I didn't think the participation in this thread would die down so quickly. I really liked the idea of doing a reread together as a community, so I'll just keep going with one volume per month.
I finished volume 3 today and there is so much to unpack here.
The way Puck is calling out the Count for being too weak to handle his human emotions might be the the most serious interaction he has in the whole manga (maybe aside from a few scenes with Jill).
We get the very first panel of Guts being totally overcome by his rage(with many to follow) as he manically keeps on stabbing the count.
The escheresque design of the interdimensional room where the God Hand show up is a pretty great move by Miura to enhance the disorientation of the characters and the reader.
I sometimes tend to forget, that it was not on the hill of swords but here that Guts' first encounter with Griffith after the eclipse is happening. Compared to how he immediately bursts into rage mode on the hill of swords, he pretty much keeps his composure here.
Then we are introduced to the vortex of souls, which is not only visually stunning, but also a concept that will keep looming in our heads for the rest of the story.
And the panel of Guts' sad face after Theresia promises to kill him one day still gets me. It gives a glimpse of his multi-layered character that we will soon get a deep dive into, as the story jumps back to the golden age.
I think I will take a break for now and comment on the golden age episodes in a seperate post.