Berserk Chapter 356 Discussion

LunaLena said:
One thing that did stand out to me, though, it seems like Griffith is just openly allying with monsters now? I always got the impression that he tried to hide the fact that his army was made up of Apostles. I don't have time to look it up now, but I remember the arena with Apostle fights was kind of a dirty secret in Falconia, and Mule was rather shocked when he first met Griffith's army. I guess not any more?

LunaLena said:
I almost feel like giving us this chapter was even more cruel than going on hiatus, haha. Epic trolling indeed.

One thing that did stand out to me, though, it seems like Griffith is just openly allying with monsters now? I always got the impression that he tried to hide the fact that his army was made up of Apostles. I don't have time to look it up now, but I remember the arena with Apostle fights was kind of a dirty secret in Falconia, and Mule was rather shocked when he first met Griffith's army. I guess not any more?

joe_g7 said:
@Draconix814 Why do you say that Griffith is attacking the elf island????

Draconix814 said:

Isn't that what's going on, or am I misinterpreting something????

joe_g7 said:
You are misinterpreting things, my friend. There's no indication at all that Griffith is on the island. He's probably off somewhere else, fighting for his kingdom or whatever.

Draconix814 said:
What about the trolls then??? Those are magical beings no? And what about this timing?

joe_g7 said:
You forget that after the World Spiral Tree sprung, the Astral and Physical worlds came together. So creatures like trolls, harpies, dragons etc. are basically everywhere now.

Draconix814 said:
Guess that makes sense, but where would they possibly be attacking now? I get your point, just asking.

joe_g7 said:
I don't know. They could just be defending Falconia from a troll invasion. We'll have to wait and see.

Alex_HT said:
to think i was joking in berserk groups about how the new chapter would be about rickert (would be better than this shit)...

Draconix814 said:

Zodd will probably have to confront Guts. Sonia will have to confront Shierke as per their prior meeting, and Mule is a wild card in all of this.

LunaLena said:
@Draconix814 and @joe_g7 - thanks for clearing that up for me! Wasn't sure if I'd have time to search through to confirm what I thought I remembered, so I appreciate the reminders.


I disagree that Zodd will end up confronting Guts, I think Miura has clearly marked Skull Knight as Zodd's destined nemesis. :) So even if they were at Elfheim, I think it would be more likely that Skull Knight would show up again to face Zodd. As annoying as it is that Guts's group resembles a JRPG party, I think it's because Miura is deliberately setting up foils to Griffith/Femto: Guts=Griffith, Farnese=Charlotte, Schielke=Sonia, Skull Knight=Zodd, etc. Therefore I think it's quite possible that Isidro or Serpico will be Mule's foil - Isidro because he is Mule's polar opposite (street rat background with lack of formal training), or Serpico because he and Mule share a similar background but fight for opposite causes. If anyone's a wildcard, I think it's most likely to be Casca: she's the one who was always caught between Guts and Griffith, right from the beginning. I don't mean that I think Casca will join Griffith or she's still in love with him or anything, just that they have a long complicated history that can't be easily discounted.

Also, did I miss some indication that Griffith is repelling the troll army from Falconia? I mean, it's likely that that's the case, but I think there's also a possibility that he is the attacker, not the defender. I have a theory that Griffith, having obtained everything he wanted, is going to find that he's bored. I think he's going to realize that pursuing a dream is much more interesting than achieving it, and like Alexander the Great, "he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer." So perhaps Griffith is looking for new battles to win and new worlds to conquer because that's really what he enjoys.

harshtruth said:
Art aside, this chapter was random crap to say the least...seriously WTF? Sex with no climax

Aardwolf94 said:
Lol, what a fucking troll. Lazy Miura strikes again, I'm currently doubting he even knows how to handle Guts and Casca's reunion..thats why he just shifted focus to Griffith & wasting time here until there is a hiatus

Farabeuf said:


I don't think he's trolling. I have written a long time ago that I got the feeling that Miura wasn't 100% sure of how he would handle this. It's really a momentous decision and up until now, he hasn't committed to anything major.

Sliusarek said:
Of course he knows how to handle it! Please, don't make any comments judging the writer when you don't even know how they work. The story is usually laid out months and months ahead. When the 355 was out, he had 356 somewhere in the table ready to be printed. I won't be surprised if he already has full story-boards for chapters 357-370 and he spends two weeks drawing the chapter and two weeks thinking about the story.
For someone who has been a writer for the series for a very long time, he knows his characters well.

The previous two chapters had a lot going on and it is natural to see one slow-burner thrown in.

Farabeuf said:


I don't think he's trolling. I have written a long time ago that I got the feeling that Miura wasn't 100% sure of how he would handle this. It's really a momentous decision and up until now, he hasn't committed to anything major.

Draconix814 said:
The transition between Casca thinking about Griffith's decrepit body and Femto's adventures murdering trolls is too convenient a transition and looks like it is trying to mislead us. The way the scenes transition into each other feel cinematic too, and they flow too well when you're reading them side by side.

With whatever this raid is that Femto is doing to these trolls, I do believe there to be a greater purpose other than both trolling its audience by cliffhanging.

One theory I suggest is that Miura is going to hereby show us something new either about Femto and his new army/ world, or something will be clarified or built upon in regards to the Moonlight child.

Now we don't know what time this is happening-- before, after, or during Casca's healing.

We also don't really know Femto's objective or even where he is attacking. That said, there is an indication that Femto, at least on the outset, is fighting the trolls because they are murdering humans (the skinned human they're using as a banner) and picking a fight with them, in lack of more detailed terms.

But let's take note of one thing-- that Sonia took note of an irregular flow of OD behind the bushes of the Troll leader. I have a feeling this is going to BIG and not just in terms of the upcoming fight. This can be something that will affect Femto and the Troll leader's "fight" (if you can call it that).

That said, how does any of this mislead us about what's going to happen with Guts and Casca? Well, I have a feeling that whatever is happening over with Guts and Casca will have a major effect on Femto. That ominous flow of OD can be contributed to that.

EDIT: Let's also not forget the myriad of unanswered questions that arose from Casca getting healed in the first place. What happened when they were off dreaming?

Just how much time passed?

Why did the Elf Queen immediately give Casca a dress?

joe_g7 said:
You're reading to much into it. Miura is just a very skilled artist, that is all. There is no "deeper meaning" in the panels.

It is just that though. Ever since Griffith obtained a corporeal body, we've constantly juggled from Guts to Griffith, and to Rickert too. The POV hasn't changed ever since the gang arrived on Elfhelm, plus Casca finally came back, and --as much as I hate that Miura went back to Griffith-- something like this was expected.

We have already seen everything about Griffith's army and city. That was the whole point of when Rickert was in Falconia. Moonlight Boy only appears during a full moon (thus the name 'Moonlight Boy'), and in this chapter you can see that it's daytime. There's no way he has any connection with this.

Is literally says on the first page that this is happening after Casca woke up:


There's quite a HUGE indication actually, Griffith is fighting them because the trolls attacked humans. They have dangled corpses and skeletons on trees (?), use human skin as banners. On page 2 you can see one of them carry half a door, another one is using a ceiling as a helmet, another one uses the front half of a boat as a helmet, they use human shields as body armor -- ALL THESE can safely be assumed they obtained by killing and raiding human villages.

That irregular flow must be the person/being controlling the trolls. It is likely this will be something different from what we've seen so far, but in no way be this:
"and this can also be something that can shed a new light on Femto and his body/ the Moonlight Child."

No, you're just saying shit again Draconix...

They had a party on Elfhelm. Guts had a few drinks with Serpico and Farnese's fiancee.

One day:

Because she thought to wear dirty traveling rugs for a reunion with her lover was un-romantic: