Origin stories

So I looked through the posts in this section and didn't see this topic, but if it goes on somewhere else, please let me know.

What's the story with Guts's parents? We've gotten everything in his actual life, but I wonder if there is any significance in how his mother ended up on that tree. Admittedly, there's nothing that has happened in the story that hints that this matters at all; he was born from a corpse, end (beginning) of story. And I'd be ok with that, and no one else in the story is wondering either. But those ears...was there some elf involvement in his conception? Even if not, I feel like there is some unrevealed connection between Guts and the elves.

And what about the Griffith back-story? He was a poor commoner who met a gypsy fortune-teller. What are the chances we get more? What were the events that shaped his desire for his own kingdom?

If we get both or either, it won't happen until near the end of the series.

feralotter said:

So I looked through the posts in this section and didn't see this topic, but if it goes on somewhere else, please let me know.

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It has been discussed in many other threads, even recently. Use the forum's search feature if you want to find out more.

feralotter said:

What's the story with Guts's parents? We've gotten everything in his actual life, but I wonder if there is any significance in how his mother ended up on that tree. Admittedly, there's nothing that has happened in the story that hints that this matters at all; he was born from a corpse, end (beginning) of story. And I'd be ok with that, and no one else in the story is wondering either. But those ears...was there some elf involvement in his conception? Even if not, I feel like there is some unrevealed connection between Guts and the elves.

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Hahaha, could he be... an Elf-Man?!

There's not much to be said on the subject, to be honest. The obvious significance of his birth and childhood is that he has been a struggler ever since his birth. He's never had it easy. It's also a commentary on the harsh world Berserk is set in. And it asserts him as someone without any heritage or support in life. No roots, nothing. If you asked Guts who his father was, he'd tell you "Gambino".

Anyway, his ears have little to do with elves (many characters have pointier ears in Berserk, and none look like those actual elves sport) and I feel pretty safe in telling you that there wasn't any elf involvement in Guts' birth. Nor is there any unrevealed connection waiting to be found. A side note, but you can't really be born from a corpse (after a mother dies the baby does very quickly as well), so he was likely born while his mother died hanging.

feralotter said:

And what about the Griffith back-story? He was a poor commoner who met a gypsy fortune-teller. What are the chances we get more? What were the events that shaped his desire for his own kingdom?

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Everything we'll ever know about Griffith's childhood has most likely already been told. He dreamed of the castle on the hill as a kid and that shaped his life. He received his beherit from a fortune teller (not sure it's a Gypsy though...) at some undetermined time but that's not directly related.

Wonder what happened to Griff's parents? Did he even have any, or was he an orphan? Not uncommon for the sort of place he was from, I suppose. I always like to think he was an orphan anyway, since he hands over the sword to Casca (vol. 6) when she is in a time of desperate need for help, as a way of saying "you have to protect yourself in this world" to her, maybe that's reflected upon his own upbringing, looking after himself since birth, with no one to guide, but himself? Just a theory.

Henry Spencer said:

Wonder what happened to Griff's parents? Did he even have any, or was he an orphan?

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We're not told, simple as that.

Doh. That search feature is pretty sweet. Thanks.

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=1527.0

Aazealh said:

There's not much to be said on the subject, to be honest. The obvious significance of his birth and childhood is that he has been a struggler ever since his birth. He's never had it easy. It's also a commentary on the harsh world Berserk is set in. And it asserts him as someone without any heritage or support in life. No roots, nothing.

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It's probably just as well. If it never happens, I won't be disappointed. I'll still wonder though. Giving him a parental story would be a weird juxtaposition to the self-made struggler persona, especially if Guts was informed of them. Imagining Guts doing the whole 'trying to find out who I am, where I came from, existential crisis' after learning about his parents...makes me nauseous.

Aazealh said:

Anyway, his ears have little to do with elves (many characters have pointier ears in Berserk, and none look like those actual elves sport) and I feel pretty safe in telling you that there wasn't any elf involvement in Guts' birth. Nor is there any unrevealed connection waiting to be found.

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Yeah, it was an idea that was snowballing away in my head. Looking back, they are all over the place. Griffith's ears are super-pointy.

Ok, new theory. They're Vulcans!

Henry Spencer said:

Wonder what happened to Griff's parents? Did he even have any, or was he an orphan?

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An orphan does make sense for the times, we've seen them frequently. So, flashback sequence with Griffith and his charisma leading a rag-tag group of orphans a-la Oliver Twist? The Li'l Hawks? Maybe not.

Aazealh said:

He received his beherit from a fortune teller (not sure it's a Gypsy though...)

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Volume 5, Page 59 - ジプシー

feralotter said:

Giving him a parental story would be a weird juxtaposition to the self-made struggler persona, especially if Guts was informed of them. Imagining Guts doing the whole 'trying to find out who I am, where I came from, existential crisis' after learning about his parents...makes me nauseous.

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Yeah it doesn't really fit the character.

feralotter said:

An orphan does make sense for the times, we've seen them frequently. So, flashback sequence with Griffith and his charisma leading a rag-tag group of orphans a-la Oliver Twist? The Li'l Hawks? Maybe not.

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Haha yeah, maybe not. I think both are equally possible, personally. The bottom line is that if he had parents, they weren't worth talking about. Kind of like Isidro's family, only mentioned in passing and in a single panel.

feralotter said:

Volume 5, Page 59 - ジプシー

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Oh oh, my bad then! I strained my brain but couldn't remember it. That's what I get for not checking.

Aazealh said:

That's what I get for not checking.

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On a personal note, I almost just responded with 'just check out Dark Horse vol. 5 pg. 59' that being the place where I read it, but I seem to have developed mistrust for their translations (gee, where did I learn that? ) plus I didn't want to be caught with that classic pants-down, so I went to the the original and attempted to translate that text bubble myself, something I don't normally do. And the process was pretty rewarding! Even if they did get it right this time.

feralotter said:

On a personal note, I almost just responded with 'just check out Dark Horse vol. 5 pg. 59' that being the place where I read it, but I seem to have developed mistrust for their translations (gee, where did I learn that? ) plus I didn't want to be caught with that classic pants-down, so I went to the the original and attempted to translate that text bubble myself, something I don't normally do. And the process was pretty rewarding! Even if they did get it right this time.

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To be fair, Dark Horse gets more stuff right than they do wrong. Every now and then they have a questionable translation, or one that's just plain wrong/groovy, but most of the time they're pretty accurate.

feralotter said:

On a personal note, I almost just responded with 'just check out Dark Horse vol. 5 pg. 59' that being the place where I read it, but I seem to have developed mistrust for their translations (gee, where did I learn that? ) plus I didn't want to be caught with that classic pants-down, so I went to the the original and attempted to translate that text bubble myself, something I don't normally do. And the process was pretty rewarding! Even if they did get it right this time.

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Hehehe, you did well, I was impressed.

Rhombaad said:

To be fair, Dark Horse gets more stuff right than they do wrong. Every now and then they have a questionable translation, or one that's just plain wrong/groovy, but most of the time they're pretty accurate.

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Well I don't know where I stand on the issue to be honest. I tend to agree with feralotter: I don't trust their translations. They're wrong far too often for that, and even when they aren't plain wrong, I often find them mediocre. And that's just what I get from excerpts. No doubt it's currently the best solution for non-Japanese speakers, but unfortunately that doesn't necessarily make it a very good solution. It only means the alternatives are worse.