Saddest moment in Berserk

After reading though some random episodes last night, I came to a particularly sad part.

While on the Sea Horse Casca finds her way out on the bowsprit. Immediately Guts jumps to her rescue, but when she falls off he reaches out to grab her with his left arm, obviously dropping her into the ocean. I find his dialog afterward to be very saddening. It's something along the lines of "Even if you painstakingly put everything back together, there is no guarantee that it will be the same." This speaks volumes about how Guts is feeling after his chat with SK. It's almost like he had forgotten the events of the eclipse, and felt like he still had his left arm.

It was one of the few times we've seen his disabilities actually hold him back.

Jesterhead said:

It's something along the lines of "Even if you painstakingly put everything back together, there is no guarantee that it will be the same." This speaks volumes about how Guts is feeling after his chat with SK. It's almost like he had forgotten the events of the eclipse, and felt like he still had his left arm.

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I find yota821's translation much clearer and more accurate for this line: "Even if I forcibly replace things which I’ve lost, they won’t go back to normal…" I wouldn't say it's directly related to his talk with SK about the dangers of the Berserk's armor, but it clearly indicates that he'd forgotten about what he had lost to some extent.

Aazealh said:

I find yota821's translation much clearer and more accurate for this line: "Even if I forcibly replace things which I’ve lost, they won’t go back to normal…" I wouldn't say it's directly related to his talk with SK about the dangers of the Berserk's armor, but it clearly indicates that he'd forgotten about what he had lost to some extent.

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I like that translation a lot!

And, sorry, I should have been more clear. I always though of Guts referring to the conversation with SK about Casca returning to her pre-eclipse self rather than the armor.

Jesterhead said:

And, sorry, I should have been more clear. I always though of Guts referring to the conversation with SK about Casca returning to her pre-eclipse self rather than the armor.

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Ok, but I don't think it's the case. I believe Guts' statement could encompass more than just his physical losses (arm, eye), but they are clearly what he's referring to in that scene. His talk with the Skull Knight on the beach doesn't directly relate. The Skull Knight gave him hope that Casca could be "brought back", something Guts didn't expect before that. If Guts' line here were to also refer to Casca, it would be about her current state and not the possibility of her "return", but I'm not even sure he'd talk about her in those terms. Besides, to be precise the word used in Japanese means "to attach forcibly", and it refers specifically to a prosthesis.

I personally got really choked up when Flora died. She went out in a literal blaze of glory.

Although we only get to know Flora for a little bit, her personality is so warm and wise. Plus, to me, it's an event that gave Schierke a ton of character. Her dealing with the loss of her mistress is touching.

After rereading the earlier volumes, I think the saddest moments is after guts kills Gambino, flees from the camp, gets shot and falls from the cliff. The next page is this beautiful spread of him lying on the ground looking at the stars. From there until he kills one of the wolves and collapses is hands down the saddest moment in this manga. There are others, but this one stands out for me.

The saddest, most shocking moment for me was when Guts kills Adonis. The first time I saw it was in the anime. I was absolutely shocked. I totally took me by surprise. I got this really sinking feeling that Guts must have had, like "Oh shit, I really just killed a little boy, and now there's nothing I can do about it but run" for some reason this scene has stuck with me through the years as one of the saddest. Theresa's story is pretty heartbreaking stuff, too.

Aphasia said:

The saddest, most shocking moment for me was when Guts kills Adonis. The first time I saw it was in the anime. I was absolutely shocked. I totally took me by surprise. I got this really sinking feeling that Guts must have had, like "Oh shit, I really just killed a little boy, and now there's nothing I can do about it but run" for some reason this scene has stuck with me through the years as one of the saddest. Theresa's story is pretty heartbreaking stuff, too.

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Not surprisingly, that scene has stuck with me for a long time as well. It was shocking, and Guts knew it too. A short while before he had just been looking at Adonis training with his father, which reminded Guts of his days training with Gambino. In a way he recognized himself in Adonis. That scene and Guts' dream after the event, mirrors his more current struggle with the Beast of Darkness and his actions during his black swordsman days. It was also one of the (if not the first) time(s) that his morality surfaced quite viciously after killing someone.

I wouldn't call it the saddest scene personally (for me). In fact, I'm hard pressed to pick a single scene in Berserk. So far it's a tie between Guts falling to his knees in the field (with the realization of complete loss) after running away from the cave (right after the eclipse) and the scene when Guts tried to catch Casca falling into the ocean but she rejects him completely. For me the saddest part of Berserk is best described as a sum or culmination of all the events surrounding Guts life. From birth to present. All the abandonment, betrayal, hostility, loss, and so on. I don't think a single scene will capture that perfectly, however his collapse in the field is as close as it comes. So I guess that gets my vote.

Though, if someone asked what I find to be the saddest series, I wouldn't pick Berserk. Shin Angyo Onshi cut my heart to pieces far more mercilessly than Berserk ever did.

Yeah, Adonis and Judo represent two very powerful scenes for me as well. And anytime Guts reflects on what he has lost, it makes me think of my own past and what's no longer there for me.

Judeau being carried by Caska during the Eclipse. Fucking choked. Guts realizing Caska has forgotten him and everything. Flora's death.

Griffith coming back for Charlotte really made me tear up. Even if Griffith just wants her as part as his plan to become officially the king, I really cried when she's sewing and she sees his shadow silhouetting from behind.

Would say Judeau's death for me. He went out good, he kept fighting till the end.