Episode 346

Skeleton said:
When Danan was first introduced I wondered if she was an elf.
Good call, Skeleton! I was wondering if Danan was more than what she initially let on because it seemed a little odd how she interrupted Cucca when Cucca was about to introduce her. I thought she might be trying to hide her identity for some reason by posing as a servant, but I never guessed she might be an elf, let alone possibly the Queen! Very much looking forward to seeing the full episode! :ubik:

Edit: I just realized right as Puck was about to say to Guts "Don't be impatient, it's ok. Because the King (Queen?) of Elves is..." At that moment Danan brings in the cake and Puck gets distracted. :ganishka: Now I really think she is the Queen!
 

Walter

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DANGERDOOOOM said:
But haven't the past pronouns of the King always been described as 'he'? I thought the Skull Knight referred to the Elf King as male at one point. Wish I could look up these points more thoroughly, but I'm in the process of moving with all my books packed away.

You're overlooking that Japanese doesn't use pronouns in the same way that English does. Just because Dark Horse chose to translate it as "he" doesn't mean that's how it's written in Japanese.

JMP said:
Good call, Skeleton! I was wondering if Danan was more than what she initially let on because it seemed a little odd how she interrupted Cucca when Cucca was about to introduce her. I thought she might be trying to hide her identity for some reason by posing as a servant, but I never guessed she might be an elf, let alone possibly the Queen! Very much looking forward to seeing the full episode! :ubik:

Edit: I just realized right as Puck was about to say to Guts "Don't be impatient, it's ok. Because the King (Queen?) of Elves is..." At that moment Danan brings in the cake and Puck gets distracted. :ganishka: Now I really think she is the Queen!

Goddamn, that's such a cool catch! That's awesome. Miura was covering his tracks and we didn't even realize it. :ubik: The gurus call her Danan before she introduces herself, but that could be because they'd already agreed on covering her identity, a conversation Cucca wouldn't have been present for.
 
JMP said:
Good call, Skeleton! I was wondering if Danan was more than what she initially let on because it seemed a little odd how she interrupted Cucca when Cucca was about to introduce her. I thought she might be trying to hide her identity for some reason by posing as a servant, but I never guessed she might be an elf, let alone possibly the Queen! Very much looking forward to seeing the full episode! :ubik:

Edit: I just realized right as Puck was about to say to Guts "Don't be impatient, it's ok. Because the King (Queen?) of Elves is..." At that moment Danan brings in the cake and Puck gets distracted. :ganishka: Now I really think she is the Queen!

I second Walter. Wow! You have an amazing eye! I would've never caught that.

I really hope she ends up being the queen!
 
Skeleton said:
When Danan was first introduced I wondered if she was an elf. Both her unique appearance/clothes and her name (which reminded me of the goddesa Danu/Dana and specifically the Tuatha Dé Danann) were what made me wonder. It's nice to see that confirmed. I can't wait to see the episode.

Was about to bring up how her name reminds me of the name of these legendary people. I just realized that a couple moments ago actually when seeing her true form, so you beat me to it. :guts:

Anyway, I'm just glad that the concept of "true form"/"true name" or changing form has been brought again, Ivalera made a big deal when explaining that to Isma. It's also interesting to notice that Shierke suspected that the moonlight boy could have been related to the elf ruler, and he always appeared very human in form, just like a child, so I have recently been kinda expecting to see the elf king (whoever the ruler would be) or some kind of elves to show the ability to change to a more human form. Didn't expect to have already seen one since last episode though, so that's a very pleasant surprise.

Incidentally, I was reading about fairies for most of the day, kinda preparing for the next episode a few days from now, but I also didn't expect it to see these spoilers so soon, so I'm pretty delighted to see these images while my mind was filled of information about the fables. I wonder if the wolf faced kids are also centauric (the image seems to be cut in their waist), but they could be Wulvers, which is a benign folk-fairy critter part of the folklore of Shetland Islands. The tall and dark figures in the background that Walter mentions could be based on Leshy.

This will probably be one of my favorite episodes, so I can't wait to see everything in its full greatness.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
wings1.png

I was staring at this picture of her for a long time because of how you can sort of see part of the page behind it.


wings2.png

Grail pointed out that you can almost make out more of her features, such as her wings. Very interesting! (Sorry for the crude line drawing.)
 
I do think you're onto something Gobolatula. This makes me even more excited since it seems the page before this or after this is also a huge panel. Seems like it's a really important reveal if there's two big panels for her. :ubik:

Add that to the stuff from Episode 345 that was already discussed and I am pretty much convinced we're meeting a Queen of the Flower Storm. Definitely didn't expect that after all the "King"-ing in the translations.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Kaladin said:
where are the dwarves though :judo: i need to see them now

We see a bunch of stout guys, all different races, on the group shot of the previews.

Feeblecursedone said:
big traditional fantasy elves?

For the record, Miura's elves are actually pretty traditionnal, more faithful to old legends and folklore than the high fantasy version popularized by Tolkien.

DANGERDOOOOM said:
Ah, well I assume the Japanese sentence must have somewhat of the same tone to what the translation version makes him say.

No, not really. Danan and him exchange a pretty standard Japanese greeting. You should read better translations.

JMP said:
Edit: I just realized right as Puck was about to say to Guts "Don't be impatient, it's ok. Because the King (Queen?) of Elves is..." At that moment Danan brings in the cake and Puck gets distracted.

Indeed, that reinforces the possibility, and even what Ged says as well, about possibly vexing the "King" by rushing to him and demanding an audience (instead of enjoying Danan's food first). I mentioned that in my second post in this thread actually. :schnoz:

Arvin said:
It's also interesting to notice that Schierke suspected that the moonlight boy could have been related to the elf ruler, and he always appeared very human in form, just like a child, so I have recently been kinda expecting to see the elf king (whoever the ruler would be) or some kind of elves to show the ability to change to a more human form.

Schierke's guess about the boy was based on very general information though, so it wasn't a specific indication of what kind of avatar the Elf ...Leader... can take. Especially since her assumption about the boy is mistaken.
 

Squiddot

The Falcon needs you. You don't need him!
Aazealh said:
For the record, Miura's elves are actually pretty traditionnal, more faithful to old legends and folklore than the high fantasy version popularized by Tolkien.

As are his trolls which were basically a more bestial and primitive take on the traditional Norwegian look, short furry with big noses and lionlike tails.

I really like that big shot of all the astral creatures. Can't wait to see what's been cropped out. Considering Miura's proven to have a lot of knowledge on traditional folklore I wouldnt be surprised if everything there has some sort of real world basis. I can definitley pick out the popular ones like gnomes, satyrs, centaurs and some goblins (loving their Jim Henson vibe!) But i really want to know whats the deal with the more individual figures on the right. Especially the one that looks to be dressed in magic user attire too.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
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Elfhelm seems to be a very interesting place, where gravity differs from that of the normal world. There is also really a whole bunch of creatures in there, too many to count. The tree is pretty badass, both inside and outside, yet the throne is appropriately low-key. But of course, the greatest part has to be Puck and Magnifico's long-running scheme coming to a ridiculous conclusion. :ganishka: As for the final reveal, well, it is as I thought. Awesome stuff. :guts:
 

Aazealh

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Pink-Dark-Boy said:
Ah nice, thanks for that! Just incase anyone is curious, it seems we are going to be getting another release next month.

I really, really wish this wasn't the first fucking thing people talk about every time. What's the point of even reading the issues if all people care about is when the next one's out.
 
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!!!!

what exactly happened to isidro on the 2nd page? was he pushed up by the wind?
Puck's brothers(?) are perfect :ganishka:
all these new Piskies have really nice designs, well done Miura! and we even got human sized elves, i did not expect that :ubik:
assuming those tree men are the same as the ones we saw in previous episodes, but these guys are moving, that's really cool
Serpico is popular with the ladies :serpico:, they seem to be associated with the wind from the looks of it
all these other creatures, this is so much in one episode :magni:
that spread of the tree....its massive..
puck and the schemers got arrested :judo:
the queen's elf design is amazing, she looks beautiful
this episode looks amazing, so many new things and a lot of dialog, can't wait to find out what's being said, can't wait for 9/23 :ubik:
 

Squiddot

The Falcon needs you. You don't need him!
What an absolutely spectacular episode. I can't remember the last time I read an episode so densely packed with so much character. I had to take a breather just about every panel to appreciate every tiny detail packed in. But this might just be because i'm a monster aficionado, especially the quirky folkloric flavour on show right now.

Loving Azan having a conversation with a couple of dwarves, as well as all the bits Kaladin mentioned :ganishka:

Can't wait to see what information is being divulged but holy shit guys THIS IS IT! Guts is literally FACE TO FACE WITH THE ELF KING QUEEN. I think i need to put myself into a coma until September.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Kaladin said:
what exactly happened to isidro on the 2nd page? was he pushed up by the wind?

Like I said 2 posts above yours, gravity works differently there.

Kaladin said:
Puck's brothers(?) are perfect

They are introduced as being his kindred, and bear similar sounding names, all starting with a P.

Kaladin said:
Serpico is popular with the ladies :serpico:, they seem to be associated with the wind from the looks of it

Yes, that is why the flock to him. They can feel he's got an affinity with Sylphs.

Squiddot said:
Loving Azan having a conversation with a couple of dwarves

They must have mistaken him for a long lost cousin. :iva: "Stout and bearded... We approve!"

Anyway, in this moment I have a special thought for Dark Horse's translator and his exceptionally stupid decision to create the mistranslated monstrosity that is "Hanabufuku King". Have fun explaining to the readers that it's really "Queen of the Flower Storm".
 

Squiddot

The Falcon needs you. You don't need him!
Wenliinvictus said:
Can someone explain to a complete layman how the Flower Storm King translation got so muddled up?

Walter posted this to the reddit thread.

For clarity, if Danan turns out to be the ruler of the elves, her gender isn't something Miura pulled a last-minute switcharoo on. It's just that all along it's been one of those ambiguous Japanese titles that all translators assumed gender for.
Miura never specified the gender (even though he easily could have with either 王様 for a king or 女王 for a queen). Instead, all along, he's just used the kanji 王 in each case, which means simply ruler/sovereign — and indeed, can also mean king OR queen, because Japanese is insane.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
What an episode! I can't wait to see the pages close-up when I get home from work (right now I'm looking at them on my phone). It's this type of episode that keeps me in awe of Miura's genius. The art is incredible, and so is the storytelling.

I love that Danan turned out to be the Queen/Sovereign/Ruler of the Flower Storm. Her design is incredible and I love that her reveal was tied to the conclusion of Puck and Magnifico's scheme. (I love that Guts is the only one who doesn't react when Puck assumes the throne. He's been with him on the road too long to be fooled by his antics. :guts:)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Here's a summary of the episode, courtesy of puella. As usual, be aware that there may be inaccuracies.

The episode title is Elfhelm.

It opens as the group ventures inside the forest, among huge trees. Isidro comments that he feels like he's become a dwarf. Serpico adds that it's bright, even though they are under the forest's thick canopy. Farnese comments that it's like the whole forest emits the light. Schierke explains thatiIt's because the forest is filled by an enormous Od. It's strong, yet very comfortable. This is the forest where the elf ...queen... lives.

Isidro says he feels like his body has become lighter. He jumps and just goes super high. Isma says it's great, it's like he's a grasshopper. Isidro is surprised and thinks he's flying, while Puck states that Isidro "has evolved". Ged brings the academic hammer down, explaining that it's because there's less elemental weight here. Schierke is curious, and Ged goes on. "Out of the elements that compose the world: fire, water, wind, earth... It's an element other than these four. It's the smallest type of being, the one that connects these four other elements. It's the elemental of weight." (He gives out a name, but I'll wait for the Japanese version to tell it.)

Ged keeps going: "These elementals are so small that I can't even see them with my spiritual sight. But when they gather, they make objects heavy and darken the sky, and they bring stuffiness and fixation on the mind. But most of them don't go well with the inhabitants of this forest." Basically, Miura just went deep Newtonian cosmological explanation on the Berserk world on us here.

Isma notes that her body is indeed light, while Isidro yells at her to not shake the branch they're clinging to. Four elves then appear: Pick, Peck, Poock and Pock. Puck salutes them, and they respond in kind: "Ahhh long time no see / Oh Puck, you live / He must have gotten lost while playing / I was lonely without you, though I didn't notice until now". As more and more elves and other creatures gather into the clearing, they comment that humans are there, that the magicians brought humans into the forest.

Serpico says this is great, and Schierke muses "Ahhh this is Elfhelm indeed". The piskies bid the humans welcome, and ask them where they come from, why they came here, whether they're searching for treasure, and so on. Then they say that first, they should sing a song, and there should be dancing (as they grab hold of Farnese and Casca). Serpico tries to intervene, but some beings notice him, and more specifically the fact he's "surrounded by wind". They deem him their comrade, and grab hold of him, carrying him off... While this time it's Farnese who looks helpless as she sees him go. Meanwhile, Isidro & Isma fall down on friendly unicorns.

Seeing all this, Cucca comments that it's "how elves are supposed to be", while Schierke says it's chaos. While all that happens, Ivalera is sulking in her corner: "Ahhh damn, these forest dwellers aren't very polite, it's truly a rural place" (she's speaking as if she was a sophisticated city girl). But then a bunch of piskies come to her, asking her if she comes from the outside world, and asking her to tell them her story. Her nature immediately takes over and she agrees to tell them her story: "The Great Adventures of Schierke and Ivalera".

Puck's brothers gather around Guts, commenting that "this human is a bit serious... I feel seriousness from him. I can't handle such a heavy thing. He doesn't go well with this forest." But they can appreciate the rarity of his kind, so they decide to look very serious, just like him. Furrowing their brows, they tell him: "You managed to come here so we'll appreciate you. But it's too early to be relaxed, if you want to go forward, you should first deal with the Four Kings of P" and so on. Guts internalizes his feelings: "No doubt, they're from the same family as Puck is".

Ged sees that they're overwhelmed, and says he can't handle it, so he asks Danan to please take care of it. She blows in her horn, and ask everybody to please go over to the house, which they do. Arriving at the tree, Isidro says that seeing it closely, it's more like a rock mountain than a tree. "We could even easily build a castle on top of it." Serpico says it's magnificent, literally a sight beyond the normal world. Farnese just marvels at how pretty it is, and says there are so many elves in there. Isma is interested by the fact it's a cherry tree, and specifically wonders how many fruits it can bear. Puck tells her that they eat as many cherries as they want, all year long. That's because they regrow immediately after being picked.

Meanwhile, Schierke wonders to herself how the King of the Flower Storm will be, he who rules over so many elves, who resides in such a huge spiritual tree... Danan leads the way, telling them they're going to get inside through this hole. Casca verifies that the flower petals are edible. Once inside, Guts says it's a labyrinth, and Serpico is grateful that their bodies are so light. Magnifico figures that the time is right to remind Puck of their agreement. Here is an approximation of their exchange below:

Magnifico: Lord Puck...
Puck: Hm, what?
Magnifico: Please take care of our previously agreed upon business?
Puck: What business?
Magnifico: You already forgot? I'll help you get on the throne.
Puck: Uhhh? Wha-? Ah, oh yeah, uh-huh sure.
Magnifico: First of all, please ask the current king to abdicate.
Puck: Ok, I'll grant it.

They arrive to the throne room, and Serpico says that "the tree itself is a palace". Danan gently complains to some guys dozing there that they've you already messed the place up even though it's only mid-day. She then asks brownies (a kind of folkloric creatures) to help clean, since they have guests! Trumpets are sounded, and Magnifico sighs with relief: they'll finally have their audience. Danan tells her minions to hurry to clean up.Isidro wonders who the hell Puck's boss could be? (and clearly assumes it's a male)

Puck then arrives on the throne, disguised as the king, with his brothers in toe. They proclaim: "Here comes the king of elves!" and order the assistance to "Bow down!" before him. Everyone is flabbergasted. "Is it a coup?! Puck is the king?!" The elves themselves seem unperturbed: "Oh, is that so? So what? Won't every day be a day off if we put him on the throne?" Magnifico is a wreck: "I messed up, how could I have expected that he was the king! I should pretend not to know anything, no matter what. At any rate, my great plan to pioneer the elf market is all over." Puck tells his subjects that if they flatter him now, Magnifico, the minister of economy of his new government, will reward them all with money!

The elves ask him whether he sold the country to humans, to which Puck says that yes, he did. Magnifico desperately tries to deny any implication. Elf guards yell "treason" as they subdue Puck and Magnifico. Poor Magnifico keeps trying to distance himself from the coup: "I don't know what he's talking about! Damn elves, whenever they open their mouths, only jokes come out!" But Puck foils his attempts: "My royal servant Magnifico, my plot to take over the state has been put in disarray." Magnifico thinks to himself that he must absolutely get out of there, but they're put in shackles, and the order is given to drag them away. Puck parting words to Magnifico are "we'll meet again in Valhalla".

Danan then intervenes, telling Puck that he shouldn't try to overthrow the state. She asks him if he became a bad boy when he went out into the outside world, gently chastizing him. Fully transformed into the Queen of the Flower Storm, she then turns to the group and tells them: "Dear travelers, welcome to our Elfhelm."
 
Thank you very much for the summary guys!

Puck's brothers provoking Guts for being too serious made me crack up :ganishka:

Seriously, a lot of cool stuff happening. I can't believe that we are so close to Casca's recovery, it almost feels unreal. The talk about this new element that only applies to humans is very interesting... Can't wait to hear more about that.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Thank you so much Aaz and Puella.

This is one of the episodes I thought about years ago, wondering what it would be like. I am not disappointed. What's in this episode far surpasses years worth of my imagined visions for what this place would be like.

Also, for years I had, for some reason, imagined the elf ruler to be somebody quite scary. I'm glad to see that it seems to be somebody who's very kind.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Gobolatula said:
Also, for years I had, for some reason, imagined the elf ruler to be somebody quite scary. I'm glad to see that it seems to be somebody who's very kind.

Actually, I think puella should be given props for imagining that there would be a kind Elf Queen, adept at healing, all the way back in 2002, when we had just learned about Elfhelm's existence. The story itself is strictly fan fiction, but she absolutely nailed that part.

Even Strix's depiction of the queen actually holds up pretty well, I think:

Queen_of_Elves-by_Strix-for_puella.jpg
 

Squiddot

The Falcon needs you. You don't need him!
Awesome work on the translation as always guys! The fact that Puck's kin are all just named with varying vowels is cracking me up. And there's some great nuggets buried in there.

This Element of Weight is such an out there thing to bring up. Its sounds a bit too abstract to fully grasp without direct translation so i'll avoid too much speculation. But its sounds like it has the potential to be quite a malicious force. Maybe it's just the imagery of "Darkening the skies" which we've already come to closely associate with another party. :ubik:

Coming up next month, Puck and Magnifico are executed for conspiring against the throne!
 
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