Is Guts going blind?

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This is simply a question.

Right after Guts and Casca and company set sail. I believe it's in Volume 32 episode 287.

When Guts is looking at Casca the next panel his vision seems to fade out in the next panel it clears up and then it shows a close up of his eye.

Could this mean that Guts is going blind? This could be a major turning point in Berserk, if he is.
 

Aazealh

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It's because of the Berserk's armor. That's part of its side effects. Skull Knight warned Guts about it in episode 237. All his senses are slowly dulling and disappearing. His sight, but also his sense of taste, and probably the others as well. In episode 236 we can see that his hand is trembling uncontrollably, and later that he can't properly taste Serpico's food. Don't be surprised if in a future episode he's shown as having trouble smelling something or hearing what people say.

It's indeed going to be a major plot point in the story, because if he keeps wearing the Berserk's armor, his senses will eventually completely disappear.
 
Aazealh said:
It's because of the Berserk's armor. That's part of its side effects. Skull Knight warned Guts about it in episode 237. All his senses are slowly dulling and disappearing. His sight, but also his sense of taste, and probably the others as well. In episode 236 we can see that his hand is trembling uncontrollably, and later that he can't properly taste Serpico's food. Don't be surprised if in a future episode he's shown as having trouble smelling something or hearing what people say.

It's indeed going to be a major plot point in the story, because if he keeps wearing the Berserk's armor, his senses will eventually completely disappear.

Ahhh I remember the hand trembling but nothing was as striking as his vision fading. It goes without saying that Guts's one eye has narrowly avoided blindess on many occasion. So it hit home pretty hard to see it fade.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Ahhh I remember the hand trembling but nothing was as striking as his vision fading. It goes without saying that Guts's one eye has narrowly avoided blindess on many occasion. So it hit home pretty hard to see it fade.

Well yeah, and I think it's on purpose too. It shows that even though he's resting these days, his state isn't getting any better in that regard.
 
Aazealh said:
Well yeah, and I think it's on purpose too. It shows that even though he's resting these days, his state isn't getting any better in that regard.
I agree, throughout Berserk it is a constant theme Guts does not heal his injuries for long,and sometimes at all, Except now with the armor its more than catching up to him. The armor would be doing this to him anyway but his long propensity for not healing his injuries is not doing him any favors.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I agree, throughout Berserk it is a constant theme Guts does not heal his injuries for long,and sometimes at all

It's true he's been hard on his body in the past, never resting for long and always getting wounded, but since he's been traveling with Puck that can't be said to have been much of a problem (before Slan's astral wounds and the fight at Flora's mansion at least). Having an infinite supply of magical elf dust sure helps for a man like him. :puck:

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Except now with the armor its more than catching up to him. The armor would be doing this to him anyway but his long propensity for not healing his injuries is not doing him any favors.

Let's be clear about it though: what's happening to him now isn't a consequence of any wound he's received, it's a side effect of merely wearing the armor. It's probably linked to the fact that it prevents its wearer from feeling any pain and fear. It must slowly damage the nerves or do something equivalent.
 
Aazealh said:
It's true he's been hard on his body in the past, never resting for long and always getting wounded, but since he's been traveling with Puck that can't be said to have been much of a problem (before Slan's astral wounds and the fight at Flora's mansion at least). Having an infinite supply of magical elf dust sure helps for a man like him. :puck:

Let's be clear about it though: what's happening to him now isn't a consequence of any wound he's received, it's a side effect of merely wearing the armor. It's probably linked to the fact that it prevents its wearer from feeling any pain and fear. It must slowly damage the nerves or do something equivalent.

But there were many occasions where he would bust open wounds that Puck had just dressed it was a constant theme. Thats why he needs Schierke, her healing prowess is much more advanced than old puck's.
I don't know if I would say that Guts Past injuries/or way of fighting doesn't have anything to do with his current state. Sure the reason its happening is the armor, but its not as if the armor was inflicting wounds on a blank canvas, Guts's body was clearly already damaged goods.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
But there were many occasions where he would bust open wounds that Puck had just dressed it was a constant theme.

I wouldn't say that the reopening of wounds has been a constant theme in the manga. If anything, I think it only became prominent after Guts was wounded by Slan in the Qliphoth, since those particular wounds were astral and could not be definitively healed. Certainly Guts has been wounded a lot over the course of the story though, I'm not saying it wasn't the case.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Thats why he needs Schierke, her healing prowess is much more advanced than old puck's.

You must be mistaken, Schierke has absolutely no healing abilities. At most she can bandage a wound. The elves have been the absolute best in that domain so far.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I don't know if I would say that Guts Past injuries/or way of fighting doesn't have anything to do with his current state.

Well I'm telling you it doesn't have anything to do with Guts' senses slowly disappearing. Not his state in general but that particular ailment. We're not talking about cuts here, we're talking about him not being able to taste food anymore. That's not something that can be influenced by simple wounds. And besides, it's been made clear in the manga that it was an inexorable side effect of wearing the armor.
 
Aazealh said:
I wouldn't say that the reopening of wounds has been a constant theme in the manga. If anything, I think it only became prominent after Guts was wounded by Slan in the Qliphoth, since those particular wounds were astral and could not be definitively healed. Certainly Guts has been wounded a lot over the course of the story though, I'm not saying it wasn't the case.

You must be mistaken, Schierke has absolutely no healing abilities. At most she can bandage a wound. The elves have been the absolute best in that domain so far.

Well I'm telling you it doesn't have anything to do with Guts' senses slowly disappearing. Not his state in general but that particular ailment. We're not talking about cuts here, we're talking about him not being able to taste food anymore. That's not something that can be influenced by simple wounds. And besides, it's been made clear in the manga that it was an inexorable side effect of wearing the armor.

I would say that it is heavily featured during the time when the Knights of the Holy Iron Chain were pursing Guts. It makes a point that the only way they captured him was because of his injuries not healing properly and being reopened so frequently that it finally caught up to him.

Hmmm are you sure? I seem to recall at the end of Volume 27 Guts saying something like, "Its true that the pain doesn't dissapear completely like when I'm fighting, but thinks to your master's charms, your medicine, and the little guys I'm doing much better." That sounds like she plays a big role in his healing process.


I didn't mean to infer that Guts the loss of his senses was becuase of his injuries. I just meant that his body was already in horrible shape beforehand. Sorry for the misunderstanding on that regard.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I would say that it is heavily featured during the time when the Knights of the Holy Iron Chain were pursing Guts. It makes a point that the only way they captured him was because of his injuries not healing properly and being reopened so frequently that it finally caught up to him.

He was injured and fleeing from them right after his battle with Rosine. There was no reopening, because the wounds just weren't mended at all in the first place. And there was no problem with healing, it's just that there hadn't been enough time for that, especially since Puck hadn't even been with him at the time (he saved him from specters just before the H.I.C.K. arrived). His injuries healed well enough after that and we never heard about it again.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Hmmm are you sure? I seem to recall at the end of Volume 27 Guts saying something like, "Its true that the pain doesn't dissapear completely like when I'm fighting, but thinks to your master's charms, your medicine, and the little guys I'm doing much better." That sounds like she plays a big role in his healing process.

Yes, I'm sure. When Guts refers to the pain, he's talking about the armor's effects. The spiritual medicine he mentions is the ointment Schierke applied to the wounds caused by Slan to help their healing. She's not a doctor.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I didn't mean to infer that Guts the loss of his senses was becuase of his injuries. I just meant that his body was already in horrible shape beforehand. Sorry for the misunderstanding on that regard.

Okay, though I think I had made it clear it was what I was talking about (not to mention it's the topic of the thread). It's no big deal anyway. :guts: But again, I'm not sure it's fair to say his body was in "horrible shape" before his encounter with Slan. Of course he was already covered in scars, but thanks to Puck and to his natural endurance he was doing fine.
 
Aazealh said:
He was injured and fleeing from them right after his battle with Rosine. There was no reopening, because the wounds just weren't mended at all in the first place. And there was no problem with healing, it's just that there hadn't been enough time for that, especially since Puck hadn't even been with him at the time (he saved him from specters just before the H.I.C.K. arrived). His injuries healed well enough after that and we never heard about it again.

Yes, I'm sure. When Guts refers to the pain, he's talking about the armor's effects. The spiritual medicine he mentions is the ointment Schierke applied to the wounds caused by Slan to help their healing. She's not a doctor.

Okay, though I think I had made it clear it was what I was talking about (not to mention it's the topic of the thread). It's no big deal anyway. :guts: But again, I'm not sure it's fair to say his body was in "horrible shape" before his encounter with Slan. Of course he was already covered in scars, but thanks to Puck and to his natural endurance he was doing fine.


Hmm that makes since I guess. I thought that Flora charms were to heal the spiritual wounds but Schierke was healing actual wounds. In that context that I spoke of he isn't talking about the armor he is talking about his wounds. Because Schierke says he should have rested for four or five more days so his wounds could heal. I will recheck it again.


I think its fair to say his body was in horrible shape, I mean he is missing an arm an eye. I think of Puck's mending as more keeping Guts body from getting any worse. Since he is constantly fighting and moving on , Puck was just damage control because there was never anytime to fully repair. When one wound healed another one opened.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I thought that Flora charms were to heal the spiritual wounds but Schierke was healing actual wounds.

Flora's talisman (the necklace Casca wears) prevents the Brand from attracting evil spirits. As for Guts, Schierke has been treating his Brand everyday (writing a complex symbol on it and applying special products to it). The symbol Flora carved inside of the armor's breastplate serves as a protection against its dangers (as shown in volumes 27 and 28). The ointment Schierke has been applying to Guts' spiritual wounds is indeed to treat them specifically, but other than that she has just been changing his bandages and maybe cleaning the wounds. It's the elves that do the actual healing.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
In that context that I spoke of he isn't talking about the armor he is talking about his wounds.

Don't worry, I know what the context of the scene is perfectly well. When he talks about the pain, he's referring to the armor's effects. That's why he says it doesn't subside as much as when he's fighting.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
I think its fair to say his body was in horrible shape, I mean he is missing an arm an eye.

Well, in that regard, of course. What I mean is that in volume 23 for example he was in good physical condition, despite his various past injuries.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Puck was just damage control because there was never anytime to fully repair. When one wound healed another one opened.

You're exaggerating here.
 
Well I always thought they still used elf powder, but I remember thinking that Guts's wounds were to big to be healed by those but I guess I was just thinking about the spirtual wounds Slan inflicted on him, back when the Skull Knight discovered the DragonSlayer could cut Astral bodies.

Hmm its slight exageration as in its not literally one wound after another but considering basically every night back in those days Guts fought demons its safe to say his body wasn't exactly resting.
 

Aazealh

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The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Well I always thought they still used elf powder, but I remember thinking that Guts's wounds were to big to be healed by those but I guess I was just thinking about the spirtual wounds Slan inflicted on him

The thing with astral wounds is that because they're on a person's astral body, even if they're cured in their corporeal form, they'll reopen as the real wounds are still there (in spiritual form). But the elves did heal them everytime they needed to be anyway (and with the ointment's help they seem to be good now).

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
back when the Skull Knight discovered the DragonSlayer could cut Astral bodies.

He just told Guts that the sword could harm Slan, that doesn't mean he discovered it at that time. At least it didn't seem to be the case.

The Ruffled Swordsman said:
Hmm its slight exageration as in its not literally one wound after another but considering basically every night back in those days Guts fought demons its safe to say his body wasn't exactly resting.

Yeah, he wasn't resting, but he didn't constantly have open wounds either.
 
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