There's a tendency in fantasy stories to depict religious institutions as corrupt and villainous, and that makes sense because historically you needn't look far to see that was the case. But it's more interesting to me that Miura portrays Mozgus and his men as *genuinely* devout. 
Mozgus doesn't relish the harm he causes people, but he doesn't feel any sympathy for his victims either. He's not an evil man, but he does evil to achieve something greater. He's a testament to the greater evil that religion can represent: a system to justify for cruelty.
The Conviction arc is obviously pretty religion-centric, and I absolutely adore how Miura uses the looming shadow of the Tower of Conviction to convey the oppressive nature of The Holy See's concept of God. Just about every other page in the refugee camp includes a shot of it.
As Nina and Joachim make arrive at either the best of worst first date ever at the Satanic Blood Orgy, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen this somewhere before. And then it hit me: It's Gustave Dore's Divine Comedy. And it turns out it's not the only direct Dore nod.
I can't post literally any panels from about 99% of this chapter because, well, there's a lot of genitals, but let me tell you it's very cool. Joachim hallucinating himself as his own ejaculate is a hell of a sequence.
Slan's appearance in this sequence is really well done. Using the vision of the Great Goat to foreshadow the appearance of gods in the flames, but demonstrating that Slan is something different, manifesting in the attendees lust just as Conrad manifested earlier in the rats.
The God Hand are one of the most fascinating parts of Berserk. There's never a clear indication that they have some kind of overarching plan, but their momentary manifestations during the Conviction arc are a good hint that *something* important is about to happen.
It's easy to post the big, impressive pages from Berserk (which occur at least 10 times a chapter), but I just want to take a moment to highlight this one single panel that is extremely simple and yet so, so good.
"There, over the horizon...it's Dark Souls."
The revelation that Griffith is coming back is absolutely huge and Miura does a great job demonstrating the range of emotions that Guts has at hearing that news: fear, hatred, anger, "ecstasy", determination.
Your periodic reminder that Farnese is an absolute masterwork of character writing and her arc is one of the best parts of Berserk.
I don't think there's an immense amount to say about the Great Goat portion of Berserk's Conviction Arc, at least not that hasn't already been said. But here are 4 out of context pages that I think are fantastic, and unsurprisingly half of them feature Farnese.
Also how good is this 4 page sequence of Guts coming to rescue Casca? At this point we've been waiting for this reunion for what feels like ages and it's both extremely compelling and very understated and I love it.
I love what Miura does with Casca's expressions in her current state. Does she recognize Guts? Is he any different from the other monsters in her eyes? The lack of background in the 3rd page is great too, in that moment for Guts it's just her.
No deep analysis here, I just want to say that I love the sequence with Casca and the iron maiden. Miura is absolutely firing on all cylinders for this portion of the Conviction arc.
It's not a very subtle image, but the ever expanding mass of blood and darkness spreading out to swallow the tower is an effectively biblical punishment for the violence Mozgus has enacted.
Skull Knight rescuing Luca is a quick sequence, but a)I think it is a staggeringly well composed series of pages and b) I think it's notable that despite having similar goals to Guts, Skull Knight is willing to let an apostle go to save a life. He's *actually* the heroic figure.
You need only go to the Lost Children arc posts in this thread to know that Guts would not do this. If anything, Guts willfully endangers innocents to pursue his revenge. There's a clear delineation in the morals of the two characters despite them ostensibly having the same goal.
Boss Baby 2 is looking...weird
Sure the Egg Shaped Apostle lives in a pit full of dead bodies, but you can't say he doesn't have an eye for style. Look at those skull accents, those didn't have to go on the statue made out of skin, those are a design statement.
Miura absolutely excels at cliffhanger pages. The last page of a Berserk chapter is almost universally one of its most striking and it makes it nearly impossible to not immediately want to keep reading.
I realized that before I got side tracked I had meant to say something vitally, critically important about Berserk.....
This bird dude is rad as heck.
This bird dude is rad as heck.
Naturally this read through wouldn't resume with a relaxed chapter but my God. The sheer horror of of the Eclipse guarantees that you won't ever forget it and this moment when the shape of what's happening becomes clear...actual chills.
Guts' face in the last page is so powerful. The Eclipse represents so much for Guts and to see all of these shapes again *just* after being reunited with Casca, it's devastating. The overwhelming dread and despair in this sequence is palpable.
The God Hand are so distant in the world of Berserk, despite being its central antagonists, and Void is the most distant of them all, but this moment when the malice of the refugee camp begins forming into Void profile seals the deal on this sequence.
Guts breaking through the malice to save Casca is absolutely one of hypest moments in Berserk. Rare are the moments that Guts appears truly heroic but *this* is absolutely one of the best.
An important item of note here: Mozgus isn't really wrong here. A recurring theme of Berserk is selfishness vs the greater good. Guts' quest is at its heart always a selfish one. This isn't to say he is *wrong*, just that nothing Guts does is about the greater good.
And it's not like Mozgus is exaggerating here, thousands of people die *immediately* after Guts kill him. It's a bit of a mess.
But of course this happens, so for Guts, and probably for most of us, it was the right decision.
Anyway, I guess it's time again for another relaxing stroll through the world of Berserk.
In all seriousness, Miura's anatomy is fantastically accurate. I would pay good money for a Miura-illustrated anatomy book.
Unlike The Eclipse which happens with a terrifying suddenness, the Incarnation Ceremony has been all about build up. With every page the world seems to fall more out of sorts, our heroes the small island of reason, and finally, finally, it all just breaks.
I absolutely love these Zodd panels. As usual, Miura captures a marvelous balance between terrifying and awe inspiring every time he appears. And I love that this giant monster barely even registers to Guts, who instead is drawn to what's on the horizon.
The return of the Worst Person Ever is an absolutely huge event for the series and Miura sells it so well.
So much of what makes Griffith such a compelling villain is the way he is presented as essentially the greatest person to have ever lived in the world of Berserk, as awful, as despicable, as unforgivable as he is.
I like how Miura has given this new Griffith a sort of alien beauty, as remote and untouchable as he seemed before, this is something else. And this moment of recognition between Guts and Griffith is, well, it's everything to be honest.
The Conviction Arc is over so I want to take a minute to talk about a character I like but apparently everyone hates: Nina. People seem to not like Nina because she is selfish, cowardly, and weak but here's the thing: Berserk isn't here to cast judgement on her.
Nina's cowardice stands in contrast to Luca who is competent, bold, and devoted to helping her friends but *both of them live*, both of them make it out of the ceremony alive and in the end Luca still loves Nina, Joachim (who Nina pushed off a cliff) still loves her.
Berserk is ultimately a series about the way people handle trauma and there are many ways to do that. It's not interested in judging its characters, but rather in presenting their growth. Whether it's Nina wanting to become independent or Farnese wanting to figure out her life.
Not every character in Berserk deserves redemption or a chance to grow. Griffith deserves to be put into a dumpster and thrown into the Mariana Trench, no questions asked. But so many of its flawed characters are genuinely a joy to read. Anyway, here's sweet moment to end on.
I absolutely ~ADORE~ the opening to the Millennium Falcon arc. Ever since the Eclipse we've seen a slow movement towards the fantastic in Berserk, every encounter with the apostles is a little glimpse into a different world. And with Griffith's return that world is seeping in.
I could read this sequence again and again and every time it would give me chills. More and more, Berserk is becoming a fairy tale world a world perfectly designed for a gallant and heroic prince. And a world designed for monsters too, and we'll see them soon enough.
I've seen some people confused by the fact that Rickert is able to stop Guts from attacking Griffith on the hill of swords. And it's weird to me because the answer is literally in the text: Guts doesn't want to attack Griffith. Guts *loves* Griffith. He wants to be stopped.
More than anything Guts wants to go back to the way things were. It's the fact that Griffith not only denies him that, but goes one step further and denies him the one thing he wanted to start with, Griffith's friendship, that pushes him back towards revenge.
Guts' reunion with Zodd is a pretty excellent reminder of how far we've come from the Golden Age. The first time these two met Guts was at best a mild amusement for Zodd, but now Guts actually has a chance against probably the most powerful apostle we've seen thus far.
In case, somehow, you were thinking "I don't know, I think Guts and Griffith's relationship was purely platonic." Also, I love this scene. Griffith's parting words to Guts are both completely honest and completely cruel.
This is the second time I've been reading Berserk and had the soundtrack sync up perfectly and man, Guts' theme is a purely perfect thing. Berserk is violent, brutal series and Guts is a violent and brutal person but there is a real tenderness here.
There's nothing deep to say here but golly Silat and his buds are so dang cool.
I really appreciate that Berserk doesn't expressly tell you what Griffith is capable of now, rather it says everything it needs to in what it *doesn't* show you. It's as if Griffith is operating out of sync with the world around him, or maybe the world just won't let him be hurt.
As if to say "Thing are about to get much wilder," Miura introduces us to the new Band of the Hawk and each member feels like something completely beyond the scale of anything we've seen to this point. Again Berserk moves in this new, larger than life, storybook direction.
An extraordinary tale indeed.
After the big events of the last few chapters, Berserk takes an interesting direction with a series of more intimate character studies. It's an interesting shift that definitely highlight Miura's talent as a writer. "Of Snow and Flame" reads like a Gothic romance.
Albeit one with a LOT more BDSM.
There are no big set pieces in this pair of chapters but that's not to say Miura isn't doing some dang *work*. The final sequence between Farnese and Serpico is gorgeous and horrible. I say this once a night it seems, but seriously Farnese is my favorite character in this story.
It's been a while since we've seen The Beast, so long in fact that you might be forgiven for thinking that Guts has become a more heroic, less guilt ridden person. But the truth is that the guilt and the self loathing never left. It's smaller now, but it's insidious.
Casca is a lot of things to Guts. He loves her obviously, and abandoning her has only compounded the guilt he feels for failing to save her from Griffith. He takes her with him in part because he wants to protect her, but in part because she's a form of self-inflicted punishment.
I'm not going to post anything from the next few chapters because frankly there's nothing in them that should be posted. Guts is at a breaking point, he's freezing, his starving, he hasn't slept in days, and he's learning that he can't manage on his own...
But none of that is an excuse for what he does. Guts is a complicated protagonist because many of his actions are honestly irredeemable. It's not a question of malicious intent, but Guts relates to the world through violence and as stated before that's a toxic philosophy.
I appreciate, at least, that Guts' handling of Casca isn't played as some kind of meet-cute "Captivity is courtship" thing, which is all too common, and frankly I'm relieved that what happens doesn't end with her back to normal.
But of all the series sexual violence, of which there is a lot, Guts attacking Casca is the hardest for me. Not just because it's visually horrifying, but also because it's emotionally devastating. It's a far cry from the sequence that made me start this thread.
Wisely, Miura ends this miserable interlude with a bunch of comic relief and the somewhat optimistic last note of Guts possibly getting some actual living friends.
Hey wow, it's a Farnese sequence that I love, what a surprise. A weird thing I see on this Berserk site is just about everyone calling Farnese a monster, which is bizarre to me. Farnese is pretty clearly a victim, doing monstrous things perhaps, but trying to find a way out.
Some really great juxtaposition here. Guts, more vulnerable than he's ever been, realizing that he needs others or he cannot survive, feeling small and distant from his closest companion as night descends. Griffith, a literal god, stands alone in the sun, looking down.
The new Band of the Hawk's first real battle is a sight to behold. It's hard not to think these guys are rad as heck, in fact by the end of it it's easy to find yourself thinking these are heroes, no monsters.
This is especially true for Griffith, which makes sense because he's supposed to be an irresistibly charismatic force, it makes sense the the reader too would be drawn to him. Although the arrival of Rakshas is a helpful reminder that actually these are literally all monsters.
It seems like Sonia gets a lot of hate from the Berserk audience but uh, her helmet looks like a duck and I love it? Also, people think that she is "naively" following Griffith and this is clearly not the case. She offers to give an Apostle a corpse, she knows plenty.
I love this sequence because it highlights that Griffith isn't just a hero for the people of Midland, he's a figure of religious awe. It's a wonderful representation of the great lie that Griffith represents. There's no doubt in my mind that those souls are being sacrificed.
A wonderful transition here again. Just as Miura left Guts at his lowest point to show us Griffith achieving his greatness, we cut jarringly back from this moment of classical fantasy and chivalrous, noble knights...to Guts, in a swamp, being attacked by muck monsters.
Here's tonight's obligatory "Farnese is the best character in this series" moment. Farnese has gone from having everything handed to her and using that to justify her malignant tendencies to being the absolute bottom of the barrel but rather than retreat she pushes on.
What a positive and uplifting moment to end on. Wow things in Berserk might be turning around...
And so we return once more to the brutal world...of Berserk.
I really, really love this little interlude with Guts traveling companions. It's the first time in a while that we've seen people be...almost friendly...with one another. Certainly there's more room for fun here than before...
Although it's Berserk so fun is uh, fun is relative. Also that Schierke silhouette is so damn good.
I love Farnese, but there's no argument that Schierke is the coolest character in Berserk.
I extremely love the way the world of Berserk begins to incorporate more fantastic, fairy tale elements. The world Griffith is creating is essentially a storybook and the new monsters fit that style. But at the same time, and we'll see more of this in Qliphoth, they're more alien
At the same time though, Berserk is at its core always a very human story and the strained relationship between Guts and Casca right now is painful. The tiny beast is, as always, a nice visual metaphor for the persistent guilt Guts carries with him.
