This episode marks a watershed moment for the Continuation. There were discrepancies in it from the very beginning, and as I feared two years ago, these accumulated and compounded over time, resulting in severe, irreconcilable deviations from Miura's vision for the story. But here I feel like we've crossed a boundary. I don't think it's a matter of misunderstanding things anymore; I think they just don't care. Whether they never did or just progressively let go of their qualms, I can't tell.
But it's never been clearer that this is just someone's derivative fiction using Miura's world and characters. Maybe they had good intentions (of which the road to hell is paved) when this started, but I think we've long passed the point where they could be excused or given the benefit of the doubt. Whether it's Mori, Shimada or Kurosaki (the guy actually producing this), they really should be ashamed of themselves for what they're doing to this series. And, incidentally, for blatantly lying to us when they said they would respect Miura's word religiously.
I don't know where we'll go from here, but the outlook is grim.
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About those color illustrations...
I rarely comment about the artwork because, while I don't think it's especially good, it's not what really matters to me. But I want to take a minute here to talk about those color illustrations.
As I said earlier, the one for the clear file is not just incoherent with what we know of Rakshas, but with what happens in the episode as well. It's not the first time, and I get that there's an artistic license and all that, but past a certain limit it makes me wonder what the point even is. That said, it's the one in the magazine that really puzzles me because it just looks like shit. Were they going for Monet's style or something? Whatever the reason, I wish they'd focus on quality versus quantity. No one's clamoring for these, so just focus on making a few good ones.
Starting off on the wrong foot
We open with a replay of the previous episode's ending, except... it's quite different. In 377, Rakshas was emerging as his transformed self, towering over the scene. Here he's much smaller, jumps out instantly and flies up to the ceiling. They regularly change things in this way and it's impossible for me to escape the feeling that they're just adjusting things as they go, but without bothering to correct what they've done previously. It's a strange choice as it just make things feel disconnected and inconsistent. The same goes for the notch in Rakshas' mask (from the fight in Falconia) for example, which is now shown here, but wasn't in 377.
Speaking of which, he's still got his original mask stuck around his waist, which still makes no sense. Can't wait to see what
that's all about, assuming it amounts to anything at all. You really never know with these guys.
Anyway, Rakshas flies up and seems to float back down. It looks like he's levitating at first glance, but I think he's actually meant to be in the process of slowly falling down and it's just poorly depicted. This is why on page 8 he's shown to be resting on his claws. That's very stupid, by the way. Why use up to ten or more appendages that could serve to fight instead of standing on his feet, like he's always done so far? He could have overwhelmed the opposition if he'd done that. Of course the answer is that they thought it'd look cool for him to be standing on that table like that (it doesn't).
Look how they massacred my boy
Speaking of his fighting prowess, I'm glad that some pseudo-members of the Bakiraka make an appearance, but for them to disarm Rakshas with pocket knives? Really? They didn't just parry his attacks but broke off his claws and were so fast they could jump in front of his attacks as well. Silat himself couldn't do that. This is ridiculous and not at all in line with what his dangerosity should be. This is a case where they should be jumping in as Silat says "no, don't!" and then they get insta-killed without even giving him pause.
Going back to his body, they're done a weird thing where this is essentially a new form for him. It's neither his normal self nor his apostle form that we briefly saw in volume 38. It's some kind of shitty hybrid that does not look cool and is very clearly ineffective given that he is unable to kill anyone. Remember when he transformed in Falconia and casually tore through a roof with a scythe-sized claw? Remember how he was so big they weren't even trying to fight him anymore and just ran away? How flaming oil didn't do shit to him? That's what an apostle is. Can't be stopped, can't be hurt, can barely even be survived very long.
So Rakshas' abilities and skills are changed and lessened to the point of being insulting to his character, but what about his behavior? Well that's even worse. You thought he sprang out by surprise to assassinate the emperor, or maybe Silat? Nope. He doesn't know why he's there, or even who he is at first. The last thing he recalls was being hit by Rickert's rocket in Falconia, and he concludes that he died at that moment. Which means he's now been inexplicably revived and somehow ended up in some random guy's torso. Do I even need to say it makes no sense?
Rakshas didn't die in Falconia
Rakshas was clearly not meant to have died in volume 38. They managed to cut his pursuit short, but he probably didn't even stay down for very long. Again, that's what an apostle is, and he's not any apostle either but one of the big five. The event isn't depicted as being his death, and it also wouldn't make sense narratively, as this isn't how you end such a memorable character. Beyond that, the idea that he could have "died" months before is impossible according to how Berserk's world works. Moments after death, an apostle's soul is taken away and absorbed into hell. This isn't a reversible process; individuality is lost when it occurs.
Even if through some infeasible development his soul were to be transposed to another body, it couldn't possibly look like what happened here anyway, where he just sprouted out of a guy's back. There is simply no way this can work if you follow the simple rules Miura established for the series. By the way, Rakshas is also deprived of his personality. From a devious, quirky villain with his own agenda, who lurks in the shadows and likes to toy with his victims, he's turned into a mindless monster who lashes out randomly and exhibits almost no agency.
Needless to say, even the way he talks is unfaithful to the character. For example, he keeps referring to Silat using the suffix "-sama", even while thinking to himself. In Berserk (the real one), he only said so once, in volume 38, and it was ironic. He was taunting Silat, not showing respect. This is stuff that's obvious to anyone with even a passing understanding of Japanese, so the authors of the Continuation have absolutely no excuse for getting it wrong. And it's the same for every character. It's not just amateurish but feels like they just don't care.
And what to say about the scene itself. This is basically the worst scenario for Rakshas to shine. He's an assassin and likes darkness. Here he's in the open, surrounded, and has no plan. Would he really just make a stand and fight in those circumstances? That was never his style. I could understand if he'd been lured into an unfavorable position by clever opponents, but that's not what happened here and the result is that it just won't make for an interesting fight. This is a really sad end to a character that I really like quite a lot, and I guess a preview of what to expect for the rest of them.
Somehow, the Qliphoth returned
Surrounded by enemies and unwilling to retreat, Rakshas unleashes his true power. No, not his apostle form. Rather he sends out a shockwave that "opens the gate to the astral world", according to Daiba. A tornado forms over the castle where they are, while far away in the city streets, a black fluid appears out of nowhere on the cobblestones, pools up, and then monsters come out from it. Then Farnese says it's the Qliphoth and that those monsters are some sort of trolls. Wow. Where do I even begin. Maybe with the fact that this is total nonsense?
Walter has been likening this to the Great Wave of the Astral World, and to the idea that we're being shown a delayed version of Fantasia. It's not a bad idea, but I think it's much stupider than that. What Rakshas does isn't an imitation of the Great Wave, it's rather modeled on what beherits do when they activate, and specifically on the shockwave Griffith's beherit sent out when it transported everyone to the Eclipse's alternate dimension. The tornado that forms over the castle is (poorly) copied from the one in volume 3, when the Count summons the God Hand (and similarly from the Eclipse in volume 12). This is mixed up with trolls spawning from the Qliphoth in volume 26.
Basically, Rakshas acts like a beherit, but instead of taking people to the God Hand (path of dragons), he summons the Qliphoth to the corporeal world (path of nonsense). And then trolls spawn up from the ground because... well, that's just what happened in the Qliphoth, right? Yeah. I think their thought process was
that stupid. And so it doesn't make sense, and I know I say that a lot but they've really outdone themselves here. You see, Miura created all of this stuff smartly, and it all makes sense in the context in which he used it. But that also means you can't just do random shit like that.
It doesn't fucking work like that
The beherits work a very specific way. It can't be reversed (people are transported there, not the other way around), it can't be forced, apostles can't randomly do it, and it can't be randomly applied to the Qliphoth. The level of incomprehension on display is frankly astonishing, an example of which is the way they treat the tornado. It just appears but basically "ends" before reaching where Rakshas is, and then monsters show up all over, even a mile away from it.
The way these magic tornados work is that they encompass the physical space that's taken to the astral world, they're a barrier between the dimensions basically. That's why when the Skull Knight exits the Eclipse, he suddenly zaps into existence from it. In volume 3, we see that the tornado is gaping open as if it's going to swallow the castle, and that's because the space atop its highest tower has been transported elsewhere. This is what it's all about. So the way it's being used in episode 378 simply can't work, and that shows they really just don't understand a thing. It's just not how any of this works.
Same thing for the Qliphoth and those pseudo-trolls being spawned. Slan spawned ogres in the Qliphoth because she's Slan. That's why she likened it to her womb. It wasn't an arbitrary line from her, nor was that meant to be a weird natural phenomenon that monsters just come out from the ground in that place. And the "dark liquid" there was the trolls' blood, because Guts had massacred a hundred of them, it wasn't just some mystery black fluid either. It's so frustrating saying this because it should be obvious to anyone who cares a minimum for the story, and clearly the Continuation team doesn't.
Is the God Hand coming... or is it the gnawers all over again?
Now the obvious thought given what happens is that Slan (or one of her kindred) might be behind this. I mean clearly these guys like to rehash past events, so it would make sense, it's like the lowest possible hanging fruit. And yet... Will they do it? It's clearly Rakshas himself who
transposes people manifests the Qliphoth with that shockwave. I wouldn't put it past them to have done it only so that there'd be panic in the city and something for "secondary characters" to fight. But what's the connection between Rakshas and the Qliphoth, you ask? Well there's none whatsoever, but you know what? It's got "darkness" in the name and Rakshas is called a "Night Demon" so it's almost the same thing, right? Right????
I won't pretend to know what they've got planned because at this point we're in an insane asylum, but the above feels completely plausible to me. It really reminds me of the "gnawers" and how they showed up out of nowhere to destroy the island then vanished without explanation. I guess we'll see! By the way, why mutant trolls? It could just be normal trolls, and if they wanted something different, why not Naga, Preta, Karura or whatever other creature out of the Indian folklore? It certainly isn't lacking in that department. Did they copy this design from some discarded doodle of Miura they found? Or did they just want to create their own type of monster? I'd love to have an explanation, but I'm not holding my breath.
To get back to Fantasia for a second, I do want to point out that what happens here is fundamentally incompatible with it in this context. Trolls and all other kinds of creatures should be roaming the whole world right now, and "gateways" to the Qliphoth should be able to be found in every dark corner of the woods, every sinister cellar and so on. I think the Continuation team mostly doesn't care about it and has decided to ignore it, at least for the time being. Do they think Fantasia was a localized event? That'd be very stupid, but who knows at this point. Or they might just treat it as such temporarily for convenience's sake. Or maybe they'll keep pretending it didn't really matter so they can have a big battle between massive armies. After all, they're not even using the arc title anymore.
The Elephant Man
By the way, Daiba's knowledge and level of understanding makes little sense here, and the same goes for Farnese. I guess they've been upgraded to expert magicians for the sake of delivering information to the reader, regardless of their background or personal journeys. Daiba even goes so far as to comment on what an apostle should or shouldn't be able to do. From a guy who used to be the lackey of an apostle – and whose power largely depended on it – that's a bit rich. On that topic, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the gigantic elephants that come crashing through stone walls (how did they even get inside the inner castle???).
Daiba actually refers to them as "demon beasts" in Japanese, which is the kanji used for the Pishacha. So he's not just saying he was controlling these but that they're familiars. I guess the only difference is that before they could stand up and use weapons and now instead they've grown to three times their normal size. Of course this isn't possible, as the Pishacha magic relied on Ganishka's fog. Daiba could be controlling elephants or horses or whatever other animals (that's his specialty), but they wouldn't be "demon beasts". This is again a complete misunderstanding, or at least a serious misuse of the word. It does have a funny side effect though, which is that the famously timorous Isidro (sarcasm) was right to call them monsters.
Side characters reduced to mere shadows of themselves
Where's Rickert now, with his patronizing bullshit about these gentle creatures? Oh that's right, he's actually fighting off a bunch of monsters in hand to hand combat. Yeah that sounds like what he'd do, use a random Kushan sword, not one of his genius inventions. I mean isn't he supposed to have killed Rakshas last time? He should be the one inside that council room, not Silat. Things would already be over!
By the way I'm convinced they forgot about Erika. Maybe they think she stayed behind with Luka or something. Will they remember her at some point and give her a token appearance? Take your bets!
On the topic of side characters, we see that Yoni's still eating a fucking apple, like seriously? Even as monsters surround them? Is Azan getting drunk too? My god is the Continuation team obtuse. He ate an apple that ONE time. I can't get over this shittification of the characters down to one note stereotypes, it's unbearable. By the way, given that they can't use magic anymore, I guess those kids are all about to die now? Or will their powers come back because "the astral world is here"? Ugh. I don't know which would be worse.
Oh and what of Molda, who's freaking out at her window? Not so cocky anymore, eh? (Hint: that's another character whose personality has been erased) Maybe she's opening the window so she can fly off on her broom, or can she not do it anymore now that it'd be useful?
The reaction shots in general are really quite something in this episode. The guys on page 11 have got to be the best/worse, where they're literally looking puzzled and unimpressed as horrifying monsters come out of the ground in front of them. And then the guy raising his eyebrow is still dumbfounded as his face gets devoured the next page. Talk about keeping a stiff upper lip. The guys on the upper left corner of page 3 are the opposite, full on "youtuber thumbnail face" on display. Someone should tell the team the point isn't to draw silly faces, it's gotta be taken a minimum seriously.
Farnese, Silat & Guts
Anyhow, as far as magicians go, the big thing going on is Farnese running towards "the center of the Od", which is presumably Rakshas, so she can do... what exactly? Cast the formation of the four cardinal points? I mean that's all she learned to do, right? And more importantly, that's probably all the Continuation team can think of. To think that Skellig's master magicians didn't do more than that as their home was annihilated... *sigh*
Farnese runs into monsters which means we get to see Serpico in action for a brief moment, and he's even found his Sylph sword again! Cool I guess? His attack seems too powerful though, like when there's a full moon, except there isn't one here. And he's still not wearing his cloak, apparently he doesn't see the need for it? Well, it's always better than Isidro, who's leisurely taking a stroll apparently.
The episode ends with Silat finally engaging Rakshas, except he's screaming like if Guts were fighting Griffith. Another case of a character having the wrong personality. Of note is that earlier in the episode, we see Roderick telling him to stay calm, like who the fuck are you again? Some foreign ship captain who can't handle a situation like that at all. Add one more ridiculous characterization to the pile. I like Roderick but they really should stop trying to make him into something he's not.
And then there's Guts, of course, heavily sweating as usual. Bonus points this time for him having his back to the window in a panel, and the light on his face in the next, as if he were looking at that window. He looks half-conscious, as if he'd been drugged, but that's meaningless and not worth dwelling on. I've seen some people complain that last episode he was all revved up and so this doesn't make sense, but isn't that par for the course? His face was grotesquely contorted but as I said last time I think he was just supposed to be grinding his teeth because of the Brand. It's true it doesn't make sense, and if Rakshas "unleashed the Qliphoth" he should be feeling it more and not less, but at this point this is maybe the smallest inconsistency of the lot.
I guess the question is what's next? Will Guts wake up? Will Schierke come back? Will Slan show up? Somehow I feel like we might just get a most insipid fight and some more artificial urgency. But who knows in what novel ways the team might tarnish the series.
And also he very clearly did not die in Falconia. He's a major apostle, Rickert's bazooka put a stop to his pursuit, it didn't kill him.
