Episode 370

Aazealh

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Episode 370 will be published in Young Animal #20, slated to be released on October 14.

RELEASES: October 14, 2022
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This episode is part of the new serialization of Berserk that is being done without Kentarou Miura. It's based on some of the material he left behind as well as what he had told his close ones of the story over the years. Kouji Mori, his best friend and a fellow mangaka, writes and supervises the series while his former assistants draw it under the banner of Studio Gaga.

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So hey not a lot of excitement about this one huh? Are the spoiler guys even releasing still? :ganishka: Anyway, I'll just say I was confirmed correct about the "consequences" on page one of the episode, and a very interesting doubling down on their point of emphasis from the previous one where Guts is concerned. I don't agree with it without added context about the full ramifications of what just happened, but in a vacuum it's not a bad existential point about Guts. At least he has SOME characterizations in this one; maybe he's just burying his full, specific feelings at this point so this is representative of everything he's dealing with. =)
 
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My love for this series is kind of at a middle point.

I more or less want to put it on hold and wait until it's done, and then I'll see the next episode come out and read it anyway. I'm not sure what I want to do.

Anyway, glad we got some more dialogue in this episode as opposed to previous episodes. Huge fan of the color page. Seeing Danan putting the flower crown on top of Isma is very cute.

I don't think there's much else for me to really say about this episode. Seeing Gut's emotions is something, at least. Glad we got that.
 
A few questions:

  • Why are Puck and Ivalera still here, despite all the other elves having disappeared?
    • If it's only the denizens of Elfhelm who were affected, then why was Puck—a native—spared, and not Isma?
  • Did the gurus make it on board the Sea Horse? Did Hanarr? Shouldn't they be the ones lending Molda a hand, not Farnese?
  • Did Serpico just lose his equipment back on the island? Looks like he picked up Danan's broom.
    • He should immediately start taking staff lessons from Azan. Seeing that odd couple training together might just salvage this whole operation for me :azan::sweatdrop:
  • Why is Guts focusing on his sword having failed him and not the loss of Casca?
    • His sword was a constant companion to him, and it is an important part of his identity. It failed him here. But Casca being taken is the cost of that failure, and her absence from his ruminations on failure is deafening, particularly given that it's been two episodes in a row at this point.
  • Why is Roderick in particular so scared about leaving Guts alone? Schierke didn't have nearly the same reaction. She just dutifully is off to see him.
    • Given the scenario, it seems that the others aren't aware that Casca was taken by Griffith. So why would Roderick assume the worst about Guts...?
  • Guts is an even more dire threat to the group now, without Casca (and the boy) around serving as the key to bring Guts back to his senses. I don't see how they could reconcile it now, should it occur (Hanarr, maybe?). But they've re-introduced the possibility anyway, and Molda/Schierke don't even know Casca is missing yet... so the circumstance is worse than they realize.
  • Was that really the ending for Fantasia...? It was scheduled to be ("6 releases, then a new arc begins"), but there should be a little text at the end saying Fantasia Arc / Chapter of Elf Island - Complete/End.
    • Maybe they just miscounted, and Fantasia ends in 371? Could be!
.
 
I think it makes sense that he'd ruminate so longingly on it. Seeing technology threaten to usurp and replace so many privileges in our world that were previously reserved for studious draftsmen makes me ponder on a parallel between his concerns and what might not be an entirely unique bewilderment for any remotely competent swordsman who's weathered the Fantasia transition, although Guts himself is portrayed to outpace basically anyone on human terms.

He loves Casca and seriously cares for her but he's a utilitarian soldier with a history of repressing his feelings to the detriment of his mental health and he's always relied on his technique to solve problems. I think all of those years slogging around and not getting things he wanted done has slowly sharpened a pang of doubt about if he even has the qualifications to stand at the foot of his life's pursuit, the goal of which rests atop a long winding mountain looming far beyond it. Not even the Berserker armor is allowing him to stand up to this perceived calling, in a world where fate has all but explicitly stated to repudiate people like him.

He could drown the evidence of his inferiority because drowning everything until it explodes or wears out is how I feel he always handles his emotions. He's more of a cerebral feeler archetype than many readers give credit for, but this is in spite of an upbringing where a moment's respite would result in him dying and no one taught him how to truly cultivate an understanding of how to handle his weaknesses. It's coming out here because it's gotten reaffirmed again even in light of what he thought was a rare victory he could savor and letting his guard down to try and be satisfied, a little further from the anger he was using to smother his second thoughts about if he had any real power at all

That is my personal interpretation of those panels
 
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I think it makes sense that he'd ruminate so longingly on it.
The sword's failure is an existential problem for Guts, because he's pinned his entire identity on his capability as a warrior being able to overcome any odds. But when it mattered most, it failed him. So all those words about the sword are absolutely an appropriate preamble to the real addressing of the stakes, and what was just lost.

I think it would have been more impactful if the scene had culminated with the hammer finally falling that this failure ended with Casca being taken (the thing he was supposed to protect, yadda yadda). But Mori is writing around that. And it's very strange!
 
The sword's failure is an existential problem for Guts, because he's pinned his entire identity on his capability as a warrior being able to overcome any odds. But all those words about the sword would have been more impactful if the scene had culminated with the hammer finally falling that this failure ended with Casca being taken (the thing he was supposed to protect, yadda yadda). But Mori is writing around that. And it's very strange!
I still think Miura would have focused heavily on the sword and the events feel incredibly organic in terms of how thry work within his established characterization. This definitely feels like a summary of the story. But that's the keyword. Mori seems to be refusing to elaborate out of a austere sense of respect as I think he mentioned he wouldn't and the story - I won't say it's outright suffering for it - is definitely different from what we're used to. If you are so just broken to the point you have nothing left you'll be like "ok, forget the girl, forget my life, forget everything. What the fuck, man?" It's a very different story but Luffy did it too when bawling over what he thought was his own eclipse and his friends all "died,". You don't think about your concerns, you think "What the hell is wrong with me??!?! Why am I so bad at this?"

It just seems less complimentary because he's giving us a sort of cliffnotes pacing. I think Miura would have more steadily transitioned into this period of self loathing and not glossed over it
 
I honestly don’t even have much to say about this episode. What I already had in mind has been said by Walter already, but if this really the end of the Fantasia arc, then big oof since it’s a weird spot to just end something.

I think it makes sense that he'd ruminate so longingly on it. Seeing technology threaten to usurp and replace so many privileges in our world that were previously reserved for studious draftsmen makes me ponder on a parallel between his concerns and what might not be an entirely unique bewilderment for any remotely competent swordsman who's weathered the Fantasia transition, although Guts himself is portrayed to outpace basically anyone on human terms.

Based. Reject modernity, embrace tradition!
 
I honestly don’t even have much to say about this episode. What I already had in mind has been said by Walter already, but if if this really the end of the Fantasia arc, then big oof since it’s a weird spot to just end something.
I like the brisk pacing of the continuation but I think this is going to be the place where it's most divisive since it looks like Guts is nearing an important character development. (It might even be one of the last moments for him that we get if the final conflict is coming up) If we had this pacing on the boat I'd have been ecstatic, but this is probably an area they should have slowed down to elaborate on things. So much has happened in the last few episodes, after all
 
I think it would have been more impactful if the scene had culminated with the hammer finally falling that this failure ended with Casca being taken (the thing he was supposed to protect, yadda yadda). But Mori is writing around that. And it's very strange!
Yeah, it is. I'd like to think it's due to Mori not wholly understanding what Miura told him and not him maliciously trying to insert his own ideas about the story. Time will tell, but it could be a red flag.
 
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Red take here but I think I would have liked him trying to insert his own ideas to make up for the ground we've ceded to Miura's passing and the fact no one can truly emulate his story, provided none of it contradicts the notes he had or the lore. I've read a lot of Mori's writing and I know what he tends to focus on and say and this isn't it, I am fairly sure he's glossing over things as he said he would.
 
Red take here but I think I would have liked him trying to insert his own ideas to make up for the ground we've ceded to Miura's passing and the fact no one can truly emulate his story, provided none of it contradicts the notes he had or the lore. I've read a lot of Mori's writing and I know what he tends to focus on and say and this isn't it, I am fairly sure he's glossing over things as he said he would.
Yeah, I think a lot of folks feel the same way. I've expressed the same and heard the same among my friends. Still, I think Mori-sensei is so devoted to Miura-sensei and Miura's memory that he doesn't want to take even the slightest liberty and only goes with what he remembers 100%, even if it is somewhat confusing for us readers. Like Walter and folks here have said, that does lead to the plot feeling very disjointed, but on the other hand, there is one advantage to it, and it's that even though we seem to be getting bits and pieces of the story, it's almost entirely Miura's story, with very little, or at least as little as possible, of Mori's own insertion. Thus, even up to the end, we won't have as many nagging doubts over what's "really" Miura's and just how much was Mori's inventions.
 
What I liked about this episode is it dealt with the characterization and the emotions of the characters rather than feeling like it was just hitting some story bullet points. In that way it reminded me of old Berserk, even if the way it executed that and portrayed those characters and emotions wasn't necessarily congruent with it.

The sword's failure is an existential problem for Guts, because he's pinned his entire identity on his capability as a warrior being able to overcome any odds. But when it mattered most, it failed him. So all those words about the sword are absolutely an appropriate preamble to the real addressing of the stakes, and what was just lost.

I think it would have been more impactful if the scene had culminated with the hammer finally falling that this failure ended with Casca being taken (the thing he was supposed to protect, yadda yadda). But Mori is writing around that. And it's very strange!

Exactly, and I think it goes to a systemic issue with both the art and storytelling we've been seeing again and again. From a storytelling/boarding perspective, they can barely walk a straight line, which is partly why everything is so disjointed, let alone walk and chew gum at the same time. If they're going to cover a huge theme like Guts losing faith in what he fundamentally believes in, they're not even going to attempt to tie it in with Casca, which will obviously be addressed later. My most generous possible reading: thoughts of Casca are what's going to motivate and bring him back to himself, the greater reason(s) he swings his sword now, so it MUST be completely segregated and addressed separately from his despair (they wouldn't want to depict anything in a muddled fashion :iva:)!

Anyway, at least this actually puts the half episode dedicated to Guts desperately trying to hit and missing Griffith into a more meaningful perspective, but we should have gotten more of that context in the moment; forgive us for assuming Guts already knew he probably couldn't just beat Femto up. =) Speaking of which, looking forward it's hard to imagine them effectively depicting any large scale, multi-location/perspective action sequence, let alone a climactic one, which is why Guts vs Griffith, the taking of Casca, and the sudden destruction of Elfhelm(!) could somehow fall relatively flat. That's at least something they CAN improve on as they go without sacrificing any of the remaining story's integrity.
 
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The sword's failure is an existential problem for Guts, because he's pinned his entire identity on his capability as a warrior being able to overcome any odds. But when it mattered most, it failed him. So all those words about the sword are absolutely an appropriate preamble to the real addressing of the stakes, and what was just lost.

I think it would have been more impactful if the scene had culminated with the hammer finally falling that this failure ended with Casca being taken (the thing he was supposed to protect, yadda yadda). But Mori is writing around that. And it's very strange!
exactly, Guts build his entire existance as a warrior he saw the sword as a part of himself and now this failed him, it would be as is your entire existance were destroyed in a second, although i'm not gonna lie i was expecting him to react more about casca being taked away
Red take here but I think I would have liked him trying to insert his own ideas to make up for the ground we've ceded to Miura's passing and the fact no one can truly emulate his story, provided none of it contradicts the notes he had or the lore. I've read a lot of Mori's writing and I know what he tends to focus on and say and this isn't it, I am fairly sure he's glossing over things as he said he would.
This, i re-read all episodes from the continuation and from the last 3 episodes i had this feeling growing more and more in me, the fact that Mori is just focusing on what he remembers is actually messing with the pace of the history, it's like he's going from 0 to 100, it would be better if he used what he remembers of the history as guidelines or points he needs to address and just added scenes from his own to flesh things up, you know is like when you are doing an essay and you add a bunch of words to explain a point that could be easely be explain in less than 10 words, it's basically the same resolution but one feels more "complete" than the other.
 
Well, the storytelling is still haphazard as the new writers are still trying to figure their way around. They aren't going to deliver Miura like masterpieces immediately, they might never do. But I think that in itself is quite poetic as their attempts to finish Berserk is pretty much a struggle much alike what Guts is going through.
 
Did the gurus make it on board the Sea Horse? Did Hanarr? Shouldn't they be the ones lending Molda a hand, not Farnese?

Let me one up you here: why is Molda in charge of healing people? She's the student of a witch that specialized in curses and raising the dead. Surely other magicians (full-fledged ones, too) would be more appropriate to the task. And the Great Gurus should be leading the effort. Also, the purpose of this scene seems to be to show that Farnese knows "healing magic" now (she already did, Schierke taught her some during the sea journey). Is this meant to convey that she trained with Danan offscreen? Because she was supposed to be specifically learning "mind healing" to help Casca (something Danan obviously knows well). Lastly, why aren't Puck and Ivalera helping the wounded too? They're the best at healing.

Why is Roderick in particular so scared about leaving Guts alone? Schierke didn't have nearly the same reaction. She just dutifully is off to see him.

Honestly this whole scene feels to me like Mori wrote his grief into the story. I get what he's going for, and more importantly I feel like I can almost discern in my mind how Miura would have done it, but the characterization is a little clumsy all around.

Guts is an even more dire threat to the group now, without Casca (and the boy) around serving as the key to bring Guts back to his senses. I don't see how they could reconcile it now, should it occur (Hanarr, maybe?). But they've re-introduced the possibility anyway, and Molda/Schierke don't even know Casca is missing yet... so the circumstance is worse than they realize.

The fact Molda of all people is warning Schierke against the possibility of the armor activating feels completely nonsensical in this situation. And really, Guts doesn't look like a threat right now. The armor feeds off one's bellicose feelings. Also, he's not going to be needing that armor for a while so he really should be removing it. :shrug:

I think Mori-sensei is so devoted to Miura-sensei and Miura's memory that he doesn't want to take even the slightest liberty and only goes with what he remembers 100%, even if it is somewhat confusing for us readers. Like Walter and folks here have said, that does lead to the plot feeling very disjointed, but on the other hand, there is one advantage to it, and it's that even though we seem to be getting bits and pieces of the story, it's almost entirely Miura's story, with very little, or at least as little as possible, of Mori's own insertion.

We've already talked about this for days on end in the past, but it's not even a matter of devotion. It's just that this was Miura's story, and the entire point of the continuation for Mori and the assistants is to carry Miura's story through. Mori already has vehicles for his own ideas: his manga. But don't fool yourself, this is already heavily reinterpreted with many parts added to make it work.

As for all the problems we've noted with this project so far... To be real here, Mori and the team won't be able to replicate Miura's storytelling no matter what they try. It's not that they aren't giving it their all or that they're "holding back"... They're just not talented enough. And that's not a knock against them, but Miura was a genius, and well, they aren't. Neither are we.
:shrug:


Anyway, at least this actually puts the half episode dedicated to Guts desperately trying to hit and missing Griffith into a more meaningful perspective, but we should have gotten more of that context in the moment; forgive us for assuming Guts already knew he probably couldn't just beat Femto up. =)

This is something I feel like not many people will catch on, but yeah, as it stands, Guts' reaction towards his sword feels comically disproportionate to what actually happened. I mean, he tried to hit Femto in volume 3 too, and he's seen how frightful the God Hand can be. You'd think he would understand that maybe Griffith's supernatural powers can't be brute forced. This feels like an extremely simplified (if not dumbed down) version of the character, which I guess is kind of inevitable since, well, Berserk's author has passed away.
 
My last two cents - which is in response to that is - emotions aren't usually that logical in reality. Also, the way we outwardly voice and express them doesn't necessarily mirror the actual feelings we have concerning what's going on. He may express it as malaise about the limitations of swordsmanship but it may just be that he's lost hope with his ability to deal with Griffith in general and that was more of a catalyst than a cause. Again, I think it's the execution that makes it seem silly. I would take issue with the idea that it isn't realistic from a third person perspective though (let's say, if you were Mr. Roderick, not that he sees what's going on in the room)

I might be skimming a detail so correct me on this but I also think that he assumed that when he was reincarnated he was possible to hurt. He mentioned that he felt his sword could reach him when he gained a new human visage, didn't he?
 
Well, out of these first six episodes of the continuation, this is by far the best. Still worse than anything Miura would've done but that goes without saying.

I think I'm just gonna make peace with the fact that stuff is just not going to be explained a lot of the time. Why is puck still here? Ivalera? Whatever. Mori doesn't know. Okay. Great. Why is Molda the one healing people? Fucking, whatever. Where'd Scerpico's stuff go? Ocean. Nitpicking is just gonna lead to frustration, so I'm not gonna bother. (I look forward to Aaz's breakdowns though lol).

I'll just focus on what I liked.

Molda being kind and using "tending to the wounded" as a way to keep Farnese from falling into despair was nice. Remembering the Berserker Armor exists and may be a threat given Guts' fragile mental state is nice ("why didn't it activate when Griffith-" shhhhhhhhhhhh). I know some people are taking Roderick's scene as him being worried about the armor like Molda, but to me it seems like he's more concerned Guts might hurt himself or worse because of what happened. OOC? Yeah a bit, but it's nice to see he cares lol.

And while I know this is probably going to be a contentious point, I do like Guts' BSOD moment here. While it is annoying that we're still dancing around Casca being abducted, him feeling hopeless and despondent that his sword, the thing he's relied on the most, has utterly failed him in this situation is still compelling to me. He wasn't able to do a thing, and after all the awful things he's been through, that must hurt a lot. I know people feel like this is out of character, but all things considered, I feel like Guts is about due for something like this. The past 20 years of Berserk more or less were all about getting to the island, healing Casca, giving her somewhere safe, and that's what Guts fought for. Now it's all amounted to nothing, he's right where he was at the eclipse, powerless to do a thing while Griffith does as he pleases. A depressed slump is in order imo. It's probably not handled the best, but fuckin, whatever. I like the set up in concept, and that's the best I'm gonna get here.

What would be nice, I think, is if Schierke takes up the role of shoulder to lean on for Guts in the next episode the way he did for her after Flora died. Give Guts a minute to just vent about it all lol. She could help him see that his sword isn't all he has to rely on now, help him get back on his feet to go beat up the bird man. I just wonder if it'd be that fast or if we're gonna be dealing with depressed Guts for a while.

Oh yeah, and I like that new color illustration too. I hope they use it for the poster.
 
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Again, I think it's the execution that makes it seem silly.

Well yeah, duh. That's what we're talking about. Where have you been the past six months? :sweatdrop:

I know people feel like this is out of character, but all things considered, I feel like Guts is about due for something like this.

I don't think the idea that Guts would be depressed is contentious. It's just that the way it's depicted is lacking, but we should be getting used to it by now.
It really would have been incredible to see Miura give us that whole sequence of events.

Oh yeah, and I like that new color illustration too. I hope they use it for the poster.

It will surely be a mini-poster in the volume, yeah.
 
Do you really think this is “nitpicking?”
By nitpicking I meant "thinking too hard about it" rather than the dictionary definition of "looking for small or unimportant errors or faults, especially in order to criticize unnecessarily." All these observations and criticisms are valid, I just know for me personally it's not worth the headache to worry about it too much.
 
Everything about this episode felt off-kilter, except for Guts dropping his sword and waxing depressed, which I liked. I bet this is a scene Miura described to Mori exactly decades ago, only at the time, he hadn't planned for Casca to become such a huge part of Guts's motivations as she ended up being.

But other than that, the characters feel almost interchangeable. Morda is the responsible one taking charge in this scene, while Schierke and Farnese just uselessly cry on the floor. Roderick is the one who is super concerned about Guts's well-being. Maybe next scene, we'll reroll the roles and someone else will be this and that.
 
I bet this is a scene Miura described to Mori exactly decades ago, only at the time, he hadn't planned for Casca to become such a huge part of Guts's motivations as she ended up being.

Seems impossible to me that Miura would have planned this specific scene, in the hold of the Sea Horse, so long ago that Casca wasn't part of the picture. That'd be more than 25 years ago. I think it's simpler: Mori didn't know how to address the Casca situation and Guts' crisis of confidence at the same time. So I guess he's keeping the part about Casca for later (and/or will mostly not feature it), even though that makes Guts' reaction seem uncharacteristically self-pitying.
 
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