantasia developments are so huge and ripe with possibilities it makes my head spin.

Nah, she's becoming more confident. Really confident, as opposed to her posturing when she was head of the H.I.C.K. It's really nice to see how far she's come. Truly a master work of character development.

I was thinking that while reading. Its incredible to think how far she has come since we first saw her. Insane character development. Even without dialog, just seeing her actions and her facial expressions you can feel all the history of her character is inside there. I love Schierke's face at the bottom of page 5.

I also really like Guts' hair in this episode. Total bedhead.   

[Gaahl]

I wouldn't assume they would be using the same method as the boy, but since he's someone other than SK that now has a fast method of moving around, maybe there could be something at Skellig for the group to achieve something similar? Not entirely likely, but not entirely impossible.

I definitely think that they will leave Skellig by some other means than by ship. So far, Miura has never repeated himself in this manga. Another long trip over the ocean would seem a bit redundant, so I doubt it will happen. And if it happens, it will either be very short, or even more dangerous than the encounter with the sea god.
But I don't want to think too much about how they leave Skellig yet, they haven't even arrived and that arrival is the single most anticipated event since... well ever.



Anyway, what do you make of the boys look from below the moon?
I can't quite put my finger on it, but he looks... worried? Concerned?
Almost as if he knew something. How old do you think he his now, not in terms of actual years, but in terms of child development (can I say it like this?). He seems to grow up a lot faster than normal humans would.

[jackson_hurley]

I'm curious to know when is the next time we will see the boy. Since so far (if I'm not wrong) we seem to be seeing him on full moon nights. Now I don't think the trip to Elfhelm will last one a couple of weeks (we don't know how big the island is nor how long will they take to find Elfhelm on Skellig) So, do you guys think we'll see him one more time when they are the island (assuming that Schierke is wrong with her assumption that he might be himself the King of Flower Storm)

As for the trip back, I can definitely imagine a point of view change while they are coming back. Switch to Falconia to see how things are going there and how everything works. It's not the first time we would get a small time gap in the series anyway so Miura can skip to show us the trip back to Midland if he wants to without making the group come back by some extraordinary means of travel..

[Aazealh]

Anyway, what do you make of the boys look from below the moon?
I can't quite put my finger on it, but he looks... worried? Concerned?

"Impenetrable" is how I'd describe it. Impossible to know what he's thinking. Not unlike the new Griffith in that regard, makes him look... non-human.

Almost as if he knew something.

He most certainly does know something. But what?

How old do you think he his now, not in terms of actual years, but in terms of child development (can I say it like this?). He seems to grow up a lot faster than normal humans would.

I'm not sure honestly. And he has clearly grown up quickly since the last time we saw him, but I'm also not sure whether it'll continue or not. Is he catching up on his actual age? Is he going to grow to adulthood at an accelerated rate? Time will tell.

Since so far (if I'm not wrong) we seem to be seeing him on full moon nights. Now I don't think the trip to Elfhelm will last one a couple of weeks (we don't know how big the island is nor how long will they take to find Elfhelm on Skellig) So, do you guys think we'll see him one more time when they are the island (assuming that Schierke is wrong with her assumption that he might be himself the King of Flower Storm)

I'm quite sure that we won't see him again until they reach Elfhelm, and I'm also certain that it'll be during a full moon. The real question is whether we will see him in Elfhelm or not (will he be willing to show himself there?). I hope we will.

[jackson_hurley]

I'm quite sure that we won't see him again until they reach Elfhelm, and I'm also certain that it'll be during a full moon. The real question is whether we will see him in Elfhelm or not (will he be willing to show himself there?). I hope we will.

Oups my bad I badly wrote what I wanted to say. What I was wondering is pretty much what you said so yourself. Will we see him in Elfhelm since I don't think their trip there will last a couple of weeks.

Oh I was also thinking how big is Elfhelm? Is it a part of Skellig?

[Gobolatula]

I wonder if the kid can be detained... Imagine if they somehow got him to stick around AFTER the full moon...

[Aazealh]

Will we see him in Elfhelm since I don't think their trip there will last a couple of weeks.

Even if it does last a couple of weeks, or a month or two, I'm pretty sure it'll be uneventful and that we'll skip right to their arrival.

Oh I was also thinking how big is Elfhelm? Is it a part of Skellig?

Skellig is the name of the island on which Elfhelm (a village/town/home of elves) is situated. We don't know how big it is, but I imagine it's not just a hamlet.

I wonder if the kid can be detained... Imagine if they somehow got him to stick around AFTER the full moon...

"No! Don't look at me! Get back! I can't control him when I transform! Aaaarrgghhhhh... "

[jackson_hurley]

Skellig is the name of the island on which Elfhelm (a village/town/home of elves) is situated.

Okay that's what I thought but wasn't so sure anymore, thank you for the clarification.

[Gobolatula]

I hope Elfhelm is right on the coast. Though I wonder what else is on Skellig. Considering the name of the chapter is "Elf Island," probably a lot of different kinds of elves and various wizards. I hope Skellig is mostly a peaceful place without any giant monsters. I hope there's a straight road from the coast to Elfhelm where there's a little sign that says "Sick Girlfriends This Way -->"

EDIT:

What do you guys think the chances are that the story will switch back to Griffith for a little bit now? It seems like a good place for a transition. I'm hoping for more Guts though.

[Johnny Apples]

Am I the only one who never thought that there was really a Ganishka-Tree in this episode? 
Having his tree-body completely obliterated by Femto, I don't believe that there's been any Ganishka-Tree roots left behind on Earth even in residual astral form, to serve as some kind of "portal" for Moonlight Boy. In my opinion, those wormhole portals that we saw in the last few pages are what may just be the very threads of Causality themselves, leading into the living world from the depths of Abyss, and via which Guts' and Casca's son is able to temporarily travel to the living world and visit his parents. 

[Walter]

Am I the only one who never thought that there was really a Ganishka-Tree in this episode?  
Having his tree-body completely obliterated by Femto, I don't believe that there's been any Ganishka-Tree roots left behind on Earth even in residual astral form,

I guess you're confused that we're calling it the Ganishka Tree? Because there's certainly a tree that appeared in place of Ganishka when Falconia appeared. And there's no reason to believe it's not around anymore.

In my opinion, those wormhole portals that we saw in the last few pages are what may just be the very threads of Causality themselves, leading into the living world from the depths of Abyss, and via which Guts' and Casca's son is able to temporarily travel to the living world and visit his parents.  

Causality is a principle or law, not a thing you move around inside. Besides, it looks very much like a tree. Furthermore, Griffith and Falconia are also in the "living world" (these terms have already lost their meaning in the new world). No need to travel to the abyss.

[Rhombaad]

Just finished reading it (I wanted to read it earlier, but I was stuck at work). Wow! (What more is there to say that hasn't already been said?)

[Joe Chip]

Amazing episode guys, thanks for all the work. I loved reading it, even though i cant understand what everyone is saying. I really enjoyed going through the thread, everyone (me included) is so hyped up about the new berserk episode. 

What do you guys think the chances are that the story will switch back to Griffith for a little bit now? It seems like a good place for a transition. I'm hoping for more Guts though.

I really hope that this does happen. I personally think that the next few episodes will be all about Elfhelm.

[Aazealh]

Though I wonder what else is on Skellig.

I've wondered before and came to the conclusion that Elfhelm would be the main attraction. The chapter title, Elf Island, seems to hint at this being the case too.

What do you guys think the chances are that the story will switch back to Griffith for a little bit now? It seems like a good place for a transition. I'm hoping for more Guts though.

I think we'll see some of the world (not necessarily Griffith) soon enough.

Having his tree-body completely obliterated by Femto, I don't believe that there's been any Ganishka-Tree roots left behind on Earth even in residual astral form, to serve as some kind of "portal" for Moonlight Boy.

You should really re-read episode 307.

In my opinion, those wormhole portals that we saw in the last few pages are what may just be the very threads of Causality themselves, leading into the living world from the depths of Abyss

[Johnny Apples]

I guess you're confused that we're calling it the Ganishka Tree? Because there's certainly a tree that appeared in place of Ganishka when Falconia appeared. And there's no reason to believe it's not around anymore.

You should really re-read episode 307.

Oh, the World Tree, which had appeared after Ganishka's death. How could I have forgotten about that?     

 

[Aazealh]

Oh, the World Tree, which had appeared after Ganishka's death.

It hasn't been given a name in the manga so far, and despite this episode's developments hasn't been established at being a "world tree" yet either.

[JoeZeon]

After a second read through, I got a question. When Guts wakes up after he his flashback the beast shows up. I'm wondering if that's just Guts thinking of the beast or the beast itself? I was under the impression the beast was laying low.

[Aazealh]

After a second read through, I got a question. When Guts wakes up after he his flashback the beast shows up. I'm wondering if that's just Guts thinking of the beast or the beast itself? I was under the impression the beast was laying low.

It's the Beast of Darkness itself. Yes, it is "laying low" in a sense, but remember that you shouldn't think of the Beast as a character entirely separate from Guts. It's only a personification of a part of his mind. And thinking of the Eclipse and of what happened to Casca is a sure way to bring "it" up. It's how it was born, because of what happened then and what he endured afterwards. Casca has her share of mental illness, but he has his own as well.

[Arles]

I'm looking forward to the full translations as well. It looks like a very interesting episode with a lot of information.

At first I perceived the branches as "flows of water" of some kind, but I think them being part of the tree makes more sense.

It was also really nice seeing another appearance of Casca in her previous state, with a decided gaze, armored and ready to go. Though it must be really painful for Guts not only to remember that, but to recall the Eclipse as well... The way he grabs his face after thinking about all that shows it perfectly.