Episode 368

I hate the fact that Casca is abducted, just while we got her back after decades of storytelling. To be clear, I'd hate it even if Miura would've done it, and I'd be really, really disappointed. It would be the first time that I would be concerned about the future of the story. It's a choice that just doesn't make sense to me at this specific point of the overall story, and yes, things might be interesting with her in Falconia, of course, but this minimal interaction with the party just doesn't sit well with me, at all. It basically is a justification to every person saying all these years that after the Eclipse, Casca exist solely to be a plot subject for Guts's sadness and character development. The panels with his desperate look are the nails in the coffin.
That's the one of the only things that bother me in Miura's Berserk, the way he uses Casca more as a rage and revenge "fuel" for Guts with Griffith than a real character. (Reminds me of the time that Miura said on one interview that he spared Casca from die on eclipse because if she died and Guts made new friends the revenge would become "something of the past"), i thought that during the corridor of dreams Miura changed, i hope it's true.
Elfhelm somehow feel empty?

The way they portrayed it in these last episodes kind of makes me feel as if the current events are of no consequence at all. Where is everybody?
It's very weird that the witches and gurus didn't get even one panel for them reacting to the island destruction, Miura made so much episodes for them and now on these Studio Gaga episodes it looks that the island just had Guts and Roderick group there.
There are so many inhabitants and characters introduced on the island, what the hell is going on with all of them? From the chaos going on all the way down to the shoreline, I would imagine a ton of them got fucked. Were they off screened? Was Skull Knight running around sending them to a safe place with the sword of actuation?
I really hope that's it.
 
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Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
A screenshot of a DM from someone we don’t know isn’t exactly solid ground to stand on, I’m afraid. Certainly not enough to say that Miura was the one in the wrong for fixing it and not Studio Gaga

It's slanderous all-around as it makes them sound like deluded ingrates blaming their deceased benefactor for an otherwise pretty innocuous mistake.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
That's the one of the only things that bother me in Miura's Berserk, the way he uses Casca more as a rage and revenge "fuel" for Guts with Griffith than a real character. (Reminds me of the time that Miura said on one interview that he spared Casca from die on eclipse because if she died and Guts made new friends the revenge would become "something of the past"), i thought that during the corridor of dreams Miura changed, i hope it's true.

I don't think that's fair to Miura. There's a reason Casca is a beloved character and that's because great care was put into creating and developing her (and even as her "absent" self, care and love were put in her depiction if you pay attention). Now, indeed, when time came to draw the Eclipse, Miura decided not to kill her off. His choices were limited there, given that she hadn't been a factor at all during the Black Swordsman arc. That's partly why she gets sidelined, because the alternative was for her to die. Once that was done, her condition and survival became a central part of the story.

Paradoxically, that made her even more important to the plot, despite her limited agency. But that also meant she couldn't get back to normal without something big happening. From that point, you could say that the journey to heal her took too long, but I'd argue it was filled with insanely interesting developments, none of which I'd cut. It gave other characters room to grow, too. Which brings us to the current story. It took a long time, but we got her back. And just like it was very emotional for Guts, I think it's clear it was very emotional to Miura. He said so himself, in fact. So I don't believe for a second that he had boring stuff planned for her.

Guts is the main character of Berserk and that never would have changed, but Miura always considered Casca to be the main heroine of the series. Unfortunately, we'll never get to see what he really had in store for her, but I can't imagine it would have sucked. Even with her abduction. He was always a master at subverting expectations, so personally I choose to have faith in what he planned until I see it. Hopefully Mori and the team will manage to properly convey some of his ideas to us.

It's very weird that the witches and gurus didn't get even one panel for them reacting to the island destruction, Miura made so much episodes for them and now on these Studio Gaga episodes it looks that the island just had Guts and Roderick group there.

Well it's like I said before: there's a lot of information Mori doesn't have, and so he's writing the story around it. The result is therefore hopelessly compromised, especially when you look at the details. That's why I try to see it as just a fancy way to communicate the broadest strokes of the story. Because in truth this really can't be considered to be "Berserk" as it used to be.
 
It has been discussed before but goddamn they should have a brief text at the end of each episode writing what Mori knew directly from Miura for each particular episode. It could be a fun addition and it would be an alternative to fans who just want Berserk directly from Miura, even in a very incomplete and shortened form. Also it would be an acknowledgment and a tribute each episode that this continuation is not just same business as usual like Miura is still writing it or smth.
 
It has been discussed before but goddamn they should have a brief text at the end of each episode writing what Mori knew directly from Miura for each particular episode. It could be a fun addition and it would be an alternative to fans who just want Berserk directly from Miura, even in a very incomplete and shortened form. Also it would be an acknowledgment and a tribute each episode that this continuation is not just same business as usual like Miura is still writing it or smth.
Its possible they aren't doing this so that we are not able to see what content they are adding on their own accord. Although it is pretty obvious to us already.
 
Its possible they aren't doing this so that we are not able to see what content they are adding on their own accord. Although it is pretty obvious to us already.
But that's where the value is, to get the bare bones things without the workarounds they are needing to make it into an actual manga. I dont think they gain anything by passing this new berserk off like nothing is different, I think people would actually be more forgiving and thankful that we get both things. It's really almost pointless me talking about this, it's a that would be nice scenario but we all know it ain't happening hahah... but boy i'd like that
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
It has been discussed before but goddamn they should have a brief text at the end of each episode writing what Mori knew directly from Miura for each particular episode. It could be a fun addition and it would be an alternative to fans who just want Berserk directly from Miura, even in a very incomplete and shortened form. Also it would be an acknowledgment and a tribute each episode that this continuation is not just same business as usual like Miura is still writing it or smth.
Following Berserk has already gotten pretty meta. So I don't think they'll do that—at least not episode by episode, because it could undercut the work that they're trying to do in fleshing out those bullet points on the page. It would draw even more scrutiny if they said "Miura said these parts, but we made these parts up."

However, a final outline from Mori once the series is over, sure. That'd be great.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
At this point, I’m not sure what else to say. I held off on posting my thoughts, because this was a weird episode for me. Despite being the most coherent of the project so far, I felt the most disappointment reading it, mainly because of the way Guts was handled.

The longer this project has gone on, the more I wish it had been done as a booklet with occasional illustrations and a summary of what Miura told Mori. I was very enthusiastic and positive when the project was announced, based on Mori’s mission statement, but a lot of that has died out.

I started rereading the series shortly after the announcement was made, and it throws even more contrast on the current episodes. I wasn’t expecting Mori and Studio Gaga’s final product to be perfect (their artistic ability still impresses me), but their lack of ability to tell a good story that makes sense and the (apparent) lack of information Mori remembers hasn’t lent itself well to the medium of manga, and it shows.

I’m still going to follow the project until they’re finished, mainly for the broad strokes, like Aaz said, in order to get the gist of what Miura had planned. I’m still enjoying these discussions, too, because I think criticism is important, and it helps me notice things I may have missed through my quicker-than-usual trek through the new episodes.
 
The longer this project has gone on, the more I wish it had been done as a booklet with occasional illustrations and a summary of what Miura told Mori. I was very enthusiastic and positive when the project was announced, based on Mori’s mission statement, but a lot of that has died out.
You are not alone ... Many of us believed, that even if not in the same way or with the same standards as Miura did, Mori & Studio Gaga could continue and finish BERSERK in a satisfying way.

But, after 4 episodes of "BERSERK?" That were suppose to cover one of the biggest encounter in the series, between Guts and Griffith, I'm starting to question if Mori statement was genuine:

"However, a great responsibility has fallen on me.
While he was alive, Miura said, “I haven’t told anyone other than you, Mori, about the story in its entirety.” And that was the truth. It is too big a responsibility. I thought, should I talk to fans about it through an interview? Or should I publish an article with some illustrations? But that wouldn’t convey the scenes that Miura described to me, or the lines of Guts and Griffith…"
 
You know on first reading. I thought the episode was more cohesive and enjoyable as a whole but after reading aaz's detailed explanation it really opened my eyes to the inconsistencies and I feel appalled if anything. You can't replicate genius.

I will stick around for the broad strokes and the occasional nicely drawn panel. Also to listen to the lovely skullcast.
 
Late to the party. Aaz's post murdered this thread, as there's barely anything to add to it. Here's my two cents, anyway.

You know how parents sometimes tell their growing children something along the lines of: "You should be a supportive member of the family, but if you can't do that, at least don't be a burden"? I'm gonna use similar logic here and say: You have to do your best with this manga, but if you can't be great, at least don't suck. The team can't replicate Miura's genius? Fine. Fair enough. Would never hold that against them. But for the love of God, don't suck at least. And they're sucking, with all due respect. I'm not expecting genius level storytelling here, but this is just plain mediocre. I mean, at least meet the bare minimum of a coherent and decent storyline. This is not even shonen level, with all due respect to shonen. It's "bad TV series writing", as Aaz described during one of my conversations with him. Keep that away from Berserk!

Ironically, the panel I hated most in this episode is the one I relate to the most. I'm talking about that shot of Guts. It's what I'm feeling about Berserk :ganishka:

I'm literally deriving no pleasure from reading these episodes at this point. Sorry if this mini-rant puts a damper on any one feeling more positive about this continuation, but this is what I'm feeling about it. Oh well. This serves as further proof that you can't separate the what from the how when it comes to storytelling. Or anything really. Even if these are Miura's broad strokes, my God would they have been different in his capable hands. So the ultimate positive that came out of this continuation is that I appreciate Miura-sensei even more than I did before.

I'm going to start calling this continuation "Bonkers". Can't refer to it as "Berserk" with a straight face.
 
Everything have already been said about this continuation and I agree.
Between the storytelling, the inconsistent arts, Guts' face... especially in this episode where it looks like shit and convey zero emotion in the last scene.
I honestly wouldn't want to be in the team's shoes at the moment.
I'll continue to support the series but only to see what Miura had in store for us and the occasional good arts.
I'm already dreading to see how they will handle the rest... I don't want to imagine the ending.

Though... I'm curious about the reaction of the black goo toward Guts.
If it's related to the black goo that covers Guts when the Berserk armor is activated or not.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Like Walter said, not showing things because Miura didn't specifically mention it becomes as obtrusive and nonsensical to the story as trying to fill in the blanks themselves. It's frustrating to read and I'm getting zero enjoyment out of it. :judo: I'm just going to read the wiki in a few years when this is all done.
 
In the end, the art is the least important part, but I have to admit that I had high expectations about it based on the idea that Duranki's art was mostly done by Miura's assistants; it's still better that most manga, but it's nowhere near the level of Duranki. I should have known that Miura worked more on Duranki than was said, because Duranki's art is indistinguishable from Miura's work. It's another disappointment, albeit a small one. I could also comment on the story, but I'm too late for that haha. Everything I could have said has already been said.
 
In the end, the art is the least important part, but I have to admit that I had high expectations about it based on the idea that Duranki's art was mostly done by Miura's assistants

This was my impression too, I was optimistic that their art would atleast match duranki, but they could not even match that. It was all miura at the end of the day. Apparently they were supposed to be trained in Miura's style to help with berserk. Not sure what they have been doing this whole time.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
This was my impression too, I was optimistic that their art would atleast match duranki, but they could not even match that. It was all miura at the end of the day. Apparently they were supposed to be trained in Miura's style to help with berserk. Not sure what they have been doing this whole time.

If you were a passable guitar player but then Jimi Hendrix started giving you private lessons, your level could likely increase immensely. Would you ever be as good as Jimi Hendrix himself, though? Of course not. Same thing.

And note that I'm not talking about writing your own music, which is something Miura did in this metaphor.
 
For Casca I think she's going to undermine Griffith's regime from the inside (i.e. talk to Charlotte, tell her what happened, sow seeds of doubt.) I also think that Guts is probably going to need to assemble an army to take Griffith on.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
For Casca I think she's going to undermine Griffith's regime from the inside (i.e. talk to Charlotte, tell her what happened, sow seeds of doubt.)
Agreed that would be the next logical piece for the inevitable fall of Griffith. However, that's a substantial amount of hubris from Griffith.
 
Can you guys can clarify something please: If Griffith thinks Guts & Casca may pose some threat to him because of their connection to the boy, why not simply have them killed? Why go through with an abduction and so on?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Can you guys can clarify something please: If Griffith thinks Guts & Casca may pose some threat to him because of their connection to the boy, why not simply have them killed? Why go through with an abduction and so on?

The idea is that the boy could interfere and stop him from doing it. The same way he compelled him to move to protect Casca on the Hill of Swords. Of course, we won't know for sure until we see what he'll do with Casca in Falconia, but that's basically the only thing that makes sense to me.
 
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