guts sleeps with his sword clutched against him to feel safe and secure, but also as a substitute for human contact and reassurance to act like a salve for his loneliness
the symbiotic relationship of being mutually protected/comforted is put into sad use when the other half is a sword.
what im saying is, guts is definitely a cuddler, and he wants to hold someone and be held.
this take is completely legit but tbh i also think we cannot forget the fact that guts was practically obsessed with griffith’s beauty … not that his reaction to seeing griffith’s ruined face is all about his looks, but rather like, i think that works into what you said about guts seeing griffith as a regular human for the first time, since his beauty is one of the major things that makes people see him as otherworldly and godlike lol
but i just love the fact that it’s his face. it’s his beautiful, ruined face that does it for guts
lmao ngl after answering that question i immediately regretted not finishing my post with “actually scratch all that, guts nearly has a breakdown entirely because griffith’s hair is short now”
but for real yeah that actually is a legit aspect probably, because his looks are a big part of what makes him seem godlike and untouchable, and guts really did pay particular attention to yk his “dazzling” “beautiful” looks
((i wrote this in a sleep deprived fog, months ago, but i still think it pretty much holds))
berserk proves again and again how difficult it is to be “strong,” to be human. to face your fears, shit, even to just stay alive is a monumental task. the lure of power in a brutal hellscape such as midland would naturally be tempting. on the surface, it could be a tale about the price of wanton hedonism existing at the ends of sanity. i mean that’s not how i see it but it could easily be that, if you believe griffith is a rotten power-hungry shit. i don’t, obviously. but i understand it. berserk, at face value, is just like that to a degree. if you miss all the context clues and read it so fast you miss all the subtleties. this isn’t wild speculation either … it’s a very complex story, and at best it’s punctuated with incredible emotional scenes that don’t even need words. miura is a genius at conveying wordless emotion–again i think most people miss that though.
so i’ll start here; this is a simple canon concept.
guts abandoned everyone he cared for in pursuit of approval from one
person. griffith sacrifices the same people to escape his
feelings for one person.
what about them though? the
hawks were like a strange organic conduit, faithful fodder for both
of them. loyal lambs among two larger than life predators. they weren’t “important” enough for
either of them to spare, emotionally (in guts’ case) or physically
(griffith, obviously–though griffith’s reasoning is a lot more complex than this, and i’d argue that putting more [or less, for that matter] importance on their lives would be an insult–but more on that later.)
furthering this thought … guts truly abandons those who cared for him, he chooses
to let them down by leaving. his pursuit, in his mind, is noble … but
in actuality it is careless. when he returns, he’s given a lot of shit
for it too, and he should be. tell me to fuck off if you want but corkus has some of the best and eerily prophetic dialogue in berserk lol.
in griffith’s case, he goes through with
the sacrifice in order to NOT let down the people who gave their lives
for him. what are a few more people compared to the thousands before
them? what makes them so important other than them being named
characters? griffith knows it’d be insulting to the thousands of dead
who paid with their lives for him to spare just a few. it’s also very
possible that during the eclipse griffith is terrified and not even
fully aware of what’s happening (there is no precedent imo, even amongst
regular apostles, not in this lifetime at least) .. and it goes without
saying he is panicked, what withall the post-suicidal drama happening
around him. he breaks. i mean fuck, look how scared he is …
he tries to save guts cause he really doesn’t want to be alone, and he doesn’t want guts to die.
godhand
knows exactly how fragile griffith is, and they absolutely take advantage of it.
it was fated after all, he didn’t stand a chance. the godhand had been manipulating things
around him his entire life for this exact moment, waiting around like vultures for his relentless human emotions to break him. they are fucking salivating over this, it’s pretty grotesque honestly. they’ve got that ace in the hole guilt card, and griffith can’t possibly fight with their reasoning and accusations.
it’s
really no wonder he has no love for the godhand. he was guaranteed
absolution and freedom from his turmoil. i imagine he’s very bitter
about this, and rightfully so–he gave up everything within his power to
rid himself of these damned feelings. (though honestly, i’m sure he’s
glad guts is still alive … especially now that he’s had a LOT of
distance and isn’t reacting to mind-breaking shit).
* * *
i’d like to write about my very complex feelings about the nature of
femto soon but there’s still too much ambiguity in my mind to feel
comfortable speaking on it with any authority. i’d speak with a big
question mark attached, if anything. femto confounds me. he was written
so brutal and ruthlessly, it doesn’t match up with griffith’s nature at all, imo. i mean, yeah, it makes sense given the conditions–nobody minus their humanity and
under the influence of demonkind can or should be held to any kind of
human standard, by design. and i realize miura had two boners here, one for over-sexualizing casca in an already horrifying situation, and one for shock value, and both of these boners are regretful and abhorrent. man, fuck miura for all of that. i hope casca comes back with vengeance on her tongue and destroys everyone, our boys included.
i’ll save that whole bag of fucking snakes for another time
tho lol.
guts needs someone who’s obsessed with him bc he wants to be wanted super bad serpico just can’t provide the level of mutual ownership of the other in a relationship guts needs that’s just how it is
look at guts trying his damnest to be casual with griffith and make him feel even a little bit better about his situation (and also to distract himself from his guilt)
i’m honestly willing to think this wasn’t just a stupid, slightly insensitive naive moment from him but, in fact, an actual pathetic attempt at re-establishing their intimacy which he fucked up by leaving
he doesn’t look hurt when griffith kinda sorta refuses (i.e. changes the subject) but he’s still in the trying to act casual/make him feel better/distract himself mode
# i feel like griffith asking for his armour instead of taking off the mask kinda marks a switch for guts from the attempt at intimacy # and beginnings of real acceptance of griffith’s like… vulnerable humanity and the fact that he isn’t a god # to kinda following griffith’s lead and piling on more denial lol # like guts is a dumbass but he almost got it right here
ia i just think the elephant in the room is too big for guts to try to be this casual to start off? like it’s so transparent? and i get that what went down isn’t something he can just dive into without prepping either of them, especially considering the consequences it had for griffith and the guilt he feels over that, but like the way he handled it (following griffith’s lead like you said and all that) they didn’t get to talk about it* at all, which is imo so much worse
*of course it would have been one-sided bc griffith can’t talk but you know, better than nothing
tbh yeah true actually, at this point Guts falling to pieces and just screaming some real genuine words like the rambling guilt ridden monologue that’s been occasionally running through his head for a few days would probably be a step in the right direction more so than more dancing around everything
yk I think the number one reason Griffith had to lose his tongue, narratively, like you were talking about the other day, is because in the lake when Guts was running towards him if he could talk he would’ve finally broken and said everything. like I think to that point he would’ve kept repressing and not actually started the relevant conversation, but there is a breaking point when it would’ve come out then
but Guts, who could talk, never reached that breaking point
the breakup dialogue (PS4 edition) and extensive fucking nonsense rambling
I find the wording choice in all iterations of this scene very interesting. it’s always /slightly/ different than the next. These are all inner monologues;
Guts:It all started with a duel, and now it will end with one … Fine by me. I think it fits me well.
Guts: This says to me, that for you, I’m still worth spilling blood over.
Griffith:Do you want to go?! Is this … how badly you want to leave my grasp?!
Griffith: … you can’t. You can’t! I won’t have it! I won’t let you!
(Casca’s thoughts have her realizing she wants Guts to stay. But, guess what bitch. I think if Miura hadn’t gone for shock value and instead went for better characterization, she would’ve come to this same conclusion for Griffith’s sake. She fucking knows how he feels about Guts! and she loves griff, she wants him happy imo … but I digress because djjdjdd it’s pointless, and we all know Casca will never get good writing like she deserves. And Judeau’s weird foisted in complicity in the so-called triangle has always felt off to me too, the fuck. I refuse to go off rn its 5am.)
Guts: You look like you’re staring down an enemy. … Well, I can’t complain if you resent me for this.
Guts: But still … even if … you will come to hate me or think of me as a traitor …
Guts:That’s why … That is why … I have to go. To me, you are …!
interesting scripting choice … i love (and fucking hate [because it’s their undoing ultimately]) how it’s always hinted at and never fully addressed. i feel like it’s gotta be a metaphor or something (or maybe it’s more obvious than that even) but i’m too tired to think much on this rn and i probably give miura too much credit anyhow lmao.
i keep saying this but berserk is a cautionary tale of repressing emotions and the dangers of toxic masc, abusive relationships and heteronormativity. there were hardly terms for these things when it was new but it’s rife imo … berserk is littered with these concepts. but yeah, back to my point (sorry) griff and guts had years together! yes they had a mountain of issues but certainly there would’ve been time to talk. oh, god, they frustrate me so. i’ve never read a story that frustrated / shredded / intoxicated me so thoroughly. do you think he timeskipped this part to avoid that being a possibility? i don’t understand his choice of a timeskip during the golden age! guts and griff were at their personal best (note i did not say they were doing well … just on a scale of each individual learning how to cope and survive) during this part and getting better. UGH.
((furthering that thought … there’s still plenty he could do with that by way of flashbacks, like with chitch. i’d much rather see some golden age guts and griff interaction than whatever the fuck is happening in falconia rn lmao … we all want some casca rn but who knows when that’ll come back around.))
and while i’m here, i don’t think i’ve posted this thought here (i think it’s still in my mountain of drafts), but i think miura … probably wanted them to talk. miura probably wanted guts to apologize. he probably wanted griff to be more open about his feelings. i think he really did love his characters and wanted resolution, even if he knew the path canon was gonna take. the inner monologue in guts’ head on his way to rescue griff was laid out, raw, plain as day, he accepted his guilt, finally, his role in sending griff off the deep end, and seemed ready to face it (though nobody expected griff to be ruined like that … and that, i’m sure, threw away any inclination of “simple” discussion. i imagine after the initial shock they’d all just be in dissociation hell … but fuck it wouldn’t be too bad of a defense mechanism considering the alternative). griff’s thoughts of guts were just as brutally revealing. they were sustaining, complex, and oddly symbiotic (tho everything about guts and griff is symbiotic tbh, that’s the core of berserk). miura put that shit there like that so we know exactly how both of them feel, since they don’t/ can’t talk. but if they’d talked, at ANY point, about their feelings, it might’ve opened a door leading away from the eclipse. away from griffith’s mind breaking (tho tbh idk how he kept it together at all after that encounter w wyald … BUT if they’d talked at all during alllllll that time, none of that shit would’ve happened!).
berserk fucking hurts, it was designed to hurt, and i hate how easily it did this to me.
honestly it’s a very good decision, writing-wise, to have griffith’s tongue cut out during his torture and have him be silent in all the chapters leading up to the eclipse
bc it took some control and influence away from him and allowed the events to roll out completely out of his hands
(not that he would, lol, but) he wasn’t able to tell guts how betrayed and devastated he was when he left, he wasn’t able to have any sort of heart-to-heart with him, he wasn’t able to reassure either him or casca or any of the hawks, really, with his words, he wasn’t able to beg guts to stay ……………….. like, nothing. there was nothing he could do, it made him that much more helpless and almost invisible in certain moments, when they were all making decisions with no regard for him
like, in a way, words are one of griffith’s strongest weapons, and yet right up to the moment when he sacrificed all of his friends for his dream he could not say a single thing
look at guts trying his damnest to be casual with griffith and make him feel even a little bit better about his situation (and also to distract himself from his guilt)
i’m honestly willing to think this wasn’t just a stupid, slightly insensitive naive moment from him but, in fact, an actual pathetic attempt at re-establishing their intimacy which he fucked up by leaving
he doesn’t look hurt when griffith kinda sorta refuses (i.e. changes the subject) but he’s still in the trying to act casual/make him feel better/distract himself mode
i cant believe miura gave us real power bottom griffith imagery not only does he subdue guts by standing on his sword but he wins the fight by looping an arm around guts fist/arm and holding him there
Thanks for responding! I appreciate it. Love this stuff. And yeah I agree that Griffith definitely cares for Casca, and that’s part of what makes this scene so tragic. Manipulating Casca’s sympathy in order to make her stay, in order to make Guts stay, doesn’t lessen the fact that Griffith cares for her. But Casca isn’t Guts, and that distinction seems to be highlighted here. Griffith seems to be responding to a) Guts possibly leaving again and b) the relationship with Casca that he no longer—
has, now that Casca
and Guts have grown closer. He’s probably trying to be that person Casca
knew him as, as you pointed out, and doing it from the point in his
life furthest from that past glory. The tragedy is layered here, and I
personally enjoy the idea of Griffith using someone he genuinely cares
for (Casca) in order to reach for Guts, who always seems out of reach. I
also agree that it foreshadows the eclipse and demonstrates the
consistency of Griffith’s character when he makes the
sacrifice before the Godhand. Thanks for listening to me go on, hah.
thank you for responding too, this is a fun topic to talk about!
yeah I basically agree with everything you said here I think. Honestly the lead-up to the Eclipse was so good at making everything as depressing and painful as possible for everyone involved, and everything you’ve described is a huge part of it.
“Casca isn’t Guts, and that distinction seems to be highlighted here“
Yeah v true, and I think it also effectively parallels Griffith and Casca’s feelings for Guts, the way Casca and Guts’ feelings for Griffith have been paralleled at times (eg during the cave conversation where they both see Griffith as out of reach, and potentially even believing that he desires the other, considering Guts tries to set them up afterwards. Or during the rescue mission where Guts thinks that he has to accept Casca’s lingering feelings for Griffith because he’s not over him/hasn’t unbound himself either). Like Griffith isn’t Casca’s first choice either now, she feels obligated to stay with him, and in the dream sequence Guts’ absence seems to diminish them both.
And ia that the like… tension between genuinely caring for someone but using them (and later, sacrificing them) despite that is great, like the sacrifice wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting if Griffith didn’t actually gaf about the Hawks. And we see that attitude in his general existence as a mercenary leader too – like when he says to Guts “I will decide the place where you die,” or positions the Hawks with their backs to the river during the Doldrey battle so they have no choice but to give it their all bc they can’t retreat. Like his life is also on the line, so it’s not exactly cruel or unfair, but it is ruthless and it’s great fuel for the guilt issues he denies.
But I’m hugely into the contrast between like, Griffith’s feelings and his almost desperate need to deny them/bury them lol.
I should mention: even
though our interpretations differ in some ways, I don’t mean to argue!
I’m interested in your take and enjoy the other metas you’ve posted. I
agree that Casca really isn’t done justice in Berserk at all, and I
honestly hate that so much story has been devoted to “saving” her
post-eclipse instead of focusing on what made her badass and
sympathetic. That said, I can see why she’s used the way she is plotwise
with respect to Guts and Griffith; it’s part of the tragedy for me.
(I just wish Casca’s suffering didn’t
center so often on the fact that she’s a woman. Leaves a bad taste in my
mouth, like womanhood is the only source of suffering for someone like
her.)
Same same. Like I have strong opinions and I definitely don’t shy away from sharing them lol but I’m happy to have people disagree with me and get the opportunity to discuss them and get new ideas to consider etc, it’s all part of the fun of being in fandom as long as everyone’s fairly chill. I’m interested in your takes too, whether you agree or disagree 🙂
And yeah cosigned wrt Casca. It’s such a shame to me because I feel like she had so much potential and some great scenes as an awesome character, but she gets hamstrung by the writing so much, her role stuck between Guts and Griffith, and how every aspect of her character revolves around being a woman, cumulating in the Eclipse and the destruction of her character, and like… damn, yk? It’s a bit hard to take lol.
Nice analysis. I agree with you for the most part, and have something to add that seems complementary to what you’ve already mentioned: Griffith is showing Casca exactly how pathetic he is in order to manipulate her into staying, and thereby get Guts to stay as well. But Casca spoils this plan when she reminds Guts that if he is Griffith’s friend and equal, then he must leave. This is the moment that Griffith realizes that he is responsible for Gut’s departure that day in the snow. It’s tragic.
(Cont.) Low as he was,
Griffith seems to still be trying to manipulate the situation to get
what he wants (Guts to stay), even going so far as to weaponize his
broken body. But this, like you said, is total desperation, and when it
doesn’t work Griffith has nothing else to try. It really cements the
idea that Casca was, is, and always will be just a means to an end for
Griffith, which is heartbreaking for Casca but one of my favorite parts
of the series.
Thank you!
yeah i definitely agree that Casca is a means to an end to Griffith here – he certainly isn’t asking her to stay because he wants her in his life in particular, and ia that he’s most likely hoping Guts will stay too if Casca stays, since he now has an idea that they’re together. I don’t think that’s all she is to him – he genuinely cares for her, or else he wouldn’t be able to sacrifice her lol, and wouldn’t try opening up to her in the river after Gennon, wouldn’t try to save her when Wyald grabs her despite being unable to do a thing, etc. But their feelings for each other definitely aren’t equal and it does make me feel for Casca.
(and on a related subject I have a lot of feelings about how Casca is constantly used by both Griffith and Guts as an emotional and physical like, bridge between them, from Casca warming Guts all the way back in the beginning, to Guts assaulting her to “get closer and closer to Griffith,” to just about everything in between. Her role in the story is very depressing to me bc I really love her and she has some amazing moments and scenes, but overall Berserk absolutely doesn’t do her justice.)
Tho idk I wouldn’t really consider Griffith to be deliberately manipulating Casca here or “weaponizing” his body. His sexualized offer is pretty straightforward, and I don’t think he intended to come across as pathetic as he does – Casca comforting him with a hand on his shoulder is, imo, the opposite of what he wanted. He wanted to be the comforter, but he can’t fill that role anymore.
But this is a v ambiguous scene so it’s not like there’s not plenty of room for different interpretations.
charlotte was a convenient plot point that allowed Griffith a quick trip to the throne via marriage, which would allow him to cruise on into being king without disrupting the royal structure or starting a revolution. Imo she doesnt have a firm characterization bc 1) miura sucks at writing compelling women and 2) her wishy-washy-ness and the fake superficial nature of her relationship with griff is a stark contrast to guts and griffs relationship – which id like 2 think is purposeful but lmao that was a stupid and long reply but
basically charlotte is a cloaking example of how ppl view the image
griffith projected, and now neogriffith – thru rose coloured glasses and
as an idea or concept rather than a real person. to charlotte he’s her
knight in shining armour, to the falconians he’s a saviour, to the old
band of the hawk he was a way to a better life etc etc
also charlotte has a
habit of ignoring or running away from the bad things in life. if she
were to find out about the truth with griffith, would she even care?
what’s her other option? locking herself up in a tower like she did with
her father? I doubt learning griff is a “monster” would change much
about him in her eyes, she already knows he kills ppl and when he talked
about it in his friendship speech she was basically like “oh griffith
that’s so disturbing” and then got over it lol
Yeah I agree w/ most of this (I mean tbf I find some of the women Miura writes compelling, despite giant writing flaws, but Charlotte is not one of them lol)
Charlotte really is like the ur-example of how other people see Griffith without really knowing him. I suppose that’s probably why people want to see the scales fall from her eyes lol. Even back during the Golden Age, he was assassinating her family left and right and she had no idea. Personally I’d find it much more potentially interesting for Charlotte to learn that he killed her uncle, cousin, and stepmother, but I think that ship’s kind of sailed.
And yeah by now like… she’s happily accepted that Griffith hangs out with an army of monsters. I’m pretty sure she could learn exactly what happened during the Eclipse, and if NGriff gave a fuck about keeping her on as an ally/queen at that point he could like, literally just straightforwardly tell her what happened and Charlotte would be like, oh okay. ie: yeah I sacrificed my friends and became an evil demon for a while but now I’m back to human, yk like how the apostles used to eat people but now they help humanity. You know how it is with personified inner darknesses.
lol I feel like I have more to say on this subject wrt Charlotte being the epitome of seeing the image but not the person beneath vs what happens if she finds out, yk like thematically, but I’m about to go to work so I’ll end this here and maybe write more about it later if I think of something worthwhile.
I mean…since I finished Berserk, I’ve always thought how wonderful it would be, if Guts only knew about everything: Griffith’s thoughts during torture, his despair when Guts left, his last thoughts as a human. I wished Guts knew he made Griffith forget his dream, because I think he still believes Griffith never cared for him as much as for his kingdom.
And now we have witches – witches Griffith fears more than an army – who can peek inside one’s memories, and even feel the person’s feelings.
And I really hope some day, even if only to look for a weakness of the Falcon of Light to end him, they will find a way inside Griffith, and Guts will be there and finally understand. I think it would ultimately give Guts a peace of mind too, no matter what happens later, at least he will know Griffith truly cared about him above anything, and never looked down on him.
realizing the kid in griffiths hesterosexual nightmare is his and cascas gave me hives cool how this whole situation is
realized in gruesome reverse, with griffith off “pursuing his dream” and
casca and guts “kid” being a literal part/reminder of griffiths absence
ooh good point. and also that is a reason i can get behind for guts being freaked out by the fetus in the black swordsman arc. obviously not authorially intended at that point and i don’t think it actually works wrt symbolism, but emotionally i dig it
also yeah lol that scene is like 3 pages of quiet domesticity and i think it disturbs me more than anything else in berserk
course a lot of that is what i bring to the table with my berserk is about heteronormativity and repression hot takes but yk, still
And then guts have sex wt casca and that stops. Now hes just a strong
character,never defeated, afraid only of himself bc ooh theres a scary
monster inside him teehee,like every shonen.He wants to defeat his evil
former bff with lingering sentiments (naruto?). His vulnerabilities, his
dependance on smo else opinion,his loneliness and lack of meaning of
his existence,which were rare traits in protag?disappeared. GA was how
life conditions impacted real ppl,now bersek is just a shonen wt rape
2/2
Yeaaaaah I agree with a lot of this. I’ve ranted about it before but I can always go on more about how much it bugs me that Guts’ personal trauma is basically ignored during and after the Eclipse in favour of switching to being angry about someone else’s trauma (someone who didn’t even get her own reaction to it, at least not for 20 years).
Cause yeah like ia, Guts’ trauma – and not just the csa trauma but also the more overarching abuse from Gambino as he was growing up – is so vital to his entire character in the first two arcs. It informs everything about him from his insecurities, to the way he fights, to the reason he stayed with the Hawks and the reason he left the Hawks, etc. In the Black Swordsman arc, the reason he’s so angry is because Griffith sacrificing him wasn’t just a betrayal, but a replay of that childhood trauma. The ghosts haunting him and claiming him are an echo of Gambino calling him cursed and selling him to someone else. It all fits together perfectly and it’s so good.
And it is a relatively unique backstory when it comes to badass manly man action hero protagonists. I mean to be nitpicky Berserk is a seinen, not a shonen, but the csa backstories seem to be more inspired by classic shojo, based on some of the influences Miura cites (like Kaze to Ki no Uta), and combining those elements with typical seinen action stuff, especially since imo Miura did it very thoughtfully and very well up til the end of the Golden Age, does create a unique and v interesting story.
And then during and after the Eclipse Guts’ trauma is basically dropped, and he does feel more generic to me – more typically cool and badass, much less interestingly vulnerable. Like eg, his very personal, actual fear-for-himself during the Black Swordsman arc was a really compelling element! And the only post-Eclipse instance I can think of where he was shown to be genuinely afraid for his own life and well-being, rather than afraid of his own potential to do harm or afraid for the people he’s trying to protect, is when Slan shows up in the troll cave. And because there was a sexualized threat there I do think that was a deliberate reference to Guts’ own trauma. But it was one scene over a hundred chapters ago that didn’t really have any emotional resonance (unlike, say, the early Golden Age Zodd encounter which changed everything, or the Wyald encounter which imo shed a lot of light on Guts’ dream), and was far from overt.
So like I unfortunately also get the impression that Miura has largely dropped Guts’ personal trauma as a significant factor of his character and story in favour of the far more common and boring fridged girlfriend backstory.
But! I also still have hope that that’s not the case. I feel like Guts’ post Eclipse monster hunting rampage was largely a way to avoid dealing with his complicated feelings, and I feel the same way about Guts’ fix Casca quest. Like, maybe it’s not Miura dropping Guts’ personal trauma to focus on manpain – maybe it’s Guts deliberately cultivating rage to avoid confronting his more difficult feelings like fear and loneliness and longing etc.
Avoidance is kind of his thing, after all.
This may be (is probably) wishful thinking, but it does give me hope
that if the fix Casca quest goes pear shaped (eg Casca uses the behelit,
or something), Guts’ issues – his childhood, guilt, all his mixed feelings regarding Griffith, etc – will come back front and centre. We
have all the ominous foreshadowing about the Beast of Darkness and the
armour,
and if something makes him go wild and succumb to it it would be nice if it wasn’t just like a one-off bad event but rather a cumulation of everything he’s (I hope) been spending the last 3 years trying to distract himself from.
And then at some point after that he can be pulled back from the armour and yk, actually grow as a person by confronting his issues rather than hitting stuff with a sword, now armed with the knowledge that avoiding stuff just makes them fuck you up harder when your avoidance strategies fail you.
ofc that said, even if that is the case I think Miura’s fucked up w/ pacing. It’s been 250 chapters since the Eclipse, there’s a reason I feel like this is a vain hope even if it does make perfect sense to me as an explanation lol. Plus like… some details do seem to not be pointing in that direction. Like:
Are we meant to regard his choice to take Casca to Elfhelm to be immersing himself in sorrow? Because that is absolutely not the vibe I’m getting, but the dichotemy between chase Griffith for revenge = avoidance vs stick with Casca = positive healing is so explicitly drawn here that maybe Miura’s just half-assing the positive healing to the point where it looks like avoidance lmao. Like that is my genuine fear, is that everything from chapter 130 on is actually meant to be seen as Guts dealing with his shit lol.
But idk like there are still intriguing elements that may be evocative of Guts’ deeper issues, back even to his childhood, that pop up now and then, that I can point to as evidence that they may still be actually dealt with in the future. Like the aforementioned Slan scene, the way he’s still drawn to Griffith as his “true light,” the fact that the Beast of Darkness is personified as a dog
uhhh the self-destructiveness of the armour (the way he doesn’t feel pain and it knits his broken bones together etc) as a metaphor for the way fighting is basically a form of self-harm for him… idk like none of these things are addressed, but they’re there to be picked up on and therefore will hopefully cumulate in something more interesting eventually.
iirc there’s a similar instance in the anime where during the zodd fight (i think), guts is at a loss for words when it comes to how he regards griffith, relationship-wise. he says something like;
“griffith is my … he’s … my …”
that’s twice the anime verbalizes that they have a complex relationship, even to outsiders.
i mean this COULD be read as julius failing to spit out some arbitrary word regarding guts’ status or rank but i think this is intentional tbh. we’ve seen julius witness (at least twice) how guts gives no shit about class or important people and really only cares about griffith’s protection and honor. guts was ready to obliterate julius when he smacked griffith. and during the failed assassination attempt, julius saw how upset guts was over griffith. it’s quite possible he’s just too fucked up to make a coherent sentence here too lol … but i am choosing to believe miura left this ambiguous on purpose, even if we’re only supposed to acknowledge this/these subtle hint(s) subconsciously. it’s that constant nagging, plain as day question in golden age berserk, adding fuel to the driving force of the plot and keeping it in the back of our minds throughout, (if not front and center).
guts’ nightmare of being a hypocritical monster despite his own traumas and ptsd involving real monsters and abusers (zodd/gambino) just after assassinating julius & adonis.
he’s wanting comfort after this event so badly after doing this atrocious deed for his friend, (he really seeks him out for comfort too—look how wrecked and upset he is—) but ultimately gets the equivalent of salty boiling water thrown on him after hearing griffith’s hot air speech.
man guts has been through some shit and a lot of it’s so subtle it worries me that ppl who haven’t known abuse in any form can’t understand berserk or really sympathize with … well … any of the characters tbh, unless they’re fantastically empathetic? but most fans seem to be macho fanboys and seem to miss the point entirely lmao
I see Guts overhearing the Promrose Speech and Griffith asking “do you think I’m cruel” as basically the exact same moment for each dude, and it’s so fucking depressing.
Like, AU where they got that reassurance from each other instead of getting shut down and turning to stupid dreams plz.
@bthump my sincere apologies for not seeing this earlier—that week was hectic af! but i love your thoughts here, thank you! very intriguing analysis as usual. i hadn’t thought of what you said about guts recklessness being a form of self harm but it very much is.
INTERESTINGLY though, as i’m rewatching some berserk ‘97 … it seems to be the place he got an arrow wound after julius’ assassination, just before hearing griffith’s speech that was the catalyst for everything falling apart ��
!!!
nice, might switch my headcanon to that. it works perfectly really, as the point where everything leading to the black swordsman arc began, not just because he overheard the speech but also because of the state of mind he was in when he overheard it having just killed a kid, ie
so yk, it ties the whole becoming the monstery asshole he was already afraid of being back then thing together. full circle. or something.
he wouldn’t keep asking if he didn’t want to hear griffith say it, ijs … there’s more than enough evidence that guts is aching for his attention /approval and aside from him literally stating it, this is a prime example. he’s asking griffith why he gives him attention and also asking for more, by being so direct.
they’re both struggling against their own very different versions of feeling worthless .. guts is in a state of disbelief that griffith (or anyone really) would put their life on the line for him. he doesn’t think he’s worthwhile or special at all. he seeks male approval (like most ppl with shitty stepdads, myself included). right from the get-go he’s enamored with griffith because he’s never been wanted, much less /claimed/, by anybody. griffith grabbing his face and telling him as much is probably the first time guts has EVER been touched in a non-violent way. griffith represents the male approval from someone he admires/ respects he’s been looking for. it’s no wonder he describes him so poetically and romantically. in guts’ mind, /nobody/ beats guts. but this fuckin guy! not only does he beat him, twice, but he’s very sweet on him afterwards.
guts: “adhjjjhjhhhhj”
and griffith, i think his guilt is married to his feelings of worthlessness … and it compounds daily. to fight his feelings he focuses on his goal, but the more focused he is, the more idealized/ mythologized and inhuman he seems, probably even to himself (and that might even scare him to a degree? but it is true he enjoys the chess game of tearing apart the monarchy). guts keeps him grounded and tethered to “real” griffith, the weak, worthless, human griffith. it’s probably a catch-22 in his mind … he desperately wants to be that “weak” human griffith that gives in to love but it’d invalidate all his work and everyone who believes in and has died for him. internalized homophobia might be (is definitely) working against him too … i want to say that griffith isn’t fully aware of or accept his feelings for guts until they split, and this is canonically true, but i think all of griffith’s emotions are squashed through self denial. griffith’s brand of self denial isn’t sustainable. i mean fuck, all it took was guts touching him, ultimately, to completely unravel him into behelit opening hell. how grotesquely, pitifully human, no?
worthlessness is a big reason he runs to charlotte, too. it’s not just to symbolically reclaim his dreams, he’s fighting off the weak, human griffith that he can’t be. it’s like he’s jealous of what he’s denying himself, the griffith he can’t be, the griffith with he easier path. after the charlotte mistake he of course spirals into worthlessness hell, unable to get guts’ affirmation that he IS indeed worthless and easily abandonable out of his head. it all ties in to his talk with the king nicely, too. tragic.
the more i think about it the bigger of a theme it feels. every character struggles against their own self loathing and worthlessness and role. nobody is balanced emotionally in their world, which is a big reason it’s so relatable. all their thoughts and actions are messy and believable.
idk this is all very basic shit i just have a lot of feeeelings about it lol ✨
whew ok this is a question that requires a long and complicated answer. i actually plan to make a more intricate analysis of griffguts as a relationship and how it affects the story soon, but i’ll answer in short hand for now. these are the three main components as to why i think guts is attracted to griffith, making their attraction reciprocal:
1. griffith is guts “special person”, and vice versa. what i mean by this is that griffith is the one person guts has continually wanted to impress and keep a part of him. as guts himself says the morning before leaving the hawks, griffith is the one person he wants to look at him. the relationship guts has with griffith holds a lot of parallels to his relationship with gambino – guts wants to prove himself and be valuable to them. guts driving goal, even at this point in the series (tho miura has sort of veered off the path of the main storyline right now) is to be special to and worthy of griffith. his choice to leave the hawks was a result of thinking he wasn’t good enough to be griffiths friend, and that he needed to become worthy of that distinction – unlike the others in the hawks, guts isn’t satisfied with just following griffith. he really has no investment in griffiths dream as a concept or ideal, he just cares about it because griffith does. guts wants to be an equal and a friend to griffith, and leaving the hawks seemed to him the only way it was possible to do that. post eclipse, guts still strives for griffiths attention. his revenge isn’t really about avenging his friends, it’s about getting griffith to look at him again. that’s why hearing femto say “his petty existence is beneath our notice”, and hearing ngriff say he “feels nothing” towards him are such strong triggers for guts rage. he wants griffiths attention and to be something to him.
2. guts is framed in the narrative and through artistic emphasis as being physically attracted to griffith. if you sift through the manga and look at the panels (i can’t add visual aides for this bc i’m on mobile now lol) where guts reminisces about griffith, griffith is actually drawn as being MORE BEAUTIFUL than he was drawn from a neutral perspective when the event guts is flashbacking to actually happened. i don’t think this reflects miuras change in style or anything like that, i think it’s a purposeful insight into how heavily romanticized griffith is in guts eyes (also the majority of guts major recurring flashbacks are shots of griff naked ie. the “i will get my own kingdom” when they have the water fight, neogriffith riding away naked after the rebirth, etc so do with that what you will lol)
3. guts still has difficulty separating “his” griffith from the new griffith. the first and perhaps most overlooked example of this is the beast of darkness. as a representation of guts darker side, the beast basically encompasses guts feelings of rage, hatred, isolation, and betrayal. it also represents the love he had for “his” griffith that has now been corrupted by the events of the eclipse. the beast of darkness is very sexual in tone, even in the words it uses to describe guts feelings. i could say a lot about this but the one thing i really do want to point out are the similarities between guts encounter with slan and the way the beast words how guts should kill griffith – both of them involve guts “thrusting” his sword into them. which is so unsubtle lol but who ever said miura was subtle. the beast urges guts to kill the “distractions” that are acting as a salve to his rage, aka his new friends and casca, and to go after griffith and force griffith to look at him again, ultimately culminating in griffiths death. again, this ties into the two points i made above – guts craves griffiths attention, and he finds griffith attractive. instead of, say, chopping griffs head off, the preferred method of death the beast gives is one that is very personal, and reflects a highly sexualized situation guts was in before where he wounded slan. i refuse to believe it’s a coincidence that the beast, and therefore guts, chooses to make griffiths potential death a sexualized event. but this violent, highly sexualized, animalistic dark side of guts is at conflict with guts higher self. when guts sees griffith on the hill of swords, looking so similar to how he did back when he was “his” griffith, he “[forgot his] urge to kill.” despite the deep wound of betrayal griffith has inflicted guts with, and the rage guts feels over it, his feelings of love for griffith block out his hatred. and isn’t it sort of tragic, that after all that’s happened, guts can’t even really hate griffith? just like how even after being betrayed and tortured for a year, griffith couldn’t manage to reach up and choke guts when he first saw him again in the tower. their feelings of love for each other drown out the hate and betrayal.
100% agreed on the new hawks! Tbh I like their parts of the arc most.. ch194 where Mule is introduced to most of em and Grunbeld saves the kids from being eaten, 250 when Sonia and Irvine talk, 277 where Grunbeld & Locus go for a walk and wish luck to Zodd before he goes to battle AND Sonia gives advice and calls him Mr Black Lion, details like Mule squiring for Locus later etc.. lov that they develop their relationships, just wish there were more bits like these :’)
The part abt Ganishka
and Gennon is brilliant tbh!! First thing I thought after is how they
both see Griffith as much more important than he sees them.. like for
ex. When it happens, Griffith & Ganishka don’t meet as emperor vs
emperor but as godhand and apostle… Their own parallels are rly
interesting, so I like all the au variants a lot, thank you!!
Also I have some summaries for the Grunbeld novel that tell the basic
plot & stuff. I hope it gets an English ver soon
yeah I love all those moments. plus the way the apostles are given so much relatable humanity gives me a lot of hope for where the narrative is going, both because it def makes it less likely we’re headed for a plain old guts + co vs griffith + co, and because giving Griffith’s monster side of the narrative all the humanity makes me hope we’re going to get some more monstrousness out of Guts’ human side of the narrative to balance it out.
ty! and yeah that’s a good point – both G+G are obsessed with Griffith, but to Griffith they’re obstacles. I mean I think Gennon did have a huge affect on him, but he had his (really satisfying) moment of triumph when he looked down on him and told him he didn’t matter. Then with Ganeshka he follows that through, because he’s an untouchable god compared to him, but also reverses it, because at the end right before Griffith destroys him, they have a moment of connection.
btw would you happen to have a link to the Grunbeld novel summaries?
there’s too much happening here .. it’s so complex and terrible .. i did not want to get into this rn but there’s just so much happening
griffith at his breaking point just after hearing that horrible conversation about him being weak, feeling like a worthless burden, realizing his role in driving guts away, followed by casca absolving guts of this “burden” … griffith had already lived through hell once and was only sustained by his feelings for guts and now he’s being told he should leave again … and griffith has no say in this … it’s really no wonder his mind broke and he fled the scene. i could say a lot more about griffith here but i’m gonna digress! i don’t wanna get all sad and shit lol
and guts, as dense as he can be, is feeling guilty as hell (too little too late), and he’s the only one in the party still treating griffith as a person/friend and not a broken ideal or thing to be pitied (although we know why, guts is the only one who has access to the ~real~ griffith, and is the only real friend he has and others probably can’t see him as anything other than an idea or a leader, which dehumanizes him … but he’s always been enigmatic and unreachable by design … not to mention, everyone’s probably just freaked the fuck out over griffith’s whole situation rn and has no idea how to cope with this .. so they’re looking to casca for help or direction but she’s broken now too). even casca, who knows he’s just a man and not a god, and fragile as hell even at his best … she’d stay with him and help as best she could but she knows he’s not her “friend” per se. her feelings here are super messy and believable tbh. there’s a lot of subtext and guilt and chaos, and for a young woman to be dealing with all of this responsibility is nearly unimaginable.
all three of them have major fucking ptsd, without question. three young people, all melancholic and full of suicidal ideation, constantly reinventing the concept of hope, trying to cope with this massive situation and help each other through it … it’s really just too much. it’s too bleak, too fucked up. awful.
i’m not even gonna get into why the behelit opens, i assume it’s obvious lol
there’s something to be said about how this turns into a “men vs women” type of conversation where griffith takes men’s side with his bullshit dream spiel and pretends like it’s this profound thing women will never understand
and by that i mean that it comes off as trying too hard, the same way him talking about what a ‘friend’ is to him comes off as trying too hard. before i was a little hesitant to believe that griffith feels forced into masculine roles rather than choosing to take them bc it’s the fastest way to achieving what he’s trying to achieve, but after re-examining this scene i think i feel a little differently about that
#other ppl’s meta #totally it’s posturing – more for himself than charlotte too #the image that goes with the dream which is (how does this always fit so perfectly) an attempt at a heteronormative masculine ideal #the men are like this stuff fits that so well as does charlotte suggesting ‘family or a sweetheart’ which ofc sums up what griffith #is torn between (‘family’ if you don’t want to be saccharine and include the rest of the hawks he sacrifices) and what guts ends up #abandoning for /his/ dream
@bthump what you said here, “more for himself than charlotte,” that’s exactly what i mean, somehow it didn’t register to me, until today, that the part of this where he puts up a masculine facade is ALSO for himself, and not just for charlotte. you know, when i think @yesgabsstuff and i talked about how griffith would be more feminine without all this bullshit weighing on him, i said i didn’t think his choice to present and act more masculine was one he made out of fear. and i still think that, to an extent, but there’s no denying that he felt forced into that masculine role bc …………… it’s so tightly woven together with his dream. and since it’s something he has to do for the sake of his dream, then fear also has to be involved, even if in a sort of roundabout way. that is to say, i don’t think griffith is afraid of like, getting punched or called a faggot if he wears a dress or w/e. but i think there’s no denying that he is afraid of letting this image falter, and that’s what this is really about
I feel this tbh, like imo Griffith wouldn’t really have a visceral fear for his physical safety, he’s been the best w/ a sword since he was like 10 from all appearances lol, and honestly I feel like as a peasant mercenary with the force of personality he has he would in theory be able to get away with some gnc presentation and attraction to men if all he wanted was to fight and make money. Same way Casca could lead the Hawks even though she’s a woman in the world of Berserk lol.
but his fear of failure is a major aspect – he needs the correct image while climbing higher in society, to achieve his dream.
and also i think he needs the dream to justify hiding behind the image, which is partly what i get out of that speech to charlotte. it reads to me like he’s justifying his dream to himself as worthwhile in and of itself, in a contrast to how he justifies it to himself in the river w/ casca a few chapters later, as something he owes the dead.
idk it all goes into how his dream is a defense mechanism from his self loathing and a way to justify his existence, but he doesn’t think of it that way 99% of the time, he has to see it as inherently worthwhile to avoid acknowledging the actual reason (self-loathing) he’s pursuing it.
and some of that self loathing is guilt, some is a belief of his inherent worthlessness, but some is also connected to his sexuality, both in his traumatic experience with Gennon after which he called himself dirty, and his love for Guts, which is especially shown through how Guts is pitted against his dream and how Guts “made him weak” and his feelings for him led to him losing everything. Griffith’s feelings for Guts are connected to his belief of his inherent worthlessness, because they exist in opposition to his dream. (this is thematic moreso than literal)
So part of his reason for pursing the dream is to bury those parts of himself – like it goes both ways, basically, imo. He has to be a heteronormative masculine ideal for the sake of the dream, but he obsesses over the dream partly as a way to bury the parts of himself that aren’t that ideal?
um i feel like this doesn’t really make sense lol sorry. it’s hard to explain how my brain makes connections sometimes.
bouncing off this all ig but i think his fear or internalized homophobia or what have you is definetly based around losing the status and position being a straight guy with a wife and family and traditional patriarchal power holds. it’s secure and perhaps relatively easy compared to the alternative. so yeah i don’t think it’s like a physical safety thing or even fear of losing all respect, it’s the mental block…
and yeah what asia said there is probable guilt in regards to his sexuality and feelings of being dirty and associating that with wanting sex and romance with another man over a secure and normal and esteemed straight man life
there’s something to be said about how this turns into a “men vs women” type of conversation where griffith takes men’s side with his bullshit dream spiel and pretends like it’s this profound thing women will never understand
and by that i mean that it comes off as trying too hard, the same way him talking about what a ‘friend’ is to him comes off as trying too hard. before i was a little hesitant to believe that griffith feels forced into masculine roles rather than choosing to take them bc it’s the fastest way to achieving what he’s trying to achieve, but after re-examining this scene i think i feel a little differently about that
#other ppl’s meta #totally it’s posturing – more for himself than charlotte too #the image that goes with the dream which is (how does this always fit so perfectly) an attempt at a heteronormative masculine ideal #the men are like this stuff fits that so well as does charlotte suggesting ‘family or a sweetheart’ which ofc sums up what griffith #is torn between (‘family’ if you don’t want to be saccharine and include the rest of the hawks he sacrifices) and what guts ends up #abandoning for /his/ dream
@bthump what you said here, “more for himself than charlotte,” that’s exactly what i mean, somehow it didn’t register to me, until today, that the part of this where he puts up a masculine facade is ALSO for himself, and not just for charlotte. you know, when i think @yesgabsstuff and i talked about how griffith would be more feminine without all this bullshit weighing on him, i said i didn’t think his choice to present and act more masculine was one he made out of fear. and i still think that, to an extent, but there’s no denying that he felt forced into that masculine role bc …………… it’s so tightly woven together with his dream. and since it’s something he has to do for the sake of his dream, then fear also has to be involved, even if in a sort of roundabout way. that is to say, i don’t think griffith is afraid of like, getting punched or called a faggot if he wears a dress or w/e. but i think there’s no denying that he is afraid of letting this image falter, and that’s what this is really about
I feel this tbh, like imo Griffith wouldn’t really have a visceral fear for his physical safety, he’s been the best w/ a sword since he was like 10 from all appearances lol, and honestly I feel like as a peasant mercenary with the force of personality he has he would in theory be able to get away with some gnc presentation and attraction to men if all he wanted was to fight and make money. Same way Casca could lead the Hawks even though she’s a woman in the world of Berserk lol.
but his fear of failure is a major aspect – he needs the correct image while climbing higher in society, to achieve his dream.
and also i think he needs the dream to justify hiding behind the image, which is partly what i get out of that speech to charlotte. it reads to me like he’s justifying his dream to himself as worthwhile in and of itself, in a contrast to how he justifies it to himself in the river w/ casca a few chapters later, as something he owes the dead.
idk it all goes into how his dream is a defense mechanism from his self loathing and a way to justify his existence, but he doesn’t think of it that way 99% of the time, he has to see it as inherently worthwhile to avoid acknowledging the actual reason (self-loathing) he’s pursuing it.
and some of that self loathing is guilt, some is a belief of his inherent worthlessness, but some is also connected to his sexuality, both in his traumatic experience with Gennon after which he called himself dirty, and his love for Guts, which is especially shown through how Guts is pitted against his dream and how Guts “made him weak” and his feelings for him led to him losing everything. Griffith’s feelings for Guts are connected to his belief of his inherent worthlessness, because they exist in opposition to his dream. (this is thematic moreso than literal)
So part of his reason for pursing the dream is to bury those parts of himself – like it goes both ways, basically, imo. He has to be a heteronormative masculine ideal for the sake of the dream, but he obsesses over the dream partly as a way to bury the parts of himself that aren’t that ideal?
um i feel like this doesn’t really make sense lol sorry. it’s hard to explain how my brain makes connections sometimes.
there’s something to be said about how this turns into a “men vs women” type of conversation where griffith takes men’s side with his bullshit dream spiel and pretends like it’s this profound thing women will never understand
and by that i mean that it comes off as trying too hard, the same way him talking about what a ‘friend’ is to him comes off as trying too hard. before i was a little hesitant to believe that griffith feels forced into masculine roles rather than choosing to take them bc it’s the fastest way to achieving what he’s trying to achieve, but after re-examining this scene i think i feel a little differently about that
stop picking on him godo, he’s trying to work this shit out! leave big dumb guts alone 😤
like fr though guts needs more criticism because although he’s very introspective, he’s short-sighted, driven by emotion, and impulsive … then ultimately full of regret
i think guts’ ultimate downfall is that he’s sooooooo goddamn eager to please. he wants the one person he’s picked as his favourite to like him SO bad, he doesn’t even think about anything else or take the time to really think things through. guts asked griffith multiple times why griffith risked his life to save him, but never asked himself why HE risked his own life multiple times for the sake of griffith’s dream. honey you’re in love and you’re more needy than a newborn puppy. you shape your whole entire life around it and you don’t even really realise that
wrt that, i think the reason guts is starting to think he can move on from griffith is bc he just hasn’t been anywhere near him for a while. he also doesn’t know about ngriff’s beating heart! he thinks griffith has completely changed and although he doesn’t really want to accept it still he’s like, maybe i should just let it go
that would make for a really fucking boring story though so of course that’s not what’s gonna happen. chekhov’s heartbeat, you don’t just plant a seed as big as that one and then resolve it with some stupid magic fetus explanation. like there’s no way, i KNOW this is going down the road of ngriff’s feelings coming back (SPECIFICALLY wrt guts) and guts finding out about that and being very conflicted. there’s NO doubt in my mind, miura isn’t stupid
it’s so much more interesting for skull knight to be essentially using guts for his own means and only allying with him because they share a common enemy and guts has a sort of “in” to the god hand through griffith than for him to help guts because he likes him on any personal level lol why do people want skull knight to be a total “good guy” with no ulterior motives. like would someone who truly cares about guts well being would let guts have the berserker armour?? nah sis he needs guts to be as strong as possible to serve his own goals like it isn’t rocket science
i’d like your thoughts on this please! i’d forgotten about this singular instance of guts clawing at his skin in the black swordsman arc. i have my own ideas, but i don’t have time to thoroughly analyze them right now with all the packing and moving—but basically—(and tumblr somehow didn’t save my previous wall of text about this) i’m assuming, that this is guts either/or/a bit of both;
1. guts dealing with his internalized grieving and rage, coupled with sleep deprivation, and even more sleep deprivation and rage driven by survivors guilt. not to mention all the tough guy posturing and denial of his true nature, he needs to stay angry. he wants to keep that anger burning at 1000% because anything less, i don’t think he’d be able to justify. his guilt is overwhelming. griffith does this for much the same reasons imo (compounded by his other awful reasons of course) … guilt over the fallen, while he/they remain/s “clean”/alive. lots of other parallels and reasons i’m sure too. maybe the physical pain feels better than the mental anguish, which guts clearly isn’t able to parse yet.
2. is it this particular scar though? the ellipses are definitely suggesting that looking at that scar triggers something within him. does anyone know what scar this is from, in particular? or could it just be a memory of seeing griffith’s own self-harm scars, giving him this idea even? miura might not have even written griffith’s self mutilation into the story yet though, who knows. maybe this is his way of showing characters dealing with trauma and ptsd in terrible ways.
if i weren’t in the middle of moving i’d look into it myself, but alas, i’m out of time. this scene is very intriguing, though. and please take my half baked analyses with a grain of salt, i often miss very basic stuff because i tend to hyper-focus on details rather than broad ideas … but i didn’t want to forget this.
Totally agree with #1. I think it’s partly guilt over the Eclipse (or whatever Miura was imagining this far back, but as early as Guts blatantly comparing himself to Vargas we know he lost loved ones), but also guilt over the people he gets killed just existing around them while ghosts show up to fuck with him every night lol, which we see in the 2nd chapter when he tells himself he doesn’t care what happens to the people he travels with, then they die and he’s sad.
Yk, he tells himself other people don’t matter because they’re weak (”If someone can’t live their life the way they please… they might as well die.”) but the self-harm is a v quick way of showing the audience that Guts doesn’t actually believe that, and he kinda hates himself for trying to convince himself of it.
Just like Griffith saying “I don’t feel responsible for my comrades who’ve lost their lives under my command. I guess… because they chose to fight. It’s just the way I am.” while he’s simultaneously tearing his arms open lol.
I think #2 is really interesting and something I never noticed actually. ihni where Guts got that scar, and since Miura never drew Griffith with si scars on his arm I doubt it’s actually a memory of Griffith, tho that concept is amazing and I’m about to just adopt it as headcanon regardless.
One thing that just occurred to me wrt that scar is that Guts looking at it before self harming over it ties Guts’ self harm to, yk, swinging his sword at giant monsters and groups of a hundred men. Miura maybe suggesting it’s all variations of self-harm? And foreshadowing Guts’ particular style of fighting, ie leap into danger, get his ass kicked, and maneuver himself close enough to exploit a big monster’s weakness.
you're the only one 