Berserk Volume 31: Underwhelming

A name that will probably get most Berserk fans jittering, not out of excitement, is when you mention the boat. While it is not as long as some may say, it’s still a tedious read. Thankfully, we are close, but not quite there yet as our crew is still trying to get on one.

But the problem emerges: they are stuck and Guts needs to use the Berskerser armor. So Schierke decides to guide Guts as he uses the armor, leaving her physically body physically asleep. I wish we could’ve seen Farnese do some magic she could’ve self taught herself, but I could see how that could be reductive to her accepting that sometimes you can’t fight in battle, and it’s better to help those who can’t. Meanwhile, Guts is being controlled by Schierke somewhat, being guided along as he struggles to keep it together. His struggle to stay centered even causes him to drop Casca and Farnese, to Casca’s annoyance. And a great scene occurs as Schierke warns Guts what could happen if he does that again, while Guts takes it as a warning from Casca. If he keeps losing himself like that, he loses her, meaning he could lose the chance to help her regain her memories.

Guts then lectures Serpico on not doing anything, and asks him to fight on. My guess is Serpico’s hesitance was due to protecting Farnese and Casca from Guts. No matter how much Schierke tries, they all know it can be game over in a couple minutes. Guts can forget whose side he is on, regardless if he’s sane right now. In doing so, he becomes those demons he fought long ago. But without a cause, as they did it thanks to his brand.

Most of this volume is Guts fighting off this new foe, and I’m decidedly a bit tired of this formula. It’s kind of wrong to call it a formula, but it’s Miura spending tons of time on action scenes and trying too hard to give them narrative weight. The characters of Berserk are far more entrancing than the fights, and these battles build a bridge between me and the manga. On one hand, I can say firmly Berserk has fantastic fight scenes. On the other hand, I find reading most of them dreadfully dull. The art is picturesque, yet the choreography is wearing. While I love to clap and marvel at what new villain approaches Guts crew, I can’t help but feel exhausted. This time could’ve been better spent with characters talking to each other.