Berserk - Vol. 41 Ch. 363 - Leaping Monkey
- Thread starter MangaDex
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Seems like a lot of complaints are about how nothing happens, and the more reasonable responses are pointing out the character capabilities that we see being easily flexed, when things like the kelpie or fighting even a novice witch would've been major obstacles a volume or two ago.
I think the foundation of the complaints is really that ever since the party started growing and especially since they got on the damned boat, we've seen no development or closure of the things that mattered before those points. Finally getting into Casca's mind was the moment I felt like Berserk had actually started moving again, and it's already lost that focus again after a couple chapters. Power scaling is not character progression, and almost no new philosophical themes have been presented since Guts allowed other people to travel with him; the questions in this chapter about deciding how to channel his rage are questions Guts was asking himself when he first started taking responsibility for other people's lives in the Band of the Hawk. Wearing better armor and fighting stronger things while presenting the same internal consequences is not new material, and I think everyone can feel that even if they can't verbalize it.
Every time I see slapstick and nudity, it feels like pandering and stalling for time, and I'm sure that's not something unique to me. I get that moments of levity are important to contrast when things get dark, but if the darkness and the levity are comprised of the same components and constantly take turns within the same chapter, as they have been for most chapters after the gang started growing, it removes all weight from both.
There's a sense that if they ever return to the mainland, they'll encounter a civilized world under Griffith's nefarious thumb and that might give rise to some conflict over fighting against what is good for people because he knows it will become terrible, but they SLEW a LITERAL SEA GOD and they got a high-five and a "come back soon". No awakening of goodness at sea, no response from Griffith that a potential cornerstone of evil had fallen, no consequence whatsoever. But at least we got some high-quality wallpapers and a heaping helping of nubile nereid nudity. -_-
In summary, since the Eclipse I can think of MAYBE a handful times I thought a named 'party member' was at risk of actually suffering any kind of permanent consequence and it has yet to happen, I feel like no new themes have been brought up and no old ones have been challenged, and we haven't seen the larger world consequences of anything Guts and Company has done. Even the mystical changes in the world that they're currently benefitting from were brought about by the rise of Griffith, what feels like a decade ago. I just want something that feels like a true 'next chapter' of the story, rather than a spinoff. : /
I think the foundation of the complaints is really that ever since the party started growing and especially since they got on the damned boat, we've seen no development or closure of the things that mattered before those points. Finally getting into Casca's mind was the moment I felt like Berserk had actually started moving again, and it's already lost that focus again after a couple chapters. Power scaling is not character progression, and almost no new philosophical themes have been presented since Guts allowed other people to travel with him; the questions in this chapter about deciding how to channel his rage are questions Guts was asking himself when he first started taking responsibility for other people's lives in the Band of the Hawk. Wearing better armor and fighting stronger things while presenting the same internal consequences is not new material, and I think everyone can feel that even if they can't verbalize it.
Every time I see slapstick and nudity, it feels like pandering and stalling for time, and I'm sure that's not something unique to me. I get that moments of levity are important to contrast when things get dark, but if the darkness and the levity are comprised of the same components and constantly take turns within the same chapter, as they have been for most chapters after the gang started growing, it removes all weight from both.
There's a sense that if they ever return to the mainland, they'll encounter a civilized world under Griffith's nefarious thumb and that might give rise to some conflict over fighting against what is good for people because he knows it will become terrible, but they SLEW a LITERAL SEA GOD and they got a high-five and a "come back soon". No awakening of goodness at sea, no response from Griffith that a potential cornerstone of evil had fallen, no consequence whatsoever. But at least we got some high-quality wallpapers and a heaping helping of nubile nereid nudity. -_-
In summary, since the Eclipse I can think of MAYBE a handful times I thought a named 'party member' was at risk of actually suffering any kind of permanent consequence and it has yet to happen, I feel like no new themes have been brought up and no old ones have been challenged, and we haven't seen the larger world consequences of anything Guts and Company has done. Even the mystical changes in the world that they're currently benefitting from were brought about by the rise of Griffith, what feels like a decade ago. I just want something that feels like a true 'next chapter' of the story, rather than a spinoff. : /
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Guess who's back, back again
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I think the biggest reason why everyone is complaining so much (including myself) isn't because the chapter is necessarily bad, I don't mind seeing Isidro fucking around or anything, it's just that the super long wait really just doesn't mesh with a slow pace, kinda like how the boat """"arc"""" was really excruciating when I had to wait for updates but when it's done it's really not much of an issue when I reread the whole thing.
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It’s a boy! 🥳
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Well see ya next year I guess
Everyones complaining about the whole party but i really dont think most of them are that bad and they actually have some good character development except isidro i don’t understand why he evem exists and puck has just continued to regress from being a good character and is now just a star wars reference i guess we’ll hopefully that last panel means a change is coming
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This is one of the few story’s where, even if it’s just filler, it’s still interesting to read. I’m not going to complain.
