I do think that at the time Miura was writing the post-Eclipse denouement of the Golden Age, he was not quite ready to write a female character confronting her rape trauma and found a way to postpone this by making Casca non-verbal and regressed. He absolutely did find a better voice in writing female characters as he progressed to be sure. This is no knock against Miura, as his growth as a writer an artist has been well-demonstrated through the years.
Great video and Casca seems to an interesting study of writing a victim character and how they should go about “healing”. While Casca does become a character that lost her agency; I think it makes sense since she was the one who not only got molested by the demons, but also by Griffith, the one person who she idolized and devoted a good amount of her life too. I think this broke her mind and it realistically would take anyone a long time to move on from that. So for her to regress as a character for as long as she did, only for us to watch her gain it back in the dreamscape chapters, to me made it worth it. You can not like her character, but I wouldn’t say she is a bad character. As for the latest chapters, I think she will be taken to Falconia, but I don’t think she will be locked up. I think she will be given freedom as long as she doesn’t leave Falconia. As well, I think here is when she finally confronts the last crux of her trauma in order to fully heal. So Casca to me has regressed in some ways, but has understandably been stuck in her trauma and will have to continue to overcome it so she can be a sufficient ally for Guts in the final chapters.
I really like this essay. In each point you kind of touched on my biggest pet peeve of some fans. I feel like a lot of people see Berserk as "Cool! Action and Edge!" and don't really engage with it as a story about trauma and healing.
I remember I once asked the berserk sub if they could give my chapter numbers for where the black swordsman arc would fit chronologically and they literally refused to tell me “because it wasn’t the right way to read it for the first time.” Ive read it a number of times, I just wanted to see it from a different perspective lol. Reddit is a weird place
The berserk subreddit, from my experience, is a place devoid of original or critical thought that sometimes produces some nice fanart. To answer your original question, the black swordsman arc directly precedes the lost children arc (meaning it's most likely months after the Eclipse, I'll guess around 3-6 months at most as when Guts returns to Godot it has been a year since he last visited if I'm remembering correctly) as that is where Guts meets Puck for the first time. The lost children arc starts with Guts and Puck already together. After the lost children arc the story continues in order essentially. Golden age > Black swordsman > Lost Children > The rest is chronological.
I think the reason people fall off trying to get into berserk is how they handle the majority of their mature themes. Tbh there was a time when berserk was being gate kept from people, myself included. I kinda understand why that was after elden rings release
So basically, as you know, most of Dark Souls and Elden Ring included were inspired by Berserk, and after a while, people started hearing more about Berserk, and decided to start reading it, AND HOLY FUCK THAT WAS A SHITSTORM. People started saying that it promoted rape and the majority of the Berserk community got pretty pissed and then emerged an all out war of gatekeeping and people trying to cancel a manga that’s been out for basically 40 years. The problem is, the story isn’t supposed to be family friendly. Sure there’s way too much rape for the average human to comprehend, but the whole point is to show that this world is horrible. None of the victims are enjoying it and all of the horrible shit is a normal occurrence for the people of this world. This entire thing is so stupid. It’s a piece of fiction.
@@vanquisherofhorny3667 the golden age isn’t the problem for a lot of people. The events after, especially the second eclipse and the resurrection of Femto that get people uneasy. It depicts the depravity of people under absolute horrors. There’s one specific story where a child and his mother are in a tent with the child’s now possessed father. The child then looks up at his mother who is now also possessed. That would normally be the end of the story in most fiction, but in berserk they depict the child being eaten with his limbs strewn out. That’s the problem that people have. That’s why it was being gate kept. I don’t think berserk was meant for the vast majority of the population, it was more of a passion project for it’s creator and the team. I don’t even think the not so nice stuff they do to women is the worst part but it seems to be a main staple for the majority of the haters
@@crabbydragon9808 The fact that you keep mentioning "Gatekeeping" as though it were a bad thing informs me that you're the type of person that should be outside that proverbial wall. Hardcore fans of anything won't care at all about what casual fans do as long as the casual fan does not start trying to make decisions for the thing as a whole. "GaTeKeEpInG" Is what keeps good stuff good more often than not. Gamer Word.
This was a fantastic analysis! Berserk is a masterpiece to me, and I've been trying to get all my close friends into it, and just like you, I always tell them that is the best piece of media ever created. Also the souls games brought me even closer to berserk, as Hidetaka Miyazaki has references and deep inspiration from berserk as he is a huge fan of Miura's work!
I agree with every point *except* reading golden age first and then going back. Not because reading it in order of release is the “wrong” way but because personally I think I would have preferred the surprise of the supernatural aspects slowly showing up without any prior knowledge. I think it would be more satisfying for me personally.
Great points the only thing I would say different is that time in Berserk is more like a spiral than a circle. Im sure Flora had a conversation with Skull Knight and said that "causality is more like a spiral and not a perfect circle" in the tree house. Things are almost the same but a bit different caused by little ripples...like guts is a fish in a pond and stuff...
i agree with most of the points here but the idea that the only options for casca were "regress to the point of showing no signs of being her former self or having an ability to speak and form human connections" or "end up totally fine after the eclipse" is a total false dichotomy. there were other ways to handle it but miura chose the one that left casca with the least amount of agency. that much is undeniable, though i don't agree that she is just a damsel in distress i think there is a middle ground between the two opinions presented
Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! Yes, i did kinda pull an easy argument to refute there, didn't i? That was a section i kept rewriting in the script and didn't really know how to better put it. I think there is a discussion that could be had about Casca Post - Eclipse, but the constant critiques at her made me wonder what specifically people wanted from her? I for one love the absolute tragedy of her character and how Miura chose to present it.
Point of Berserk is "Man vs Monsters" and "Man vs Destiny" in a kinda' more realistic way. So, "Guts was destined to do this due to higher beings." kind of theories f**ks the theme of the story.
That's kinda the point of the story though right, everything in the berserk world is predestined to some extent, it was all gonna happen. No matter what choices were made. To what extent everything is predestined we don't really know but I don't think it's really a theory.
@@nxrth9463 Guts and Casca were destined to be sacrificed for the sake of Griffith. However, Guts didn't allow it to be happen. That's what I meant by "Man vs Destiny".
The Lost Children gives us an opportunity to see Black Swordsman Guts in a new light of having read Golden Age. We know what he's been through, and we know why he is the way he is.
So... in section about reading Golden Age first, you just like: "Nah, it would be fine! Eclipse is not a twist, i think newcomer souldnt read Golden Age first" But... WHY?! There is your actual arguments? For example me is the person who read Golden Age first. And oh my god eclipse was devastating and memorable therefore. It would be a tragedy if i know about it at the beginning! And i personaly know several people who try to watch anime and drop it coz of first episodes, but realy liked it after i insist they should press on for the Golden Age part. So, virtually, reading Golden Age first is HUGE benefit to many people, and have no actual downsides, or this downsides not presented in your video (at least if your intention is to argue against this point of view). P.S. Nice overall video btw :D
I agree with you about everything here. But I just wish Casca could go back to “normal”, I loved her golden age character and it breaks my heart to see her like how she is now. But it also makes sense and is realistic to how it would be.
I'd agree with you about the berserker armor if only the manga actually committed to meaningful consequence. Everyone tells us there will be negative consequences in some distant future, but thats a far cry from being a consequence in & of itself. Especially since the reader knows the writer can wash their hands of it if it proves to be inconvenient when its come should come. I think the berserker armor should have carried more meaningful immediate consequences each time it was "used" (i.e.: not just being worn, but everytime it magic's Guts to overcoming an obstacle). Perhaps there'd be a time period where Guts was bedridden & unable to walk for several weeks where he would actually need to rely on others just to carry out day-to-day tasks. Yeah, it'd bore the "i just want to see Guts kick ass" crowd, but I'd argue that appeasing that crowd would be to a detriment of the story & character. I think the thematic message that the "lone wolf" type would never actually make it, and that a community is always several orders of magnitude stronger than any individual alone is-which would be a strong contrast to Guts' preconceived notions. I'd also argue he's been following this arc already, but this consequence would both (a) make the berserker armor narratively relavent, and (b) make that arc that much more poignant. Just imagine after all this time, for example, Casca having to take care of Guts for once as his bones slowly & painful repair enough to even stand up. Alternatively, perhaps not EVERY use of the beserker armor ended this way, but it happened once or twice early one-forever cementing the risk its use carries MUCH more strongly than just being told there'd be consequences without use ever actually seeing them.
We have seen some consequences already tho? Guts losing sight? As seen when he was injured on the boat and on Elfhelm? As well as mental struggles that will most likely be a factor in 371 (Beast of Darkness)
Wrong. You disagree with the Berserker Armour because you're a cynic, you think the author can just handwave away consequences because you've been let down by other stories. It's an argument fueled by your lack of faith in the author. Furthermore the Black Swordsman Arc is born because it is impossible to discard the weight of lost humanity, the Slug Count is the closest we will ever get to a "Good Apostle." The Armour is no different than using a Behelit, it's usage would lead to Guts being as evil as Ganishka, and as for the "Guts kick ass" crowd let them watch something that's more their speed. Like Narutard.
It has nothing to do with being a cynic or distrusting the author. Either an action has consequences, or an action does not have consequences. Being told the weight of loss humanity is as far from loss humanity actually having consequences for the protagonists as zero is far from infinity. The day Guts actually becomes an sadistic apostle and willfully tortures/murders his friends is the day I'd count his loss humanity as a consequence, but of course that has not-and more than likely will not-happen. It wouldn't even make narrative sense for that to be the apex of Guts character arc. But that's the point-the premise threatened us with something it'd be ludicrous to actually deliver on. Hence why my suggestion of crippling injury instead would have made more sense. Taking away Guts ability to fight would have meant more for the story than some vague promise of maybe one day losing his humanity. Which, if we're being honest here, was always a vague threat even before the berserker armor entered the picture.
Speaking of meta. I'm a proponent of the theory that the "Lost Children" Chapter is actually the central plot of the entire Berserk in miniature. Too many story elements align, too many things are going the exact same way.
I'll always like the chronological viewing of Berserk. Seeing the brand of sacrifice on certain characters outfits feels way heavier on a second watch when black swordsman didn't spoil it... Whether or not Miura intended it or not.
Mate, this video is absolutely genius. One of the best berserk video essays on the internet. It was super entertaining from start to finish. Had me hoping for it to be longer haha. Keep it up!
Great video. Im with the "berserk gets too soft after conviction arc". For me it really became more like a shounen. I loved guts development. Learning how to care about people again etc. But it felt like the world took a step back. It started to feel goofy and even corny sometimes (especially the pirate ship part). The whole shrieke and farnese fixing casca with magic felt a bit like a cop out. The feeling I had in the GA and LC arc never returned after the conviction arc. Except the small old days story with the fairy in the cell. I will reread the GA and LC arcs till I die. But I highly doubt I will ever revisit the later part of the story.
Very well edited and very amazing points. Please keep making videos every once in awhile so your channel can grow. Remember me when you reach 1 million.
1: Agreed, it is the most an extremely important arc that shows Guts at his worst(personality-wise) with small hints at his pain and remorse 2: Agreed, you must start with The Black Swordsman arc to understand why Guts is the way he is, else The Golden Age arc will feel way less suspenseful 3: Agreed, try to be kind and gentle after going thru a freaking Eclipse, also, world and character building 4: Agreed, thats the point of Berserk, showing the very best and very worst of us, humans, theorizing that Guts is something more than human is spitting in Kentaro Miura's life work 5: Agreed, Lost Children is the beginning of Guts' major growth personality-wise, its borderline offensive to consider it as "filller" 6: Agreed, the built up world of Berserk saw no need for Eclipses, Lost Children, we see Guts accepting new people again in his life, letting his revenge aside in favor of protecting the one he loves, we finally get to see a lot more the "very best of humanity", we still got to see the very worst? Yeah, but now, at least, things seems way less bleak 7: Agreed, I personally would never want a Berserker Armor for myself, that thing is a curse, something that causes destruction and mayhem to foes and friends alike fueled by your "shadow-self" that literally eats your body away everytime you slip 8: Agreed, what? There are people who actually believe this crap? Griffith is clearly inspired by the myth of the Anti-Christ for crying out loud 9: Agreed, do people know what being... what happened to Casca does to you, mentally? It screws you up, badly, really, freaking, badly
Complaining about Puck's true child-like innocence in the world of Berserk is like complaining about getting water in the desert. The whole point is that positivity and humor are seldom found in Gut's life, and Puck being the constant reminder that there is still good to love in the world that turned it's back on him. That is what bothers him so much in the Black Swordsman Arc about Puck. (Puck also poses as a character contrast to Guts accentuating his evil and malice in relation to Puck's innocence and humor)
Oh don't sorry about the lack of female protagonists in _Berserk!_ Casca, once she gets to Falconia, will no doubt meet up with Luca and her Merry Band. I'm sure they'll team up and thwart Griffith from within. And when the Time Skip gets here Theresia, who swore revenge upon Guts, will be the tradirional female head leading the Holy Iron Chain Knights. And who know, Erica will either be a badass Blacksmith or a Kushan warrior!
Now, I watched the three movies first. I love the mangas and I watched the anime too. For the movies the third movie in the only one really good. It does capture the berserk universe but fails with the CGI. All the things they removed makes sense for me. And what's great about watching the movie first is that the eclipse and the betrayal of Griffith is an absolute surprise and seing it with sound and color is truly traumatising, just like the manga. The golden age for me is the best arc of berserk, it has the best dialogues, the best relationships between characters and the best plot. It talks about friendship, destiny, love, ambition, violence and even god. It's fucking brilliant. The rest is great but adapting some of the others arcs can be really difficult because of the graphic violence, the fact they remade the eclipse so faithfully is mind blowing to me. The berserk anime I maybe more coherent but it still change a LOT of important and stuff and I think most people are nostalgic. Berserk I a HUGE heritage and putting it into moving and colourful images is extremely hard. The only problem I had with berserk manga is when it becomes high fantasy. It becomes slow, characters are less complex, violence doesn't have a meaning anymore, same thing for sex which is an important part of this anime. After meeting Schierke the whole manga changes direction and it's not for everyone. I love the manga but I wished Miura would have gone somewhere else. The lost children was great and had the same vibes as The black swordsman even if these chapters are more comparable to other pieces of content. The Mozgus part was a LOT, good and poetic at times but a lot of graphic images, a whole lot of confusion, probably the hardest one to put on film. After that the high fantasy begins and Guts only encounters one of the God Hands once and nothing meaningful happens, same with Zodd. Griffith doesn't "lash out" which I kinda hoped for because he is still Femto and a dangerous man, the encounter with him and skull knight was so anticlimactic. The whole part on the boat is too long, the sea god serves no purpose and the Kushans are only useful for Griffith's story. Farnese is the only new intesting and complex character, Casca is put aside even tough she is in every chapter and the moonlight boy being Griffith was disappointing for me, I don't know I makes sense and has a good purpose but I guess I hoped for something else for Casca and guts sake even though I do like the latest chapters a lot. And somehow I still love this manga. I just feel all that because it's so unique and shook me so much.
5:47 Huh ?! Nah man, no way. Bad idea. I mean, sure it initially sounds cool, but then you think about it and it doesn’t make sense. It betrays the themes of the story, and detracts from Guts himself as a character.
This is actually a great video bro, i finished it all starting from the beginning until the very end. Great points, funny edits and great song choices and overall a well made video. Keep it up!
I think my hot take on berserk is that the berserker armor(for me) was dissapointing. The berserker armor came at a time when Guts is starting to gain his humanity and has realized he can have friends again, shooing away the evil dark side of Guts weve seen in the first arcs. The berserker armor i believe was meant to balance this out as the evil in Guts has never left (beast of darkness) and is meant to stay as a conflict. I however do not get any signs that this is the evil of Guts when he wears the armor as his most evil side has been shown when he isnt wearing the armor (which is meant to embody it). When he does activate the armor it is to show his superhuman buffs in agility and strength, not his inner evil. There is never any sense of danger in my mind for the party for them dying or for the women even being assaulted( as guts assaulted Casca when he gave in to his beast in conviction arc). (Spoiler!) The final example is recently when Guts meets Griffith just to not land a sinlge blow and loses Casca... and he still doesnt transform. If he was powerless against the man who is responsible for his struggles with insanity in the first place and lost his hope(casca), why didnt he succumb to the armor and lose it completely?
You sir deserve a like and a sub,really entertaining video to watch,I have never checked what the berserk fan base opinions on the manga and didn’t know people say to skip the Black Swordman arc,for me that’s the arc that got me hooked and wanted to continue reading through to see what happened and why/what Griffith did to Guts
imo opinion while reading blackswordsman first blackswordsman makes guts look edgy and cliche character but when you read it after golden age arc it makes blackswordsman a piece of art. When i recommend berserk to a friend if my friend looks so into it i will recommend him to start from blackswordsman but if he is more like ''i will only read some cuz you recommended it'' I will recommend golden age.I believe reading order is rather personal.
I saw one dude on r/berserk get the brand on the side of the neck which Guts has it in the black swordsman arc and he was like “I’m now ready to deal with the harsh world” and I’m like dude you’re misinterpreting the whole point, it’s a curse yes but it’s a curse he overcomes and creates his own destiny. It’s not “Oh well this world is fucked and imma just struggle now.”
-Spoiler from Golden Age Arc- Plot Twist is that Griffith solds everyone out. We knew something bad will happen but we didn't know it was Griffith's fault.
In my mind's eye something that would be amazing for the next anime adaptation The 1st season would be the black swordsman art and lost children put together. While having flashes to the big main events from Golden Age.
I feel like you don’t get the same joy in going back and rereading the black swordsman arc to appreciate all the great references to what happened during the events of the golden age arc when you read the golden age arc first. It’s the golden age that “spoils” the black swordsman arc and not the other way around.
The casca stuff irks me because the story justifies it constantly but people consider it sexist, or at least a weakness of the story. The problem I have with the sentiment that it's a weakness is that the story is ultimately about it. The only reason Guts has for anything is Casca. He would be dead in a gutter or a feral man if he hadn't gone back and dedicated himself to her.
Whwn ppl say that guts isnt 100% human i wonder if they just read the manga at extreme speeds, cuz, we DO get an explanation as to why hes so superhuman. The brand of sacrifice makes him a bridge between the astral and physical world. In the astral world the mind can easily have an effect on the physical, su guts's anger and will to fight after the eclipse gave him superhuman abilities. All this fits just fits snuggly into berserk's themes, but nobody ever seems to notice, even though schierke said it quite literally when fighting the trolls.
Other way around. Berserk predates DS by 22 years. And Dark Souls has a lot of references to Berserk. Also really weird comparing a manga to a videogame imo.
This is what frustrates me about people suddenly getting into One Piece in the past couple years. There are so many posts on the subreddit like “which arcs should I skip” If you aren’t willing to read the whole story , why bother? RIP to the people who skipped skypiea. One of the most influential arcs in one piece
To be fair, the art is some of the ugliest shit I've seen. But I guess you're right, if the anime is never gonna end then you might as well watch the entire thing, even if you're a skeleton by the end of it.
I was soo thankful I went in to the fanbase after cathing up to the latest ch they are cool and all but I saw 1 guy recommend some new guy to the serise just skip the black swords men ark
Great video also one things I find kinda annoying is calling Casca a potato to try and demean her character’s state just because they want her back like she was in the Golden Age all while ignoring how she was not only raped and traumatized but imbued with demonic aura from the Eclipse which also made her even more messed up. It shows that they ignore Casca being “Elaine” her given alternate persona from her traumatized state. I just find it annoying because most people who refer to Casca that way completely miss the points and themes put into Berserk as well as its story and characters. Also one other theory missed that makes zero sense is people suggesting Skull Knight is actually Guts. It always gets me like “uh, no. He isn’t…? How are people being so ridiculous about this, honestly?”
@@Anon-uy4eh I see it as more than that. I also do not see Casca as a plot device but more so her mental state as a reminder of the Eclipse for Guts. He wants her like before the Eclipse to not be reminded of that awful experience. Also her and the Demon Child seem to fit into good contrast of Gambino, Shizu, and Guts. The Demon Child was a cursed boy when born just as Guts was stated to be, the Demon Child was attempted to be killed by his mother/father figure (Guts). Shizu had a mental issue and Casca regressed to a childlike state of mind and had no recollection of how to be a normal person but she did keep her maternal instincts which Shizu did too upon seeing Guts in the blood and guts he laid in, Gambino lost a limb and was traumatized by the tragedy he suffered as well as losing Shizu which made him resentful and angry and he also had a companion to comfort him which was a dog, Guts went through that in the Eclipse and had Puck come along to help him cope with his internal struggles. Another thing is we kinda get how Casca was during her childhood as her small flashback from her story she told Guts in the Golden Age made it seem like she didn’t freely think or act on her own but followed orders and responsibilities to maintain her household and another thing is how she lived through multiple stages of rebuilding from where her village was in the middle of two warring territories. As far as rape goes in Berserk it shows how humanity’s nature is to the most vulnerable people. To add onto that Casca avoided rape as she did in her youth through her own efforts or by some sort of outside interference. She is actually a good addition to the story and although she is seen as a plot device so can everything else in Berserk and any other story but she is still serving a deeper purpose to Guts in his character and as far as the story goes she will most likely have some involvement with people inside of Falconia
@@Anon-uy4eh I don’t know. Maybe I am much closee to seeing Casca as more than what people value her as after the Eclipse. She actually put in a lot of extra thought into the story for Guts to develop further towards his more enlightened side. Also Guts assaulting Casca wouldn’t be frowned upon by Casca as she genuinely loves him and is mature enough to understand his position and know what he had been through as she was living in Elaine’s subconscious through their entire journey. Even after the Eclipse the main focus of Berserk still revolved around Guts, Casca, and Griffith
@@Anon-uy4eh one more thing she was only raped in the Eclipse never before or after. She was overall seen in the manga being nearly or attempted to be raped 7 times altogether
Anyone who has these criticisms about the story, didn't understand what miura was going for and sadly misintrepted one of the best stories ever told in all of fiction. The problem with most people is that they criticizea a story based on their preferences. Of course we dont want potato casca and prefer the old one, but there is a reason she became like that, and thats what makes it 1000 times more impactful when we see her smile again.
I accidentally skipped black swordsman and like the first half of golden age because the site I was reading it on made some random chapter in golden age chapter 1 for some reason?? imo I still think the story was good from that perspective and very engaging
The first point is so true if you skip the first arc, you miss a lot of the point in the story, the fact that some people even refer to this arc as negative chapters as I've seen in some places makes me very angry
1: You can (not) skip the Black Swordsman Arc. 2: You can start with the Golden Age, it does not benefit GA, in any way, to read BS first. And the Eclipse now becomes a plot twist. 3: Guts, as you know, is like this not just to protect himself but others as well. As evidenced by the fact he still cares for Gambino. 4: No. His only superpower is being born from a corpse. Maybe he'll become like Skull Knight though, but that's the future. 5: Filler does not exist in Berserk. Anyone who says this refutes that Berserk is about bonds. 6: 7:10 - 8:55 7: Only retards say this. The Berserker Armour couldn't beat Ganishka, so it has no fucking hope against Griffith. The video is also right, the armour wants him to repeat what happened at the Eclipse. 8: Griffith did nothing wrong...before the Eclipse. Everything after is irrelevant, when Evil is the foundation of your kingdom, only evil can be built. It's also not a minority. 9: 12:25 - 14:50. Also, only retards say it's sexist.
Guts whole character is looking at the fact that he lives in a naialistic world and just gives it the middle finger before he cuts it in half with his sword to protect the people he cares about
So the people who believe the Behelit will be used by Guts isn't something thats too far off. I do believe it'll come into play because the armors toll is becoming apparent. So Guts is gonna be forced into a very hard choice. He could use the Behelit to repair his body (much like Griffith did) to complete his revenge. But it would cost him everything that makes Guts himself. So it's a unique story beat that could be very compelling.
The behelit itself is only a portal to the God Hand. I can’t see said God Hand letting Guts make a sacrifice and become an apostle given that he’s a sacrifice himself. The most I can see him doing with the behelit, is using it to upgrade his dragon slayer or something
The only Berserk Content that should Fall on the Quasi canon area is the Sword of Berserk game. anything else specially lost children are all canon i dont even know how could some Ppl consider it non canon
Genuinely, my only gripe is the amount of nudity and sexual violence. Stuff like that can be effective for shocking scenes and story revelations but in terms of an adaptation i think the best way would to tone it down as much as the 97 anime does. As it still has those actions but doesn't fetishise them like the movies did 🤮
Interesting video. I only started reading Berserk a year ago so a lot of those points of criticism are new to me. My biggest gripe with the story so far is that parts of it rely too heavily on coincidence. Especially the set up for the Conviction Arc which basically requires multiple characters to be really lucky and/or unlucky to get everybody where they needed to be. I know that Miura tried to hide this behind this whole talk of "causality" but it still feels really lazily put together. Aside from that, I've been really enjoying the story.
Good video, just talking about something you enjoy. Yet people will want to argue about the interpretation of art forever, because they can’t accept the fact that individual interpretations of art are what makes it special. People want to be right so badly that they push their hatred or love onto others as objective. Loved that you mentioned this on the summary!
I'mma be honest, I'm kind of in the "Casca after GA kinda sucks" boat. Like, Casca after that point is good as a part of Guts's arc, I agree with that, but that's also exactly my issue. In Golden Age, Casca felt like a character. She was there to help move Guts along, but to the same amount as any main supporting character in Berserk. In Conviction-Fantasia, Casca feels like a piece of the plot. I remember hearing an analogy, I forget which video, that said that if a side character being fucked up or killed could be replaced with the main character's prized Yu Gi Oh collection being tarnished and have similar weight to the plot, that's not good writing, and besides when post Eclipse Casca is getting choked or groped, I feel like that applies. Don't get me wrong, I love Berserk, but I don't love that
For the black swords man arc, wasn't large amounts of the story still undecided? Which would make the direction of the character as edgy instead of brooding make more sense.
I do think that at the time Miura was writing the post-Eclipse denouement of the Golden Age, he was not quite ready to write a female character confronting her rape trauma and found a way to postpone this by making Casca non-verbal and regressed. He absolutely did find a better voice in writing female characters as he progressed to be sure. This is no knock against Miura, as his growth as a writer an artist has been well-demonstrated through the years.
Well people do say that writting female characters is hard
Your “faithful blind white sheep” part was amazing.
Great video and Casca seems to an interesting study of writing a victim character and how they should go about “healing”. While Casca does become a character that lost her agency; I think it makes sense since she was the one who not only got molested by the demons, but also by Griffith, the one person who she idolized and devoted a good amount of her life too. I think this broke her mind and it realistically would take anyone a long time to move on from that. So for her to regress as a character for as long as she did, only for us to watch her gain it back in the dreamscape chapters, to me made it worth it. You can not like her character, but I wouldn’t say she is a bad character. As for the latest chapters, I think she will be taken to Falconia, but I don’t think she will be locked up. I think she will be given freedom as long as she doesn’t leave Falconia. As well, I think here is when she finally confronts the last crux of her trauma in order to fully heal. So Casca to me has regressed in some ways, but has understandably been stuck in her trauma and will have to continue to overcome it so she can be a sufficient ally for Guts in the final chapters.
I really like this essay. In each point you kind of touched on my biggest pet peeve of some fans. I feel like a lot of people see Berserk as "Cool! Action and Edge!" and don't really engage with it as a story about trauma and healing.
"A tragedy without a ray of hope is a shit tragedy." - Elmer Fudd
Or a Robert Kirkman story
"bwe qwiete, im huntin wabbits!"
Honestly one of the most entertaining berserk video essays I’ve seen
I remember I once asked the berserk sub if they could give my chapter numbers for where the black swordsman arc would fit chronologically and they literally refused to tell me “because it wasn’t the right way to read it for the first time.” Ive read it a number of times, I just wanted to see it from a different perspective lol. Reddit is a weird place
In case no-one answered your question, it's after ch. 94 and before ch.95
The berserk subreddit, from my experience, is a place devoid of original or critical thought that sometimes produces some nice fanart. To answer your original question, the black swordsman arc directly precedes the lost children arc (meaning it's most likely months after the Eclipse, I'll guess around 3-6 months at most as when Guts returns to Godot it has been a year since he last visited if I'm remembering correctly) as that is where Guts meets Puck for the first time. The lost children arc starts with Guts and Puck already together. After the lost children arc the story continues in order essentially.
Golden age > Black swordsman > Lost Children > The rest is chronological.
I think the reason people fall off trying to get into berserk is how they handle the majority of their mature themes. Tbh there was a time when berserk was being gate kept from people, myself included. I kinda understand why that was after elden rings release
What happened to elden ring
So basically, as you know, most of Dark Souls and Elden Ring included were inspired by Berserk, and after a while, people started hearing more about Berserk, and decided to start reading it, AND HOLY FUCK THAT WAS A SHITSTORM. People started saying that it promoted rape and the majority of the Berserk community got pretty pissed and then emerged an all out war of gatekeeping and people trying to cancel a manga that’s been out for basically 40 years. The problem is, the story isn’t supposed to be family friendly. Sure there’s way too much rape for the average human to comprehend, but the whole point is to show that this world is horrible. None of the victims are enjoying it and all of the horrible shit is a normal occurrence for the people of this world. This entire thing is so stupid. It’s a piece of fiction.
@@vanquisherofhorny3667 oh yeah people are so dumb
@@vanquisherofhorny3667 the golden age isn’t the problem for a lot of people. The events after, especially the second eclipse and the resurrection of Femto that get people uneasy. It depicts the depravity of people under absolute horrors. There’s one specific story where a child and his mother are in a tent with the child’s now possessed father. The child then looks up at his mother who is now also possessed. That would normally be the end of the story in most fiction, but in berserk they depict the child being eaten with his limbs strewn out. That’s the problem that people have. That’s why it was being gate kept. I don’t think berserk was meant for the vast majority of the population, it was more of a passion project for it’s creator and the team. I don’t even think the not so nice stuff they do to women is the worst part but it seems to be a main staple for the majority of the haters
@@crabbydragon9808 The fact that you keep mentioning "Gatekeeping" as though it were a bad thing informs me that you're the type of person that should be outside that proverbial wall. Hardcore fans of anything won't care at all about what casual fans do as long as the casual fan does not start trying to make decisions for the thing as a whole.
"GaTeKeEpInG" Is what keeps good stuff good more often than not.
Gamer Word.
This was a fantastic analysis! Berserk is a masterpiece to me, and I've been trying to get all my close friends into it, and just like you, I always tell them that is the best piece of media ever created. Also the souls games brought me even closer to berserk, as Hidetaka Miyazaki has references and deep inspiration from berserk as he is a huge fan of Miura's work!
I agree with every point *except* reading golden age first and then going back. Not because reading it in order of release is the “wrong” way but because personally I think I would have preferred the surprise of the supernatural aspects slowly showing up without any prior knowledge. I think it would be more satisfying for me personally.
Great points the only thing I would say different is that time in Berserk is more like a spiral than a circle. Im sure Flora had a conversation with Skull Knight and said that "causality is more like a spiral and not a perfect circle" in the tree house. Things are almost the same but a bit different caused by little ripples...like guts is a fish in a pond and stuff...
i agree with most of the points here but the idea that the only options for casca were "regress to the point of showing no signs of being her former self or having an ability to speak and form human connections" or "end up totally fine after the eclipse" is a total false dichotomy. there were other ways to handle it but miura chose the one that left casca with the least amount of agency. that much is undeniable, though i don't agree that she is just a damsel in distress i think there is a middle ground between the two opinions presented
Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! Yes, i did kinda pull an easy argument to refute there, didn't i? That was a section i kept rewriting in the script and didn't really know how to better put it. I think there is a discussion that could be had about Casca Post - Eclipse, but the constant critiques at her made me wonder what specifically people wanted from her? I for one love the absolute tragedy of her character and how Miura chose to present it.
Point of Berserk is "Man vs Monsters" and "Man vs Destiny" in a kinda' more realistic way. So, "Guts was destined to do this due to higher beings." kind of theories f**ks the theme of the story.
That's kinda the point of the story though right, everything in the berserk world is predestined to some extent, it was all gonna happen. No matter what choices were made. To what extent everything is predestined we don't really know but I don't think it's really a theory.
@@nxrth9463 Not too sure about this. They discuss causality, which is very distinct from destiny.
@@nxrth9463 Guts and Casca were destined to be sacrificed for the sake of Griffith. However, Guts didn't allow it to be happen. That's what I meant by "Man vs Destiny".
@@vedarovski4110 this is what I was thinking. Guts went against his destiny and was not sacrificed
It’s like you don’t understand the theme of the story or something
Great vid and editing completely agree with most of the points too. Nice man!
Wonderfully thought out perspectives without being lecturing, your supercut of gorey panels made me laugh a lot as well, great video!
You have good taste in music that reveals a great taste in games mate.
@Dman (Formerly Roman Bellic) Some MGS V there, too.
Some sh2 in there i heard and kings feild
Great video bro. Earned a sub with the Norm moment.
The Lost Children gives us an opportunity to see Black Swordsman Guts in a new light of having read Golden Age. We know what he's been through, and we know why he is the way he is.
So... in section about reading Golden Age first, you just like:
"Nah, it would be fine! Eclipse is not a twist, i think newcomer souldnt read Golden Age first"
But... WHY?! There is your actual arguments? For example me is the person who read Golden Age first. And oh my god eclipse was devastating and memorable therefore. It would be a tragedy if i know about it at the beginning! And i personaly know several people who try to watch anime and drop it coz of first episodes, but realy liked it after i insist they should press on for the Golden Age part. So, virtually, reading Golden Age first is HUGE benefit to many people, and have no actual downsides, or this downsides not presented in your video (at least if your intention is to argue against this point of view).
P.S. Nice overall video btw :D
I agree with you about everything here. But I just wish Casca could go back to “normal”, I loved her golden age character and it breaks my heart to see her like how she is now. But it also makes sense and is realistic to how it would be.
Read as is. That’s it.
I'd agree with you about the berserker armor if only the manga actually committed to meaningful consequence. Everyone tells us there will be negative consequences in some distant future, but thats a far cry from being a consequence in & of itself. Especially since the reader knows the writer can wash their hands of it if it proves to be inconvenient when its come should come. I think the berserker armor should have carried more meaningful immediate consequences each time it was "used" (i.e.: not just being worn, but everytime it magic's Guts to overcoming an obstacle). Perhaps there'd be a time period where Guts was bedridden & unable to walk for several weeks where he would actually need to rely on others just to carry out day-to-day tasks. Yeah, it'd bore the "i just want to see Guts kick ass" crowd, but I'd argue that appeasing that crowd would be to a detriment of the story & character. I think the thematic message that the "lone wolf" type would never actually make it, and that a community is always several orders of magnitude stronger than any individual alone is-which would be a strong contrast to Guts' preconceived notions. I'd also argue he's been following this arc already, but this consequence would both (a) make the berserker armor narratively relavent, and (b) make that arc that much more poignant. Just imagine after all this time, for example, Casca having to take care of Guts for once as his bones slowly & painful repair enough to even stand up. Alternatively, perhaps not EVERY use of the beserker armor ended this way, but it happened once or twice early one-forever cementing the risk its use carries MUCH more strongly than just being told there'd be consequences without use ever actually seeing them.
We have seen some consequences already tho? Guts losing sight? As seen when he was injured on the boat and on Elfhelm? As well as mental struggles that will most likely be a factor in 371 (Beast of Darkness)
Wrong. You disagree with the Berserker Armour because you're a cynic, you think the author can just handwave away consequences because you've been let down by other stories. It's an argument fueled by your lack of faith in the author. Furthermore the Black Swordsman Arc is born because it is impossible to discard the weight of lost humanity, the Slug Count is the closest we will ever get to a "Good Apostle."
The Armour is no different than using a Behelit, it's usage would lead to Guts being as evil as Ganishka, and as for the "Guts kick ass" crowd let them watch something that's more their speed. Like Narutard.
It has nothing to do with being a cynic or distrusting the author. Either an action has consequences, or an action does not have consequences. Being told the weight of loss humanity is as far from loss humanity actually having consequences for the protagonists as zero is far from infinity.
The day Guts actually becomes an sadistic apostle and willfully tortures/murders his friends is the day I'd count his loss humanity as a consequence, but of course that has not-and more than likely will not-happen. It wouldn't even make narrative sense for that to be the apex of Guts character arc. But that's the point-the premise threatened us with something it'd be ludicrous to actually deliver on.
Hence why my suggestion of crippling injury instead would have made more sense. Taking away Guts ability to fight would have meant more for the story than some vague promise of maybe one day losing his humanity. Which, if we're being honest here, was always a vague threat even before the berserker armor entered the picture.
Speaking of meta. I'm a proponent of the theory that the "Lost Children" Chapter is actually the central plot of the entire Berserk in miniature. Too many story elements align, too many things are going the exact same way.
I'll always like the chronological viewing of Berserk. Seeing the brand of sacrifice on certain characters outfits feels way heavier on a second watch when black swordsman didn't spoil it... Whether or not Miura intended it or not.
" could't agreee more " ~Guts (somwhere in black swordsman arc/beggining of golden age)
One of those rare moments when I find a video and think "they get it."
Love you, dude.
The greatest misconception about berserk is that is good 😎
Great vid man can't wait to see where you channel goes
"I'm crazy.. thanks for listening,"
You mean I've been listening to a MAD MAN!!?? Why does this keep happening to me?
I read the golden age before the black swordsmen arc on accident. If you knew nothing like I did I think it helps the tension.
Ok To be fair, that Guts and ZOdd father and son comic at 4:39 was pretty funny.
Mate, this video is absolutely genius. One of the best berserk video essays on the internet. It was super entertaining from start to finish. Had me hoping for it to be longer haha. Keep it up!
My first introduction to Berserk was the anime and I don't regret it
Great video. Im with the "berserk gets too soft after conviction arc". For me it really became more like a shounen. I loved guts development. Learning how to care about people again etc. But it felt like the world took a step back. It started to feel goofy and even corny sometimes (especially the pirate ship part). The whole shrieke and farnese fixing casca with magic felt a bit like a cop out. The feeling I had in the GA and LC arc never returned after the conviction arc. Except the small old days story with the fairy in the cell. I will reread the GA and LC arcs till I die. But I highly doubt I will ever revisit the later part of the story.
id love to see a timeline video made by you. i like your viewpoints on berserk and I think you would explain the story well
The DS2 Majula theme around 7:30 was a nice touch
Very well edited and very amazing points. Please keep making videos every once in awhile so your channel can grow. Remember me when you reach 1 million.
1: Agreed, it is the most an extremely important arc that shows Guts at his worst(personality-wise) with small hints at his pain and remorse
2: Agreed, you must start with The Black Swordsman arc to understand why Guts is the way he is, else The Golden Age arc will feel way less suspenseful
3: Agreed, try to be kind and gentle after going thru a freaking Eclipse, also, world and character building
4: Agreed, thats the point of Berserk, showing the very best and very worst of us, humans, theorizing that Guts is something more than human is spitting in Kentaro Miura's life work
5: Agreed, Lost Children is the beginning of Guts' major growth personality-wise, its borderline offensive to consider it as "filller"
6: Agreed, the built up world of Berserk saw no need for Eclipses, Lost Children, we see Guts accepting new people again in his life, letting his revenge aside in favor of protecting the one he loves, we finally get to see a lot more the "very best of humanity", we still got to see the very worst? Yeah, but now, at least, things seems way less bleak
7: Agreed, I personally would never want a Berserker Armor for myself, that thing is a curse, something that causes destruction and mayhem to foes and friends alike fueled by your "shadow-self" that literally eats your body away everytime you slip
8: Agreed, what? There are people who actually believe this crap? Griffith is clearly inspired by the myth of the Anti-Christ for crying out loud
9: Agreed, do people know what being... what happened to Casca does to you, mentally? It screws you up, badly, really, freaking, badly
Oh men some ppl are really twisted in the head by perceiving Griffith as hero. May they should check themselves by a therapist.
thanks for the work man, made my day a lot better, would love to hear more about berserk. please keep it up!
Complaining about Puck's true child-like innocence in the world of Berserk is like complaining about getting water in the desert. The whole point is that positivity and humor are seldom found in Gut's life, and Puck being the constant reminder that there is still good to love in the world that turned it's back on him. That is what bothers him so much in the Black Swordsman Arc about Puck. (Puck also poses as a character contrast to Guts accentuating his evil and malice in relation to Puck's innocence and humor)
Oh don't sorry about the lack of female protagonists in _Berserk!_ Casca, once she gets to Falconia, will no doubt meet up with Luca and her Merry Band. I'm sure they'll team up and thwart Griffith from within.
And when the Time Skip gets here Theresia, who swore revenge upon Guts, will be the tradirional female head leading the Holy Iron Chain Knights. And who know, Erica will either be a badass Blacksmith or a Kushan warrior!
Now, I watched the three movies first. I love the mangas and I watched the anime too. For the movies the third movie in the only one really good. It does capture the berserk universe but fails with the CGI. All the things they removed makes sense for me. And what's great about watching the movie first is that the eclipse and the betrayal of Griffith is an absolute surprise and seing it with sound and color is truly traumatising, just like the manga. The golden age for me is the best arc of berserk, it has the best dialogues, the best relationships between characters and the best plot. It talks about friendship, destiny, love, ambition, violence and even god. It's fucking brilliant. The rest is great but adapting some of the others arcs can be really difficult because of the graphic violence, the fact they remade the eclipse so faithfully is mind blowing to me. The berserk anime I maybe more coherent but it still change a LOT of important and stuff and I think most people are nostalgic. Berserk I a HUGE heritage and putting it into moving and colourful images is extremely hard. The only problem I had with berserk manga is when it becomes high fantasy. It becomes slow, characters are less complex, violence doesn't have a meaning anymore, same thing for sex which is an important part of this anime. After meeting Schierke the whole manga changes direction and it's not for everyone. I love the manga but I wished Miura would have gone somewhere else. The lost children was great and had the same vibes as The black swordsman even if these chapters are more comparable to other pieces of content. The Mozgus part was a LOT, good and poetic at times but a lot of graphic images, a whole lot of confusion, probably the hardest one to put on film. After that the high fantasy begins and Guts only encounters one of the God Hands once and nothing meaningful happens, same with Zodd. Griffith doesn't "lash out" which I kinda hoped for because he is still Femto and a dangerous man, the encounter with him and skull knight was so anticlimactic. The whole part on the boat is too long, the sea god serves no purpose and the Kushans are only useful for Griffith's story. Farnese is the only new intesting and complex character, Casca is put aside even tough she is in every chapter and the moonlight boy being Griffith was disappointing for me, I don't know I makes sense and has a good purpose but I guess I hoped for something else for Casca and guts sake even though I do like the latest chapters a lot. And somehow I still love this manga. I just feel all that because it's so unique and shook me so much.
5:47
Huh ?! Nah man, no way. Bad idea. I mean, sure it initially sounds cool, but then you think about it and it doesn’t make sense. It betrays the themes of the story, and detracts from Guts himself as a character.
I started with the 2012 movies so I didn’t know the black swordsman art existed yet
This is actually a great video bro, i finished it all starting from the beginning until the very end. Great points, funny edits and great song choices and overall a well made video. Keep it up!
I never could've thought that this video would be so good in quality. Keep up the good work!
I think my hot take on berserk is that the berserker armor(for me) was dissapointing.
The berserker armor came at a time when Guts is starting to gain his humanity and has realized he can have friends again, shooing away the evil dark side of Guts weve seen in the first arcs. The berserker armor i believe was meant to balance this out as the evil in Guts has never left (beast of darkness) and is meant to stay as a conflict.
I however do not get any signs that this is the evil of Guts when he wears the armor as his most evil side has been shown when he isnt wearing the armor (which is meant to embody it).
When he does activate the armor it is to show his superhuman buffs in agility and strength, not his inner evil. There is never any sense of danger in my mind for the party for them dying or for the women even being assaulted( as guts assaulted Casca when he gave in to his beast in conviction arc).
(Spoiler!)
The final example is recently when Guts meets Griffith just to not land a sinlge blow and loses Casca... and he still doesnt transform. If he was powerless against the man who is responsible for his struggles with insanity in the first place and lost his hope(casca), why didnt he succumb to the armor and lose it completely?
You sir deserve a like and a sub,really entertaining video to watch,I have never checked what the berserk fan base opinions on the manga and didn’t know people say to skip the Black Swordman arc,for me that’s the arc that got me hooked and wanted to continue reading through to see what happened and why/what Griffith did to Guts
hey, dude. loved the vid.. keep up the good work.
Thank you RUclips Algorythm for showing me This Chanel
imo opinion while reading blackswordsman first blackswordsman makes guts look edgy and cliche character but when you read it after golden age arc it makes blackswordsman a piece of art. When i recommend berserk to a friend if my friend looks so into it i will recommend him to start from blackswordsman but if he is more like ''i will only read some cuz you recommended it'' I will recommend golden age.I believe reading order is rather personal.
I saw one dude on r/berserk get the brand on the side of the neck which Guts has it in the black swordsman arc and he was like “I’m now ready to deal with the harsh world” and I’m like dude you’re misinterpreting the whole point, it’s a curse yes but it’s a curse he overcomes and creates his own destiny. It’s not “Oh well this world is fucked and imma just struggle now.”
This video was excellent, easily convinced me to subscribe. You def deserve more attention!
-Spoiler from Golden Age Arc-
Plot Twist is that Griffith solds everyone out. We knew something bad will happen but we didn't know it was Griffith's fault.
Guts left Griffith
I one million percent agree! No, one cannot skip the black swordsman arc and fully understand what guts has gone through.
In my mind's eye something that would be amazing for the next anime adaptation The 1st season would be the black swordsman art and lost children put together. While having flashes to the big main events from Golden Age.
I feel like you don’t get the same joy in going back and rereading the black swordsman arc to appreciate all the great references to what happened during the events of the golden age arc when you read the golden age arc first. It’s the golden age that “spoils” the black swordsman arc and not the other way around.
The casca stuff irks me because the story justifies it constantly but people consider it sexist, or at least a weakness of the story. The problem I have with the sentiment that it's a weakness is that the story is ultimately about it. The only reason Guts has for anything is Casca. He would be dead in a gutter or a feral man if he hadn't gone back and dedicated himself to her.
but have you considered that perhaps casca is her own individual and her pain is only used to make guts evolve
Golden age is my top favorite arc, it’s good. And it’s hooks u on the story
Whwn ppl say that guts isnt 100% human i wonder if they just read the manga at extreme speeds, cuz, we DO get an explanation as to why hes so superhuman. The brand of sacrifice makes him a bridge between the astral and physical world. In the astral world the mind can easily have an effect on the physical, su guts's anger and will to fight after the eclipse gave him superhuman abilities. All this fits just fits snuggly into berserk's themes, but nobody ever seems to notice, even though schierke said it quite literally when fighting the trolls.
As a manga inspired by Dark souls its a decent manga. Not as good as the first video game Dark souls tho
Other way around. Berserk predates DS by 22 years. And Dark Souls has a lot of references to Berserk. Also really weird comparing a manga to a videogame imo.
@@nooneimportant2002 I knew someone would fall for it lol
@@DionPanday fuck. W for you, man 😂
Fuckin' hell that was fast, guy fell for it in just an hour.
Thumbs up for "Strug Life" alone
when a video deserves a like and subscribe it gets one. nice video
You can watch Golden Age and Black Swordsman in that order. It can be a slow buildup to the supernatural.
But you can not skip the prototype.
All points were spot on, but, I still like to somewhat think“Griffith did nothing wrong” for me it adds more to the story
its good you know your perception and the reality are somewhat different tho. You can say griffith did really good things and think hes bad.
@@ShrimpRice I just don’t like when these newer fans immediately think this is a story abt a good guy and bad guy, it’s more than that
This is what frustrates me about people suddenly getting into One Piece in the past couple years.
There are so many posts on the subreddit like “which arcs should I skip”
If you aren’t willing to read the whole story , why bother?
RIP to the people who skipped skypiea. One of the most influential arcs in one piece
To be fair, the art is some of the ugliest shit I've seen. But I guess you're right, if the anime is never gonna end then you might as well watch the entire thing, even if you're a skeleton by the end of it.
I was soo thankful I went in to the fanbase after cathing up to the latest ch
they are cool and all but I saw 1 guy recommend some new guy to the serise just skip the black swords men ark
Great video also one things I find kinda annoying is calling Casca a potato to try and demean her character’s state just because they want her back like she was in the Golden Age all while ignoring how she was not only raped and traumatized but imbued with demonic aura from the Eclipse which also made her even more messed up. It shows that they ignore Casca being “Elaine” her given alternate persona from her traumatized state. I just find it annoying because most people who refer to Casca that way completely miss the points and themes put into Berserk as well as its story and characters. Also one other theory missed that makes zero sense is people suggesting Skull Knight is actually Guts.
It always gets me like “uh, no. He isn’t…? How are people being so ridiculous about this, honestly?”
@@Anon-uy4eh I see it as more than that. I also do not see Casca as a plot device but more so her mental state as a reminder of the Eclipse for Guts. He wants her like before the Eclipse to not be reminded of that awful experience. Also her and the Demon Child seem to fit into good contrast of Gambino, Shizu, and Guts. The Demon Child was a cursed boy when born just as Guts was stated to be, the Demon Child was attempted to be killed by his mother/father figure (Guts). Shizu had a mental issue and Casca regressed to a childlike state of mind and had no recollection of how to be a normal person but she did keep her maternal instincts which Shizu did too upon seeing Guts in the blood and guts he laid in, Gambino lost a limb and was traumatized by the tragedy he suffered as well as losing Shizu which made him resentful and angry and he also had a companion to comfort him which was a dog, Guts went through that in the Eclipse and had Puck come along to help him cope with his internal struggles. Another thing is we kinda get how Casca was during her childhood as her small flashback from her story she told Guts in the Golden Age made it seem like she didn’t freely think or act on her own but followed orders and responsibilities to maintain her household and another thing is how she lived through multiple stages of rebuilding from where her village was in the middle of two warring territories.
As far as rape goes in Berserk it shows how humanity’s nature is to the most vulnerable people.
To add onto that Casca avoided rape as she did in her youth through her own efforts or by some sort of outside interference.
She is actually a good addition to the story and although she is seen as a plot device so can everything else in Berserk and any other story but she is still serving a deeper purpose to Guts in his character and as far as the story goes she will most likely have some involvement with people inside of Falconia
@@Anon-uy4eh I don’t know. Maybe I am much closee to seeing Casca as more than what people value her as after the Eclipse. She actually put in a lot of extra thought into the story for Guts to develop further towards his more enlightened side. Also Guts assaulting Casca wouldn’t be frowned upon by Casca as she genuinely loves him and is mature enough to understand his position and know what he had been through as she was living in Elaine’s subconscious through their entire journey. Even after the Eclipse the main focus of Berserk still revolved around Guts, Casca, and Griffith
@@Anon-uy4eh one more thing she was only raped in the Eclipse never before or after. She was overall seen in the manga being nearly or attempted to be raped 7 times altogether
you really have a great voice and charecter for these types of videos, i think.
Anyone who has these criticisms about the story, didn't understand what miura was going for and sadly misintrepted one of the best stories ever told in all of fiction.
The problem with most people is that they criticizea a story based on their preferences. Of course we dont want potato casca and prefer the old one, but there is a reason she became like that, and thats what makes it 1000 times more impactful when we see her smile again.
This whole video was just hilarious in the best way the zoolander line made me laugh out loud cheers mate 💜
I accidentally skipped black swordsman and like the first half of golden age because the site I was reading it on made some random chapter in golden age chapter 1 for some reason?? imo I still think the story was good from that perspective and very engaging
The first point is so true if you skip the first arc, you miss a lot of the point in the story, the fact that some people even refer to this arc as negative chapters as I've seen in some places makes me very angry
I'm sitting in class right now, I should probably pay attention... Nah, this video is better
Based
the indomitable human spirt
1: You can (not) skip the Black Swordsman Arc.
2: You can start with the Golden Age, it does not benefit GA, in any way, to read BS first. And the Eclipse now becomes a plot twist.
3: Guts, as you know, is like this not just to protect himself but others as well. As evidenced by the fact he still cares for Gambino.
4: No. His only superpower is being born from a corpse. Maybe he'll become like Skull Knight though, but that's the future.
5: Filler does not exist in Berserk. Anyone who says this refutes that Berserk is about bonds.
6: 7:10 - 8:55
7: Only retards say this. The Berserker Armour couldn't beat Ganishka, so it has no fucking hope against Griffith. The video is also right, the armour wants him to repeat what happened at the Eclipse.
8: Griffith did nothing wrong...before the Eclipse. Everything after is irrelevant, when Evil is the foundation of your kingdom, only evil can be built. It's also not a minority.
9: 12:25 - 14:50. Also, only retards say it's sexist.
Beautifully said homie
Guts whole character is looking at the fact that he lives in a naialistic world and just gives it the middle finger before he cuts it in half with his sword to protect the people he cares about
So the people who believe the Behelit will be used by Guts isn't something thats too far off. I do believe it'll come into play because the armors toll is becoming apparent. So Guts is gonna be forced into a very hard choice. He could use the Behelit to repair his body (much like Griffith did) to complete his revenge. But it would cost him everything that makes Guts himself. So it's a unique story beat that could be very compelling.
The behelit itself is only a portal to the God Hand. I can’t see said God Hand letting Guts make a sacrifice and become an apostle given that he’s a sacrifice himself. The most I can see him doing with the behelit, is using it to upgrade his dragon slayer or something
Great video and great points 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Things people get wrong about Berserk:
It’s Good
Me having never read or watched berserk
“Wow so true..”
I actually started reading berserk cuz I kept seeing the guy throw the book😂😂anriku reviews
The only Berserk Content that should Fall on the Quasi canon area is the Sword of Berserk game. anything else specially lost children are all canon
i dont even know how could some Ppl consider it non canon
Genuinely, my only gripe is the amount of nudity and sexual violence. Stuff like that can be effective for shocking scenes and story revelations but in terms of an adaptation i think the best way would to tone it down as much as the 97 anime does. As it still has those actions but doesn't fetishise them like the movies did 🤮
Interesting video.
I only started reading Berserk a year ago so a lot of those points of criticism are new to me. My biggest gripe with the story so far is that parts of it rely too heavily on coincidence. Especially the set up for the Conviction Arc which basically requires multiple characters to be really lucky and/or unlucky to get everybody where they needed to be. I know that Miura tried to hide this behind this whole talk of "causality" but it still feels really lazily put together.
Aside from that, I've been really enjoying the story.
I’m a jojo fan, and I hate the part skippers and anyone who justifies to themselves
Love the norm Macdonald clip lol
Great video man one question didn’t femto chose to be reborn as Griffith the white hawk from the egg of the world?
Good video, just talking about something you enjoy. Yet people will want to argue about the interpretation of art forever, because they can’t accept the fact that individual interpretations of art are what makes it special. People want to be right so badly that they push their hatred or love onto others as objective. Loved that you mentioned this on the summary!
What a great video. I really agree with a lot of what you say here
I feel like a souls like game based berserk would be lit...
Meh
I'mma be honest, I'm kind of in the "Casca after GA kinda sucks" boat. Like, Casca after that point is good as a part of Guts's arc, I agree with that, but that's also exactly my issue. In Golden Age, Casca felt like a character. She was there to help move Guts along, but to the same amount as any main supporting character in Berserk. In Conviction-Fantasia, Casca feels like a piece of the plot. I remember hearing an analogy, I forget which video, that said that if a side character being fucked up or killed could be replaced with the main character's prized Yu Gi Oh collection being tarnished and have similar weight to the plot, that's not good writing, and besides when post Eclipse Casca is getting choked or groped, I feel like that applies. Don't get me wrong, I love Berserk, but I don't love that
Great video mate
Great vid!
Loved it man
Thanks for making this video ^^
Man, I want to watch this but it is full of spoilers. 7:05 is where I left. I will return after I read it.
Keep up beserk content u going up 👌
For the black swords man arc, wasn't large amounts of the story still undecided? Which would make the direction of the character as edgy instead of brooding make more sense.