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swallowerofdharma · 6 months

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Fate / Up against your will / Through the thick and thin / He will wait until / You give yourself to him. Echo & the Bunnymen, The Killing Moon

These are dark tales of things that lurk deep within men… These stories would not please you. Dark Souls III

This is an aside from the series of meta analysis that I am writing about Berserk. I really didn’t expect to like this manga at first, let alone wanting so much to understand what I felt I wasn’t able to grasp behind the surface level. Years ago when I first approached it, I was actually quite unimpressed by the first chapter.

I should add: the first Italian edition was unfortunately flipped and I really disliked that choice back then. Some other series at that time (late 1990s) had started to be published in their original format and I didn’t find it difficult to adapt my reading habits to the original layout from right to left. Reversing the artwork in a manga like Berserk? I am sorry but that was criminal. Not only the characters would have their swords in their left hand but the mirror effect could seriously affect the energy of the line work and the overall harmony of the panels. Big scenes with a battle on horseback flipped? I couldn’t really get over it. Another manga, maybe? But Berserk? Art and composition are such a huge aspect of it, I didn’t love to have to compromise. The last two editions eventually came out with the original right to left flow, but also so much more expensive, it is a crime of another kind. So that is how I came to read the English version. Gatsu became Guts (I don’t know about that because now I think about the meaning of the word in English and I don’t particularly like it). Grifis became Griffith. Falcons became hawks.

So, I wasn’t impressed by the first chapter, definitely discouraged by the flipped artwork and annoyed by… Puck! I must say, I never really liked fantasy as a genre, especially because it uses creatures and I didn’t know what to make of this elf that contrasted so much in mood with the main character. I grew up reading a lot of novels that were considered classics in my culture and that was a great number of nineteenth century literary realism, French and Russian novels and Italian historical and realist novels from the nineteenth and the twentieth century. And literary realism was born from dissatisfaction with the irrational forces and themes of romantic and gothic narratives, aiming to look at the human experience directly and in an unfiltered way. I still prefer stories that are like that and the dark and gritty side of Berserk makes up for the fantasy aspects and what is more, Berserk seems to have the goal to criticize the irrational forces it represents rather than idealize them. And I am also quite comfortable when love is a thing but it isn’t framed under the romantic lens, that aren’t universal but quite culturally specific and distinctive.

Guts also wasn’t exactly an exciting main character for me at the beginning, it really was easy to mistake him for Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken. Which I didn’t have anything against, that anime had such a good title track in its Italian adaptation, and the general desolate atmosphere was fascinating, although I watched it when I was too young to actually consider the story, I only remember the vibes. But I have never been into brooding, stoic and exaggeratedly burly men or 1980s action heroes. Reading further and I was very relieved that Guts wasn’t one of those.

Maybe Berserk wouldn’t have been back in my radar if it hadn’t been for the Souls games, new editions and anime adaptations coming out and in the end Miura’s own passing. So I started reading it again or for the first time in its digital version, completing it up to the current chapters. Reading it now that I am older definitely makes it easier to understand the scope of it and appreciate it. I think that Miura was definitely an ambitious man. His hands were exceptional, although I mourned the unpolished look of the paper and ink when he made the decision to move to digital drawing. Same hands but different surface, different way of absorbing the effort of those hands and the disappearance of the materials into numbers. There are volumes in the middle of Berserk that are just glorious for me, artistically, better than the first ones because the artist was practicing to the point of overworking and becoming incredibly good, better than the last volumes when he chose the hard support of the drawing tablet and the passages between lines and white could only be neater than what it used to be.

When analyzing it, one thing that I found impressive is how cohesive the story feels in its themes considering that it started in 1988 and that continues on under such unique circumstances: Miura and Mori’s relationship being fascinating in itself, in relation to the creation of Guts and Griffith’s dynamic. Berserk started to be published more than three decades ago. I want to point out how difficult can be to begin a story in your twenties, seeing it published monthly as you are likely working with only general ideas of where you want it to go and as you grow older. The editing was minimal. I would like to have more information on this point but I don’t think it was a big concern for a manga being published in Young Animal for Hakusensha of all places. As I often say in this blog, context matters and, although most people read and approach Berserk in its paperback or bunkobon format, all its chapters have been published first in a magazine that is primarily intended for young male readers attracted by photos of gravure idols on the cover and that expected to see erotic scenes, violence and maybe would also get into a story deeper and maintain the interest as long as those elements were there. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion, especially because many beloved novels that are considered classics were originally published periodically as well. And Miura’s approach to the erotic and violence doesn’t feel gratuitous when you think of the story in its entirety and complexities. In the history of art that I am familiar with the human body has always occupied such a central role and themes similar to those of Berserk are frequent and this is probably another big reason why my interest has been picked. It is familiar and not. I am careful about context! It’s manga, not chivalric romance, it’s a contemporary and commercial mixed form of art and not fresco paintings depicting stories on the walls of aristocratic houses, the author is Japanese and not oblivious to a great deal of European and western culture but is also much more immersed in his own culture and using the Japanese language. Kanji on a manga page or beside any drawing aren’t just words, but they are also synthesis of other images as well and images/sounds/concepts that add a lot to the art, most of it lost in a translation. And frankly, my major pet peeve is that the western fandom sometimes doesn’t really understand that the recognizable forms and themes of Christianity and heresies are seen and used from the outside and from a point of view that doesn’t ignore a whole lot of other religious traditions. And other religions have much more influence on certain themes presented in Berserk: suffering or rebirth mainly are two big themes at risk of being acritically absorbed from a Christological perspective that to me personally doesn’t feel right if we keep in mind the overall context of Berserk as a work of fiction and as a manga.

The only major edit that Miura was able to make when Berserk was published in volumes was the removal of chapter 83. If we consider the conditions in which Miura worked, for the first years it would have been very risky to even consider taking a hiatus, I would assume that he didn’t have much time to even make changes or adjustments in his work. But the removal of chapter 83 is interesting. Having been published in the magazine, even when it is missing from current publications, copies are around and available to see. That chapter, that comes before the Conviction arc, was removed because, rumors say, Miura thought it would have given away too much. I think that chapter 83 made Berserk’s Gnostic point of view too overt. Not surprising considering Miura took a lot of inspiration from Go Nagai’s particular brand of religious syncretism and that Gnosticism was frequently discussed in the 1970s and 1980s and probably still is.

I am not an expert on religious studies, I have a very superficial knowledge of just about anything related to religions. I am actually an atheist myself, if anything it is maybe easier for me to understand when an artist operates from an outside point of view rather than from inside a particular faith. Through art and music especially, and thorough words and practices used maybe carelessly, I am not completely ignorant of a plurality of religious beliefs. I might not approach the topic from a believer’s perspective nor for personal spiritual needs, but I am interested in it because of intellectual curiosity and interest in humanity. I don’t position myself above or below, just outside religion. I know I’ll never have enough time or intelligence to even know enough of a single interpretation of one major religious tradition, let alone severals. From a complete superficial perspective, I can only sense and try to understand Miura’s approach to those themes. I am able sometimes to recognize the sources and influences that colored his views on certain topics. I wouldn’t remember enough about Gnosticism from what little I studied in school many years ago, and I wouldn’t have any idea about the occult and many forms of religious syncretism if it wasn’t for having listened to a lot of rock music and being immersed into the popular culture that surrounded it, including manga. Same thing I can say about Nietzsche’s philosophy. I studied a little bit of German philosophy in high school, part of the standard curriculum, and I read on my own The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music when I was sixteen. Young Nietzsche, younger me. I can’t say I remember much besides the highlights of his philosophy. But then I became more and more intimate with David Bowie, his particular approach to music and art and how those things interact with society. Believe me or not, David Bowie is probably my favorite critic and commentator of Nietzsche, even when he didn’t do it through academic writing, but through his music, his own life and artistic outputs. And I love that. This is why I love Berserk too. Maybe because Bowie and Miura were artists whose work became vastly popular, they are easily misunderstood or considered to not belong in the same category of academic discourse about Nietschean philosophy, and just approached superficially, yet they were much more likely to discover the fallacies because they looked into it from a human experience, Bowie through himself and embodying his characters and Miura through drawing and voicing them. To me they actually managed to get rid of pedantic attitudes that keep people away from useful forms of philosophical criticism and learning. But it is entirely possible that I am just not smart enough and Miura’s moods and approach agree with my general worldview and I am indulging myself here.

Why am I writing all this? In part I am probably stalling. I keep postponing the moment I’ll have to write about the central theme that most fascinated me in Berserk, but it is also the more painful aspect: Griffith’s self delusion and the numerous other instances of illusions and mirages that humans don’t have the strength to resist. I haven’t even talked about Farnese or the Lost Children chapters for the same reason. It is daunting to put my thoughts into words intelligently and in a way comprehensible to others (hopefully). But that’s why I started this series of meta. And I am writing my analysis on tumblr because I rather be in the company of those appreciating and analyzing the queer and sentimental aspects of this manga, but I also think that the “romantic” element is a part of it but not exactly central to the story. I think that under those lenses alone the manga would just be quite imbalanced, bad and definitely tragic, less interesting or remarkable to me. Love is a major theme but I don’t think it’s developed through the romantic tradition intended as a cultural invention. When Miura drew and wrote about love, he wrote about the immense difficulty of it on many levels, including the familiar one, the lack or withholding of it from parental figures, the abuse of the spontaneous love of children, the fear of being vulnerable and connecting with others, the desire of intimacy and the dark side of it, the impulse to leave relationships and abandon people behind. I have the impression that through this story, I can see another side to my own experiences. Is society pushing young men to believe that they have to do everything alone, knowing that they can’t succeed, while is telling women that they can’t do anything by themselves, knowing that they won’t be welcomed? Why are we being bullied and forced apart, divided into bullshit categories and separate worlds when we would be better facing the hardships of life with as many allies as we are able to keep? Not alone and not exclusively through a romantic dimension or sexual favors or money deals. Why are we following blindly teachings that have already been proven false and so damaging? What price do we pay for not following the rules?

#berserk #berserk meta #general considerations about Miura’s art #background and other thoughts #eri reads berserk #manga analysis

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emacrow · 4 months

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Um.. Superman.. what that thing stuck on your cape?

Clark's brain short circuit for a moment as he just got back of flying at great speed in the middle of deep space to thrown one of Lex's giants bombs destroy the city and come back in record time.

He turn a bit to look at his cape to see a tiny humanoid starlight dust covered child with white hair, glowing full green that look like white specks stars were implanted themselves into his big ol eyes, nawing on a handful of stardust with inhumanly sharp itsy bitsy fangs.

A small yet floating crown that look similar to one of Nasa pictures of far out space.

Did he just accidentally abducted an royal alien child/teen?

#dc x dp #dpxdc #danny phantom #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dc x dp prompt #dcxdp #danny is the ghost king #Danny's core is space #he eats stardust like a cat on catnip #all j'onn could hear in his mind is an beautiful universal documentary of space along with a guy singing space is so cool in the background #Danny's core took the main pilot of his mind and went apesht on stardust throughout the universal #there are some otherwordly aliens spaceshifts that got totally destroyed during Danny's adventures #another having full on cults that talks about this otherwordly being saving their planets from space invaders #the green lanterns are very concerned on how Superman accidentally kidnapped a alien that wanted alive in other part of the universe #one green lantern is looking as if he just saw his most beloved role model and wouldn't stop speaking in his native tongue with excitement #meanwhile in Danny's dimension is just a normal Tuesday since danny just left on his 3 month vacation as ghost king #danny accidentally thought Superman's cape was something kyptonian and his obsession explode with i wanna touch that #got a free ride along with it

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blackkatdraws2 · 6 months

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The narrator and the ugly ahh protagonist [Blank Scripts AU/non-canonical]

#tsp blank scripts au #non canonical art #shitpost #this is fr how people be drawing narrator and stanley.... narrator being way too handsome and stanley as a background character naahh..#honestly i just drew him like that because it was funny but then i got too attached to it like an idiot aghh #The Narrator (Black) is an entirely different made-up species originating from the ancient Arctic north #long before the Crystal Empire was even built.#The old one's tail only ever wags whenever Stanley is around. You can clearly tell who the favorite pony is #Imagine Black showing Stanley courtship behaviors like rolling on his back #showing his stomach to him #sliding his wings on his chin #trotting like a dancing mare around him #and generally just showing off to show Stanley that he's interested in him...#But because of the species difference (and because Stanley is one airheaded fella)#Stanley doesn't understand what Black is doing other than he looks beautiful while doing it.#the narrator (Black) can read Stanley's thoughts btw #so he knows what that silly guy is thinking about :)#tsp au #the stanley parable #the stanley parable ultra deluxe #mlp #my little pony #mlp oc #my little pony oc #tsp #tspud #tsp narrator #narrator tsp #stanley tsp #tsp stanley

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schemelin · 4 days

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Palmer and Altairus

#i'm coming up with a little self-indulgent story :3 #Where this woman‚ Palmer‚ was brought to the Land Of The Dead by mistake after a relative's passing #Death's Assistant rescued her from losing contact with her dimension by bringing her to the Limbo‚ an intermediary between the two worlds #Her main goal was to return home‚ until local conflicts and unexpected meetings with previously assumed imaginary friends #led her to question the real reason to be there ---#It feels right to create stories for these characters :o #and not just leave them hanging in an empty blank space (which is a constant pattern in most backgrounds of my art)#there are also other characters that show up but I haven't thought of their role yet #and I really like this idea of simplistic designs changing over time (10+ bonus points if it follows character development)#while really complex ones usually remain the same #so ig there's more to come??? unless I come up with yet ANOTHER self-indulgent story lmao #sbahdabwhdbahdhwqbadnwanwsm #starbsart

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fluentisonus · 2 months

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I've said this before but valjean's view of the bishop throughout the book gets me so bad because like. he knew him for what, a day maybe? and it absolutely had a vast & profound & positive impact on him. but then he goes on to spend the whole book comparing himself to his idealized vision of the bishop & finding himself wanting & feeling guilty and miserable about every petty or selfish thought that crosses his mind. but it's so fucked up because like we as the readers know the bishop better! we've read the whole first book and we know he came from a privileged & wealthy background, that he was a rake when he was young, it wasn't til he was in his 40s or 50s to have some sort of change of heart & become a priest (a similar age to valjean when he met him!), that he has moments that seriously shake him, that he has some dubious politics left over, that he still has moments of pettiness he has to work through on the page (his initial approach to the member of the convention, e.g.). and also he's just kind of a weird old guy (affectionate). and like this is not to criticize the bishop, I think he's a genuinely really good guy, just that while the bishop has a realistic view of himself & his past ("he described himself with a smile, an ex-sinner,"), valjean is not getting any of this except maybe like. what would be mentioned in the newspaper when the bishop died. so his whole view of him is of this one shining moment where he changed his life and he feels he doesn't live up to that. which is sad! because the bishop understood him more than he realized & wouldn't have wanted him to feel that way

#haven't edited this post so hopefully it makes sense #there is also something to be said for the other way that i think valjean comparing himself to the bishop unfavorably is unfair because #like the bishop is very much coming from a place of privilege & respect & authority not just in his background but in his current position #which is not to devalue any of his truly good work ofc!! but just that in many ways it's Easier to be good & charitable & humble & kind etc #if you're coming from a place of security y'know? <- and this is something the narrative of the book gets even if jvj doesn't #thoughts #les mis #anyways this is one of the reasons why the bishop sections are important & any abridgement would make the text poorer

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bluerosefox · 9 months

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Danny "I know a Guy"™

Danny works for the JL as a engineer and is the guy that always seems to 'know a guy' for all types of situations.

It's starts with either the Teen Titans or the YJ needing something silly/dumb and it later spirals into "but who reads [insert dead language or alien language here] its impossible!"

Danny' working nearby and sees it: oh! That's [name of language] I know someone. If you don't mind them being a little... ghosty."

When something big bad death/powerful realted happens later though. Danny is helping repairs on the JL tower, Constantine is there talking about maybe summoning a powerful protector spirit that had defeated the Ghost King a while back, someone jokelying and tiredly asks Danny if he knows anyone who can help.

"No..." Danny gets silent for a moment, stares at them before saying as he transforms "I am the guy this time."

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #crossover #blue rambles #writing ideas #random idea #danny phantom dc #dpxdc #danny is the guy that knows a guy #theyre all a ghosty though #starts with the teens and spirals into others #Danny is just thought to know them from his parents prefessions during his backgrounds check #so they know Danny knows ghosts #they just dont know he is Phantom as well #look Danny worked hard to get into space without needing to join the hero club #he wanted to keep it that way #he was proud dang it

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raycatzdraws · 6 months

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Red Red Red!

Whatever it is about Zelda 1 and 2 that makes artists go absolutely insane with the colors- I am not exempt.

I haven't drawn Roolie with his hat before and OOHHH MY GOSH YEAAAHHHH WOOO HAT!!!!!

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu hyrule #this is okay to tag as Zelda 1 & 2 !#(it's not really one or the other (LU vs gen loz.) kinda both!)#anyways- and I thought my other Hyrule drawing was bright!#colors are so funky! I put down a bright red background and finding the right colors to use over it was.. idek #a bit rough but a good exercise!#because if you eyedrop his tunic here it is not green that's a mud brown. but it LOOKS green on that red #funky stuff #unrelated but it smells like spring outside #and I am glad for it -v-

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deoidesign · 11 days

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Thinking about vampires, death, life, and the space they occupy in between

#to be or not to be. that is the question #ty adam for being my model for dramatic vampire moment #musings on the thinkings about:#when to live you are required to hurt others. you must repeatedly ask yourself what the value of your life is #To sleep... perchance to dream...#ah. THERES THE RUB.#ok I actually couldnt come up with too many thoughts. I had a lot more while I was drawing this but I guess I put them in the painting LOL #reading that soliloquy and being like damn this is just like vampires #the reality of course is that the soliloquy is a debate over suicide and ultimately making the choice to live #even if just out of fear of the unknown #and vampires are about dying and then in undeath choosing to continue to live #despite the fear of eternity and loneliness and hurting others #theyre not the same. but like let me thiiink come onnnn I'm allowed to thiiink and have incomplete thoughts #I would have to write like a proper essay about this to organize my thoughts. this is the tags on a tumblr post.#anyways finished episode 79 #working on patreon stickers for this month (and next month soon)#and working on book 4. taking a pause from episodes cause I've got 3 weeks of buffer now... UGH #I'm so mad that they changed it. it would have been 5 weeks before but it's fine it's whatever #anyways yeah taking a break from episodes to make my book now!#its good stuff.#and this painting is good stuff #banger after banger from me tbh #this was a little relaxing giving myself a couple hours to muse #it's necessary for my health and I always forget that til I do a painting...#I loved doing the little landscape in the background too I should do that more! I love how plants are just like whatever shape you want #like you can make up any plant you want and not only does that plant PROBABLY exist somewhere #a weirder plant exists somewhere too. so. literally whatever you want #ok bye again for a few days while I get back to work

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biggest-gaudiest-patronuses · 2 years

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you want a new kind of guy, fine, i raise you: the lady i was briefly roommates with in college who once smoked a blunt at a party and then spent an hour confessing earnestly to me that she genuinely preferred reading detailed episode recaps over actually watching the tv show in question

#she sounded so remorseful & i just stood staring like an anthropologist watching their phd thesis spontaneously manifest before their eyes #apparently she would watch the pilot episode to get a feel for the characters #and then just read a bunch of recaps & episode reviews instead of watching future episodes. what fresh steaming hell #this conversation took place like a year and a half after we were roommates btw. i had seen her maybe twice in that time period #i thought she was a standard frat girl but then 18 months later she appears in the wild grass to reveal unhinged character background to me #and i'm just standing there nodding feeling like i missed a weird opportunity i did not want or ask for #honestly thought i was the weirdest person in that apartment situation but now i'm wondering what our other 2 roommates were hiding #not my strangest college experience at ALL but like. definitely top 20 #this wasn't the same person as Aquarium Girl btw but oddly enough they were roommates actually #(not at the same time that Recaps Lady and i were roommates but at different intervals idk)#anyway i probably should have interviewed at more than one apartment before taking over a sublease but summer sess is a weird time u know #oh and this happened in Hong Kong btw

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saphushia · 2 months

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feeling silly so i turned grian into a digimon. griamon. pesky bird digimon.

#art #hermitcrap #hermitcraft #grian #fun fact i did not use the eyedropper on anything other than the background #i had the thought of challenging myself like that the other night and it was fun #was a fun experiment #also everything but the background is one layer

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sevenines · 11 days

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i saw this tweet and found it interesting for two reasons. one is that some people base how good cartoon network would be to toh by how it treated su, and despite the fact that su’s treatment by the network was considered poor at the time, now its thought to be exceptionally good in comparison to modern shows.

two is how exactly su got impacted by a limited budget. a common criticism is how characters like connie, peridot, and lapis are left out of missions. but balancing a lot of characters is not only hard but also costly (extra animation, extra voices—it’s been revealed that the show is limited to a set number of characters per episode otherwise they’re over budget). animation mistakes are not uncommon since retakes cost extra. the entire reason the original show got cut short was due to loss of funding!