I don't think a thread has been done about this before, but if it has then my bad.
It has probably gone through most Berserk fans heads at one stage or another, is he a idiot or not. Now through the series alot of characters have referred to him as one like Godo, Caska and Corkus (who aren't of them probably are exactly geniuses themselves). I don't believe there is one single absolute of intelligence as everyone has strengths and weaknesses in the field one way or another, and if you pay enough attention to someone you can get a approx idea of where they stand as a whole.
He isn't the most educated guy as he never went to school or anything, he has admitted himself that he known nothing but the sword, but despite that I don't think he is a idiot despite not being the smartest character in the story.
Several reasons for this are;
- Griffith was friends with him, he only said a friend to him was someone who equals him has to follow there own dream, not let anyone stand in the way of it blah blah... but I think it was needless to say he didn't want a idiot for a friend either. No doubt Griffiths mind was on a genius on many levels and not many geniuses would want a reg for a friend.
- As said already he wasn't educated in academics at all, he was however educated in everyway possible for the battlefield throughout his short life, in combat or military strategy and this is shown many times throughout the epic, afterall he could not win against so many Apostles with power alone, they are Apostles afterall.
-Some examples of this are when he is 15 and on his first job from Griffith they are all ready for a stealth attack going through the river from behind and Guts is able to analyse all of Griffiths tactics, motives and such just by following him. Another example on this is when he fights Roshinu he wasn't in the condition to beat her unless he turned around the battlefield by using tactics and put Roshinu at a disadvantage.
-His ability to survive with a sword is more than brute force and will power as well, when he has the sword it is shown throughout the series and proven very early on that he is a genius with a sword.
-When he is giving tips to Isidoro I think he speaks like has alot of wisdom about the battlefield as well which is obviously no surprise.
-During the second eclipse they are all trying to escape Farneze is about to pray and he rationally tells her to use the power in her hand rather than rely on something to help her, you don't exactly need to be a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion but it shows he is a rational side even in times of despair, and a probable factor in how he has survived as long as he has.
- As far as being streetwise (which I would consider him essentially) he has learned alot about the world he lives in to survive and understand what he goes on with his journey in the interstice and beyond which probably wasn't a easy thing. Between he survived the Eclipse he learned a bit from the Godhands speech, then a bit from Skull knight about the brand but between then and til when he meets Flora he had to figure out basically everything else on his own which would have probably been a pain in the arse in certain situations where understanding what he was getting into was a matter of life and death.
-As a side ability he can figure people out people well at times, not in the same way as Griffith but when he speaks to them at times he can find there weakness and really exploit it. Talking to Jill was one example when he states why she tagged along because of her loser father and such, though a better example was when he is tied up and getting lashed and has no physical power (which he relies on more than anything throughout the series of course) and still managed to over power Farneze on a mental level whenever he opened his mouth and even when he didn't. That chapter when she is attempting to interrogate him is one of my favourites for that reason.
Anyway though he has made alot of dumb decisions in the epic he has managed to cope well enough to stay alive which is saying alot for a man in his position. If anyone has any points or counterpoints to mine then i'm curious to know.
It has probably gone through most Berserk fans heads at one stage or another, is he a idiot or not. Now through the series alot of characters have referred to him as one like Godo, Caska and Corkus (who aren't of them probably are exactly geniuses themselves). I don't believe there is one single absolute of intelligence as everyone has strengths and weaknesses in the field one way or another, and if you pay enough attention to someone you can get a approx idea of where they stand as a whole.
He isn't the most educated guy as he never went to school or anything, he has admitted himself that he known nothing but the sword, but despite that I don't think he is a idiot despite not being the smartest character in the story.
Several reasons for this are;
- Griffith was friends with him, he only said a friend to him was someone who equals him has to follow there own dream, not let anyone stand in the way of it blah blah... but I think it was needless to say he didn't want a idiot for a friend either. No doubt Griffiths mind was on a genius on many levels and not many geniuses would want a reg for a friend.
- As said already he wasn't educated in academics at all, he was however educated in everyway possible for the battlefield throughout his short life, in combat or military strategy and this is shown many times throughout the epic, afterall he could not win against so many Apostles with power alone, they are Apostles afterall.
-Some examples of this are when he is 15 and on his first job from Griffith they are all ready for a stealth attack going through the river from behind and Guts is able to analyse all of Griffiths tactics, motives and such just by following him. Another example on this is when he fights Roshinu he wasn't in the condition to beat her unless he turned around the battlefield by using tactics and put Roshinu at a disadvantage.
-His ability to survive with a sword is more than brute force and will power as well, when he has the sword it is shown throughout the series and proven very early on that he is a genius with a sword.
-When he is giving tips to Isidoro I think he speaks like has alot of wisdom about the battlefield as well which is obviously no surprise.
-During the second eclipse they are all trying to escape Farneze is about to pray and he rationally tells her to use the power in her hand rather than rely on something to help her, you don't exactly need to be a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion but it shows he is a rational side even in times of despair, and a probable factor in how he has survived as long as he has.
- As far as being streetwise (which I would consider him essentially) he has learned alot about the world he lives in to survive and understand what he goes on with his journey in the interstice and beyond which probably wasn't a easy thing. Between he survived the Eclipse he learned a bit from the Godhands speech, then a bit from Skull knight about the brand but between then and til when he meets Flora he had to figure out basically everything else on his own which would have probably been a pain in the arse in certain situations where understanding what he was getting into was a matter of life and death.
-As a side ability he can figure people out people well at times, not in the same way as Griffith but when he speaks to them at times he can find there weakness and really exploit it. Talking to Jill was one example when he states why she tagged along because of her loser father and such, though a better example was when he is tied up and getting lashed and has no physical power (which he relies on more than anything throughout the series of course) and still managed to over power Farneze on a mental level whenever he opened his mouth and even when he didn't. That chapter when she is attempting to interrogate him is one of my favourites for that reason.
Anyway though he has made alot of dumb decisions in the epic he has managed to cope well enough to stay alive which is saying alot for a man in his position. If anyone has any points or counterpoints to mine then i'm curious to know.
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