Episode 358

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
The world of Berserk is gushing with interesting things right now. Seeing Silat's warrior base would be really interesting, but i think most of us want to see Guts and Casca as soon as possible simply because its the most interesting thing going on at this time. and when you think about it, these last few "Griffith" episodes have all been build up to Griffith transforming so that Miura could throw another layer of interesting on top of the already super interesting Guts and Casca reunion. It was all a ruse to make it Super-Ultra Interesting.

I wouldn't call it a ruse, but I think I see what you mean. As Aaz and others have said, great writers know exactly how to build up to a wonderful cliff-hanger before switching perspectives in their stories. It's what keeps someone saying to themselves, "Okay, I'll read just one more chapter..." in a book. The cliff-hanger ending with Casca's scream was brilliant. I laughed out loud when it switched back to Griffith and the fight against the giants, because it was such a great move by Miura.

It's also important to keep in mind that we didn't just switch back to Griffith for the final reveal. We got to see a great action sequence showing just how tough it is to fight some of the stronger astral creatures, even for Zodd. Then, we found out how Griffith uses the World Spiral Tree to travel (we saw the Moonlight Boy use it before, but this was a much more detailed look). Now, before Griffith begins to transform into the Moonlight Boy, we get to see his future plans for Falconia and its expansion.

Miura doesn't write or draw anything just to create "filler," as some have said. Everything he does has meaning and purpose, and every little thing drives the story forward and sets up something wonderful. He's a master storyteller. (For those of us who are trying to write our own stories, it's almost irritating how good he is, hehe. :void:)
 
Got a feeling by the time we see Rickert again it'll be after the time jump. He'll be grown a bit and integrated into who he'll become with the Bakirakas. Combining his technical proficiency with the Bakirakas' weird Eastern tech. Should be fun. I doubt there'll be episodes showing it developing, for now there's more important threads to flesh out. I may be wrong but it could be a while before we catch up with them. Maybe when Guts needs a bailout or when the plan's been developed and they're leaving the island. Wonder if and what kind of anti-Griffith coalition there will be. Bakirakas and other Easterners, magic folk, Roderick's island people..
 

BiQ_

" ... "
Historically, the boy only has appeared when there was imminent danger to his parents (3 times: beach, island, and in the sea god) . But they're in Elfhelm now, with no threat in sight, surrounded by the most powerful magic users alive. I wonder what that portends...

I'm not sure if the first appearance really counts like that... Didn't the familiars only appear little later than that? Now that I think of this, Zodd's presence there is perplexing; if Griffith and The boy are different persons in shared body, wouldn't they have rather just kept him baby-sitted in safe place instead?

Maybe I need to go read those 2006 speculations again.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Now that I think of this, Zodd's presence there is perplexing; if Griffith and The boy are different persons in shared body, wouldn't they have rather just kept him baby-sitted in safe place instead?

That can be explained a number of ways. Maybe Zodd did what the boy said because he recognized that this was still his master and/or wanted to see what was going on and/or wasn't willing to let him go alone. Maybe Griffith ordered Zodd to take him there before or during his transformation. Maybe the boy came by himself (we learn later on that the Band of the Falcon's camp isn't too far from Vritannis) and Zodd tailed him.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm not sure if the first appearance really counts like that... Didn't the familiars only appear little later than that?
It counts if you consider the possibility the boy knew his power would be needed, even if the danger wasn't immediately apparent. The reason I'm willing to make that logical leap is because each time he has averted utter disaster for his parents, and in those instances, it couldn't have been done without his power. So for him to mysteriously arrive, bearing the power required to turn things right again... Seems non-coincidental once you add up all the encounters.
 
I'm not sure if the first appearance really counts like that... Didn't the familiars only appear little later than that? Now that I think of this, Zodd's presence there is perplexing; if Griffith and The boy are different persons in shared body, wouldn't they have rather just kept him baby-sitted in safe place instead?

Maybe I need to go read those 2006 speculations again.
They probably couldn't, you can't imprison a being that can teleport. He was headed to Casca one way or the other, better to see him off safely than try and stop him.

Come to think of it, this gives alternate explanations as to why Guts has been discouraged by Zodd from encountering Griffith, it's obvious that Zodd can't tolerate a direct attack against his master, but it may also be that he and Griffith are worried about the threat that Casca's presence poses, since he's easily lost control before when deflecting those boulders.
 
I really love this episode. It brought back to mind past discussions about how the IOE molded Griffith to be more like Gaiseric in order to achieve it's goals. An evil empire to wage war on supernatural beings, and I'm sure especially including the ones that work with and protect humans from those like Femto and his apostles.

Also, the suspense from the last page is killing me. Miura is so good. People all over the internet raged when the story left Guts and Casca when it did. They called Miura an idiot and hack for switching gears while screaming "NOW NOW NOW" like a 5 year old. Once again Miura ups the ante in ways they never saw coming. :ubik:
 
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People all over the internet raged when the story left Guts and Casca when it did. They called Miura an idiot and hack for switching gears while screaming "NOW NOW NOW" like a 5 year old. Once again Miura ups the ante in ways they never saw coming. :ubik:

All respect to Miura on this point. I feel like so much fiction lately has gotten derailed by fan appeasement, and this guy's just quietly drawing up medieval paintings day in and day out that completely unsettle the part of the fanbase who stuck around for MEAN MAN SWING SWORD. The subreddit has gotten hard to follow the past few days. I almost hope he found a way to get Rickert and Silat to Elfhelm that he'll spend five episodes on fleshing out. :ganishka:
 
I also hope that Miura doesn't listen to his fanbase and draws and writes whatever he wants. Some people got mad about Guts and Casca reunion being absent but I was happy that we switched to Griffith because it meant plot development. If a writer stays true to himself, the work he produces is better, generally speaking. And because Berserk doesn't have problems with fillers, I have trust here that we won't get meaningless content.
 
Gotta say, this has been the most satisfying episode we had in a while. We got a lot of development throught the discussions had in 358. Feels fulfilling to have so much dialogue after a while.
 
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Fancypantaloons

Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.
What a great episode. I didn't quite enjoy the switch of perspective at first, but this episode kicks ass.
I'm somewhat scared about keep reading Berserk. I know it will break my heart again. I know that (maybe) there are going to be some good, sweet, happy moments, but that does not end well. But damnit! I will keep reading anyway!
 
I wonder Sonia is going to go on a trip through the world spiral tree to cool off after seeing Griffith and Charlotte's interaction. If she does, it would be interesting if she follows the moonlight child to Skellig. I would think that she would find it peculiar that someone besides herself or Griffith was using the world spiral tree for transportation.

There seem to be many falcons (actual birds) in Falconia. I doubt they have a problem with rodents.
 
This latest panel is a good satire of Fascism, in fact most of the story surrounding Griffith can be seen as that of a fascist ideologue.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I wonder Sonia is going to go on a trip through the world spiral tree to cool off after seeing Griffith and Charlotte's interaction. If she does, it would be interesting if she follows the moonlight child to Skellig.

We were recording the podcast earlier and I mentioned that exact same scenario! Seems quite possible to me.

This latest panel is a good satire of Fascism, in fact most of the story surrounding Griffith can be seen as that of a fascist ideologue.

Another topic we discussed in the podcast! (and earlier in the thread as well)
I think you guys will like that one. :guts:
 
We were recording the podcast earlier and I mentioned that exact same scenario! Seems quite possible to me.



Another topic we discussed in the podcast! (and earlier in the thread as well)
I think you guys will like that one. :guts:

Has the podcast been released? Also I really love that original intro music that used to play.
 
N

Nekra

Guest
Man since digital everyone looks so young with the big eyes and everything, all the faces look more round and childlike too. not a big fan of it.
I thought it looked a bit better in this episode than the Casca awakening one, but still, i hope it's just a phase while miura gets used to digital
 
Man since digital everyone looks so young with the big eyes and everything, all the faces look more round and childlike too. not a big fan of it.
I thought it looked a bit better in this episode than the Casca awakening one, but still, i hope it's just a phase while miura gets used to digital

I mean... it's not like he can't draw faces the same way he used to now that he is drawing digitally, this is just his new art style. And if I remember correctly he also talked about this change in a recent interview but I don't remember exactly what he said.
 
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