SkullKast 130: It's Okay to Be Nervous

Walter

Administrator
Staff member

Episode 130: It's Okay to Be Nervous (1h27m)

We gather the full crew (@Aazealh @Gobolatula @Grail and @Griffith ) to discuss the news on Kouji Mori and Studio Gaga's commitment to fulfilling Miura's legacy and completing Berserk, along with some brief predictions about the next handful of episodes, based on the preview.

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I really liked the different opinions in this episode. Amazing podcast as always.
You guys talked about everything that had to be addressed for Berserk from now on.
After many days of overthinking this matter, now that I've heard this episode of the podcast I've decided to hold my thoughts till after the episodes come out.
And yeah like you guys I still don't know if the most heated discussions are going to take place before or after the release of the episodes :magni:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
And yeah like you guys I still don't know if the most heated discussions are going to take place before or after the release of the episodes :magni:

Well I sure hope people will care for the actual content of the episodes. That said I've no doubt some guy will be asking about the next release date literally the minute the magazine comes out. :puck: Some things never change.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Great discussion, guys. I definitely fall into the excited but nervous category. Less than two weeks to go! (I’m assuming it’ll drop around noon on 6/23 where I’m at.)

I lost it when Aaz started getting excited during his speculation. “And then, the Skull Knight’s in the tree! And then, Danan unleashes her power!” Too funny. :ganishka:

It’s nice to be excited about Berserk again. I hope it lasts.
 
Great episode as always, guys. The skullkast is the only podcast is the only one I can listen to without dozing off :ganishka:

It saddens me that we live in a world where suspicions about Mori's intentions are raised to begin with. I too think the man is simply trying to do right by his friend. Besides, there are surely easier and less stressful ways to make money than to shoulder a monumental achievement like Berserk.

By the way, I don't know if this has ever been raised, but I thought about another thing Mori and the team can do: take in hardcore fan input for consultation. It may sound ridiculous but it has been done from time to time. While not a direct parallel, an example is George RR Martin working with two fans to produce the World of Ice and Fire book. It's a double edged sword, but I think loyal fans may provide much needed insight. In any case, I'd totally nominate our resident Frenchman Aaz for the task. His knowledge of Berserk is awe-inspiring.

Looking forward to the next episode and I hope to be hearing positive takes on what's coming next!
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
By the way, I don't know if this has ever been raised, but I thought about another thing Mori and the team can do: take in hardcore fan input for consultation. It may sound ridiculous but it has been done from time to time. While not a direct parallel, an example is George RR Martin working with two fans to produce the World of Ice and Fire book. It's a double edged sword, but I think loyal fans may provide much needed insight. In any case, I'd totally nominate our resident Frenchman Aaz for the task. His knowledge of Berserk is awe-inspiring.

Haha, it'd be the supreme honor as a fan to be able to contribute anything whatsoever to the manga, but honestly I can't imagine they would have a need for that kind of advice. In fact I'm surprised to hear that about GRRM! Besides, there's surely no lack of ultra fans readily available in Japan. Thank you for the praise though! :farnese:
 
Haha, it'd be the supreme honor as a fan to be able to contribute anything whatsoever to the manga, but honestly I can't imagine they would have a need for that kind of advice. In fact I'm surprised to hear that about GRRM! Besides, there's surely no lack of ultra fans readily available in Japan. Thank you for the praise though! :farnese:
It's a praise well-earned :guts:

And yeah, the two fans GRRM worked with are in charge of one of the fan wikis. They even corrected GRRM from time to time! There's a horse that changed genders between books and he only noticed that because they told him, for example. He still works with them on some projects.

I think a selected fan committee will also ease the pressure for the team. If what they produce is by the fans' blessing, that would be a huge morale boost.

Of course, I don't expect any of this to happen, but it may be possible to implement.
 
I know at the moment it has to be like this, since we have no actual episodes, but listening to the podcast had me thinking about how people are concerned about a lot of broad ideas of what this continuation is or could be rather than anything grounded. It's an interesting situation since once the episodes start coming we'll probably never be able to think about it in this way again. I guess that's how it is before you engage with any media though.

One comment I've been mulling over is what Walter said about the more granular details of what we may see. Even if Mori knows the big picture, when we get down to a scene such as them approaching Pandemonium, who will be there? How will they look? Who says what? Etc. You could probably do this for every line drawn on every page of this if you really wanted to. There's inevitably going to be a lot of chasing the ghosts of episodes Miura didn't draw compared to what Mori and Studio Gaga put out, but I think for myself at least it will probably be better to just take it as it is rather than stress too much about that. I would still like to enjoy this as a story rather than just the thought experiment it has been for us. Of course, if something is really just bad, I'm not gonna ignore that either. I was just really struck by, I think Griffith's, comment on how the most consequential reunion of the series is about to take place and it's the last thing on any of our minds right now.

And mind you, I don't think any of what's been talked about is bad. These have been and will be necessary and expected conversations. I don't want anyone to ignore the reality of the situation. I just think it's important to just let yourself at least try to enjoy it for what it is instead of always picking at it with a fine-tooth comb for what it could've been.
 
It is kind of crazy that we are at this monumental moment of the story and it's the last thing we are thinking about. I hope we can suspend belief for a moment and just absorb this story beat for what it is and then criticize it after if we have to.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I was just really struck by, I think Griffith's, comment on how the most consequential reunion of the series is about to take place and it's the last thing on any of our minds right now.

You would be surprised to see how many people never discussed or even seemed to take time to enjoy the actual story over the years, focusing instead on the release schedule as if that was their main concern.
 
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