Berserk Chapter 363 Discussion
- Thread starter lunairakozeWW
- Start date
- #44
I have a lot to say, so stick with me for a while.
Lot of people seem to be very disappointed with the "filler" section of this chapter. I didnt like it too. Especially the jokes, constant Stars Wars references, and the fact that Puck has essentially become a reference machine at this point. Miura is not good at comedy and I dont think he can pull it off because it never fits in Berserk.
But, lets not forget some minor things this filler segment achieved because I hardly saw anyone talking about it so far. We saw Isidro's expertise in combat in unnatural areas like this (which might be very useful later) and Isma's ability to tame creatures like Kelpie. But the most important bit was Schierke (and Guts later in the chapter) realizing that they have reached the end of their journey and there's nothing else really to do on this island.
I get the criticism about the filler segment, but I think some of it comes from the long wait for this chapter coupled with the hype that the enormous info dump in the previous chapter created. But I think judging a chapter or an arc while being at the mercy of the release schedule is not fair. Tell me honestly, how many of you would have thought that the Uprising arc in Attack on Titan (which lasted ~2 years - 2013 to 2015) and the Farmland Saga in Vinland Saga (which lasted ~4 years - 2009 to 2013) would turn out to be among the best arcs in the series if you were reading them monthly and not binging it? I am sure that even decades ago, people didnt like the sudden change in tone from the Black Swordsman arc to the Golden Age arc (which lasted ~5 years - 1991 to 1996) without knowing how its going to come together later. So lets hold off from shitting on chapters like this until we reach the end of the arc. If this chapter was meant to be a "calm before the storm", I am perfectly fine with it. Fiction, in general, should not be judged according to how it is released.
One of my favorite moments in the chapter was when Gedfring tells Guts that he needs to decide what to do with his rage. To which Guts looks at Casca smiling, ponders for a moment, pulls out his sword, laughs, thinks about Griffith, and just shrugs the thought off. And I have never seen Guts this much happy. He thinks about how their journey has finally come to an end and there's nothing to do in the island other than napping and swinging his sword. And at the end of the chapter, the moonlight boy finally arrives at Elfhelm.
I didnt like the Isidro parts of this chapter and the changes in artstyle too. But I have seen people going as far as to say that Miura's writing is shit now. I believe Miura still can really plan out his story very nicely. Think back to the beginning of everything Miura did with Guts and Casca's relationship, their child, and Griffith since the Golden Age to this day with chapter 363.
[Golden Age]
- Casca gets pregnant after having sex with Guts
- Casca gets raped by Femto corrupting her pregnancy
- Casca gives birth to a demon fetus
[Conviction]
- The demon child warns Guts about the incarnation ceremony
- The demon child protects Casca from Mozgus
- The Egg of the Perfect World comes across the injured demon child during the incarnation ceremony and swallows it out of sympathy
- The consequence of which is the demon child fusing into Griffith's vessel which results in them sharing the same body
[Millennium Empire]
- Griffith notices his heart beating (because of the demon child) even though his blood should have frozen when Guts fights with Zodd on the hill of swords
- Griffith protects Casca from the destroyed Godo's cave and Casca reacts to her child (not Griffith) even though her brand was bleeding like hell
- Griffith's heart keeps beating and we see a panel of the demon child within Griffith protecting Casca once again (not Griffith)
- Griffith monologues that the feelings he was feeling at that time must have been "of that infant that fused into him"
- The demon child, as moonlight boy, appears and shares a moment with Casca under the full moon
- Schierke senses "mysterious od" from the boy
- The boy tries to remove Guts' berserker armor to protect him
- Guts wonders about the where the demon child is and doesnt realize that it is the moonlight boy - his child, and that he has fused into Griffith's vessel
- The moonlight boy saves them again by manipulating the Kushan monsters
- He helps Guts with his berserker armor during battle
- Its also hinted that Zodd was there (probably keeping watch and ensuring the safety of the moonlight boy/Griffith)
[Fantasia]
- The moonlight boy once again helps Guts and guides him out after his fight with the Sea God
- Moonlight boy always appears during full moon as Schierke explains that "the magical forces are at their strongest during full moon"
- The boy is also shown to be able to share Griffith's ability to be able to travel through the world spiral tree
[Chapter 358]
- Finally, we get "on-screen" confirmation that Griffith changes into the moonlight boy during full moons
- He spends the night with Charlotte and against the backdrop of the world spiral tree, his hair starts changing to black, he says "Again...Tonight then...", and jumps out of the window naked
[Chapter 363]
- 5 chapters later, Griffith has changed into the moonlight boy, travels to Elfhelm, and appears in front of Guts
The demon child/moonlight boy has always approached Guts and Casca whenever they are about to face danger. His arrival is definitely going to change things up now and Falconia is going to have to do without Griffith for a while.
I am not even good at analyzing stories like this and I definitely know nothing about writing stories. But even I can tell how well every single plot point connects to the next in Berserk to this day and how every single action had a consequence. Criticism about Miura's writing can be done in a lot of different fields like Miura forgetting about his side characters after introducing & developing them (Farnese, Serpico, Puck, Isidro) or about forgetting the potential of some characters introduced in early Berserk (Azan). But stop saying his writing has turned to shit just because the recent chapters have been too peaceful and light-hearted for you.
I agree the story hasnt really moved forward much in this arc. The only place where I thought there was some good progress in this arc was Casca's dreamscape and regaining her sanity but I believe this might just be the turning point in this arc and the arc thats yet to come. I was honestly going to post the "17 pages of lolis going kyaa" meme today, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that this chapter was really good. Casca hasnt remembered Femto's rape yet and doesnt know her child shares the body with Griffith. Even Guts doesnt know about it. So I am very excited to see where this leads and honestly, this is one of the best cliffhangers we have got in a while.
Good analyze tbh keep it up bro
- #46
Can Femto just kill Isidro first thing he does when they run into him please?
Or just have Isidro trip and hit his head on a rock and go into a coma/ die.
It baffles me how characters like Naruto or Black Star can be so beloved here, yet you get a much better variant of that same archetype in Ishidro and everyone hates him.
In any case, I strongly feel Miura doesn't just make characters for no reason; while Ishidro isn't what I'd call layered, like any of the other main cast, I feel he definitely will and has an important purpose coming up. And he did show a lot of interesting growth in the Fantasia arc alone.
Taking a character at face value is probably the lest engaging way to perceive any character, I find.
- #47
Svalr said:
Can Femto just kill Isidro first thing he does when they run into him please?
Or just have Isidro trip and hit his head on a rock and go into a coma/ die.
It baffles me how characters like Naruto or Black Star can be so beloved here, yet you get a much better variant of that same archetype in Ishidro and everyone hates him.
In any case, I strongly feel Miura doesn't just make characters for no reason; while Ishidro isn't what I'd call layered, like any of the other main cast, I feel he definitely will and has an important purpose coming up. And he did show a lot of interesting growth in the Fantasia arc alone.
Taking a character at face value is probably the lest engaging way to perceive any character, I find.
I haven't watched Naruto but I found Black Star annoying too.
I hate those kinds of characters but I still think that Black Star and Isidro aren't the same at all.
Whether Isidro will or won't have a purpose is another matter, but I actually think that just makes it worse.
If a character can basically be summarized as this:
Then I kinda don't want them to affect anything.
