bscully:

skellig-island:

bscully:

I cannot talk much for Goblin Slayer as I have not read/seen it yet, but I think I can talk for Berserk:

You only see those rape scenes on certain occasions. They usually appear as a motif of sexual perversion (Eclipse, heretic’s Cave at tower of conviction, Qliphot, that one kushan Daka factory using human pregnant women) in a doomsday kind of scenario. And it’s mostly done to give the story a push forward, scarring and traumatizing the characters and giving them a motivation or drive.
There surely are some personal reasons why Miura chose this way of story-telling and kept it through most of
the story (but I don’t want to dig into this and I hope he is all well if not I’ll spam him with lovely fan letters and good vibes)

It’s reason why Guts went on his 2 year apostle killing spree:

I also think the things that happened to Farnese while she was taken hostage by Guts, the things she witnessed at Tower of Conviction and Qliphot all together enabled Farnese to become a witch in the first place:

The “Daka Factory” made Silat question whether it is a good idea to follow a a king that lies beyond their understanding (one who resorts to using pregnant women to create hell spawn, I might add):

And later on Silat already makes this point very clear when asked to join the neo band of the hawk:

It’s a (prettyy fucked up) narrative tool, so to say. But also very effective because firstly, it is so shocking and secondly, the timing of these events fit into the overall narrative and development of each character.

Thank you for writing this.

I understand that people are upset with the rape scenes and find them questionable. But at the same time, as questionable as it is, Berserk wouldn’t be the same story without it (and I know this is going to be a controversial thing to say).

Yes, using rape to shock and upset the audience can be a bit of a cheap trick, but that’s kind of the point, to shock and upset both the audience and the characters. Femto/Griffith is considered as villanous as he is because he’s a rapist, as much as people complain that it objectifies Casca*, people wouldn’t hate him as much without it.

Honestly, reading through Berserk every single character who is a rapist has also been depicted as FUCKING EVIL (Wyald, Femto, the trolls, Ganishka, etc.) so it’s not like Miura is glorifying such actions. You could argue until the cows come home about wether or not rape should be depicted and even used as part of some character’s characterization, but IMO at the end of the day Berserk has been mature rated from the start, if you can’t handle sexual content then perhaps you shouldn’t read it.

(* – that’s not to say it isn’t a valid complaint)

Some other works literature, movies or games would only include explicit
scenes merely for shock value or PR (I’ve heard people saying that
Goblin Slayer does just that, but what can I say!)

Berserk has explicit and triggering content, but it makes it meaningful in the way the story is told. E.g. lets just point out how Guts was abused by Donovan and therefore WILL mercilessly beat up or kill anyone crossing his path who dares touching the weak (Though I also have to point out he is not actively pursuing that goal).

This experience of his is used as motivation that is showing throughout the manga in a very strong and effective way. It gives him a depth and also ambiguity – because he is not actively pursuing as goal – that not many protagonists have, at least those I’ve seen/read about.

I mean when the PROTAGONIST literally saves women from rape ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS (Casca/Adon, Casca/Farnese/Women from Enoch in Trollcave) it’s really really unlikely that the author endorses rape in any kind of way. (But I like that he also puts a reminder to not become the very thing you are fighting against *cough* winter journey *cough*)

While I understand people being upset about Berserk’s upsetting imagery (I was too when i first read the explicit parts), I think it’s art to write these things and give them a proper meaning and symbolism; it makes Berserk the masterpiece that it is.

This is so very important. 

I’m sorry if what I’m about to say sounds kinda unrelated to this discussion @bscully, but Berserk has a real notoriety in the manga world and honestly, I thank Sensei for steadily going with the upsetting imagery in spite of this! 

(under the cut, because possibly slightly out of topic)

Anyone who likes manga has at least heard of the series and generally of the Eclipse, since it’s the most shocking/horrible part (I have had dozens of discussions that turned out like this) and, because it’s shocking but also because Berserk was often referred to as a masterpiece, more than a few manga fans went to read the Eclipse without the context of the previous 12 volumes.

Well, guess what? Obviously these guys came out disappointed and full of the criticisms you were talking about above (”this is disgusting”, “glorifying rape”, “couldn’t he have drawn/done this with more taste?”, etc). 

But that’s the thing, context matters in every series and even more in Berserk, which is why as you said so well, “Berserk has explicit and triggering content, but it makes it meaningful in the way the story is told“ and that shows through all the examples you mentioned.  

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but if I go read a love confession between two characters I barely know/haven’t followed the story of, the emotional affect is 100% lost on me compared to if I’ve been following their dynamic for a few or a lot of volumes.

Same for lovemaking/sex scenes being taken in or out of context, with or without knowing the characters and all that they went through before finally reaching that point with each other (for example, that’s how you can establish a real comparison between the Griffith/Charlotte and Guts/Casca sex scenes in the same volume => again, something Sensei made on purpose, without a doubt; whereas the two scenes just probably resonate similarly if you check them without knowing the context or the characters).

And so, if this is how it works for beautiful and emotional moments, why shouldn’t it also work for absolutely horrifying and shocking parts like the Eclipse (but also Guts’ chidhood, the lost children arc, Qliphoth, Wyald, Ganishka, etc)?

So yes, Miura-sensei goes with upsetting imagery often in Berserk, it’s been a thing since the beginning although (as Anon pointed out) it’s hardly ever the same tone several times in a row.
That fact is why the series doesn’t have to be for everyone and there is no issue with saying one wouldn’t enjoy it. However, for the ones who go check the worst scenes regardless, without the whole context, and who obviously get the wrong idea, seriously what’s the point? 

It took me two years to start Berserk between the first time it was recommended to me and when I actually gave it a try, because first thing I did was to go to google image to check and I immediately closed the browser because “what the hell?! too violent!” => that’s missing the context.  

Now it’s one of the best series (amidst manga, comics, novels, books, everything) I have ever read and honestly I’m glad circumstances made me give it another chance. 

Miura-sensei knows what he is doing: it doesn’t have to be for everyone, but honestly, criticism is only legitimate with context.