Is The "Black Swordsman" The Perfect Opening To A Series? (With The Masked Man)

[@TheMaskedMan]

This was a dream come true, glad to be part of the vid.

[@tijmajini1276]

Ay Masked! You made it

[@miuraslover996]

It’s our boy Masked

[@bredwright]

Dream come true for everyone

[@unrelentingdoom1390]

He used it past conviction.

[@dashanwanpeterkin8228]

I wanted to say I feel like the first chapter wasn't too off putting for me from guts character because he doesn't change his rage driving mindset until Cracks in the blade arc

[@MarcAlcatraz]

i disagree, i believe the sex scene on the first pages does two things very well 1: It is showing you the primary tone/genre of the story to come, darkness, sex, gore, and the supernatural, it's a sort-of brief synopsis that gets the reader into the right mindset (if you can take this you can handle the story to come). 2: At that moment in Guts' life he is so vengeance-fueled that he'll do anything to kill an apostle (a trap) and he's so furious with himself for ruining Casca's life that he's disconnected himself from her like he doesn't deserve her.

[@c.galindo9639]

Marc Alcatraz spot on spot on

[@mr.blackpitts6850]

This is the correct answer.

[@oceanic6ix759]

Also cool when you look back and notice he got that apostle the same way it killed corkus during the eclipse.

[@c.galindo9639]

Surhaj Blake the only difference is Corkus didn’t penetrate it

[@c.galindo9639]

Can Giray İçel he stated “like he didn’t deserve her” which isn’t saying he doesn’t believe he didn’t deserve her but at the moment in time he was so messed up from the Eclipse he felt that he didn’t deserve her as he was no good for helping her. He could have stayed and tried to console and comfort her but that wouldn’t help her in recovering how she originally was so Guts needed to set off and do what he only knows. Destroy what caused the pain and suffering to him and Casca and along the way find an answer to bring Casca back to normal which he did by chance. Him going out with a purpose, although a purpose that wouldn’t directly lead to answers, was the best thing to do at that moment. Guts may be a one track mind in things but when things go his way he makes the best outcome become the best result for him in the end. Some may say it’s luck or Causality but Guts kind of is hinted at being a bad omen and also meant to be someone who shouldn’t have lived since his birth. That’s why he is outside Causality and is more like a bystander of its currents shaping the human world which is why he can affect and even alter in a small way Causality’s current with his ripple in it. Very small but a disturbance in Causality nonetheless

[@DyneTreal]

I think a lot of people forget that the Black Swordsman arc is basically the darkest point in Guts's life and a lot of these '"out of character" moments result from him having a literal crisis of character; taking out his anger and frustrations and engaging in self-destructive behaviors as part of taking out his sorrow and rage.

[@Bojoschannel]

This is so obvious that i was surprised at how many people say "Guts was out of character" during the black swordsman arc. Didn't they read the lost children arc too?

[@トーキ-g8v]

@@Bojoschannel it’s sad seeing Guts act like this, he was an actual hero during his golden age and seeing how hard the eclipse hit him feels so devastating as a reader. That’s why the black swordsman is the perfect introduction since it only gets better with re-reads

[@nerdothn892]

Another thing is that in my opinion you could just say that guts was playing along with the apostles scheme to trick her into a false sense of security effective setting the apostle a trap

[@imperatorhanseatic1274]

I believe the trope for the inconsistencies is called "Early Installment Weirdness." The Black Swordsman Arc doesn't need any changes, but I wouldn't reject it if somewhere down the line it was redone to be more consistent with the rest of the story. As for the issue with having sex with the Apostle, he says it himself: It was a trap. The easiest way to take it out. At this point in the story Casca and what she would think of what he has become or is doing have no presence in his mind. Guts has been drowning himself in his rage for nearly two years. His only goal is to find and kill as many Apostles he can, however he can. Him coming out of this state is the entire point of the Conviction Arc, as you know based on your other videos.

[@aarondubourg3706]

Lost children arc we get to see Guts at his lowest again, and its terrifying and tragic since we just left off at the Golden Age arc. We get that Black Swordman from the first arc one last time.

[@imperatorhanseatic1274]

@@aarondubourg3706 Yes. It's also where the first hints of true course correction on Guts' part come through. Puck has been slowly wearing him down, and Jill gives him some much needed perspective to reflect on. These factors are the kindling for fire that Godo's death and Rickert will start upon his return to them at the end of the Chapter. :)

[@Somespideronline]

Imperator Hanseatic but Godo's dead tho

[@imperatorhanseatic1274]

@@Somespideronline Yes, I didn't proofread before I posted that one, my apologies. I meant "Godo's death."

[@c.galindo9639]

Imperator Hanseatic yes it was a trap as it was stated in the manga and Guts didn’t have sex with the Apostle in any kind of romantic way. Only to catch it off guard since he is very manipulative in how he fights his enemies

[@aarondubourg3706]

The Black Swordman arc is Guts at his lowest. driven purely by sadistic revenge. That first 3 pages is Guts having sadistic pleasure at giving that apostle as much pain qnd fear as possible. And at the end of the first chapter he is again having sadistic pleasure torturing the other apostle.

[@sketchiefello9002]

The black swordsman arc was Puck's peak as a character. Not only did he play a large role in Guts' survival, he was the only one who knew how Guts true emotional state due to his hyper-empathy. RIP puck's character.

[@mariovillanueva2442]

I like it because it threw me off. I got into Golden Age thinking it was going to be more demon killin and ended up being the most shocking piece of history telling I've ever seen. I'm addicted now. I need my fix, man.

[@Jamazed]

Miura grew up and matured along with Guts. Manga in the 80s and 90s were very edgy and brutal, and Miura was a huge fan of series like Fist of the North Star. He was young at the time too, so he probably wanted an edgy badass as his main character. He eventually met a lot of lifelong friends over the years and got into philosophy, so that probably made him a lot more introspective and want to alter some of the core themes to reflect his own experiences.

[@RawHunterX]

The Blackswordsman arc was the perfect intro and to me it is still my fav. I got hooked since the first ep of the '97 anime. The main reason why I love The Blackswordsman arc is because it looks the most similar to a videogame and Souls games in particular. Guts is mostly alone or with Puck who is like a Healing item and he faces monster after monster. Its complete badass and afterwards finding out why he fights those apostles, makes rewatching or re-reading this arc even better.

[@TheKolboShow]

"by Lost Children, it's gone, the crossbow hand". Not really though? He used it to shoot at Serpico in chapter 149, "Ambush", during the Conviction arc. He also used it to shoot at the giant bugs in chapter 106, "Guardians, chapter 2" during the Lost Children arc.

[@c.galindo9639]

Yes. Also it can be argued he ran out of arrows. It’s not like he has an unlimited amount

[@TheKolboShow]

@@c.galindo9639 Exactly

[@everygrillindude5317]

And the crocodiles in 239

[@c.galindo9639]

every grillin' dude cool

[@blueberrymcphuckerson9821]

I looked it up on the Berserk Wiki: the Repeater Crossbow is used extensively until he gets the Berserker Armor. Personally, I could have swore they used it during the ship ride.

[@RocketChickArt1]

Well the reason why I think it's a good beginning is because unlike you two I didn't even no there was a movie or a 1997 anime I just randomly saw it in waldenbooks one time and it was a fresh breath of air to see a protagonist that wasn't some whiny sixteen-year-old full of friendship encourage but a bit of a bastard but there was always something deeper you could tell I couldn't really articulate that until I got older

[@mr.blackpitts6850]

I had a similar experience as you did, it was like a breath of fresh air seeing a manga that didn't have a run if the mill shonen protagonist. It wasn't until years later that I discovered there was an anime adaption and after having watched that and rest of the adaptions I can honestly say that while there all pretty decent in there own way, each one starting things off and solely focusing on only the golden age kinda misses the whole point of Gut's journey.

[@nestword5654]

well for me personally it was not a breath of fresh air because by the time i read Berserk i've read a lot of edgy gore-fest before and i was already sick and tired of edgy protagonists. I thought Berserk was just like those shows and boy was i wrong, it totally gave me a wrong impression about Berserk. Though after seeing Puck's attitude toward Guts i know the manga doesn't praise or encouraging those type of behavior. And seeing Guts cry after acting tough toward the girl whose dad he just kill gave me a whole new perspective of him.

[@popejpv]

To rationalize the whole guts and the apostle thing I try to rationalize it as the apostle is giving him lustful delusions like it did with Corkus but through his murderous will Guts breaks the illusion or rather overrides it and instead kills the apostle

[@c.galindo9639]

popejpv or Guts knew the Apostle’s game and did only that to make it vulnerable and easier to kill. He is a master in combat and trickery to get a kill. He wasn’t in any way romantic or cheating on Casca. Just doing something Golden Age Guts would do before having feelings for Casca

[@ICONGAMER57]

@@c.galindo9639 AGREED

[@dryboneskirby]

Nah I don’t think the apostle has the actual ability to give illusions, Corkus was just horny/crazy because he was surprised there was a naked human woman during the eclipse. Of course he should’ve known better but he paid with his life for it. Guts must’ve had the knowledge she was an apostle and decided to play dumb. We don’t see the whole scene but we can assume they started having intercourse while she was still human and she transformed during sex. The apostle would’ve counted on the fact that Guts/any of her victims was/were too horny/stuck to do anything or care.

[@sevrenhoover6858]

I will say I loved the black swordsman arc, but, that part when the demon-upgraded knight guy comes back to kill Guts and he’s lightning fast with his strikes, but then Guts can wield the Dragonslayer like it weighs nothing and expertly deflect every hit that’s coming in, that part bothered me a little bit. Just because he usually does one huge blow with the sword because it’s so damn heavy, Miura like gave him a Kenshiro type moment with superhuman strength and speed. I know Guts does possess super human strength and speed, but it’s never really shown in that way, aside from that chapter. I guess it’s the 80’s influence of the time it was written.

[@bigdmc8577]

I would feel that Guts hunting Apostles would find out about something luring people to their deaths. Like he says before shoving his canon arm down her mouth. That he was trapping her.

[@joshshrum2764]

DavinC 85 I personally feel like he made her horny so she would drop her guard and lust for him because that’s a weakness woman have so he used that to his advantage.

[@LordVader1094]

@@joshshrum2764 That's a weakness everyone has.

[@potatoweaver4116]

Having sex with the apostles does make since when you consider Guts at this time is willing to do almost anything to kill apostles. Black Swordsman Guts is suppose to draw parallels to Griffith. Griffith was willing do almost anything for the sake of his dream, including having sex with Gennon, just like how Guts is willing to almost anything for the sake of his mission. Guts is on a downward path during the Black Swordsman arc, so him doing something out of character actually is in character. At the very end of the Black Swordsman Arc, The parallels to Griffith become most obvious. Theresia swears revenge on Guts because he killed her father for the sake of his mission, just like how Guts swore revenge on Griffith for killing his comrades for the sake of his dream.

[@astoldbyethan]

Fun fact; Shakespeare was mention alongside Puck being comic relief... Puck is actually the name of a fairy in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

[@KZrules]

The first few chapters also have lots of little drawing errors, like in the bar, guts swings his sword vertically but the dude gets cut trough half horizontally (???). And inconsistencies with the way Guts’ cloak is wrapped around his sword from panel to panel. Because of little things like this early Berserk always felt really rough around the edges for me. But it only gets better and better from there on, of course

[@vengefuldeth]

6:37 I always thought the Spirits didnt go after him at night in certain situations when he was around to many people or not in an area with alot of malice or evil, because alot of the weaker spirits we see him fight could probably be handled by an army or platoon of troops if they arnt vastly outnumbered

[@c.galindo9639]

Jonathan Melton yes. Some nights he isn’t bothered by spirits. Although rare it does happen

[@justbny9278]

Also it's not every place on Earth that's going to have malicious spirits,some places just aren't going to have enough stuff to haunt Guts

[@TheySeeMeTrollen]

I remember my first exposure to berserker... around a decade ago I was in a book shop, found the Manga section and picked up the first volume... The blurb was AWESOME... the first few pages put me off because I thought it was going to be more of the same lol. About 6 months later I started the 97 anime and good hooked.

[@davidlane1248]

I don't make excuses for the black swordsman arc. Be it the female apostle sex scene or the general portrayal of guts as a generic badass with a heart of rancid garlic Kentaro clearly hadn't planned that far ahead in the series. He's admitted he often feels things out rather than planning them out, admitted even that the massive sword was meant to be an attention grabber for sales more than any artistically based choice. He likely hadn't even planned on Casca being there as a love interest. Looking at the noncannon chapter zero, it's clear that through writing the golden age arc, guts as a character idea vastly changed compared what muira had in mind originally. Yet, despite all of that, MOST everything portrayed in the BSA was justified and tied in VERY nicely with the following massive prolouge. There's nothing wrong with admitting a few mild inconsistencies within an overall amazing epic tale like this

[@TheMuddler]

This is how I feel exactly when I watched episode 1 of berserk It very put me off because of how generic guts is. After I read the manga version of the black swordsman arc I overall did not enjoy it except for when Guts kills the girl and when Guts encounters Femto for a second time but sadly it spoils the twists with Griffith.

[@LordVader1094]

@@TheMuddler Guts isn't really generic. He's just at his lowest point.

[@bartbatz1515]

@@TheMuddler It was never really meant to be a twist. It was only a twist in the 97 anime. The manga was never going to try and hide the fact that Griffith is Femto.

[@ToneSherpa]

The answer is... f#cking yes. I do not know why it gets hate. The Black Swordsman Arc is perfect. It is kind of the entire point. We get to see how far Guts has fallen. He made so much progress in The Golden Age Arc. As close to enlightened as he could possibly get, and then Griffith just ruins him. And it's more impactful to see that part first so we can see just how much of a tragedy the Eclipse truly is.

[@elrusito5034]

Guts in the black swordsman arc: "Touch me and I'll break your fucking knees" Guts after the eclypse: "Touch caska and I'll break your fucking knees"

[@christhechilled]

The Blackswordsmen arc is wild but I can't imagine a better introduction arc than that!

[@H8FULT8]

Guts does get a visit from the demon fetus in the dungeon before Puck brings him the keys. You can imply based on later context that the child wasn’t simply taunting him but warding off the spirits. Perhaps since he isn’t out in the woods, there aren’t any spirits nearby to be attracted by the brand.

[@dylanjared9628]

I remember when Netflix only had the 1st movie. Had to rent the rest, about 6 years later I don't regret a thing

[@kavana.official]

To add context to the first 3 pages of the manga: this apostle hunts its prey by seducing them. The easiest way for Guts to get close was to pretend to fall into her trap and that's pretty badass. It's also setting the tone for the manga and serves as a warning for potential readers who don't want heavy content to shut the book

[@evility1]

My head-canon is that he had to do the apostle to get her to reveal her true form and he could make sure it was actually the Apostle, and then he killed her. He didn't want to kill her in human form and not be sure that it was the correct one, and accidently kill an innocent.

[@traumachild1737]

I always saw that part where Guts is clapping demon cheeks as his only way to get to that specific apostles. Perhaps he had been hunting her down but just never got close enough so he had to vale helplessness to draw it in. Not sure if that was the angle they were going for but that's what I believe

[@c.galindo9639]

Guts not being bothered by the spirits can be a night where he is reluctant enough not to be bothered by any spirits as he does get sleep some nights. Also him not using his crossbow launcher in the Lost Children’s Arc can be because he ran out of arrows and didn’t restock anymore to carry

[@justbny9278]

He usually gets sleep by the morning,and not every place id going to have spirits to show up to attack him

[@smitemus]

Corkus wanted to bang the demon lady, tasted heaven and got chomped on. The frenemy of Corkus, Guts, gets to bang the demon lady, tasted heaven and in turn blows her ass up. Corkus couldn't weather the lies and illusions without his mind being lost. Guts couldn't tough the poison of hatred without his heart being harmed. Aang is more badass than the both of them. This is some Lion Turtle knowledge right here. :D

[@samgourhan207]

This was the manga & chapter that made me realize that anime & manga were going to become big vices in my life

[@Nocturnimancer]

Guts not getting attacking by lesser spirits and demons while captured during the snake baron apostle makes sense to me. The snake apostle has his eyes on Guts at that point, right? So do you go into work and eat your boss's lunch from the fridge in the breakroom?

[@bernardmartins1093]

The thing abour puck touchiing guts, i do not see as a plot hole, or even something miura would fix if he had a time machine. You said it yourself, guts forgot about caska for 2 years, and she was the one that cure his trauma of being touch by other person. He kind was forcing himself in darkness, it's still a trauma, healed but a trauma, and again he's deep in darkness, forcing himself that way, forcing himself to forget about caska and do revenge, and that's it. It a healed trauma but a trama, and he embrace the ''dont touch me stuff'' also becase he was fighting with the side of him that love cascka, and he end it up embracing the ''dont touch me'' becase of that.

[@DeathAlchemist]

Personally, I always justified the female apostle with guts wanting revenge. Also the snake knight fight was great. I loved it's design and seeing it get mire monstrous was great.

[@MonkeyBoy1234587]

I believe guts is acting in character, just at this point in time he has fully embraced his rage, and abandoned casca. Even when he was traveling with her, he still assaulted her and bit her breast in a fit of rage. His rage I believe is his main enemy, and this was at the point where his rage was winning

[@notmerricks]

Is that the hunters dream theme?! :( Use the doll if it pleases you

[@melancholyman369]

I understood that reference *Makes contact noises*

[@dr.calibrations7984]

It's always up to the hunters helper to clean up the mess....

[@nirvanic3610]

Tonight rape horse joins the hunt

[@youssefbarj9770]

always glad to see one of ur berserk analysis vids, genuine tnx

[@alessandrolenares8563]

Another reason Pak is so important is his supernatural empathy,especially at the beginning . Guts is not a character who could speak openly about his feelings with someone so,instead of doing some longue monologues Miura use the fairy POV to describe them.

[@kagetsuki23]

Spirits were not hunting Guts the night he was facing the snake aposle probably because the snake apostle was here.

[@elfercho1147]

Omg so cool! You 2 guys doing a video on Berserk is badass!!!

[@thatguy464]

As video recommendation you can discuss the world building of berserk such the architecture to the mid-evil castles that inspired some the setting as well falconia may have been inspired by byzantine roman architecture. Plus, can you make a video that discusses the possiblity that berserk can work as a rpg game similar to the witcher 3 or god of war 2018.

[@christoffnava5465]

Guts banging an apostle girl is shocking but accurate with the arc... tha black swordsman is a path of vengance and madness... Guts being the worst, being a killer and a mercenary, he lived only in the present... the only thing that didnt make sense was he being capture... I like a lot the first chapter of the 1997 anime adaptation... the music of the Master Hirasawa

[@daniellorence2743]

Exactly

[@AnimeLuffyFan]

It was the perfect opening sure it was trying to hard to be edgy but amazing 😊👍🏾

[@Late0NightPC]

I definitely think the first chapter could have explained it a little better, but I don't think him sleeping with the apostle is out of character. As seen in Lost Children, guts is a completely different man after the Eclipse, who has pretty much thrown Casca away because he was too busy running from the Eclipse and she was a reminder of that. yes that isn't truely who Guts is, but at the time, he didn't know who he was. He didn't see it as "making love" or anything, rather it is using his body as a tool to get an apostle to beg and grovel under his foot(or arm canon I guess). He doesn't care about what the deeper meaning is, all he sees it as is a way for him to wipe one more demon from the world by any means.

[@joshshrum2764]

Actually I feel like Guts, wasn’t fucking that apostle because he actually had any sexual interest in that apostle he just did it to trick her so he could kill her while she was falling for her own lust witch stopped her from being able to mind control Guts, and kill him that’s all i feel like it was because he had to have had a reason because Casca, is who he actually has feelings, for plus he hates apostles so he didn’t fuck her to fuck her he just did it to catch her off guard.

[@Somespideronline]

I know this is off topic and will probabaly be reported as spam, but, my brother is like, at the hospital right now, he's been diagnosed with heart cancer and is kinda like a big fan of Berserk and always watches your videos. He always dreamed of you also having a collab with gamerguygames, spired, masked man is already here, and real life ryan. That would be dope he said. I do hope you see this

[@hcohic9884]

miura said in an interview that he adapted guts and the character both in personality and appearance according to the early reviews he got at first guts was a brash talker talkerwtih a western attitude and european physique that skinny but muscly .. his limbs were lankier and face longer basically his way of trying to make an authentic "western" story but the japanese fans didnt like it simply because they cant relate to him so he gave hima more euroasian face and physique with stoky short limbs he also toned down his personality making him more of a silent deep thinker not just guts many of the early designs villains and side characters were more realistic in their face and physique as suppose to more anime proportions later on i do prefer the early design but i guess for marketing reasons and the change of overall art with time after the 90s its understandable

[@doomguydemonkiller]

Where's Real life Ryan? Great video btw and Black swordsman arc is the best intro to Berserk.

[@Tha_Pencil]

Black swordsman puck is best puck. I miss him

[@cilliersvh9468]

Good format of video. Changes it from a lecture to more of a debate/discussion which CAN make your points more fleshed out because you have to defend them/discuss them on the fly as opposed to reading a script for instance. First scene in Berserk is the shock value that makes you wonder "what the fuck is happening I need to know why this guy is doing this". At least that's my take.

[@KdotLINE]

I always read the first scene as Guts was just getting it on with someone he probably met at the pub, and then she turned into the monster part way through, to his surprise. In the pages that have "The Black Swordsman" title on it, the first full view of the Apostle, Guts seems like he's pulling back like "Oh sh**!" while she wraps her legs around him. And when he says "The only one trapped is you...", he's throwing out a one-liner/comeback before he ends her. Then after walking away, he looks back all sweaty, lucky he got out of that alive.

[@sootythunder3111]

The thing about those first couple of pages is at the time there was no plan or storyboard of the structure of beserk, apparently black swordsmen arc was very much fly by the seat of your pants, the character of Casca and the events of the golden age weren’t even conceptualized at the time of writing the first chapter

[@samuelthompson4344]

Made a lot of valid points, good work

[@pillsnpotions6472]

WWWWOOOOWWWW was waiting for this collab

[@yordlejay6820]

Random tid-bit, the whole don't touching me resurfacing I always viewed as guts falling back into his pre BOTH self, yes he was okay with being touched in golden age by the hawk but then the massacre happened and I think he fell back into his old self in that way as well and grew out of it again thanks to puck

[@Avenger-K]

Am I an old fan? I found out about berserk through anime trailers on DVDs.

[@NaglfarCommando]

Got into Berserk due to Deathbattle? Thats cool.

[@nirvanic3610]

Nah it's cringe

[@MonkeyBoy1234587]

Janos Slynt lmao I did too, never would have heard about it otherwise

[@NaglfarCommando]

@@nirvanic3610 Nah, it's cool that new blood is coming in because of it.

[@nirvanic3610]

@@NaglfarCommando Those new bloods are mostly cringey shonen fan who like garbage shows like demon slayer.

[@NaglfarCommando]

@@nirvanic3610 Hmm..Never watched Demon Slayer but your statement reminds me of the Korn/Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Disturbed crowd coming in to the Metal community... shit.

[@HovektheArtist]

Man i read the first volume in a books a million around 2002 while playing at a yugioh tournament, didnt know what it was thought it was awesome and didnt see anythibg berserk until 5 or so years later when i saw volumes 1-3 in a barnes and noble

[@mr.skyscraper6452]

I’m currently on volume 12, almost at the end of the golden age arc, are there any spoilers in this video past that part? Really would like to watch this but don’t wanna get spoiled by accident.

[@GBDupree]

Yeah I think so for you. You are pretty far, might as well save this video to watch later. There isn't any spoilers past the beginning of the conviction arc. So when you see Mozgus then you are definitely safe to watch this. (Mozgus isn't a spoiler, it's just the name of a character you haven't met yet.) Though you could probably watch earlier than that but I don't remember what chapter numbers that could be.

[@flatheadgg2443]

Well about those first few pages... When my mom found it she bate me up with it like mozgus smashing that heretic's skull with his bible....XD

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

The Witcher series, first episode. I thought it was Berserk, lmao.

[@pictureofacat9525]

I don't really know if it's good as a start but it got me hyped for the rest, so i think it's good.

[@Assemblent]

Yes it is because you really become hooked on knowing how the world turned so dark and how did he become the black swordsman... Although , I'd rather not know that Griffith was going to be the main antagonist. I watched the series when I was a kid and didn't knew what he would become. It was mind blowing

[@pyrotechnics3269]

Did you Guys forget Guts used the crossbow arm in the den of trolls

[@dryboneskirby]

To be fair he uses it sparsely and it’s difficult to remember every instance of it

[@markpula91]

Hey Boofire where are your comics? I’d check them out

[@LeProplayerr]

I'm so glad I discoverd berserk with 1997 anime, cuz the first 3 manga chapters would have spoiled me the eclipse, the existence of demons, the betrayal of griffith and all... Because I did not read the 3 first manga and discovered berserk with 1997 anime, the eclipse was the most shoking thing i've ever seen in any manga because I did not see it coming at all.... So seeing what griffith has become was the craziest and most shocking thing ever

[@codykirschner2039]

You guys hit it right on the mark

[@DoDPUB]

Considering Berserk was teetering on the brink of cancelation before the Golden Age Arc I'm not sure the Black Swordsman Arc was the best way to start the series. It's very good in retrospect because of what we no know but at the time it was close to being disastrous.

[@c.galindo9639]

iNShadows get out

[@imarealone_0076]

Never heard this before. Source?

[@AdrianRodriguez-zs1lo]

I think the first couple panels set the whole tone of the Black Swordsman arc. If you like that you're good and if you don't well you don't.

[@berserk-_-majay4104]

I went into berserk only knowing that shit hit the fan and all his friends and girl get fucked over and basically thinking that was the end of the series. But nope I read it got past golden age and I'm now at the boat arc and I gotta say it was a big and awesome surprise to find out that wasn't the end, an was just a end of a arc and I'm glad it was cause I'm addicted to this series

[@KingDreams]

17:11 Man this hits different nowadays #RIPMiura

[@ultknight3135]

So this is why he's in my recommendations, also nice bloodborne bgm

[@first_of_my_name_69]

the ending with the godhand is pretty great though

[@gatsu8223]

Amazing collab

[@justbny9278]

Berserk has a lot of lost Potencial with how a lot of things don't interact with each other. There isn't a single fight where the brand attracting spirits plays a part,there isn't a single apostle during Guts and Casca's travel time, Puck never gets to partake in fights outside of the Count battle and some assistance during the Conviction Arc,and some Navi level help to Isidro. Isidro never gets seriously injured in ANY of his very high risks antics,and thus,he is still to get over his head. The holy iron chain knights never get to actually see The Black Swordsman fight an apostle, and early on the series hints at more supernatural creatures and Guts having quite a few knowledge about it,like with how he knows what a inccubus is and how they're even made up,but those things never amount to anything

[@ToneSherpa]

The thing about those first pages in Black Swordsman Arc is.. people who are sexually abused often go on to sexually abuse others because of the powerlessness they felt.. a lot of it is just about power..not arousal. Now obviously he wasn't sexually abusing that apostle, but I am sure he felt like he was empowering himself by f#cking her first. Like, I do think there is strategy as well... but I think it's Guts' way of feeling like he has power over himself and reality is by fucking her first, especially since he knows that is HER MOVE and he is turning it around on her. It's ALMOST like he is trying to do to them what Griffith did to Caska, and also what Donovan did to him. To get revenge and take back that feeling of power of being helpless.

[@taskmaster7819]

Damn I am a boomer. I watched the 90's anime and then started reading it...that was almost 10 years ago

[@ChaunchoCYM]

My only real qualm with the opening is that is gets beaten down hard later that Guts is incredibly averse to any physical contact with other people. I guess you could argue his ragefilled lifestyle has had him lose parts of himself, his virtuous side as well as some past trauma but...meh. It's a minor inconsistency in a masterclass series

[@unlimitedperseverance1706]

Bloodborne theme :) do you play that game? What is your gamer tag?

[@Glassandcandy]

The opening pages are kind of weird in hindsight, but honestly I could see him doing it based on the fact that she's a succubus and it gives him the opportunity to get close to her so that he can blast her. What really seems out of character is the line "the only one who's trapped here is *you*, bitch!" For whatever reason, I just can't see Guts saying the word "bitch" like that. He's not much of a swearer throughout the series and he *never* uses cheesy action one liners.

[@mileseximius]

A fellow Midwesterner tending to his mangoes.

[@cloudbloom]

Badass berk crossovers in history👌

[@blueberrymcphuckerson9821]

17:11 Ophf.... That... That joke didn't age well.

[@shreyshukla548]

Well about first three pages in which guts was having sex with that apostle I think Miura didn't planned for Saving casca too from the eclipse and guts being the lone survivor of the eclipse but later he changed that I think so

[@anarchist135]

black swordsman and lost children are tied for my favorite arcs

[@Darksaviour]

Anarchist13 And they both never got an adaptation

[@IdocarebutIdont]

Its a "bad" opening, because it just spoils way too much! Im glad that I started Beserk with the golden age movies, not knowing where the story will eventually end up! The golden age and especially the eclipse had such a big impact, because of that! The eclipse was one of the biggest plottwists and wtf moments in anime history to me.. and I think The Black Swordsman would have ruined that to some degree. Because it pretty much spoils the eclipse, the existence of magical creatures/gods and also shows that Guts and Griffith are not on good terms in the end..

[@alphakamiguru7871]

anime and manga from the 80's and 90's was more raw in general than what comes out now.

[@_Apostate]

It's also spoils the Golden Age but, by doing so it adds a sense of dread to it. Didn't matter to me i saw the 97' anime before.

[@gjoerulv]

The 1st couple of panels are VERY good for the setting, rules, tone and atmosphere for Berserk. I agree that the sex thing with the apostle is out of character, and that Gutts would never do this. It's obviously something made for an initial shock value.One could assume, in hindsight, that the apostle "lured" him, and he then snapped out of his "sexual trance" when he was about to be killed. But I don't think the scene hints at him being lured. If anything, if you go by this theory, it seems more like Gutts tried to lure her in, in order to easily kill her.

[@kagetsuki23]

Not really, the apostle he was having sex with is the one that killed Corcus. He had sex with her because he wanted to kill her the same way she killed Corcus.

[@latviandragon2718]

i was also was interduced to berserk thanks to death battle

[@Kevin-Smith7]

Hell yeah the masked mana

[@miuraslover996]

Masked and Boof, the next Swag And Seth

[@HHmz-rp8ht]

I'm pretty sure that people would get bored of the early golden age arc and think the manga is just about a medieval historical-ish war story of an op swordsman that just kills everyone with his 100lb sword if they didn't know already about the gruesomeness and the whole fantastic part

[@zaifir8119]

I don't know. The first encounter with zodd is pretty early and should make anyone question the world.

[@chlorox817]

Yea, it shows the viewers that they're in a fucking brutal ass world that doesnt have those virgin level up system

[@1theprince1]

Tbf, he starts off at his lowest point and knowing the backstory only reinforces that sentiment. He had intercourse with that apostle in my opinion as a means to trap her cause we don't how the encounter went, Guts maybe planned the whole thing or not(he propable did though). Yeah it IS edgy and weird at first but when you think about it i think it kinda works for his character at that point, if you think about it the "trap" perspective he doesn't seem too out of character to me, i mean he used a child as bait in TLC arc ffs.

[@pandaman2234]

Well I think you have to understand that this was in the context of the 1980s manga industry and in the 1980s most manga protagonists just killed people all the time so it would probably be toned down from what readers had come to expect.

[@paradoxks]

where is donovan?

[@BarraLibre]

Donovan the Cheek Clapper?

[@TheGyroBarqusShow]

I feel it's stupid to discuss about the first 3 pages, miura is the gardener type of a writer, so he does not know what will come.

[@thecountofmontecristo2796]

My fear is that we won't see an end to the series. It's already been going on for 30 years. I would settle for a light novel format at the moment unless he left notes for someone else to continue if anything happens.

[@viridianacortes9642]

He says he is almost done. He even hired assistants to help him draw faster. So, I think it will be okay. Maybe in five to ten more years.

[@thecountofmontecristo2796]

@@viridianacortes9642 well alright then

[@viridianacortes9642]

@@thecountofmontecristo2796 Muria is a troll, but he ain't that cruel. Thank God.

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@@viridianacortes9642 unlike Togashi or Yazawa, perhaps...

[@c.galindo9639]

The Count of Monte Cristo don’t you say that! Don’t you put that on us Berserk fans! Use your bad luck voodoo magic on something else but not Berserk

[@ameargopie7235]

I love the vids