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You are referring to the end of the Tower of Conviction. When the Egg Apostle sacrificed the world and gave birth to Femto's bitchin' new mortal vessel. That was the beginning of the transition. The death of Transcended Apostle Ganishka was the end.

Slann explained it to Guts in a cave that was also the inside of her womb. I forget exactly what she said.

What's Skull Knight doing?

One of the rare occasions where he isn't spouting exposition. In that page he's taken Apostle Rosine's behelit and swallowed it. It is suggested somewhere that he's swallowed a great many behelit stones. They all fuse together inside him, creating some weird time-space-causality distorting effect. He can then put the blade of his sword down his throat and uhhh...soak up the uh, energies. Yeahhh, I don't know the exact processes behind this stuff.

He swallowed a bunch of rocks that can summon a weird pocket dimension and then put their combined power on his sword. It just works.

Or wait, do you mean currently in the plot? He hasn't been seen since the Ganishka debacle. Since the Godhand can just hang out in the real world now, I assume he's looking for his boy Void so he can stab him with that nifty behelit sword.

What's Zodd doing?

He is still in Femto's service, so one would assume that he divides his time between hanging around the capital city Falconia and fucking about killing classical monsters and/or weird Lovecraftian beasties.

I actually don't recall if he made an appearance during the Rickert chapters. I know Locus, Irvine and Rakshas did, but I would have to go back and check if Zodd and Grunbeld were present in town.

Nevertheless there's been nothing to suggest a falling out between Zodd and Femto as of yet. I think Zodd is sort of his replacement Guts in the new band.

Time to find out how accurate I was.

Seems like I remembered it pretty well. I'm going to dump some pages of Berserk. 18 pages from various volumes, focusing on Emperor Ganishka.

Here we see Daiba, leader of the Emperor's mage corps. They inhale a little bit of the Emperor's mist form and it lets them control these humanoid animals that they use to wreck stuff. Daiba has a whole Hookah full of Ganishka mist.

They're also his research guys. They tell Ganishka about all the weird magic rituals he gets into.

But why would Ganishka try to go up against the Godhand, who create all apostles (including him) and are essentially the Gods of this setting? Well, in his own words...

There's actually more behind his bluster here than royal pride and ambition. Like all apostles, he's just a thoroughly miserable person, driven by deep insecurities and a tragic backstory.

Next we move on to the good part.

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Yanno, I love discussing Berserk, but I rarely really get to. I feel like a lot of people don't pay that much attention to it. Like it's just some silly gore comic with an edgy badass protagonist, but the story is actually really interesting.

But nooooo, lets talk about golden age Griffith some more, ffs

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Volume 27 was released 13 years ago in Japan.

Rakshas with the necessary exposition following this scene.

This is a LOT of effort to put into the backstory of a pure cannon fodder enemy. Like, the Daka never do ANYTHING but get killed en masse by Griffith's Neo Hawks. I think like one time they mowed down a bunch of normal humans in Vritannis. But the important take away here is that big giant mass of monsters sewed together and the effect it has on fetuses. Fetii?

Ganishka begins to have second thoughts about getting into a scuffle with his God.

But if at first you don't succeed...

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So that's pretty much what happened with the whole twice born Apostle-God thing.

And here is the result.

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>I feel like a lot of people don't pay that much attention to it. Like it's just some silly gore comic with an edgy badass protagonist, but the story is actually really interesting.
To be honest, the story sounds edgy and over the top as fuck.

Is there anything of value I'm supposed to glean from a story about gritty fantasy super saiyans fighting each other with gore?

Ganishka grows really big really fast. He rains meteoric hell upon a several mile radius and stomps a bunch of people, goes completely nuts, and then finally gets stabbed in the face around here: After that he becomes known as the Yggdrasil World Tree or something, because those pool noodle arms of his look like branches. Apparently they have astral portal powers or something, I forget what they said about that. And that's pretty much it I think.

>To be honest, the story sounds edgy and over the top as fuck.
Sure but it's really well written. The story and characters really aren't two dimensional by any means. Their motivations, the lore, the setting, it's all really well put together. It's not the LOLBLOODANDRAPE book that a lot of people think it is, or perhaps more sadly, want it to be. A lot of people are mad that there's been any character development or change in the plot. Almost insulted by it.

>Colossal inflatable tube man
>Chaotic evil outsider
What else?

Wonder what happened to the artificial womb after Falconia was created, the place where the more bestial apostles are hiding seems like the ideal security measure to prevent anyone from getting to close.

>Wonder what happened to the artificial womb
I assumed it was destroyed when Ganishka expanded out of it. If it wasn't ripped apart giving "birth" to him, it was surely crushed afterward as he quickly became a great deal bigger than any mountain.

Character development like this emperor guy turning into a giant world-dick?

Because all I'm saying is just another character trying to the best, the very best, like no one ever was, and getting stronger by unlocking new stages of super-saiyan-ness using fictional ritual no. 2436345.

I'm not convinced this is strong, meaningful character development.

>saying
Seeing.

It takes the idea of a greek tragic hero struggling against fate and adapts it as a manga with a gritty setting. And not just fate, but cosmically ordained, lovecraftian fate that stands between a man and the ones he loves.

Before I read it I thought it was the edgelord manga described in , but it does develop beyond that as that user stated. Mercenaries aren't nice or kind, and it treats nobility with a surprising amount of honesty: they're dicks seeking power, not heroes for the most part.

It isn't astoundingly deep, but it's a good dark fantasy world. The tragic hero trope and dark fantasy go together pretty well. It's also been going since 1989, so it's entirely possible that it's in the same situation Watchmen finds itself in today: many other things are influenced by it, so it isn't shocking or novel to current readers.

>it isn't shocking or novel to current readers.
If it's good, it shouldn't have to be.

Pardon?

Guts himself has come quite a ways in terms of motivation and character growth. His character arc travels a lot of really dark roads, but there's more to appreciate than the grimdarkness of it all if you care to look.

The problem is that a lot of people focus on the gorey and dark bits of the world and decide not to pay that much attention to everything else. They just sort of write it off, either because they're just looking for the next cool fight or black moment, or because the tone is so dark that they just cynically roll their eyes at it all.

>Guts himself has come quite a ways in terms of motivation and character growth.
Has he? Or is he just some guy with plot armour that the story keeps taking dark, edgy shits on?

How much of his character and development can be summed up as 'sad things happened, now he's grumpy'?

Ganishka as well, as I mentioned earlier, is more than just ambition and wanting to be the best. At the core of it, what motivates him isn't pride, but fear. He was a man who was always afraid of everything. Always looking over his shoulder, since he was a small child. His idea was that if he conquered, if he got bigger and more powerful than anyone else, that he wouldn't have to feel so scared any more.

It's why his apostle form is a huge mist cloud that he hides behind. That's why he HAS to be the best, because he can't bear to live any other way.

I was starting to stat the tree monster form of Ganishka.

>How much of his character and development can be summed up as 'sad things happened, now he's grumpy'?
Not much, as far as I'm concerned. He certainly didn't go to the Tower of Conviction to save Casca because he's grumpy. He didn't befriend others and travel across the sea because he was grumpy and sad. He still wrestles with his grumpiness, in the form of a pure embodiment of his anger and regret and fear that appears as a hellish hound (a throw back to when Casca called him a "mad dog") but I really believe that there's more to Guts than that.

>Golden AGe Griffith wanking
This. I've tried and tried to get my irl friends to check it, but most are repulsed either by fuqboi griffith been gay or him turning to evil.

>B-but the manga is good!
Nobody wants to read something that's not coloured or has some good tits in it.
Disregarding the sheer difference in skill compared to what they DO read; Fairy Tail/One Piece

Yeah I realize some people will just never be able to get into it. It just saddens me that I've found so few people that really want to discuss it in any capacity beyond gushing over golden age, talking about what an edgy invincible bad ass Guts is, or getting mad about Griffith.

Berserk has great tits in it they're just usually attached to monsters

Part of the reason is we just don't know much.

Another issue is it hurts, because I know it will be ever be finished

Berserk died on the boat

That's because, like with a lot of other manga, most people only watch the anime and often, only the first season.

Don't even get me started on the cgi anime

That and Slaanesh has my "normal" friends convinced I've got fucked up fetishes.
I don't even play Chaos dammit!

True that.

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They're finally with the elves and are now reconstructing Casca's memories.
inb4 one of the inexperienced mages goes crazy from the mind-rape

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You don't even need to go that far. The second issue has guts fucking some woman that turns into a monster

I can't see it happening any other way, sadly. Nice things don't happen in this story, unless it's to set someone up for even greater horror later.

And then she beats his ass while flirting like it ain't no thing.

Lots of nice things have happened lately. Isidro has an adorable mermaid girlfriend. He's living the dream. And Farnese just got to vicariously feel the thrill of having sex with her idol. Schierke too.

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Ain't nobody interested in those low level breasts. If I really wanted to show off, I'd have hunted down Slan's literal mountainous flesh mounds from the eclipse.

Possessed Farnesse is best girl

Man,.Slann really wants Guts hard iron slab

I ship the fuck out of Isidoro and Schierke though.
Get it, since the manga almost died on a ship..too soon, I know

>And Farnese just got to vicariously feel the thrill of having sex with her idol. Schierke too.
What chapter is this from?

>Farnese just got to vicariously feel the thrill of having sex with her idol. Schierke too.

What, did they relive Caskas memories?

Possessed horse is one of the most sympathetic characters in literature. All those years of being ridden and he couldn't get one ride of his own.

And yeah, Slan has been yandere for Guts since volume 3 I think. Real fatal attraction thing going on there. I wonder what might become of it...or if Miura will live long enough for it to play out.

the newest, related to

Latest chapter.

Yep. They're seeing a bunch of important scenes from her point of view. They can also feel her emotions during the events.

>all those hints of the history between Zodd, Skull Knight, and Flora

"I would have liked to have seen your bashful smiling face one last time"

Skull Knight had a hard life

I'd like to ship him with Schierke, but Isma has really grown on me. I could go either way at this point. She'll probably die somehow along with Manifico and Roderick anyway.

Sometimes I wish Miura would just write a damn book. I love the man's art but I need more of the story. The thought of it never being finished just kills me.

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Guts will kill Griffith and die in the attempt

It will be left to Isidro to be the hero the future needs

There are a lot of people who hate these characters because they think it takes away from the cool parts. A pity.

Perhaps. I honestly don't see Isidro dying any time soon. I'd expect Rickert or even Serpico to bite the dust long before him. I really enjoyed watching him overcome his self doubt and steadily improve.

So is the Moon-light Child the same as the Demon Child, without Griffith?

Do you think Guts and Casca will have another kid?

Stat them, to keep this Veeky Forums

Well Schierke thought that moon kid was the Lord of Elfheim in some sort of disguise, but that seems less likely now. Danann hasn't said anything about that. So the theory that it's Griffith's vessel getting hijacked by the will of Guts' cute mutant baby is currently the most likely scenario, as far as I know.

I don't think Guts and Casca will have another kid. It remains to be seen if Casca even wants to be sane.

I think it's still pretty Veeky Forums. Berserk has been inspired by and has been the inspiration for a lot of pretty neat stuff. As a fantasy comic with a lot of western mythology peppered in, it could easily be used as inspiration material for tabletop.

Dunno, at first i kinda agreed on that, specially Isidoro. But after some time they all have grown on me, plus moments like the ones you posted are quite entertaining.

They don't know what they're talking about. The carefree kids amplify the apprehension and anxiety I feel about their fate to absurd degrees.

Bad shit will happen inevitably. What, we don't know - but all evidence points to time repeating itself, and Guts and Schierke having to take on the roles of that witch and Skullknight - which means fucking everyone will fucking die.

Friendly reminder that the entire band of the Hawk are languishing in the eternal torture of the abyss of hell since Griffith sacrificed them.

Yes, even Knife Bro and Big Guy

It's what Guts fights for though. Griffith abandoned his humanity and sacrificed his loved ones to achieve his (destined) dreams of conquest and power, while Griffith fights to keep his loved ones and humanity.

You can't have Guts abandon his humanity without a fight or it will undermine the whole point of the his character.

>You can't have Guts abandon his humanity

Arguably Gut's entire character arc is his struggle between humanity and being a mindless engine of rage and vengeance

Don't you mean
>
It's what Guts fights for though. Griffith abandoned his humanity and sacrificed his loved ones to achieve his (destined) dreams of conquest and power, while Guts fights to keep his loved ones and humanity.

Yes, my bad. I am very tired.

youtube.com/watch?v=Mva6nc7YBpk&t=0s

As shitty as the anime is at least they kept the composer

Actually, it's not really a struggle.

More like it's a transformation from one coagulated mess of humanity and being a mindless engine of rage and vengeance - and being a duality of an actual human being and being a mindless engine of rage and vengeance.

Friendship and his love for Casca have made Guts more human, but they've also turned him more into a raging berserking beast.

Guts knows greater heights, but also deeper depths.

I think the reason people hone in on Golden Age so much is because The Band of the Hawk arc is the most 'traditional' shonen in structure, and then it all gets subverted and twisted to hell in the Eclipse. It's also the most world building we get, before and after it really is just EVERYTHING IS SHIT MONSTERS EVERYWHERE WORLD ENDING AHH beyond brief snippits like with Op Pic

I can agree with that. The more he pulls away from his self destructive vengeance for Casca's sake, the more conflicted he becomes and the stronger his inner turmoil grows. He still hasn't really let go of that hatred and fear that ruled his mind for so long. He's bathed in the interstice so long that it became part of him, inseparable from his darkest thoughts and emotions, and boy is it ever pissed off about this silly elf quest shit.

That is a gross oversimplification of the world building in Berserk. It ignores so much of the story that it makes me doubt you've actually read it, and if you have why you'd try so hard to ignore everything.

What do you think about the theory that the reason Guts is able to defy fate and Causality is because he's technically dead as far as the universe is concerned, a heavy metal version of Macduff, torn from a death mothers womb etc

And just like Macduff in the play, able to defy the weird

I think that assumes a lot. I'm more inclined to believe he's just an extraordinary person not through birthright, but through his will to keep struggling forward. It's what separates him from the apostles, who went through bad shit and gave up on being human because it was too hard.

>dick
>suckin
>lips

I think you're both right and wrong.

Part of it is Guts' birth. Part of it is his character. Part of it is Guts' awareness of fate on a level beyond most people. Part of it is Guts' having lived quite some years right next to the fated next Godhand. Part of it is the Skullknight interacting and saving Guts - although that is late in Guts' story.

I do however think that Skullknight is the most important factor here. I imagine it like Skullknight is transferring some of his fate defiance onto Guts by interacting with Guts and his friends and allies so much.

Like new waves in the water getting amplified by waves that came before the new waves.

Thanks, this chapters are good