Berserk

Aaand it just came
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I thought I might have missed it earlier, getting a card from Royal Mail through the door, then I remembered it was GoS, oh well I’ll have to wait till Saturday for that one.
For veteran strugglers wondering where this one ends; gutts and casca’s love scene that’s like a chapter or two earlier than I would have thought, it’s not long before wyald and the black dogs and Griffith’s escape though
 
Appreciate you saying where the ending point is. This feels like a months long tease before we arrive at the climax of the Golden Age arc... I'll maybe start read these once that's done.

Still haven't got my copy urgh.
 
Amazon put the price up to £30+ but SpeedyHen have it for £26.50, for anyone still interested: v3 deluxe. Out of stock at the moment, though. I'm in no rush to get mine since I forgot I'd need v5 to fully cover the eclipse and see Casca's erect nipples~ I think all long-time Berserk fans are used to waiting at this point, anyway. I've been waiting for about 10-20 volumes for olde Berserk to return and JRPG party shounen power-up Guts to sod off.

On a semi-related note, v40 finally made me decide to get rid of my singles and buy the deluxe editions up to around v21/22/idfk. Miura isn't arsed drawing anymore, or has forgot how it's been so long, and that was the one remaining redeeming feature the manga had--the art he takes 6months to craft into a chapter: Griffith and Charlotte look like they're 10 now. And the comic-relief continues to be a distraction. If not for the occasional shot of a penis-slug, I'd be convinced a different person was drawing Berserk at this point. That's what happens when it takes literal decades for events to receive some form of resolution. People have lived and died in the time it took him to go from v14 to v40. Miura would make even George Martin blush.

Unless Miura continues Giganto Maxia - which works with his tone shift - he 's as dead to me as I've always been to him. The golden age aside, that is. More fool the plonker that paid me £300 to continue where I left off.
 
Well the dreamscape chapters really seem like he came back for them, i think he’s only involved in mainly writing the plot now, with assistants doing much of the work with art, more noticeable when they are on their way to skellig.

I’m kind of confused about “shonen power up gutts” though, you’re referring to the berserker armour being the solution to all the world’s problems?

my own peeve with the latest stuff though is later volumes kind of show some drama with what Griffith does now, but volume 40 has none of that, just shows him something he’s done before for a chapter and that’s your share of him for now!
 
AironicallyHuman said:
Amazon put the price up to £30+ but SpeedyHen have it for £26.50, for anyone still interested: v3 deluxe. Out of stock at the moment, though. I'm in no rush to get mine since I forgot I'd need v5 to fully cover the eclipse and see Casca's erect nipples~ I think all long-time Berserk fans are used to waiting at this point, anyway. I've been waiting for about 10-20 volumes for olde Berserk to return and JRPG party shounen power-up Guts to sod off.

On a semi-related note, v40 finally made me decide to get rid of my singles and buy the deluxe editions up to around v21/22/idfk. Miura isn't arsed drawing anymore, or has forgot how it's been so long, and that was the one remaining redeeming feature the manga had--the art he takes 6months to craft into a chapter: Griffith and Charlotte look like they're 10 now. And the comic-relief continues to be a distraction. If not for the occasional shot of a penis-slug, I'd be convinced a different person was drawing Berserk at this point. That's what happens when it takes literal decades for events to receive some form of resolution. People have lived and died in the time it took him to go from v14 to v40. Miura would make even George Martin blush.

Unless Miura continues Giganto Maxia - which works with his tone shift - he 's as dead to me as I've always been to him. The golden age aside, that is. More fool the plonker that paid me £300 to continue where I left off.
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Sounds like you only want the edgy berserk. I think we have passed that point though
 
Captaaainuniverse said:
Well the dreamscape chapters really seem like he came back for them, i think he’s only involved in mainly writing the plot now, with assistants doing much of the work with art, more noticeable when they are on their way to skellig.

I’m kind of confused about “shonen power up gutts” though, you’re referring to the berserker armour being the solution to all the world’s problems?

my own peeve with the latest stuff though is later volumes kind of show some drama with what Griffith does now, but volume 40 has none of that, just shows him something he’s done before for a chapter and that’s your share of him for now!
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Yeah, the dream chapters had that... eclipse detail. It was the more recent chapters with underage GriffithxCharlotte and Casca that made me question if Miura had decided to let his assistants draw, just to get on with it.

And, jaja: was referring to the Berserker armour, which looks artistically cool but ultimately comes down to Guts controlling his inner desires/whatever in beast form that almost had him do a naughty thing, Reminds me of Hollow Ichigo. 'Tis right where Berserk jumped offa cliff for me: the reunion, post-conviction arc. That was the last time old Berserk was a thing.

The return of the hawk politi-drama has been done to death at this point, though, hasn't it? Think he's all but conquered the kingdom, with the rest of the world ******. In fact, he'd already conquered it from the start, but having created the magical world/demon merging bollox so he could ride in to be the saviour. There was never any real danger, or conflict: he's a baddy posing as a goodie, and now Guts needs to hurry up and shove his sword up his arse before we all die of old age. I do get your point, though: now he's being shown once... and that's it, retreading old ground. The latest post-v40 (there are two :/} chapter of Griffith talking about money was... less stimulating than war.

It's a weird volume to drop Berserk at, really: v40 returns to the eclipse, finally develops Casca and there were penis slugs: PENIS SLUGS!... but it made me realise, the current Berserk is no longer what it was.

Vincentdante said:
Sounds like you only want the edgy berserk. I think we have passed that point though
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Don't touch / patronise me, or I'll slap you with my e-cock. And I assure you, it is as large as Gut's slab of a sword. You won't win. Not unless Rui appears., that is. Nothing says non-edgy sophisticated like Guts getting a power up from his demon within, like he's ******* Naruto.

I liked the Berserk where Miura had passion for what he did and tween comedy / magic was limited to an annoying flying twit called Puck. Where Guts fell in love, homo and non-homo, as things of significance other than Griffith being fawned over and Guts battling undead pirates in order to get to an island so he can make Casca remember what readers already knew decades ago. I also liked when the art was good, tbh.
 
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I guess I hit the nail on the head since you're verhmently against the light hearted takes and screaming for penis monsters as the only good thing. And of course you are saying you want old berserk (and openly standing against character development such as Guts actually trusting and traveling with people again) while also complaining that the politics has been done to death which the Golden Age (aka old berserk) is very well known for.

Also the art is still good and the details in the panels have only improved, the style has gotten softer that is all. It's subjective changes.

If I had a complaint it's how dragged out the Fantasia arc has been thanks to years long hiatuses (when read back to back it is much more tolerable). So in regards to the concern that Miura has stopped caring, actually I think I agree with you. This one singular arc that started with taking Casca to the island to restore her memories has now taken 9 years (and it is only 6 volumes long making it the second shortest right after the black swordsman arc).
 
Gawd, how dull: you get a 'D' for reading comprehension, and an 'FU' for not appreciating my wit in using Guts' "DON'T TOUCH ME". No wonder you picked an image of Guts looking like he's about to cry. The first critical post earning me a 'u wan edgy' clued me in on how you'd respond.

Let me explain sarcasm to you: I did not think the penis slugs were the bestest things in v40. That was a joke. I'm starting to worry you're more Autistic than me, tbh... you do realise I sold the series, based on the very same volume where penis slugs were most prominent, yes?... Yes, They were a reminder of when 'zerk had a sense of purpose, along with lovingly detailed and twisted sexualised imagery to go along with the politics.

I may as well continue to be condescending, now I've started: I am buying the deluxe books because the golden age arc is the best in the series. The medieval political intrigue was the highlight, along with the stellar characerisation. It was fresh, fast-paced, unpredictable and no-one expected Griffith to fail so horribly. The exact opposite is true of Neo-BotH Griffith. He created the world as it is now and it was obvious he would succeed because he/Miura wrote the script and is... well, a demi-God; the hand of the author wasting time, if you will. There is no intrigue: he's set himself up as a messiah, and the people worship him, so now Guts has to deal with more people en route to Griffith. That means more stalling. That's all Griffith's arc has been: decoration, with more distractions and cockblocks to extend the manga.

Standing against character development would imply I have an issue with Guts' characterisation, rather than his posse of brats, mages and women in lust with him. There is no correlation between unnecessary comic relief characters that are there solely to waste panels, like that stupid tail-flapping mermaid, and a thief brat that is as much use as mantits. Puck was bad enough alone. I do believe Spike said it best: "There are three things I hate - dogs, kids and women - and all three are on this ship" Guts mellowing after the despair and anger of the eclipse is fine, at this stage of the journey. The problem is he kinda needs to kill a whole lotta people to kill Griffith, and he ain't gonna manage that being a nice guy.

Art being subjective is a boring get outta jail free argument: his characters look younger now, the non-Guts facial detail lacking being a factor in the 'de-aging', and the static talking non-stop about such exciting things as Charlotte wanting to care for orphans in ch358 was a great way to limit backgrounds with close-ups. How old does ol' Griffith look here? https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48991997733_84235f90ac_o.png
 
Hmm so you're autisitic, in that case I will drop this conversation.

Might be worth remembering though that sarcasm never translates well into text if that was your true intention.
 
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Sarcasm doesn’t write, no matter how much you want it to. Sarcasm is a linguist, it is however illiterate

nevertheless, I’m still invested, I’d rather see the drama unfold in Falconia rather than something Griffith has done a million times already, wether miura cares or not, seems sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t, it’s basically reiterating what I’ve said before but my impression of the hiatuses is that miura comes back about every 6 months to do more work on berserk, depending on how much work he’s doing elsewhere.

comparatively, it seems he’s done more work on the dreamscape then other recent things, I’ve not seen the post 40 stuff yet but I’m imagining after that he’s gone back to the schedule he’s had for the past couple of years, almost toriyama - like: he comes in, tells the assistants the main direction of the plot, may help with a page or two then lets the assistants take over based on the given plot.

I would compare it to another writer, Isayama seems to work on a lot of AoT himself, it’s hard to tell where he’s using assistants, pretty much the whole of AoT looks more consistent than between “classic” berserk and “post sailing” berserk, the point being it is hard to tell if he cares when he comes back and does himself what the series is often known for, but only occasionally
 
I think I agree with your impression on the hiatus. Makes a lot of sense if you think that he must also be really burned out with Berserk by now.

I don't know how much of the story is left but I feel like there is still a lot to cover. The god hand, skull Knight, hidden kingdom etc have barely been explained. But I shouldn't be complaining about the hiatus too much because its been argued to death I'm sure :p

I confess I don't read much manga. The only ones are literally Berserk and Made in Abyss being the ones which intrigued me that much to do so. So I can't say how attack on titan and Toriyamas stuff is looking but it's interesting from your description.
 
^

'Tis quite entertaining to me for someone that failed to detect sarcasm to use assuming I have autism as an excuse to opt-out. Maybe try reading between the lines. IT HAS PENIS SLUGS, IT GOOD, TALK BAD!...

I do like 'sarcasm is an illiterate linguist'. Perhaps I am being cruel to Vinny. I feel a little bad now, tbh. Oh wells: maybe next time thou shalt not assume someone that has been a fan for more years than is good is an edgelord beneath you. Esp if your entire range of reference is - literally, like - Berserk and Made in the Abyss.

Anyway...
Captaaainuniverse said:
nevertheless, I’m still invested, I’d rather see the drama unfold in Falconia rather than something Griffith has done a million times already, wether miura cares or not, seems sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t, it’s basically reiterating what I’ve said before but my impression of the hiatuses is that miura comes back about every 6 months to do more work on berserk, depending on how much work he’s doing elsewhere.

comparatively, it seems he’s done more work on the dreamscape then other recent things, I’ve not seen the post 40 stuff yet but I’m imagining after that he’s gone back to the schedule he’s had for the past couple of years, almost toriyama - like: he comes in, tells the assistants the main direction of the plot, may help with a page or two then lets the assistants take over based on the given plot.

I would compare it to another writer, Isayama seems to work on a lot of AoT himself, it’s hard to tell where he’s using assistants, pretty much the whole of AoT looks more consistent than between “classic” berserk and “post sailing” berserk, the point being it is hard to tell if he cares when he comes back and does himself what the series is often known for, but only occasionally
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I get why you're still invested, and willing to wait it out. I kept pre-ordering and reading the chapters for years =to this end, A part of me wants to see the resolution to Berserk vs. Griffith and if there's any payoff. If it ever did end, I'd probably still have enough affection to at least see how.

Another part of me thinks that the series doesn't have much new to add, which has led to all these years of meandering to get to an island, with Griffith on the side. We know Guts has suffered and come out a better person. We know Griffith is a narcissist that would sacrifice anyone and everyone for what he wants. In many ways, the eclipse was the perfect climax for the story, and not just the golden age arc: it was the culmination of all of the characterisation (including making Guts accept and trust people), political maneuvering and plot threads converging at once. I think that is the main factor that has lead to all of the hiatuses: Miura wrote himself into corner, essentially ending the series and then continuing anyway with the villain being a God Guts needed an insane amount of power-ups and plot armour to fight. I still fail to see how he has a chance when he couldn't beat Grumblewald or whatever tha apostle was in the forest.

There are only two chapters, post-v40. Only one in 2019, iirc. That was a major factor in my decision, and disappointment with the artwork.

More than any author I've seen, Miura has been influenced by other works and his hobbies, simply because of how long he's been 'working' on Berserk. He's a a different person to when he started, and the manga landscape/market has changed. When he started, 80's FotNS mach-men bodybuilders and brutal murdering were all the rage. As the years went on, he played JRPGs heavily during the FFVII era I recall reading, and that lead to the whole magical world/Guts party. And, ofc: he likes visual novels, which shows through in his kawaii young girl thing/humour shift. The lack of consistency in tone and focus is what has lost me, more than anything else.

AoT is consistent in comarison 'cause Isayama had most the plot details mapped out from the start and has been working on the series non-stop There haven't been hiatuses that lead to art or vision changes. In the guidebook of Berserk, Miura said he had planned nothing when he started: the golden age only coming into existence because he needed more than an anti-hero and villain.
 
Yeah, tone has definitely changed in Berserk, but I can't bring myself to make an honest judgment of the series as a whole since I have only made a single read through of the entire thing and I stopped reading new chapters as they drop because, you know, who likes suffering.

I know that it's one of my favorite things ever, and Guts and Griffith are probably the most interesting and layered characters in manga, anime, even media in general. The world established by Miura is also irresistible in its mystery. Art is different, yes, but we still get those superlative spreads full of detail every now an then and I generally like the look of the series (even if it has peaked a while back). The pacing... Well, I don't know about the pacing, we're waiting months upon months for a single chapter, so it's kinda hard to really know, at least for me. I'm as tired of waiting as everyone else.

But even if the tone has changed, you know that the world of Berserk is dark (its inner trappings, too), Falconia is some facked up shite and the ending probably won't be all happiness and sunshine. Well, I say probably, but who knows, I think Guts deserves a break, so I'd love a happy ending for him.

I think I read we're close to the endgame, too? I hope so.
 
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