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Forum - View topicBESERK questions, abundant SPOILERS!
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mahoro
 Posts: 310 |
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These questions are for the Beserk experts out there. 1)What is the composition of the charm that Griffith has? Can it be destroyed? 2)Why did it spoiler['react'] to Gatsu when he held it as opposed to when anyone else did? 3)Was the spoiler[warning given to Gatsu by [Skull Knight?] Akuma aka Goki looking character, a prediction of the unbelievable turn of events that occurred at the end of the season?] I'm inclined to say yes, but if not, what exactly did Skull Knight mean? More importantly, I DO question spoiler[HOW and WHY Gatsu's departure and return served as the catalyst for all of the events at the end during the eclipse.] Any ideas on the how and why? If you can provide support to your analysis that would be great. 4)Also how exactly is Skull Knight 'related' and/or involved with Griffith and that group of nightmarish freaks? All I know is that he spoiler[bears the "mark" on its nose, also shared by Gatsu on his neck], other than that, what's his history? I've read many of the previous posts but not many people confirm the facts about this character. If more is explained in the manga please list the volume #s. 5) Where exactly does the anime start in comparison to the manga? 6)Where does the anime end in comparison to the manga? 7)Is the manga completely done? 8)Is there any -confirmed- reports that any production house has begun and/or is committed to do other seasons or OVAs? 9)Since spoiler[humanity and the loss of plays a integral part ]for many characters development of the series, what are your impressions of the critical turning points in Gatsu's development? Likewise with Caska and Griffith too. 10)How would you compare and contrast Gatsu and Griffiths humanity? I'm really interested in reading everyones analysis on how these two characters contrast (as a whole) and how their humanity(and the degrees of) is mirrored by one another at various point throughout the series. Thanks for the help everyone!
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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All, and I mean all, of your questions are answered in the manga. Also, that isn't the Skull Knight you're referring to, that's Zodd the Immortal. Skull Knight doesn't show up in the anime series because he only appears in the manga right near where the anime ends, so rather than introduce a new character right at the end, they held off.
So, just read the manga. It'll all make sense. Sorta. -Z |
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cyrax777
 Posts: 1825 Location: the desert |
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first volume comes out in october/november around then in the US.
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mahoro
Posts: 310 |
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Thanks for taking the time to reply Zac, but I was hoping for some actual concrete answers. I realize that most of the factual questions I asked can be verified within the manga, but it has not been translated completely, nor do I have any in my possession.
As such, if you or anyone else has an opinion or would be kind enough to answer questions nine and ten (neither of which are answered in the manga since it is your opinions), please do so. Thank you! 
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Mahoro:
Thank you for trying to initiate intelligent discussion in this forum. I have always respected your intelligence and I really appreciate you starting this thread. With the kind of stuff that's been posted lately, this is a godsend. The first question to me seems nebulous, so I'll go on with the last. Griffith and Gatsu are, in my opinion, designed to be polar opposites. Griffith is one of my all-time favorite characters, simply for how textured he is. Here we have an example of a fully developed and realized character. He is evil, no doubt, but he isn't cackling supervillain evil; he simply craves power and control, and the Egg of the King promises him that. He is still a loyal comrade, a brilliant and inspiring leader and a friend to his men. He is compassionate and smart... and yet makes fatally evil and selfish choices that we, as an audience, cannot help but sympathize with. He is a fully developed, three-dimensional personality and is a truly brilliant execution of what evil is in a human being. No in that he is blackness and despair itself; that would be cartoonish, and evil like that does not exist. Evil does not know it is evil. It assumes it is doing what's right and best, even though it's selfish and wrong. Griffith's humanity slips away from him thanks to these choices, and his rebirth as Femto is a symbol of how those evil choices transform him into something wholly unhuman. As his humanity is ripped from his grasp, we see that it is his completely understandable choices that led him there. We are all masters of our own fate. Kentaro Miura is a genius, by the way. Gatsu is a little more black and white, but not by much. We see him start as a brash, cocky warrior who quickly gets beaten down by emotion. It isn't battle that wears brave Gatsu down, it's love. Caska's love (particularly later) becomes an endless torment for Gatsu, something he is burdened with and yet will not allow himself to be freed of. Gatsu is shown as being endlessly stoic, and yet we see his anger manifest - when he goes "berserk" - when he loses his humanity and becomes a beast of pure vengeance - this is when he becomes Griffith. It's these choices, Miura says, that cause our humanity to fall away from us. Gatsu isn't evil, but his choices make him so under certain circumstances. Is Berserk Gatsu any different from Femto? No. He is one and the same in spirit. It still a beastial form, a being that was once human and yet becomes only what is necessary to attain desire. The difference between Gatsu and Griffith is that Gatsu desperately clings to his humanity and scrambles to save what scraps of sanity he has left, to prevent the beast from taking over. Here is where Gatsu is the hero. His real fight is the endless battle over the beast within. To defend Caska from what dwells underneath, to protect her from the consequences of his choices. That, I think is the dual theme of humanity in Berserk. -Z |
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Rebecca
 Posts: 57 |
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I'll try to tackle some of the other questions, since I've been keeping up with the manga, though I must admit that even after reading scanlations, the series is confusing.
A big warning, there are tons of spoilers in my answers below. I've used the spoiler code for a few of the big things (normally things only mentioned in the manga), but not for the smaller ones (things mentioned in the anime and more common things from the manga). 1)What is the composition of the charm that Griffith has? Can it be destroyed? This is one of the elements I found confusing, possibly because it was difficult to translate into English. In volume 24, we meet a witch who explains what the behelit is, but unfortunately I'm still confused about what it does exactly. spoiler[I know it forms a type of contract with a single person, and expects a sacrifice in return for granting the person their greatest desires. Once they're granted this power, they become apostles (this is the translation I've seen for these beings). Griffith's behelit is different, since God Hand are beings that are from a very deep and dark parallel dimension and merge with human bodies. As for whether or not they can be destroyed, I'm pretty sure they can't. Gatts has one, and the witch mentioned that they always find their way back to their intended owners (Griffith lost his in the series and it came back, Gatts I believe lost his in the manga and it too came back to him).] 2)Why did it 'react' to Gatsu when he held it as opposed to when anyone else did? I don't know if they ever mention why it did, but it's possible that it reacted because it knew that Griffith and Gatts were connected by fate. spoiler[It's also possible that they only react to others apostles or potential apostles. ] 3)Was the warning given to Gatsu by [Skull Knight?] Akuma aka Goki looking character, a prediction of the unbelievable turn of events that occurred at the end of the season? I'm inclined to say yes, but if not, what exactly did Skull Knight mean? More importantly, I DO question HOW and WHY Gatsu's departure and return served as the catalyst for all of the events at the end during the eclipse. Any ideas on the how and why? If you can provide support to your analysis that would be great. I'd have to say yes for the first part. As for the second, Gatts was the catalyst because of the connection he and Griffith had. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Gatts was the only one who didn't hate him, yet broke away from his charm and plans. I'm pretty sure that even if Gatts hadn't left, Griffith would've ascended to become the fifth member of God Hand, but breaking away probably sped it up. 4)Also how exactly is Skull Knight 'related' and/or involved with Griffith and that group of nightmarish freaks? All I know is that he bears the "mark" on its nose, also shared by Gatsu on his neck, other than that, what's his history? I've read many of the previous posts but not many people confirm the facts about this character. If more is explained in the manga please list the volume #s. Heh no one knows, since we haven't been told! We know that the Skull Knight fights against Griffith and Zodd (Zodd and him are immortal enemies), spoiler[that the Skull Knight is friends with the witch who knew about the behelit (volume 24), he supports Gatts from the shadows, and that he's a fairly kind character (he saves Luca from falling and being devoured by a wave of monsters, volume 20). Most fans believe that he was the original king of Midland (since the crest on his shield is nearly the same as the original king and he has something like a crown on his head), and I tend to agree with that theory. The mark on his nose I think is just the bone structure of his nose (or what was once a nose).] 5) Where exactly does the anime start in comparison to the manga? 6) Where does the anime end in comparison to the manga? Gatts' childhood is explained in volume 3, so I'd have to say it starts around there. There's a separate story that takes place during the first volumes before they start into the flashback issues with the Band of the Hawks. This ends in volume 13 with the Skull Knight rescuing Ricket, Gatts, and Caska from being killed. 7)Is the manga completely done? Nope! Latest issue was volume 25. 8) 8)Is there any -confirmed- reports that any production house has begun and/or is committed to do other seasons or OVAs? Yet another no. 9)Since humanity and the loss of plays a integral part for many characters development of the series, what are your impressions of the critical turning points in Gatsu's development? Likewise with Caska and Griffith too. I've always been impressed with Gatts' development and how he deals with things throughout the series (both anime and manga). There have been plenty of moments where he could've easily given in to his berserker side, but he still holds on to his love for Caska even when he's forced to decide between protecting her and accepting the power to defeat Griffith. I've never been impressed with Caska post-eclipse, mostly because it seems like she gave up any hope of living or surviving after so many of her friends died to protect her. We know she can still fight if she freaks out, but it just seems like she's a coward who's hiding from what happened to her instead of confronting it or trying to live with it. spoiler[Griffith's rebirth and sudden rise to power are incredible, especially since he still has that incredible charm and ability to draw powerful warriors to his side. He still has feelings for both Caska and Gatts, but they come out only in subtle actions and thoughts. I've always loved Griffith, and his reborn form (as well as newfound powers, such as being able to summon forth the spirits of dead soldiers/villagers to say goodbye to their families) add a whole new level to him that shows how compassionate (or manipulative, depending on his motives) he can be.] |
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mahoro
Posts: 310 |
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Thanks for the excellent replies Zac and Rebecca!
Zac, I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading your character analysis on Gatsu and Griffith and their humanity. I also concur with your comments, especially on how Gatsu and Griffith can be observed as polar opposites. IMO I have yet to regard Gatsu [pre-eclipse] as either evil or good, he just is a man trying to make his way in the world as he knows best. Though IMO for Gatsu he does not delibrately wish to harm people, whereas it is revealed through Griffith's subconscience that he accepts the road to his goal is paved with countless dead people -regardless if it was not at his hands- that he ultimately was responsible for their deaths. However, I had my doubts about Griffith's true motives from the very beginning and the extend he would -use- people to achieve his goal(s). One particular scene that personally chilled me to the bone was when he was talking to Charlotte [I believe that is the name of the princess] and informed her that he considered none of his followers as his friends.  All the while Gatsu listened from the bottom of the steps and absorbed the impact of Griffith's revealing yet betraying words. For myself that scene was an eye-opener, especially since it became abundantly clear Griffith was stalking Charlotte as his next conquest. And yes, "Kentaro Miura is a genius".  I just wished more insightful people like yourself took a moment and commented too. I am certain there are other Berserk afficionados who just lurk or missed this topic.
Rebecca, your candid comments and revelations of what is yet to come in the storyline and character develops, reinforced my interest and increased my curiousity. I am very glad you were willing to share your knowledge on the manga developments. As you can tell by many of my questions, I have not read the translated versions just yet and at the moment I am too busy to hunt down the scanlations.  Also, I actually thought for a moment that the Griffith's behelit reacted to Gatsu possibly because it recognized he had some quality of the king. And perhaps Gatsu might have been the true destined king and not Griffith. On another note, you wrote, "[Griffith] still has feelings for both Caska and Gatts, but they come out only in subtle actions and thoughts", is this after the eclipse? My impression of Griffith at his point was that everyone was expendable and he had absolutely no problems and/or showed little hesitation using everyone to further his own goal. Lastly, IMO Griffith at least showed his true colors to Gatsu when a)he let go of his hand [though it can be argued there was no way he could have support Gatsu's weight in his weakened state] and b)especially when he ordered the sacrifices to be made and forced a physically barrier/doors to separate Gatsu from himself. The images of the physical shock and utter disbelief on all of the remain Hawks was incredibly chilling, especially since we all knew what was going to happen next. 
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Legato 2057
 Posts: 437 Location: Soon to be Japan |
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Just a few add ons to some of the answers:
Volume 25 wasn't the last thing released. Volume 25 ends chapter 215-216. Chapter 228 was released in Young Animal las week. Volume 25 was the last Volume released but the chapters are still coming out. I beleive 26 is coming out in November or December. The Band of the Hawks (a fansub group) have scanlated all 25 volumes released, but I believe they stop distributing it after it got liscensed. The chapters after that are available RAW with seperate translations for those who just can't get enough (like me  )
As for some of the other Questions: 1) Griffith's charm can't be destroyed. There is nothing supernatural about his abilites as a leader. spoiler[This is arguable in the later chapters after he becomes reborn into Griffith again and leads the new Band of the Hawk, but even if he has the powers of Femto in Griffith's body, his charisma is still part of his nature.] IMO people are drawn to Griffith because of his unfailing devotion to his beliefs. Even tho he did sacrifice the Hawks in order to become Femto, they would not have been accepted as a sacrifice unless he truly cared about them. This is explained in the first story arc which was not shown in the anime. 2) This was never explained in the manga, but I do like Rebecca's explanation. 3) Skullnight does show up before the eclipse in the manga. spoiler[In the manga, Rickert is saved by Skull Knight when the apostle kills all of the remaining Hawks at the campsite]. 4) I don't remember seeing the brand on the Skull Knight. Are you sure he has it on his nose? Either way, the only concrete thing we know about SK is that he is rivals with Zodd (spoiler[I don't think they were ever truly enimies until Zodd became part of Griffith's New Band of the Hawk]) and that he has sworn to kill Void. Void is the God Hand with the huge brain and his face peeled back. The general consensus is that SK is Gaiseric, the first King of Midland. While it has not been stated by Muria, the resemblance is way too similar. The best speculation that I have read is the Void was Gaiserics Prime Minister and he somehow betrayed him. I beleive that Gaiseric was ready to sacrifice his kingdom but Void interrupted the ceremony and made the sacrifice instead. Most of the other questions ahve allready been answered so I'm going to sign off here. I'm with Zac here: Thanks Mahoro, I was starting to get bummed out with the lack of intelligent discusions (at least ones I care about) on the forums I visit. |
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AMARANTH
Posts: 8 |
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I have two simple question for such a great anime:
Why did they stop making the rest of the unfinished animated version? and are there plans to continue? |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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"Why did they stop making the rest of the unfinished animated version? and are there plans to continue?"
SIGH. |
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Legato 2057
Posts: 437 Location: Soon to be Japan |
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Ok, The first question makes no sense at all. and the second question was allready answered |
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JETBLACK87
 Posts: 1073 |
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can't we be content for what the anime creators made? and if not read the manga. I see the show as being a preview for the manga. they're not gonna give you all of it. they want you to buy more.
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SkullKnight
 Posts: 317 Location: Deep South |
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That analysis of Gatsu and Griffith made my day
 . The only question I have is how does ot explain the creation of Gatsu's Left arm. I"ve read bits and pieces all over the place, but does it explain is mech arm?. Who created it? is it the same guy who made his sword?
I find symbolism all over the place in this story. For one the left arm (sinister) gets removed. Did Kentiuro decide which one on purpose or out of practicality? |
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Legato 2057
Posts: 437 Location: Soon to be Japan |
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Guts got the Dragon Slayer (the "slab of iron"), armor and the metal arm, all at the same time. spoiler[Goto made the DS and the armor, Rickert actually made the arm. Although it was probably Goto's idea, Rickert made it.]
I could be wrong, but I don't think that it mattered which arm was taken. |
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The Lamb
 Posts: 32 Location: London |
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Guttsu is right handed, so that means his left arm, and right eye are his weakest sides.
I think Miura simply cut out various of Guttsu's weakest elements. spoiler[Gattsu never had his own Behelit, just one he stole. The witch mentions that it will eventually return to it's destined user.] PS. Does anyone think the Golden Age segment of the story arc (the part covered by the anime, volumes 1 and 3 to 13) has the same flavour, theme and weight as Macbeth? |
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