You know you've read too much berserk when...

[The Herald]

I also seriously considered getting the brand too. The main reason I didn't was because I'm a total cheapskate The other is because I didn't want to be chased around by demons. Yes, I know I will get blasted by the overly reasonable and logical psi29a, but I believe in ghosts and I have seen a few. Some people believe me, some don't, others think I'm totally crazy. But the brand is cool man! And I also feel I should make myself clear, I am not a Catholic or an Orthodox, or an Anglican or any other kind of formal Christian. I just reason in my own crazy little way for how God exists and all that, so I'm not some blind idiot. And the fact that I need to make that known is my reason for why I've read too much Berserk at this point.

[psi29a]

It's OK man.

I nor anyone else is going to blast you for your beliefs, remember no one here 'knows' you, so if you feel offended, take a step back. It's the intarwebs.

That being said, I try to only blast/flame the argument and not the person/individual. Try to separate yourself from your statement or argument. I've been known to be wrong before, just ask libaax and shakazulu. The whole point here is to interact, and Berserk brings all walks of life here.

Unless someone really pisses me or the rest of EG off, and my friend... let me tell you, it takes a lot to get to that point. Just read the Interstice.

[Fuji Nagase]

Oh man, I was singing "Forces" in the shower today, and was whistling it all day. Counselor Fuji, help me, I may be having a Berserk addiction attack!

not sure how i became the counselor, but fuck it! its much better than the president of the berserkaholics anon group at facebook. i accept.


reply: i listen to Forces while i study japanese everyday...well most days. its a great song. i say... ride it out. sit down, grab a volume and let it go. we all know you cant fight it. while i was sick i had a many berserk addiction attacks. having a fever and reading berserk are not a good mixture by the way. you become kind of delusional and especially if you read only berserk for about 2 days strait in a dark room. but in that odd berserk lovin' kind of way i think its all part of the ride. im happy that i have something i so enjoy, and you should be too! BERSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERK!!!!! bwahhahahaha!


Aetherfukz man! that is awesome...the tat is so big i was really taken by shock. i dont think ive seen any brand that big. i know a guy who got a picture of guts as a back piece but man...woah. awesome!　

i personally would get a small one. easy to hide for versitile clothing use. i guess guys dont have to worry so much about that backless dress or the halter top...

The Harold: most people here know that i will never...ever buy a behlit..i dont care if its just a toy..its fucking creepy man. i dont have the same god thing you have going on but i of course have my own beliefs and so just from what i have gone through, i dont want to distrupt anything. and i agree with psi. we have many different types of people here and as long as you keep in mind, yes, this is an internet forum, i dont think you have to worry. of course the really stupid and/or disrespectful ones get it. i like to pop some popcorn to watch those babies unfold.

[Aetherfukz]

Aetherfukz man! that is awesome...the tat is so big i was really taken by shock. i dont think ive seen any brand that big. i know a guy who got a picture of guts as a back piece but man...woah. awesome!　

i personally would get a small one. easy to hide for versitile clothing use. i guess guys dont have to worry so much about that backless dress or the halter top...

It's about 7 centimeters from top to bottom. I figured if I'm gonna get branded, I'm gonna be one hell of a sacrifice.
And yeah for guys it isn't hard to conceal a tat on the shoulder blade. It is either invisible with a t-shirt/muscle shirt on, or I will embrace it topless in the summer.

[The Prince]

And I also feel I should make myself clear, I am not a Catholic or an Orthodox, or an Anglican or any other kind of formal Christian. I just reason in my own crazy little way for how God exists and all that, so I'm not some blind idiot. And the fact that I need to make that known is my reason for why I've read too much Berserk at this point.

Well I personally respect your beliefs and candor regarding your view of the world. No matter what religion or faith you are is irrelevant to me, as long as you can ascertain the fact that there is a higher power in the universe. In my mind you are truly weak or absolutely inadequate as moral human beings to be arrogant to deny a "divine" influence on the world around us.

You can see proof of this almost anywhere.....a beautiful sunrise, Victoria's Secret magazine, the scene from Beserk where Gut's and Zodd team up to skewer that Kushan Guy with that Big Face of gas.....or when I happen to look into the mirror everday.

That is why humility is so important to us as rational beings, as it allows us to grasp that higher power, not through our hands, but in our hearts and souls.

Nice work, I had considered getting the brand as well.

I was thinking about getting one on my forehead like Corkus.

[The Herald]

The Prince:

I can never tell when you're being serious. I'd like to thank you, but at the same time I'm very cautious about looking like an idiot for not reading all of the subtle undertones. I agree about the whole denying a higher power, that just means you want to be blind and have a close mind. I'm in astronomy and most astronomers believe in a higher power because, even though they've figured out how the world began and will end, they don't know why. The why is the biggest question.

I first thought of getting the brand on my hand like Judeau, but then I thought that the position of Gaston's brand, on his left shoulder, was much better. Though, it is a tattoo, and there is all of the problems of permanency. and that of blood diseases like HIV and Hep C from a not perfectly sterilzed needle. It's not like any tattoo parlor is a medical facility. (Though, my own personal bias on tattoos stem from the fact that my dad is a doctor, I think tattoos look good on other people).

[The Prince]

The Prince:

I can never tell when you're being serious. I'd like to thank you, but at the same time I'm very cautious about looking like an idiot for not reading all of the subtle undertones. I agree about the whole denying a higher power, that just means you want to be blind and have a close mind. I'm in astronomy and most astronomers believe in a higher power because, even though they've figured out how the world began and will end, they don't know why. The why is the biggest question.

I first thought of getting the brand on my hand like Judeau, but then I thought that the position of Gaston's brand, on his left shoulder, was much better. Though, it is a tattoo, and there is all of the problems of permanency. and that of blood diseases like HIV and Hep C from a not perfectly sterilzed needle. It's not like any tattoo parlor is a medical facility. (Though, my own personal bias on tattoos stem from the fact that my dad is a doctor, I think tattoos look good on other people).

No need to be cautious as I was certainly not trying to demean anyone. Although I believe in a "higher power", my intent was in fact an attempt to come off as some "moral elitist" douche in the first paragragh, in a non-overly blatant manner.

But with my second and third paragraphs, it was at least my goal to show I was meerly being facetious. Thus making light of trying to play a "moral elitist".

BTW....Herald check your pm.

[The Herald]

Yar, got the PM. I agree entirely. Another point of you've read too much berserk when Judeau looks like a teeny weeny character. Though, he is compared to those like Isidro, because he is only in about 9 or 10 books, while Serpico is in 12 or so. And Guts is in 32 Man he's looking old. In the story he's 22, but it seems that he's aged the whole length of the series .

[Fuji Nagase]

wait..Guts 22 years old right NOW? no. i worked this all out once... theres also the difference in the anime and the manga. but im almost sure guts isnt 22 right now. im going to go check the japanese volumes i have, maybe they mention it in the opening intros..

[MrFelony]

the last age i heard was 21, though by now i'm sure he's at least 22

[War Machine]

Q: How old is Gatts?

Gatts is born beneath a tree bearing the rotting corpse of his mother.
3: Gatts watches his adopted mother, Shizu, die from a horrible disease.
6: Gatts begins to train and receives the scar on his nose from Gambino.
9: Gatts kills his first man in the heat of battle.
11: Gatts kills Gambino and flees for his life.
15: Gatts joins The Band of the Hawk
18: The Band of the Hawk is officially recognized and Integrated into the Midland army.

(These time frames are all specifically given in the manga)

19: The Eclipse takes place. After the Battle of Doldrey, Gatts left The Hawks. Casca specifically says that he’s been gone for a year, once he returns shortly before The Eclipse.
21: Gatts returns to Goto’s to find that Casca is missing. This two-year period spans from the first time that Gatts leaves Goto’s as the Black Swordsman (in which the first three volumes take place), and then doesn’t return until after the fight with Roshinu. Upon his return, Rickert specifically says that’ he’s been gone for two years.

Now, if you add up the unspecified time between when The Hawks first became a part of the military till Gatts left them, and everything else that’s happened since Gatts set out to save Casca from Mozgus, it’s possible that Gatts may be 22. However, we know for sure that he’s at least 21, and no older than 22, so either could be correct.

Adding the time passed until the latest chapter Guts is 25 at most, but I would guess 23.

[Fuji Nagase]

why no older than 22?

i think when i added up ages in the anime he was like 21 ish by his first eclipse but maybe i was wrong. i dunno...i think it at least seems like he is older than 22 in most respects.

[Aetherfukz]

IIRC Guts was 18 or 19 at the time of the eclipse. He was 15 when joining the Hawks and served with them for 3 years, plus the one year he struggled alone, would make him 19 at the eclipse. Plus 2 years between the eclipse and the return to the black swordsman makes 21. And then all the time since he rescued Caska, although the timeframe is not very well defined.

[Rolos]

IIRC Guts was 18 or 19 at the time of the eclipse. He was 15 when joining the Hawks and served with them for 3 years, plus the one year he struggled alone, would make him 19 at the eclipse. Plus 2 years between the eclipse and the return to the black swordsman makes 21. And then all the time since he rescued Caska, although the timeframe is not very well defined.

eeer......is it my idea or you just repeated exactly what was written in the FAQ?

Prince: Even though I agree with you on the possibility of the existence of some higher power, I wouldnt bet everything on it.
IMHO, its also posible that we are all just the product of a random sequence of events that led to the birth of our race.
No one really knows for sure if there is something more than the reality in front of us (the term is empiric reality, isnt it?), we shouldnt asume that just because, we, as sentient/conciouss beings, feel there got to be something more, thats necesarily true.
We have always needed to believe we can trancend in some way (inmortal soul, your kids, your work, whatever) because we simply cant stand the fact that, may be, just may be, our existence may not have any reason/purpose/sense at all.

Dont get me wrong, I would love it if there was somehting else, it would suck if its just "you lived, you died, the end", but I always keep on mind that its also a posibility, so I intend to leave a trace of my existence in the world.

Pd: Shit !! I just realized!!! This is my 100th post!!!!
YKYHRTMBW.....you constantly daydream in class about how awesome would be to get all of Griffith s powers, so you could make your long "accepted as imposible" dream of world conquest real.....

[Fuji Nagase]

yeah, i remember addint it up like that too, but i think that more than 1 year has passed since then. the traveling takes a really long time, you have to think about that. Miura isnt going to to do the 24 thing and make every volume 1 hour or day or something so you can count. justr because of that, id say hes more like 23..prob not more than 24....but thats me.

[Aetherfukz]

eeer......is it my idea or you just repeated exactly what was written in the FAQ?

Well I just quoted my memory. That it was akin to the FAQ was coincidence.

But Fuji, you're probably right. I would recon that Caskas rescue is probably about a year ago story-wise now. Which would put Guts at around 23 years. He did wander around with her aimlessly for probably a long time.

[Rolos]

The real deal is that, given the fact that he cant be older than 25, he looks like he was 35 (even 40) !!
All that battling is sucking his life like a AA member suck alcohol on a refall !!

If he ever manages to survive his 40th birthday, what is he gonna look like.....a corpse??

Pd: I sincerely hope that everything written above this makes sense.

[Aetherfukz]

Well if you think about how long and what monsters Guts' fought he still looks charming compared to a normal being in that situation. But anyway, he only began to look that rough when he flew through the Lightning cloud with Zodd, and especially after the sea breeze opened the scars. Before that he had some scratches in the face but that was about it.

[The Prince]

yeah, i remember addint it up like that too, but i think that more than 1 year has passed since then. the traveling takes a really long time, you have to think about that. Miura isnt going to to do the 24 thing and make every volume 1 hour or day or something so you can count. justr because of that, id say hes more like 23..prob not more than 24....but thats me.

I.) Regarding the passage of time in the story, at the time Guts returns to Godo's after his two year (specifically mentioned) hiatus traveling alone as The Blackswordsmen, we can be pretty sure Guts is somewhere in the range of 21-22 years of age. But from that point on, I can't recall any specific reference to the passage of time from that point on.....aside from changes in season (snow vs not snow).

-When Guts sets out to look for Caska from Godo's we see there is snow on the ground.
- When Guts returns with Caska/meets Griffith on the Hill of Swords/ leaves with Caska there is snow on the ground.....are we to assume that the snow is from the same winter or a year later?

ii.) Next, when Guts departs with Caska together. Despite only spanning a chapter or two, I believe there is a significant segway/lapse in time spent traveling alone together until they reunite with Farnese and co.

- When Farnese returns to her estate and we are introduced to Roderick, there is snow on the ground as well. So we know that at LEAST a year has passed since Guts left Godo's with Caska.

CONCLUSION: I'd say Guts has to be NO less than 23, but IMO is more likely somewhere btw 24 or 25 years of age.

[Turd Ferguson]

I'd be willing to wager that Guts is still only 22.

As mentioned, Guts is 21 when he returns to Godo's and find Casca missing. Acording to Rickert, Albion is a three day walk away. Guts leaves immediately, and the shit hits the fan as soon as he gets to Albion. The action in Albion only spans two nights. By the time Guts gets back to Godo's and finds Godo died just after he left, only a little over a week has passed. Then Griffith and Zodd show up, smash the cave, and Guts and company set off for Elfhelm.

Guts and Casca spend an un-specified amount of time travelling alone, then they run into and pick up the rest of the crew. The whole troll exterminating excursion I can't imagine took more than a handful of days. Then they come back to Flora's, encounter the new Band of the Hawk, and head out to Virtanis. During the time between leaving Godo's for Elfhelm, the the snow goes away and doesn't come back until they reach Virtanis. I think that is a pretty clear indication that only a year has passed.

Given that, Guts is only 22, or at the most 23, depending on when his birthday falls.

[The Prince]

I'd be willing to wager that Guts is still only 22.

As mentioned, Guts is 21 when he returns to Godo's and find Casca missing. Acording to Rickert, Albion is a three day walk away. Guts leaves immediately, and the shit hits the fan as soon as he gets to Albion. The action in Albion only spans two nights. By the time Guts gets back to Godo's and finds Godo died just after he left, only a little over a week has passed. Then Griffith and Zodd show up, smash the cave, and Guts and company set off for Elfhelm.

Guts and Casca spend an un-specified amount of time travelling alone, then they run into and pick up the rest of the crew. The whole troll exterminating excursion I can't imagine took more than a handful of days. Then they come back to Flora's, encounter the new Band of the Hawk, and head out to Virtanis. During the time between leaving Godo's for Elfhelm, the the snow goes away and doesn't come back until they reach Virtanis. I think that is a pretty clear indication that only a year has passed.

Given that, Guts is only 22, or at the most 23, depending on when his birthday falls.

Does anyone know how long Charlotte was held captive? Because that would settle a lot of speculation regarding the timing of events.

[The Herald]

Well, it was always my impression that Guts was 22, or so, no biggie, we at least know early twenties. I also think that everyone in the Berserk story, save for Rickert, Farnese, Shierke, and Isidro are older than Guts. I think Caska is a year or so older, just by how they were when they met. Griffith is obviously at least 3 years older. Roderick must be at least 25 or so or he would never be a captain of a ship, so Magnifico is even older. Serpico may be older or not, but he seems to be older than 22. Farnese got shipped off to the Holy See when she was younger, and I think she's about 18 or so now. The big deal with Gut's age is that he looks ancient, but he's still a young man. That's why I say he should sle ep like Rip Van Winkle (not Rumplestiltskin ) and gain a ton of weight. He can't weigh any more than 180 lbs right now, he's gotta get up to like 280 man. He's too skinny! But, then again, in the Berserk style, even the women that should look pudgy don't.

[The Prince]

Well, it was always my impression that Guts was 22, or so, no biggie, we at least know early twenties. I also think that everyone in the Berserk story, save for Rickert, Farnese, Shierke, and Isidro are older than Guts. I think Caska is a year or so older, just by how they were when they met. Griffith is obviously at least 3 years older. Roderick must be at least 25 or so or he would never be a captain of a ship, so Magnifico is even older. Serpico may be older or not, but he seems to be older than 22. Farnese got shipped off to the Holy See when she was younger, and I think she's about 18 or so now. The big deal with Gut's age is that he looks ancient, but he's still a young man. That's why I say he should sle ep like Rip Van Winkle (not Rumplestiltskin ) and gain a ton of weight. He can't weigh any more than 180 lbs right now, he's gotta get up to like 280 man. He's too skinny! But, then again, in the Berserk style, even the women that should look pudgy don't.

Did you not notice the size of Gut's back with his shirt off while being tended to by Schierke? Well Schierke certainly did.

If Guts is 180lbs, then call me Rumblestiffskin......

180lbs????.......Griffith maybe.

Guts is at least pushing 210-220lbs* at the moment. Although he may have dropped slightly below 200lbs, when he was on the beach while recovering from the punishment he took battling apostles at Flora's.

*Approximation assuming Guts has two arms.

[Fuji Nagase]

i know in my head that this whole discussion is so ridiculous..so entirely useless and trivial, and yet i have to argue. i dont know if caska is older. girls mature faster so i think that going on from what you said about them meeting and guts seeming younger..i dunno. maybe but i think its equally possible that she is the same age or younger. not that it matters really. now nobody knows how old she is because of the current state.

so i think ill say i was right with the guts thing. traveling adds up back then and he is almost surely is older than 21. im going with 22-23. 'u'

[The Prince]

i know in my head that this whole discussion is so ridiculous..so entirely useless and trivial, and yet i have to argue. i dont know if caska is older. girls mature faster so i think that going on from what you said about them meeting and guts seeming younger..i dunno. maybe but i think its equally possible that she is the same age or younger. not that it matters really. now nobody knows how old she is because of the current state.

so i think ill say i was right with the guts thing. traveling adds up back then and he is almost surely is older than 21. im going with 22-23. 'u'

Actually Guts and Caska are exactly the same age. As I heard (from a credible source) that in Elfeigm, the Fairy King will reveal that they are in fact brother and sister.....fraternal twins actually. Where Caska dropped out from her mother's corpse, only after Gambino picked up baby Guts and took off.

It will also be revealed that Griffith is in fact Gut's father.