Product Description: Desperate as Guts, the Black Swordsman, has been to reunite with his former captain and lover, the now-mad Casca, he's quickly learning that being together is as dangerous as being apart. What should be a simple journey to the safety of Puck's homeland proves to be a gauntlet of perils, as the Mark of Sacrifice each bears brings the fury of Hell down upon them, and Guts discovers that in his darkest moments he himself is the greatest danger to the woman he loves. Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is a fiery manga apocalypse, an ominous omnibus of furious action, fearsome horror, and funereal humor that strikes a power chord in the hearts of its devoted followers and strikes down the rest like a scythe through wheat. Bring in the sheaves!
The tower is long behind them... ...but that which occurred there haunts our heroes and heroines.
As Guts and Casca travel, Guts finds the job of protecting and caring for the still infantile Casca a great strain on his nerves, physical reserves, and even his sanity... as the beast within him longs for blood and the temptation his wounded lover unknowingly offers him.
Not far behind them trails Isidoro, Serpico, and the extremely confused Farnese who each hunt the Black Swordsman for their own reasons.... Isidoro is still eager to steal Gut's combat moves (when he could be learning Elf Dimensional Style from Puck) and Serpico is very much in his 'Still Waters Run Deep' mode, ever doggedly looking out for Farnese. The young noble herself, though, is awash in self-doubt after her faith was shattered by events at the Tower, and is clinging to the one thing that kept her whole during the ordeal... stubborn survivalism, as shown by Guts.
Also, this volume, we see the newly reborn Band of the Hawk on its way to becoming a mighty host yet again, this time incorporating both dedicated humans and vicious demonkin... including several apostles. It will be an interesting mirror to the main Kushan forces own elite "magical" corps. which have yet to appear (look to that in the coming volumes, after the party reaches the port city).
Art is par for the Miura course, with equal time given both to the wonderously beautiful and the repulsively ugly. ***Fair warning that at least one scene is pretty intense both in theme and depiction. Parents should pay attention to the advisory sticker.***
All in all, another nice transition volume as our party begins its travels again in search of... so many things. Look foward, in the next volume, to a village of the faithful under siege by spirits of the forest and the witch's apprentice who risks much (with the help of our party) to save them. Then there's the witch herself... who just may have some connection with a certain Knight we know.
I recommend a buy, with the caveat to read all which has come before... and after.
Anything Goes Trivia
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Tailipoe
Trevor
