Is Rakshas Skull Knight in Disguise?

Hello, long time lurker and first time poster. I'm sorry for starting a new topic, as I did not know whether or not to put this in Griffiths "Was Rakshas there to Follow Skull Knight?" thread. I am sure that there has been discussion on this before, but I couldn't find it in my pitiful attempt at searching through the forums.

To me I feel as though it has been very heavily hinted that Rakshas is Skull Knight in disguise. They have a very similar appearance, both with white faces and spikes, Skull Knights "Crown of Thorns" and Rakshas "Teeth", which look almost as though Skull Knights face was flipped upside down, and both are draped in long flowing black capes. From what we've seen from Rakshas he has incredible speed and agility, very much like Skull Knight. This is a leap, but to my knowledge, we haven't seen Rakshas really fight, which could indicate that he doesn't want to give any indication that he isn't who he says he is and show off any technique, move, or alarm that could give himself away.

During the showdown with Ganishka, Rakshas can be seen hidden underneath Zodds wing, and shortly thereafter Skull Knight appears and attacks at a moment when Griffith seems to be unaware, and a moment capable of complete and total surprise. After Skull Knight attacked Ganishka and the world is remade, we get to see a reaction from practically every major character, with Rakshas not included because at that point he had already changed back to Skull Knight. In this way I feel that Skull Knight has hidden himself away in Griffiths party, always looking for an opportunity to strike at Griffith, or await any moment he can get close to the God Hand and Void.

Wouldn't Skull Knight have the highest chance of getting an opportunity to get back at Void and the God Hand being in close proximity to one if it's members?
 

Darkman

Obey the one Law of Tooth & Claw
This is a scary and nutty topic to say the least! :schnoz:
You Can't Be Serious, OMG. I'm with Walter, there is NO WAY that Rakshas is Skull Knight in Disguise
 

Grail

Feel the funk blast
Welcome to the forum, Mjolkaktig ( :isidro: what a mouthful!)

I gotta agree with Joe - I can't run with your theory, but good on you for paying attention to those sorts of details. It can definitely be tricky, since Berserk often has a lot of subtle stuff going on. One thing about the Skull Knight is that he doesn't seem like the type to sneak around in a black sheet hoping for a moment to catch Griffith unawares. :ganishka: In any case, Rakshas already has established himself as a distinct character, and to mold the two together would be too much of a whack on the head for the reader, if you ask me.
 
Bekul said:
Maybe Casca is Guts' future mom from the past!

Is it really that ludicrous of an idea? I just feel that there are a lot of similarities between the two, and thought it was a halfway decent way to explain Rakshas appearance with the final encounter with Ganishka. I definitely could have articulated my points better, and would have benefited from using "Are Rakshas and Skull Knight One in the Same", rather than the title I used which brings back horrible memories of that terrible Dana Carvey movie Master of Disguise. :guts:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Mjolkaktig said:
Is it really that ludicrous of an idea? I just feel that there are a lot of similarities between the two,
Yeah, it's pretty absurd. But since you insist, and it's been quiet around here for a while, I'll go a little further.

The basis of your theory is Rakshas' "disappearance" after SK appears. To support this void of proof you offer some spiky things and a black cloak (their spikes nor cloak are similar anyway), ignoring that there are no hints whatsoever in either their mannerisms or traits—to be reductive: SK being a hollow suit of armor, and Rakshas being a three-eyed apostle who was formerly of the Bakiraka that dislocates his bones.

From this you propose that SK has pulled an elaborate masquerade as a Kushan apostle who stows his trusty steed and distinct non-apostle odor in a locked box every time he has to make an appearance in Griffith's army. All of this just so he can plant himself under Zodd's wing in a critical moment to get close enough to appear from thin air on a flying horse and strike at Femto.

As far as their similarities, you may as well compare Ganishka to the King of Midland. They've actually got quite a bit in common. There's the whole beard thing they've got going, and they're both royalty. Also, one dies and another appears? That's extremely suspicious. It would also explain how Ganishka got his Kushan troops so close to Wyndham in volume 17 without anyone noticing. He had an inside source! Himself!
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Darkman said:
This is a scary and nutty topic to say the least! :schnoz:
You Can't Be Serious, OMG. I'm with Walter, there is NO WAY that Rakshas is Skull Knight in Disguise

I know it's super scary. But like Walter said there is NO WAY that can be true.
 
This is all fun and speculation; of course a lot of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Nothing is to be taken too seriously; I just wanted to have a fun discussion :)

We don’t know the true extent of Skull Knight or Rakshas abilities, and neither do we know the exact qualities he or his horse pertain. Of course this is all speculation but for all we know there could be a possibility that Skull Knight’s horse could be a part of him. I mean we’ve seen crazier things right?

Do we know for certain Rakshas dislocates his bones? I mean I am no Berserk encyclopedia, that’s for sure, but for all we know he can be empty on the inside as well, and the statement of him being the exile of the Bakiraka could all be just his cover. Can anyone truly deny or validate his claim? Silat and his entourage recognize Rakshas as the exile, but anything could have happened to him during his exile, allowing Skull Knight a great cover. Of course I’m taking huge liberties in this statement and writing it out makes me feel silly.

Its always fun to speculate and I could probably do this all day. Once again another “leap”, bear with me, concerning Skull Knight, he could be an apostle that, like Ganishka, has chosen to go against the grain and bears a grudge against those of The God Hand, particularly Void.

Maybe he wanted revenge against Void and used a Beherit in an act of desperation. Maybe he was able to retain his ego or being, during the sacrifice of his people, or maybe he escaped the sacrifice he was involved in by some other means, and found an artifact or means to power to prolong his life and/or give him the power/form he has now. Of course this is also assuming that he is indeed Emperor Gaiseric.

These are all just stupid ideas I pulled off the top of my head, and there are countless other explanations and possibilities that one could think of for Skull Knight to be the way he is. We don’t know what Skull Knight is exactly, and what the extent of his powers really are, so it’s very hard to validate or deny anything. For the amount of time Skull Knight has had in Berserk he is still a giant question mark and that is one of the many attributes that makes him so damn interesting.

The fact is, there is so much we don’t know, and its great fun to see what we can speculate from all the details that have been explicitly stated to us, hinted at, or that we can dream of.

Sorry for the long post and sorry to those who were able to get through my excessive grandparent like rambling. I’ve always wanted to have a discussion on this topic, and have a lot of stupid ideas I want to gush out :guts:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Reader's Digest: No, Rakshas is not secretly The Skull Knight in an elaborate Berserk-themed episode of Scooby Doo.

Mjolkaktig said:
Nothing is to be taken too seriously; I just wanted to have a fun discussion
Well, I take Berserk pretty seriously. Theories should be based on more than just idle notions and the lack of information. Otherwise you're just wasting people's time pretending like you have a solid lead on something.

for all we know there could be a possibility that Skull Knight’s horse could be a part of him. I mean we’ve seen crazier things right?
Pretty vague statement, but there are times when he's not on the horse and it reacts like a horse would (see volume 20).

Do we know for certain Rakshas dislocates his bones?
Look closely during his first appearance in volume 22. There's a sound effect coming from his body ("Koki" in Japanese phonetics), implying he's reshaping himself or his bones underneath the cloak. It's admittedly thin proof, but if the cloak were empty, it'd make no sound at all.

I mean I am no Berserk encyclopedia, that’s for sure, but for all we know he can be empty on the inside as well,
He has a human-esque form that his cloak adheres to quite clearly in all of his appearances. In volume 22 a little blade pops out of his cloak. He's not hollow like the Skull Knight.

and the statement of him being the exile of the Bakiraka could all be just his cover. ... Can anyone truly deny or validate his claim?
Silat is the one who says he's an exiled Bakiraka, not Rakshas. We have to take his thought at face-value since there's no reason to mistrust his own thought.

but anything could have happened to him during his exile, allowing Skull Knight a great cover.
Wow, this ruse is getting elaborate! When is all of this subterfuge going to be uncovered? Will the real Rakshas ever be found and exonerated of his war crimes? Will Scooby Doo and Shaggy be able to solve the mystery behind the haunted forest?

Of course I’m taking huge liberties in this statement and writing it out makes me feel silly.
Then what are we even arguing about if you don't even believe in your own statements?

Its always fun to speculate and I could probably do this all day.
Well, go for it. Open up Notepad.exe in Windows and go to town. But don't pretend that a theory like this holds any water simply because you're willing to write stuff down.

Once again another “leap”, bear with me, concerning Skull Knight, he could be an apostle that, like Ganishka, has chosen to go against the grain and bears a grudge against those of The God Hand, particularly Void.
There are dozens of threads on this subject. He doesn't cause Guts' brand to bleed. He is not an apostle.

The fact is, there is so much we don’t know, and its great fun to see what we can speculate from all the details that have been explicitly stated to us, hinted at, or that we can dream of.
As long as it's grounded, sure. But this section of the forum isn't for fan fiction. When you make things up based on nothing, and overlook or misunderstand aspects of Berserk, it merely results in the admins having to correct bad homework to eliminate confusion for others. So, that's no fun. I guess it was a funny idea for a thread? But hardly worth this level of discourse.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Hi, Mjolkaktig, and welcome to the forum.

Mjolkaktig said:
To me I feel as though it has been very heavily hinted that Rakshas is Skull Knight in disguise. They have a very similar appearance, both with white faces and spikes, Skull Knights "Crown of Thorns" and Rakshas "Teeth", which look almost as though Skull Knights face was flipped upside down, and both are draped in long flowing black capes.

I disagree. The Skull Knight is pretty bulky (bigger than Guts), whereas Rakshas is remarkably tiny by comparison (his stature isn't too far from Sonia's). Their general looks are also nothing alike. SK is, as his name implies, a knight. He wears a skull-themed helmet and has a cloak. Guts also has a black cloak, as a reminder. But Rakshas doesn't. He's covered head to toe by a dark garment, but he doesn't have a cloak. He does wear a mask that reveals that he has 3 eyes (the Skull Knight only has two), and said mask isn't reminiscent of the Skull Knight's helmet at all to me. I see no similarities whatsoever between them. Even the spikes on the helmet don't actually look like the mask's "teeth" if you look at them carefully.

Mjolkaktig said:
From what we've seen from Rakshas he has incredible speed and agility, very much like Skull Knight.

The Skull Knight was never shown to be extraordinarily nimble (I mean he's wearing a full suit of heavy armor), especially not compared to Rakshas, whose agility defies the laws of nature.

Mjolkaktig said:
This is a leap, but to my knowledge, we haven't seen Rakshas really fight, which could indicate that he doesn't want to give any indication that he isn't who he says he is and show off any technique, move, or alarm that could give himself away.

We have seen him fight enough to know that he's the shadowy, quiet type. Using poison and stealth rather than brute force to achieve his goals. Not at all how the Skull Knight does things.

Mjolkaktig said:
During the showdown with Ganishka, Rakshas can be seen hidden underneath Zodds wing, and shortly thereafter Skull Knight appears

Appears out of thin air by using his beherit sword technique to cut his way to the place. Zodd is taken by surprise but reacts instantly. Not only does this scene clearly not support your allegations, it directly contradicts them. The SK wasn't already there. And do you think Zodd had not noticed Rakshas hiding under his wing? And that he and Griffith would have been fooled by Rakshas slipping away (where?) for no reason then appearing as the Skull Knight to strike? It's ridiculous.

Mjolkaktig said:
In this way I feel that Skull Knight has hidden himself away in Griffiths party, always looking for an opportunity to strike at Griffith

He can appear seemingly wherever he wants using his beherit sword technique. He used it to strike at Femto at a very specific time, when he no doubt felt he had the best chance to get him. And it failed, as Femto had planned for it. Are you suggesting that parading as Rakshas among Griffith's troops would provide for a better opportunity? Because I don't think so, and I don't think Griffith would be fooled by such a "disguise".

Mjolkaktig said:
Wouldn't Skull Knight have the highest chance of getting an opportunity to get back at Void and the God Hand being in close proximity to one if it's members?

The highest chance of "getting back at Void" (who said that's what he specifically is after?) is hardly to stick to Griffith to me. They're not roommates. And when one of them is already too much to handle, two of them together is just out of the question.

Mjolkaktig said:
Do we know for certain Rakshas dislocates his bones?

We can take bets on it if you want.

Mjolkaktig said:
for all we know he can be empty on the inside as well

That's not what it looks like to me.

Mjolkaktig said:
the statement of him being the exile of the Bakiraka could all be just his cover. [...] Silat and his entourage recognize Rakshas as the exile, but anything could have happened to him during his exile, allowing Skull Knight a great cover.

That makes no sense. The Skull Knight is very, very old. Older than Rakshas leaving the Bakiraka.

Mjolkaktig said:
Once again another “leap”, bear with me, concerning Skull Knight, he could be an apostle that, like Ganishka, has chosen to go against the grain and bears a grudge against those of The God Hand, particularly Void.

There's a million things disproving this idea. And Ganishka was just angry at Griffith for trying to take "his" land. Besides, see all the good that did him. In the end he was powerless against one of the God Hand, put on his knees by the mere presence of Griffith. Despite his lack of success so far, the Skull Knight's at least managed to give it a fair shot.

Mjolkaktig said:
Maybe he was able to retain his ego or being

Apostles don't lose their ego.

Mjolkaktig said:
maybe he escaped the sacrifice he was involved in by some other means, and found an artifact or means to power to prolong his life and/or give him the power/form he has now. Of course this is also assuming that he is indeed Emperor Gaiseric.

Maybe, but that wouldn't make him an apostle. And if he's not an apostle, he certainly can't be disguising himself as Rakshas, who most assuredly is one.

Mjolkaktig said:
We don’t know what Skull Knight is exactly, and what the extent of his powers really are

Is that so? I'd say we have a pretty good idea of who and what he is as well as of what his powers are. None of them matching Rakshas in the least.
 
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