What would a good Continuation episode even look like?

[ROB BOB]

Hey y'all, I've been thinking a lot about the current state of Berserk and reading up on the discussion threads on various new episodes, and the thought occurred to me, "What would it take for Skullknight.net to have a positive reaction to a Continuation episode?" What would the episode have to be like? Don't get me wrong, I agree with the overwhelmingly negative response this community has had to the Continuation. I feel the same way. The state of modern Berserk is pretty abysmal, especially when contrasted with the insanely high bar set for the series during Miura's lifetime.

So my question is simply this: what, in each of your opinions, could make you actually like a new episode??

Feel free to answer either in regards to where the story is currently at plot-wise (377) or just in general regardless of exact current developments.

Also if your answer would be that it's impossible to satisfy you, since you disagree with the fundamental idea of the Continuation, I'd urge you to try and think of a best case scenario episode anyways, as it makes for a more interesting thought experiment.

 

[Aazealh]

I mean the ideal scenario is that it would look like something Miura might have drawn himself, but that's not realistic.

So keeping in mind where we are right now, the simplest answer would be that it should be faithful to what Miura had established in the story until now, that the characters should behave in ways that are appropriate for them (e.g. Isidro isn't a coward, Azan isn't a drunkard, Serpico isn't gormless, Puck isn't cold and emotionless, Guts isn't disinterested in Casca's fate, etc.), and more importantly it should enlighten the readers as to what Miura had in mind for the story. Because that's what the project was supposed to be all about, right?

And that brings me to the fact it should have been handled differently, which goes beyond "making good episodes". I think the editor and the team should have made it clear from the get-go that Berserk as it used to be is over, because its author Kentarou Miura can't be replaced. Continuing the series with the same title, not to mention the same episode and volume numbering was (and continues to be) a giant slap to the face.

They should have recognized that you can't make a good manga (much less a great one) merely by stitching together half-remembered, poorly understood plot points that were likely mentioned in passing as rough outlines. Especially since they end up inventing a lot of stuff to fill in the many gaps and present the illusion of an uninterrupted storyline. That's what these episodes are mostly comprised of: filler to try and get from point A to B. But then, when they do get to said points, they can't depict them properly because they don't know the details of what Miura actually planned to do. This is why it's bad, fundamentally.

In short, things would have been much easier if they had been less ambitious, and maybe less arrogant.

 

[Ithier]

A good Berserk continuation episode is pretty much impossible by the standards they themselves set for it, which is just going off Miura's exact words and adding almost nothing themselves. What they know of Miura's plans doesn't allow for that, and they chose not to do an illustrated summary which might have been doable while keeping that promise (although I'm doubtful that their grasp on the preceding story was even good enough for that). What they actually elected to do is feed Berserk fans hope that the story could sort of continue in the way they were familiar and that nothing had really ended . An official fanfic would honestly have been acceptable to me if they were just transparent about their process and weren't constantly trying to legitimize themselves by hiding behind a dead man. It would have been creatively risky though and required actual enthusiasm for the source material so that's a nonstarter.

To answer your question, I actually have liked a handful of episodes so far, including 372, 365, and half of 368 (the second half). These succeeded for the most part because they were sparse and I could more or less see Miura's hand in them when they weren't distracting me with their own bullshit. I don't think I can give you a more detailed answer than that though because they refuse to clarify what's Miura and what's guesswork and probably never will.

 

[Gambler]

First of all, Mori stated that from what he knew of the ending, the story didnt make any sense

Even in his conversations with Miura, the manga would release very differently from what they've talked about. These 2 things alone are already a red alert

They are also completely distorting things to find a way to end the story with the Kushan Empire bullshit

But a good episode for me would be the one focusing the main characters:

- Guts being this unstoppable guy that challenges destiny
- Griffith using his powers and teasing more about the lore of Berserk
- Showing God Hand origins flashback, hinting about their goal
- Skull Knight and Void's backstory fully explained
- More of Moonlight Boy

Im not interested in the Kushan Empire that shouldnt even exist after the Astral Roar, I understant how this makes it easier to unfold the story, but at what cost?