Berserk Vol. 23

I have probably never seen Guts struggle as hard as he is in this volume than in this whole series.  Guts is at his breaking point where he not only has to worry about his survival, but also the survival of another person.  To add more problems, the person he is trying to protect isn't aware of the effort Guts is putting in and is constantly trying to run away; It becomes so bad that Guts is seen carrying Casca on a leash like a dog.  Mentally Guts is also at his limit to the point where he has twisted dreams of ravaging the very person he is trying to protect.  Its gets to the point where he has finally given up being the "lone" swordsman and gives in to forming a group of people to take some of the burden off of him.  Y know, I have always seen Guts keep his composure in even the most drastic situations or battles.  He can always handle himself in a fight no matter how strong the opponent, but this volume really shows the wear and tear that this whole journey is having on him. This is explicitly shown when Guts finally breaks and gives in his inner malice and rapes Casca just like how Griffith did.  

Gut's sanity slowing deteriorating 

The character I probably hate the most in this whole series is hands down Lady Farnese.  Like seriously that bitch can't do anything useful.  She can't fight or even fucking watch over a single person, she literally is a useless bitch.  However given the series and it's usage of character development, I still have hope that she can make herself useful.

Griffith however made a huge transition in how different characters view him.  First he becomes a gallant knight, then he becomes a shunned prisoner and now he literally is viewed as a god.  All of this makes it complicated in whether we should view Griffith as a good or bad guy.  However I will never forgive what he did to his own men and Casca just so he could reach his dream.

Next up Vol. 24

Berserk Vol. 22

At the dawn of a new arc, Volume 22 presents us with our two forefront characters in the series.  This volume finally accelerates the story to where it needs to be, having our protagonist confronting with the antagonist in the memorial of the Band Of Hawks   To be honest, I felt that some of the chapters in this volume could have been incorporated into the last volume like the chapters about Lady Farnese and her whole back story.  Switch up the some chapters from volume 21 and 22, and Volume 22 could have better served as the conclusion of the previous arc.  Anyways enough of the Conviction Arc and lets move on to the new Band Of Millennium Hawks arc.  After reading this volume, I have very high hopes that the next series of volumes will be good.  Griffith is back, and he has fashioned himself a team of elite soldiers, each one of them being very unique.  We have of course Zodd that has been in the series ever since the beginnning, and then we have some soldier with a crescent shaped helmet and some badass Kushlan exile that kind of reminds me of Arakune from the Blazblue series.  Speaking of Griffith, I absolutely love his armor and helmet.  Its whole symbolism behind it and how cool it looks makes me wanna read more just to see it.  However I'm really looking forward to seeing Guts new armor as the pictures I unwillingly saw show Guts in this striking black armor that screams badass.  More or less, this volume to me served as a basis for the whole arc, moving the story along and giving us readers the sense of who is on what team as we now have our protagonist and antagonist in the same playing field.

Here kitty kitty

Favorite scene from the volume

To be honest I didn't really care for the last couple of chapters where the volume shifts focus to Lady Farnese and her servant.  All I got from that is that they were just some fucked up people with some fucked up family issues and that Lady Farnese is a pyromaniac crazy bitch.

Next up, Volume 23

Berserk Vol. 21

So here we are at the conclusion of the Conviction arc.  The more I keep reading this manga, the more I feel that Kentaro Muira is berating religion, making it look like an aspect that makes a person weak.  Of course Japan has a very minuscule Christian demographic so I wouldn't be surprised to see Miura illustrating Christianity, or religion in general, as worthless.  Everyone who followed religion ended up dying while the people who fought for their own survival instead of hopelessly praying lived through the nightmare.  The volume overall was decent, not really concluding with anything greatly significant other than the Resurrection of Griffith.  Guts finally retrieves Casca and some side characters tie up their own issues and feelings.  What we did get out of this Volume, or perhaps this whole arc, is the addition of many more party members.  The Black Swordsman (unknowingly)  has now acquired a mixed party of ex-knights, an elf and a teenage wannabe.  I'm not gonna lie I really wished I saw more of Griffith and him interacting with Guts (which would inevitably result in more epic fighting) and I do not really understand the purpose of Zodd or the Skeleton Knight serve.  They are such mysterious characters, popping up only to give heed to ominous future events yet no one really knows why they exist.  I'm not even quite sure if they should be considered allies or enemies at this point.  Griffith just hops on Zodds back and flies away like something out of a Harry Potter novel and now Guts is on a Goose chase.

In the end this volume didn't really add anything too significant and I didn't have the same impact I felt when finishing the Golden Age Arc.

However things look more promising in the next arc with a flurry of new characters which means more character development and complex relations

Next up Volume 22, Hawk of The Millennium Empire

Get outta here Mozgul ya bish

Berserk Vol. 20

Berserk Volume 20 to me is more or less a build up of what is about to happen in the final chapters of the current story arc.  Everything has been set to motion and now Guts is back in a familiar setting similar to the conclusion of the last story arc; and I must say shit is about to go down.  The tower is crumbling, taking form of a hand while the people are rampant and desperately trying to run away from the demons that are attacking.  Mozgul and his crew for some reason grew wings and everyone is frantically trying to burn Casca alive in attempt to end this nightmare.  And where is Guts? Where he always is and that is in some distant area not knowing what the hell is going on trying to fight hordes of demons.  It seems that Guts is always a couple steps behind everyone else and any time he does finally catch up, he only finds himself left in the dust again.  Runs to the cave, Casca is kidnapped.  Climbs the tower, Casca is in the hands of Mozgul.  Emerges from the crumbling tower, Casca is about to get burned alive.  Poor Guts just can't keep pace with everything that is going around him.  I guess it's just him trying to defeat his fate and the prophecy that he can not accept.  Yet no matter how hard he tries, he always ends up joining in when its too late just like at the conclusion of Volume 13.  I'm curious to see when Griffith comes in as we haven't seen much of him in this story arc.  It's pretty much inevitable though that in the last volume, Griffith is going to show up.  I just hope that maybe Guts gets some revenge for letting Griffith fuck his women right in front of him, that's just wrong.

What will happen in the conclusion of this arc?
Next in Volume 21

Dem raging biceps

Beserk Vol. 19

 *Since I have already started reading Berserk up to Vol. 19, I don't feel it is necessary to review all previous 18 volumes since they aren't fresh in my mind.


Volume 19 is by far one of my favorite volumes so far.  It contains all the ingredients that Berserk has been famous for: the bloody and gory action, epic scenes and a dash of comedic relief.  The action is as gory as every as demon possessed heretics turn into blood thirsty ghouls that straight up chomp through people's heads like pumpkins.  There are also a lot of weird scenes such as the goat demon towering over Casca with his Snake like member.  Probably my favorite part is when Guts comes in fashionably late (as usual) to the cave and stands before his long lost love Casca with his ragged cape gliding in front of him, broadsword splattered with blood while looking back at the ever so innocent ex-captain of the Hawks

One of the funnier moments though include the new character Isidro jumping in the cave to save Nina and Casca only to find himself standing before two fully nude women.  He embarrassingly hands over Nina his coat while all she can do is laugh at Isidro's pubescent reaction towards her body.  Talking about Nina, her character to me seems to become a sort of vehicle to illustrate how selfish and bad natured some people can be.  She barely succumbs to any torture before she snitches out the Casca, putting Casca's life in danger.  I guess in the face of death some people can only think of themselves, putting their own survival above anyone else.  I am sort of interested by one of the knights of the Holy See and how his swordsmanship matches up with Guts.  Of course Guts was at a severe disadvantage when he was standing along the cliff not being able to draw his sword and what not, but to see the soldier being able to dodge his moves and use Gut's weapons against him shows me that Guts may have a potential rival he must face before proceeding with his journey.  Overall this is a great volume in the series in which it contains many of the elements that makes Berserk such an awesome series.