Berserk 7
March 11, 2008
One thing I forgot to mention last time was that Griffith’s speech at the beginning of the volume was not only about someone who he considered a friend being equal, but also how everyone has to have a goal or dream to aspire to in life. Guts didn’t say anything throughout the course of the speech, and I was a little unsure about his reaction. I figured the main part of the speech was about what Guts saw as his dream, and I wasn’t sure if Guts considered fighting his hardest or being strongest his goal, or was deeply unsettled by Griffith’s speech since he lacked purpose in life.
It turned out to be that he lacked purpose, which made me feel better since this means “being the strongest” is not going to be a goal. After saving Casca, she talks a bit more about how attached she is to Griffith, and I was surprised to see that there was no romance whatsoever. She says she realized her purpose in life was to be Griffith’s sword so that she could help clear the way for his dream of… world domination, or being king or supreme ruler or whatever the lofty goal he was striving for is.
Guts talks. And talks. And talks. There’s probably a page somewhere in here which is equal to all his dialogue in all the previous volumes combined. What does he even talk about? Well, he tries to explain himself to Casca a little bit since she always criticizes him for being reckless, he talks about Griffith, and later, he talks about what he plans to do in the immediate future.
The decision he comes to is not one I’m happy with. I’m a little worried, actually, because I thought only death (or undeath, or pacts of evil, whatever) would drive Griffith and Guts apart.
And even though there’s lots of talking and bonding between Guts and Casca, there’s also plenty of violence. In one of the coolest battles so far, Guts slays 100 soldiers who come to collect the bounty on his head. As you can imagine, heads explode, eyeballs fly, body parts are cleaved apart, and Guts explains that his secret is that his sword is dull and that if you don’t die when he hits you with it, you’ll wish you had. There’s also another huge battle at the end of the volume, but its resolution isn’t going to come until volume 8.
March 12, 2008 at 1:31 am
[...] Than Love. Erica Friedman reviews Yozora no Ouji to Asayake no Hime at Okazu. Connie checks out vol. 7 of Berserk at Slightly Biased Manga. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 2 of Ai no Kusabi and vol. [...]