Episode 364

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'd only hope that Miura already created at least few episodes more and they could deliver it even if they need to draw backgrounds and stuff. This one ... Feels very bizarre to get this one without author being alive. I'm happy with it ... but sad too.
 
It's a wonderful surprise to find news of a new Berserk episode, especially in the series' current predicament. I am definitely looking forward to picking this up on release and seeing the tribute for Miura. While personally I would love to see the series continue, I am happy treating 364 as a conclusion to this wonderful story (assuming if they are going to let it lie as is).
 
I'm happy but at the same time I feel like I made my peace with 363 being a decent conclusion of it's own. Given it'll be the final episode for volume 41 and the way 363 ended, I'm anticipating major event(s) will occur.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm really happy we're seeing a completed 364. Rekindling the excitement of a new release just like nothing has changed is a surreal ray of light in what has been a long stretch of darkness these past few months.

I figured we'd eventually see a rough version of it—whatever Miura had completed—added to the end of Volume 41. That would have been fine, but it seems we're getting much more than that. A posthumous episode with what could be Miura's final work.

It's natural to expect more after getting such a surprising gift, like a kid looking intently beneath the tree at the end of Christmas morning. Against my better judgment, that this is likely the end, I'd tell that kid: Well, we don't know precisely how far in advance Miura worked. Perhaps 364 was the last episode that was in a solid enough form that it could be released, but drafts or sketches of any future episodes Miura had begun will eventually see the light of day. That'd be a lot, even without the associated dialogue (like the portion of ep 348 we saw in the guidebook.) But I think hoping for more than that is a recipe for disappointment.

As for a continuation, I don't ever expect that speculation to cease. It'll just slow down along with momentum over the years. No explanation of how improbable such a thing is will ever be as palatable as the hope for what could be. And I have no argument that can beat hope.
 
I'm really happy we're seeing a completed 364. Rekindling the excitement of a new release just like nothing has changed is a surreal ray of light in what has been a long stretch of darkness these past few months.

I figured we'd eventually see a rough version of it—whatever Miura had completed—added to the end of Volume 41. That would have been fine, but it seems we're getting much more than that. A posthumous episode with what could be Miura's final work.

It's natural to expect more after getting such a surprising gift, like a kid looking intently beneath the tree at the end of Christmas morning. Against my better judgment, that this is likely the end, I'd tell that kid: Well, we don't know precisely how far in advance Miura worked. Perhaps 364 was the last episode that was in a solid enough form that it could be released, but drafts or sketches of any future episodes Miura had begun will eventually see the light of day. That'd be a lot, even without the associated dialogue (like the portion of ep 348 we saw in the guidebook.) But I think hoping for more than that is a recipe for disappointment.

As for a continuation, I don't ever expect that speculation to cease. It'll just slow down along with momentum over the years. No explanation of how improbable such a thing is will ever be as palatable as the hope for what could be. And I have no argument that can beat hope.
You don't think they will formally announce that berserk will not be continued in order to end the speculation?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
You don't think they will formally announce that berserk will not be continued in order to end the speculation?
No, I don't think even a formal announcement would ultimately stop the conversation of "well what if somebody else takes it up?" That's what I meant by facts and reasoning not being able to stop a hope.

I also don't think Hakusensha has an obligation to definitively say there are no plans for Berserk. We might get: "this was the final episode Miura worked on, thank you for supporting Berserk!" But would it really be prudent for them to say "this is the end for Berserk" ? Is that even for them to decide?
 
No, I don't think even a formal announcement would ultimately stop the conversation of "well what if somebody else takes it up?" That's what I meant by facts and reasoning not being able to stop a hope.

I also don't think Hakusensha has an obligation to definitively say there are no plans for Berserk. We might get: "this was the final episode Miura worked on, thank you for supporting Berserk!" But would it really be prudent for them to say "this is the end for Berserk" ? Is that even for them to decide?
That totally makes sense, thank you for clarifying.
 
An image of the official announcement for episode 364, from this blog:

364-announcement.jpg
 
Wow, with such a teaser, now I really can't wait! I wish it was september 10, but I'm also happy that I can feel the excitement of an upcoming episode again. Knowing that it's probably also the last one, at least by Miura, it makes it truly unique, and based on where we are story-wise, I think that it was going to be a unique episode even if the tragedy of Miura's passing didn't happen. I mean, Guts, the boy and Casca healed all together, we've been waiting so long for these scenes and interactions! I'm so happy that we're gonna see the family reunited, the panel with Casca and the boy made my day in an instant. Looks like it's gonna be a heartwarming episode, even if we get an impending doom as a cliffhanger.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Ps: I have a feeling the bottom left panel will be the cliffhanger. :isidro:

As I was telling Walter, it might end with the panel of Guts swinging the Dragon Slayer at Griffith (the one that's been used for the exhibition). It would also work as the second page of episode 365, but... Better to not hope for too much. Anyway, it will be very interesting to see how things unfold. I feel really grateful to be getting this episode, honestly. It might inform us more precisely on what direction Miura had planned for the rest of the series, with the key being the balance between the boy and Femto inside their shared body.

I don't have time to type too much right now, but I'll point out that on the bottom left panel, Casca seems to be standing in the doorway behind Guts, meaning she might be witnessing the transformation too. That confrontation between her motherly feelings towards her son and her trauma (associated with Griffith) could be pivotal to help her make progress when it comes to facing what happened to her.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
As I was telling Walter, it might end with the panel of Guts swinging the Dragon Slayer at Griffith (the one that's been used for the exhibition). It would also work as the second page of episode 365, but... Better to not hope for too much. Anyway, it will be very interesting to see how things unfold. I feel really grateful to be getting this episode, honestly. It might inform us more precisely on what direction Miura had planned for the rest of the series, with the key being the balance between the boy and Femto inside their shared body.

I don't have time to type too much right now, but I'll point out that on the bottom left panel, Casca seems to be standing in the doorway behind Guts, meaning she might be witnessing the transformation too. That confrontation between her motherly feelings towards her son and her trauma (associated with Griffith) could be pivotal to help her make progress when it comes to facing what happened to her.
Indeed! This makes sense to me. Can't wait to see for sure. And like you said, I am glad too we get this kind of episode as a possible last one. Such excitement and suc tragedy at the same time.
 
Hmmm... To me, the bottom left panel looks like the opening shot of the new episode and not the cliffhanger. It looks as though the Moonlight boy's hair has not turned dark when seen from behind. I could be wrong, however. Really cannot wait for this.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Hmmm... To me, the bottom left panel looks like the opening shot of the new episode and not the cliffhanger. It looks as though the Moonlight boy's hair has not turned dark when seen from behind. I could be wrong, however. Really cannot wait for this.

No, it's in the process of transforming. The tips are black and the rest is white and wavy. When he's the boy, he has quasi-straight hair, like his mom. That being said, there's still a lot of unknowns about how this episode will unfold. In the top left panel we see Guts cover his son with his cloak and he appears to be bare-chested as he does it, but in that bottom panel he's got his armor and cloak on. So the timeline of events isn't completely clear to me at this point.
 
Yeah, I thought for sure that this was the transformation at first, based one the specific shape of the hair. But what got me wondering was how the boy, Guts, and Casca are all at the same spots they were at the end of the previous episode (just with Casca coming out of the house, obviously).

Then again, I guess that would not be anywhere near as dramatic as having both Guts and Casca see the transformation, so I don't know.
 
Last edited:
Wow this is so surreal to be seeing. I love seeing everyone so happy in those panels especially casca. This could be the perfect send off episode, please do not leave us with that cliffhanger of the bottom left panel lmao
 
Ah, what a bittersweet sendoff we're about to get. Guts and Casca (not Elaine) getting to act like real parents to their son for the first time ever :serpico:...only for it to be pulled away again by the thing who tore them apart in the first place.:judo:

Feels symbolic for Berserk as a whole now.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, I thought for sure that this was the transformation at first, based one the specific shape of the hair. But what got me wondering was how the boy, Guts, and Casca are all at the same spots they were at the end of the previous episode (just with Casca coming out of the house, obviously).

Well keep in mind this is a preview. It's meant to tease, and it's deliberately lacking key moments of the episode. The panels are also not necessarily in the proper order. So for example those snippets could span the entire night, with the transformation occurring at the end, as the boy's leaving. The characters aren't actually in the exact same spots either, just the same general location. And that's just a possibility, but maybe the transformation occurs earlier on than some of the other panels, too. That seems a bit crazy to me since that reveal would be a great way to end the episode, but who knows?

This could be the perfect send off episode, please do not leave us with that cliffhanger of the bottom left panel lmao

Whether it's this or something else, it's basically guaranteed to end on a cliffhanger, like 99% of Berserk episodes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom