Freshmaker
I am Korean.
Yeah, but they needed the gang for a reason.
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Berserk |OT| - Big men, bigger swords, OFF THE BOAT - Berserk #344 24/6/2016
- Thread starter EvilKatarn
- Start date
Yeah, but they needed the gang for a reason.
And right after the fight, Serpico explains that there was a tacit agreement between the two that Guts wouldn't use anything but his sword. No arm-cannon, no knifes, no bombs.
I would love to see him tackle the titans though. The two universes are not really comparable, but the fight would be funny, gory and awesome.
Aizo
Banned
Is that not his voice in Forces?
EvilKatarn
Member
Watched the Golden Age through anime series/OVA. Amazing, brutal, stunning. Second favorite only to Hellsing and its OVA story.
My mate who read on from that point says the series takes a massive nose dive and just gets well... weird from his description.
Can anyone weigh in on this?
My mate who read on from that point says the series takes a massive nose dive and just gets well... weird from his description.
Can anyone weigh in on this?
EvilKatarn
Member
The Lost Children arc that's pretty much right after Golden Age is one of the best arcs in Berserk. Of course you can't beat Golden Age, but Lost Children is freaking amazing and I hope the next movie can do that arc justice.
And if you read that, you'll probably be hooked anyway.
That was just his bible!
Johnlenham
Member
Yeah after Golden age it goes pretty balls to the wall crazy, strange and a whole new level of fucked up.
I remember the inquisitor or some guy who is hardcore religious(?) smashing peoples faces in with a mace quite alot. Its been a good two years since I read it though.
The overall mood changes quite a bit. Not so much that it gets less serious, but the somewhat realistic medieval stuff shifts to weird fantasy a lot. It also gets really, really dark later down the road, with the Lost Children and inquisitor arcs.
After that, it just becomes crazier and crazier: huge monsters, impossible odds, badass villains.
It got a bit stale during the last arc though, the situation doesn't move forward a lot. The last released episode seems to finally be going in the right direction, but it's been years since anything major happened.
Naked Snake
Member
Of the top of my head, four people, but there might be more I'm forgetting (it was a long time ago), a couple of them even read the manga scanlations.
I had the Dreamcast game, but gave it away recently with the console and all its stuff in a big purge of my stuff (I never liked the DC as a console, a blasphemous thing to say on GAF)
Favorite? I was nearly brought to tears.
I thought it was awesome because
F'd up but great scene. Even though we know why Guts was such an asshole in the first few chapters pre flashback, it's really that volume where the truly post eclipse heroic Guts starts to appear. He goes from humans are weak fuck everyone to caring for people.
1. The fact that Farnese was wrong about Guts and he was the one that saved her ass both figuratively and literally. 2. Guts having the image of Griffith raping Casca just as the horse was going to mount Farnese and him losing it in rage. 3. The actual kill where he beheads the horse but doesn't behead Farnese throuh the swing.
CorporateClown
Member
Yeah, I found the transition really interesting how he gradually turns back into the person he was while with the Band of the Hawk.
"Thanks, now I'm in a really foul mood". Couple of panels of ass kicking ensues and then there's Guts, breathing heavily while the sun rises behind him.
Fuuuuck I want more Berserk.
Yeah, I read that part, but it's been a year since then.
Just checked and it seems there have not been any new chapters since January.
As much of a bastard as he is, the moment that equalled the Golden Age for me is, in direct contrast Gut's downfall, is when Griffith defeated the Kushan Emperor and brought forth Falconia. I can't think another manga where I was struck with such awe. I was totally right there with the people of Midgard, hardly believing my eyes at the beauty. Dat God-tier Miura art. But it also felt like the turning of an age for the manga. For all the terrible things Griffith has done, I wonder if he's going to turn the world into something better with it. He's already united humanity and the apostles in a peaceful banner, of all things.
EvilKatarn
Member
Do we have our first Griffith apologist?
Discussing this shit is fun.
I'm just kidding.
Or he is going to go the route of Full Metal Alchemist and try to sacrafice EVERYONE. Griffith manipulates people around him into doing what he wants in contrast to Guts who has come to rely on his new family and to great harm puts himself in danger to protect them.
That's certainly a possibility, but I am leaning towards that not happening because, at his core, Griffith is a wholly selfish bastard. What he does, he does to serve himself, not others around him. And what he wants is the kingdom and to be a great ruler. His goal was always a kingdom, and now that he's finally got it, what can he possibly want more that he'd sacrifice it? He even said in his encounter to Guts that his dream has not changed since the eclipse. He's definitely using the people of midgard, but I interpret it that he wants to live out the fantasy of being an awesome king, so him sacrificing his kingdom for something or someone makes little sense to me. There isn't a higher level for him than what he has now, atleast as far as we know.
That part didn't do much for me. Griffith is completely inscrutable post-Femto, and the Kushan emperor is a completely generic villain. He has no motivation or personality besides lusting for power. That's about as boring as you can possibly write an antagonist. The Golden Age was interesting to me because of the conflict of Guts, Griffith, and Casca as characters - their differing world views, motivations, desires, emotional baggage, etc. New Griffith and Kushan emperor may as well be blank characters.
This is essentially why the series has sucked for over a decade. Miura injected a bunch of characters who bring nothing interesting to the human conflict aspect of the series. Casca, previously a great character, is now also blank. Ishidoro and Schierke are mostly just cookie-cutter personalities that I've seen in a million other comics. Farnese and Serpico - who have the potential to be interesting - are pushed to the back most of the time and have largely just become submissive to the less interesting characters. Guts is completely aloof, and doesn't really interact with anyone else on a personal level. The last good interaction I can think of was the conflict between Guts and Serpico, and man that was a long time ago. Pretty much the only one who talks to Guts these days in Schierke, and it feels like she is just there to create some kind of creepy pedophillic undertones.
Incrutable villains are fascinating to me. It's interesting to try and figure them out. And since he controls casaulity, Kushan wasn't a generic villain by accident. He was written to be that way, by Griffith as much as by Miura. Griffith is writing a fairy tale with himself as the knight in shining armor, and I'm really engaged trying to figure out for what purpose. There is an answer, since Miura is clearly moving with a purpose in mind, but it's fun to try and figure out the mystery.
As for Gut's family, I think they reflect nicely enough on Guts himself, since him being this stoic, zen like warrior is interesting when you consider where he came from, and it shows how much the people around him changed him. It's certainly more interesting than the "Fuck everyone" personality he had post-eclipse, pre-new family. It's a natural evolution of his character, but that was when he was truly a blank character and he needed to get past it. The new family helps him do that. I can see why people might not find them as engaging, but I wasn't crazy about the original hawks (pippen, judeo, etc) either. They're worth is validated by the effect they have on guts, but aren't as interesting themselves. And Schierke just has a precocious crush, and the nudity, especially of young characters, actually feels like its been significantly ramped down. They don't even almost get raped as often, unlike Jill from the Lost Children arc.
There is a fan-made English patch if you either play on a modded PS2 or through Emu. I've played a few chapters of it and it's exactly what you'd think of a Berserk type game. Lots and lots of killing with a pretty smooth fighting animation beat em up type combat.
EvilKatarn
Member
I want to know more about these games as well. There was a LTTP thread over on gaming side about the Dreamcast game but the PS2 game definitely seems like a more mysterious thing to me. Plus I think it looks a lot more fun from the videos I've seen.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
Only the greatest manga ever written. Thanks for the OP.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
A Berserk game made by FROMSOFT would be more fitting. Hell, the Souls games have plenty of references to Berserk.
Come on now, give the dude some credit. He created that apostle birthing pit that required sacrificing pregnant women to get those demon soldiers of his.
The Dreamcast Berserk game is a standalone story.
The PS2 Berserk game covers volumes 22-27 with an added sidestory.
Other games with basically a love letter to Berserk would include Demons Souls, Dark Souls and Dragons Dogma.
I own both the dreamcast and ps2 berserk games are they are great and really there should be another. I mean they released some Fist of the Northstar games recently, GIVE US BERSERK.
The PS2 Berserk game covers volumes 22-27 with an added sidestory.
Other games with basically a love letter to Berserk would include Demons Souls, Dark Souls and Dragons Dogma.
I own both the dreamcast and ps2 berserk games are they are great and really there should be another. I mean they released some Fist of the Northstar games recently, GIVE US BERSERK.
Platinum is just my go-to dev for fantasy projects. If I wanted a Death Note, Silver Spoon or Shokugeki no Soma game made, I'd want Platinum to do it.
A Berserk game made by FROMSOFT would be more fitting. Hell, the Souls games have plenty of references to Berserk.
See Dragon's Dogma. Both sports Gut's and Griffith's armours and weapons - and the female npc is kinda Casca like.
Platinum is just my go-to dev for fantasy projects. If I wanted a Death Note, Silver Spoon or Shokugeki no Soma game made, I'd want Platinum to do it.
If you want a DMC/Bayonetta Berserk game then sure Platinum. If you want a Dark/Demons Souls Berserk game then From Software.
I would also prefer From Software to make a Berserk game. The feels.
It's true that most of the Hawks were boring, 1-dimensional characters. The key difference is that those characters were kept in the background most of the time. Griffith, Guts, and Casca - the interesting, human characters - were in the foreground. They got most of the dialogue and scenes, and as a result, there was a lot of development in individual characters and in their relationships.
The characters who are in the foreground now are the boring ones - Schierke and Ishidoro. The characters who have the potential to be interesting - Serpico and Farnese - are in the background.
The result of this is that there has been almost no interesting dialogue and extremely little character development in the past decade. The only real changes we have seen is the intensifying of Schierke's moe crush. I guess Farnese has changed, in that she went from an interesting, conflicted character who engaged directly with people into someone who is boring and submissive.
distantmantra
Member
I bought the game in Japan back in 2006. It's been years since I played, so I don't know how it holds up now, but I loved it back in the day.
I think you're misremembering how much conflict there was back in the old days. Guts and Caska were both as submissive to Griffith as Gut's friends are to him, seeing him as a wise and powerful leader. Guts tended to keep most of his conflicts internal and only Caska and Guts had an equal standing where their world views conflicted openly. We got insight into Griffith's mind occasionally, but he was largely inscrutable then too.
As for the development of the hawks, Ishidoro and Schierke are developing new world views as they get out into the world. Schierke's discussion with whats her face, Griffith's psychic child, was interesting foreshadowing on what will happen. I will agree that Serpico is static as of now, since all their conflict seemed resolved in their last fight, And, as I said, Guts often contemplates his new allies, particular with his inner beast encouraging him to kill them. I will agree they are not interesting enough on their own, but like I said, the effect they have on Guts validates them.
Mister Wilhelm
Member
Golden Age = one of the greatest works of fiction in history. Rivals most classic tragedies and surpasses some.
Lost Children is good.
Everything else ranges from ok to pointless.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
Golden Age is the most boring arc IMO. Black Swordsman and Lost Children are excellent though.
Yes, there would be no point in throwing away his kingdom. It is now the safest place in the world and eventually more people will go there seeking refuge.
The city contains a god hand, apostles, and a growing population of unsuspecting humans to their true nature.
What Miura plans to do with that scenario is anyone's guess but hopefully it will not be another
eclipse and he has more surprising plans for an apocalypse setting.
Johnlenham
Member
u wot. madness.
The Omega Man
Member
I love love this series, I will sue Japan if this guy doesn't finish the story,I want a whole prequel arc about Skull Knight.
RabidTanooki
Member
Just showing my respect. Favorite manga of mine by far. Thanks for the OT
Well if it gets ruthless again I'll be happy.
Now that it's in reprint I'll probably pick it up.
Armor of Guts and Griffith from Dragons Dogma.
my guts and casca
this is the greatest manga i've ever read. its actually the only one. but i stopped at like book 30. i really need to catch up. so i'm staying out of here for spoilers.