A few months ago I was joking as I added to someone else’s post that a neutral ending to the possibilities for who lil Casca was talking about previously was her son (compared to ‘good ending: Guts’, ‘bad ending: Griffith’) but…
frankly now I wonder if that really wasn’t who she was talking about from the beginning, especially if you consider that lil Casca is a direct representation of current!Casca.
It would explain why the Skull Knight insisted so much about Casca and Guts having different wishes when she comes back: maybe what will motivate her to come back isn’t even Guts in the first place but her son because she’ll want to save him from Griffith/Femto. I mean, ever since the Eclipse, she always was the most “aware” whenever her son was around.
Even in this state, she knows he’s inside of Griffith 2.0 (when no one else does, just saying), which is probably why the last fragment took this form in the first place. Her son turning out like that is a direct consequence of the Eclipse and so is him being used for Griffith’s rebirth during the tower of conviction arc.
About the demon infant, first of all, I have a tag for him on my blog but, maybe you should catch up first with the rest of the series before you go browsing, just in case of spoilers about events you may not have read yet.
Otherwise, I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one tearing up at the mention of him since his fate is one of the most unlucky we could read about in the story. He’s like his parents, he got cursed during the Eclipse before even being born, because of the huge ego issues of one man-turned-evil-angel.
I think the worst for me is how he really was yearning for his parents all along despite his demon nature
(the Skull Knight was right) and how he proved that he wasn’t “all bad”, but still the Tower of Conviction arc rendered it all almost pointless.
Being honest here, without the demon infant, Casca wouldn’t have survived one night outside of Godo’s cavern or the whole arc itself. Without him, Guts wouldn’t have even known that Casca was in terrible danger. So it’s rather painful that he ended up being used as a receptable for the Godhand who cursed both him and his parents when, even as a demon and being rejected by his father, all he ever was shown to do was for his parents’ sake.
In my opinion, the Tower of Conviction arc was huge because it was a turning point namely in his relationship with Guts, as vol 28 showed…
which is kind of heart-wrenching afterwards, when you realize that the baby is now a part of the new Griffith but that his father definitely has no idea yet.
As for Casca, I think the pang in the heart was to realize that he never let her approach him after the day of his birth, despite how much she herself wanted to, because:
as long as there was some physical distance, even as a demon he wouldn’t react too much to the brand on her chest
or, as long as there was some physical distance, the brand wouldn’t react and hurt his mama too much.
Finally, I find that the demon child is one of the most ironic plot points of Berserk. You see, his father not being able to kill him when he was born ended up being extremely useful for Casca’s protection and he’s also the reason his parents reunited a few years after the Eclipse, but…
…it also allowed Femto to get the ultimate receptacle in order to drive the human world into a new age of darkness.
There you go Anon. You being on vol 29 doesn’t exactly allow me to say more. The demon infant is obviously still an important plot point considering that he’s a part of Griffith, and that even if we (it’s not really a spoiler) haven’t seen him ever since the Tower of Conviction arc.
Well, maybe. If you read vol 28, then something (or someone) should have struck you. 😉
I hope it answers your question. :)) Please have a very enjoyable weekend Anon! 😀
I’m sorry Anon, but I don’t get your issue? By receptacle, I mean that it was explained that Femto, because he is a Godhand, cannot exist in the corporeal world by himself:
So that’s why he was indeed fused with the demon infant and became Griffith 2.0 (the Hawk of Light). In fact, when Casca sees Griffith 2.0, she doesn’t just sense Femto through her brand, she senses her son too, because he still exists in Griffith 2.0 and that’s why he can sense what the baby is feeling for his parents in vol 22.
The reason this fusion happened in the first place is because the demon infant was a creature of the interstice, like his parents…
…because he had a body of flesh belonging to the corporeal world (since he was conceived when Guts and Casca made love), but a part of him belonged to another world because of Femto’s curse, just like his parents’ brand. That’s why he was probably the only receptacle possible for Femto and that’s why Griffith 2.0 was reincarnated using the demon infant’s own body of flesh:
So I don’t know what you misunderstood by “receptacle” or maybe it’s my fault for not choosing the best word, but I think we agree on the idea that Griffith ever since vol 21 = Femto + demon infant. :3
Sorry for the confusion! Please have a very enjoyable weekend Anon :))
So I reread the current arc and a thought came to me. Actually I had thought about this before but I never wrote a post, so here’s an occasion since Berserk is coming back soon. :))
Anyway, about this…
…since we’re currently wandering across Casca’s dreamland, looking for fragments to heal her imagery of the broken doll, it seemed obvious that every memory we came across had to be from Casca’s perspective, otherwise Schierke and Farnese would have had no chance to bring her back. For example:
However, back to what Schierke and Farnese described as “the end goal” of their journey, I’m actually not sure that:
the black sun is representing the moment of the eclipse
the hellish peak is representing the God Hand towering above hell
Don’t worry, I know that said like that it sounds weird, especially considering that the eclipse and Femto are the guilty party behindCasca’s decent into insanity, but hear me out because, to be fair, I was thinking that maybe these two elements of Casca’s dreams were hinting about a specific part of the Eclipse.
Again, we saw that the fragments of Casca’s memories that we came upon were always shown from her perspective, so what if…
“the black sun & hellish peak” were referring to…
this moment of the Eclipse in particular?
Because it’s also an aspect of rape that could have definitely traumatized both Guts and Casca, since Casca begged for Guts to look away while he couldn’t, because he was held down and forced to watch her being raped, until one of the Apostles pierced his right eye,
this horrible sight forever haunting him afterwards.
So while Guts hated having to be powerless and being forced to watch the woman he loved being raped, I think that Casca’s words back then are deliberately implying that she also felt terrible because, on top of her suffering through rape, the man she loved was forced to watch it all.
Again, it’s all a matter of perspective. Schierke and Farnese will most likely see all the events of the Eclipse through Casca’s eyes, because that’s the only way for them to find out why Casca turned out like that. However, in my opinion, the “last fragment” and symbolic elements of her dreams might also include this scene above, because it represents a moment when both Casca and Guts were powerless before Griffith, forced to watch the one they loved suffer right in front of them.
I’m just saying, it could be one of the many aspects of trauma induced by rape and, if it’s still haunting Guts to this day, it may haunt Casca as well, hence the imagery of that hellish peak pointing towards the black sun that we saw in Casca’s dreams so far.
Unfortunately, I am entirely unqualified to answer this, as I’ve never read Berserk (it’s definitely on my to-read, though, it’s just a very long series).
I know a few people in the fandom have written about Tokyo Ghoul and Berserk; namely,
@purgatoryandme [here] (this post is even about Amon) and @midnight-in-town [here]. I think your question would be better directed at either of them, or if they chose to reply to this, it’s in reference to [this] post.
Thanks for your question Anon, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. Have a nice day!
Hi @lunaamatista (and Anon)! Whew, sorry that it took me a little while to get back to you, even though I might not be of so much help because it’s something I’ve said before…
yes, Amon looks to be based on Guts when it comes to his design
yes, there are *some* parallels of situation between Kaneki as the OEK and Femto
however, other than that Guts//Amon and Kaneki//Griffith are as unrelated as ever.
Because, I mean no offense to Amon, but he can’t even compare to Guts on anything and they’re not even remotely similar characterization-wise, so I find they don’t parallel each other in much besides the rather familiar design (you can check @purgatoryandme’s post above, you’ll see that it’s all about Amon’s design).
For Kaneki and Griffith/Femto, it’s also as I explained in the post Luna linked above: it’s a parallel of situation between Femto and the OEK (breaking from an egg, being seen as the bridge between the worlds, as the one true savior…), but again, Kaneki and Femto can’t exactly be compared on anything characterization wise. xD
I wish I had the time to ramble and explain why exactly these characters aren’t anything alike, but unfortunately I don’t have that time, so to summarize:
Amon: a rather unchangeable set of mind ever since the end of TG, stuck in the past, apparently believes in peace but can’t exactly find himself fighting for it in the most efficient way.
Guts: character development in the form of a constant struggle against his fate, does move forward as a character (except where Casca is concerned, but that’s, you know, understandable), doesn’t give two fucks about the world, fights for himself in the most efficient way xDD
Kaneki: abandonment issues, desperately wants to be loved and to belong in a family, burdened by a role he never wanted, in which he sucked so far as a result. Though, might still in the end become The Great Savior against the big bad in the story, which will allow him to get redemption.
Griffith: ambitious, big ego and abandonment issues which led to him sacrificing everything to get more power, probably satisfied by his current situation, is seen as the Great Savior but is actually the Worst Nightmare and is probably not getting redemption ever.
Finally, seeing how Donato is extremely mysterious but still not someone I’d call a good character (if just because of how he “raised” Amon), I don’t really see how he could be compared to the Skull Knight, when the SK follows his own goal and it’s just his path that crosses with Guts’ from time to time.
Frankly, If you want to compare Donato to anyone in Berserk, you might as well compare him to Gambino: both sucked as father figures and got their sons to be traumatized for life, but somehow their respective sons can’t exactly hate them back (which is the only interesting parallel you can find between Guts and Amon).
There, that’s my take on it. Personally, I believe there are only a few parallels of situation here and there between Berserk and TG for a few characters, but nothing that can help us with predicting a character/plot development because the characters are either fundamentally too different, or the settings are, which comes down to the same thing anyway.
Biggest parallel I’ve seen is romance between Guts/Casca and Kaneki/Toula, because of ch125 and Touka’s pregnancy, but even that doesn’t particularly lead to anything (which is what I’d use to prove my point that TG and Berserk can’t be compared on much).
Sorry for the long answer, but thanks for tagging me Luna! 🙂
You know I was thinking, what if a way to hyper summarize (and theorize about) the series ever since Griffith’s rebirth to the very end was…
”Baby protected Mommy
And Daddy many times. So, soon…
it’s going to be Daddy and Mommy’s turn…
to go save their son….”
?
(Note: I’m well aware that the theory demon infant = moonlight child isn’t confirmed yet, but one can’t exactly deny there must be some kind of link between them)
Hello! Well, I have no idea who Jareth and Sarah are, but I definitely share your interest in Charlotte. 🙂 Take a look here.
Too soon to say if I really want or think that Griffith has any chance for redemption though. In my opinion, he’s an actual demon now and if there is no redemption for the Apostles, then there isn’t any either for any member of the Godhands, especially when they’re all pawns to the Idea of Evil.
Anyway, just saying Anon, but I’m not so sure that Guts would even want to help Griffith with earning his redemption, in the theory that’s it’s even possible. I mean please don’t forget that, without even mentioning what he did to Casca…
I’m not so sure that Guts will be very happy once he learns about that (in fact I think it’s what might fuel his anger again to face his former friend, once Casca is healed) and I’m also really not confident about Guts and Griffith ever rekindling their friendship.
Hi Anon! I hope you don’t mind that I copy & paste my private answer to a similar question that I received a few days ago because I’m not feeling very creative with my exam coming up.
For now I believe there are two possibilities for the identity of the person lil Casca wants to meet and yes, Griffith is indeed one of them because at the moment where lil Casca speaks, all that they recovered was her memories up until the moment they left to get Griffith back. So “I want to see him”, taken into the context of her memories, could have to do with Griffith and thus he could be the person she wants to meet with.
At this point in her memories, Griffith is still someone that she holds dear after all, even if he’s not the one she has feelings for anymore.
The other possibility aside from Griffith is if we’re considering that her wish should be taken out of context of the memories because lil Casca…
is what’s left of our currently traumatized Casca ever since the eclipse, which is to say that the more memories they get, the more lil Casca grows (starts talking, etc) and in that case, the person she wants to meet could be Guts.
The flowerstorm Queen described Casca as being afraid of Guts and that is something made obvious with little Casca being afraid of Dog Guts within the dream too…
…but still, Dog Guts is also depicted as a protector. A strong, very scary and intimidating protector, but he’s one at least, and since everything we see is from Casca’s memories, feelings and dreams, even if she’s afraid of Guts that doesn’t mean that very deep inside she doesn’t understand that he’s been trying to protect her this whole time.
So if we’re considering that lil Casca is speaking out of context of the memories but that the memories are helping her grow again (with the ultimate end being to gain her sanity back), that would mean that it’s our current Casca that is speaking through the little one (because the little one represents her current self) and in that case, recovering all these memories about the past but mainly about Guts and why she fell in love with him indicates that Guts is the person she wants to see.
Guts, as in the man before the eclipse by the way, since the current one with his wrath, guilt and trauma scares her.
Additional point but, since the eclipse also obviously traumatized and changed Guts, I believe it will be Guts’ turn to do a lot of self introspection and maybe to start healing (about the eclipse, about everything that happened until he met with Puck, about what almost happened with Casca :/) once Casca will do better. He’s still so tormented himself, it’s not just her, and he is trying to restrain the beast of darkness within him but it won’t stay low forever (and all of this is why Casca is currently afraid of him, despite knowing full well that his intentions aren’t that bad since Dog Guts is shown as a loyal protector).
Anyway, due to the memories and the fact that she is frightened as she speaks
I’m vouching for Casca saying she wants to meet Guts, as in the Guts she fell in love with…
…because she’s a little afraid of what he became post eclipse. I could be wrong though.
I hope it helps, sorry that it was a bit long! Have a nice day Anon 🙂
I can see why you mentioned a quinque, although I couldn’t be less sure that it’s one. However, I am almost 200% convinced that this person is supposed to be Kaneki (aka the OEK/the “nameless king”) or someone that’s impersonating him on purpose to go with “the plan”. So, sorry but I doubt it’s Amon or Yoshimura or Eto or Arima.
But for real, you know what I’m interested about? The “moon” symbolism that is shown behind/in front of the “king”. Obviously, it’s not the moon itself since they’re underground but still, considering that we’re apparently still in the moon stage of the Fool’s journey (according to our experts on tumblr :D), I find this image to be quite intriguing.
The moon phase is precisely about illusions and things not being exactly as they appear to be, so who knows if that doesn’t apply to our “king” here as well. That’s why I mentioned that this king figure is supposed to be in reference to Kaneki (who is the OEK) but might not be Kaneki himself especially since…
…Kaneki is supposedly dead to the ghoul world’s eye.
So this king is most definitely a symbol of hope and of rebellion but is it really Kaneki covered in poop, that I can’t say. That’s even why some ghouls referred to him as “nameless” -> maybe several Goat members are taking turn at being “the King” covered in dirt, so that the symbol always stays around while it’s not always the same person who has to be dirty all the time
(but again I doubt it’s Amon, as Amon didn’t really want to help the ghouls’ side :/).
As a Berserk fan, I have to admit that this moment also reminded me of Femto’s birth during the eclipse, as we had a dark sun (instead of a moon) hovering above during the entire scene…
and Femto…
looked filthy too. xD
(and also everyone going “king king king king” in the 24th ward made me thinking of the Apostles welcoming Femto as the 5th Angel)
Finally, I agree that it’s very likely there is a time skip between ch126 and ch127, although a few days or weeks seem more likely than a timeskip of a few months in my opinion. I think it was left ambiguous on purpose by Ishida though, so we will have to see if we get more hints as to when the new chapter happened.
I hope it helps a little! Have a nice weekend.
Hello Anon and sure, I’ll explain right away then. 🙂
I find the parallels to be noticeable in what I exposed above but as for why I find that interesting, it’s because in TG the OEK or “nameless king” (aka Kaneki) is a symbol of hope and of rebellion that’s supposed to strive for coexistence (as per Kaneki’s own words, since he doesn’t want to erase the human side of this world), so that ghouls can have their own fair place into this world.
Meanwhile in Berserk, Griffith aka Femto is clearly not a good character at heart, however, when he’s reborn a second time into the human world (still as a demon), he becomes the head of an army that’s composed of both humans and apostles (= demons) and at the end of a war against an enemy (who’s also using demons and humans for his army)…
…He revives an ancient city in which both humans and demons can coexist peacefully. …Or so is the utopic vision most human inhabitants have, because deep down it’s more complicated than that.
In any case, the parallels stop there because Kaneki and Griffith don’t have a lot in common and because ghouls and demons are nothing alike (demons are literally “beasts of neglect, fear and sorrow. They exist in the world of man only as adversaries”). It’s just that the appearance of the “king” at the end of the chapter reminded me strongly of Femto’s appearance when he was reborn + that in both cases there is the notion of coexistence that they embody even if, again, their goals are entirely different.
I hope it makes a little more sense! Have a nice weekend. 🙂
I can see why you mentioned a quinque, although I couldn’t be less sure that it’s one. However, I am almost 200% convinced that this person is supposed to be Kaneki (aka the OEK/the “nameless king”) or someone that’s impersonating him on purpose to go with “the plan”. So, sorry but I doubt it’s Amon or Yoshimura or Eto or Arima.
But for real, you know what I’m interested about? The “moon” symbolism that is shown behind/in front of the “king”. Obviously, it’s not the moon itself since they’re underground but still, considering that we’re apparently still in the moon stage of the Fool’s journey (according to our experts on tumblr :D), I find this image to be quite intriguing.
The moon phase is precisely about illusions and things not being exactly as they appear to be, so who knows if that doesn’t apply to our “king” here as well. That’s why I mentioned that this king figure is supposed to be in reference to Kaneki (who is the OEK) but might not be Kaneki himself especially since…
…Kaneki is supposedly dead to the ghoul world’s eye.
So this king is most definitely a symbol of hope and of rebellion but is it really Kaneki covered in poop, that I can’t say. That’s even why some ghouls referred to him as “nameless” -> maybe several Goat members are taking turn at being “the King” covered in dirt, so that the symbol always stays around while it’s not always the same person who has to be dirty all the time
(but again I doubt it’s Amon, as Amon didn’t really want to help the ghouls’ side :/).
As a Berserk fan, I have to admit that this moment also reminded me of Femto’s birth during the eclipse, as we had a dark sun (instead of a moon) hovering above during the entire scene…
and Femto…
looked filthy too. xD
(and also everyone going “king king king king” in the 24th ward made me thinking of the Apostles welcoming Femto as the 5th Angel)
Finally, I agree that it’s very likely there is a time skip between ch126 and ch127, although a few days or weeks seem more likely than a timeskip of a few months in my opinion. I think it was left ambiguous on purpose by Ishida though, so we will have to see if we get more hints as to when the new chapter happened.
Hello Anon! And yes, I’m afraid the union between Charlotte and Griffith will very much happen if just because…
…+ everything we saw him do ever since his rebirth has been precisely accomplished with this in mind and Charlotte is what she always was: a direct access to the throne.
Before the eclipse, getting Charlotte to like him was necessary because he was a nobody even when he won that war. However now, even though the people (and the Pope) see him as their savior, Charlotte is still necessary because…
…not everyone will accept him. As the true ruler of Midland, if Charlotte stays by his side then he has legitimacy for all of his actions and no one can cross what he decides.
So yes, I’d say that the lords of Midland might only recognize Charlotte as their ruler, but still, the more time passes, the more popular Griffith becomes, so I’m pretty sure Griffith will really be the one ruling things in the kingdom, which is in accordance with his dream and with the goal of the Idea of Evil surely.
Finally about Charlotte, I wonder if she is that naive and sheltered, you know? It does seem that she’s blinded by love but still, I remember that Guts and Casca were impressed by her when they went to rescue Griffith. Though, what kept her going was her devotion and love for Griffith for so long so, then again, it might be what will lead to her downfall if she only relies on her love for him.
Yet… somehow I still have this feeling that her role might not be to follow Griffith blindly like everyone else because…
…as Midland’s true ruler, she has a link to King Gaiseric who might be our dear Skull Knight so ¯_(ツ)_/¯ For now she trusts blindly in Griffith but that might not go on forever. I guess that this follows Berserk’s theme too, as a human Charlotte will have to prove if she’s capable to be different from the rest of the sheep pack.
I like her personally, so I’m hoping she won’t remain a sheep. 🙂 Sorry for the long answer and please have a nice weekend!
midnight-in-town 