Episode 291

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Wally's right, these complaints are lame, and I'll add without merit.

Yes, the battle is building up quite slowly considering the last time we saw Griffith the battle was announced and the next time we see him they're going directly there. Can we just forget any sort of pace and skip a step? Maybe start mid-battle? How about cut to Griffith standing over Ganishka's corpse while being crowned and bringing darkness to the World? Throw in Guts jumping from behind to slay him and we can wrap up the series on one page!

Besides the notion Griffith will be King, what else about it has been especially predictable? I think this is more a case of hindsight being 20/20. Or maybe everyone saw Ganishka and all this coming, I'm sure. As a matter of fact, it's been a greater struggle than anybody imagined. Also, the point isn't so much what conclusion as how it's reached that makes the story good. Griffith becoming King might not especially be the point here. We knew, definitely, that Griffith was going to become Femto, so should all of Golden Age have been cut? Was that really the point, and was that element less effective storytelling for it (people though it was obvious Griffith would become King then too, how'd that turn out)?

Anyway, I don't get the complaint, if you look back, just about every major event throughout the series was foreshadowed or directly prophesied. It's a story device, and I don't think things are anymore predictable now than they've ever have been because the point is while you're focusing on what you've been told you don't see the twists and turns coming. Suspense is just as much about expectation as not knowing for sure what will happen, and especially how it will happen (and we keep getting surprised). If an idea as old as Griffith becoming King is ruinous, here's another likelihood that'll spoil the story with obvious predictability:

In the end, Guts will persevere and triumph in some fashion!!!
:isidro:

Oh man, what's the point of reading now? :judo:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Aazealh said:
It's a multi-armed Kushan deity, like Hindu ones. Check out Ganishka's throne in volume 27.

Based on Jaken's summary, with the children seeing a multi-armed shadow covering the sun in their dream, I'm wondering if Ganishka's apostle form will be something similar to this multi-armed Kushan deity on his throne. It's pretty much a given, in my opinion, that we'll get to see his apostle form in this battle. I'm speculating that Ganishka will probably transform and show his true self as a last resort.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Rhombaad said:
Based on Jaken's summary, with the children seeing a multi-armed shadow covering the sun in their dream, I'm wondering if Ganishka's apostle form will be something similar to this multi-armed Kushan deity on his throne. It's pretty much a given, in my opinion, that we'll get to see his apostle form in this battle. I'm speculating that Ganishka will probably transform and show his true self as a last resort.
Pretty sure that's exactly what Aaz was hinting at on Page 2.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith No More! said:
Yes, the battle is building up quite slowly considering the last time we saw Griffith the battle was announced and the next time we see him they're going directly there. Can we just forget any sort of pace and skip a step? Maybe start mid-battle? How about cut to Griffith standing over Ganishka's corpse while being crowned and bringing darkness to the World?

Actually, I think someone did indeed "speculate" that the episode would start with Griffith standing over Ganishka's corpse in the previous thread. This sort of stuff always manages to depress me a bit...

Rhombaad said:
Based on Jaken's summary, with the children seeing a multi-armed shadow covering the sun in their dream, I'm wondering if Ganishka's apostle form will be something similar to this multi-armed Kushan deity on his throne. It's pretty much a given, in my opinion, that we'll get to see his apostle form in this battle. I'm speculating that Ganishka will probably transform and show his true self as a last resort.

Well yeah, I thought that was obvious from the start. =) There's also some talk about how the Kushans keep women hostages at the beginning, which I don't think jaken mentioned. It could be interesting to see an attempt to rescue them or something from the Resistance. They could witness stuff they weren't supposed to while doing so. :SK: Anyway, I think what's worth noting here is that it's semi-confirmed that the final battle will take place in 2 times: at night the apostles will invest the city and battle with Ganishka's monsters (and probably with the emperor himself), and during the day it'll be a "human" battle opposing two huge armies against one another (assuming Griffith will not have already slain Ganishka and forced them to surrender/flee).

On another note, I'm finding interesting the idea of a mass killing taking place there. There'll be around 400,000 soldiers fighting each other in total, and I wonder if it wouldn't be in the God Hand's (and Griffith's) best interest to let both side suffer massive casualties. Makes me think of the battle of Verdun, can you imagine what it'd look like if there were over 300,000 deads as a result of this battle? It'd be crazy. Of course there are others possibilities: the Kushans could be outmaneuvered and then slaughtered with the discreet help of apostles, or Griffith could spare most of the army and send it on its way, maybe subjugating the Kushan empire in the process, etc. In the end though I think there'll be many deads and that it'll help reinforce the God Hand's grasp on the world in one way or another.
 
S

Sanguinius

Guest
Aazealh said:
Actually, I think someone did indeed "speculate" that the episode would start with Griffith standing over Ganishka's corpse in the previous thread. This sort of stuff always manages to depress me a bit...

Well yeah, I thought that was obvious from the start. =) There's also some talk about how the Kushans keep women hostages at the beginning, which I don't think jaken mentioned. It could be interesting to see an attempt to rescue them or something from the Resistance. They could witness stuff they weren't supposed to while doing so. :SK: Anyway, I think what's worth noting here is that it's semi-confirmed that the final battle will take place in 2 times: at night the apostles will invest the city and battle with Ganishka's monsters (and probably with the emperor himself), and during the day it'll be a "human" battle opposing two huge armies against one another (assuming Griffith will not have already slain Ganishka and forced them to surrender/flee).

On another note, I'm finding interesting the idea of a mass killing taking place there. There'll be around 400,000 soldiers fighting each other in total, and I wonder if it wouldn't be in the God Hand's (and Griffith's) best interest to let both side suffer massive casualties. Makes me think of the battle of Verdun, can you imagine what it'd look like if there were over 300,000 deads as a result of this battle? It'd be crazy. Of course there are others possibilities: the Kushans could be outmaneuvered and then slaughtered with the discreet help of apostles, or Griffith could spare most of the army and send it on its way, maybe subjugating the Kushan empire in the process, etc. In the end though I think there'll be many deads and that it'll help reinforce the God Hand's grasp on the world in one way or another.

I don't think Griffith will attempt a wholesale slaughter of the human forces on either side. It's never been his style to fight like that, I think a better example of what will happen can be taken from the old Band of the Hawks attack on Doldrey. I think the apostle battle will be the decisive battle and maybe with the loss of the city and their Emperor the human Kushan forces will break in a similar manner to the Tudor forces at Doldrey. Even if the actual events are not quite so similar I do think it'll follow a generally similar pattern.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
This episode is WAY more epic than the images alone indicate. Forget all this King business, Griffith is the new sun dawning on the World. :griff:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Sanguinius said:
I don't think Griffith will attempt a wholesale slaughter of the human forces on either side. It's never been his style to fight like that, I think a better example of what will happen can be taken from the old Band of the Hawks attack on Doldrey.

Well, it's never been his style before. The thing here is that he's supposed to be up to no good now, in spite of his white knight act. Now, I agree with you that it'd probably be a little too shocking and lacking in efficiency for the final act, which is why I'm also thinking that he could just subjugate the Kushans instead, with maybe future plans for them.

Griffith No More! said:
This episode is WAY more epic than the images alone indicate. Forget all this King business, Griffith is the new sun dawning on the World. :griff:

Is he really? :isidro: :guts:

Aazealh said:
Anyway, Locus strikes me as particularly menacing on the top panel of page 23. And his words... "The true sun shining over the world." :griff:
 
S

Sanguinius

Guest
Aazealh said:
Well, it's never been his style before. The thing here is that he's supposed to be up to no good now, in spite of his white knight act. Now, I agree with you that it'd probably be a little too shocking and lacking in efficiency for the final act, which is why I'm also thinking that he could just subjugate the Kushans instead, with maybe future plans for them.

Is he really? :isidro: :guts:

I think Griffith has already proven that he won't do that kind of thing, for proof I take the Kushans he already has in his army training his human forces that outraged Mule so much when he first seen them.

(Wild Speculation Section)
As for Griffith's "reign of evil" I don't think he'll actually do anything that publicly appears to be evil or cruel. Instead I think he will continue to press into the Kushan and possibly other lands freeing the people from their former cruel masters. Where the God hand plan comes in (my guess anyway) is that Griffith's presence in the human world is breaking down the barriers betwen the different levels of the Berserk world (the terminology escapes me). My guess is that when Griffith controls or at least dominates the world where humans live that in itself or possibly with the aid of another kind of Eclipse, where he sacrifices his new followers, will merge the different worlds together. I think this will allow the God Hand's power to be as great in the human world as it is in their own, therefore letting them dominate all the plains of existance and this will be the the reign of evil which will descend upon the world.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Sanguinius said:
I think Griffith has already proven that he won't do that kind of thing, for proof I take the Kushans he already has in his army training his human forces that outraged Mule so much when he first seen them.

But that served him then. He's not going to need an army of 200,000 Kushans once he's king except to conquer the rest of the world (and I don't think the Holy See alliance would like that at all), and the resources needed to maintain it would be too big anyway, it'd ruin the land. Not to mention that once the Holy See alliance will have disbanded, the Kushan army would be left a staggering majority (as opposed to a few troops amongst a wide army). Besides, people may want to exert some kind of revenge on the invaders and take their hypothetical acceptance by Griffith rather bitterly. In any case, it's not guaranteed that the battle could be won without relatively extensive losses (each army losing a tenth of its soldiers would result in 40,000 deaths...). It isn't so much a matter of actively slaughtering people as it's letting them fight without intervening much, resulting in a carnage. The reason I got to think about it is simply because such an opportunity will likely not present itself again before a while. Remember all the despair and misery depicted in volume 17? Or all the refugees dying in Albion? This has the potential to surpass them as far as the death toll goes.

Another possible scenario IMO is that the battle will result in sizable casualties, but that in the end the Kushans will be allowed to flee disorderly. With Ganishka dead, the clan wars will tear the empire apart and put an end to the Kushan threat (at least for a while).

Sanguinius said:
As for Griffith's "reign of evil" I don't think he'll actually do anything that publicly appears to be evil or cruel. Instead I think he will continue to press into the Kushan and possibly other lands freeing the people from their former cruel masters. Where the God hand plan comes in (my guess anyway) is that Griffith's presence in the human world is breaking down the barriers betwen the different levels of the Berserk world (the terminology escapes me). My guess is that when Griffith controls or at least dominates the world where humans live that in itself or possibly with the aid of another kind of Eclipse, where he sacrifices his new followers, will merge the different worlds together.

He'll have to start showing more of his evil nature at some point though; I don't see him keeping that immaculate savior role forever. It's been forewarned that he would bring an age of darkness to the world, so I believe he's bound to make a move in that direction sooner or later. And honestly, I don't think he'll have to conquer the whole world before those dire times begin, it seems impractical story-wise IMO. It would take forever to relate (short of a big time gap), and what would Guts and co be doing meanwhile? Also, you talk about freeing people from their cruel masters as an excuse to conquer the whole world? Come on, who's going to buy that? I doubt a lot of people would be happy with that, especially since their "masters" aren't necessarily cruel as far as we know. As for the layers of the world merging together, it's a good point but his simple presence has triggered it already, and it doesn't seem to be the extent of the plan (whatever it may be).

Lastly, about another Eclipse, I'm very doubtful. Even putting aside the fact it'd need to be another, special and unheard of type of Eclipse, Griffith is a member of the God Hand now, and he doesn't need to sacrifice anything. Besides, if he were already ruling the whole world, would there even be a need for such a thing anymore? I mean that'd account for killing everyone in the world basically, is that what you mean? Otherwise, if we're just talking about a massive number of deaths, then these 400,000 men that'll be assembled in Wyndham soon to fight each other seem a more likely/convenient opportunity...

In conclusion, no matter what will happen during the battle, I still think Griffith's era will really start with his coronation as king of Midland, right after the Kushans' defeat. I don't believe he'll need to conquer the entire world before the "Age of Darkness" can begin. Even Locus' words in this episode are implying that a great change is about to happen, something far more significant than simple matters of countries and politics.
 

SlimJ87D

Apollo
I was just wondering how many other series Miura is working on. Because I notice he does take pretty long breaks, but I'm not complaining, just worried i might die before Berserk ends, lol.

On average, how long does it take for an episode to come out?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
SlimJ87D said:
I was just wondering how many other series Miura is working on. Because I notice he does take pretty long breaks, but I'm not complaining, just worried i might die before Berserk ends, lol.

On average, how long does it take for an episode to come out?
He's not working on any other series, it's just that Berserk is far more detailed than your average manga. Pick any given page of the series and compare it to something in Shounen Jump, which is published reguarly weekly. They're a mess, and it shows.

Anyway, as for a regular schedule, I have just the thing you're looking for, and I'll post it tonight when I'm off work. It's a chart showing the dates for all episode releases between ep 175-291. Consider this a placeholder until then.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
He's not working on any other series, it's just that Berserk is far more detailed than your average manga. Pick any given page of the series and compare it to something in Shounen Jump, which is published regularly weekly. They're a mess, and it shows.

kintaro.jpg
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
SlimJ87D said:
I notice he does take pretty long breaks, but I'm not complaining, just worried i might die before Berserk ends, lol.

On average, how long does it take for an episode to come out?

Well, keep in mind that first of all Berserk is published in a semi-monthly magazine, not weekly. That means it comes out at best every 2 or 3 weeks (depending on the calendar, since YA is released every second and fourth friday of the month). Now, these past few years Miura has been taking more breaks than usual, and generally longer ones. There have been various reasons for it, for example he's worked on other Berserk-related projects like the PS2 game or the TCG, but I would say the main reason is that after 15 years of continuously overworking he needs to take it a little easier. And by that I don't mean that he just spends his breaks resting, but he works while paying attention to his health. And of course you can add to that what Walter said about how a quality work requires more time to produce. Anyway, the chaotic release schedule had been announced in advance so the readers that have been paying close attention to it shouldn't be surprised. Miura has several times apologized for it and stated that he regretted the situation.
 
D

Duststorm

Guest
Interesting episode, since all the kids are so focused on the true morning, what will happen when the true night comes?
 
C

cajunman380

Guest
Hey all. It was a pretty good episode overall although as a preference I prefer to see more of Guts story but that is just me. I can help but laugh at how the people are in this episode. If they only knew what Griffith really was, they would'nt be so happy and cheerful. I suppose with Ganishka as a threat though it cant be helped. I do wonder if Owen will even question Griffith about Guts and why he isnt in his band. I mean Miura had Owen meet up with Guts for a reason, then again it could have been just a teaser. I also have to wonder what role the 4 other God Hand will play.

All I can say is that I hope Ganishka has some extra nasty things cooking up in his Wyndam base because so far his Daka, Makara and Pishacha haven't really been all that effective. An army of Kundalini could be useful though I do wonder how he got it in the first place.

A great episode overall.
 
S

Sanguinius

Guest
Aazealh said:
But that served him then. He's not going to need an army of 200,000 Kushans once he's king except to conquer the rest of the world (and I don't think the Holy See alliance would like that at all), and the resources needed to maintain it would be too big anyway, it'd ruin the land. Not to mention that once the Holy See alliance will have disbanded, the Kushan army would be left a staggering majority (as opposed to a few troops amongst a wide army). Besides, people may want to exert some kind of revenge on the invaders and take their hypothetical acceptance by Griffith rather bitterly. In any case, it's not guaranteed that the battle could be won without relatively extensive losses (each army losing a tenth of its soldiers would result in 40,000 deaths...). It isn't so much a matter of actively slaughtering people as it's letting them fight without intervening much, resulting in a carnage. The reason I got to think about it is simply because such an opportunity will likely not present itself again before a while. Remember all the despair and misery depicted in volume 17? Or all the refugees dying in Albion? This has the potential to surpass them as far as the death toll goes.

Another possible scenario IMO is that the battle will result in sizable casualties, but that in the end the Kushans will be allowed to flee disorderly. With Ganishka dead, the clan wars will tear the empire apart and put an end to the Kushan threat (at least for a while).

Sorry I didn't mean that after the battle all the Kushan troops would follow Griffith I meant your 2nd scenario. That the troops would retreat to Kushan controlled lands were quite probably civil war would follow with their Emperor's death.

Aazealh said:
He'll have to start showing more of his evil nature at some point though; I don't see him keeping that immaculate savior role forever. It's been forewarned that he would bring an age of darkness to the world, so I believe he's bound to make a move in that direction sooner or later. And honestly, I don't think he'll have to conquer the whole world before those dire times begin, it seems impractical story-wise IMO. It would take forever to relate (short of a big time gap), and what would Guts and co be doing meanwhile? Also, you talk about freeing people from their cruel masters as an excuse to conquer the whole world? Come on, who's going to buy that? I doubt a lot of people would be happy with that, especially since their "masters" aren't necessarily cruel as far as we know. As for the layers of the world merging together, it's a good point but his simple presence has triggered it already, and it doesn't seem to be the extent of the plan (whatever it may be).

I don't mean literally every territory on the entire planet, I was mainly thinking of the territories in the Kushan Empire. Midland was just the latest conquest by the Kushan Empire they had deteated many people's before that and they were the cruel masters I meant. The Holy See Alliance would be duty bound to support this too as it is in effect an anti Kushan crusade even if some members had more purely practical concerns when they join.

Aazealh said:
Lastly, about another Eclipse, I'm very doubtful. Even putting aside the fact it'd need to be another, special and unheard of type of Eclipse, Griffith is a member of the God Hand now, and he doesn't need to sacrifice anything. Besides, if he were already ruling the whole world, would there even be a need for such a thing anymore? I mean that'd account for killing everyone in the world basically, is that what you mean? Otherwise, if we're just talking about a massive number of deaths, then these 400,000 men that'll be assembled in Wyndham soon to fight each other seem a more likely/convenient opportunity...

In conclusion, no matter what will happen during the battle, I still think Griffith's era will really start with his coronation as king of Midland, right after the Kushans' defeat. I don't believe he'll need to conquer the entire world before the "Age of Darkness" can begin. Even Locus' words in this episode are implying that a great change is about to happen, something far more significant than simple matters of countries and politics.

As for the need for Griffith to start to show his evil side, if you think about it, so much of what's happened would be totally pointless if the God Hand only wanted to turn the world into an apostle slaughter fest. The Apostles have sshown how ineffective human armies are against them and the Kushan Empire forged by only 1 apostle is threating all the established human kingdoms. If the objective was merely to overthrow th human kingdoms and let Apostles kill and eat poeple and terrorise the people the God Hand could have just told the Apostles to run wild create their own little empires and the human kingdoms could not have survived. In my mind the only thing I can think of to make all the effort and planning they've been putting into this for about 1000 years would be to merge the different plains of existence in the Berserk world into 1 so their God Hand power extended fully to the human world. They might have a different objective that I just can't imagine but I can't believe it's merely to bring simple terror to the human world with an army of apostles.

As for Griffith's presence breaking down the distinction between the world's, I take that in part as partial proof that that is their objective. As for an unheard of eclipse it would be somewhat unheard of because it's objective would be quite different but I think there is one similar case. That is the Beherit Apostle would was already an apostle but sacrificed himself to create a New World. The Eclipse I'm imagining would be like that only the sacrifice I imagie will be the new human followers that Griffith has amassed and who have total faith in him. The dedication of the sacrifices to the person sacrificing seemed to be an important aspect when griffith became femto and I imagine a set up like this would require it as well.

As for the large battle to take Wyndham, 3 things make me think that that is not the time. !st in a similar way to the battle for Doldrey which was more bloody than the Eclipse that created Femto it's not just a question of quantity there is a type of quality system to how sacrifices work. 2nd all Griffith's work of winning over the people and building a human army would be a waste of time, he can easily achieve massive slaughter in battle without it appearing to be slaughter just by battleing with his apostle army in human form. 3rd the story just does not seem set for that, if I'm in any way even close to being right if the God Hand achieved that that would be victory for them and the hero of the story would lose whilst being nowhere near the scene of the decisive battle. Also the visions of after battle in this very episode show that the world goes in line with Griffith's fairtale conquest of Midland.
 
Reading through what was said in this thread, I realized something; this upcoming battle reminds me of the story of Gaiseric's downfall. Several things sort of ring true, the evil king (Ganishka) the wise/holy man (Griffith) and a possible appearance of the rest of the God Hand would account for the four angels mentioned (or even five if Griffith shows a glimpse of his true self). Given the mystery that surrounds that story and what little is known about it, it could have been a foreshadowing of a different kind of Eclipse ceremony. The question is what would it bring into the world?
 
A very good episode.We are getting closer to know the God Hand/Idea plans,isn't that enough thrill?

One theory I have about the whole "Hawk of light" issue is that Griffith true function is to accumulate belief or faith.There lies the source of his power and he is,basically,acting like a metaphorical ligthing rod.

Yeah,it's only speculation,but just look at the kids shiny faces,that blind faith is ought to have some meaning,some use to Idea's maquinations.

And thanks for the scans.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
As requested, here's an episode release chart from episode 200-291, indicating all breaks and dates between episodes:

Click here to view.

PS: Translation is up, in case no one noticed. Seriously, fuck anyone who called this episode boring. They're flat-out idiots.
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Walter said:
As requested, here's an episode release chart from episode 200-291, indicating all breaks and dates between episodes:

Click here to view.

What someone should do is put a Bush break chart next to it for comparisons sake.

PS: Translation is up, in case no one noticed. Seriously, fuck anyone who called this episode boring. They're flat-out idiots.

Walter plz put more batzle in teh nex episode plz!
 
Thanks scanbot.

Aazealh said:
He'll have to start showing more of his evil nature at some point though; I don't see him keeping that immaculate savior role forever. It's been forewarned that he would bring an age of darkness to the world, so I believe he's bound to make a move in that direction sooner or later. And honestly, I don't think he'll have to conquer the whole world before those dire times begin, it seems impractical story-wise IMO. It would take forever to relate (short of a big time gap), and what would Guts and co be doing meanwhile?

Page 11 fascinated me most this episode, regarding the dream and the dark cloud hiding the sun during the first morning. We can all safely assume Griffith's angelic side will come to an end after Ganishka's battle. But, is the pseudo morning relating to Ganishka having one last attempt at winning the war before his demise, or is it a sign of Griffith's victory causing the world to be under a false sense of hope?
I suppose if the latter was the case though, it'd mean the shining bird that calls forth a big storm and blows the dark shadow away wouldn't actually be Griffith as he would be portrayed as the one who brings darkness. Still, what was the shape of the shadow meant to be on page 11?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
vlad said:
this upcoming battle reminds me of the story of Gaiseric's downfall. Several things sort of ring true, the evil king (Ganishka) the wise/holy man (Griffith) and a possible appearance of the rest of the God Hand would account for the four angels mentioned (or even five if Griffith shows a glimpse of his true self).

It's not the first time they're compared to each other. The setting isn't exactly the same though. For one thing, while Ganishka and Gaiseric are both emperors, Gaiseric wasn't depicted as being all that evil, especially if you put him next to Ganishka. Another point is the fact that Griffith is more of a conqueror/military leader than a "wiseman". And lastly, I don't think the God Hand are going to appear to destroy Wyndham, I believe Griffith will take care of everything himself.

Baldulf said:
One theory I have about the whole "Hawk of light" issue is that Griffith true function is to accumulate belief or faith.There lies the source of his power and he is,basically,acting like a metaphorical ligthing rod.

What makes you think that the source of his power is belief or faith? I understand that it's just speculation, but it kind of goes against what we've been shown so far.

Sparnage said:
Still, what was the shape of the shadow meant to be on page 11?

It's Ganishka, and it could be his apostle form. As for the shape:

Aazealh said:
It's a multi-armed Kushan deity, like Hindu ones. Check out Ganishka's throne in volume 27.

Ganishka_throne.jpg
 
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