Aight let's see what the hype is about.

Oh...

What the fuck?

He is so fucking cool

Also sounds more like he's telling that to himself, not Puck

Big sword go whoosh

On a more serious note: his dreams are so unsettling. He's running away from that "thing", which I assume is some kind of a curse, and he can only go forward. The walls are too tall to climb. He gets stabbed in the foot but his fear overcomes that physical pain.

He also lost his prothetic arm. It's interesting how, in his dream, he's completely naked, except for his brand and prosthetic arm. He doesn't dream his real arm. And then he loses even that prosthetic one, which he needed to get away. Probably symbolic of his eternal struggle.

If you need blood and sexual fluids of a dead person to summon a demon, does that mean that very first scene was Guts trying to summon some kind of demon to kill it? Hmm.

Jesus how heavy is that burden you're carrying man... Hundreds? Thousands?

To break you to the point of having to convince yourself that you don't care, for your own sanity. On such a frequent basis too.

Yikes.

Btw, the art is absolutely gorgeous. It's in that old style of drawing but it's got some kind of a fresh feel to it. Especially at the beginning of every chapter.

Is a Daemon just a weird way of spelling Demon, or are they different..? Disgusting regardless though.

Man I love Guts so much already. I don't know what he went through, but he's such a beautiful, complex character.

He lives in fear, can't even sleep in peace, constantly fighting a losing battle and has to live with the guilt of bringing death upon others, yet he still cares.

I feel like crying.

I can't i can't I can't I can't

HOLD ON A FUCKING SECOND????

Are they tryna possess him?? Or merge WITH him? He says he's different from them because he's alive, but that also implies he DOES have something in common with those vengeful ghosts...

So he's trying not to become like them through his will alone?

Wild guess, but does he fight against his "demons" by self-injury?

I mean he literally just said that he'd lost too much blood, why hurt himself unless it was some desperate move to bring back his consciousness?

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HIM??

Rage? Fear? Hatred? All of those combined???

The count struck a nerve earlier, when he said that humans are fragile and that Guts can't do anything about his destiny...

But to think Guts is suffering this much internally... it breaks my heart.

Btw this was what I was referring to when I said he struck a nerve

Wow do we finally get to see The Godhand people???

That is beyond messed up bro...

So basically he feels pain whenever he's around demons?

Makes me think back on how many demons he's encountered in these mere 6-7 chapters.

And he's been enduring it for so many years.

FUCK.

Well you could say they were having a goat time

GRIFFITH
GRIFFITH
GRIFFITH
GRIFFITH
GRIFFITH

Also Griffith's ideology here ties together with a Guts' comment, when he was talking to the priest. Priest was regretful about his nephew dying on the battlefield, but Guts responded by saying he at least died doing what he loved.

They're both in search of their purpose.

Ok let's recap:

A brand is basically a symbol burned into someone that's deemed a sacrifice for the Demonkind. They then get sucked into that soul vortex.

So Guts has been avoiding getting sucked in through sheer willpower.

Also now the scene of being haunted makes more sense.

Yet another case of Guts sharing his true feelings about life.

He's telling Theresia to just end it all, something he wish he could do himself.

I don't know what is motivating Guts to keep on living under these excruciating circumstances, but it's clear he'd rather end it all.

FUCK MY LIFEEEEEEEEEEEEE

WE EATING BOYSSSSS

Double yikes.

THAT BABY WAS GUTS??

FUUUUUUUIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

I WANT TO FUCKING STRANGLE THAT FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER

My heart is legit beating like crazy if this thread is no longer updated just know I've had a stroke from stress

I........... hate this manga

I am actually shaking let me get a glass of water. I need a second to process this.

I was already typing out all the things to bitch about but then the rape scene happened and now I need to get my shit together.

> Born from a corpse
> Witnessed his foster mom dying
> Forced onto battlefield as a kid
> Treated as bad omen
> Raised as a murderer
> Sold for three silver coins
> Raped
> Almost killed by hos step father
> Killed his step father

I hate this.

He deserved so much better...

The only thing that's preventing me from ending it all is Miura's beautiful art

Time and time again he stares death right in the eyes, and time and time again his will to live overpowers the temptation of taking the easy way out.

As a child and as an adult, he yearns for the future while being unable to forget the past, shown by his attachment to Gambino.

Oooo so THAT'S The Band Of The Hawk

I LOVE THIS!!

It shows their characters so well.

Guts is a more of a straightforward type, and is willing to throw himself into danger just to win.

Whereas Griffith is more of an arrogant schemer, but has the skills and quick reactions to back it up.

Surely I'm not the only one that's feeling the homoerotic tension

One thing I wanted to talk about, but needed more time to ponder was Guts + Big Ass Swords.

At the beginning I thought it was more symbolic of his curse and destiny, represented by physical "weight" he quite literally carries on his back.

But after seeing his childhood, (1/?)

It appears it's not JUST that.

He started this tradition with Gambino.

He'd hold it close when he was lonely during nighttime. That sword protected him from harm. That sword earned him money to survive.

For childhood Guts, it's his lifeline, so it better be big, right? (2/?)

Which brings me to this: his sword grew with him, to the point of becoming a representation of Guts himself.

I mean look at this description from Chapter 1, it's sounds very much like Guts.

He's large, iron-hearted and really rough around the edges. (3/3)

Berserk's got so much foreshadowing that even someone like me, who hasn't caught up, can tell there's a bunch of clues lying around that are leading to stuff in the future.

It's really interesting to see just how much Guts has changed from his days of being a mercenary.

First 2 images are from ch5, when he's older, and the other 2 are from ch19, at his first encounter with a monster.

He's clearly scared in both cases, but he's much more confident.

How can I tell? Here's an example, aside from facial expressions.

Just look at his body.

In the first two, his back is straight, he's leaning forward and his weight is clearly in his hips.

In the other two he's very defensive, shoulders bent & his body isn't well-balanced.

Babie NO

Well we know how that turned out...

But there's that ambition talk again. Guts mentioned before that "one must be able to sacrifice themselves for ambition".

Man I can't wait to see how all of this ties together.

Gonna be listening to this soundtrack while reading

Berserk OST 5: Guts

This one is gas too

Berserk OST 1: Behelit

This 2nd OST reminded me: I was wondering about the origin of the word "Behelit", since "lithos" means "stone". I assumed "behe" meant something too.

Did some research, and according to a paper by Juliette Blevins on historical linguistics, "behe" means "bottom".

In some modern derivations of the word, it could also be interpreted as "to bury".

Which ties well with the idea that it's a key to reaching The Godhand.

Can these guys just fuck already?

I know shit's gonna hit the fan sooner rather than later, so at least give me something to be happy about.

Jk I know Guts is suffering with PTSD due to rape, I'll talk about it later on.

But jeez y'all teasing me.

I was just thinking about this title "Master of The Sword". A large part of the chapter was Guts deciding to follow Griffith

If the sword is representative of Guts himself, we could infer their new relationship of a master and a servant - reflective of the title.

"For his sake"

I've got a sneaking suspicion that Griffith's intention aren't all that pure here...

OHH SHIT WHAT IS HE GONNA DO

Also there's something unsettling about Griffith's eyes.

Sometimes they get very cold and almost like they've got a sun with sunrays in them.

It feels like he's using some weird powers. Kinda like some Terminator-locating thing.

I LOVE the way these panels were arranged! So clever.

General said how Griffith's eyes are that of a hunter looking down on his prey.

The sun is placed to look like an eyeball looking through a target. Curtains with strokes give the feeling of being watched by something divine.

Now that I think about it, Griffith has always been associated with the Sun. Those panels make sense that way.

Sun is divine, all-powerful and can be both a friend and a foe. It's also got planets orbiting around it.

Is that why one of the future arcs is called the Eclipse?

NO his first time killing an innocent person...

He sees himself as that demon...

Jesus.......

Ugh the way I recognized the symptoms immediately

This is hitting way too close to home.

I haven't spoken about Casca before, but I actually like her.

She's dedicated herself to becoming a warrior and clearly loves Griffith dearly.

But even so, her respect for him is stronger, and she doesn't stand in the way of his plan.

Berserk is an excellent study of psychological complexes.

There are so many different ones, not just most common ones like superiority (nobility) and inferiority (Casca) complex.

Don Juan Complex, or viewing women purely as a source of sexual satisfaction is one of them. (1/?)

Another one is Guilt Complex, where you believe that things go wrong because of you. We can see this quite often in Guts.

He's been blamed for his foster parents' death and he's been treated as a bad omen throughout his youth so he's naturally developed this complex. (2/?)

As for Griffith, I'd have to learn a bit more about him and his motivations, but from what I've seen I'd say it could be a mixture of a Messiah and God Complex.

Both play on the idea of "The Chosen One", which seems right since he said he "wouldn't live just bc he was born". 3/3

See, this feels genuine. He was clearly still a bit fucked up in the head for making a young girl kill someone. But his sorrow feels genuine.

What could have caused him to be marked as a King? Was it his grandiose dream? Or was it Behelit itself that made him lose his way? Hmm.

HOLY SHIT.

I guess it speaks volumes about how Griffith is willing to sacrifice pretty much everything for ambition and his dream...

I really like how you can feel his doubts through that slight pause in "Am I dirty" (even divided in 2 parts).

The fact that he asked is more of a self-reflection.

But then he's reminded of his motives and plan, and seems to have come to terms with it, despite having doubts.

I'd like to take this opportunity to admire:

1. That booty
2. The body language

First is self-explanatory but the second one was done masterfully.

Griffith is struggling between his own insecurity and being a leader. He's standing straight, with his chest revealed when (1/?)

he's in the role of a leader (speaking about the situation logically and providing arguments).

But then the second he's forced to face his personal feelings on the matter, he bends his back and starts splashing water, and covering his chest defensively. (2/?)

Also, think about the character placement.

This situation must be very uncomfortable for Griffith.

He's naked, exposed, being asked about something so personal.

There's also height disadvantage. Griffith looking down in critical situations, which boost confidence. (3/3)

Griffith is used to looking down*

FUCK YEA talk to em king Women ain't shit

Misogyny SZN

LOL on a more serious note, I really like how he motivated her to stand up and fight for herself.

It's not pandering her nor looking down, he clearly respects her and her determination.

Also that proud smile... so wholesome

I SHIP I SHIP I SHIP I SHIP

But that chapter title is making me worried..

See I hate this because this warms my heart and I'd love them to end up together and be happy but i KNOW this manga is going to make their lives miserable just to fuck me up.

What an absolute legend

SO I WASN'T COMPLETELY OFF??

It's a different context but they're still talking about Sword Masters.

I'm really happy I caught that. https://twitter.com/weebsara/status/1253306311225245698

Sike

Seeing this panel really made me sad. So Guts has never felt like a part of that campfire, he was merely "warming himself" next to it.

What's more, he says how everyone adds flame to Griffith's inferno, but that his is missing.

You can really feel his loneliness and emptiness.

Where is the fucked up stuff?????

Could this be Griffith's relative of a sort??

They zoomed in on her, plus she kinda looks like Griffith, with that white curly hair and those dead eyes.

Oh, nvm, he's just into those type of looks.

Disgusting pedophile.

Makes me sick to my stomach. So he's been using that poor girl as a replacement for Griffith.

These panels are GORGEOUS

I am looking....

HUUUH?

WHY ARE PEOPLE'S TITTIES SUDDENLY TWITCHING AFTER SEEING THIS TWEET

Oo so the Queen is also planning on taking out Griffith

So the King is also a pedophile... lovely

Oh this is so gonna end badly........

WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING

"Tombstone of Flame" huh...

Who is Griffith burying?? The king? The queen? The princess?

All of the nobles?

HOLY SHIT

Wow mf really faked his death, kidnapped a kid, used it against a noble to betray his fellow men, and then killed off the kidnappers.

Jesus

Also, I've noticed this before too, but now it's been reiterated.

It seems that Griffith has a thorough dislike for nobles. Probably something from his past, but he's said earlier something along the lines of

"Just because you were born a noble that makes you a god?"

Makes sense.

He's intelligent, beautiful and a skilled swordsman. He's got all the qualities of a noble and carries himself like one.

Even the princess says he's more noble than the actual noblesse.

Yet he's still a commoner. He probably sees building a kingdom as a rebellion.

So we've finally got a wrap up of a scene from way before, when Griffith said that friends are equals.

It clearly sobered Guts, and now he decides to pursue a dream of his own.

OH SHIT HYYYYYPPEEEE

Complete sidenote but I've just come to the realization that we haven't had a single Griffith's inner thought presented to us.

We've had them for Guts, Casca, even some Hawks and antagonists.

But none from Griffith. We only get what he says, does and shows with his expressions.

Until just now, that is.

Which makes it that much more impactful, considering this is a very critical and intense situation for both of the characters.

Jesus how obsessed IS this guy??

It's disturbing yet fascinating.

I bet that the mere thought of anyone leaving never even occurred to him.

He's aware of his charm and his soldiers treat him as a god.

But the dude he actually "wanted" now wants to leave, which hurts his ego.

WHO TF IS THIS?????

Ugh i hate when posts like these get likes this quickly, it makes me so nervous

Well that's one hell of a way to say hi

Also I'm finally understanding why people were calling me "struggler" when I'd first started the manga

OHHHHHHHHHH So I assume he refers to those vengeful spirits as "Fleshless flesh".

It really bothered me how Guts referred to himself as "Flesh and Blood", instead of "alive".

I guess that's because he's "close to death" himself, but still has that core element - flesh.

Well ain't that just fantastic...

OH SHIT he ain't getting away with this one

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

Rip to the Hawks man... how did everything go to shit in such a small timeframe?

AHHH THERE HE IS !!

This is ROUGH man... I can't even imagine the kind of pressure she's under.

Having to fill in the large hole that Griffith left, caring for comrades, livings as fugitives, ON TOP of not having any idea what's going on.

She has no idea why they were attacked or how's Griffith rn

Ok so it seems a lot of things happened with these guys, but I'm so glad Guts and Casca are back "together" (hopefully I'll be able to stop using quotes soon) again.

But god damn these character designs are BEAUTIFUL. So much detail and care went into them.

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I know she just said she was giving up and she just attempted suicide but FUCK YEA LET'S GO MOTHERFUCKERS

WOAH WOAH OKAY OKAY

Ain't this suddenly going a lil too fast

OF FUCKING COURSE this manga ain't gonna let me enjoy shit

I'm just getting mad all over again, just like 2 days ago when I read this scene for the first time

God fucking DAMN IT

HELP!!??!??!

Why is he so attached to Gambino???? Is it because he was his foster father??? But he treated him like shit!!!! He SOLD him off!!!

He was RAPED because of him!! His childhood and youth was RUINED!!!

WHY??

Also who/what are those skeletons in the first photo...?

This was painfully beautiful.

"Licking each other's wounds" is a perfect way to put it, and to end the "Wounds" chapter.

They're both completely naked, physically and emotionally. But they've found solace in each other.

What his sword once presented, he's now found in Casca.

Who ??

Gonna stop reading here, because I KNOW things are just gonna go downhill from here on now

Lol jk I'm addicted to this god damn manga

Wow some really thorough self-reflection here.

I'm really liking this character development here.

Guts went from a brute he was before joining the Hawks to becoming his own person, wielding his sword (aka living) for himself.

No context just Titty Grab

No I don't think this means anything I'm sure this is just a friendly snakey snake

Guts and Casca will live happily ever after and this little event won't matter at all, yes

OH SNAP we're getting Griffith's backstory??

Yea that's called being horny

I also hate the numbness that keeps me from falling asleep

All jokes aside, how fragile was this man to have crumbled this easily? Or was he genuinely in love with Guts?

Ok yea he's in love. Big time

We ship

I'd like to point out how he uses the phrase "most sacred piece of junk".

"Junk" and "sacred" don't really work, so it just shows how low he thinks of the castle and nobility.

Sacred probably comes from the fact that the castle shines in the Sun, unlike his old home.

King of... longing?

Also them shits look awfully similar to that disgusting creature that Guts was imagining in Black Swordsman.

I haven't mentioned this before, but Berserk comedy moments never miss

I've laughed out loud at pretty much all comedy scenes

These boys tryna save Griffith by sneaking through graveyard like they ain't about to be buried themselves. Digging their own graves here.

Yes all puns intended

This is so hot and I'm turned on now thanks

These two pages really visualize their goal VS reality.

They all pretty much worship Griffith as this God, that'd never lower himself to the ground where these "human" emotions are, let alone depths of a graveyard.

Backgrounds were used effectively to convey this contrast.

I can NOT stress enough how much I need this

Poor Charlotte man, that man is a psycho

I have a veeeery bad feeling about this

BRO??!!!!?! WHAT EVEN HAPPENED????

Oh boy we in for a treat

Look how they've massacred my boy...

Bro this is FUCKED

I am NOT FUCKING OKAY

GO GUTS GO FUCK THEM UPPPPPPPPPPPPP

1. Baby
2. WHATS GRIFFITH LOOKING AT

Also ik this is supposed to be serious and all, but I have to post this bc I can't unsee it

I'm so glad these side characters are getting some much-needed screen time and development.

Their capabilities and skills have been mentioned and implied before, but it's super cool that we get to see them in action.

I hate this motherfucker so damn much, I hope they kill him in the worst way possible

Why are all characters in this manga so damn disgusting

Charisma lmfao...

He's definitely an interesting character. I can see why he'd develop this philosophy.

He's the epitome of "it's the outside that is important" lol.

Yea, that white lie.

It's NOT the outside **** FUCK