Berserk 316 - Full Moon

[kikiking]

[spoiler]Wow, awesome chapter! That kid does seem to be who we think he is, but it really does not matter now. I am starting to think miura will keep Caska the way she is, makes no sense for her to come our of it seeing she has a son.[/spoiler]

Well not even sure he s anyway, need confirmation. Hopefully something cool will happen to Guts armor thanks to this, and it will get a change or because it was touched he can go in and out of it fine with no side effects.

[Billabong]

Thanks for the release, EG.

Also, does the Berserk armor take control of Guts' prosthetic arm or what? At page 10 in this chapter he is GRIPPING a tentacle tightly with his prosthetic arm.
This isn't the first time in this state he has been able to use his arm like that.

Goof on Miura's side or will it eventually be explained (maybe it already has, I haven't read past Volume 22 in years, and that was that terrible BotH translation). Getting Vol 23 - 30 in the mail today )?

I'd assume it does, if you go back and look carefully, whenever it takes over it'll give a couple of panels showing the armour changing shape, growing along his arms, and covering his hands.
And when you consider the Armour can bite things, moving the hand doesn't seem too far fetched.

[DrPepperPro]

Also, does the Berserk armor take control of Guts' prosthetic arm or what? At page 10 in this chapter he is GRIPPING a tentacle tightly with his prosthetic arm.
This isn't the first time in this state he has been able to use his arm like that.

Goof on Miura's side or will it eventually be explained (maybe it already has, I haven't read past Volume 22 in years, and that was that terrible BotH translation). Getting Vol 23 - 30 in the mail today )?

It hasn't been explained, but I don't think it's out of reason with what we know. The armor transformed its helmet into the beast shape when Guts first puts it on, it repaired a hole that was punched in the stomach by one of those big possessed whale things in Vritannis, and it punctures Guts with metal spikes to force movement in limbs with broken bones. Controlling the arm has happened before, but from memory I'm thinking that this is the most obvious example of it. Probably the armor over the hand is moving by Guts' or the armor's will, and the cannon hand beneath it is just coming along for the ride.

[kikiking]

Does anyone think Caska will come out of it?

[Starnum]

I think it's definitely a possibility, especially if the elves can help at all. Puck does have that healing dust. Who knows what the others may be capable of.

[Istvan]

Does anyone think Caska will come out of it?

I think if we had all this build up about Elfheim, and then it was simply announced that she couldn't be healed, that would be hugely anti-climactic. It might work if it turned out that she refused to be healed (she prefered being mad to living in a world where Griffith acted like that) but even then I'd be bitterly disapointed in her as a character. I expect she will be healed after they reach Elfheim. Now, what she'll choose to do once she's healed...that's an interesting question and I'm looking forward to how Miura handles it.

[dialdfordesi]

It is strongly foreshadowed that Guts will not get what he will expect if Caska does get healed. She will see the growing darkness in Guts, as she is the only one that remembers Guts as how he was before the eclipse, and it will probably make her oppose his decision for revenge. It may work the other way, with Caska wanting revenge as much as if not more than Guts, and Guts not wanting her to have as many injuries as himself.

[Starnum]

Well I don't think it was foreshadowing as much as SK simply reminding Guts that what he wants might not be the same thing she wants. I think it could really go either way at this point, we'll just have to wait and see.

[Billabong]

The way i see it, Caska's mental state is too strongly tied to Guts' character development for her to just be "All better" all of a sudden, it's going to be a long time before she's cured, if ever.

Think about it, what will Guts do if Caska is magically healed? Go off hunting the Godhand? No way in hell he can take them on directly, not yet, the Skull Knight couldn't even hurt Griffith.
I've brought it up before, but i'm not inclined to believe Griffith would leave Elfheim completely alone, despite obviously having a lot of powerful people who could potentially oppose him when he went so far out of his way to kill Flora, unless they're allied or something at least. But i'm expecting something relevent to Isma is going to come up, she wouldn't have been introduced for no reason, and it's pretty obvious she's joining up with Guts and Co.

At the very least the Elf king is going ask Guts to do some Errand quest or something in exchange, anyway.

Or, i might just be completely wrong.

[Rolos]

Indeed, there are many possible arrangements for the elements currently present in the story.
There is one certainty, though, and that is the one dictated by the one absolute law of story-telling:
Drama cannot be created nor destroyed, only changed from one form to another.
As you have postulated, much of the dramatic tension surrounding Gutts right now is derived from Caska's condition, and having her simply "healed" would suddenly sublimate most of the almost palpable dramatic energy that their relation carries.
Such a thing would, heaven forbid, make Gutts happy.
There can be no happiness in a good story, only pain, anger, sadness, desperation, despair, madness, longing and cruelty. Any happiness that does appear exists for the sole purpose of highlighting just how awful everything is going to be once it ceases to exist.
Since Berserk is, let's face it, a fairly predictable story in terms of themes (not that that's bad), we can be pretty sure that the story is gonna develop in one of three ways:

A) Rape. Everything is gonna rape everyone, and viceversa. Not likely, but within the realm of possibilities. In this particular case, I'd go for "Caska can't forgive Gutts for his actions during her period of mental convalescence, regardless of mitigating circumstances". (Drama cheapness: 5.3)
B) Insanity. Caska will be cured, but only partially, and will be prone to some kind of mental disease. (Drama cheapness: 4.1)
C) Monsters! Horrible, nightmarish creatures from the beyond, capable of crushing your puny mind just by being (only it isn't like that and they're actually very confused humans)! Gutts and company will arrive to Elfhelm, only for it to be attacked shortly after their arrival. (Remember Vittrannis. Never forget. (note to self: omake comparing vittrannis to the Alamo or similar event. Nothing like hundreds of deaths to tickle the funny bone) (Not cheap, but fairly stupid)

and, last, but not lest (?):
D) SURPRISE! Something totally awesome happens, so awesome it is impossible to conceive, much less predict. Blood, magic, guts, madness and philosophical intercourse all take place simultaneously in an orgy of awesome that will change our lives forever. (awesomeness that transcends quantification)

If I had to choose the one that I think is most probable, I'd go for C.

P.S. I refuse to apologize for it's length of this post.

[tsubaimomo]

and, last, but not lest (?):

least

note to self: omake comparing vittrannis to the Alamo or similar event.

Vritannis

P.S. I refuse to apologize for it's length of this post.

the length

[Rolos]

Touché , Tsubaimono, touché .
I am very thankful for the service you just provided, and I apologize for my awful, awful mistakes.
I will try to never again commit the henious crime of erring, and will collaborate in whatever ways you and the institution you so majestically represent deem necessary. I mean, it's so obvious to me now, what would it be like if people wrote however they wanted? Chaos!
Thank you. Just...thank you.

egasseM ot al ecnatsisér: ehT opatseg si no eht hcnar, I teaper, eht opatseg si no eht hcnar. kcolF ot amam esoog, tuo!

[tsubaimomo]

Touché , Tsubaimono, touché .

Touché, Rolos, touché. You saw it comin' though ol' feller.

I will try to never again commit the henious crime of erring,

heinous

egasseM ot al ecnatsisér: ehT opatseg si no eht hcnar, I teaper, eht opatseg si no eht hcnar. kcolF ot amam esoog, tuo!

opatseG

Anyone attempting to harbor rebels or stain the purity of the great English language will be dealt with in the most terrible way imaginable.

[Istvan]

Good work, tsubaimomo. Frankly, I'm appalled that Rolos would mess up like this two posts in a row. One more and I vote that he ought to commit Seppuku in order to extirpate the shame.

[hbi2k]

Only way Caska gets her mind back is 1.) if its directly after Guts finally gets over her and goes to bed with one of the many women who are always falling all over him and 2.) if, upon regaining her memories of what happened, she slits her own throat. Only way I can see it happening in such a way as to significantly add to Guts' guilt and misery instead of subtracting from it.

[Rolos]

Or she could just, you know, die.
It doesn't take much to kill a mumbling retard, even if she's wearing the nigh impregnable armor of plot relevance (hahaha, that reminds me of a joke hbi2k made in one of his Berserk abridged episodes. How do you call something that can't be impregnated? And I don't mean sterile, barren, etc... I mean a variation of the word itself. Inimpreganatable? unimpregnatable?).

Now that I think about it...has any plot relevant character ever died in a non-dramatic way in Berserk?

P.S. I blame the catholic church for all my grammatical mistakes. And protestant christianity. Also, the harlem globetrotters.
...
They know what they did.
[spoiler]P.S.S Thanks, Tsubaimomo. Really, thanks. You know how I spent the last 20 minutes? Checking if this goddamn post had any grammatical inconsistencies. I know I shouldn't. I know it doesn't really matter. I know I shouldn't lose a single second of sleep just because I made a few mistakes in a practically deserted forum board. BUT I DO.
And I blame YOU!
And my dreaaaaaams, they aren't as empty!
As my consciousness seems to be.
My love is vengeance.
That's never freeeeeee~

Good song, good song.
A little whiny, though.[/spoiler]

[tsubaimomo]

Okay, I suppose you've learned your lesson then... whatever that may be. So I'll give up.

But, thank you for thanking me, my dear Mr. Rolos. And, never again let us be at odds, for together, we can conq-- DESTROY the WORLD!!!

[Istvan]

And, never again let us be at odds, for together, we can conq-- DESTROY the WORLD!!!

A laudable goal, but it might be harder than you think to implement. After all, as http://qntm.org/destroy (a website for those who want to destroy the Earth, which lists potential methods for doing so) makes clear, the Earth is a 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron; in other words, not something that's easy to destroy. Good luck though, and if you do succeed in destroying the world, I'll be one of the first in line to congratulate you on a job well done.

[Rolos]

Ah, but there is distinction to be made there! The blue/sightly brown planet is indeed, a formidable foe, but the world (that is, the perceived totality as comprehended by sapient beings) is much more fragile.
You just need to kill all humans, dolphins, gorillas and pretty much anything sporting a sense of self. And as Robert Brockway put into his book "Everything is going to kill everybody", which I haven´t read and thus have no way of quoting, "Killing humans is easy. Any gun will do it. Or a sword. A sharp stick, even. Hell, a rock would do. The point being that life is much more fragile than we think it is, and that's totally awesome because,should you choose to become a deranged omnicidal maniac with nihilist designs for mankind, your job is going to be way easier than you think".

Having said that... Why would you want to destroy the world? Ruling it with an iron fist of dictatorial terror, leaving only a doomed, smoldering ruin after you're gone, I'd understand, but destroying it? That's just senseless.
Seriously, dude, do you need to talk? I have a friend who gives counseling.
Here, send him an email explaining your problems: Mephs_totally@gmail.com
Life's a gift man, don't throw it away. Not without style.

[TheParagon]

good thing there soon will be a new ch to discuss, since this thread seems a bit out of track

[tsubaimomo]

Off track, and I am out of order :/

[War Machine]

There's no job too small for you, apparently.

[evr]

First!

Edit: Alright, I got a direct download going, but I'm still testing waters here and speed might suck:

http://berserkvault.dyndns.org/

I just wanted to say thanks for the high amount of awesome encountered there.

[War Machine]

No problem, I always welcome thread necroing when it involves people thanking me.