#still a griffith fan idc

[sh0wbagz]

Finished watching the 1997 Berserk shit was crazy

#ive read all of it before but seeing it animated and MUAH #the music was phenomenal idc if they only used like the same four songs #still a griffith fan idc #casca and guts the straight ship ever #also number one Corkus fan #hes just like me #i could talk abt berserk forever omg #berserk #berserk 1997 #berserk fanart #berserk art #art #fanart #griffith #berserk griffith

[bthump]

I want to say I agree 100%with your advice to Griffith fans when it comes to the fandom. To me calling others rape apologist is a slur not an argument. Those who can't reason resort to that. imo if you like Griffith and no matter your ship no one should be afraid to say something in the fandom or to create sometime for it. That stifles comprehension and creativity. Griffith fans just love what they love and be part of the fandom, that way it isn't such a nasty place for other/new Griffith fans

Well I wouldn’t call it a slur, that’s a bit of a misuse of the word, but if by “slur” you mean “insult” then yeah, like the way I’ve seen it used in Berserk fandom for the most part it’s just a default go-to insult rather than a genuine + meaningful criticism of behaviour. Reminds me of seeing ppl use the term “gaslighting” to mean “saying I’m wrong,” yk? It’s a misunderstanding of the term and using it like that dilutes the meaning.

Like rape apologism is a real thing, it’s a useful phrase used to refer to a certain type of harmful behaviour, and liking a fictional character is not that behaviour lol, even if the fictional character in question magically transformed into a rape monster at some point.

cutting this bc i’m using examples of rape apologism to illustrate my point lol

Like saying, “I like Griffith and idc that Femto raped Casca because she already had a crush on him and therefore it wasn’t that bad,” would be rape apologism, for instance.

But saying, “I like Griffith and idc that Femto raped Casca because it’s fiction and I ignore it,” is not. Saying, “idc because it was bad/offensive writing,” is not. Saying, “idc because Griffith transformed into a demon and underwent an explicitly described personality change and therefore it doesn’t affect my enjoyment of human Griffith as a character,” is not. Saying, “idc because I blame Miura for that writing choice, because Femto is a made-up fantasy character without agency and Miura’s the one who made the executive decision to write out Casca as offensively as possible,” is not. etc etc etc.

And saying “I like Griffith and I want him and Guts to fuck,” is absolutely not lol.

Incidentally, saying things like, “Guts has suffered so much for Casca so he deserves Casca’s forgiveness,“ or “at least Guts stopped partway through so his assault of Casca wasn’t that bad,” is also rape apologism, and I’ve seen so much of that it’s ridic, including from some of the very same people who love to say that all Griffith fans are rape apologists. So yk, the hypocrisy is also a good touch sometimes lol.

But yeah in general people should feel free to love whatever characters they love without worrying they’re going to be attacked for it, and it sucks that fandom is often such a hostile place. Like I believe offensive behaviour should be called out, but just about everyone who actually tries does so to maintain their own sense of self-righteousness + lbr, online popularity, without actually putting in the time and effort to a) understand the issues they’re using as fodder for quippy one-liners and insults and b) actually identify the “problematic” behaviour in question, explicitly and with nuance, as they call it out, rather than overgeneralizing like their lives depend on it.

Ugh sorry that kind of veered into my fandom discourse pet peeves in general at the end there lol, but yk, it’s still applicable to Berserk fandom. Anyway like, I don’t want to imply that people should feel free to be offensive/bigoted/etc assholes without repercussion. But boy the current state of call-out culture and online discourse within fandom is absolutely ridiculous and mostly useless lol.

#discourse// #berserk as a text itself engages in rape apologism too lol so like #i'm also side eyeing the type of fan who praises miura and berserk to hell and back but calls griffith fans rape apologists #in at least my own personal experience griffith + griffguts fans are way better at acknolwedging the issues w/ the story #than berserk fans who hate griff and love guts #i mean it's just anecdata but yk that's the impression i get #anyway lol ty glad you agree and also sorry i answered this with my own rant it's one of those topics that makes me want to complain #b #ask #Anonymous #theme: fandom #theme: discourse #theme: misogyny #scene: eclipse rape

[piduai]

b d k l u w x y z

thx jam u always got my back

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

cant think of anything, it’s usually me who doesnt stfu about my shit so i get people on hook to consider what they didn’t. im a bad victim of peer pressure

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

i feel like if i didnt loathe ginzura my blood pressure would thank me in this cruel, cruel world. i don’t wish i liked it tho i just wish it didnt make me wanna vomit my half-digested dinner every time as much as a mention of it appears in front of my godforsaken eyes

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

zuko from avatar. that’s good character work there. from anime i’d say anthy and aiko, even tho neither of them has a _development_ arc but rather bits of unveiling their apparently flimsy characters that hide incredible depth. i love the three of them so much anyway

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

i would LOVE seimei if i read loveless as an adult or at least teen and didn’t have personal feelings involved. he’s a terrific character, normally he would be my #1, he’s really well-written and has basically everything i need to love (sick in the head, family issues, aspd, villain). too bad i want his guts spilled all around and him having a horrifying painful death

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Soubi from loveless, he is, was and always will be my #1. it’s way too personal. i love him much more than i can afford, and much more than i ever loved anything under the sun.

kikyo from inuyasha, she’s my childhood puppy love, i was obsessed with her as a kid. actually it was her, hotaru from sailor moon and lumiere from kiddy grade but kikyo will always have a place in my heart, dear and warm

griffith from berserk. outstandingly brilliant character writing, developement and ending. note that i consider actual griffith gone after the eclipse, neo!griffith nor femto are half as raw and well-rounded as the original griffith, who still had his humanity in his hands. i can go on incredible lengths wrt griff but point is, this is my top 3, never changing fav characters.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom

dude mc whose dick craves everyone and their cousin for no reason. he’s just there and everyone wants a piece of it even tho he’s mediocre at best (case in point: g*ntama, m*gi, k*roshitsuji, bl*ck l*goon, etc etc etc). i usually just end up hating the dude and wanting the title to have a downer ending where he dies (c*wboy b*ebop delivered)

he was a boy, she was a girl, they fall in love for no fucking reason just bc they were het material

woman’s entire character revolves around a dude, her core motivation and actions are adhered to cater to some dude just because

self-sacrificing women

hero complex mcs

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

tragic characters, especially women (case in point: aiko, anthy, kikyo, tamaki from mononoke, Soubi, nanami from katanagatari, sansa from asoiaf, vash from trigun, etc). when life keeps giving them lemons and putting them through incredible hardships and fucks them up bad and tragic, that’s my jam. i said “especially women” bc male characters are rarely put in such roles but i’ll take both. i’ll also take any kind of development, whether the character killed themselves out of despair, was killed, lived on and managed to get better, lived on and managed to become bitter and a villain, idc, just fuck someone up and let me watch

trope where villain has an ephiphany, rethinks their whole life, and befriends the main party

rivals to lovers

selfish women, unapologetically unfeminine (personality-wise) women, women who care about themselves and their loved ones more than about some randos, women who are strong and resilient and intelligent and use their wit

powerful women. girls with guns and swords, women in command, domineering women, “don’t fuck with her” women, stoic, strong women

the puppeter, or the spider, or the one behind the throne kind of characters, eminence grise

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

you know it’s dangan ronpa bc of u

hannibal unfortunately

v*ltron unfortunately (x2)

various video games i have no business knowing about but i do

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

i really miss the feeling of being A Lot into something, like sure hyperfixations are technically unhealthy but they make life so much easier… they fill it with some kind of purpose, it’s just nice to know that there’s a safe spot somewhere that will make you feel less miserable, that you can genuinely enjoy and share with other people and just love it. im lost now but i really miss the feeling

#thank u jen

[makingspiritualityreal]

This post is a result of years of observation of both fiction and real life behavioral patterns in humans. I had a hard time putting my finger on what I exactly think/feel and I am still not sure I will word it properly and I am prepared to be misunderstood by generally everyone but idc at this point because this just needs to be said and I am inspired rn lol.

First of all, disclaimers.

1. I don’t hate the characters or shows that I will mention in this post, I don’t hate irl people that I saw behaving like this either. 

2. This post is in no way meant to be an offense to the fans of these characters, they have traits I like about them myself and I am well aware of their good sides. 

3. This is in no way a hate post about a one specific person or character, more like one specific behavioral pattern that is hard to stomach for me. 

4. I am also not saying that this post is the absolute truth ruling this universe and everyone should agree or obey, this is my opinion and perception and ofc anyone can disagree. I could maybe call this my pet peeve but “peeve” is not a word strong enough because this is just what brings me personally the most feelings of discomfort in this world (probably somewhere next to failure). 

5. The people and fictional characters I have in mind also have qualities I admire and they don’t necessarily exhibit this trait of character that I dislike 100% of the time (although I am sure it is present all the time somewhere deep inside unless they grow up somehow), which is probably what makes this situation so annoying in the first place, because the feelings I have towards them are always mixed. I don’t condone the people who act like this because anyone can do whatever they want, but I still dislike it.

6. I understand that there is probably a reason why these people/characters end up/are like this in the first place (in some cases, in some it may be irredeemable just being a natural tendency idk lol), maybe this is some coping mechanism, something resulting from pain and trauma, and if it is, well I am sorry for them, but it is still hurtful/annoying and I still dislike it.

7. I am not an apologist. Griffith is one of my favorite, if not the ultimate favorite character. I love him knowing that he is an asshole and does bad things. I am not saying he is the good boy while Guts is the bad boy, because neither of them is black and white. I am just elaborating on why Guts still manages to annoy me more in the end.

8. I didn’t finish Naruto and didn’t read all of Berserk manga. It is possible that the characters I describe change = I don’t have some info. Still, they already managed to behave in this specific way in the first place, even if they grew later (ok I know enough Berserk to know Guts didn’t), which is why they were mentioned in this post.

9. I acknowledge that there is personal gain in having this trait of character for the people/characters who act this way. Still, I think it is at an expense of spiritual growth and it bears some marks of being primitive. Still something I seriously dislike in people. Still hate it tbh. Sorry, folks.

10. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving yourself, preserving yourself and putting yourself first in a healthy way. You can do all of the above while not behaving in a way I’m about to describe.

11. You have the right to do what you want and pursue your own happiness. You don’t have to indulge other people’s wishes, you are not obliged to reciprocate their feelings or do anything for their sake. You can do all these things in the name of self love without doing this particular thing I’m gonna talk about.

12. I have had people tell me that the reason I feel like this is because I have issues. We all do. Ofc I do. I still think what I think and this is not really only about myself because if I see one fictional character treating another in this way it annoys me too. If I see a person irl treating another like this, it annoys me too. If I see a friend had this done to them, I feel like murdering the other person. Ofc everything in this world is an egocentric projection in the first place but we all function this way doing absolutely everything and it is impossible to remove our personal lenses so there is no point discussing that. As I said, this is my opinion and I am aware of it’s subjectivity.

After this super long preface, let’s get to it then.

I absolutely hate when someone acts as if they are the only person in this universe and whatever they do concerns only them, they live in a bubble and other humans around them don’t notice/feel/care about their actions. Sometimes, these people even have the annoying tendency to tell others that they shouldn’t be affected by their actions, because it doesn’t concern them in the first place. 

Sure, you will not spend your life analysing in great detail how your every breath and every step affects everyone around you, because this is literally impossible to do and you have to take care of your own stuff. What I am speaking about is this particular tendency in some people to exhibit the opposite behavior - be absolutely unconscious about how what they do makes others feel and react on some absolutely basic level that an average person possesses. It is some sort of lack of consciousness about the fact that the moment you do something for yourself in the presence of others it already affects them in some way. That doesn’t mean people should stop being themselves. It just means it is not a good thing to act as if there is only your ass, your “me, myself and I” in this world and nothing else exists.

Let’s look at Griffith. Yes, he is an asshole. Yes, he does awful stuff. BUT, he does it absolutely aware of the weight of his actions. When he chooses to sacrifice his comrades, he is aware of the burden of this action, which is what makes it so significant for the Godhand in the first place. This is a conscious decision, where he’s deciding he cares about his dream at the expense of lives of many other people. He just cares about his dream more. This is a bad thing to do, but it’s deliberate. 

Now imagine that he would do all that and be very surprised if someone told him that people were hurt over this decision. Imagine he would say “but why are they even hurt? I only did something to defend myself, why is anyone else even affected?”.

Ridiculous, right? Yet this is what people do. This is what Guts did when he left the band of the hawk. This action basically destroyed everything that Griffith worked for and lead to his destruction. It started the domino effect, the chain of negative events. 

His intentions weren’t bad in the first place. He was just unable to see outside his own self to imagine how this will implicate others, how his action, done for himself in theory, will also influence everyone else. Guts isn’t a bad person. But it’s not exactly as if he said “hey, I am leaving and I don’t care about your asses anymore, I have stuff to do, see you later”. What happens next proves that Guts cares. Cares about Griffith, Casca, the band of the hawk. He is just terribly unconscious because it’s not like he gained something from leaving the band at this moment. Did he prove something? Only in this most basic childlike way “this is me and I have my opinion too, and I am not gonna do what you tell me because I have the free will to do my own thing and I obey no one”. I can see a good side to this - this particular trait is what makes Guts a survivor, at least in his case. Still, he is a survivor who is limited in his spiritual growth and essentially primitive and childlike. I still dislike it. 

In one way or another, Griffith still got what he wanted. But this is not what this post is about. It’s about this absolute blindness that I can’t comprehend - blindness to the fact that other people exist in the first place. You may not give a shit about them, but it is some supreme form of denial to act as if what you do affects only you and nobody else because this is simply not how the world works. Imagine there is one box of chocolates for everyone in the house. Now, you may not give a damn about any other person eating from this box, but no matter how you feel, if you eat the whole box of chocolates, other people will feel the implications of your action. Even if you ate these chocolates just to please yourself in the first place. And what I am speaking about is the difference between eating these chocolates while being conscious that you simultaneously take them away from everyone else and absolutely not care if you hurt them or not (that’s the metaphor for “evil” lol) and this particular annoying behavior - eating all of them and being surprised other people noticed, saying some shit like “I did this for myself only, this is my business, why do you all care/feel something about this?”. Well, that’s because, no matter what your intentions were, at this point everyone else has no chocolates left. 

I can be antisocial and alienated at times, but even this doesn’t mean that you have to behave in this particular way (I don’t have a name for this and it annoys me orz). You can be evil, and not do this. Sebastian in Kuro is a demon. Like, legit, a demon. He doesn’t act like this. I can’t recall any demonic/evil being in fiction who would act like this. Evil people annoy me less. People who consciously step on others and are aware of what they’re doing annoy me less. Evil people usually plan/scheme and so they have to acknowledge other people’s presence for their plans to succeed in any way. What I am describing isn’t necessarily “evil”. But I still believe it brings suffering in this world. Most suffering comes not from bad intentions, but unconsciousness and lack of communication. 

Let’s get to my other example - Sasuke. I have watched little Naruto and I know this series is massive and his character most probably evolves. I know everyone in Naruto has a shitty backstory, Sasuke in particular, that he suffers a lot and is not really a bad person. I know he has this kind of discipline and seriousness, which looks especially good next to impulsive Naruto and makes him skillful and admirable in a way. I would probably discover more of his qualities in time. But this...ughh...this thing that just makes me wanna murder him...won’t go away. His behavior towards Sakura or idk, just generally everyone. Sakura annoys the shit out of me, at least at this point. She is the cliche teenage female chara who obsesses over Sasuke and doesn’t even try to have a decent conversation with him, acts as if she has no life and only hormones drive her (I have been told she grows up later, I hope so, dear lord). I legit dislike her and tbh I am in no way amazed Sasuke doesn’t like her back, the way she behaves, who would, and I don’t like this pairing at all. Also, naturally, no one is obliged to like anyone and when he says he has no reason to like her and they have no actual bond/there weren’t any deep convos, he is right. But even given all these factors, the way Sasuke acts still annoys me more. He so often acts as if other humans around him didn’t even exist. He only sometimes notices Naruto (which is what makes people ship them, in the context it already looks kind of gay and I barely started this anime, I am not even really into this pairing either but it’s still gay) and he seems to...kind of activate with his presence regularly. Ofc this is not a 100% pattern, Sasuke is polite and doesn’t always do this but it is like he sucks the life out of his environment because he doesn’t exchange energy with people how others usually do, he is energetically wrapped up in himself. He offers people his presence but not his company, while others offer company automatically because this is how most people naturally work. I would say this is about being guarded and guarding his feelings, but this is not even it, since you can be cautious and not do this. You can be secretive and not do this either. I feel like I’m still failing on naming this behavior well and I just hope my description will be enough for people to understand. 

The whole thing just gives me this feeling where I automatically see a scenario happening: first, you see this kind of person and you think they are obviously not well, you think they are valuable inside but just troubled so you just try to relieve their pain and support them and appreciate them for who they are. But then, the way they work is that they suck you dry, end up only being more conceited and less aware of their surroundings, looking even more at only themselves because what you gave them charges them subconsciously and no matter how hard you try (like I know Naruto pursued Sasuke later on, I have no idea how it ended though lol) it is still only them and their own selves and this lack of consciousness about the world. It is like the only way to survive around this is to be an asshole yourself - give them a taste of their own medicine, completely ignore their being and think “well if you are so absorbed with yourself only and don’t wanna acknowledge that there is a world existing, good luck spending your whole life alone with no deeper connections to people and no real friends whatsoever, ciao”. The problem is, people get attached. Even if the relationship is superficial, the time you spend together and the experiences you had together take a toll on you, you remember what you lived through in the presence of the other person. Only...this kind of person, they barely even acknowledge your presence in the first place. Because to them there is only themselves, has always been and your presence is also an extension of themselves, their own inner mental struggle. 

A nice quote here “I hate who steals my solitude without, in exchange, offering me true company.” (Nietzsche <3). And wow, this has been long but boy am I glad to finally have this in writing. I may reread this and edit or something later but for now nothing more comes to my mind and whoever was supposed to understand how I feel has already understood at this point I believe.

#personal #I wasn't sure how to tag this #but idc I am so happy I wrote this down and organized my thoughts #I am open to trying to understand this phenomenon better #maybe my discomfort will be smaller lol

[bthump]

watching jojo's bizarre adventure anime adaptation and seeing how much the anime team fixed araki (the mangaka)'s bad writing makes me rlly wish that if berserk gets a proper anime adaptation whoever does it will do the same with miura's writing (and some of his art too tbh). like for example for all their faults the berserk movies did improve casca's character. what are your wants for a potential full berserk anime adaptation? (also let's hope that this is the year we finally get one 🤞)

I never finished JJBA or watched the anime so idk, but I’m curious how much they changed. Like were there big changes to the plot, or was it mostly just little minor changes to smooth over some flaws?

ty for asking, and I apologize in advance for how long this got lol.

tbh I think my ideal, if not realistic, Berserk adaptation is one that just goes ‘fuck it’ and throws out most of the story lol. Starts with Black Swordsman, ends with Femto lowering his hand and letting Guts escape - well more specifically, on this panel:

Like that is a perfect final shot imho.

(Also I might mirror it with the opening shot. Like I wouldn’t open on Guts fucking an apostle lmao, I don’t actually dislike that opening but it doesn’t fit this theoretical adaption. So how about we open on a long shot of Black Swordsman Guts surrounded by the ghosts he’s fighting, that mimics this?)

Ooh I might also… I might stick the Lost Children arc in between Snake Man and Count Slug. Ugggh there are some logistical issues to untangle there, but I really, really want Jill/Rosine Guts/Griffith parallels, and I want ghosts taunting Guts about becoming a monster like his friend. Subtlety is for cowards. Oh except we wouldn’t’ve seen Femto yet so that wouldn’t work. Well, “like him” then instead of “like your friend.” There now it’s foreshadowing 2 ways.

the climax of the story is the moment of sacrifice because there’s no Eclipse rape, Casca dies shortly after Judeau, and Guts’ horror at being sacrificed by Griffith is the emotional low point. Potentially no gtsca either if I can figure out a way to incorporate Guts’ stupid dream speech somewhere else. Maybe it can be a flashback during the Wyald fight, which I’d keep incidentally, sans attempted rape, w/ Guts talking to Erica. Actually yeah that would be perfect and immediately tie Guts’ “dream” of fighting stronger and stronger enemies with fighting monsters lol, meaning I could bypass Guts’ post Eclipse war declaration that draws that comparison more explicitly.

Boom, Berserk is now a nice little self-contained tragic story about two dudes each becoming solitary monsters because they abandoned each other for abstract dreams, and threw aside the potential for true emotional healing (relationships) for shallow coping mechanisms (swords/dreams). Uhhh, also Puck is cut. Sorry Puck, ilu but you’re a ray of hope that ruins the vibe here.

And finally since this is my ideal adaptation, the subtext between Guts and Griffith is text. They don’t actually fuck or kiss, because that would avert the Eclipse, but… hm how do you make it clear that they want to fuck but are too repressed to do it and that’s what ruins everything? Okay well Griffith’s torture chamber monologue includes “love” a la the anime dub, and maybe “desire” or “need” to completely remove that ambiguity desperately maintained in the minds of straight people. And Guts… I don’t know that I can go textual lol. The only point in the story he can possibly recognize his own feelings is chapter 71.

Ooh I got it. Just include “at that time he shone before me as something beautiful, noble, and larger than life” after the Count’s backstory lmao. Do you really need more? Well, maybe “he shone before me as something larger than life - noble, and… beautiful.” Or just cut to the chase completely: “At that time, he shone before me as something beautiful, noble, and larger-than-life. I loved him.”

OKAY all that said I feel like this wasn’t really what you’re asking lol since you mentioned a complete adaption. So okay assuming there are no huge major changes to the content or structure of the story, here’s a (stupidly long, like only read this if you for some reason enjoy seeing me ramble for days about minute details lmao) list of some more minor things I’d want to change:

I’d start with the Black Swordsman arc and continue as the manga goes. Yes, in this one Guts still fucks an apostle. This is right before the credits, and it’s depicted as badass and cool. In fact, I might actually split the scene with the credits - start the opening sequence right after Guts blows her up, and resume on this shot with more of a sombre tone:

Like okay that would be pretty cheesy lol, but this is the Black Swordsman arc. It’s supposed to be a little campy, and really unsubtle, and this seems like a fun way of highlighting this little tonal shift.

Relatedly, I would not acknowledge the fact that most people watching already know where it’s going. I would maintain the integrity of the first arc in starting off with Guts as an apparent cool badass and then tearing that down, as well as keeping Griffith’s identity and Guts’ motivation a mystery in theory, and making the Count’s backstory the climax of this arc in a revelatory sense, rather than in an action sense.

To get more general, no fanservice for straight dudes. no one’s tits are randomly out, and when they are they’re drawn realistically and subject to the laws of gravity. casca’s clothes don’t get torn all the time, rosine’s got full moth fuzz coverage, farnese is wearing a shirt when guts takes her hostage and if we need self-flagellation (and tbh I wouldn’t necessarily cut it) it can be in a flashback, etc. Oh except Slan I guess. Her whole character is fanservice so w/e I’ll allow it.

not every woman is in love with and solely motivated by a dude. skip the queen’s completely unnecessary reveal that she was in love with julius, skip casca’s “I lived my life with the intent of sacrificing myself on my unrequited feelings for griffith” bullshit, skip sonia’s crush on neogriffith, skip tf out of schierke’s crush on guts, skip the random period of incest-y bdsm-y vibes in Farnese and Serpico’s backstory that adds nothing lol, skip the suggestions that Farnese is jealous of Casca’s history with Guts, etc

also most sexual assault scenes are cut. Casca is running for her life during the 100 man fight, not from attempted rapists. Wyald does not assault Casca, Farnese is not almost raped by a fucking horse, we chill out a bit on the sexual torture in every bg scene during the conviction arc jfc, Casca’s multiple assaults during that arc are cut, troll rape is cut, you get the point.

I’ll keep Adon’s shitty threats tho bc i feel like some violent misogyny is necessary if i’m not changing everything, but I’d completely lose the comic relief vibe he gets and make Casca’s fight with him properly epic and satisfying. The movie did this a bit better imo, but I’d really remove Adon’s whole boastful loser schtick. That might disappoint some fans, but idc Casca deserves to kill someone who is actually kind of a badass.

There’s a lot of bullshit around gtsca that I’m torn between wanting to cut, and instead wanting to just depict very negatively. Like would it be better if instead of Casca shyly asking Guts how she looks in a dress she just complained about the dress being uncomfortable, ie we completely cut that burgeoning “soft side” bs?

Or would it be better if she still asked him how she looks, then we call back to that moment when she gets awkward about her scars before sex, we keep Judeau musing on how she’s showing a soft side, we call back to that when he tells Guts to save her from leadership, we tie it all together when Guts asks Casca to leave with him, and bring it home by making it abundantly clear that Casca moving from being Griffith’s sword to Guts’ sword is not a positive change.

Like highlight everything negative about it - Guts being a huge dick, the ominous undertone when he invites her along (like cue the creepy cello music when they kiss right before we shift to monsters and behelits lol), all the parallels between him and Griffith wrt their dreams, Guts telling Casca to fuck off while he fights Wyald, maybe even add a moment where Casca actually reflects on how she’s left out of all the dream/equals bullshit and what that says about their priorities and how they see her. Might be a nice lead up to her telling Guts to leave to pursue his dream and be Griffith’s equal.

also maybe show that judeau is wrong about casca being better off away from the hawks? ugh there’s so much that would have to be reworked with her narrative. like if she still has to attempt suicide, again can we ditch the lead up about how it’s because she has an unrequited crush on griffith and just keep it about the fact that she hasn’t slept in a week and she’s on the run and her hawks keep dying and griffith is being tortured and she just stabbed guts and she’s had a very difficult year?

and like, maybe she leapt to accept Guts’ ‘come with me’ offer because she’s exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed, but are you kidding me? While Guts gets an entire narrative arc about abandoning his found family, Casca doesn’t even think about it for a moment before agreeing to ditch them? Can we maybe have some indication about how she feels about the Hawks as a family, maybe some reflection about why she would choose to leave, maybe some second thoughts about it after the Wyald fight when it becomes abundantly clear what her role would be while Guts pursues his dream, like god she’s such a pawn of the narrative, I hate it. Give her some real reasons for doing stuff!

ANYWAY moving on

like the movie, I’d give charlotte more agency in the sex scene w/ griffith, I liked her asking him to stay and moving his hand to her tit herself. I probably would not actually make griffith so out of it though - i enjoyed that in the movie but I don’t necessarily consider it in-character. The way he went from literally crying in the rain to smiling and making charming jokes as soon as Charlotte opened the window in the manga honestly makes perfect sense to me lol. Just uh, make Charlotte into it from the start because there’s zero reason for her not to be other than bad misogynistic cliches?

Also I feel like there’s a balance to be struck between depicting het sex as dude sticks his dick in, woman somehow has a good time a la the manga vs making guts and griffith competent at foreplay and oral a la the movies lol. Like maybe depict the sex scenes as the bad sex they are but Charlotte still feels closer to Griffith afterwards despite not coming from a dude fucking her while thinking about another dude and like, just keep Casca telling Guts he was obviously a virgin afterwards lol.

I guess we’re stuck with the Eclipse rape, but it happens mostly off screen and in close, telling but non-explicit details, like yk, big clawed hand holding a wrist, Casca’s eyes squeezed shut, Femto’s hand on the small of her back (I’m thinking a reversed call back to the wagon scene w/ that to suggest Femto’s motivation being a show of power tbqh). Some would be from Casca’s pov, with maybe one brief moment from Guts’ pov as he loses an eye or something. Keep the movie’s visual reference to Griffith saving her. No pornographic angles. No apostle rape prelude to it. Casca doesn’t have an orgasm. Femto doesn’t stare at Guts. It’s not about Guts at all for either of them, it’s about Femto taking Griffith’s fucked up relationship to sex and expressing it monstrously, and it’s about Casca being betrayed and symbolically negating the agency she fought for since Griffith threw her a sword. Guts’ reaction is horror and fear, not manly heroic outrage. He might still rip off his arm to attack Femto, but that would be because that’s always his reaction to whatever scares him, not for Casca’s sake. Might have to contextualize that with flashbacks to his childhood, or at the very least strong visual parallels to both his childhood and the Zodd + Wyald fights.

I want to cut the fetus, replace it with like a cronenburg-y fucked up dog-like demon in the Black Swordsman arc - not as a literal version of the Beast of Darkness, but just as a metaphor for how Guts’ inner darkness is twisting him into a pathetic asshole lol. But tbh cutting the fetus is a logistical nightmare because Casca needs magic protection during the Conviction arc. So idk. But NGriff doesn’t need it, and his narrative would be more engaging without that scapegoat. Fuck emotional ambiguity, I just want to drop the news that NGriff has feelings, and then not change anything else about his narrative. The themes of isolation and loneliness threaded throughout would just shine through lol it would be great.

I would emphasize the shit out of the Beast of Darkness/Femto parallels. Yeah Guts would still assault Casca in my adaption too. If the Eclipse rape happens, that has to happen because the point is that Guts’ inner darkness is the same. But like, I’d cut the page where beast of darkness guts bites her head off while raping her. Also I’d keep the visual parallel to the Eclipse rape (the v similarly depicted kisses) and add another from Casca’s point of view, or have her flashback then instead of just staying in Guts’ head.

as for the fallout, I’d give Guts a proper scene where he sees himself as a monster, like damn he got more of a self-reflective and telling reaction that time he accidentally killed a random kid, we should get something when he sexually assaults Casca. but overall I’d focus way more on Casca being afraid of him now rather than his mopey guilt. I would also… I mean god this should be addressed in the fact that Guts fucking wears the Berserk armour all the time lol. Like one second he’s all, “omg Flora can put a magic seal on my brand that’ll depower my magical evil jiminy cricket wolf and hopefully prevent me from raping and murdering Casca, that’s great!” and the next second he’s all, “omg magic armour I can wear that will enable me to kill everything with the side effect of superpowering my inner evil wolf and turning on my companions? sign me the fuck up I’m sure nothing bad could possibly happen with that.”

Like what I’m saying is I’d either make Guts a lot more reluctant to use the armour and take Skull Knight’s warnings seriously and genuinely reflect on the fact that mysterious magical children have to prevent him from murdering his friends over and over again, or I’d draw attention to this idiocy and fully commit to Guts as a dumbass hypocrite blithely walking down the path to more tragedy of his own making. and probably the latter based on where the story is likely to be headed lol.

in the lost children arc, I’d give Rosine’s mother more of a role as a good parent who Rosine has a loving relationship with, who tried and failed to stop her father’s abuse or something, because honestly I love the Peekaf story and I find Rosine’s regret at the end as she tries to fly home v powerful, but I hate the idea that she regrets sacrificing her abusive father so maybe this way I can split the difference.

and Jill’s ending where she goes home to endure abuse would be depicted much more darkly.

like straight up I’d depict Jill flying with Rosine as a truly beautiful moment, I would show that Jill has the potential to fulfill Rosine in a way her neverland kidnapping bullshit can’t and that yes, if Jill stayed with Rosine everything might actually work out and with Jill’s influence the whole land of the elves thing could be reworked into less of a nightmare and more of a haven lol. And Guts would absolutely be depicted as fully monstrous in comparison, ruining both these kids’ lives. Like, no ambiguity, no suggestion that Jill learned an important lesson about living with abuse lmao, no implication that Rosine brought her tragic end on herself by not being a good enough child abuse victim, just Guts sowing tragedy wherever he goes.

I have no idea how to deal with the conviction arc in general lol, specifically the ultra cynical tone the actual narrative seems to take. Like, the Black Swordsman arc was idealistic compared to the Conviction arc, they clash badly imo. Extremely badly. Like it’s a giant mess. It’s like

Black Swordsman Guts: fuck everyone who dies because they weren’t strong enough to deal with my existence. *turns and wipes away a tear* *lets a zombie kid stab him* *evokes pity from puck*Conviction Guts: fuck everyone who dies because they weren’t strong enough to deal with my existence. *poses with his sword in one hand and the rescued love interest in the other* *the crowd cheers* *luca nods sagely*

yk it’s just… awkward. It’s hard to mitigate through like, film choices yk, because a lot of it is due to the circumstances. Guts telling Puck innocent people are just ants under his feet is much different than Guts refusing to let the big bad kill Casca by telling him that tens of thousands of people can and should die because they pray too much lmao, no matter what music plays in the background. Guts’ attitude is the same, the narrative’s attitude is contradictory.

Maybe I could make Guts less of a dick and cut a lot of those cynical moments? Not really call attention to the fact that Guts is effectively sacrificing tens of thousands of refugees for Casca, or more accurately, for his own desire to feel like a hero since he isn’t even the one who saves Casca, he got distracted trying to fight the fake Godhand.

Or lol maybe I’ll just have Isidro point that out in like, a smug way. Maybe I’ll have NeoGriffith personally thank him for his contribution to his resurrection. I mean I really want to call this questionable shit into question, yk? Not to declare Guts wrong for wanting to save Casca, but to declare his cavalier idgaf attitude a big problem that has consequences. Which would actually tie in nicely with emphasizing Guts’ dumbassery in brushing off Skull Knight’s warnings about the armour and insisting it’s nbd. lol I really hope this is what Miura’s going for, just more subtlely.

Actually I wonder if I could get away with cutting Isidro out entirely. Anyone could’ve saved Casca there.

Oh I’d cut the hell out of a lot of Guts’ fight scenes in the MF arc, and if I could possibly get away with it I’d cut out everything on the beach after Skull Knight’s ominous warning. Like this might end up being the Griffith show for a while because Guts’ half is a fucking slog. And of course I’d cut the entire boat trip. They get on a boat, they get off a boat, the end.

Okay I need to stop somewhere. I’m ignoring a lot of later stuff because it’s so dependent on where the story’s going now that Casca is awake etc. Like eg the Moonlight Boy. Can I cut him? Give him a more ominous tone? Emphasize the saccharine tone he evokes for the sake of pulling the rug out from under the audience later? Will I be forced to make huge changes anyway because I can’t stand where the story ended up going? Idk it depends.

If I could tho I’d definitely cut Magnifico, Isidro, Ivalera, mermaid… like Farnese, Serpico, and Schierke are the only characters on Guts’ side who contribute to the story in a meaningful way. And without Isidro Puck could again too.

Oooh yk one thing that might be nice would be framing Farnese as the main protagonist of Guts’ half of the story during the MF arc. Just focus on her, show more stuff from her perspective, cut down a lot of fights but keep her digression back home, maybe give her some additional content that explores her character shift better, show her struggling more with her own inner darkness a bit when she first joins and give her some character beats as she slowly grows more comfortable with Casca, maybe put her backstory chapters in the first episode of a new season (a great season ender would be Guts walking away from the Hill of Swords js), etc.

lmao god I feel like I could keep going forever. sorry this is so meandering but ty for giving me the opportunity to go on and on about this. Is there anything you’d really like to change yourself?

#ask #a #b #Anonymous #anyway jsyk the part before the cut is kind of its own separate thing so if you click this and decide it's too long to read #there's always just the first part lol #theme: adaption #theme: critique #theme: opinion