Episode 340

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
I understand caution, but don't get what's to dread? If it's bad, that was already the last state of Star Wars at the cinemas. There's nowhere to go but up. :ganishka:

I'm apathetic about the prospect of another Star Wars trilogy at this point. What I fear is that it'll be less a film and more an exercise in mathematics -- a perfectly executed calculation targeting our nostalgia. But what I truly dread is the slow build up to its release, because the merchandising machine behind this franchise is unlike anything I have ever seen. Seriously, have you been to a Barnes & Nobles or a Target lately? Disney has gone one stop short of choking you as you walk in the store, demanding that you be excited for these movies. YOU NEED THE KYLO REN MASK! Who's Kylo Re- IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, IT'S STAR WARS SO IT'S FUCKING AWESOME, YA GOT THAT?!

It's exhausting...
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
I'm apathetic about the prospect of another Star Wars trilogy at this point. What I fear is that it'll be less a film and more an exercise in mathematics -- a perfectly executed calculation targeting our nostalgia. But what I truly dread is the slow build up to its release, because the merchandising machine behind this franchise is unlike anything I have ever seen. Seriously, have you been to a Barnes & Nobles or a Target lately? Disney has gone one stop short of choking you as you walk in the store, demanding that you be excited for these movies. YOU NEED THE KYLO REN MASK! Who's Kylo Re- IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, IT'S STAR WARS SO IT'S FUCKING AWESOME, YA GOT THAT?!

It's exhausting...

Oh yeah, you don't need to even name specific places, because it's literally everywhere. I was even able to buy a brand new Episode VII cup at the 99 cents only store. :ganishka: I'm separating the movie from the marketing machine though (I'm honestly not paying that much attention to it, though I did see the Kylo Ren toy at Target =), but that aspect is in many ways symptomatic of why it's not just going to be a last hurrah for the old cast of characters, but probably a lot of fans like me as well. I'm not coming along for Rebels, Rogue One and young Han Solo/Boba Fett adventures and all that BS. That's not for me, that's for the kids they're marketing to now. Abrams is one of those old fans though, and likewise had his reservations, which is why Miura's specific sentiment is so insightful, because I don't trust Disney Star Wars any more than you do, but I can trust that, all this noise aside, he just wants to fulfill this mandate and make something worthy, and he's pretty much the perfect guy for the job. Basically, just because this whole franchise effort is shameless and is likely going to dilute Star Wars movies to point of meaninglessness, doesn't mean this particular movie, which will be unique as the focal point of this revival, will be bad. After this though I'm likely to show as much interest in this... industry as, say, Harry Potter (I like Rian Johnson, but also have franchise fatigue in general so the idea of getting excited about another trilogy just sounds like an exhausting obligation). I hope I'm wrong though, because that'll mean its actually compelling enough to warrant interest on its own storytelling merits, and not just branding and nostalgia.
 
This battle will have to be stopped at some point. I can't really see any way of them extensively injuring or taking out Rakshas. Hm, maybe light is actually his weakness? I'm not sure, I actually interpreted it to be a psychological dislike, but he's hurrying to extinguish it so maybe that was foolish of me... His true form is shapeless, it looks like the cloak is there to hide it. From people seeing he's nothing? Or the light hitting him? An apostle kill might still be on the cards if no one interferes soon and Erica is freed, though of course there're doubts.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Jarlix said:
Hm, maybe light is actually his weakness? I'm not sure, I actually interpreted it to be a psychological dislike, but he's hurrying to extinguish it so maybe that was foolish of me...

He might not like bright light on a psychological level and yet still be physically vulnerable to fire.

Jarlix said:
His true form is shapeless, it looks like the cloak is there to hide it.

No, he is the cloak. The cloak is him.

Jarlix said:
An apostle kill might still be on the cards if no one interferes soon and Erica is freed, though of course there're doubts.

An apostle kill? Didn't you just say you can't imagine them injuring him?
 
Is it confirmed that he's not just an intangible shapeshifter who's vulnerable to light, hence the cloak? Something like Mergo's Wet Nurse from Bloodborne, who has a tangible existence but can't be made out except by her clothing. Granted him being the cloak makes a lot more sense, now I think about it... It's just all the mischievous teasing he does about where his face is located and the way people fight him made me think - maybe he had a solid form under there.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Jarlix said:
Is it confirmed that he's not just an intangible shapeshifter who's vulnerable to light, hence the cloak?

Nothing we've seen so far can lead us to believe he's intangible. And he clearly has very precise control over the cloak, allowing him to grow and shrink (down to the size of a watermelon), move his head around it, grow limbs, use it to form prehensible appendages or weapons, use its shredded bits to immobilize Silat's Urumis... I don't think there's any doubt about it: he is the cloak.

Jarlix said:
Granted him being the cloak makes a lot more sense, now I think about it... It's just all the mischievous teasing he does about where his face is located and the way people fight him made me think - maybe he had a solid form under there.

Well he moves his face around within the cloak, and it is a "solid" part that can be hit, as we saw in this episode. It's his weak point, which is one of the reasons he wears a mask. He also seems to be able to form bones of sorts as needed, but that likely works like the rest of the cloak.
 
Amazing story as usual! Had a great time reading the newest episode! :badbone:


Aazealh said:
.

Since they haven't been living there recently, it would only be one possibility among others, but I agree that Rakshas would likely be clued in on its location. That being said, he would still probably need to get leave from Griffith to go on a hunt to a possibly far away location, and on a mission that Griffith might not particularly approve of to begin with.

Anyway, I would love nothing more than for the final confrontation with Rakshas to take place in the Bakiraka's secret hideout, with him trying to take them all on... and maybe Guts' band as well?! :rakshas:


Is there ever a possibility that Griffith might send him on a suicide mission to get rid of him? Such as approving the manhunt to the hideout. Since he probably anticipated that the chance of Rakasha going against the entire clan might be slim.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Smith said:
Is there ever a possibility that Griffith might send him on a suicide mission to get rid of him? Such as approving the manhunt to the hideout. Since he probably anticipated that the chance of Rakasha going against the entire clan might be slim.

Why would Griffith want to get rid of him? It's not like Rakshas poses any real danger to him. And besides that, I don't know that his chances would be slim... I think you're selling him very short here.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Jarlix said:
I can see why they were having difficulty fighting him at first. Wonder if the cloak will regenerate if it's just burnt.

Probably. He doesn't seem to have sustained any serious damage from what we can see.
 
Walter said:
But what I truly dread is the slow build up to its release, because the merchandising machine behind this franchise is unlike anything I have ever seen. Seriously, have you been to a Barnes & Nobles or a Target lately? Disney has gone one stop short of choking you as you walk in the store, demanding that you be excited for these movies. YOU NEED THE KYLO REN MASK! Who's Kylo Re- IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, IT'S STAR WARS SO IT'S FUCKING AWESOME, YA GOT THAT?!

It's exhausting...

Griffith said:
Oh yeah, you don't need to even name specific places, because it's literally everywhere. I was even able to buy a brand new Episode VII cup at the 99 cents only store. :ganishka:

Yup, you can't escape it! Brought this to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgRFQJCHcPw
 
It's interesting to see that Silat was humbled by his fight with Guts, it may explain why he acted as a one man army in the Golden Age Arc, but travels with his Tapasa and scouts in every appearance afterwards, which makes the inclusion of the scouts in the third movie utterly pointless and unnecessary.
 
Wenliinvictus said:
It's interesting to see that Silat was humbled by his fight with Guts, it may explain why he acted as a one man army in the Golden Age Arc, but travels with his Tapasa and scouts in every appearance afterwards, which makes the inclusion of the scouts in the third movie utterly pointless and unnecessary.

Yet another thing I greatly disliked about the movies. The addition of those other Kushan soldiers dancing around was just silly and the way they portrayed Silat was just terrible.

I've become a much bigger fan of Silat during these past few episodes. Silat has made huge improvements as a warrior, his fight with Rakshas in 340 was fantastic, and his overall character development is looking good. I am very excited for this week's episode.
 
As we know, the current situation is a monthly release for Berserk. For how much time you think it will stay like that? (Monthly release).
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Rofazo said:
As we know, the current situation is a monthly release for Berserk. For how much time you think it will stay like that? (Monthly release).

Until the series is over.

Which doesn't mean that there won't ever be times where some issues will be skipped so that Miura can work on planning future developments, but the release schedule will remain at a regular pace of once every other YA issue.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
berserkfan said:
Do you guys believe Silat at this point can evenly match Guts at this point (minus the berserker armor) in one on one combat?

Silat is good, but I wouldn't go that far, no. Guts would probably crush like he did in volume 9 if they were to fight again now. But that's not so much a reflection on Silat's skills as it is one on Guts' supremacy as the strongest warrior who's ever lived.
 
One of the exemplifications of the great fight scenes that exist in berserk. They play out with all the tension and teasing that come in between them. As well as having both a dizzying effect and a puzzle like structure, that can keep you guessing while making sense of each turn and twist. The feud between Rakshas and Silat and to an extent his tribesmen, is interesting. Not only for their backstory, but for the back and forth nature of the morality i perceive to be involved. That privilege that rakshas spoke of the fact that him being an outcast or a black sheep of what may have been an unfair society he lived in that Silat came from with a silver spoon is interesting in light of what's happening now. Not only have the roles been reversed, Silat and his tribe are on death's door and rakshas while having an ambiguous status seems to still be in an upper caste in the new world just by being an apostle and the world leaning more towards them(seemingly.) But Silat's response to having his pride shattered by Guts way back even before Ganishika and the kushan lost, led to a key role in all of this. Whereas i perceive that vanity at least has a symbolic role in rakshas strengths and weaknesses. While he might actually be in imminent danger when his mask is taken off as far as having his weakness exposed, if that is the case then when rakshas face is struck or one crack in his image appears he is off his game in every case.

So while Silat's self concept or his self image and his persona as the privileged prince cracking led to the strength that saw him grow from each loss, Rakshas is still tormented by the past slights against him by Silat, and must retreat every battle for amibigous causal reasons to be sure, after he loses face, in a poetic conflation of the literal and symbolic.


I think this is the one thing that blinds Rakshas to his perfect anticipation and reading of Silat's movements, he doesn't count that his hubris will allow him to respond in this way, but Silat's recognition that Rakshas was more powerful then him, which stems from what he now sees after the personal growth from Guts allowed to him to fight as if this was the case.

Leading to those beautiful and dangerous moments with the foot blades and each almost catching the other, at the exact moment where the other almost had them. Leading to that panel where each avoided both.

Spectacular moment great fight.


Segueing out of that Rickert is just showing how much he has learned but also reminding us of what a childhood in years of mercenary experience in the band of the hawk can do in terms of strategy. But his skill for inventing is also on full display.
 
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