Just saw the BERSERK manga for the first time @ a great Japanese bookstore here in NYC. My only acquaintance beforehand was with the excellent anime series and reading updates on the Internet.
Was flipping through all the volumes and saw some stuff that basically turned my stomach and kept me from buying them all on the spot ... hell, from buying any at all. And that was the treatment of my favorite character, Caska.
I'm referring to two scenes in particular: The first is Wild's attack on the Hawks and his capture of Caska. This is a scene straight out of hentai, as he strips her and proceeds to threaten rape with a comedically monstrous tongue. She just seemed to be frozen and whimper. I was pretty disgusted by this ... it had zero purpose beyond simply playing the exploitation card to sell books to perverts.
The second scene, and the deal-breaker for me, was Femto's rape of Caska during the Eclipse. The way this was drawn and presented really made me want to throw the book across the room. This is a key plot point and a major turning point for all of the characters. It's a brutal rape that represents the ultimate in savage betrayal, the final sin that makes Griffith ultimately irredeemable (at least in my eyes ... apparently not in some other folks'). This scene is drawn like something out of DEBBIE DOES DALLAS. Instead of Caska's mental anguish and the horror of the moment, we get her being humiliated in several different positions from many angles, going on for at least 3 pages. Miura doesn't seem to understand that rape is NOT PORNOGRAPHY. This scene really sickened me and at this point I've pretty much decided not to purchase any BERSERK manga, whereas before I was ready and willing to plunk down $84 for all 21 volumes.
Now, I'm not a Mormon or something like that. I have no problem with seeing Caska naked in situations like when she and Guts make love (which I thought was drawn quite respectfully). I don't even have a major problem seeing Caska naked and in danger of being raped in her current state, because that was the world back then and now and when someone's trying to rape you, your clothes are probably going to get ripped (not that I'm exactly ecstatic about this, either ... I don't like it at all). What I DO have a problem with is Miura repeatedly humiliating Caska, a character whom he mostly otherwise draws with great humanity and creativity, for the sole purpose of violent exploitative perversion. Compare the openly pornographic treatment of Caska's rape with Guts' rape by Donovan (another scene I saw for the first time). We see pretty explicit stuff, and both Donovan and lil Guts naked. But we don't get Guts flashed from all angles, with every nook and cranny of his body on display, like some goddamn child porn flick. Miura shows us the brutality and horror of the moment, and once this is done, moves on. That's the way to handle that kind of situation in an explicit but yet non-exploitative manner. But when Caska's in danger ... he seems to forget all restraint and plays exclusively to the rubber raincoat crowd. I've lost a whole lot of respect for him and the manga itself.
I'm not saying that BERSERK is now worthless. I plan on keeping up with the storyline and seeing how it all plays out, and also to contribute to this board. I love the anime and Miura's writing and creativity are still high in my eyes. But I sure as hell am not going to support the manga with my money while stuff like what I mentioned above is being drawn.
I'm venting right now, but I'd be interested in what other people thought when they saw those scenes in the manga. Did anyone else have a similar reaction to mine?
Was flipping through all the volumes and saw some stuff that basically turned my stomach and kept me from buying them all on the spot ... hell, from buying any at all. And that was the treatment of my favorite character, Caska.
I'm referring to two scenes in particular: The first is Wild's attack on the Hawks and his capture of Caska. This is a scene straight out of hentai, as he strips her and proceeds to threaten rape with a comedically monstrous tongue. She just seemed to be frozen and whimper. I was pretty disgusted by this ... it had zero purpose beyond simply playing the exploitation card to sell books to perverts.
The second scene, and the deal-breaker for me, was Femto's rape of Caska during the Eclipse. The way this was drawn and presented really made me want to throw the book across the room. This is a key plot point and a major turning point for all of the characters. It's a brutal rape that represents the ultimate in savage betrayal, the final sin that makes Griffith ultimately irredeemable (at least in my eyes ... apparently not in some other folks'). This scene is drawn like something out of DEBBIE DOES DALLAS. Instead of Caska's mental anguish and the horror of the moment, we get her being humiliated in several different positions from many angles, going on for at least 3 pages. Miura doesn't seem to understand that rape is NOT PORNOGRAPHY. This scene really sickened me and at this point I've pretty much decided not to purchase any BERSERK manga, whereas before I was ready and willing to plunk down $84 for all 21 volumes.
Now, I'm not a Mormon or something like that. I have no problem with seeing Caska naked in situations like when she and Guts make love (which I thought was drawn quite respectfully). I don't even have a major problem seeing Caska naked and in danger of being raped in her current state, because that was the world back then and now and when someone's trying to rape you, your clothes are probably going to get ripped (not that I'm exactly ecstatic about this, either ... I don't like it at all). What I DO have a problem with is Miura repeatedly humiliating Caska, a character whom he mostly otherwise draws with great humanity and creativity, for the sole purpose of violent exploitative perversion. Compare the openly pornographic treatment of Caska's rape with Guts' rape by Donovan (another scene I saw for the first time). We see pretty explicit stuff, and both Donovan and lil Guts naked. But we don't get Guts flashed from all angles, with every nook and cranny of his body on display, like some goddamn child porn flick. Miura shows us the brutality and horror of the moment, and once this is done, moves on. That's the way to handle that kind of situation in an explicit but yet non-exploitative manner. But when Caska's in danger ... he seems to forget all restraint and plays exclusively to the rubber raincoat crowd. I've lost a whole lot of respect for him and the manga itself.
I'm not saying that BERSERK is now worthless. I plan on keeping up with the storyline and seeing how it all plays out, and also to contribute to this board. I love the anime and Miura's writing and creativity are still high in my eyes. But I sure as hell am not going to support the manga with my money while stuff like what I mentioned above is being drawn.
I'm venting right now, but I'd be interested in what other people thought when they saw those scenes in the manga. Did anyone else have a similar reaction to mine?