Manga character designs

I wanted to talk about the character designs of the manga and how it has changed over the span of the manga. And I just want to make a few observations. I am still prett6y early on in the manga reading but these are my observations.

One is Guts, I think how he is drawn has changed the most over the span of the series. I think he is being drawn in a way that makes him more like a typical hero then how he looked before. Guts had a rugged almost average joe kind of look to him when the series first started. I am not saying he is ugly (though I am sure had grow into those ears of his when he was younger) But is was certainly not a pretty boy. I am impressed with how dedicated Miura is at drawing all of Guts scars (and he has quite a few) all the time. Other artists would not be as dedicated. Also I think his ears look less pointy a bit smaller.

Farnese I think Miura made her more plain looking over the course of the manga. I thought she was very pretty at first with her long hair and even after ward. Was this done to make Farnese look plainer on purpose so as not to out shine Casca?

As for Casca since she has lost hwer mind I notice She has gotten prettier and slimmer. In the manga when she was still a warrior she is boyish looking and kind of butch and no one opther then Guts thinks she is attractive (excepet random baddies who want to ream her). She had fairly tiny breasts and now it seems her boobs are bigger and more full then she was when she was a warrior. Also people tend to decribe her a being a beauty (like Luca) when she never seemed to be like that before. Actually when I saw the movies and some of the anime (especially the anime) they made her look so pretty. Why? Casca is supposed to be a butch warrior?

thoughts?
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
I think you'll find this particularly fulfilling.

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=4790.msg97588#msg97588

Also, this:

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=12038.msg189212#msg189212

Hot Chic said:
Actually when I saw the movies and some of the anime (especially the anime) they made her look so pretty. Why? Casca is supposed to be a butch warrior?

thoughts?

Casca is quite pretty and feminine in the manga. I'm not sure what you're talking about.
 
I wouldn't say that Casca is slimmer, quite the opposite. She's noticeably less toned because she's no longer a warrior. Previously, she was trying to be one of the guys. Her hair was cropped and she had a muscular physique from all the fighting. Since the trauma, her hair has grown out, her body is softer, and her mental state means she walks around with that doe-eyed look on her face. That's why she might appear to be 'prettier'.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Here's a useful thread for this discussion from back in 2005:

Aazealh said:
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Guts' face: Evolution from volume 1 to 24


Recent volumes, variations:

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It's been brought up a few times (we had a discussion about art style changes on the 10th SkullKast. I think most of these changes are merely a reflection of Miura's evolving art style. We're talking about 20+ years of drawing the same faces, so of course they're going to change a bit over time.

As for Casca, some of the examples you bring up (breast size, shape, muscle tone) are obviously things that would result from her body adapting to no longer living the life of a warrior.
 
I love watching Miura grow as an artist and seeing his art evolve in everything from backgrounds to character designs, it's a real treat.

Hot Chic said:
Farnese I think Miura made her more plain looking over the course of the manga. I thought she was very pretty at first with her long hair and even after ward. Was this done to make Farnese look plainer on purpose so as not to out shine Casca?
Nope.

As for Casca since she has lost hwer mind I notice She has gotten prettier and slimmer. In the manga when she was still a warrior she is boyish looking and kind of butch and no one opther then Guts thinks she is attractive (excepet random baddies who want to ream her). She had fairly tiny breasts and now it seems her boobs are bigger and more full then she was when she was a warrior. Also people tend to decribe her a being a beauty (like Luca) when she never seemed to be like that before. Actually when I saw the movies and some of the anime (especially the anime) they made her look so pretty. Why? Casca is supposed to be a butch warrior?

thoughts?

Butch warrior? She was tom boy-ish sure.. but butch? I dont think so. Just because she had muscle mass with short hair doesn't mean she was butch. It's not like she was fighting like Guts, overpowering her foes with her brute strength or joining weight lifting competitions in Midland. But even if she was a tom boy during the golden age.. she still was just as pretty as she is now in my opinion because she still had a lot of femininity to her even as a warrior.

I think the evolution of Miura's art plays a bigger role in her being "prettier" and more feminine then people think. Like how her eyebrows are thinner then they were in the golden age.. but whenever Guts gets a flashback of her during that time she still has those current thin eyebrows and not the bushy ones. It's not like Erica over the years used the tweezers on them. So it's not just the fact that Casca is supposed to look more attractive, elegant and "prettier" but Miura's art in general has gotten more attractive, elegant and prettier over time.

It'll be interesting to see Casca's reaction to her current physical state after she's cured. :???:
 
I have always enjoyed how nuanced and detailed all of Berserks character designs are none of them are cookie cutter like some other manga artists are where every woman pretty much has the same face and the all the men look like Hercules.

Though I have to say that I like the evolution of Miura's character designs after the Golden age arc better. In the Golden age everyone had a sort of elfin appearance that I wasn't too fond of. I like how Miura draws noses now, during the golden age arc some character, Guts, Casca, Griffith side character had these pointy up turned noses I did not care for at all.

People are going to think I am weird but I like how Miura draws eye brows, look at some the up close shots of Guts eye with his eye brows framed prominently. It's not just a lazy line but he draws all the hairs and angled in different directions to make it look like an actual eye brow.

I aslo like how Miura can give off so much about some ones personality and attitude with just the way he draws the expression on someone's face or their stance r body language. Especially when it comes to Guts. I have always felt that The anime and the anime movies failed to portray Guts lighter aspects of his personality and they make him too serious.

Casca I never really thought she was all that attractive in the early manga. It seems Miura is better at drawing feminine women now than in the early manga. I agree with Hot Chic that Casca was portrayed prettier in the anime. I loved her character design. I kind of think the anime animators made her even more exotic.

I do think he has improved on drawing golden age Casca, like what was mentioned in the other thread her face is more womanly her lips are fuller and her eye brows are thinner. I think Casca is prettier now with the longer hair but I feel he does not draw her as exotic looking as she used to be. In the earlier manga I thought the shape of her eyes was more exotic. Now her eyes seem to be wider and more circular. But that may be due to her being child like right now
 
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