Berserk Chapter 276

[frosty]

PSI, if your arm/hand is feeling numb. Do go for a check. It might seem like nothing but your nerves might have been fried. Friend fo mine who has sweaty palms got electrocuted while fiddling around with a car battery. The Doctor had him go through a scan to make sure.

Other than when he first appeared, Zodd doesn't really looks like himself. Think Zodd isn't really those followers and being one of Griffith's cronies just ain't his style. Fighting Ganishka in a non-melee battle just don't cut it for him at all. There's no kick when there is nothing to hit.

Come to think of it. Zodd is an apostle whose character is most similiar to Guts. Zodd is like the commando team leader in the post-eclipse Hawks leading the frontline. Just like Guts use to be in the pre-eclipse Hawks. There seems to be some parallel and I do feel some kind of connection between Guts & Zodd.

Interesting to see how the story will unwind. Griffith is bound to appear. That oughta piss Guts off.

[MrFelony]

there was talk about how each of Griffith new apostle leaders pretty much replace the leaders he held under the hawk. both armies have much the same feel to it, except the neo-hawks have a much more grander, yet apostle-istic feel to it.

[kasgarinn]

Hmm.. this all depends on 2 things really, how well is astral projection known, and how much pride does zodd have.

If griffith doesn't know how the astral projection works, then what just happened seems logical, as he's testing the defense of the emperor to find any weakness (of course there isn't any.. the emperor is in a well defended place under a trance where no one can hurt him directly).

If griffith knows how astral projection works, then he must be setting up somekind of an attack somewhere else to further weaken the emperor while his attention is with zodd, however that plan would mean the probable sacrifice of one of the biggest metropolis in the kingdom, which isn't strategically sound.

Also I'm a bit disappointed with zodd.. his fighting doesn't show the intelligence and cunning I've come to expect.

I'm not sure where this'll go with zodd landing on gutts and taking him with him down to the sea.. whether gutts will save him, and they'll talk about stuff to open up plotpoints, or whether it's just to give gutts a chance to swim to safety.

K.

[MrFelony]

i forgot that he projects himself...though that seems like quite a being to project...the attack on his hq seems like a feasible plan...im sure miura will throw us a huge surprise next chapter.

[Istvan]

Hmm.. this all depends on 2 things really, how well is astral projection known, and how much pride does zodd have.

If griffith doesn't know how the astral projection works, then what just happened seems logical, as he's testing the defense of the emperor to find any weakness (of course there isn't any.. the emperor is in a well defended place under a trance where no one can hurt him directly).

If griffith knows how astral projection works, then he must be setting up somekind of an attack somewhere else to further weaken the emperor while his attention is with zodd, however that plan would mean the probable sacrifice of one of the biggest metropolis in the kingdom, which isn't strategically sound.

Also I'm a bit disappointed with zodd.. his fighting doesn't show the intelligence and cunning I've come to expect.

I'm not sure where this'll go with zodd landing on gutts and taking him with him down to the sea.. whether gutts will save him, and they'll talk about stuff to open up plotpoints, or whether it's just to give gutts a chance to swim to safety.

Why do you think that he projects himself, where is this stated? My impression had always been that the mist form was his "other body" that all Apostles have, aside from their human form. So while Zodd turns into a sort of giant flying bat monster, the Emperor turns into mist. I could be wrong on this, but that's my impression. If there's a chapter that says the Emperor is projecting himself, could you tell me which it is? I'd love to see it, if it exhists.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this city isn't in the Midlands, which would be his imediate kingdom. Even if he plans to make the surounding countries his as well, including the one that this city is part of, it still makes a lot of sense to sacrifice it, since it helps to build a sense of crises, and makes him look even more like a hero, without which he can't take power. His current scheme relies on him being seen as a savior from an overwhelmingly powerful and evil foe, and for that to be realistic, the Emperor must have a lot of initial successes, or at the least destroy several cities (such as the Midland capital, and now this one) so people will be properly terrified, then grateful when he saves them.

Last, on Zodd, I'll admit his tactics aren't all that inspired, but in his position, what exactly would you do differently? How do you go about fighting an opponent who's made of mist, except maybe by trying to disipate it?

[Wandering_Mystic]

I'll just mention a few things here. First off, the emperor was in fact attacked while in his seemingly human form. This was back at Wyndam castle when Griffith abducted (re-kidnapped?) the princess. Alvin the demon archer/hunter shot an arrow at him, which went right through his body like it was mist. (Ganishka then sudden appeared as a giant misty face hovering over the city, with no panels showing any process in between)

Second, I think it has been rumbling in the background of the story ever since volume 14 that the Kushans were overrunning Midland. That means for 16+ volumes of Kushan might being readily displayed, I think it has already been established that the people fear them and have already been soundly defeated. Vritanis was supposed to be the last bastion of (faint) hope as a staging point of all the armies in the surrounding kingdoms (Chudor, etc). Then Griffith came on the scene (still relatively recently) gaining some quick victories, but still only somewhat a rumor for what seems to be most people scattered throughout the lands. I think Vritanis will be the first major victory for the reborn Griffith (in the eyes of the people). Ganishka already has the capital, Wyndam, and this move against Vritannis seems more like a plan to make his conquest total. Interestingly, Griffith made one of his very first priorities (after forming the Neo Hawks) to destroy Flora the witch, rather than any traditional geopolitical target. Now he seems to be focusing on the Kushans, and consequently Ganishka.

I think Griffith already knows more or less what Ganishka can do, judging by how he rescued Charlotte so easily (coming in from above the fog, as if he knew that the fog was one of the keys to Ganishka's power).

[Fuji Nagase]

hey, thanks for another chapter, you guys are great.

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interesting thing: ganishka was the last emperor of the real kushan empire stated in the corresponding wikipedia article....

[Khelegond]

First, thanks a lot EG! Each passing day makes my respect for you all (and the community) grow!!!

Second...what if Zodd was doing a distraction? Maybe he knows where the "source" of the emperor is, and faked a fall to hit him, but rising from underwater? And then, when he saw Gatts, he got him to "protect" him?

Bah, I think too much in things too weird

[Istvan]

Or maybe Griffith has another target all together (that we haven't seen) and this whole battle is just the equivilent on a grander scale of what he did at Windam. I think it's fairly clear that the Emperor won't die yet, and I doubt Griffith even wants him to. Although the despair is high, one victory won't gain him rule. I think he plan's something similiar to what he did before the Eclipse, if on a grander scale, a steady series of victories to slowly lever himself into power. If the threat goes away too soon, he won't have gained enough popular support and power to lever himself into rule. He could still go for direct conquest, of course, but that doesn't seem to be his style. And his rule would ultimately be much stronger if he was raised to power by a grateful and adoring populace then if he siezed it by force.

[coungpow]

Thanks for the great release guys! Can't wait until the 28th... why such a long wait till the next chapter?

And Khelegond i don't think that the Emperor has a "source" i think that the emperor is just lightning, a la Raiden, and fog (though i don't know the Japanse fog god...) I think with him what you see is what you get there is no frail swami behind the scenes controlling things.

And Istvan i agree that the emperor isn't about to die but Griffith doesn't have to do anything to gain popularity anymore he is still remembered with such fondness, the only sliver lining on a horizon full of dark coulds, or at least that's how he apperas to the masses.

[kasgarinn]

istvan: "Why do you think that he projects himself"

I'm mainly deducing what an intelligent wizard would do, if it were me in this position, and using similarities in the D&D fantasy paradigm with berserks. I might be seriously wrong in my deduction because of this.

Changing yourself into a mist/air elemental could very well be what he's doing, but I'm more inclined to think he's not really there.. that the vulnerable part is and has always been tucked away somewhere safe, and all we've ever seen are conjured images of him, and not the real him.

It's also somewhat in harmony with how miura has used parts of mythology or other stories, and if I remember correctly, one story from asia is how a king/magician can't be killed because he's safely locked his heart away in a tower (made into a mildly entertaining childrens movie if I recall correctly). In D&D, many spells have been designed so that the wizard is never in harms way directly, and so I deduce rightly or wrongly that the emperor must be using somekind of a projection.

K.

[Skullkracker]

look who's back!

the concept of a projection is actually quite entertaining, but then Griffith would probably know about that and fuck him up in the next chapter...if he wanted to that is

[Quest]

i am a fan of the "the apostles are here to help resist the kushan invasion and griffith like a saviour/hero will show up after the kushan army has been defeated" idea.

after that, most likely a confrontation with guts will follow.

[Istvan]

istvan: "Why do you think that he projects himself"

I'm mainly deducing what an intelligent wizard would do, if it were me in this position, and using similarities in the D&D fantasy paradigm with berserks. I might be seriously wrong in my deduction because of this.

Changing yourself into a mist/air elemental could very well be what he's doing, but I'm more inclined to think he's not really there.. that the vulnerable part is and has always been tucked away somewhere safe, and all we've ever seen are conjured images of him, and not the real him.

It's also somewhat in harmony with how miura has used parts of mythology or other stories, and if I remember correctly, one story from asia is how a king/magician can't be killed because he's safely locked his heart away in a tower (made into a mildly entertaining childrens movie if I recall correctly). In D&D, many spells have been designed so that the wizard is never in harms way directly, and so I deduce rightly or wrongly that the emperor must be using somekind of a projection.

While that is a very logical annalysis of what a wizard might do, the point that I look at is that the Emperor is an Apostle not a wizard. Every Apostle we've seen up to now has had a "human" form and a monster one, so to me it seems that the monster form of the Emperor is fog based. This seems especially likely to me because if he is projecting himself, then logically his "real" body would be weak, if you could only find it, and I have a hard time imagining that any Apostle would come back with a weak body. A large part of the point of transforming is that they come back with a very powerful body. If the Emperor is, indeed, the most powerful Apostle (which would make sense, since he thinks he can challenge Griffith) then I don't see why his monster form couldn't be a nearly invulnerable fog monster. It wouldn't be that much more unreasonable then the dragon Apostle, whose scales were nearly indestructable (they could bounce cannonballs, for crying out loud). Fog would be a step up, but not inconcievable by any means. Plus, the Kushan Emperor doesn't really seem like a mage to me, although he employs them. All he does is fog and lightning, which would be very impressive for an Apostle's body, but one would think that a mage's spells would be somewhat more versetile then that.

[Sortep]

I concur... I think people are reading way too much into the emperor's form... up until now muira has been very straightfoward on his apostles... i don't see him deviating much from that... then again i could be wrong... we'll see

[Chaos_Wanderer]

Ordinarily i would agree that people are reading too much into the emperors form, but the key to defeating him rests in understanding him and his capabilities. If it was that straightforward, it wouldn't be as entertaining. He's not the kind of apostle who'll die after getting his dead chopped off by the Dragon Slayer. (but a powerful wind spell could catch him off guard)

As for the Emperor having a solid core somewhere in the fog? It didn't do much good for the Old Witches body guards or the Water Snake. That idea has been used enough, and the emperor is above that.

Finally, Wouldn't it just Piss Griffith off if Guts killed the emperor and stole all Griffiths Glory? Sure would make there relationship interesting again.

[Lord Rae]

likely grifith would still get the glory for it... no ones gonna look at the guy all in black with the huge sword as a divine savior...especially if grifith shows up right afterwards....

[elric le tueur d'amis]

right,especially after years of legends about these two being the white and black hawks.

[Istvan]

And really especially if it is a situation somewhat like this one (later on, of course) where pretty much everyone that might observe that Guts killed the Emperor are already dead. If the Neo Band of the Hawk and Griffith are on the scene, and all the civilians are either dead or didn't see what happened, who's to say that they didn't kill the Emperor? Guts could, of course, but first, who'd believe him, and second, would he bother? He doesn't care about fame, and who got credit wouldn't help him kill Griffith, so I don't know that he'd even try to claim he did it.

[elric le tueur d'amis]

but if Guts(or one of his followers) kills the emperor saving Zodd in the same time,I think that Zodd,with his sense of honor,would reconsider his loyalty to Griffith.

[newbified]

Ok, there's no way that Zodd would reconsider his allegiance with Griffith to join Gatts' band. Zodd himself said there's only one man in the world whom he'd serve, and he's also a servant to the 5. Going against them makes no logical sense. Especially since then he would somewhat be on the side of Skull Knight, who's probably his most evenly matched opponent.

Some of this shit seriously belongs in the stupid theories thread:

http://www.evil-genius.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=85

[elric le tueur d'amis]

I never said that Zodd would serve or join Guts'band,but he could spare him in a crucial moment like Guts will maybe spare him in the next chapter.

[Kaey-Shi]

you know? i it is more likely that guts and zodd will take a lil brake now.... like everyone else.
think about it, the whole vol 31 consisted of fights - important fights - and now guts might be able to take a li'l breather. i think zodd somehow helps guts out of the water (how else will he be able to live with that armor and his sword?) and they call it a "truce" (more or less) until they both can fight (or whatever) again or are found by the others - and only then, after some healing and stuff continues the fight or some new story-twist (again.... not that i am complaining, mind you, it gets better and better *grin*)

well whatever, just wanted to say something here too *smile* even if most of the posts here somewhat repeat themselves (in one way or another)

*shrug*
have a nice day!

[Starnum]

Gatts has already been in the water with the armor and sword once, so I don't think that's a terrible problem. It's a pain in the ass I'm sure, but nothing he can't handle. Also, I don't know if Gatts would kill Zodd if he were knocked out, but I can't imagine him not killing an apostle if given a chance. Heh, but who knows, we'll see.