Hello Anon 🙂 Thank you, I had a great time, I saw snow and I love snow 😀 Congrats on catching with Berserk too :)) So here goes:
What do you think is going to happen next?
Seeing as I have no idea whether you meant in the current arc or in general in the story, I’ll answer quickly to both.
First of all, I really can’t be sure of how long it’s going to take to bring Casca back but I’m 99.99% she will be back after this arc. Miura-sensei will probably scare us once or twice before it really happens, but we’ll definitely get there eventually. Here are a few theories I wrote for the current arc: [x][x]
As for the rest of the story, I also wrote a long post a year ago or so, about what getting Casca back would mean for the whole plot. It’s still pretty accurate in my opinion but if you’re not sure of reading it, I might as well give you a lil summary:
Casca will go after after Griffith because she will want her son back and Guts (and their friends) will follow, either simply because she goes, or because he’s going to be as mad as she will be about what happened to their son.
In other words, Casca will go back to being the extremely meaningful and impressive character she always was. Remember, Guts is no leader, but Casca was a great one even if she had to take a break for a few years. :))
About Farnese:
Similarly, I’m pretty sure Farnese will be okay and narratively speaking, she has to be anyway. See, the current arc (getting Casca back through a journey in her dreams) is also a good way for both Schierke and Farnese to finally move on from their crush on Guts, because the current arc will help them realizing what exactly links Guts and Casca.
It’s always been something that they had a hard time grasping, Farnese especially, because they have no idea about what really happened during the Eclipse and because all they ever saw was Guts doing all he could to protect while she wouldn’t stop pushing him away…
So, Farnese (and Schierke too, even if it’s to a lesser extent) realizing what exactly Casca and Guts went through and receiving the confirmation that she’ll never be able to come between them will definitely help her move on, and this is what’s going to allow Sensei to focus on her dynamics with other characters (namely on that weird little love triangle she has with Serpico and Roderick).
So the girls will certainly be okay, no worries and while this arc is mostly about Casca’s character, it’s still a little about Farnese and Schierke too. :))
I hope it answers your questions, thank you for the nice words, I hope you’ll have a nice weekend! 😀
what if the one who ends up using Dragonslayer (from Farnese’s dream) is not Farnese or Schierke or even Dog-Guts, but rather…
Casca herself?
Hear me out, the broken doll is only missing but a few fragments and this lil one here changes with every memory the girls retrieved (she spoke and expressed her desires when she couldn’t speak at all at first). If this keeps up, which is the whole point of this arc, Casca will slowly come back more and at some point, she’ll be able to confront her own past in order to fulfill her wishes and end this journey.
This might imply having to fight by herself the embodiment of her fears once we get to the final fragment…
otherwise she’ll never find her resolve in order to finally cope with everything that she went through.
Besides, it’d be a beautiful parallel considering that Dragonslayer is a big reason our Black Swordsman managed to fight and survive all this time, so much that the sword itself became stronger and more efficient against Apostles after killing so many of them.
Finally, it would also be an interesting nod back to why Casca once took a sword and learnt how to fight for herself…
…right after she was assaulted for the first time. Using Griffith’s initial advice to overcome what he did to her, wouldn’t it be awesome?
I’m looking forward to anyone who might use Dragonslayer in a future chapter, but I’ll be extra happy if this person turns out to be Casca, who’s finally ready to come back. 😀
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.
This is a bit of a stretch at this point, but imagine if this part of Casca’s trauma is one that she can’t face by herself (hence the overwhelming presence of these two symbolic elements ever since the start of her journey through her dreams), because she’s convinced that Guts must be disgusted and traumatized by what happened to her, even if it wasn’t her fault at all.
And imagine if Farnese and Schierke both realize the extent of her trauma and self-loathing in that particular aspect, once they get to see the final fragment, and they end up trying to help Casca by telling her about…
Guts’ answer to Roderick’s question? (vol 33)
In the end, this answer is something only Farnese, Schierke and Roderick got to hear about for now but we know that the two girls who have a crush on Guts were a bit hurt in their respective feelings, so it’s rather obvious that Guts’ love of his life definitely is Casca.
So if Casca were to hear about that answer, maybe it could help her acknowledging that, despite the horrible experience and trauma, Guts’ feelings for her haven’t changed after all that they went through? Besides, it would also help both Farnese and Schierke with coming to terms with their respective crush on Guts, since (let’s face it) it’s never going to happen and other dynamics involving the girls definitely need a focus next (Schierke & Isidro, Serpico -> Farnese <= Roderick).
Of course, the journey through her dreams won’t make Casca cope right away with everything that happened during and after the Eclipse, and I’m not even expecting a Gustca reconciliation right away considering what happened in vol23 for example, but the presence of Guts as this very scary but protective dog in Casca’s dreams indicate that, deep inside, she knows he protects her.
So a big reminder of Guts’ feelings thanks to Schierke and Farnese might help Casca with at least this part of her trauma (self-loathing and self-disgust that she thinks the man she loves shares, because he witnessed her getting raped), but that’s only if the peak and black sun represent what I was talking about above. 🙂
More like crack theory, but it invaded my mind this morning and it just won’t leave me alone, so here goes nothing: going back to the tower of conviction arc, there was a scene that never struck me as odd until, well, this morning and that is:
What that apostle implied about the demon infant dying and dreaming about the “new world” (aka Griffith being reborn and becoming humanity’s savior lmao) hit something in my mind today because the story is currently focusing on bringing Casca’s sanity back, thanks to a journey through her dreams.
And in ch348, it was implied that, even though they’re technically called “dreams”, it’s completely possible through them (and thanks to magic) to change the dreamer who is currently asleep in the “real world”.
In Casca’s case, hopefully Schierke and Farnese will be able to make good changes, but that got me thinking: what if, through magic, this “corridor of dreams” was… somehow like another “dimension”? A bit like the astral plane if you would, except that it is about “dreams”…
…and only powerful beings like the Sovereign of the flower storm have access to it.
Now, look at the moonlight child: he’s a young kid that many readers believe could be what’s left of the demon infant ever since Griffith’s rebirth, but Schierke told us many times that…
his OD, to which the brand doesn’t react to, is strange, which means it has nothing to do with the beings of the astral world (or the underworld) that Schierke is used to and he’s clearly not human (or having to do with Danan).
We know he’s using the full moon to appear because that’s the time magic forces are at their strongest, and it’s actually been hinted that Griffith doesn’t disappear on full moon nights (meaning that these two probably don’t share a body, at least not during the full moon). We also saw him disappear in vol 37…
…through that tree that expands even to the moon and that apparently links every plane/world together.
Back to the demon infant and dreams, considering his behavior until Griffith’s reincarnation, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to have dreams about living a happy life with his parents, especially since the Skull Knight confirmed that all children (even demons) yearn for their parents.
And anyway, one of the reasons many readers associate the moonlight child to the demon infant is basically because the moonlight child, each time he appears, behaves as if he were Casca’s child (eyeing Guts and saving him when necessary too). Isidro even called them and Guts out for looking like a family once.
…that means that the moonlight child (if he’s linked to the demon infant) got his body from someone/somewhere else.
So here’s my theory: what if the moonlight child is none other than the corporeal incarnation of the demon infant’s own dream?
If the baby that became a part of Griffith when he was reincarnated is sometimes dreaming, as the apostle of the tower of conviction implied, then he might be dreaming about seeing his parents again, or simply about what it would be like to spend time as a family?
And thanks to this baby being a strange being in the first place, but also being a part of Griffith and full moons helping, maybe that’s how the moonlight child comes to be every month for just one night (naked as the demon infant always was and powerful, because it’s the full moon or because of Griffith’s powers that the demon infant might be sharing)?
That would definitely explain the boy’s strange OD in any case and maybe even why he looked to have grown up in vol 36/37, as he would be the first dream incarnation that we would meet in the story (and that would fit with the fact that Griffith/Femto definitely seems still corporeal during the full moon).
TL;DR maybe the “corridor of dreams” that Danan uses is some kind of plane, like the astral plane, that can be accessed through the world tree. And maybe, during full moons, the demon infant has enough powers to materialize his dearest dream for one night, which is to say he “dreams” of being a young boy able to spend time with his parents, which is why a corporeal moonlight child materializes where his parents are.
Sorry if something doesn’t make sense, but feel free to leave your thoughts!
Bringing this post back because…
I’m betting that what’s going on, thanks to Danan, isn’t just a simple dream. It’s more like it’s based on Casca’s dream (and it also has to do with her memories and her trauma), otherwise…
…Schierke wouldn’t have been able to bring these things from her own dream. It’s as if Danan was linking their dreams together, so maybe the “corridor of dreams” really is its own dimension/plane (and it’s gathering every dream together?).
Anyway, considering how Schierke was able to maximize the use of these objects “because it’s a dream”…
…once again, I vouch for the (crack) theory that the moonlight child might be the result of something the demon infant created/dreamt, either thanks to his own power, or to Griffith’s, on top of using the time of the full moon. That would explain why the moonlight child seems to be so close to Casca, why he’s curious towards Guts, why he saved them both and why he disappears through the world tree once the full moon ends.
So he might not be the demon infant directly, but he comes from the demon infant living inside of Griffith. And I like the idea that he comes from a dream because it could be seen as once being implied by the egg apostle + as we saw, even as a cursed child, the demon infant always yearned for his parents and wanted to protect them.
Additional detail because it’s a crack theory, but…
Danan chose to materialize inside Casca’s dream as these flowers to guide Schierke and Farnese and, the more I think about this crack theory, the more it reminds me of…
… the 3 times the moonlight child stopped Guts’ fury as he, too, materialized within Guts’ mind, whenever he was on Berserker!mode, bringing him back to his senses.
So I don’t know for sure, but I like the idea that the moonlight child has something to do with the demon infant and the “dream dimension” (as I’m calling it), which might be a separate plane, allowing those who can access it to reach the deepest parts of other people’s minds.
More like crack theory, but it invaded my mind this morning and it just won’t leave me alone, so here goes nothing: going back to the tower of conviction arc, there was a scene that never struck me as odd until, well, this morning and that is:
What that apostle implied about the demon infant dying and dreaming about the “new world” (aka Griffith being reborn and becoming humanity’s savior lmao) hit something in my mind today because the story is currently focusing on bringing Casca’s sanity back, thanks to a journey through her dreams.
And in ch348, it was implied that, even though they’re technically called “dreams”, it’s completely possible through them (and thanks to magic) to change the dreamer who is currently asleep in the “real world”.
In Casca’s case, hopefully Schierke and Farnese will be able to make good changes, but that got me thinking: what if, through magic, this “corridor of dreams” was… somehow like another “dimension”? A bit like the astral plane if you would, except that it is about “dreams”…
…and only powerful beings like the Sovereign of the flower storm have access to it.
Now, look at the moonlight child: he’s a young kid that many readers believe could be what’s left of the demon infant ever since Griffith’s rebirth, but Schierke told us many times that…
his OD, to which the brand doesn’t react to, is strange, which means it has nothing to do with the beings of the astral world (or the underworld) that Schierke is used to and he’s clearly not human (or having to do with Danan).
We know he’s using the full moon to appear because that’s the time magic forces are at their strongest, and it’s actually been hinted that Griffith doesn’t disappear on full moon nights (meaning that these two probably don’t share a body, at least not during the full moon). We also saw him disappear in vol 37…
…through that tree that expands even to the moon and that apparently links every plane/world together.
Back to the demon infant and dreams, considering his behavior until Griffith’s reincarnation, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to have dreams about living a happy life with his parents, especially since the Skull Knight confirmed that all children (even demons) yearn for their parents.
And anyway, one of the reasons many readers associate the moonlight child to the demon infant is basically because the moonlight child, each time he appears, behaves as if he were Casca’s child (eyeing Guts and saving him when necessary too). Isidro even called them and Guts out for looking like a family once.
…that means that the moonlight child (if he’s linked to the demon infant) got his body from someone/somewhere else.
So here’s my theory: what if the moonlight child is none other than the corporeal incarnation of the demon infant’s own dream?
If the baby that became a part of Griffith when he was reincarnated is sometimes dreaming, as the apostle of the tower of conviction implied, then he might be dreaming about seeing his parents again, or simply about what it would be like to spend time as a family?
And thanks to this baby being a strange being in the first place, but also being a part of Griffith and full moons helping, maybe that’s how the moonlight child comes to be every month for just one night (naked as the demon infant always was and powerful, because it’s the full moon or because of Griffith’s powers that the demon infant might be sharing)?
That would definitely explain the boy’s strange OD in any case and maybe even why he looked to have grown up in vol 36/37, as he would be the first dream incarnation that we would meet in the story (and that would fit with the fact that Griffith/Femto definitely seems still corporeal during the full moon).
TL;DR maybe the “corridor of dreams” that Danan uses is some kind of plane, like the astral plane, that can be accessed through the world tree. And maybe, during full moons, the demon infant has enough powers to materialize his dearest dream for one night, which is to say he “dreams” of being a young boy able to spend time with his parents, which is why a corporeal moonlight child materializes where his parents are.
Sorry if something doesn’t make sense, but feel free to leave your thoughts!
Hey Anon 🙂 And wow, how am I supposed not to ramble when I receive such a question? xD Nah but seriously, your question reminds me that I actually intended on writing a post about ch348 but that I got super busy and literally forgot, so it’s a great question. 🙂
First of all, yes, I think that Casca will definitely regain her mind one way or another while they’re at Skellig Island. It’s something I currently don’t have so many doubts about, for reasons I once explained here. My thoughts can still change of course, but for now I am not fearing this possibility. 😀
However I definitely agree about plot twist(s): I agreed before ch348 and I agree even more after reading ch348 because…
…we got the confirmation that whatever Schierke and Farnese do in Casca’s dream will affect real!Casca. Obviously, it was to be expected since Schierke and Farnese are supposed to cure Casca through understanding her dream, but positive changes definitely aren’t the only possibility.
So, since we readers know exactly what put Casca in such a traumatized state, I think we can expect that Schierke and Farnese’s journey through Casca’s dream certainly won’t be an easy and eventless one. Besides, eventless wouldn’t suit a story like Berserk so, while I can’t say how many chapters will be dedicated to Casca’s dream, I am expecting feels, pain and worry with probably at some point the dreadful feeling that Casca’s recovery/Casca’s safety back in the real world will be at risk (especially since… Griffith/Femto has been shown to invade other people’s dreams before -> the Pope, the citizens of Midland…).
The other… kind of plot twist that I am sometimes expecting is post-recovery, since, even if she manages to be healed, Casca will still need to learn how to cope with everything that happened to her ever since the Eclipse, which is to say:
what Griffith did to her personally
the loss of men and friends that were under her command (Judeau, Pippin ;_;)
what happened to her and Guts’ child after the Eclipse
….and what almost happened with Guts in vol23
So, because of Casca’s need to cope, I can’t really decide how the reunion between healed!Casca and Guts will go.
We all know that Guts is this one main character that life (aka the author) likes to constantly fuck over and many fans are overjoyed at the prospect of Guts and Casca being happy together again, so for now I can’t decide if the reunion will brought tears of joy or of pain to the readers. I made a post on the subject before, to list a few possibilities, if you’re interested.
Finally, back to plot twists during the dream journey, this is just my personal wish, but I would love it if, should Farnese Schierke and Casca be at risk because things took an unexpected turn (as I think it could happen), Puck or the moonlight child (or demon infant?) were to help.
Oh of course, I know that the Queen is very strong, but somehow I felt that Puck being sent to “prison” was a bit strange considering that he always was important and that he had a glimpse into what actually happened to Casca before thanks to Guts. As for the moonlight child, it’s simply because he might be related to the demon infant and that, since he saved Guts a few times before, he might do something for Casca as well. Besides, if he actually is related to the demon infant, then I think he’ll have a role to play in Casca’s recovery/post recovery as she always looked to be more alert whenever she had to take care of him, which means to me that she might have been more conscious of things thanks to him.
TL;DR plot twist(s) probably and recovery very probably as well. 🙂
I hope it answers your question, sorry that it was so long!
Did anyone notice that to protect his mama in the Tower of conviction arc, he…
did an equivalent of…
what Griffith did several times…
after being reborn? Except that Griffith was showing the souls to the family of the deceased when the baby simply exorcized the things that were after his mom, or so it looks like?
And since that baby and Femto fused to allow Griffith to be reborn, I wonder if it couldn’t be the baby’s power and, because they fused, Griffith can used that power? Or Griffith just has all the possible powers that exist because he’s one of the Godhand and Baby Gutsca just happened to get this power in particular as a demon? Or all demons can somehow exorcize each other and it’s all inherent to who’s the strongest demon?
Also let’s say the demon infant is somehow the moonlight child (I know, it’s just a theory), could it be that the last we saw of him…
has something to do with what Griffith does when he shows the souls of the departed to their families?
Except that in the moonlight child’s case (considering the theory he’s the demon infant), the fact he’s a part of Griffith + that it happens on the night of the full moon (when magic is at its strongest) allows him a corporeal body for a short time?
But at the same time that wouldn’t explain Zodd possibly watching over him from afar, since all of this would mean the moonlight child would disappear after the full moon anyway, even if he didn’t leave on his own…
The thing is, I’m not ready to believe yet that Griffith is somehow disappearing every full moon to allow the Moonlight Child some freedom and time with this parents (that doesn’t sound like him at all, especially considering what he did to said parents), so there must be an explanation as to how the moonlight child manages to appear at every full moon with what seems to be a corporeal body.
I wonder, does Griffith even know about that? If Zodd really is watching over the Moonlight Child (at least the first time this happened), then there is a good possibility he knows (assuming Griffith doesn’t disappear because the Moonlight Child is allowed to exist for one night), though Zodd is different from the other Apostles, so… who knows really.
Any thoughts?
I believe that the moon child was confirmed in the recent chapters to be an embassy of the fairy King. BUT I feel like the resemblance to guts and casca, as well as the purposeful posing of them as a family, is hinting that there is more to the moon child’s story. The imagery seems too strong to just be a cop out.
I know it’s been the topic of a big debate 🙂 but if you’re referring to what Schierke said in vol 37
I personally never bought it for several reasons:
The boy is helpful but Schierke doesn’t know -> except for that time on the Island when Guts asked out loud if the boy was responsible for stopping him, the two other times he helped (against the crocodile and on the ship) are something the whole group is unaware of. So all that Schierke knows is that they have a kid with a weird OD with them sometimes who somehow witnesses how things go.
Schierke also doesn’t know that Guts and Casca have a child that was used by Griffith to be reborn so it’s not like she could make a possible link between the demon infant and him (and she wouldn’t know about what the SK said about demon children still yearning for their parents). That’s why she gives the theory of him being an emissary of Danan, she does with what she knows.
You mentioned the strong resemblance and I agree, but then again Schierke doesn’t know that Guts and Casca have a child. I doubt anyone knows btw, besides the Skull Knight that is (I guess maybe Puck could have seen it in Guts’ head, but I’m not even sure of that)…
on top of all this, there is the attachment between him and Casca (and Casca always could feel when the demon infant was around, just like she always wanted to take care of him).
Finally, when it comes to the most recent chapters, I personally believe that the moonlight child being linked to the Sovereign of the flower storm was something that got denied fair and square by Gedfryn…
Because Danan didn’t need any emissary seeing as they had Puck with them.
So don’t worry I say all that but I know it’s always been a big debate and that Miura’s answer on this will be what will solve this 🙂 but personally I am 100% behind the demon infant = moonlight child (see here for other another reason if you want).
The only thing I’m ??? about
(as I said above)
is if the moonlight child is just the demon infant who somehow manages to get one night of freedom per month, or if there is a bit of Griffith mixed with him. We know he doesn’t have anything to do with Femto otherwise the brand would react, but considering this…
It could remind of Griffith somehow.
So if the moonlight child = the demon infant, I just have no idea how his fusion with Femto is working. Maybe he can use more power than he could as the demon infant because he’s a part of the new Griffith (like borrowing some of Femto’s huge power?), but I just have no idea what Griffith knows/doesn’t know/is aware of/not aware of when it comes to what’s going on every full moon.
Sorry for this long post, I just am hoping that we will get more explanations about this specific topic either in Casca’s dream directly or slightly after. I hope it makes sense, thanks for your thoughts in the first place!
Yeah I think along the same lines. Griffith fusing with the gutsca baby affected him and on the full moon when the baby’s powers are stronger he goes to help his parents out.
Another theory is that Griffith knows that the child affected him and and use the nights of the full moon to give in to the child’s desire to be with his parents.
I agree about the child possibly using Femto’s powers and that the full moon is 100% the reason he can show up in front of his parents but when it comes to Griffith allowing him to do that… If that’s the case then that means the child has to do something in exchange, because as Femto there is no way he would allow the child to meet with his parents without anything in return.
It’s like when he shows the family of the departed those who died while fighting, it’s to manipulate them and that’s basically why no one besides Rickert called bullshit on him yet, both when it comes to being a king and to the demons he has under his control.
So yeah, maybe he’s aware of the moonlight child going to his parents every full moon and he allowed it in exchange for… maybe a promise the child won’t interfere next time Guts and Casca meet Griffith (like he did in vol22 when he used/”forced” Griffith to save his mom)? But at the same time, the more the child frequents his parents, the less he’ll want for Griffith to kill them logically?
Unless it’s like “you know I can’t be defeated so enjoy your parents while they’re still alive” and in that case it would make sense to have Zodd watching over and the child leaving willingly at the end of the night. Maybe Zodd is even the one who suggested the idea after the events of vol22, so Griffith would keep the demon child quiet inside of him.
Yeah, it’s possible as long as Griffith gets something from the child in return for allowing him one night with his parents, but I really feel for that kid because he’s probably the one that knows best just how powerful Femto is…
Have y’all seen the new berserk anime? It shows the monster infant alittle.
Sorry but the manga is the original work and the anime is just focusing on the Tower of conviction arc on top of being badly done, so I don’t think it’s of any help here.
midnight-in-town 