Berserk Community Re-Read: Volume 1 (current)

[Nosferatugatsu16]

Guts cared if people died. He was harsh and callous in large part because he was pushing people away. There's a variety of reasons for that, including the fact that being around him was dangerous. For example he was shaken when Colette's corpse was possessed and he was forced to cut her down.

HIs reaction when he notices Vargas Foot stuck out to me It's almost as if he already knows Vargas's Story is Just as similar as His

 

[Domeniko]

A more jarring thing was Guts telling and yelling at Puck a few times "Don't touch me!" and "Don't you ever touch me..." which seemed like a reversal back to his pre-Band of the Falcon characterization. Considering he had no qualms about banging one of his enemies to take her out a few pages before, this seems a bit silly even in the context of the first episode alone.

I do not think this is inconsistent because Puck is a friendly who is trying to make connections with a Guts who is reluctant to ever make any connections knowing what happened to the last ones he had. its entirely different from fucking an apostle just to kill her

 

[Judo]

He's mentioned a few times in interviews that he didn't specifically plan for that, but often he keeps concepts open and then later it all works out.

Thanks for clearing this up for me. It's all the more amazing how seamless he was able to integrate it in the flow of the story then.

 

[Aazealh]

Fans also often times misdirect their rage towards griffith when the fact is that nothing of griffith's emotional state remained after he was reincarnated, he became pure evil, so his actions past that point were not from the same man that they used to call comrade. It's an entirely different person.

It can't be said that Femto is "an entirely different person" from who Griffith was before the Eclipse. He underwent a profound transformation, but it isn't as if it absolves him of responsability for his actions. He is the villain of the story and it isn't incongruous for readers to view him as such.

HIs reaction when he notices Vargas Foot stuck out to me It's almost as if he already knows Vargas's Story is Just as similar as His

Yeah, that's what it's meant to convey. And Guts' harsh reaction to Vargas is a reflection of his own self-loathing. I've always found it to be very thoughtful and nuanced, given how early it is in the story when it comes up.

I do not think this is inconsistent because Puck is a friendly who is trying to make connections with a Guts who is reluctant to ever make any connections knowing what happened to the last ones he had. its entirely different from fucking an apostle just to kill her

Indeed. And the implication from the flashback with Chich is that he's afraid Puck would endanger himself by helping him.

 

[cijhho123]

Indeed. And the implication from the flashback with Chich is that he's afraid Puck would endanger himself by helping him.

I always thought of that as Guts afraid of touch because of the SA by Donovan, thats it was portrait in the golden age at least

 

[Domeniko]

It can't be said that Femto is "an entirely different person" from who Griffith was before the Eclipse. He underwent a profound transformation, but it isn't as if it absolves him of responsability for his actions. He is the villain of the story and it isn't incongruous for readers to view him as such.

You're right, I just think that what he did after becoming Femto could have only been done with that evil he's received with his transformation, I really doubt he would do something like that without losing his emotional attachment and no evil

 

[Ysbryd]

I signed up for this forum relatively recently after doing a re-read of Berserk and decided to jump back in for the community re-read! Since signing up here and catching up with the series, I have been revisiting a lot of my favorite manga and trying to read other critically acclaimed series (Gantz, Innocent, Homunculus, Monster, etc.) that I hadn't gotten to yet. Going through volume 1, I was surprised by how much more 'magical' (for lack of a better word) Berserk is than the other works I have read recently. From the character and plot writing, subtlety in the art, fluid panelwork, worldbuilding - everything seems to work together in harmony to create this masterpiece of a story. I guess I'm preaching to the choir here, but man - what an achievement!

In regards to more specific praises, I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said in this thread. Looking forward to continuing this re-read with y'all! Hopefully I will get to the thread earlier next time haha

 

[orthogonal]

Hi SkullKnight.net

I know neither the original text nor the English translation but in the French translation, on page 50, Guts says to Puck
"Quel intérêt y a-t-il à survivre sans mener l'existence que l'on désire, d'ailleurs ?"
which translates to
"What is the point of surviving without leading the life you want anyway?". The wording struck me because I imagine this very question must have crossed Guts' mind around and after the turn of the Golden Age Arc.

Also Puck is riding a bird

 

[Aazealh]

I know neither the original text nor the English translation but in the French translation, on page 50, Guts says to Puck
"Quel intérêt y a-t-il à survivre sans mener l'existence que l'on désire, d'ailleurs ?"
which translates to
"What is the point of surviving without leading the life you want anyway?". The wording struck me because I imagine this very question must have crossed Guts' mind around and after the turn of the Golden Age Arc.

They softened what he says compared to the original Japanese text (and added a question where there isn't one). Dark Horse's translation is more accurate: "If someone can't live their life the way they please, they might as well die."