Berserk 307 - Falconia

[Rancid]

i find it funny how we are all more interested in the chapter coming out next week than the one that just did

indeed, but let's be honest, we were waiting for ElfHelm as soon as Skull Knight said ''It may be possible for her... for the branded girl to regain her heart''

[Starnum]

Edit: LOL at "Actually, I completely forgot about that anniversery, it's the first time in 20 years." - is that an actual Miura-quote?

Yep, that's an actual quote. Miura's got jokes. XD

[Mail]

I'm also wondering about how this new kingdom is gonna play out. Sure humans and apostles were equal in the fight, but don't apostles eat humans? I thought the whole concept of becoming an apostle was based around cutting away your humanity in order to rise above humans. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

[Istvan]

The "From now on a new world and a new nation begins" made me think about if Griffith will be a just ruler or just another tyrant. Because until now, as hard as it is to write knowing what he did to the Hawks, living under his rule in Midland seems like a real blessing for the people. There seems to be no (at least from the higher ups) racism, and humans and demons are pretty much equal. Plus the new city looks awesome indeed.

But knowing Berserk and Miura, and having seen all the strange goblins and trolls coming from their hiding when the light hit the world, this utopia probably won't last very long.

Actually, my guess on the matter is that Griffith will continue to seem like the one light in the darkness, even as things get steadily worse and worse (because of him, although almost no one will know that). For example, all of the monsters that have appeared seem ready made for Griffith to "lead" and "defend" the people against, as they create mass terror and slaughter...while we the readers know that Griffith is the one actually responsible for those monsters.

[Rolos]

Well, it's clear the world of Berserk has become a full-fledged High Fantasy world (in spanish we distinguish between "Marvelous" and "Fantastic" worlds, which would be the equivalent of "high fantasy" and "Low fantasy"), and no decent fantasy world can exist without the whole "Kingdom of Light" thing.
The real question here is: Is there going to be a Mordor for Griffith's Gondor?

Of course, it could also become an Order (Griffith) vs Chaos (Gatts) thing (at least in the eyes of the people).

[War Machine]

Griffith is gaining prestige by being the hero, but now that the enemy is vanquished, I'm not sure Guts is fearful enough to become the antagonizer. I don't know if Griffith will make a new enemy or if he'll rely on making the people prosper to remain king. Assuming the God Hand's ulterior motive is not enacted then.

[dialdfordesi]

But knowing Berserk and Miura, and having seen all the strange goblins and trolls coming from their hiding when the light hit the world, this utopia probably won't last very long.

It may be that Griffith will come to the aid of people who are being attacked by the violent fantasy creatures. From there Griffith could use that as a jumping point to kill any threats i.e. magical folk like the elves and Schierke. I'm stoked for the elf island of course, but I'm also very interested in seeing how Griffith's reign will affect the world.

[The Prince]

I forgot to add my obligatory "Thanks EG, you rock!" quote in the previous post (posted rather hasty at work) so here it is

Just finished reading the chapter. It was rather cool and awe-inspiring.

[spoiler]Fantasia looks really awesome. Like a mix of greek, roman, mayan and babylonian architecture. I can spot 2 colosseums, 2 greekish libraries, something that looks like the north acropolis or the Palkhor Monastery (and yeah, I just fucking googled that last one). The huge wall in the back, especially on page 12-13, reminds me of the black gate of Mordor.

The "From now on a new world and a new nation begins" made me think about if Griffith will be a just ruler or just another tyrant. Because until now, as hard as it is to write knowing what he did to the Hawks, living under his rule in Midland seems like a real blessing for the people. There seems to be no (at least from the higher ups) racism, and humans and demons are pretty much equal. Plus the new city looks awesome indeed.

But knowing Berserk and Miura, and having seen all the strange goblins and trolls coming from their hiding when the light hit the world, this utopia probably won't last very long.[/spoiler]

And I'm so psyched to see Guts and company get to elf island. I just hope that something is done about Caska soon, for the better or worse.

Edit: LOL at "Actually, I completely forgot about that anniversery, it's the first time in 20 years." - is that an actual Miura-quote?

Don't think we need spoilers for those comments. Considering the whole point of this thread is to discuss the chapter.
Though I believe Griffith does have a dignified side, he has done and said too much much to ever accept him as being just and/or caring for anyone or anything but himself (outside of Guts). If we are to assume the first few volumes are canon (of course they are) we can't forget how much of a dickhead Femto was in hell where/when he did not need to concern himself with maintaining his immaculate facade towards the masses. He must have something diabolical planned he must...he must.

Though there still is a part of Berserk lore we may be overlooking considering the story of Gaeserics reign and downfall that Miura touched upon but never really worked into the events of the story so far. I would have to assume this story will somehow tie into the present at somepoint. And it is hard to ignore the parallels between Gaeseric and Griffith at this point. But its hard to imagine that the Godhand would turn on Griffith....though the current merger of planes of existence indicate that the God-hand may have access to the human world thus enabling to wreak hell on Earth like they did in destroying Gaserics kingdom years prior.

[Rancid]

there is also a possibility that Gutts receive some kind of upgrade for his powers in ElfHelm

man... can't wait till next chapter

[Deathbringer]

Thanks for the release EG, as usual.

So what were the religious references that Miura brought up with the Ganishka tree?

The Legends from the north was probably referencing Yggdrasil from Norse mythology, the Doctrines of the East where the saint obtained Nirvana was talking about the bodhi tree where Buddah reached enlightenment.

But i can't put my finger on the last one, "Secrets rites of the west" and "meaning of all creation", it's probably something obvious.

[Draug]

But i can't put my finger on the last one, "Secrets rites of the west" and "meaning of all creation", it's probably something obvious.

I suppose it is referring to the Tree of Knowledge from which Adam and Eve got the forbidden fruit. The fruit that gives understanding to the mystery of creation or smt of the kind.

[The Herald]

it also refers to the norse concept of the yggdrasil and the different trees of life

[Starnum]

The Sephirot is from Kabbalah, which is Jewish, but I guess you're using that to refer to the Norse tree of life, which is named Yggdrasil. I couldn't place the reference to the western tree either, though the Tree of Knowledge from Christianity does make a lot of sense there.

[Rolos]

It's probably a reference to druidism.

[The Herald]

i bet it's a reference to all of the above

[MournfulWoods]

I bet it's a reference to Faxanadu !

Thanks EG<3

[The Prince]

I thought the Sephiroth reference was to FF7.

[Rolos]

Nope, the sephiroths are the 10 manifestations (or Dominions) of the Christian/Judaic god according to the Kabbalah.

On a curious note, one of my theology teachers told me that the concept of "God-hand" is fundamental to the Christian Kabbalah, and went as far as saying that according to some erudites, god manifestates itself through its "good hand", which would be the famous Yahweh, and its much less known "bad hand", Erohim.
Oh, and he also said that another more widely accepted theory is that we are all gods dream, and thats why there is evil in the world, because the creator has no control over its own dreams.

Pretty crazy shit, huh? I personally think they are all insane. I prefer regular theology, its much more "reasonable" (seriously, it is. It's not about faith, it's about the relation between the subject and reality, while focusing in the subject (philosophy, on the other hand, focuses on the object, reality)).

EDIT: Sorry, I suck at detecting sarcasm in written mediums. Also: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

[War Machine]

I thought the Sephiroth reference was to FF7.

Ha ha ha! Genius.

[The Herald]

When I saw that huge ass city come up outta nowheres I thought that it was going to be able to move. Like that city in the Thief and the Cobbler. Or was that a city, mighta just been a massive army. Anyways, it's super awesome, we all get that, but is it going to be like Gondor or whatever? Becoming some sorta haven? Or like Mordor, magnificent, but hellish? Blargh, when will be get back to Guts and co? Where things are simple and all you must do is survive and protect your loved ones?

I sure as hell hope Casca gets her memory back, I missed her attitude.

[Starnum]

When I saw that huge ass city come up outta nowheres I thought that it was going to be able to move. Like that city in the Thief and the Cobbler. Or was that a city, mighta just been a massive army. Anyways, it's super awesome, we all get that, but is it going to be like Gondor or whatever? Becoming some sorta haven? Or like Mordor, magnificent, but hellish? Blargh, when will be get back to Guts and co? Where things are simple and all you must do is survive and protect your loved ones?

I sure as hell hope Casca gets her memory back, I missed her attitude.

Why does it have to be like a city out of LotR, maybe it'll be more original than that. When are we returning to Gatts and Co? Well, since the Elf Island chapters are starting next time, then I would assume we will see them again in the next chapter. As for Casca's "attitude", if you mean how she acted at the beginning of the anime, like she was on her period all the time, then no thanks. I want back the Casca after her character development, the strong woman who loved Gatts, before Griffith took everything away from them.

[Truesoul]

Miura even put in a reference to philosophy, with the 'It was like the very idea of "tree" itself'. I think that may have been a reference to Plato's theory of the Forms. Looks like Miura has been googling "tree" a lot lately.

Most writers create a fantasy world then write about it. Miura created a relatively normal world then turned it into a fantasy world throughout his story. Awesomeness. Now he's set up the stage to to continue the story

[The Herald]

well, it doesn't have to be like a city from lord of the rings, i just found it an easy way to express how i thought about the whole thing. of course it will be more original than that. and i enjoyed how casca was, when she was the 'strong woman with guts' or whatever you said, that only lasted a short while and i don't believe she was all that strong. i almost feel like she lost a part of herself when she gave herself to guts.

[Starnum]

I don't think she lost part of herself, so much as she had just developed. Before when she was bitchy all the time, she just seemed like an angsty teenager. The Band of the Hawk was full of a lot of young people after all. However, time pasted and after everything that had happened, she matured. She was pretty wore down after Griffith was taken away, but she had grown a lot before then, and after, IMO. I like Casca's strong attitude too. I don't want her to go back to having a bad attitude all the time though. From the sound of it we're on the same page, I just wasn't sure what you meant by attitude.

[Nakadai]

Thanks for another amazing release! Woo, new arc..... Hopefully that will equal some release consistency.