Berserk, Volume 24, Things are Getting Magical

Isidro starts off this volume by getting a wholesome lesson on stealing by a old man, before beating that said old man up. Now powerless, we see his true regard for the Isidro, now threatening to kill him with Isidro knocking him out. A nice comparison of father figures. Whereas Guts is harsh but genuinely cares for Isidro, traditional figures like that man only love Isidro when they can put him in his place.

Meanwhile, Serpico speaks to Guts unfavorably yet yields his further hatred out of interest for Farnese, or rather out of peeling her apart. He has not seen a side of her she is shading now. But before this interesting conversation can continue, Casca and Farnese are left at a troll’s whelm with Isidro trying to defend them. This leads to the introduction of Schierke, a young and confident witch-in training who really works in balancing Isidro’s character. She is the yin to his yang and they will constantly go back and forth for the end of time. She even has an elf sidekick. If the reader is forgetting, this is the same manga that brought us the Golden Age. How far we have went.

Before long, we arrive at Schierke’s place and Guts and Casca are specifically singled out. It’s pretty cool to think Miura didn’t forget the significance of the brand. Here, we hear a lot of mumbo jumbo about Berserk’s world that while interesting on a first read, makes for painful re-reading. In my view, the least that could’ve come for it was a way to defeat Griffith but sadly I was left disappointed. But a good portion of the crew did get extra abilities to work with this more magical setting, from Isidro, Serpico, Farnese, and Casca.

And if you aren’t a fan of fantasy anime, I don’t think you are going to enjoy what Berserk does not. Essentially, the manga becomes more fantasy-focused and spends a good chunk of time on practically filler. Guts and the crew fighting the trolls is nowhere near as entrancing as Farnese cutting her hair since the weight behind it is largely absent. It’s boring meandering that doesn’t advance the plot enough. And this is only the beginning of it.