#chapter 376

[bthump]

tbh, as much as i love berserk, i've already given up on it. i think this is gonna be a nothing burger. it's sad how many shows/books/movie series extend themselves for longer than they should instead of ending with a bang at the time they've reached their peak—but then the dead horse keeps on getting beat. like golden age berserk really was the golden age of berserk, huh, even if i liked some things that came after. but also i think this continuation of the manga should really just have been like an interview or a magazine piece where mori just tells the readers (maybe with some art panels by the ppl miura was working with) about the way miura intended to continue and finish this story. instead we're getting a boring continuation that's likely to drag on for another like five to eight years or smth. goddamn i miss it when berserk made me feel things, but now i probably will only get my catharsis in the distant future, if that (hoping against hope).

Yeah that's fair, I don't blame anyone for losing interest at this point. I'll probably keep reading new chapters for the foreseeable future and having opinions on them, but yeah the very slow trickle of chapters, the new team working on it without Miura, and the boring direction the story is going so far makes it hard to be invested in the current story.

At least we'll always have the Golden Age!

[codenamesazanka]

[everytokoyamifumikage]

Tiny but still counts

Chapter 376

[itsyagirlkel]

This new BNHA chapter was a lil chilling tbh. 👁

[algumaideia]

Luffy and Chopper never change I like your naivety and wonder

Nami thought bubble was about how happy she was that Usopp was fine <3

Anyway Luffy just didn't listen to the plan let's see how things go

[calekinnieplus]

'Well, this isn't too bad.'

I thought as a smile crept on my face as I stared at everyone present.

Who knows, this could very well be the last moment of peace that I would enjoy for a very long time. I hoped not, but, my previous experiences suggested otherwise.

Leaning back on my chair, I tried to make the best out of the little time of rest I had remaining.

That sounds... ominous. I hope you didn't just jinx it.

[evilkaeya]

kdj really said it's not allowed because I'm not in it ! he's so real

[pttucker]

"But, should you be doing something like that? She's originally your bride, isn't she?" "Correction. She was supposed to be one. The throne was usurped on the first day of the wedding, however." Oh, I see. So, it's that sort of development? I felt just a bit relieved now. Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk as a couple? <Kim Dokja's Company> hadn't allowed any dating at the workplace yet, so hell no.

You're having a very interesting reaction to the thought of Sooyoung and Joonghyuk imaginary dating in a scenario, Dokja.

Very interesting.

And why are you so upset that 1863rd Sooyoung gave Joonghyuk information that she didn't give you? You literally have your own copy of TWSA, why would Sooyoung think you needed her diary on top of that? She gave you a bunch of overpowered items.

...Considering he literally, once again, just got done mentally gushing about how gorgeous and amazing and talented Joonghyuk is, I'm not certain which of them he's more jealous of.

[skyradiant]

Berserk Chapter 376: "Water's Wavering Surface and War's Shadow."

[dekusleftsock]

Toga Himiko - To want a savior

When we think of Himiko, we often come to the conclusion that she is a girl of tragedy. Someone who has repeatedly been rejected by the society around her, and turning her into a “real villain”.

But have we stopped to think that Toga has already chosen to be saved? Let’s talk: the mind and choices to Himiko.

What is a hero?

Now, I’ve kinda talked about being a hero a lot. But I wanna ask the question, what does being a hero mean to Himiko?

Lets go back to our first introduction to Toga, why did she join the league?

Horikoshi often describes Stain as a “dark hero” or vigilante over an actual villain, making Himiko’s inspiration feel out of place (im not completely sure on this, I think he did? If I’m wrong sorry!! Working off of a vague memory I read of an interview). Stain has always had a motive, and that motive is to rid the world of “bad” and “corrupt” heroes. In stains belief system, a Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for the safety of others. Things like monetary pay or an egocentric Justice, things that Iida or Ochako have as reasons to be heroes at the beginning of mha, are villainess things in his mind. (Stain also questions the ideas and boundaries of what “true villainy” is because, to be honest, it’s a pretty relative term. It depends on your morals and ethics over anything else, and that kinda gets muddled and fuzzy the bigger the group. Also, are villains and criminals different? Like aoyama?)

So what does this mean for Himiko? Well, we don’t really know. We’re working off scraps, a vague idea of “being free”. Maybe she believes that fulfilling stains ideas will somehow bring this freedom, because she will only be around “true heroes”.

What we do know, is that she sees Izuku’s sacrifices with his beat up body, and Ochako’s impressive tenacity and empathy for others, and she adores it. She LOVES THAT SHIT. Of course, she could also just be attracted to Dekus blood or Ochakos life, but I think it’s more than that. Other than age, there’s no one in the league or general villains (that we know of) that she has developed these admirations or crushes on. She loves the league, but she certainly doesn’t admire them.

But she does admire Ochako and Izuku.

She “chose” two hero students specifically. Two students that have repeatedly proven themselves for their heroics. They are the ideal heroes in Stains eyes, because they repeatedly sacrifice.

Because Toga Himiko, would like to have someone who would sacrifice for her.

Do you want kill me too?

Himiko doesn’t hate heroes. She never has. Heroes have never been considered to her as a direct issue. Everyone else in the league was somehow done wrong by a hero, one way or another. Usually, this wrongness is then taken in as a vulnerability for someone else (like afo) to nurture into a festering hatred. Shigaraki and Dabi both experienced this, and spinner simply followed in Shigaraki’s footsteps after the (poorly written) fantasy racism that he experienced. (I refuse to just say racism, because it’s not at all an accurate portrayal of how racism works and it will continue to NEVER BE an accurate portrayal. Ever. I want to make that clear)

Himiko, however, has had an indirect grooming to some extent. This puts her in an interesting place of vulnerability; one that afo exploits and Ochako ignores.

Going all the way back to 289, this chapter encompasses two things: Himiko’s crush and Himiko’s hope.

Her crush, not understanding of what she’s saying or asking, is obviously confused by this inadvertent confession. Ochako doesn’t realize until 348’s “unrequited love” chapter what this whole scene meant to Himiko.

Because, not only is this her direct confession, but an inadvertent call for saving. Of course, Himiko’s idea of being saved by Ochako, and Ochako’s idea of saving Himiko, would be very contradictory.

But it’s still there.

This is Ochako’s chance.

And she BLEW IT!

And god, she knew it. She knows that’s what this is, that’s what this realization was.

Because Ochako is supposed to be the hero that makes other people smile, not to be the one smiling.

Her thinking of Himiko during her speech? That was Ochako realizing her call for help.

Thinking of Himiko after her confession to Izuku? She realized that it was, not only a call for help directed at Izuku, but that her previous interaction was a confession.

The real Himiko Toga

So, that begs the question hero, who is the real Himiko Toga?

I don’t think this is about not loving someone. Himiko does love people, she only wanted to “become” Jin when she desperately needed to be. Because Jin loved Shigaraki and Dabi, Jin loved Toga Himiko.

And that’s something that she can’t do right now. She can’t love shigaraki, she can’t love afo, she can’t even love dabi, the man who gifted her that vile of blood. She can’t even love herself because of it.

That is, if love is the only factor here.

She can still love Dabi or Shigaraki, she can still admire afo, but that doesn’t mean she admires their hatred or loves their destruction. Jin loved people, he loved the life he built in the league. Himiko admired that happiness, she loved and cared for him. Thats why she can use his quirk but no one else’s.

What if, she needs to both love and admire someone? What if she never loved Izuku, but admired his heroics, like Ochako?

The scene that ochako thinks of here is actually Himiko calling out Ochako directly on loving someone.

This is about their shared crush, but was that crush ever real? Did it ever even matter? Is it just about their first interaction, Ochako’s obsessive rumination over this one interaction? Is this a callback to “ever since I met you, I just couldn’t stop thinking about you”?

What if it’s all of those things? It’s not so far fetched to believe that Ochako needs to use her thoughts, her love, and her admiration to save Himiko.

Because this is Ochako and Himiko’s acceptance of their crushes, heartbreaks, and admirations. Admiration and love get so muddled over time. There is a difference, especially when that admiration only holds you back, like in Ochako’s case, like in Himiko’s case. But they’re still apart of the same concepts.

Himiko’s love also isn’t just romantic, it’s familial or platonic. She’s rough around the edges, but the Himiko that went to Ochako to see if she would be saved is still there. And that’s why she’s not letting her go anymore.

Because Himiko Toga, the real one, still wants to be saved.

[teratophilex]

Low res distance Zodds are an artform

[bthump]

New Berserk chapter just came out.

https://readberserk.com/chapter/berserk-chapter-376/

Huh, guess it does confirm that Rickert wasn’t hiding in secrecy from the Kushans, but was helping them directly. That’s my small fan theory out of the way.

Thanks for the link!

It does seem to be pushing the most straightforward (and imo boring) possible plotline lol, army vs army, big battle, magic vs magic, snore.

I would like to maintain hope that the straightforward plot will be complicated as we go on - like this story can't seriously expect me to root for Daiba over Griffith lol, if he doesn't have a hidden agenda or dark side that comes into play and we're meant to just brush his whole mass torture rape murder artificial behelit thing under the rug, then oof. Like, we had a scene where Silat saw it and defected from Ganishka over it, and now he's working with the mastermind behind it? Does he know? Is this going to factor into anything? What?

Plus it seems too early to set up for a final climactic battle, based on how much Miura suggested he had left to write before he died, so I'm betting it'll end with Guts and co losing or something derailing it, but who knows, maybe they're speedrunning the ending, or there'll be 50 chapters of build up first.

Also Guts being saved by magic from his own rage AGAIN is killing me, like, for fuck's sake. This is no way to pace a story, I'm dying here.

On the plus side it's cool that they're still drawing actual Puck instead of chestnut Puck, and it's always nice to see Silat. But yeah, not super enthused by this chapter lol.

[infirmux]

i miss serpico so terribly this is getting serious let me watch the entire golden age trilogy to look at him for two seconds

[everytokoyamifumikage]

I missed this boy so much!

Chapter 376

[fra080389-2-me]

"A father takes charge"

If this guy now begins to "train" Touya and give him instructions about how to kill him better, I will die from laughing...

[every-luffy-smile]