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#and now it’s just like oh casca needs to be saved again cool
allyouneediskilly · 1 year
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So I have some pretty mixed feelings about the new Berserk chapters that are now coming out since Miura’s death, and none of it comes from the fact it isn’t Miura doing it anymore. It’s obvious from the first page that it isn’t his art anymore, but it’s still really good, the team are clearly coming from a place of love and commitment to Miuras vision, and I’m ultimately glad they have decided to continue with Berserk.
However, I do not like the direction the story has taken, simply because it once again sets up Casca as a damsel to be saved. We just spent a majority of the story watching Casca getting saved by Guts, trying to return her memory to her, and now we’re just gonna have to watch that happen again. She’s been herself for all but like 4 chapters and now she needs to be saved again. It’s exhausting.
This, of course, stems from Miuras biggest flaw as a writer in that his female characters simply aren’t given the same agency as male characters. Whilst early berserk was the worst for this, it’s over reliance on female characters being sexually assaulted was bad then and bad now, I do think it’s something he was improving on as time went by. Even though Casca acting like a child for a million chapters absolutely sucked as a plot device, Farnese and Schierke are both interesting and unique characters all in all.
But if this is the story as he intended it to continue, and I have no reason to doubt that it isn’t, maybe he wasn’t improving all that much. Casca has now been taken by the man who horrifically traumatised her, presumably to be saved by Guts at some point. And I just cannot see that going well for Casca and I have no interest in watching female characters get traumatised for their male counterparts growth. And I mean, maybe that won’t happen, I have no idea where the story will go from here and I hope it will surprise me, but I’m not optimistic.
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ofdemonsandangels · 2 years
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Im sorry for my random rant but aaaaaa I just can't get over how dirty Casca was treateddddd
She was done decently well in the golden age arc and after that her character got so reduced and basically infantalized.
I was so happy when I got to the chapter where she started acting like herself again but well... We don't get to see much of that:/
In general, I have a lot of problems with some of the plotlines after the eclipse and how some could have been avoided and replaced with more important things instead (atleast imo some plotpoints couldve been replaced with more vital things but maybe thats just my opinion)
I think that Casca's overall character is rather underwhelming compared to the way that the fandom proclaims her to be but yeah, I agree, her character during the Golden Age was decent. I really liked the animosity she felt towards Guts because of the attention that Griffith gave him. It felt pretty realistic, in the way that someone you admire starts to pay attention to someone else right out of the blue, to the point that they're putting their lives on the line for that person.
I really don't like how Casca automatically softened up after her and Guts had sex, because it felt way too quick. I consider the downfall of Casca's character to begin with her having sex with Guts. She doesn't completely lose what made her a great, dynamic, character but she felt watered down. Also I've observed that this is where a lot of male fan's (and some female fans too) opinions of her change, which is pretty telling. A lot of criticisms of Casca from the dudebro crowd revolve around her character in the Golden Age, not post-Eclipse. They think she's too rash and aggressive. She's way too harsh on Guts because of her admiration for Griffith. I've lost count how many times I've seen her called a bitch or a cunt because of her Golden Age personality, and these people simply don't get it. Casca's strenuous relationship with Guts is what made her interesting. But now that she's been "tamed" through sex, all of a sudden, she's likable. She's Guts' girl now.
And then we get to post-Eclipse Casca. Oh Casca, I'm so sorry about what Miura did to you. You deserved better, much better than what Guts and Griffith put you through. Post-Eclipse Casca is barely a character. She's a child in an adult's body that causes problems for Guts and his new little group. Time after time, she's put through humiliating ordeals because the writing needs Guts to look cool as he saves her. Or even worst, the writing needs Guts to be a "good person" who may be annoyed at his traumatized girlfriend, but will still do anything to heal her broken mind. Guts drags her around like a dog on a leash (he actually does at one time) and at times, Casca really feels more like a burden than a mission.
And can we talk about the amount of times post-Eclipse Casca has been sexually assaulted/put into situations where she's naked? Nudity is by no means unexpected when it comes to Berserk but there's something that just feels so wrong about a regressed, mentally traumatized woman being in constant situations where she's assaulted or unnecessarily naked. I hate it.
Also yes, I completely agree that there could've been a lot more interesting plot lines and arcs post-Eclipse. The Conviction arc is a good 10/10 but after that, it really felt like Miura had no idea what to do. The Falcon of the Millennium Empire arc is pretty good, but that's morso when it focused on Griffith. Then there's the Fantasia arc and ehhhhh, I'm not a big fan of it. The duel between Guts and Serpico was cool but that's all I really like.
Anyways, I've rambled on way too long. Thanks for the ask!
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bthump · 5 years
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watching jojo's bizarre adventure anime adaptation and seeing how much the anime team fixed araki (the mangaka)'s bad writing makes me rlly wish that if berserk gets a proper anime adaptation whoever does it will do the same with miura's writing (and some of his art too tbh). like for example for all their faults the berserk movies did improve casca's character. what are your wants for a potential full berserk anime adaptation? (also let's hope that this is the year we finally get one 🤞)
I never finished JJBA or watched the anime so idk, but I’m curious how much they changed. Like were there big changes to the plot, or was it mostly just little minor changes to smooth over some flaws?
ty for asking, and I apologize in advance for how long this got lol.
tbh I think my ideal, if not realistic, Berserk adaptation is one that just goes ‘fuck it’ and throws out most of the story lol. Starts with Black Swordsman, ends with Femto lowering his hand and letting Guts escape - well more specifically, on this panel:
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Like that is a perfect final shot imho.
(Also I might mirror it with the opening shot. Like I wouldn’t open on Guts fucking an apostle lmao, I don’t actually dislike that opening but it doesn’t fit this theoretical adaption. So how about we open on a long shot of Black Swordsman Guts surrounded by the ghosts he’s fighting, that mimics this?)
Ooh I might also… I might stick the Lost Children arc in between Snake Man and Count Slug. Ugggh there are some logistical issues to untangle there, but I really, really want Jill/Rosine Guts/Griffith parallels, and I want ghosts taunting Guts about becoming a monster like his friend. Subtlety is for cowards. Oh except we wouldn’t’ve seen Femto yet so that wouldn’t work. Well, “like him” then instead of “like your friend.” There now it’s foreshadowing 2 ways.
the climax of the story is the moment of sacrifice because there’s no Eclipse rape, Casca dies shortly after Judeau, and Guts’ horror at being sacrificed by Griffith is the emotional low point. Potentially no gtsca either if I can figure out a way to incorporate Guts’ stupid dream speech somewhere else. Maybe it can be a flashback during the Wyald fight, which I’d keep incidentally, sans attempted rape, w/ Guts talking to Erica. Actually yeah that would be perfect and immediately tie Guts’ “dream” of fighting stronger and stronger enemies with fighting monsters lol, meaning I could bypass Guts’ post Eclipse war declaration that draws that comparison more explicitly.
Boom, Berserk is now a nice little self-contained tragic story about two dudes each becoming solitary monsters because they abandoned each other for abstract dreams, and threw aside the potential for true emotional healing (relationships) for shallow coping mechanisms (swords/dreams). Uhhh, also Puck is cut. Sorry Puck, ilu but you’re a ray of hope that ruins the vibe here.
And finally since this is my ideal adaptation, the subtext between Guts and Griffith is text. They don’t actually fuck or kiss, because that would avert the Eclipse, but… hm how do you make it clear that they want to fuck but are too repressed to do it and that’s what ruins everything? Okay well Griffith’s torture chamber monologue includes “love” a la the anime dub, and maybe “desire” or “need” to completely remove that ambiguity desperately maintained in the minds of straight people. And Guts… I don’t know that I can go textual lol. The only point in the story he can possibly recognize his own feelings is chapter 71.
Ooh I got it. Just include “at that time he shone before me as something beautiful, noble, and larger than life” after the Count’s backstory lmao. Do you really need more? Well, maybe “he shone before me as something larger than life - noble, and… beautiful.” Or just cut to the chase completely: “At that time, he shone before me as something beautiful, noble, and larger-than-life. I loved him.”
OKAY all that said I feel like this wasn’t really what you’re asking lol since you mentioned a complete adaption. So okay assuming there are no huge major changes to the content or structure of the story, here’s a (stupidly long, like only read this if you for some reason enjoy seeing me ramble for days about minute details lmao) list of some more minor things I’d want to change:
I’d start with the Black Swordsman arc and continue as the manga goes. Yes, in this one Guts still fucks an apostle. This is right before the credits, and it’s depicted as badass and cool. In fact, I might actually split the scene with the credits - start the opening sequence right after Guts blows her up, and resume on this shot with more of a sombre tone:
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Like okay that would be pretty cheesy lol, but this is the Black Swordsman arc. It’s supposed to be a little campy, and really unsubtle, and this seems like a fun way of highlighting this little tonal shift.
Relatedly, I would not acknowledge the fact that most people watching already know where it’s going. I would maintain the integrity of the first arc in starting off with Guts as an apparent cool badass and then tearing that down, as well as keeping Griffith’s identity and Guts’ motivation a mystery in theory, and making the Count’s backstory the climax of this arc in a revelatory sense, rather than in an action sense.
To get more general, no fanservice for straight dudes. no one’s tits are randomly out, and when they are they’re drawn realistically and subject to the laws of gravity. casca’s clothes don’t get torn all the time, rosine’s got full moth fuzz coverage, farnese is wearing a shirt when guts takes her hostage and if we need self-flagellation (and tbh I wouldn’t necessarily cut it) it can be in a flashback, etc. Oh except Slan I guess. Her whole character is fanservice so w/e I’ll allow it.
not every woman is in love with and solely motivated by a dude. skip the queen’s completely unnecessary reveal that she was in love with julius, skip casca’s “I lived my life with the intent of sacrificing myself on my unrequited feelings for griffith” bullshit, skip sonia’s crush on neogriffith, skip tf out of schierke’s crush on guts, skip the random period of incest-y bdsm-y vibes in Farnese and Serpico’s backstory that adds nothing lol, skip the suggestions that Farnese is jealous of Casca’s history with Guts, etc
also most sexual assault scenes are cut. Casca is running for her life during the 100 man fight, not from attempted rapists. Wyald does not assault Casca, Farnese is not almost raped by a fucking horse, we chill out a bit on the sexual torture in every bg scene during the conviction arc jfc, Casca’s multiple assaults during that arc are cut, troll rape is cut, you get the point.
I’ll keep Adon’s shitty threats tho bc i feel like some violent misogyny is necessary if i’m not changing everything, but I’d completely lose the comic relief vibe he gets and make Casca’s fight with him properly epic and satisfying. The movie did this a bit better imo, but I’d really remove Adon’s whole boastful loser schtick. That might disappoint some fans, but idc Casca deserves to kill someone who is actually kind of a badass.
There’s a lot of bullshit around gtsca that I’m torn between wanting to cut, and instead wanting to just depict very negatively. Like would it be better if instead of Casca shyly asking Guts how she looks in a dress she just complained about the dress being uncomfortable, ie we completely cut that burgeoning “soft side” bs?
Or would it be better if she still asked him how she looks, then we call back to that moment when she gets awkward about her scars before sex, we keep Judeau musing on how she’s showing a soft side, we call back to that when he tells Guts to save her from leadership, we tie it all together when Guts asks Casca to leave with him, and bring it home by making it abundantly clear that Casca moving from being Griffith’s sword to Guts’ sword is not a positive change.
Like highlight everything negative about it - Guts being a huge dick, the ominous undertone when he invites her along (like cue the creepy cello music when they kiss right before we shift to monsters and behelits lol), all the parallels between him and Griffith wrt their dreams, Guts telling Casca to fuck off while he fights Wyald, maybe even add a moment where Casca actually reflects on how she’s left out of all the dream/equals bullshit and what that says about their priorities and how they see her. Might be a nice lead up to her telling Guts to leave to pursue his dream and be Griffith’s equal.
also maybe show that judeau is wrong about casca being better off away from the hawks? ugh there’s so much that would have to be reworked with her narrative. like if she still has to attempt suicide, again can we ditch the lead up about how it’s because she has an unrequited crush on griffith and just keep it about the fact that she hasn’t slept in a week and she’s on the run and her hawks keep dying and griffith is being tortured and she just stabbed guts and she’s had a very difficult year?
and like, maybe she leapt to accept Guts’ ‘come with me’ offer because she’s exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed, but are you kidding me? While Guts gets an entire narrative arc about abandoning his found family, Casca doesn’t even think about it for a moment before agreeing to ditch them? Can we maybe have some indication about how she feels about the Hawks as a family, maybe some reflection about why she would choose to leave, maybe some second thoughts about it after the Wyald fight when it becomes abundantly clear what her role would be while Guts pursues his dream, like god she’s such a pawn of the narrative, I hate it. Give her some real reasons for doing stuff!
ANYWAY moving on
like the movie, I’d give charlotte more agency in the sex scene w/ griffith, I liked her asking him to stay and moving his hand to her tit herself. I probably would not actually make griffith so out of it though - i enjoyed that in the movie but I don’t necessarily consider it in-character. The way he went from literally crying in the rain to smiling and making charming jokes as soon as Charlotte opened the window in the manga honestly makes perfect sense to me lol. Just uh, make Charlotte into it from the start because there’s zero reason for her not to be other than bad misogynistic cliches?
Also I feel like there’s a balance to be struck between depicting het sex as dude sticks his dick in, woman somehow has a good time a la the manga vs making guts and griffith competent at foreplay and oral a la the movies lol. Like maybe depict the sex scenes as the bad sex they are but Charlotte still feels closer to Griffith afterwards despite not coming from a dude fucking her while thinking about another dude and like, just keep Casca telling Guts he was obviously a virgin afterwards lol.
I guess we’re stuck with the Eclipse rape, but it happens mostly off screen and in close, telling but non-explicit details, like yk, big clawed hand holding a wrist, Casca’s eyes squeezed shut, Femto’s hand on the small of her back (I’m thinking a reversed call back to the wagon scene w/ that to suggest Femto’s motivation being a show of power tbqh). Some would be from Casca’s pov, with maybe one brief moment from Guts’ pov as he loses an eye or something. Keep the movie’s visual reference to Griffith saving her. No pornographic angles. No apostle rape prelude to it. Casca doesn’t have an orgasm. Femto doesn’t stare at Guts. It’s not about Guts at all for either of them, it’s about Femto taking Griffith’s fucked up relationship to sex and expressing it monstrously, and it’s about Casca being betrayed and symbolically negating the agency she fought for since Griffith threw her a sword. Guts’ reaction is horror and fear, not manly heroic outrage. He might still rip off his arm to attack Femto, but that would be because that’s always his reaction to whatever scares him, not for Casca’s sake. Might have to contextualize that with flashbacks to his childhood, or at the very least strong visual parallels to both his childhood and the Zodd + Wyald fights.
I want to cut the fetus, replace it with like a cronenburg-y fucked up dog-like demon in the Black Swordsman arc - not as a literal version of the Beast of Darkness, but just as a metaphor for how Guts’ inner darkness is twisting him into a pathetic asshole lol. But tbh cutting the fetus is a logistical nightmare because Casca needs magic protection during the Conviction arc. So idk. But NGriff doesn’t need it, and his narrative would be more engaging without that scapegoat. Fuck emotional ambiguity, I just want to drop the news that NGriff has feelings, and then not change anything else about his narrative. The themes of isolation and loneliness threaded throughout would just shine through lol it would be great.
I would emphasize the shit out of the Beast of Darkness/Femto parallels. Yeah Guts would still assault Casca in my adaption too. If the Eclipse rape happens, that has to happen because the point is that Guts’ inner darkness is the same. But like, I’d cut the page where beast of darkness guts bites her head off while raping her. Also I’d keep the visual parallel to the Eclipse rape (the v similarly depicted kisses) and add another from Casca’s point of view, or have her flashback then instead of just staying in Guts’ head.
as for the fallout, I’d give Guts a proper scene where he sees himself as a monster, like damn he got more of a self-reflective and telling reaction that time he accidentally killed a random kid, we should get something when he sexually assaults Casca. but overall I’d focus way more on Casca being afraid of him now rather than his mopey guilt. I would also… I mean god this should be addressed in the fact that Guts fucking wears the Berserk armour all the time lol. Like one second he’s all, “omg Flora can put a magic seal on my brand that’ll depower my magical evil jiminy cricket wolf and hopefully prevent me from raping and murdering Casca, that’s great!” and the next second he’s all, “omg magic armour I can wear that will enable me to kill everything with the side effect of superpowering my inner evil wolf and turning on my companions? sign me the fuck up I’m sure nothing bad could possibly happen with that.”
Like what I’m saying is I’d either make Guts a lot more reluctant to use the armour and take Skull Knight’s warnings seriously and genuinely reflect on the fact that mysterious magical children have to prevent him from murdering his friends over and over again, or I’d draw attention to this idiocy and fully commit to Guts as a dumbass hypocrite blithely walking down the path to more tragedy of his own making. and probably the latter based on where the story is likely to be headed lol.
in the lost children arc, I’d give Rosine’s mother more of a role as a good parent who Rosine has a loving relationship with, who tried and failed to stop her father’s abuse or something, because honestly I love the Peekaf story and I find Rosine’s regret at the end as she tries to fly home v powerful, but I hate the idea that she regrets sacrificing her abusive father so maybe this way I can split the difference.
and Jill’s ending where she goes home to endure abuse would be depicted much more darkly.
like straight up I’d depict Jill flying with Rosine as a truly beautiful moment, I would show that Jill has the potential to fulfill Rosine in a way her neverland kidnapping bullshit can’t and that yes, if Jill stayed with Rosine everything might actually work out and with Jill’s influence the whole land of the elves thing could be reworked into less of a nightmare and more of a haven lol. And Guts would absolutely be depicted as fully monstrous in comparison, ruining both these kids’ lives. Like, no ambiguity, no suggestion that Jill learned an important lesson about living with abuse lmao, no implication that Rosine brought her tragic end on herself by not being a good enough child abuse victim, just Guts sowing tragedy wherever he goes.
I have no idea how to deal with the conviction arc in general lol, specifically the ultra cynical tone the actual narrative seems to take. Like, the Black Swordsman arc was idealistic compared to the Conviction arc, they clash badly imo. Extremely badly. Like it’s a giant mess. It’s like
Black Swordsman Guts: fuck everyone who dies because they weren’t strong enough to deal with my existence. *turns and wipes away a tear* *lets a zombie kid stab him* *evokes pity from puck*Conviction Guts: fuck everyone who dies because they weren’t strong enough to deal with my existence. *poses with his sword in one hand and the rescued love interest in the other* *the crowd cheers* *luca nods sagely*
yk it’s just… awkward. It’s hard to mitigate through like, film choices yk, because a lot of it is due to the circumstances. Guts telling Puck innocent people are just ants under his feet is much different than Guts refusing to let the big bad kill Casca by telling him that tens of thousands of people can and should die because they pray too much lmao, no matter what music plays in the background. Guts’ attitude is the same, the narrative’s attitude is contradictory.
Maybe I could make Guts less of a dick and cut a lot of those cynical moments? Not really call attention to the fact that Guts is effectively sacrificing tens of thousands of refugees for Casca, or more accurately, for his own desire to feel like a hero since he isn’t even the one who saves Casca, he got distracted trying to fight the fake Godhand.
Or lol maybe I’ll just have Isidro point that out in like, a smug way. Maybe I’ll have NeoGriffith personally thank him for his contribution to his resurrection. I mean I really want to call this questionable shit into question, yk? Not to declare Guts wrong for wanting to save Casca, but to declare his cavalier idgaf attitude a big problem that has consequences. Which would actually tie in nicely with emphasizing Guts’ dumbassery in brushing off Skull Knight’s warnings about the armour and insisting it’s nbd. lol I really hope this is what Miura’s going for, just more subtlely.
Actually I wonder if I could get away with cutting Isidro out entirely. Anyone could’ve saved Casca there.
Oh I’d cut the hell out of a lot of Guts’ fight scenes in the MF arc, and if I could possibly get away with it I’d cut out everything on the beach after Skull Knight’s ominous warning. Like this might end up being the Griffith show for a while because Guts’ half is a fucking slog. And of course I’d cut the entire boat trip. They get on a boat, they get off a boat, the end.
Okay I need to stop somewhere. I’m ignoring a lot of later stuff because it’s so dependent on where the story’s going now that Casca is awake etc. Like eg the Moonlight Boy. Can I cut him? Give him a more ominous tone? Emphasize the saccharine tone he evokes for the sake of pulling the rug out from under the audience later? Will I be forced to make huge changes anyway because I can’t stand where the story ended up going? Idk it depends.
If I could tho I’d definitely cut Magnifico, Isidro, Ivalera, mermaid… like Farnese, Serpico, and Schierke are the only characters on Guts’ side who contribute to the story in a meaningful way. And without Isidro Puck could again too.
Oooh yk one thing that might be nice would be framing Farnese as the main protagonist of Guts’ half of the story during the MF arc. Just focus on her, show more stuff from her perspective, cut down a lot of fights but keep her digression back home, maybe give her some additional content that explores her character shift better, show her struggling more with her own inner darkness a bit when she first joins and give her some character beats as she slowly grows more comfortable with Casca, maybe put her backstory chapters in the first episode of a new season (a great season ender would be Guts walking away from the Hill of Swords js), etc.
lmao god I feel like I could keep going forever. sorry this is so meandering but ty for giving me the opportunity to go on and on about this. Is there anything you’d really like to change yourself?
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The New Party Meta - Part 2
Welcome back to my attempt to dissect character relationships in Berserk! Today we’re gonna talk about the disaster that is Serpico!
Serpico-->Guts
Serpico's relationship to Guts is intrinsically one that revolves around his relationship with Farnese and as such is slightly challenging to parse. It feels at times as though there are two halves to it—the half which deals mostly with how Serpico feels about Guts and what he means for Farnese, and the half which deals more with how Serpico interacts with Guts in matters where he's suppressing his “personal feelings” and doing his best to get along with him.
The biggest and most obvious thing is that Serpico considers Guts to be a threat—to Farnese's safety, and to hers and his views of the world and their places in it—and he has told Guts this on at least one occasion. He has stated that were it his choice, they would not be traveling with Guts. In the beginning, before they're traveling with each other, he does try to hide these feelings—neutral faces and simple requests that he not antagonize Farnese overmuch, which only break in the instants that he attempts to claim Guts' life (shooting him in the back with a crossbow bolt, the one-stroke battle after Farnese is possessed, and their later battle on the cliffside spring to mind). The real heart of their relationship, as laid out by Serpico himself in his own ruminations, is both that Guts is dangerous for Farnese's well-being and changing her in ways that Serpico could not or did not think to try to (which, I think, bothers him more than he lets on) and that Guts also is changing him, making him feel things with an intensity that shocks him (“While I arrayed myself in feigned ignorance, perhaps before I knew it, I too was affected by that heat. You certainly are a man impossible to ignore.” “Truth be told I thought to kill you many times. And the violence of these emotions within me shocked me.”)
Yet, they do still get along with each other quite well on the surface, when Serpico's threats don't hang over them overmuch. Even right after the Tower of Conviction, when the Kushan attack, Serpico admits that there's nobody more reassuring to fight alongside than Guts. Serpico is willing to offer him his shoulder when he's wounded, to try and carry him to safety when he's been struck by Ganishka's lightning (and here I think it's interesting that Guts calls him out on trying to do that, accusing him of not thinking straight because there's no way he can lug Guts back to shore even with the sylph hood). He overhauls Guts' attire with ease of use in mind, which Guts shows appreciation for. He defers to Guts as the leader of the group. With the exceptions of the instances in which Guts dons the berserker armor and poses a legitimate danger to the entire group, Serpico seems to have mellowed out to Guts the more time has worn on, and I wonder if that's not because of the extent to which Farnese has changed for the better—proving perhaps to Serpico that Guts is far less of a threat to her than he thought.
As far as the facet comparisons go, I think Serpico most represents Guts' fixations—on someone who he feels he must protect at all costs, and on someone that he believes to be a danger to that person. There's also an interesting little thing going on regarding how Serpico feels about his freedom—he's stated that he feels chained down by obligations (to his mother, to his father, to Farnese), and Guts, while certainly chained down by the obligation to keep Casca safe now, once roamed the lands without aim and without purpose, and he wasn't very happy doing that. What I'm saying is that what Serpico thinks he may want, as far as this freedom goes, may not be what he actually wants in the end.
Serpico-->Farnese
If I'm being totally honest, the first time I read Berserk I thought theirs was a nigh impossible to sort out trainwreck, and I do still kind of think that now.
There are two big things to keep in mind when trying to figure Serpico's side of the relationship out. The first is that Farnese is the most important thing in Serpico's world, without question. Serpico will, and does, prioritize Farnese's safety over the safety of everybody else in the group even after he warms to them. The second is that he considers Farnese his other half, considers them to be if not exactly the same, then similar enough as makes no difference—save for expressions in emotion of course.
Serpico was introduced to Farnese as Farnese's servant, and up to a certain point, this is how Serpico acts to her. He goes where she goes without question or complaint, but he is not always direct about it. He appears to refuse Farnese's order to kill Guts because they're only supposed to capture him, but he makes an attempt to do just that as soon as she's run away. He doesn't explicitly protest her decision to leave the Holy See and go chasing after Guts, but he does pick and choose his moments to try and get her to go back. The only reason that Serpico appears to stop acting like a servant to her is because Farnese stops acting as his master.
Serpico knows Farnese—he knows her moods, her expressions, and what each of them mean, again because he was raised with her, but he only is certain of them until she begins to change. And then, frankly, he's at a loss. He does not “know this defenseless side of her”, as he tells Guts. He resists these changes in his own way—trying to get her to return to the Holy See in an oblique manner, trying multiple times to kill Guts, who he perceives as the root cause of all these changes. And then, eventually, he stops, because Farnese is growing for the better and he can tell that it's for the better despite how he personally feels about it. So he lets it happen, neutrally accepting at first (“[...]the wind has blown. A wind strong enough to blow down everything you yearned for. And so I shall at least see to it that my other half isn't torn to pieces in the storm.”) and, gradually, with pride and happiness at her accomplishments.
And then, of course, there's the romance that never was. It's my read on it that Serpico does harbor at least some romantic feeling for her—otherwise he wouldn't call Farnese's mother 'astute' after her comment (“Such companions cannot be separated, because they cannot stand without entwining against each other, just like a pair of trees... my, the scent of the forbidden.”). This is of course to say nothing of his initial reaction to her entreating him to run away with her after her father intends to marry her off, though that's admittedly ambiguous at best and may or may not be influenced by him knowing that he's related to her while she does not.
There's also the slight side-issue of what kind of negative feelings he may harbor towards her because, for all that he's devoted to her, he does imply she's something that he's chained to, and Serpico again has weird issues with the idea of being free. When she asks him outright if he hates her his answer isn't an answer (“To talk of hate...”) and the subject is immediately dropped, never to be brought up again. Worthy of consideration, maybe, but as far as present canon goes it may well be a moot point, as they both seem much happier with themselves and each other.
Oh yeah and there's also that he completely, 100% loses his cool when Farnese says she wants to become a witch, and it notably takes him a while to wrap his head around that idea and accept it. Not sure what the significance of that is but it was pretty funny.
Serpico-->Schierke
Serpico and Schierke don't interact directly very often, but she does give him items blessed by wind elementals and oddly enough, they appear to be the means by which he begins self-reflecting in earnest. He thinks the wind is the thing most alien to him, being free to do whatever it wishes without consequence—so then, what does it say that he masters that power so quickly, as Schierke notes?
The other interesting thing is his general attitude towards magic. Delighted, I think, isn't the right word, but he seems much more smiley when in magical places, surrounded by magical things. The aforementioned sylph hood and sword are things he considers heartening to have in battle against monsters and they end up rather attached to him—he's impressed with their power, and with Schierke's power. He urges Schierke to have pride in herself when she feels down about her inexperience, calling her skills miraculous. He defers to her on matters that he's less experienced in, with a view that isn't colored by differences in age or gender.
Serpico-->Isidro
Serpico and Isidro aren't very close to each other—if Isidro's view of Serpico is hard to pin down and theoretical at best, Serpico's view of Isidro is even harder. He does have opinions of him though—opinions that giving him a dagger that spits fire is probably not the safest idea (though he does note that at least it's better than Farnese getting it), and that Isidro's skill in improvisation is surprisingly good (noted mostly by how Serpico sits up and takes notice when Isidro starts dual-wielding against Guts in practice, managing to make some headway but ultimately coming up short).
Aside from this the bulk of their interaction is kind of the hotheaded eager to prove younger brother and the cool aloof older brother who checks some of his more reckless impulses, though Serpico doesn't seem to go out of his way to do it. Serpico holds him back, physically if need be, when he's about to do something rash, he's constantly telling Isidro to mind himself in battle, and he's willing to explain himself to Isidro if Isidro doesn't understand something (at the end of his second fight with Guts, for instance).
I think the problem here is that we don't see a lot of the interactions they do have, but are implied—they do after all go out into Vritannis alone together to search for a ship, and at some point Isidro must have told Serpico something about his past, because Serpico's the only one who brings up that Isidro grew up in the mountains.
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