This episode feels like it concludes this little Kushan saga that’s been going on since episode 373. Amazingly, nothing has really changed in all that time. Guts is still useless, Schierke is still on her way to find Casca, Silat is still somehow commanding the Kushan nation.
I find this enlightening because I think it reveals how very little the Continuation team knows of Miura’s plans for the story. Why show all of that stuff if it amounts to nothing? Well, because showing it was the point. They knew Guts’ group was supposed to meet with Rickert and the Bakiraka eventually. They also knew Rakshas was going to attack the Bakiraka’s stronghold. And… that seems to be it.
Both things were already obvious a decade ago, when volume 38 came out. They don’t require any insider knowledge. What we don’t know is how it would have happened exactly, and clearly neither do they. That’s why every single episode they’ve produced has been filled to the brim with errors and inconsistencies ranging from how the world works to how characters act and speak.
Shadows Die Twice
I have to address the fact the episode title is a direct reference to a video game. The titles have been awful every since the Continuation began, but this is a new low. Remember when this project started and they swore they would stay faithful to Miura’s vision for Berserk? It sounds like a joke now. That it’s a From Software game only makes it worse, because these developers love Berserk and have taken a lot of inspiration from it over the years. But now, with Kurosaki at the helm, the cycle is reversed. And it’s not just inspiration but a direct reference. It’s hard to articulate just how much it debases the series.
Daiba the athlete
In typical fashion, we open not with the scene where we ended last time, but with a six-pages-long recap. We see Serpico and the Tapasa fighting pseudo-trolls, then some of them burning (presumably from Farnese’s spell). Then we get a panel which, besides the soldiers’ spears having no blades, is notable because of Daiba’s weird posture.
It appears he’s in the process of falling down from his levitation, but he’s far too high for it to make sense, given that he’s very old and has a bad knee. He’d hurt himself doing that. In episode 341 we see him come down and floats down until he can touch the ground directly. A perfect landing from someone who’s no doubt perfected this technique.
I’ve seen some people mention the fact he’s only wearing one “slipper”. That’s actually the orthosis Erika gave him in Falconia, just badly drawn. I’d give the Continuation team props for remembering it, except… Daiba wasn’t wearing it when they left Falconia. Why is that, you may wonder. Did Miura forget it?
No. It’s because he was levitating and sitting in the lotus position. He couldn’t possibly do that with a metal brace that takes up the whole leg. So he removed it and it was left behind. All it takes to know that is read that scene. By the way, later in this episode Daiba is shown running at full speed down a flight of stairs, right behind the Tapasa. Makes no sense for an old guy that needs a cane and leg brace to walk.
After that, Farnese shares a moment with Roderick that feels out of place. Roderick thanks her for saving them, but her spell isn’t shown doing much, it’s mostly people killing the monsters. Besides, the real Farnese would likely be concerned about her friends in this context and especially Guts, who was left all alone, chained up and defenseless in a basement. And as a matter of fact, so would Roderick.
Magic nonsense
Daiba points out the scene outside to Serpico (weird choice) with a trembling finger. He’s wishful: “if only we could challenge the Falcon of Light with this light”. We see that the young magicians from the island are also casting the formation of the four cardinal points, but all together and apparently they’re straining to do it. This is baffling for a number of reasons.
First, the island’s magicians were said to be powerless. It never made any sense, but that’s what the Continuation asserted. Now they can use magic again for no particular reason. Oh but it’s only the youngest magicians and they can only cast that one spell, of course. The Great Gurus are still useless (and nowhere to be seen). They also apparently need to work together, even though that's not how magic works in Berserk.
Second, it seems the Continuation team has retconned this explicitly defensive spell, which creates a protective area, into a means of attack. It’s apparently being used to destroy the monsters proactively instead of shielding a zone so that they can’t enter it. I would call this a gross misunderstanding of its nature, but let’s be real here: the Continuation team just doesn’t give a shit.
Third, Daiba’s comments are completely stupid. He starts by saying they can’t have that “light”, referring to the spell. I imagine he means the Kushans specifically, because it’s being used in front of him. Then he says they could use it against Griffith if they did. That’s a really dumb idea and I seriously hope that’s not what they have in mind for the ending.
This is, again, a defensive spell, but more importantly it only works on ethereal beings. It would likely only affect apostles to a minimal extent (like by preventing them from healing as fast), and it would surely not be much of an issue for Griffith, the one member of the God Hand with a corporeal body. I guess someone on the team thought it’d be cool and ironic if “light” was used against the Falcon of Light? One thing’s for sure: this idea didn’t come from Kentarou Miura. Oh, and it's also odd for Daiba to refer to Griffith by the title the Holy See has given him.
Back to where we were
We get a scene of bloody Kushan civilians who scream at their victory (even though we didn’t see them fight) and Isidro comments on how they and the magicians have done a good job with a blasé look on his face. Puck replies (a rare occurrence these days) saying Guts has no part left to play. Then suddenly flies off. To where? Presumably to see Guts, but he’s not shown again. Then Isidro and Azan also run away towards wherever. This exchange is a mischaracterization for both of them, but it mostly strikes me as a way to rub salt in the reader’s wounds. “Oh yeah, Guts? He’s real useless huh?”
Speaking of Guts, we finally get back to where we were in episode 379. Rakshas gets to his cell and neatly slashes down the cell bars with his claws, cutting through them like butter. Guess that solves the door issue. I have to point out that those claws sure are sharp and hard to be able to go through solid steel like this. It’s hard to believe these are the same claws that were broken off by random Bakiraka goons two episodes ago, rendering him functionally impotent and forcing him to summon monsters to fight in his stead. But I digress.
What’s going on with Guts?
Speaking of impotence… The big deal is of course Guts’ reaction, or absence thereof. He’s happy to let Rakshas kill him. This is supposed to be the same character who, as a wounded and betrayed child, reflexively fought for life against wolves for a reason he couldn’t explain, because it’s in his nature to survive. The same character the Skull Knight called the “struggler” because he fights like hell, with all he’s got (yes that’s literally what it means in Japanese). The one who embarked on a one-man war after the Eclipse.
Well, it’s not the same character, clearly. I’m not going to go over the stupidity with the sword, the fact he hasn’t spared a thought for Casca or anything like that, first because I already went over it back then and second because it’s ultimately meaningless. The question is rather why the Continuation team is portraying him like that. Why they’ve turned him into a good-for-nothing, broken man (this includes his non-reaction as Silat berates him) and have kept him that way for practically 15 episodes.
My belief is the same it was last year: it’s all just a way to humiliate the character. Is it because it’s a cheap way to make things memorable, to elicit a reaction from the readers? Is it because it conveniently means he’s out of the picture most of the time? Or are they so misguided that they genuinely believe this is what Miura would have wanted? I don’t know. All I can say is that this portrayal is laughable. And that it feels like an affront to Miura and his legacy. Perhaps most critically, it doesn't involve any character development.
Of course, it’s expected by now. I’ve pointed out, issue after issue, how everyone else’s behavior, thoughts and dialogue have been out of character. But this is the protagonist we’re talking about. I bet a lot of readers could forgive a bad portrayal of side characters if the team really nailed Guts. Conversely, getting side characters right would be meaningless if they messed up Guts. And in our case, well all the characters are mockeries of themselves.
This leads us back to another question: what’s the point? Who cares about a continuation that’s utterly unfaithful to its source material? A good story is first and foremost a journey, not merely an endpoint. Even if Mori has an inkling of the ending Miura wanted for the series, the crap we’ve been getting for the past few years isn’t the way to get to it. At best, it has to be ignored. And really, at this point, I have absolutely no confidence they can satisfyingly deliver an ending that would faithfully convey Miura’s vision.
Rakshas’ pathetic end
Guts isn’t the only character to get trampled. Before Rakshas can do anything, Silat stabs him in the neck with both hands and with extreme force. Master assassin Rakshas, an apostle whose head famously “isn’t necessarily where it’s supposed to be” just got caught off guard and one-shot killed. Wow. After all, it’s not like he knew Silat was after him, right? Wait, he was actually running away from Silat, who was hot on his tail. Why did he even come to this dead-end? To kill a branded person? Really? It's all nonsense.
Not to meander too much, but in Falconia Rickert was his target, the Bakiraka were only there by chance and aided Rickert because he had something to offer. Then Rickert was the one who bazooka’d his ass. You’d think if that was the last thing he recalled, he’d be going after Rickert of all people. But what do I know.
He appeared in this city for no reason and had no clue about anything, and ended up dying without really fighting anyone and without even transforming into his apostle form. A truly ignominious death for a major apostle, and to add insult to injury he just instantly dissolves into a black liquid, leaving his mask floating in a pool. Beyond this pathetic end, I can’t help but reiterate that Rakshas was made of fabric, he was one with the cloak he wore, that was his gimmick. This liquid shadow bullshit came out of nowhere and directly contradicts everything Miura had established about the character.
I guess it’s supposed to be related to the black pools from which the pseudo-trolls sprang out, which also makes zero sense and will likely never be explained. Funny story but the day before the episode came out I made a joke in the chat that when he died he’d dissolve into nothingness like an enemy in a video game. It seemed like the lamest death off the top of my head at the time and was similar to Danan and the others just fading to dust, but I can’t say I expected it to actually happen.
Is Rakshas really dead?
Now, that final shot of the mask can be seen as a little ambiguous and therefore one might wonder whether this is really the end. Could Rakshas spring back to life? I mean, it’d be just like in Sekiro so why the fuck not at this point. Of course that’d make it Shadows Die Thrice but they’re really not above that sort of inconsistency. They’ve already completely changed the character anyway, breaking all sorts of established canon in the process.
But at the same time, this kind of lame death, without any real meaning and that serves no real purpose… that feels very much like their style. Much like how Rakshas didn’t even have any interaction with Guts in the end, despite what we were expecting. It’s incredible when you think about it that they said he had already died and was being mysteriously revived just as they made him burst out of a guy, gave him all new powers that amounted to nothing, and then killed him off a second time without a real fight.
By the way, Rakshas spits blood from the tear-shaped holes on his mask after he gets stabbed. Only problem: these aren’t holes, they’re just painted on. The mask only has three holes for the eyes. You can see proof of that when Silat cuts it in half in volume 38. Oh and he calls Guts “sacrifice” in Katakana when he first sees him, but this is how evil spirits’ speech is written because they can’t talk properly. An apostle would use the proper word. This is just so sloppy, so amateurish. And don’t get me started on him telling Silat “good job” as he dies, or calling him “young master”. *sigh*
Silat gets hysterical
The third character being mistreated here is Silat, but it’s less offensive and more puzzling. Silat is extremely angry that Guts was resigned to his fate. He grabs him by the collar and has to be dragged away screaming by the Tapasa before he can (presumably) harm him. That’s how pissed off he is. But… why? I mean it’s not like Guts could have done anything, chained like that to the wall. What was he supposed to do? Beg for mercy? Whimper? Grimace at the enemy?
Beyond that though, why would Silat care so much? Surely he already knows the state Guts is in. A big display was made of it when they captured the Sea Horse. Why should his behavior suddenly change? Because Rakshas is an apostle? But… Silat doesn’t know about Guts’ particular enmity towards apostles. He really knows very little about Guts’ life. Is Rickert supposed to have briefed him about all that stuff? Even if he had, this reaction would still make no sense. Not to mention that this is not at all how Silat behaves, he’s the cool and collected type.
Beyond that, how does Silat even know Guts was resigned? Did he read his mind or something? What if Guts was planning something, just waiting to make a move? How would he know? The whole situation is completely irrational, down to Daiba’s frantic command to the Tapasa that they get him off Guts. Why would he care, and since when do the Tapasa obey him and go against their master?
Really from beginning to end this is just a pile of contradictions and misconceptions. It evokes Roderick’s ridiculous frenesy when Guts, who had to be carried aboard the ship because he wouldn’t walk on his own, somehow locked himself up in a room without a lock on the door. Or Isidro’s pathetic outburst when the Kushans dragged him out and he fell face first on the floor. Because it serves no purpose in the story, my guess is these characters are meant to embody the reader’s frustration with Guts, furthering his humiliation in the process.
On that note, why is Guts in a jail cell again, instead of a hospital bed or something? Oh right, that’s again because it’s more humiliating for the character. The excuse of him being dangerous, even though he’s catatonic and without the armor or any weapon, never made any sense. It’s all about shitting on him. And I imagine he’ll still be rotting in that cell next episode, even though by now it should be clear he’s no threat to anyone and should be cared for. I guess it’s to punish him for not being raving mad?
All this for that
Moving on, we get two pages of Rickert and Erika hugging each other. I guess the Continuation team really does try to fix oversights by adding them in future issues, but that really isn’t quite the way to do it. And of course, Erika’s characterization is also all wrong here. Erika is a go-getter, not a whiny little girl. She showed no particular trauma when recounting their arduous journey to Luka in Falconia, and later when she got captured by Rakshas, it’s because she went down to help Rickert. She’s also the one who fetched the bazooka before they left. That’s the kind of girl she is.
Then we get to Schierke, and from her corporeal body, we see her body of light flying up and through the World Tree, towards… Falconia. Once there, she says she’ll definitely find Casca. This is actually comical because it really took her all this time and all that effort just for this? Yeah Casca’s in Falconia, who would have guessed! This is the kind of thing that Miura might have gotten done with a single panel from someone like Danan, Gedflynn or the Skull Knight. Because the issue isn’t so much finding where she is but actually getting her back.
Oh and what was she doing with Guts previously, when she took his hand in episode 376? Have they forgotten about that already? The way they depict this also clearly shows her leaving her body, meaning she was there while the battle took place and didn’t do shit. I don’t think we’re meant to read anything into it, but they clearly didn’t think enough about what they were drawing.
What’s next?
So we’re mostly back to where we were ten episodes ago. Next episode might focus on Schierke searching for Casca in Falconia, maybe witnessing some scenes or even interacting with her. Meanwhile, Silat will be getting command of the Kushan clone army now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already done next time we see him. I guess a next step would be meeting Falconia’s troops on the way to the city itself? It’s apparently a long ways off.
That leaves us with Guts. Was Puck flying towards him? Will they have a talk or something, maybe a scene duplicated from volume 1? I’d take that, but I also won’t be surprised if it never leads to anything. Either way, it still feels to me that it’s Schierke who’ll eventually get him back on his feet simply by telling him Casca’s waiting for him in Falconia (yes, even though it’s technically not the reason he’s depressed).
To get back to the Rakshas puddle, maybe he will indeed return as a boogeyman then, only for Guts to squash him this time because he’ll have regained his spirit. And the Dragon Slayer will exorcise his shadow reviving powers or whatever bullshit they’ve cooked up. That's pretty damn stupid, but is it the right kind of stupid that the team usually goes for? Hard to say. I still think they might just move on completely. Man, this is exhausting.
I find this enlightening because I think it reveals how very little the Continuation team knows of Miura’s plans for the story. Why show all of that stuff if it amounts to nothing? Well, because showing it was the point. They knew Guts’ group was supposed to meet with Rickert and the Bakiraka eventually. They also knew Rakshas was going to attack the Bakiraka’s stronghold. And… that seems to be it.
Both things were already obvious a decade ago, when volume 38 came out. They don’t require any insider knowledge. What we don’t know is how it would have happened exactly, and clearly neither do they. That’s why every single episode they’ve produced has been filled to the brim with errors and inconsistencies ranging from how the world works to how characters act and speak.
Shadows Die Twice
I have to address the fact the episode title is a direct reference to a video game. The titles have been awful every since the Continuation began, but this is a new low. Remember when this project started and they swore they would stay faithful to Miura’s vision for Berserk? It sounds like a joke now. That it’s a From Software game only makes it worse, because these developers love Berserk and have taken a lot of inspiration from it over the years. But now, with Kurosaki at the helm, the cycle is reversed. And it’s not just inspiration but a direct reference. It’s hard to articulate just how much it debases the series.
Daiba the athlete
In typical fashion, we open not with the scene where we ended last time, but with a six-pages-long recap. We see Serpico and the Tapasa fighting pseudo-trolls, then some of them burning (presumably from Farnese’s spell). Then we get a panel which, besides the soldiers’ spears having no blades, is notable because of Daiba’s weird posture.
It appears he’s in the process of falling down from his levitation, but he’s far too high for it to make sense, given that he’s very old and has a bad knee. He’d hurt himself doing that. In episode 341 we see him come down and floats down until he can touch the ground directly. A perfect landing from someone who’s no doubt perfected this technique.
I’ve seen some people mention the fact he’s only wearing one “slipper”. That’s actually the orthosis Erika gave him in Falconia, just badly drawn. I’d give the Continuation team props for remembering it, except… Daiba wasn’t wearing it when they left Falconia. Why is that, you may wonder. Did Miura forget it?
No. It’s because he was levitating and sitting in the lotus position. He couldn’t possibly do that with a metal brace that takes up the whole leg. So he removed it and it was left behind. All it takes to know that is read that scene. By the way, later in this episode Daiba is shown running at full speed down a flight of stairs, right behind the Tapasa. Makes no sense for an old guy that needs a cane and leg brace to walk.
After that, Farnese shares a moment with Roderick that feels out of place. Roderick thanks her for saving them, but her spell isn’t shown doing much, it’s mostly people killing the monsters. Besides, the real Farnese would likely be concerned about her friends in this context and especially Guts, who was left all alone, chained up and defenseless in a basement. And as a matter of fact, so would Roderick.
Magic nonsense
Daiba points out the scene outside to Serpico (weird choice) with a trembling finger. He’s wishful: “if only we could challenge the Falcon of Light with this light”. We see that the young magicians from the island are also casting the formation of the four cardinal points, but all together and apparently they’re straining to do it. This is baffling for a number of reasons.
First, the island’s magicians were said to be powerless. It never made any sense, but that’s what the Continuation asserted. Now they can use magic again for no particular reason. Oh but it’s only the youngest magicians and they can only cast that one spell, of course. The Great Gurus are still useless (and nowhere to be seen). They also apparently need to work together, even though that's not how magic works in Berserk.
Second, it seems the Continuation team has retconned this explicitly defensive spell, which creates a protective area, into a means of attack. It’s apparently being used to destroy the monsters proactively instead of shielding a zone so that they can’t enter it. I would call this a gross misunderstanding of its nature, but let’s be real here: the Continuation team just doesn’t give a shit.
Third, Daiba’s comments are completely stupid. He starts by saying they can’t have that “light”, referring to the spell. I imagine he means the Kushans specifically, because it’s being used in front of him. Then he says they could use it against Griffith if they did. That’s a really dumb idea and I seriously hope that’s not what they have in mind for the ending.
This is, again, a defensive spell, but more importantly it only works on ethereal beings. It would likely only affect apostles to a minimal extent (like by preventing them from healing as fast), and it would surely not be much of an issue for Griffith, the one member of the God Hand with a corporeal body. I guess someone on the team thought it’d be cool and ironic if “light” was used against the Falcon of Light? One thing’s for sure: this idea didn’t come from Kentarou Miura. Oh, and it's also odd for Daiba to refer to Griffith by the title the Holy See has given him.
Back to where we were
We get a scene of bloody Kushan civilians who scream at their victory (even though we didn’t see them fight) and Isidro comments on how they and the magicians have done a good job with a blasé look on his face. Puck replies (a rare occurrence these days) saying Guts has no part left to play. Then suddenly flies off. To where? Presumably to see Guts, but he’s not shown again. Then Isidro and Azan also run away towards wherever. This exchange is a mischaracterization for both of them, but it mostly strikes me as a way to rub salt in the reader’s wounds. “Oh yeah, Guts? He’s real useless huh?”
Speaking of Guts, we finally get back to where we were in episode 379. Rakshas gets to his cell and neatly slashes down the cell bars with his claws, cutting through them like butter. Guess that solves the door issue. I have to point out that those claws sure are sharp and hard to be able to go through solid steel like this. It’s hard to believe these are the same claws that were broken off by random Bakiraka goons two episodes ago, rendering him functionally impotent and forcing him to summon monsters to fight in his stead. But I digress.
What’s going on with Guts?
Speaking of impotence… The big deal is of course Guts’ reaction, or absence thereof. He’s happy to let Rakshas kill him. This is supposed to be the same character who, as a wounded and betrayed child, reflexively fought for life against wolves for a reason he couldn’t explain, because it’s in his nature to survive. The same character the Skull Knight called the “struggler” because he fights like hell, with all he’s got (yes that’s literally what it means in Japanese). The one who embarked on a one-man war after the Eclipse.
Well, it’s not the same character, clearly. I’m not going to go over the stupidity with the sword, the fact he hasn’t spared a thought for Casca or anything like that, first because I already went over it back then and second because it’s ultimately meaningless. The question is rather why the Continuation team is portraying him like that. Why they’ve turned him into a good-for-nothing, broken man (this includes his non-reaction as Silat berates him) and have kept him that way for practically 15 episodes.
My belief is the same it was last year: it’s all just a way to humiliate the character. Is it because it’s a cheap way to make things memorable, to elicit a reaction from the readers? Is it because it conveniently means he’s out of the picture most of the time? Or are they so misguided that they genuinely believe this is what Miura would have wanted? I don’t know. All I can say is that this portrayal is laughable. And that it feels like an affront to Miura and his legacy. Perhaps most critically, it doesn't involve any character development.
Of course, it’s expected by now. I’ve pointed out, issue after issue, how everyone else’s behavior, thoughts and dialogue have been out of character. But this is the protagonist we’re talking about. I bet a lot of readers could forgive a bad portrayal of side characters if the team really nailed Guts. Conversely, getting side characters right would be meaningless if they messed up Guts. And in our case, well all the characters are mockeries of themselves.
This leads us back to another question: what’s the point? Who cares about a continuation that’s utterly unfaithful to its source material? A good story is first and foremost a journey, not merely an endpoint. Even if Mori has an inkling of the ending Miura wanted for the series, the crap we’ve been getting for the past few years isn’t the way to get to it. At best, it has to be ignored. And really, at this point, I have absolutely no confidence they can satisfyingly deliver an ending that would faithfully convey Miura’s vision.
Rakshas’ pathetic end
Guts isn’t the only character to get trampled. Before Rakshas can do anything, Silat stabs him in the neck with both hands and with extreme force. Master assassin Rakshas, an apostle whose head famously “isn’t necessarily where it’s supposed to be” just got caught off guard and one-shot killed. Wow. After all, it’s not like he knew Silat was after him, right? Wait, he was actually running away from Silat, who was hot on his tail. Why did he even come to this dead-end? To kill a branded person? Really? It's all nonsense.
Not to meander too much, but in Falconia Rickert was his target, the Bakiraka were only there by chance and aided Rickert because he had something to offer. Then Rickert was the one who bazooka’d his ass. You’d think if that was the last thing he recalled, he’d be going after Rickert of all people. But what do I know.
He appeared in this city for no reason and had no clue about anything, and ended up dying without really fighting anyone and without even transforming into his apostle form. A truly ignominious death for a major apostle, and to add insult to injury he just instantly dissolves into a black liquid, leaving his mask floating in a pool. Beyond this pathetic end, I can’t help but reiterate that Rakshas was made of fabric, he was one with the cloak he wore, that was his gimmick. This liquid shadow bullshit came out of nowhere and directly contradicts everything Miura had established about the character.
I guess it’s supposed to be related to the black pools from which the pseudo-trolls sprang out, which also makes zero sense and will likely never be explained. Funny story but the day before the episode came out I made a joke in the chat that when he died he’d dissolve into nothingness like an enemy in a video game. It seemed like the lamest death off the top of my head at the time and was similar to Danan and the others just fading to dust, but I can’t say I expected it to actually happen.
Is Rakshas really dead?
Now, that final shot of the mask can be seen as a little ambiguous and therefore one might wonder whether this is really the end. Could Rakshas spring back to life? I mean, it’d be just like in Sekiro so why the fuck not at this point. Of course that’d make it Shadows Die Thrice but they’re really not above that sort of inconsistency. They’ve already completely changed the character anyway, breaking all sorts of established canon in the process.
But at the same time, this kind of lame death, without any real meaning and that serves no real purpose… that feels very much like their style. Much like how Rakshas didn’t even have any interaction with Guts in the end, despite what we were expecting. It’s incredible when you think about it that they said he had already died and was being mysteriously revived just as they made him burst out of a guy, gave him all new powers that amounted to nothing, and then killed him off a second time without a real fight.
By the way, Rakshas spits blood from the tear-shaped holes on his mask after he gets stabbed. Only problem: these aren’t holes, they’re just painted on. The mask only has three holes for the eyes. You can see proof of that when Silat cuts it in half in volume 38. Oh and he calls Guts “sacrifice” in Katakana when he first sees him, but this is how evil spirits’ speech is written because they can’t talk properly. An apostle would use the proper word. This is just so sloppy, so amateurish. And don’t get me started on him telling Silat “good job” as he dies, or calling him “young master”. *sigh*
Silat gets hysterical
The third character being mistreated here is Silat, but it’s less offensive and more puzzling. Silat is extremely angry that Guts was resigned to his fate. He grabs him by the collar and has to be dragged away screaming by the Tapasa before he can (presumably) harm him. That’s how pissed off he is. But… why? I mean it’s not like Guts could have done anything, chained like that to the wall. What was he supposed to do? Beg for mercy? Whimper? Grimace at the enemy?
Beyond that though, why would Silat care so much? Surely he already knows the state Guts is in. A big display was made of it when they captured the Sea Horse. Why should his behavior suddenly change? Because Rakshas is an apostle? But… Silat doesn’t know about Guts’ particular enmity towards apostles. He really knows very little about Guts’ life. Is Rickert supposed to have briefed him about all that stuff? Even if he had, this reaction would still make no sense. Not to mention that this is not at all how Silat behaves, he’s the cool and collected type.
Beyond that, how does Silat even know Guts was resigned? Did he read his mind or something? What if Guts was planning something, just waiting to make a move? How would he know? The whole situation is completely irrational, down to Daiba’s frantic command to the Tapasa that they get him off Guts. Why would he care, and since when do the Tapasa obey him and go against their master?
Really from beginning to end this is just a pile of contradictions and misconceptions. It evokes Roderick’s ridiculous frenesy when Guts, who had to be carried aboard the ship because he wouldn’t walk on his own, somehow locked himself up in a room without a lock on the door. Or Isidro’s pathetic outburst when the Kushans dragged him out and he fell face first on the floor. Because it serves no purpose in the story, my guess is these characters are meant to embody the reader’s frustration with Guts, furthering his humiliation in the process.
On that note, why is Guts in a jail cell again, instead of a hospital bed or something? Oh right, that’s again because it’s more humiliating for the character. The excuse of him being dangerous, even though he’s catatonic and without the armor or any weapon, never made any sense. It’s all about shitting on him. And I imagine he’ll still be rotting in that cell next episode, even though by now it should be clear he’s no threat to anyone and should be cared for. I guess it’s to punish him for not being raving mad?
All this for that
Moving on, we get two pages of Rickert and Erika hugging each other. I guess the Continuation team really does try to fix oversights by adding them in future issues, but that really isn’t quite the way to do it. And of course, Erika’s characterization is also all wrong here. Erika is a go-getter, not a whiny little girl. She showed no particular trauma when recounting their arduous journey to Luka in Falconia, and later when she got captured by Rakshas, it’s because she went down to help Rickert. She’s also the one who fetched the bazooka before they left. That’s the kind of girl she is.
Then we get to Schierke, and from her corporeal body, we see her body of light flying up and through the World Tree, towards… Falconia. Once there, she says she’ll definitely find Casca. This is actually comical because it really took her all this time and all that effort just for this? Yeah Casca’s in Falconia, who would have guessed! This is the kind of thing that Miura might have gotten done with a single panel from someone like Danan, Gedflynn or the Skull Knight. Because the issue isn’t so much finding where she is but actually getting her back.
Oh and what was she doing with Guts previously, when she took his hand in episode 376? Have they forgotten about that already? The way they depict this also clearly shows her leaving her body, meaning she was there while the battle took place and didn’t do shit. I don’t think we’re meant to read anything into it, but they clearly didn’t think enough about what they were drawing.
What’s next?
So we’re mostly back to where we were ten episodes ago. Next episode might focus on Schierke searching for Casca in Falconia, maybe witnessing some scenes or even interacting with her. Meanwhile, Silat will be getting command of the Kushan clone army now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already done next time we see him. I guess a next step would be meeting Falconia’s troops on the way to the city itself? It’s apparently a long ways off.
That leaves us with Guts. Was Puck flying towards him? Will they have a talk or something, maybe a scene duplicated from volume 1? I’d take that, but I also won’t be surprised if it never leads to anything. Either way, it still feels to me that it’s Schierke who’ll eventually get him back on his feet simply by telling him Casca’s waiting for him in Falconia (yes, even though it’s technically not the reason he’s depressed).
To get back to the Rakshas puddle, maybe he will indeed return as a boogeyman then, only for Guts to squash him this time because he’ll have regained his spirit. And the Dragon Slayer will exorcise his shadow reviving powers or whatever bullshit they’ve cooked up. That's pretty damn stupid, but is it the right kind of stupid that the team usually goes for? Hard to say. I still think they might just move on completely. Man, this is exhausting.
. I have no clue how or why, but I really wouldn't put it past them
) with this continuation and what Puella pointed out, show how little this Team understands about Berserk
