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And that demon is now well fed and happy. There's a silver lining to everything!
Anime/Manga - Discuss Japanese cartoons and comics here; NO CULTURE WAR DOOMPOSTING!
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PS1gamenwatch
kiwifarms.net
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- Oct 26, 2015
It is now the birthday of Gosho Aoyama creator of Detective Conan and Yaiba
God of Nothing
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Newcomer 42
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He made the Godhand too strong. Griffith could redirect a dimensional cutting sword.
How's Guts supposed to top that? Unless he goes the Bleach route and unlocks an uber-sword, or he harms Griffith by breaking his resolve, he made the Godhand way too strong, and Grif is only one of the whole bunch.
The arc that will never, ever, ever be adapted to anime, waay too dark for its own good.
RSU 1741
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Berserk could have ended in some unsatisfactory way: for example, the Hill of Swords could have theoretically been a final fight between the now-corporeal Griffith and Guts. It would have been unsatisfactory and required some serious retconning but you could have ended it there.
I agree with you that Miura was clearly stalling with time creating a peculiar ouroboros of consequences: the longest he stalled with arcs that made little sense and added nothing the more his sensibilities switched from his "dark fantasy" youth inspirations to JRPG/loli tropes, making it even harder to build something satisfactory. I do think he had some vague ideas where the plot was going to and those pieces are being used for the new chapters, but they were rough and required refining (the role of the Kushan Prince for example).
As what a good ending for Berserk could be, in the end it was always the story of Griffith and Guts, everything else is peripheral. Griffith used and abused mortal and godlike power to follow his ambitions, reaching the point where Falconia is a complete wish-fulfillment where he plays the role of the benevolent God-Ruler with a new and shiny Band of the Hawk, his cute loli assistant and the reverent adoration of a dependant population (to the point he controls how they go to the afterlife). While apparently less monstruous than the other Godhands that are playing with mortals in other parts of the world, he's merely toying with them to stroke his own enormous ego. An ending for him would be to see everything crumble or to realize he can't control everything (the final lesson of the Golden Age arc) but by now he's so godlike and removed from human feeling that it feels difficult to conceive how it could even happen. Guts, is after all, just a man with a big sword. Casca isn't particularly important for the overall plot bar a coupon for Griffith/Guts to fight over: and having 20+ years of her comic appearance wasted as a drooling retard didn't help, sadly.
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2020
This is such a dogshit opinion.
The most consistent theme throughout Berserk is how the horror of their world breaks people. This is to the extent he wrote a tangible embodiment of human suffering as the real antagonist of the story. Because this is a work of fiction, you need different characters to break in different ways: Crocus runs away, Griffith sacrifices everyone who cares about him, Farnese masturbates to her fireplace, etc. Casca, hands-down, gets the worst of it, with only Guts being anywhere in the ballpark. The difference is, while Guts’ backstory is about his horrors making him a weapon, like a glass bottle being broken into a sharp edge, Casca is largely saved from the mundane horrors before being totally shattered by the supernatural ones.
So now we have this contrast in two characters, whom we as an audience are invested in due to their respective actions during the Golden Age arc. Miura did a great job in this respect, to the extent that it’s clear the narrative really isn’t about Griffith beyond his role as therapy for Miura’s failed friendship. Even within the story, Griffith’s entire character arc was realizing he’s not the primary focus and breaking because of it, to a greater extent than his torture did (said torture involving crippling all of his limbs, ripping out his teeth, and castrating him).
With Casca totally broken, the only character narratively who can take action to help her is Guts. Problem is, he’s even further broken from the Eclipse and opts to abandon Casca, an act the narrative considers his biggest failing. Miura needs to get Guts to a point where he can help Casca, which is where Tower of Conviction and Lost Children function as story arcs. Further, we are introduced to Isidro, Farnese, and Shierke whom exist to contrast and help Guts heal his childhood, military, and supernatural traumas respectively. This is why Isidro get so maligned, because by the time they’re on the boat he’s run his narrative course and I think Miura struggled to figure out what to do with him.
Guts’ recovery to where he could help Casca took a while because it’s important. Casca’s took longer and was more difficult because it was the important to Guts! Casca’s drooling retardation exists to reinforce that; were she to ape Guts’ violent retardation it would have hurt both characters, because now there’s no one to force Guts to improve. What undercuts her current character arc was that Miura died just as we were getting catharsis towards her. In fact, while Miura was alive, the biggest complaint was Shierke’s involvement and the imagery used made her recovery seem too easy compared to the journey to get there.
A lot of peoples issues stem from reading the series as it was serialized, which is objectively the worst way to consume any media.
tl;dr 1) The series was never about Griffith any more than him throwing a temper tantrum that the world didn’t revolve around him. 2) Casca being a vegetable is maligned because Miura died. 3) The constant jerking off of the Golden Age is because it’s technically a complete story as preamble for the rest of the story which never made it past being 2/3 complete.
PS1gamenwatch
kiwifarms.net
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Trailer for Ranma remake season 2 out now
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- Dec 16, 2022
Your analysis is interesting. I haven't actually liked Drama Queen as much as I thought I would, mostly due to how over the top the aliens have been when I expected a bit more subtlety than a brick to the head, but I think you're pretty accurate with your interpretation thus far. I usually don't read that deeply into stories and even I have picked up on a lot of the symbolism, though I definitely didn't tie it together like you did. The aliens cucking the humans by fucking their women was particularly on the penis nose, and made me laugh the first time I saw it. I do like that the mangaka is doing something pretty fresh, weird, and distinctly Japanese, so I am following it because I am also really curious where it's going to go.
Honestly, it sort of reminds me of things like Alien 9 or Narutaru in its potential to be balls to the wall crazy, but I suppose we will have to see.
RSU 1741
kiwifarms.net
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- Apr 13, 2021
Your position is agreeable, and I may accept that my own tastes are warped by the fact that I do prefer Berserk when it was a monster of the week/revenge story or the Golden Age complete arc, a position that can vary amongst readers. One thing I'd argue is the relative lack of importance of Griffith and the relative importance of Casca: Griffith is the main villain and symbolizes many things, but in the end it's the relationship between him and Guts that keep the show rolling and even when Guts re-prioritizes to "heal" Casca an humongous amount of narrative time is given to Griffith's actions as the leader of Falconia. I don't even like the Falconia and Kushan war arcs too much, they felt like a theater that Griffith is using to prop his own ego, but it's undeniable that they take a shitton of screen time.
Casca is an important character in Golden Age and there's some depth in her representation and role in helping Guts growing beyond a crazed revenge-based animal, but the basic problem bears repeating: for decades in the narrative her role was the one of the damsel in distress, pardon, the drooling retard damsel in distress with no agency and no role bar a living, breathing package. Maybe you're right, and Miura died just as we were on the cusp of getting her back as a real character, but I can't deny that much is the fault of the man that preferred wasting time in useless shenanigans with little narrative or logical sense instead of pushing towards a resolution. For all the graphic majesty that the Miura showed in the Millennium Falcon or the Fantasia arc, I've never found a lot of people that liked them for their narrative or themes, they were slow and meandering.
Maybe Miura wanted everything to neatly fit together, we'll never know. But there are consequences in wasting everyone's time with silly pirates and Star Wars jokes, and Casca's role is for sure a victim of that.
wtfNeedSignUp
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- Dec 17, 2019
Ukyo the best girl
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- Dec 15, 2022
Yeah I agree. Berserk going the Bleach "power creep" route like every other shounen would also just be embarrassing. The one, and perhaps only way I could see Griffith biting it, is due to the Moonlit boy. Some "self-sacrifice" plot where the boy is capable of destroying Griffith to save his parents, or making Griffith weak enough for Guts to destroy... but that doesn't solve anything about the other Godhand members.
It would have to be the Moonlit boy pulling some Deus ex Machina "ridding the world of all evil" type ending, or forcing Griffith to do it for him. That ending still wouldn't satisfy me. Though it WOULD be an ending, and I suppose there would be a level of peace that comes with that at least.
Sayonara Transvestite Thorkell, you will not be missed. Vinland Saga is another example of a manga that (plotwise) tried to swing above its weight class. It should have remained a simpler story about a Viking taking his revenge and then sailing off into the western sunset to find the new world... not a pontification about suicidal pacifism, "noble" savages, and warnings about nuclear weapons that would make Hideo Kojima blush.
On the SpyxFamily front... Yor might be ready to take her relationship with Loid to the next level.....
vern
kiwifarms.net
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- Dec 25, 2018
All I'll say is if the Golden Age was the only redeeming part about berserk (and I've seen some anime onlys who's first and only interaction with the series is with the 97 anime have this take) I' don't think it be as fondly remembered.
The Golden Age is the best arc in the series, but I actually think the backswordsman arc had some merit, even back then Miura added moments that separated it from the typical late 80s early 90s seinen revenge series. It did suffer in the later arcs, but part of me wonders how much if it was due to the constant hiatuses breaking up the flow of the story (Golden age would of suffered a lot if it had to go half a year between chapters at times).
Also this sound sound retarded, but I don't think Griffith/Godhand was going to end up the final villain Guts would defeat, they where just pawns of the Idea of Evil (gonna assume that is still cannon despite it being removed from every volume release) and very well could of been sacrificed as it controls fate.
As shit as it might sound, the ending might of been to struggle against fate forever until his last breath because no mater what kind of plot armor or power up Miura could of whipped up, I don't think the idea was gonna be something he would of had Guts chop in half and call it a day.
The Golden Age is the best arc in the series, but I actually think the backswordsman arc had some merit, even back then Miura added moments that separated it from the typical late 80s early 90s seinen revenge series. It did suffer in the later arcs, but part of me wonders how much if it was due to the constant hiatuses breaking up the flow of the story (Golden age would of suffered a lot if it had to go half a year between chapters at times).
Also this sound sound retarded, but I don't think Griffith/Godhand was going to end up the final villain Guts would defeat, they where just pawns of the Idea of Evil (gonna assume that is still cannon despite it being removed from every volume release) and very well could of been sacrificed as it controls fate.
As shit as it might sound, the ending might of been to struggle against fate forever until his last breath because no mater what kind of plot armor or power up Miura could of whipped up, I don't think the idea was gonna be something he would of had Guts chop in half and call it a day.
What's pissing me off more is there's no schedule, if it's a bi-yearly thing to milk the series fine, I'll treat it like Hellsing Ultimate that took 6 years to finish or the fucking emiya cooking spin off that they milked for a year, but the fact that its radio silence when the episode drops for months is the most annoying part of it.
Gravityqueen4life
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- May 29, 2019
Finished reading Ashite no joe today and god damn, it was one hell of a ride. No wonder sport anime autists hold it at such a high regard. The story, setting and character will forever be all time classic. but what i liked about the story the most, was the main character, Joe.
Joes background is tragic but was rather common for the times. He was a orphan that never knew his real parents and forced to fend for himself at an early age. At 15 he ran away from the orphanage he was raised in and became a menace to society. Going from town to town, starting fights, doing petty crimes etc. It was only when Joes soon to be couch, Danpei, an old boxer/trainer, saw joes talent and knew he would become a pro-boxer. Joe however, thought the old man was full of shit and was just trying to use him or fuck him because that's the only experience joe has ever had with adults. I really liked the chapter when Joe returns from juvie and all the kids and adults from the neighborhood welcome him with open arms and drink and party the entire night. That was the first time in his life joe felt genuine love from other human beings and he spent the entire night crying out of happiness.
Once the boxing arc starts is when the show really gets going. all the trails, all the pain from other experience fighters that pushed joe to the brink of ruin. Joe has to push himself both physically but also mentally each time he faces a strong opponent. You see him over the course of the series slowly tear himself apart for the love of the game and yet, he keeps coming back for more. Really selling you the story of a mad dog that once he gets hold of you, he never lets go no matter what! Seeing this scrapper turn into a full fledge fighter was an experience.
I be honest when i say this. I didn't actually like joe at first. He was arrogant, cocky, impassioned, disrespectful and sometimes, outright abusive. He was truly a wild animal raised by the streets and even girls (namely Yoko, more about her in a bit) were not safe from his random outburst. But can you blame him? joe was but an orphan, raised in a post war Japan set in the sixties with no hope or aspiration. Boxing was the only thing he came to know and truly put his passion into. He didn't even have an education or went to school. Seeing that beast of a boy slowly, but surly, grow up to an young man in his prime was truly an experience.
I didn't like Yoko (not sure if a still feel that way). She is the typical "princess" that acts all kind and noble but not out of kindness, but because it makes her look good and boosts her ego. Joe immediately knew what Yoko was the moment he saw her and had no issue calling her out on it. The early chapters was brutal because it was the first time in her life she felt out of element that this peasant boy not only had the guts to ridicule her, but to lay hands on her as well. Joe and Yoko had a rocky and unstable relationship. While joe knew what kind of person Yoko was, Yoko also knew what kind of person Joe was. She saw that behind the wild beast, was a scared little boy that was afraid of everyone around him and his coping mechanism was to lash out and beat the problem away until it was gone. Ever since Joe accidently killed her boyfriend, Toru Rikiishi (THE GOAT) in the ring She started to use her power and influence to set up fights for joe. This is my own theory but i honestly thought she tried to have Joe killed in the ring, same way as Rikiishi but that hatred soon became an obsession of seeing Joe fighting stronger boxers and later, turned into love. Overall, a good women representative for a sports anime about men doing men things. A womens touch can work wonders in such settings, seeing things from a emotional perspective.
The final fight was brutal. You could feel every punch joe took and yet, he refused to back down (like always). Joe lived for the fight, for the struggle, and nothing else. Unlike Mendoza, an excellent fighter in his own right, was deathly afraid of becoming a cripple so he could no longer support his family. While Joe lost the fight, he made Mendoza worst fears become a reality and Joe, forever carry the title of "the grim reaper"
The ending could have not been anymore perfect and its no wonder it is still reference til this day.
Until nothing but white ashes remines...
I will remember you forever, Joe.
Joes background is tragic but was rather common for the times. He was a orphan that never knew his real parents and forced to fend for himself at an early age. At 15 he ran away from the orphanage he was raised in and became a menace to society. Going from town to town, starting fights, doing petty crimes etc. It was only when Joes soon to be couch, Danpei, an old boxer/trainer, saw joes talent and knew he would become a pro-boxer. Joe however, thought the old man was full of shit and was just trying to use him or fuck him because that's the only experience joe has ever had with adults. I really liked the chapter when Joe returns from juvie and all the kids and adults from the neighborhood welcome him with open arms and drink and party the entire night. That was the first time in his life joe felt genuine love from other human beings and he spent the entire night crying out of happiness.
Once the boxing arc starts is when the show really gets going. all the trails, all the pain from other experience fighters that pushed joe to the brink of ruin. Joe has to push himself both physically but also mentally each time he faces a strong opponent. You see him over the course of the series slowly tear himself apart for the love of the game and yet, he keeps coming back for more. Really selling you the story of a mad dog that once he gets hold of you, he never lets go no matter what! Seeing this scrapper turn into a full fledge fighter was an experience.
I be honest when i say this. I didn't actually like joe at first. He was arrogant, cocky, impassioned, disrespectful and sometimes, outright abusive. He was truly a wild animal raised by the streets and even girls (namely Yoko, more about her in a bit) were not safe from his random outburst. But can you blame him? joe was but an orphan, raised in a post war Japan set in the sixties with no hope or aspiration. Boxing was the only thing he came to know and truly put his passion into. He didn't even have an education or went to school. Seeing that beast of a boy slowly, but surly, grow up to an young man in his prime was truly an experience.
I didn't like Yoko (not sure if a still feel that way). She is the typical "princess" that acts all kind and noble but not out of kindness, but because it makes her look good and boosts her ego. Joe immediately knew what Yoko was the moment he saw her and had no issue calling her out on it. The early chapters was brutal because it was the first time in her life she felt out of element that this peasant boy not only had the guts to ridicule her, but to lay hands on her as well. Joe and Yoko had a rocky and unstable relationship. While joe knew what kind of person Yoko was, Yoko also knew what kind of person Joe was. She saw that behind the wild beast, was a scared little boy that was afraid of everyone around him and his coping mechanism was to lash out and beat the problem away until it was gone. Ever since Joe accidently killed her boyfriend, Toru Rikiishi (THE GOAT) in the ring She started to use her power and influence to set up fights for joe. This is my own theory but i honestly thought she tried to have Joe killed in the ring, same way as Rikiishi but that hatred soon became an obsession of seeing Joe fighting stronger boxers and later, turned into love. Overall, a good women representative for a sports anime about men doing men things. A womens touch can work wonders in such settings, seeing things from a emotional perspective.
The final fight was brutal. You could feel every punch joe took and yet, he refused to back down (like always). Joe lived for the fight, for the struggle, and nothing else. Unlike Mendoza, an excellent fighter in his own right, was deathly afraid of becoming a cripple so he could no longer support his family. While Joe lost the fight, he made Mendoza worst fears become a reality and Joe, forever carry the title of "the grim reaper"
The ending could have not been anymore perfect and its no wonder it is still reference til this day.
Until nothing but white ashes remines...
I will remember you forever, Joe.
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- Joined
- Dec 12, 2022
The lack of schedule is the worst. Just release one for Fate/ strange fake. Stop not telling us whats happening. It's frustrating to put it lightly
Ainchiemi
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2023
Get that shittt outta here.
God of Nothing
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- Joined
- Aug 31, 2016
The light novel was like that for the longest time. I'm not sure why anyone's surprised. It's spin-off trash that doesn't even understand the point of the original regardless.
the lack of titties is disturbing
Not in the coomer sense but the censorship kind
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2016
I'm so glad I jumped off the Fate train years and years ago.
God of Nothing
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- Joined
- Aug 31, 2016
The most brutal Nasuverse pill you can take is the last real Nasu work was Hollow Ataraxia twenty fucking years ago.
Extra and CCC are like a weird fever dream he had and everything else may as well not exist.
The Tsukhime remake suffers a lot from going into the bullshit powerscaling nonsense of FGO
Gravityqueen4life
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- May 29, 2019
Still waiting for the Extra remake. Any day now...
Commander X
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- Joined
- Apr 6, 2018
As far as fantasy manga go, I've recently gotten into Dungeon Tower, a good, straight to the point fantasy series from Tsutomu Nihei.
