The Berserker Armor: mumblings and questions on its past, present, and future

[Goat]

While I'm a Berserk passionate as much as all the other members on this board, I have a really bad memory and tend to fly away with fantasy. I kindly apologize in advance for any incoherent ideas or wrong facts that I may eventually report or theorize in this post that may be offending some other fans.

This is more a (series of?) open question(s) than an actual precise speculation. I hope you guys want to join me in this open chatter.

The Berserker Armor, a fatal tool
We know that the Berserker Armor is - literally - devastating for the human wielding it.
The effects of the tool are clearly visible on Guts' jaded body: his eyesight is slowly fading (364), his bones have been pierced an insane amount of times to stay together during the fights, and the Skull Knight himself has warned him about the bad, inevitable effects of using such protection.

Guts destiny seems to be already written. However, I realized there are a series of doubts and incomplete information that float around the usage of this mystic tool, giving room for speculation.

Does the armor actually *kill* the human wielding it in the end?
The Skull Knight is - much likely - the previous owner of the armor. And the memories arisen in 362 could be 'visualized' by Guts thanks to the bloody memories shrunken in the plates of the armor.

Anyway, we've never seen the armor actually kill his human former self.

362 seems to suggest that the Skull Knight died in the armor while holding his loved one, but in that precise moment the armor seems not to be active, Skull Knight seems not to be in a desperate shape, the fight seems to be over and - more generally - we lack enough context in that specific scene to be completely sure that's the moment when the armor has consumed him.

Also, while the Skull Knight and other characters warned Guts many times regarding the effects of the armor, I can't recall a precise exchange of information that can be streamlined to a straightforward "using the armor too much will kill you, period".

So... does the armor *transform* the human in it into... something?
Skull Knight seems to be surviving and existing thanks to a taboo violated by Flora (363), after his human end witnessed in 362, but we lack enough information to conclude that this taboo has consisted in a sort-of resurrection process.

I wonder if the consume process that ended his human life morphed him into some other being, instead of inflicting death, and the taboo is the step that restored his consciousness allowing him to survive as we know him.

So, this speculation and interpretation sees the taboo not as a pseudo-resurrection process, but a way to give again human aspects to the being that was born by the consuming process of the armor.

What's the effect of finally being able to control the armor? Is it even possible?
I've often read a speculation related to Guts' next possible "power-up": being able to fully control the armor. But... would that be an actual upgrade?

The power of the armor, as Schierke highlights when it is used the first time, is to inhibit the senses of pain and fear and let the pure fighting instinct of the wearer enrage. This allows passing the human body limits, destroying both the opponents and literally the body structure of the fighter.

Being able to control such a strong instinct does not sound like an upgrade to me. In general, being conscious while wearing the armor should consist in nullifying the literal source of the strength that the armor itself is giving to the user.

I tend to exclude the possibility to fully control the armor if not to a very limited extent.

In the end, will Guts be able to stop one moment before the disaster?
Guts succumbing to the armor - even after a victory - can be seen as a possible bad ending for the protagonist of this amazing story. I don't think this will happen (or this would have happened under Miura's direction).

However, using the armor is fundamental for Guts to face such strong foes. Not using it is not a viable option.

The final confrontation (if there will be ever be one) seems not to be so far. Will Guts be able to win and overcome his last battle before the armor will definitely consume him? And if not, what will happen then?

As I see the pieces on the chess board now, there is no way Guts can win both his battle and the battle against the armor. But here, I have no ideas to speculate about a good ending or conclusion related to the usage of the armor: as of now, its usage sounds like doom for the Black Swordsman.

 

[Aazealh]

Aaz wrecking crew reporting for duty. Proceeding to demolish this post!
(just kidding)

Guts destiny seems to be already written.

I wouldn't put it like that. I think given the direction where Miura was taking the story, Guts was clearly not going to suffer the same fate as Gaizeric.

Does the armor actually *kill* the human wielding it in the end?

Yes, it does. Well, it doesn't so much kill you itself as it leads you to fight to the death, because you have no instinct of self-preservation anymore, so you keep fighting until you succumb to your wounds. It's really quite perverse.

I can't recall a precise exchange of information that can be streamlined to a straightforward "using the armor too much will kill you, period".

Schierke says so when Guts first wears the armor. While he's fighting Grunbeld. She explains that the armor's previous user fought to the death.

So... does the armor *transform* the human in it into... something?

No. The armor just kills you. What happened is that Flora brought Gaizeric to Hanarr and they encased his soul in another armor... the one he's currently wearing. If Guts died while using the Berserk's armor, he'd just be dead. But I think we can be confident that this wasn't going to happen.

a pseudo-resurrection process

There was no resurrection. His dead soul is just encased in a magical armor, which has allowed him to stay in the corporeal world. Hanarr compares it to a coffin for a good reason.

What's the effect of finally being able to control the armor? Is it even possible?

I don't think it's possible or even desirable, no. The way the armor works inherently leads it to erode the user's restraints and sends them into an altered "berserk" state of consciousness. You can't cheat the system, and it wouldn't be interesting to. Well, let me contradict myself: you can cheat the system, and it's already been done when Schierke got absorbed into the armor. She found a way to exploit that by keeping Guts' perception from being clouded by the armor's Od. But for Guts to do it by himself? Nah.

That said, what I think would have made sense is for him to resist its pull longer; to be able to fight beyond his body's peak for more than a minute while being conscious and sane. That's believable and I'd say even likely. There's also something to be done about his mind and trauma, psychological work so that his darkest urges (represented by the Beast of Darkness) would be focused on his actual enemies, without giving way to self-destructive tendencies towards himself and his friends.

But despite all of that, the risk posed by the armor would have always been present, and always been very serious. I think Guts was actually due for a very real and very dire wake-up call around the time the story (as told by Miura) stopped. Something that would have rattled him and the others. Because clearly even Hanarr's warnings and the flashback he saw weren't enough to change his dismissive attitude.

In general, being conscious while wearing the armor should consist in nullifying the literal source of the strength that the armor itself is giving to the user.

It's more complicated. The armor does a number of things, and Guts benefits from its power even while at rest. So you can use it while conscious... for a time. But like I said above, it would be impossible to not feel its pull while fighting. It's only a matter of how long you can resist it.

In the end, will Guts be able to stop one moment before the disaster?

I would think so. But I'd say another disaster that should be considered is actually harming an ally. That's a real risk. And while I don't believe Guts would kill Serpico or anything like that, I do think he might have come close to committing the irreparable at some point.

The final confrontation (if there will be ever be one) seems not to be so far. Will Guts be able to win and overcome his last battle before the armor will definitely consume him? And if not, what will happen then?

Well, whatever the current team produces will only be a shadow of what Miura would have done. But like I said at the beginning, I don't think it would make sense for him to suffer the same fate as his predecessor.

 

[Goat]

Aaz wrecking crew reporting for duty. Proceeding to demolish this post!
(just kidding)

This was EXACTLY my expectation!

[...] No. The armor just kills you. [...]

I was overthinking it, then. Yeah, I also expected those speculations to go too much far away from the simplest of the interpretations. Glad to hear this from you. Occam's razor ftw!

There was no resurrection. His dead soul is just encased in a magical armor, which has allowed him to stay in the corporeal world. Hanarr compares it to a coffin for a good reason.

Is this an "high likely" scenario or do we have a precise information that leads into thinking that the soul was encased in the armor? I would need to re-read those parts, I can't recall this passage.

[...] That said, what I think would have made sense is for him to resist its pull longer; to be able to fight beyond his body's peak for more than a minute while being conscious and sane. That's believable and I'd say even likely.
[...]
It's more complicated. The armor does a number of things, and Guts benefits from its power even while at rest. So you can use it while conscious... for a time. But like I said above, it would be impossible to not feel its pull while fighting. It's only a matter of how long you can resist it.

Do you have any ideas or did you ever speculate *how* this step could take place? What can be the trigger to enable this control layer?

Well, whatever the current team produces will only be a shadow of what Miura would have done. But like I said at the beginning, I don't think it would make sense for him to suffer the same fate as his predecessor.

I also tend to think that Guts succumbing to the armor is (was?) unlikely. Did you ever speculate about the final outcome of the Guts / armor usage and relationship?

 

[Aazealh]

Is this an "high likely" scenario or do we have a precise information that leads into thinking that the soul was encased in the armor? I would need to re-read those parts, I can't recall this passage.

It hasn't been explicitly spelled out, meaning that we don't know exactly what was done and how. However I'd say there's no real doubt that something of the sort happened. What's clear is that he wasn't "resurrected", he's more like an undead spirit. See what he tells Guts and then Danan in episodes 362 and 363. Not a very fun existence.

Do you have any ideas or did you ever speculate *how* this step could take place? What can be the trigger to enable this control layer?

I have my ideas about possible developments but I'm keeping them close to the vest for the time being. That said, I think it would mainly come down to self-control. If you look at the different times Guts has used the armor, you can see a progression, albeit not an exceptional one. But he goes from barely being able to fight because he's got to hold it in (against the Makara), to handling himself until he's left with no choice but to take that step (against the slugs on the solitary island). That's notable (and related to his "binding" of the Beast) and I think it could have gone a ways further.

I also tend to think that Guts succumbing to the armor is (was?) unlikely. Did you ever speculate about the final outcome of the Guts / armor usage and relationship?

Yeah I must have mentioned it in a number of posts in the past, but I'll leave it to you to look them up, I can't right now. But in short, I think Guts could have managed to walk the line and use the armor without succumbing to it. I think that would have been related to his personal growth as a character, going from someone purely bent on revenge to a man fighting for something more.

 

[Zard]

Anyway, we've never seen the armor actually kill his human former self.

362 seems to suggest that the Skull Knight died in the armor while holding his loved one, but in that precise moment the armor seems not to be active, Skull Knight seems not to be in a desperate shape, the fight seems to be over and - more generally - we lack enough context in that specific scene to be completely sure that's the moment when the armor has consumed him.

This is how I interpret the memories shown in ep. 362
1. Gaiseric goes deliberately after the Godhand (he is in full control of himself); this may be the decision Skull Knight condemns as foolish.
2. He slays lots of low-level mooks, wasting time.
[We don' t know what happens here, maybe he manages to injure a Godhand member, or maybe not]
3. He witnesses his lover's last moments and the sacrifice of an entire city, which is presumably the imperial capital (the eye starts closing);
4. Gaiseric, being torn apart by the pain, yields to his dark persona/berserker armor (when Schierke tries to wake up the attuned-Guts, Gaiseric's eyes are not visible anymore).

Skull Knight says this was the end of Gaiseric. Not necessarily because he died there, but because he succumbed to the berserker armor and would have never regained his senses as Gaiseric again; instead, the next time he would awaken, only a shallow, vengeful wraith would be left, entombed in a completely different armor.
I still think the berserker armor is what killed the Emperor, ultimately: but we don't know when that happens, and in my opinion it's not very important.
What matters here is the armor consuming the humanity of its host, forever. To the point they can't even transition to another, peaceful existence like Flora and Gaiseric's lover did.

 

[Aazealh]

1. Gaiseric goes deliberately after the Godhand (he is in full control of himself); this may be the decision Skull Knight condemns as foolish.

Given his wording, I don't think it specifically refers to this one moment.

4. Gaiseric, being torn apart by the pain, yields to his dark persona/berserker armor (when Schierke tries to wake up the attuned-Guts, Gaiseric's eyes are not visible anymore).

No, that moment is when he dies. That's why the eyes are empty. He's dead. It's what Guts says when he comes out.

Skull Knight says this was the end of Gaiseric. Not necessarily because he died there

Sorry to contradict you, but it's absolutely because he died there.

What matters here is the armor consuming the humanity of its host, forever.

That's not really the right way to put it I think. What is implied the armor can do is turn you insane, basically. Destroying your ego so that only mindless aggressivity is left. "Consuming humanity" feels like both an euphemism and an exaggeration that I think isn't helpful in the context of trying to understand what happened to the Skull Knight. Because he certainly isn't defined by blind rage, but rather exhibits an ice cold, very calculated demeanor. He's been playing the long game.

 

[Goat]

By re-reading and skimming around, other open questions on the Berserker armor came to my mind.

To what extent the Berserker armor protects the wearer?
The things that we discussed until now in this thread were more related to the offensive aspects of the tool. But, as we can observe the first time Guts wears the armor, it looks to be also an excellent defensive item. Two apostles try to literally eat Guts' body, and he's able to resist and cut them into pieces.
I know that these shonen-like type of discussions and aspects don't fit much with Berserk, but it would be interesting to understand to what extent the armor can protect the wearer. I think we have very little elements to speculate on that, so this question will probably remain open or unanswered.

Is SK armor somehow similar / akin to the Berserker armor?
What do we know exactly about SK current armor? Not much, I think; maybe, the most relevant piece of information comes from 361, where - if I'm not wrong - we discover that both of the armors have been crafted by Hanarr.
To me, it seems that it makes no sense to assume that both of the armors work with the same principles (so, the armors aren't two Berserker armors). I was just wondering if some of the 'power' that SK has can be derived from the armor that is hosting his soul.

What happened exactly in 365?
Not much to elaborate on this question. Did we observe an half-activation of the armor? Was Guts able to stop the full activation and went on attacking? Is it un-important and my question makes no sense?

What's the true nature of the armor?
I was re-reading the amazing translation of ep. 362 from Puella, and this part raised this question:

Hanarr: How the life of the previous owner
Hanarr: was eaten up by the berserk.

Note: Hanarr specifically uses the word "berserk" here to refer to the armor, as if it is itself the berserk. Furigana that means "this one" is also added to the word, to make sure we understand he's talking about the armor. This is a deliberate choice by Miura and could imply something about the true nature of the armor.

What do you think Miura was referring to? Could the armor be an active element in the grand scheme of things?

 

[Aazealh]

To what extent the Berserker armor protects the wearer?

I mean... It's an armor. Its main function is to protect its wearer. Guts already had an exceptional armor before, and this one is at least as good and probably better. Without it, Guts couldn't endure some of the blows he receives from massive foes.

Is SK armor somehow similar / akin to the Berserker armor?
What do we know exactly about SK current armor? Not much, I think; maybe, the most relevant piece of information comes from 361, where - if I'm not wrong - we discover that both of the armors have been crafted by Hanarr.
To me, it seems that it makes no sense to assume that both of the armors work with the same principles (so, the armors aren't two Berserker armors). I was just wondering if some of the 'power' that SK has can be derived from the armor that is hosting his soul.

They are very different armors. They serve completely different functions and as far as we know don't work the same way at all. That being said, we don't know much of anything about the properties of the Skull Knight's armor.

What happened exactly in 365?
Not much to elaborate on this question. Did we observe an half-activation of the armor? Was Guts able to stop the full activation and went on attacking? Is it un-important and my question makes no sense?

Because episode 365 was not created by Kentarou Miura, the events depicted in it cannot be relied on as an accurate depiction of what would have happened in the story. It's not that your question makes no sense, but that there isn't much value in scrutinizing these pages. They cannot be used to inform your understanding of how the armor works.

What's the true nature of the armor?
I was re-reading the amazing translation of ep. 362 from Puella, and this part raised this question:

What do you think Miura was referring to? Could the armor be an active element in the grand scheme of things?

Like the note says, it seems to be a reference to the magical nature of the armor and the inherent danger it poses. Unfortunately, because Miura passed away, that's all we can say about it. That being said, I don't believe the armor would have ever taken an "active part" in the story, as in becoming a conscious character, if that's what you're asking.