Shoutout to the breakers of generational curses
Source: Stolen Glances; Lesbians Take Photographs - Edited by Tessa Boffin and Jean Fraser
heres some old colored juris from that chapter now that im posting old shit here
i do miss miuras art i fear
ohhh ok ppl on twt are putting some of my thoughts into better words in that the studio gaga team is going a more sinister route w griffiths character design which ends up only becoming a disservice to his writing. and also makes me fearful of exactly the direction they’re planning to go bc one of the best qualities of berserk is that it’s not simply an evil vs good guy tale. griffiths innocent features are important to him as a character and they always have been. even neo griffith has this air of benevolence (making ppl more eager to follow him) that is jus being completely lost in these latest chapters
My contribution to the trend of editing Pre-Raphaelite paintings to make them gay
La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Frank Bernard Dicksee
& Gathering Almond Blossoms, John William Waterhouse
I wanted to post the first three pages together, but didn’t manage to finish the third one in time rip. I’m going to continue posting a few pages at a time until the comic is completed, so stay tuned? part 1/? @griffgutsweekend | @ofdemonsandangels
Guts tries to stop Griffith’s transformation from man to monster while arguing with the Godhand about the sacrifice: is Griffith in need of saving or did he want this?
Before arriving at any conclusion, we’d first need to compare this panel with a previous one in chapter 50 both are interconnected and show Guts’ perspective on Griffith in two crucial moments in the narrative that change the story forward.
First:
If any of you are curious to read my previous analysis of this panel, here it is.
This panel is all about Guts’ train of thought regarding Griffith: who is he, really? What are his intentions? Why does he behave so differently with Guts? Guts struggles to deny the warmth, care and vulnerability Griffith has shown him previously. It doesn’t align with his concept of him, but at the end, he is open to the possibility that Griffith is much more than just the composed, ruthless, shrewd leader of the Hawks.
Even though the next chapters don’t directly address this moment, we know Guts gets a confirmation of Griffith’s vulnerability when he finds him in his cell, when Wyald exposes Griffith’s wounds to the Hawks, Casca’s words about people being weak and needing dreams and people to rely on and then her decision to stay and take care of Griffith, and finally Griffith overhearing Guts and Casca’s conversation and deciding to escape. A moment from Guts’ narration that stuck with me the most is this: “Why do I always see these things after they are done and gone?”
Having explained this, Guts’ initial denial in the Eclipse makes sense. He had already started to embrace Griffith’s emotional vulnerability, and not only that, he had even started to wonder if he had caused all of this turmoil to Griffith. These were tremendous steps that helped shift Guts’ obliviousness to Griffith’s feelings, so when Guts is faced with the horrendous decision of the Eclipse he resists and yet, memories of Griffith saying what Guts says he would never say come back, proving him wrong.
In the first two memories, Griffith states his idea about his own dream and shows willingness to achieve it, which relents Guts and yet, that memory of Griffith showing concern on how the path to his dream is changing him for bad keeps coming to Guts’ mind. At the end of the day, it is the only instance Griffith shared his doubts and showed to Guts that he wasn’t as willing to do anything that takes, or at least, not without a heavy consciousness.
While Guts’ thoughts about Griffith in chapter 50 lead to the realization that his perspective on Griffith was wrong, Guts’ thoughts in the Eclipse lead to a question.
And there’s something sad about this: could the same Griffith who showed remorse after his schemes, the same Griffith who protected the Hawks from getting their hands “dirty”, the same Griffith who showed Guts how much he cares, be able to do this?
For Guts, the answer is a heartbreaking yes.
For us, the answer is yes and.
Of course Guts ignores the extent of Griffith’s guilt and how it was weaponized to manipulate him to agree. Guts wonders if Griffith has the heart, the willingness, the evil, to sacrifice him and his comrades, but what Guts ignores is that there’s no willingness nor evil under Griffith’s choice, just pure self-loathing and remorse.
And yet, Guts doesn’t make any definitive statement about Griffith after the Eclipse. Of course he hates Femto, but human Griffith continues to be in his mind like his own separate thing. When Guts remembers him Griffith is usually defeated, kneeling in the snow, full vulnerability in display. And when NeoGriffith comes into the picture, he really messes up with Guts’ mind because he looks like the old Griffith, but he acts more faithfully to the image the Old Griffith wanted to project: composed, ruthless, shrewd (of course, Guts ignores that Griffith’s heart is beating when he’s close).
However… At this point Guts doesn’t ignore the fact that NeoGriffith can feel emotions and that they are as (some may argue even more) contradictory as Griffith’s previous emotions. For a guy who says his heart has frozen, seeing him cry and admit he dreams of a nostalgic warmth and wakes up with a faint loneliness… that must be very very confusing.
This is maybe why I’m so frustrated with the new chapters? You know, I’d love to see Guts trying to reconcile all the contradictions in this new version of Griffith as he has been seen to do previously. There’s also the slight hope (very, very, very slight) that Guts makes faster and more incremental progress piecing together Griffith’s feelings. Considering the trauma the eclipse has caused, it seems far-fetched… but considering the first thing Guts did when he saw NeoGriffith was try to gain an emotional reaction from him 🤷🏽♀️
Repeating my last criticism of Berserk, I need Guts' complicated emotions about Griffith to resurface. I need him to try to sort out the contradictions, to fixate on his memories, to establish more connections between NeoGriffith and Griffith and consider the possibility that Griffith actually feels so much more than what he says he does. But overall, I need Guts to be right— and confront Griffith about it.
Also Guts, at this point of the story, who believes what Griffith says to others about his feelings? We are dealing with the king of denial!
Lastly, thank you to @beansterpie for pointing out the connection in the notes about the scene in chapter 50 and chapter 79.
