Least Favorite Berserk Character

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Gobolatula said:
But, if there's one character who I find overall terrible, it would have to be Nina the prostitute. I found there to be nothing redeeming about her at all. Sure, there were tragic things happening to her, but she was downright pitiful. Not even compellingly pitiful.

I used to feel sort of the same, but my opinion of Nina changed on the last read-through. And I agree, there is nothing redeeming about her at all. But look at her character and what happens in the reality of the world of Berserk. There is no possible way someone like her could stand up the powers that be nor does she believe she can, like the rest of the poor humans, highlighted in this arc with probably the largest display of civilian slaughter to date. In the human struggle/survival themes in Berserk, what do you do if you can't fight, you're not strong, or smart? Her character shows that if you can run and hide, and do it well, that you can survive the day. Which we can agree does not happen for a lot of people.

It is a survival adaptation strategy. It may not be noble, courageous, or exciting to watch, but for some people turning tail and selling out WORKS, which is vital above all else. Nina is the representative this characteristic/strategy in Berserk. She admits her cowardice, there is no pretense of bravado. She maybe sort of annoying to listen to and pathetic, but she offers viable counter-example to Guts's "fight and endure" strategy, like Miura is giving a self-conscious nod to this "ability". I wouldn't go so far as to say she's the anti-Guts, but they are on as opposite ends of the spectrum as you can get.

And perhaps most importantly (and ironically) - she gets a Happy Ending! How many minor characters get that?! And for what? For sniveling, crying, running away from pain, selling out her friends, doing drugs, and going to orgies? It makes me ponder what Miura is trying to say with her.
 
S

Saintly pants

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The anime version of Adon, no doubt. No way Boscone would let him get away with so much stupidity for so long. Boscone was awesome btw, his only weakness was that causality didn't like him.
 
I never liked the queen or the conservative ministers. But then again I never liked Nina she thought too much about her own survival ( not that a lot of people wouldn't) when she was in danger.
 

Walter

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Minotaur said:
I never liked the queen or the conservative ministers. But then again I never liked Nina she thought too much about her own survival ( not that a lot of people wouldn't) when she was in danger.
So you liked Zepek and Gennon more than the Queen and Nina?
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob said:
My least favorite character is Gennon, because he is a child molester and a traitor. Two negative qualities too many. :azan:
Never cared about him - like Griffith said, don't hate him, don't love him, he was just there and got used (for the plot to move).
I guess the character who bothered me more at the time was Farnese, before we got to know her better with all that annoying hypocritic church talk. But what can I say now? She's definitely one of my favourites, exactly because of her twisted mind and development throughout the story.
And I guess I disagree with a lot of people by liking Nina. It's not that I like her as a person (like we do about Guts, for example), but for me she's an amazing character. It's brilliant how real she is and how shamefully similar lots of us would probably be if we were for real in her shoes (well, we can even begin to think how it would be. Monsters, zombies and and inquisitors aren't part of a sight we got everyday :iva:). I guess with that I have a little sympathy and pity for her. Past the tension of not knowing wether Casca'll be safe or not - which for me at least blurred lots of subtleties and made me read in record speed the first time, hating everything and everyone that got in Guts' way - the story in her POV is quite interesting.
 

Walter

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Well, I'm glad many have risen to challenge my feelings about Nina. As long as we can back up our feelings with some thought and reasoning, we're happy campers!

I've honestly just never put Nina under the microscope much. It's such a topsy-turvy ride Miura takes us on with her character. She betrays Joachim and Luca in two separate events, but is ultimately forgiven by both -- without any truly redemptive efforts on her part (unless I'm forgetting something). That's pretty unconventional, and a large hurdle for most readers to sympathize with her. Despite this, Miura gives her a lot of attention on-page, relative to the other prostitutes in the story.

Though it's difficult for me to see the merits of her character, Nina does give context to the hardships of the common people living in the shadow of the Tower of Retribution. She's also a good example of how poorly these common people weigh up to the heroic efforts of those like Guts and Luca. You know, the kind of people who strengthen the hold of evil on the world. Still, I wouldn't say she's an "amazing" character simply because she provides a nontraditional POV.
 

Aazealh

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Walter said:
I've honestly just never put Nina under the microscope much. It's such a topsy-turvy ride Miura takes us on with her character. She betrays Joachim and Luca in two separate events, but is ultimately forgiven by both -- without any truly redemptive efforts on her part (unless I'm forgetting something). That's pretty unconventional, and a large hurdle for most readers to sympathize with her. Despite this, Miura gives her a lot of attention on-page, relative to the other prostitutes in the story.

I think putting her under the microscope is essential in order to rightly appreciate her character. Nina's main characteristic is that she's weak. She's not really bad, just weak and fearful, sick and desperate. Her life sucks and she knows it. To correct one thing though: if you're referring to the time Luca fell from the tower, Nina didn't drop her, it's Luca who chose to let go. Nina did revel in the power she held over her at that time though. As for Joachim, I'd say it's complicated. Not that her actions can be sympathetized with, but she trusted him and she felt betrayed by his own rejection of her nightly activities. Notice that she breaks down and cries after he falls down the cliff. And afterwards Joachim denounces her, Casca and Isidro to the H.I.C.K. without any hesitation, even though they didn't pose a threat to him. In a way those two events balance themselves out.

Anyway, I think she deserves the on-page time she gets simply because she's the most interesting out of the girls. The goal not being to like her but to understand her and see things from her point of view and that of Luca (the two characters are mostly defined by their mutual relationship).

Walter said:
Though it's difficult for me to see the merits of her character, Nina does give context to the hardships of the common people living in the shadow of the Tower of Retribution. She's also a good example of how poorly these common people weigh up to the heroic efforts of those like Guts and Luca.

Actually I would argue that Nina ultimately redeemed herself and rose above the rest of those people by realizing she was weak as well as what her limitations were. So she preferred to try to stand by herself with the help of Joachim, her equal in pettiness and mediocrity, someone she could understand and forgive, rather than relying on Luca and eventually resenting her for always being better than her. I won't say more because it's all covered in the manga and I think it was masterfully executed. It can also be paralleled with many other things in the story, but its main interest to me is how accurate and realistic it is in depicting people.

One easy parallel I'll cite though is the one with Farnese. Both characters are tormented and defined by their weakness, both rely on someone to go by (with the difference that Serpico is a servant, while Luca was the "prostitute-in-chief"), and both eventually find redemption by acting on what they understand of themselves.
 

Aphasia

ALL MYSTERIES MUST BE SOLVED
This topic is a bit of strange one...and hard for me to comment on. Simply because there are characters you're naturally going to dislike for certain reasons (Because the story is persuading you to dislike them, because they're say...evil and all..)
So many people may dislike Griffith but that makes sense since he's the antagonist. Excluding obvious characters that are frequently disliked leaves behind characters that nitpick certain people for often shallow or unimportant reasons, but reasons non the less, presto! Controversy. : )

But as far as my least favorite character...Mozgus. But then, I couldn't really call him my least favorite character because I don't have a "Least favorite character" in the respect that none of them get on my nerves.

On the other hand, He gets right up underneath my skin, because of the role his character plays. So I really hope I'm making some kind of sense. Perhaps just perplexed by the subject. : )
 
My least favorite characters are definitely Donovan and Governor Genon. I hate pedophiles. I also dislike... I'm afraid to say it but... :magni: I can't stand Griffith. :griffnotevil: I sure hope that Guts hacks his pretty ass into chunks someday. :chomp:
 
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