I think the overall message of berserk isn't exactly against ambition: after all, Griffith's ambition did make him incredibly charismatic and successful, people looked up to him. In my opinion the message of berserk is that while fighting for your goals, you shouldn't shut off people close to you and become a monster
I always interpreted it as „while you‘re running towards your goal, look around once in a while and reevaluate if it is worth it to keep going“. That goes for Griffith and Guts. Griffith looks around and realizes, that he‘s already sacrificed many and proceeds with the eclipse. Guts looks around on and realizes that he has gathered people around him again, that he cares about, questioning his goal to get his revenge, putting them at risk.
Griffith was always a monster from his introduction. The “thousands of comrades and tens of thousands of enemies” line applies not to Femto, but to Griffith. He deliberately sacrificed an inordinate number of people for his own benefit. In material terms, the Eclipse is negligible. It is one of he few battles that Griffith engages with that has casualties only in the hundreds. His ambition is monstrous, and any significant ambition requires the sacrifice of others. Ambition should never be valued.
@@alpharius2omegaboogaloo384 absolute gibberish. There is no consequentialist difference, nor even a definitional difference between “mortal ambition” and “immortal ambition”.
This is the best Berserk video I've ever watched. You understand the story really well. One thing I'd add is that Guts leaves the Hawk's precisely because he values and loves Griffith even if Griffith doesn't realize this and wants to be his equal because he's convinced that's what Griffith would want. Griffith's whole shpiel about dreams to the princess feels more like BS and a coping mechanism he's created to hide his insecurities and vulnerabilities. Guts didn't realize Griffith saw him as an equal and Griffith didn't realize Guts loved him back. It's truly a tragedy that leads to the worst outcome possible, where when manipulated by the Godhand and goaded into suppressing his true feelings, Griffith rips his heart out in order to not feel heartbreak. In doing so he becomes Femto and proceeds to violate Casca as the most extreme form of violent and emotional petty revenge on Guts for making him feel this way. He commits this act while staring Guts straight in the eyes.
yeah thats the best analysis and truly how it was, to call it a misunderstanding is underselling it... its such a tragedy.. those two had, at least to me the most unique relationship in all manga i read, despite their differences they sort of completed each other and brought out the best out of another.. i think pre Guts leaving Griffith was a pragmatic person but HE HAD TO. He was a commander and firstly he had to show himself as a strong leader, he couldn't be the river scene Griffith for his soldiers, thats not a leader people would've risked their lives for.. also he had to shield himself for his own sake, if he was to befriend every and each of his men he would be devastated upon each death like he was after the "knight" boy after which he sold his own body and still couldnt wash out the guilt and shame of causing death of another. No one can convince me that before Griffith lost it he was already "seeing Guts as a mere pawn and all that stuff, thats so shallow, it's like if he was really like that, and not a deep and complex character, i wouldnt have given the show much notice. It reads like a Shakespearean tragedy with so many great written characters, real life references to mythology, religion, occult, alchemy, psychology and tons of other things.. it saddens me that Miura himself wont finish the story cause its really his details that hit the best spots.. i hope the new team can bring at least some of Miuras showing (drawing) rather then telling storytelling. And the thing you said about Griff being manipulated by Godhand just shows how much of a strong character he had.. he lost Guts (the only one he was ready to throw it all away), got tortured immensely , which people jump over so much, not taking into account what they themselves would be like or whether they would even survive such ordeal.. Griffith sanity was crushed, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, was hallucinating and yet even after that and being handed his dreams and his body back together with godhood, had to be manipulated to say "yes" ... im not a Griffith stan and i as much as the person next want to see Guts send him into the abyss but people talking how Griffith was always "PURE EVIL" is just cruel and uninteresting.. those need to re read the manga and pay attention
Yes, I also like to see it as a tragedy that Griffith talking to Charlotte was probably him playing up his ideology, being dramatic in order to sound mysterious but sure of himself. He was trying to rizz her, but Guts heard it and took it the worst way possible because he was at his most vulnerable. And they never got a chance to actually clear the air on what happened there.
@@deadlyfemboy4289what is your take on Griffith putting his life on the line, for Guts' sake, and bring told it's out of character? The optimist in me says he fell in love with him, and the gay vibes at the beginning were just gay vibes, the pessimist in me says he was "love-bombing" Guts (for lack of better word) because he was cynically trying to keep the strongest soldier on his side. Like a manipulation. Leaning towards the first one as the second doesn't really make sense in the eclipse scene.
You really prove the point as to how Griffith, was never a great person. He never wanted to be and that guts seemed to be the only shackle left to his humanity and him losing that caused what happened at the eclipse. He no longer needed emotion he thought with logic as if guts were never there.
Basically the only real sacrifice Griffith made in the eclipse was sacrificing Guts. Because it was the only true hard thing ever to do for Griffith. And more ironically, Guts survived the eclipse 😅 (But the Godhand still counted Griffith's sacrifice as sacrifice)
@@fashionsuckman4652 *Guts theme playing in background* "My nephew also chose to live by the sword. He left home soon as he could... Five years ago then... Lost his life on the battlefield. Just some lowly soldier with no name. If he were alive today he'd probably have a family of his own by now. He'd be enjoying the simple pleasures of life. How foolish he was." "What's wrong with that? He died doing what he wanted, no matter what, right? I bet he was happy... Of course once you die that's it. Nothing comes after that. Nothing at all." I'd say something does come after death. I have it on good authority. 😊
with regard to 23:28 - I always felt like the reason Guts questions what he's doing wasn't to do with any kind of morality or belief he was just a pawn to Griffith, but because he wanted to be seen as an equal, and knew the only way to live up to the expectations he felt Griffith had of him was to become his own person, not just Griffith's soldier. The irony being that this leads Guts away from Griffith which goes against Griffith's desires and expectations, and forces him to face a situation in which he did not come out on top and, for the first time, gives him reason to doubt if he can realise his dream. The way it's talked about in this section makes it seem as if Guts' began to doubt Griffith, but I never got that impression. His reverance for Griffith at this point is exactly why he wants to become someone Griffith acknowledges an equal.
I disgaree with ur casca can't leave griffith because of her lingering feeling. (She mentions how small and fragile he is) I think its pretty obvious after that she can't leave him due to pity and a sense of duty, which makes griffith feel even more worthless due to his crippled state imo. the reason she tells guts to go is very simply, she doesn't want him to waste his life for her. Judo does the same for her when he tells guts to take Casca
There's a lot of Carl Jung within Berserk. Griffith begins the Story as the Classical Hero archetype while Guts is the Anti-Hero archetype. However as the Story progresses Griffith loses the Battle with his Shadow as Jung would put it and fails to assimilate the Shadow within him, where as Guts eventually wins the Battle with his Shadow and assimilates it into his Consciousness. Because of this Griffith ends up becoming a Villain and Guts develops into a true Hero. If you ever enjoyed Berserk on a deeper level this is why, it has some seriously mature themes woven into the Story past the elements of Dark Fantasy.
I don't think guts is ever capable of fully integrating his shadow, and I think that's the point. Guts whole character motivation in the golden age arc is to find some reason to justify his existence beyond just fighting and killing. He very nearly succeeded in beginning the process of integrating his shadow when he leaves the band of the hawk in order to find himself. Griffith inflicting such emotional and physical trauma on him as well having to bear the mark of sacrifice for life forever and later the beserker armour cuts him off from fully integrating his shadow because it is now physically impossible for him to lead a normal life or find any meaning beyond wielding his sword. The story reinforces this every time guts finds normal people and either help them or just be a person, they pay the price for merely being in proximity to him and guts knows it. He may have found his purpose, but it destroys him slowly at the same time and he can't stop because he needs to keep that flame alive and do right by the people that mattered the most to him by getting retribution from Griffith. But that's just IMO I could be completely wrong
I have read/watched berserk a few times and watched many analysis videos. I thought I knew all the aspects of what made it a masterpiece but you proved me wrong. Thank you for putting all this effort into such a great piece of art.
This is fantastic but it really does miss the whole motivation for Griffiths action due to his kinship/love/heartbreak for Guts. Granted would probably add another hour on top of this though :P
guts followed griffith for a lack of another purpose, but griffith thought that he just didn't care about him being the leader of the hawks, wich he didn't, so when griffith made the speech with the princess,, he was talking about someone like caska who both follows him blindly ad admires him, so this explains why griffith was so shocked when guts wanted to leave
One hour and twenty six minutes later and all I can say is amazing video. I analyze Berserk as well and you brought up many unique insights I hadn’t considered. Great video 👍🏻
“Griffith is fighting for someone else.” As you mention, Griffith is literally hoping to kill guts to maintain control over the band and feed his narcissism
Excellently said. Griffith's ego can't stand someone who was admiring him, serving him, then deciding to leave to find his own dream. That would mean his own personality isn't that enchanting as he thinks, and his goal may not be that exceptional, just delusional. That's why he visits Charlotte after the fight. The princess is someone who naively adores him. This is Griffith's way of damage control, to convince himself that he is still that extraordinary person, whom everyone is compelled to follow. But this fails, too. He keeps blaming someone else (Guts) during his imprisonment, although all that happened because of his own ego. And during the eclipse, as Femto, he does what he does to force Guts focused on him. Griffith does everything for himself.
I think everyone misunderstood Griffith. People assume that Griffith's precious thing was a Kingdom for it's own end, but he himself gave us the answer. He won't allow himself to have precious things until he has a kingdom of his own in which to keep them safe. Think about what he said to Casca when they first met. I think the more Guts proved himself to be invincible the more precious he became to Griffith. Griffith grew up in a world where he only experienced loss and death and abuse but Guts is the one person who manages to emerge wounded and tired, but alive and unbroken by his emotional pain. I think the visual of Gambino impaling himself on Gut's sword in order to kill Guts stands in contrast to Griffith who considered impaling himself at the thought of losing Guts all over again just before his blood somehow summoned the behelit back to him and he went on a diff rabbit hole. I think we should look at what a Kingdom and castle means to Griffith: security, safety, stability. Everything he needs to allow himself to have precious things to care for. I have a sneaking suspicion that Griffith may have lost his parents violently, or perhaps just his mother like Serpico. His disgust for nobles makes me think that perhaps his mother had been a courtesan and was murdered by a lover in front of him while he was hidden away. He may have had the chance to save her by charging her murderer but she may have expressed to him that he should remain hidden. His words to Casca haunt me. He speaks from experience.
You've done it! Excellent video analysis. Such a great analysis for the most important two ideologies between Guts & Griffith. I can't wait for your video on basically hinting on the last chapter of Berserk, chapter 364 hehehe
I find girfith a little 'relatable' not because iam some monster But because him losing to his fate and his weak points... It can happen to anyone And his 'dream' and ideologies makes him relatable too
His dream had to do with escaping the horrors of the world that he was exposed to as child in the streets, and to even have more control of bad things so ‘the world could not be so horrible’ . This shows in his fearful, desperate attitude when he was a kid in a flashback, running stressfully past bad things in the streets and to the castle. During his human life (before Femto), he also only ‘killed’ off people who were already taking advantage of other people. You’ll notice this recurring theme in the people he chooses to kill. Griffith’s ‘dream’ which includes ‘having his justice prevail’ with his dream is very similar to Light Yagami’s dream in death note (it starts off noble but turns tyrannical and selfishly one sided), when he becomes Femto; his humanly moralistic self dies (the part of Griffith that actually cared for people, namely 'innocent' people whom he was okay with 'sacrificing' for) and he becomes a monster controlled only by his desires, uninfluenced by those around him. Becoming a godhand seems to remove a person's sense of care for other people that 'limits' them from achieving their goals in a straightforward black and white way.
yeah thats the best analysis and truly how it was, to call it a misunderstanding is underselling it... its such a tragedy.. those two had, at least to me the most unique relationship in all manga i read, despite their differences they sort of completed each other and brought out the best out of another.. i think pre Guts leaving Griffith was a pragmatic person but HE HAD TO. He was a commander and firstly he had to show himself as a strong leader, he couldn't be the river scene Griffith for his soldiers, thats not a leader people would've risked their lives for.. also he had to shield himself for his own sake, if he was to befriend every and each of his men he would be devastated upon each death like he was after the "knight" boy after which he sold his own body and still couldnt wash out the guilt and shame of causing death of another. No one can convince me that before Griffith lost it he was already "seeing Guts as a mere pawn and all that stuff, thats so shallow, it's like if he was really like that, and not a deep and complex character, i wouldnt have given the show much notice. It reads like a Shakespearean tragedy with so many great written characters, real life references to mythology, religion, occult, alchemy, psychology and tons of other things.. it saddens me that Miura himself wont finish the story cause its really his details that hit the best spots.. i hope the new team can bring at least some of Miuras showing (drawing) rather then telling storytelling. And the thing you said about Griff being manipulated by Godhand just shows how much of a strong character he had.. he lost Guts (the only one he was ready to throw it all away), got tortured immensely , which people jump over so much, not taking into account what they themselves would be like or whether they would even survive such ordeal.. Griffith sanity was crushed, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, was hallucinating and yet even after that and being handed his dreams and his body back together with godhood, had to be manipulated to say "yes" ... im not a Griffith stan and i as much as the person next want to see Guts send him into the abyss but people talking how Griffith was always "PURE EVIL" is just cruel and uninteresting.. those need to re read the manga and pay attention
I understand how you feel, but it may be better this way. Miura put everything into this story and i don't know how they could replicate the poetry and deep story telling that Miura was able accomplish
Miura is gone, it is done. Not trusting anyone else to ""finish"" it because they couldn't even with cheat notes. Miura the man is gone, the story is done with him lest it be corrupted by others.
ngl off bat. love the hannibal music to set the tone. (i wil be adding edits as the vid goes on) edit 1 - technically Yes. Guts goes from revenge to survival to surviving to Dying. but. that never changes the ORIGINAL goal. fighting against strong people. (which explains how he always excels against people “stronger then him” on i tried. but the first 5 mins it’s all surface level. if you wanna know the motives and considerations of the manga read halfway thru golden age CAREFULLY. And honestly. that’s it. it’s not hard.
I am very saddened that miura will never finish this manga. With how heavily nietszchie influenced berserk I feel like his idea of eternal recurrence would also show up in a reveal that guts and Griffith are more connected than we know and the history of this world
Basically the only real sacrifice Griffith made in the eclipse was sacrificing Guts. Because it was the only true hard thing ever to do for Griffith. And more ironically, Guts survived the eclipse 😅 (But the Godhand still counted Griffith's sacrifice as sacrifice)
That's simply not true. Griffith whether you people like to admit it or not, cared about all the band of the hawk and he sacrificed them all. It was shown and mentioned plenty of times that he cared but people are obsessed with Griffith being unable to feel emotion for some reason
I appreciate the moments in which you stepped outside of giving us an overview of the Golden Age Arc to touch on the initial questions you presented. I didn’t think this video needed to be as long as it was to do so but i always appreciate a good review with slight analysis on a quality manga such as Berserk. Good job.
I love this video. I love it! Berserk is one of the greatest stories ever told. Above all its a love story to me. It has every. Action, adventure, pain, regret, and also friendship.
However Berserk may have ended after Guts and Griffith/Femto's final battle(s) and how all that may have played out, hopefully with Griffith somehow reverted/forced back to his human form (hopefully that of the weaken, pitiful state he was in when rescued from the Tower of Conviction), that Guts adds insult-to-injury by telling him the true reason he left that fateful day. Just imagine how hard such a revelation that would hit Griffith in that moment. Once again broken, exposed to all (humanity somehow seeing through his and by proxy the God Hand's, and if it would've been canonically introduced, the Idea of Evil's influence on the world), powerless, weak, and once again on his knees and defeated by Guts. That, and truly losing the "kingdom" he sacrificed so much for and left *alone* as Guts and the others simply walk away. Lastly, it would be deliciously ironic it was somehow revealed that vision Griffith had, right before the Eclipse, of an alternate where he had possibly recovered to an extent and Casca and he had married. Had he instead chose to struggle and not take the God Hand's offer, his future and "dream" may have truly been obtained. . . I feel the late Miura would have most likely taken a similar route. He was certainly setting up Berserk's endgame more or less and we likely would have seen the God Hand explored more and likely eventually dealt with. Or at the very least, Void and obviously Femto. Sure, I want Griffith/Femto *D E A D* like all other fans but I really think if written well, that would be a far more fitting and painful for him both mentally and physically. But that doesn't mean a ton of other factors and events play in the final arc and battles where Guts ultimately gains the upper hand and beats the Hawk of Darkness within an inch of his life when he's (again, somehow) human or whatever again. 🤔
Woah I'm 10 minutes in and the link between guts fighting for gambino, who then becomes crippled and the same thing with guts working for griffith who similarly becomes crippled, and the link between shizu and casca acting the way they do both just clicked at the same time wow.
Thank you So much you're amazingly good :) i would def would ve watched the entire 10 hrs. We want more of your videos covering the following arcs. we appreciate you!!!
48:41 I feel like the king is also telling Griffith that his dream isn’t as important as the people he loves. Since the king, despite having almost everything he just wants his daughter (creepy) which is completely different from Griffith who has friends and people who love and admire him, but Griffith still desires more, something more narcissistic. He already has what most people desire, respect, a purpose and love but he still strives for more
Yeah, probably the best golden age video ive seen. Amazing job man. Some things are still confusing to me though.. like in Griffith's flashback on the godhand, one of those godhand guys is clearly shown as the old woman in the vision. This makes me think it is part illusion. What do you make of that woman being the demon guy?
Even if there are a lot of analysis on any art....it may, still not focus on some topics So more(good) analysis=the better Like everyone miss the message of a lot of animes
I'm certain despite his words he viewed guts as his friend. Likely his only friend and griffith bottling his emotions like he did simply couldn't handle losing him.
great video, i wonder why did you not comment on two particular moments: A) Griffith tries to have sex with casca in the wain, maybe this would provide more insight into the femto x casca scene. B) when the eclipse starts guts and Griffith are together a pile of corps emerged to get Griffiths to the god's hand, guts falls Griffith holds his hand (showing he still considred guts highly before the members showed him the illusion) because of his state Griffith arm starts to hurt so guts drops Griffith's hand. i would love your insights into this two particular moments.
He wasnt trying to have sex with her he was pretty much trying to r3wpe her and yeah it supposed to foreshadow him forcing himself on her. Casca just has crippling pity for him seeing how miserable and pathetic he is she goes along with it but it still messes her up pretty badly
Alright I put Berserk on hold after the golden age, somebody convince me to pick it back up. Griffith’s sudden decision to have sex with Charlotte was not justified. I've heard the rationale: Griffith is making an out of character mistake because he lost Guts, but for me that character shift isn't shown. Up until now, Griffith is borderline omniscient, scheming perfectly, never making a mistake. The change is too sudden. Some of the villains are just dull, one-note punching bags for Guts, introduced a few chapters before they are taken out. For example, the bakiraka and to a lesser extent the black dog knights. The story is clearly not planned out, and the author has said as such.
Its not out of rational. He just simply doesn't wanna wait anymore on his dream and considering the fact he just had his first lost hes not there In the head 100% he's just rushing
Guess you slept through Casca's flashback that shows Griffith was hiding deep issues and insecurities within him while he was bathing after selling his body to the noble and literally digging his nails into skin to the point it started to bleed. Griffith repressing his emotion until a boiling point is reached is kind of his thing.
He was obviously shook to the core when Guts was leaving, to the point of being ok with killing him. It reminds me of that saying where a person's true nature is revealed under intense pressure. He became impulsive, and Charlotte was his long term plan all along to get closer to his dream, plus fucking her might validate his feelings and assuage his self-doubts, but it didn't work and he could only think of guts.
I think the overall message of berserk isn't exactly against ambition: after all, Griffith's ambition did make him incredibly charismatic and successful, people looked up to him. In my opinion the message of berserk is that while fighting for your goals, you shouldn't shut off people close to you and become a monster
I always interpreted it as „while you‘re running towards your goal, look around once in a while and reevaluate if it is worth it to keep going“. That goes for Griffith and Guts. Griffith looks around and realizes, that he‘s already sacrificed many and proceeds with the eclipse. Guts looks around on and realizes that he has gathered people around him again, that he cares about, questioning his goal to get his revenge, putting them at risk.
That's not a strong argument. He used those exact attributes to send people to their deaths.
Griffith was always a monster from his introduction. The “thousands of comrades and tens of thousands of enemies” line applies not to Femto, but to Griffith. He deliberately sacrificed an inordinate number of people for his own benefit. In material terms, the Eclipse is negligible. It is one of he few battles that Griffith engages with that has casualties only in the hundreds.
His ambition is monstrous, and any significant ambition requires the sacrifice of others. Ambition should never be valued.
@@gammonator8913 The difference is, his previous ambition was mortal… and a mortal ambition can never match immortal ambition.
@@alpharius2omegaboogaloo384 absolute gibberish. There is no consequentialist difference, nor even a definitional difference between “mortal ambition” and “immortal ambition”.
1 hour and 26 minutes
Damn.
She-shoe
Griffith thinks like communist
This is the best Berserk video I've ever watched. You understand the story really well. One thing I'd add is that Guts leaves the Hawk's precisely because he values and loves Griffith even if Griffith doesn't realize this and wants to be his equal because he's convinced that's what Griffith would want.
Griffith's whole shpiel about dreams to the princess feels more like BS and a coping mechanism he's created to hide his insecurities and vulnerabilities. Guts didn't realize Griffith saw him as an equal and Griffith didn't realize Guts loved him back. It's truly a tragedy that leads to the worst outcome possible, where when manipulated by the Godhand and goaded into suppressing his true feelings, Griffith rips his heart out in order to not feel heartbreak. In doing so he becomes Femto and proceeds to violate Casca as the most extreme form of violent and emotional petty revenge on Guts for making him feel this way. He commits this act while staring Guts straight in the eyes.
i really love your psychological approach to that analysis (coping mechanism, avoiding heartbreak, vulnerabilities, etc)
yeah thats the best analysis and truly how it was, to call it a misunderstanding is underselling it... its such a tragedy.. those two had, at least to me the most unique relationship in all manga i read, despite their differences they sort of completed each other and brought out the best out of another.. i think pre Guts leaving Griffith was a pragmatic person but HE HAD TO. He was a commander and firstly he had to show himself as a strong leader, he couldn't be the river scene Griffith for his soldiers, thats not a leader people would've risked their lives for.. also he had to shield himself for his own sake, if he was to befriend every and each of his men he would be devastated upon each death like he was after the "knight" boy after which he sold his own body and still couldnt wash out the guilt and shame of causing death of another. No one can convince me that before Griffith lost it he was already "seeing Guts as a mere pawn and all that stuff, thats so shallow, it's like if he was really like that, and not a deep and complex character, i wouldnt have given the show much notice. It reads like a Shakespearean tragedy with so many great written characters, real life references to mythology, religion, occult, alchemy, psychology and tons of other things.. it saddens me that Miura himself wont finish the story cause its really his details that hit the best spots.. i hope the new team can bring at least some of Miuras showing (drawing) rather then telling storytelling. And the thing you said about Griff being manipulated by Godhand just shows how much of a strong character he had.. he lost Guts (the only one he was ready to throw it all away), got tortured immensely , which people jump over so much, not taking into account what they themselves would be like or whether they would even survive such ordeal.. Griffith sanity was crushed, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, was hallucinating and yet even after that and being handed his dreams and his body back together with godhood, had to be manipulated to say "yes" ... im not a Griffith stan and i as much as the person next want to see Guts send him into the abyss but people talking how Griffith was always "PURE EVIL" is just cruel and uninteresting.. those need to re read the manga and pay attention
Yes, I also like to see it as a tragedy that Griffith talking to Charlotte was probably him playing up his ideology, being dramatic in order to sound mysterious but sure of himself. He was trying to rizz her, but Guts heard it and took it the worst way possible because he was at his most vulnerable. And they never got a chance to actually clear the air on what happened there.
@@deadlyfemboy4289what is your take on Griffith putting his life on the line, for Guts' sake, and bring told it's out of character? The optimist in me says he fell in love with him, and the gay vibes at the beginning were just gay vibes, the pessimist in me says he was "love-bombing" Guts (for lack of better word) because he was cynically trying to keep the strongest soldier on his side. Like a manipulation. Leaning towards the first one as the second doesn't really make sense in the eclipse scene.
@KennethKaniff999 Yea I always saw it as a twisted form of "love" for Guts.
can you make new chapters of berserk? seems like you wrote the story yourself. good vid
This really is the best analysis ive seen. Made me appreciate the arc more than I already had. Please do these on the whole series. Theyre excellent
I absolutely love his analysis videos
You really prove the point as to how Griffith, was never a great person. He never wanted to be and that guts seemed to be the only shackle left to his humanity and him losing that caused what happened at the eclipse. He no longer needed emotion he thought with logic as if guts were never there.
Basically the only real sacrifice Griffith made in the eclipse was sacrificing Guts. Because it was the only true hard thing ever to do for Griffith. And more ironically, Guts survived the eclipse 😅 (But the Godhand still counted Griffith's sacrifice as sacrifice)
@@bm-ub6zcyes because Griffith branded him, essentially marking his soul to be tortured for the rest of his usually short life
I wonder how much Miura sacrificed in order to make Berserk up to his standard, and if he ever regretted it.
I mean it was out of passion
he would've regretted it, if he did not make Berserk up to his standard
He died doing what he loved. What is better than that?
@@JaysonCarmonaDying without finishing what you started.
@@fashionsuckman4652 *Guts theme playing in background*
"My nephew also chose to live by the sword. He left home soon as he could... Five years ago then... Lost his life on the battlefield. Just some lowly soldier with no name. If he were alive today he'd probably have a family of his own by now. He'd be enjoying the simple pleasures of life. How foolish he was."
"What's wrong with that? He died doing what he wanted, no matter what, right? I bet he was happy... Of course once you die that's it. Nothing comes after that. Nothing at all."
I'd say something does come after death. I have it on good authority. 😊
with regard to 23:28 - I always felt like the reason Guts questions what he's doing wasn't to do with any kind of morality or belief he was just a pawn to Griffith, but because he wanted to be seen as an equal, and knew the only way to live up to the expectations he felt Griffith had of him was to become his own person, not just Griffith's soldier. The irony being that this leads Guts away from Griffith which goes against Griffith's desires and expectations, and forces him to face a situation in which he did not come out on top and, for the first time, gives him reason to doubt if he can realise his dream.
The way it's talked about in this section makes it seem as if Guts' began to doubt Griffith, but I never got that impression. His reverance for Griffith at this point is exactly why he wants to become someone Griffith acknowledges an equal.
I disgaree with ur casca can't leave griffith because of her lingering feeling. (She mentions how small and fragile he is) I think its pretty obvious after that she can't leave him due to pity and a sense of duty, which makes griffith feel even more worthless due to his crippled state imo. the reason she tells guts to go is very simply, she doesn't want him to waste his life for her.
Judo does the same for her when he tells guts to take Casca
There's a lot of Carl Jung within Berserk. Griffith begins the Story as the Classical Hero archetype while Guts is the Anti-Hero archetype. However as the Story progresses Griffith loses the Battle with his Shadow as Jung would put it and fails to assimilate the Shadow within him, where as Guts eventually wins the Battle with his Shadow and assimilates it into his Consciousness. Because of this Griffith ends up becoming a Villain and Guts develops into a true Hero. If you ever enjoyed Berserk on a deeper level this is why, it has some seriously mature themes woven into the Story past the elements of Dark Fantasy.
I don't think guts is ever capable of fully integrating his shadow, and I think that's the point. Guts whole character motivation in the golden age arc is to find some reason to justify his existence beyond just fighting and killing. He very nearly succeeded in beginning the process of integrating his shadow when he leaves the band of the hawk in order to find himself. Griffith inflicting such emotional and physical trauma on him as well having to bear the mark of sacrifice for life forever and later the beserker armour cuts him off from fully integrating his shadow because it is now physically impossible for him to lead a normal life or find any meaning beyond wielding his sword. The story reinforces this every time guts finds normal people and either help them or just be a person, they pay the price for merely being in proximity to him and guts knows it. He may have found his purpose, but it destroys him slowly at the same time and he can't stop because he needs to keep that flame alive and do right by the people that mattered the most to him by getting retribution from Griffith. But that's just IMO I could be completely wrong
I have read/watched berserk a few times and watched many analysis videos. I thought I knew all the aspects of what made it a masterpiece but you proved me wrong. Thank you for putting all this effort into such a great piece of art.
This is fantastic but it really does miss the whole motivation for Griffiths action due to his kinship/love/heartbreak for Guts. Granted would probably add another hour on top of this though :P
guts followed griffith for a lack of another purpose, but griffith thought that he just didn't care about him being the leader of the hawks, wich he didn't, so when griffith made the speech with the princess,, he was talking about someone like caska who both follows him blindly ad admires him, so this explains why griffith was so shocked when guts wanted to leave
One hour and twenty six minutes later and all I can say is amazing video. I analyze Berserk as well and you brought up many unique insights I hadn’t considered. Great video 👍🏻
This story gives me the chills and makes me wanna cry
Damn it, i allways could not hold the tears when gaston tells guts he is willing to join him. Damn
“Griffith is fighting for someone else.” As you mention, Griffith is literally hoping to kill guts to maintain control over the band and feed his narcissism
Excellently said.
Griffith's ego can't stand someone who was admiring him, serving him, then deciding to leave to find his own dream. That would mean his own personality isn't that enchanting as he thinks, and his goal may not be that exceptional, just delusional.
That's why he visits Charlotte after the fight. The princess is someone who naively adores him. This is Griffith's way of damage control, to convince himself that he is still that extraordinary person, whom everyone is compelled to follow. But this fails, too.
He keeps blaming someone else (Guts) during his imprisonment, although all that happened because of his own ego.
And during the eclipse, as Femto, he does what he does to force Guts focused on him.
Griffith does everything for himself.
I think everyone misunderstood Griffith. People assume that Griffith's precious thing was a Kingdom for it's own end, but he himself gave us the answer. He won't allow himself to have precious things until he has a kingdom of his own in which to keep them safe. Think about what he said to Casca when they first met. I think the more Guts proved himself to be invincible the more precious he became to Griffith. Griffith grew up in a world where he only experienced loss and death and abuse but Guts is the one person who manages to emerge wounded and tired, but alive and unbroken by his emotional pain. I think the visual of Gambino impaling himself on Gut's sword in order to kill Guts stands in contrast to Griffith who considered impaling himself at the thought of losing Guts all over again just before his blood somehow summoned the behelit back to him and he went on a diff rabbit hole. I think we should look at what a Kingdom and castle means to Griffith: security, safety, stability. Everything he needs to allow himself to have precious things to care for. I have a sneaking suspicion that Griffith may have lost his parents violently, or perhaps just his mother like Serpico. His disgust for nobles makes me think that perhaps his mother had been a courtesan and was murdered by a lover in front of him while he was hidden away. He may have had the chance to save her by charging her murderer but she may have expressed to him that he should remain hidden. His words to Casca haunt me. He speaks from experience.
I miss Berserk. :(
Me too, Berserk was the first manga I ever owned
You've done it! Excellent video analysis. Such a great analysis for the most important two ideologies between Guts & Griffith.
I can't wait for your video on basically hinting on the last chapter of Berserk, chapter 364 hehehe
I find girfith a little 'relatable' not because iam some monster
But because him losing to his fate and his weak points...
It can happen to anyone
And his 'dream' and ideologies makes him relatable too
what was his dream? ruling over people is a psychotic desire
His dream had to do with escaping the horrors of the world that he was exposed to as child in the streets, and to even have more control of bad things so ‘the world could not be so horrible’ . This shows in his fearful, desperate attitude when he was a kid in a flashback, running stressfully past bad things in the streets and to the castle.
During his human life (before Femto), he also only ‘killed’ off people who were already taking advantage of other people. You’ll notice this recurring theme in the people he chooses to kill.
Griffith’s ‘dream’ which includes ‘having his justice prevail’ with his dream is very similar to Light Yagami’s dream in death note (it starts off noble but turns tyrannical and selfishly one sided), when he becomes Femto; his humanly moralistic self dies (the part of Griffith that actually cared for people, namely 'innocent' people whom he was okay with 'sacrificing' for) and he becomes a monster controlled only by his desires, uninfluenced by those around him.
Becoming a godhand seems to remove a person's sense of care for other people that 'limits' them from achieving their goals in a straightforward black and white way.
best berserk video of all time
I’m like 99 percent sure that Guts killing Gambino foreshadows the end of Guts and Griffith journeys that would have been in Fantasia.
"that WILL be" hehe lets do it bros!!!!!
You are a very talented storyteller/analyst. Thanks for the great video.
yeah thats the best analysis and truly how it was, to call it a misunderstanding is underselling it... its such a tragedy.. those two had, at least to me the most unique relationship in all manga i read, despite their differences they sort of completed each other and brought out the best out of another.. i think pre Guts leaving Griffith was a pragmatic person but HE HAD TO. He was a commander and firstly he had to show himself as a strong leader, he couldn't be the river scene Griffith for his soldiers, thats not a leader people would've risked their lives for.. also he had to shield himself for his own sake, if he was to befriend every and each of his men he would be devastated upon each death like he was after the "knight" boy after which he sold his own body and still couldnt wash out the guilt and shame of causing death of another. No one can convince me that before Griffith lost it he was already "seeing Guts as a mere pawn and all that stuff, thats so shallow, it's like if he was really like that, and not a deep and complex character, i wouldnt have given the show much notice. It reads like a Shakespearean tragedy with so many great written characters, real life references to mythology, religion, occult, alchemy, psychology and tons of other things.. it saddens me that Miura himself wont finish the story cause its really his details that hit the best spots.. i hope the new team can bring at least some of Miuras showing (drawing) rather then telling storytelling. And the thing you said about Griff being manipulated by Godhand just shows how much of a strong character he had.. he lost Guts (the only one he was ready to throw it all away), got tortured immensely , which people jump over so much, not taking into account what they themselves would be like or whether they would even survive such ordeal.. Griffith sanity was crushed, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, was hallucinating and yet even after that and being handed his dreams and his body back together with godhood, had to be manipulated to say "yes" ... im not a Griffith stan and i as much as the person next want to see Guts send him into the abyss but people talking how Griffith was always "PURE EVIL" is just cruel and uninteresting.. those need to re read the manga and pay attention
I can't believe the story might never finish.
Dark Horse will finally give us berserk Vol 41 In summer of 2022, we may never get a ending, but we should be happy for Miura
I understand how you feel, but it may be better this way. Miura put everything into this story and i don't know how they could replicate the poetry and deep story telling that Miura was able accomplish
Miura is gone, it is done. Not trusting anyone else to ""finish"" it because they couldn't even with cheat notes. Miura the man is gone, the story is done with him lest it be corrupted by others.
I cannot say this enough: R.i.p. and thank you, Miura o7
@@zeoinfinitneospace2134 We will definitely be happy, since _Berserk_ will continue under a new artist! Huzzah!!
I look forward to this very much
ngl off bat. love the hannibal music to set the tone. (i wil be adding edits as the vid goes on)
edit 1 - technically Yes. Guts goes from revenge to survival to surviving to Dying. but. that never changes the ORIGINAL goal. fighting against strong people. (which explains how he always excels against people “stronger then him”
on i tried. but the first 5 mins it’s all surface level. if you wanna know the motives and considerations of the manga read halfway thru golden age CAREFULLY. And honestly. that’s it. it’s not hard.
I am very saddened that miura will never finish this manga. With how heavily nietszchie influenced berserk I feel like his idea of eternal recurrence would also show up in a reveal that guts and Griffith are more connected than we know and the history of this world
Brilliant analysis made me understand the story way better aswell👏🏾
"His sword became the only thing he can rely on" until recent chapters
Basically the only real sacrifice Griffith made in the eclipse was sacrificing Guts. Because it was the only true hard thing ever to do for Griffith. And more ironically, Guts survived the eclipse 😅 (But the Godhand still counted Griffith's sacrifice as sacrifice)
this is beautiful because its how in real life we can’t necessarily kill those who have been discarded. but see from afar how femto did to guts
That's simply not true. Griffith whether you people like to admit it or not, cared about all the band of the hawk and he sacrificed them all.
It was shown and mentioned plenty of times that he cared but people are obsessed with Griffith being unable to feel emotion for some reason
I can’t describe this video in words
Just thank you sm ♥️
I appreciate the moments in which you stepped outside of giving us an overview of the Golden Age Arc to touch on the initial questions you presented. I didn’t think this video needed to be as long as it was to do so but i always appreciate a good review with slight analysis on a quality manga such as Berserk. Good job.
GODDANG how many times was Casca r@ped. :/
I love this video. I love it! Berserk is one of the greatest stories ever told. Above all its a love story to me. It has every. Action, adventure, pain, regret, and also friendship.
You back thank you your vids are insane worth the wait
This guy knows his shit. Instant subscribe!
However Berserk may have ended after Guts and Griffith/Femto's final battle(s) and how all that may have played out, hopefully with Griffith somehow reverted/forced back to his human form (hopefully that of the weaken, pitiful state he was in when rescued from the Tower of Conviction), that Guts adds insult-to-injury by telling him the true reason he left that fateful day. Just imagine how hard such a revelation that would hit Griffith in that moment. Once again broken, exposed to all (humanity somehow seeing through his and by proxy the God Hand's, and if it would've been canonically introduced, the Idea of Evil's influence on the world), powerless, weak, and once again on his knees and defeated by Guts. That, and truly losing the "kingdom" he sacrificed so much for and left *alone* as Guts and the others simply walk away. Lastly, it would be deliciously ironic it was somehow revealed that vision Griffith had, right before the Eclipse, of an alternate where he had possibly recovered to an extent and Casca and he had married. Had he instead chose to struggle and not take the God Hand's offer, his future and "dream" may have truly been obtained. . .
I feel the late Miura would have most likely taken a similar route. He was certainly setting up Berserk's endgame more or less and we likely would have seen the God Hand explored more and likely eventually dealt with. Or at the very least, Void and obviously Femto. Sure, I want Griffith/Femto *D E A D* like all other fans but I really think if written well, that would be a far more fitting and painful for him both mentally and physically. But that doesn't mean a ton of other factors and events play in the final arc and battles where Guts ultimately gains the upper hand and beats the Hawk of Darkness within an inch of his life when he's (again, somehow) human or whatever again. 🤔
That was incredible theory. I feel bad for this now but its rebirth not conviction
I am addicted to Berserk essays.
Me too because berserk was the first manga I have ever owned
Same here, they're the best
I wouldn't have brought up the king when it comes to "valuing those close to you" cause I think the king has the wrong idea
Woah I'm 10 minutes in and the link between guts fighting for gambino, who then becomes crippled and the same thing with guts working for griffith who similarly becomes crippled, and the link between shizu and casca acting the way they do both just clicked at the same time wow.
I love your analysis videos !
I’m a simple man, I see Miura, I hit like 👍
Interesting analysis.
Oh look another reason why the golden age is amazing
Do i have school tomorrow? Yes
Do i need to sleep? No
wow I just made the connection that Griffith spared casca from rape only to later commit the deed himself.
Thank you So much you're amazingly good :) i would def would ve watched the entire 10 hrs. We want more of your videos covering the following arcs. we appreciate you!!!
Amazing, beautiful analysis. Thank you for all of your hard work and effort put into this essay video, and for linking that incredible Reddit post.
Thanks for uploading; really well done: deep, powerful and insightful!
48:41 I feel like the king is also telling Griffith that his dream isn’t as important as the people he loves. Since the king, despite having almost everything he just wants his daughter (creepy) which is completely different from Griffith who has friends and people who love and admire him, but Griffith still desires more, something more narcissistic. He already has what most people desire, respect, a purpose and love but he still strives for more
Yeah, probably the best golden age video ive seen. Amazing job man.
Some things are still confusing to me though.. like in Griffith's flashback on the godhand, one of those godhand guys is clearly shown as the old woman in the vision. This makes me think it is part illusion. What do you make of that woman being the demon guy?
Griffith isn’t gay, bromance runs deep. Who else will you die side by side with on the battlefield, in this existence?
Even if there are a lot of analysis on any art....it may, still not focus on some topics
So more(good) analysis=the better
Like everyone miss the message of a lot of animes
I'm certain despite his words he viewed guts as his friend. Likely his only friend and griffith bottling his emotions like he did simply couldn't handle losing him.
You werent capping damn
lol griffith is like "look I like ya, and a want ya, now we can either do this the easy way or the hard way" lol
Yo that Reddit post in the description is pretty great I can see how it inspired you
what do they say? the path to hell is paved with good intentions
Nice to see another berserk video.
Greta detailed analysis loved it
great video, i wonder why did you not comment on two particular moments:
A) Griffith tries to have sex with casca in the wain, maybe this would provide more insight into the femto x casca scene.
B) when the eclipse starts guts and Griffith are together a pile of corps emerged to get Griffiths to the god's hand, guts falls Griffith holds his hand (showing he still considred guts highly before the members showed him the illusion) because of his state Griffith arm starts to hurt so guts drops Griffith's hand.
i would love your insights into this two particular moments.
He wasnt trying to have sex with her he was pretty much trying to r3wpe her and yeah it supposed to foreshadow him forcing himself on her. Casca just has crippling pity for him seeing how miserable and pathetic he is she goes along with it but it still messes her up pretty badly
Perfect Analysis
Best !!
"For humans, existence preceeds essence." I think you skipped a step or 20.
Thanks man
1:14:03 I need the fucking name of the song played here
Thanks!
everytime you pronounce "queestion" some fairy die in the astral realm
Please make more of these for the other arcs this video is so fucking good. Cant find a good conviction arc breakdown
I’m interested in making similar video essays. What microphone do you use?
This is indeed the best damn analysis of golden age I loved it
Otherwise, amazing content!
Captivating analysis! And great set up of music as well. I can see you have a great respect for the story
when does a dream become ambition?
Brilliant work, thank you!
wow thats rrlly coll video
So in depth this is the best review
Love Always and Forever
It should have been longer tbh hehe
1:13:55 what is the ost here?
The intro,dang the time evaporates and didn't seem like it had been three fkkking years.
Time is scary
Great work Gaston 😭
Love this video dude
This is beautiful ...
excellent analysis
13:58
"Her" Side? o-o
Praise God
Amazing!
Great video
Wow! This is great!
Wow
Praise God 🙏
Video needs more splash fight footage, bro, even if custom sourced through fur artist communities
Alright I put Berserk on hold after the golden age, somebody convince me to pick it back up.
Griffith’s sudden decision to have sex with Charlotte was not justified. I've heard the rationale: Griffith is making an out of character mistake because he lost Guts, but for me that character shift isn't shown. Up until now, Griffith is borderline omniscient, scheming perfectly, never making a mistake. The change is too sudden.
Some of the villains are just dull, one-note punching bags for Guts, introduced a few chapters before they are taken out. For example, the bakiraka and to a lesser extent the black dog knights. The story is clearly not planned out, and the author has said as such.
Just read it when you're bored then and enjoy the ride into despair
Its not out of rational. He just simply doesn't wanna wait anymore on his dream and considering the fact he just had his first lost hes not there In the head 100% he's just rushing
Guess you slept through Casca's flashback that shows Griffith was hiding deep issues and insecurities within him while he was bathing after selling his body to the noble and literally digging his nails into skin to the point it started to bleed. Griffith repressing his emotion until a boiling point is reached is kind of his thing.
He was obviously shook to the core when Guts was leaving, to the point of being ok with killing him. It reminds me of that saying where a person's true nature is revealed under intense pressure. He became impulsive, and Charlotte was his long term plan all along to get closer to his dream, plus fucking her might validate his feelings and assuage his self-doubts, but it didn't work and he could only think of guts.
Pretty sure that's not what essence refers to, at least as commonly understood in metaphysics
Thank you for this. 🥹 More please!