Episode 160: Stupa ("Eps 380-382")

Rickert and Erica race toward the protective walls of Falconia, with Fantasian creatures nipping at their heels. It's our first real glimpse of life for humans in this wild new world through the lens of two familiar characters as they approach the new capital with eyes wide open.

(Spoilers for Berserk Continuation episodes) We cover the 3 latest releases, which is really only about 3 pages of content. Enjoy?

A surprise 3-episode flashback set before the Golden Age arc begins reveals to us Guts' first encounter with an elf. We each had different interpretations for a few moments across this section of the series, including Chitch's ultimate fate.

Guts struggles to stand as the Sea God's heartbeat sends him reeling, rendering his senses numb. Meanwhile the Sea Horse is assisted by Merrows, and Isma is reunited with her mother. Join us as we close out the Solitary Island portion of the series in style.

Guts and Schierke traverse the Sea God's body, encountering nightmare-sized bugs that even make Guts sweat. In this episode, the crew talks about Isma's transformation, the introduction of mana (true name), and the implications that would likely have had on the rest of the series.

We finally reveal the mystery at the heart of the solitary island—the sea god that's been gobbling up the inhabitants of the village and the surrounding sea. Quite a mouth on this guy...

Okay, okay, FINE! We're doing a review of the Berserk Continuation, bringing us all up to speed on all the latest happenings in the made-up, nameless Kushan Capital.

The band arrives on the Solitary Island, where they meet Isma, along with the tentacle emissaries of the Sea God. We spend a lot of time on the Sea God and its power, how it manifests, and why it's such a cool hybrid creation by Miura. And of course, the introduction of Isma, one of the final secondary characters Miura created.

The world-spiral tree and Falconia have appeared, setting the stage for a new world. Then out at sea, Guts and company (re)encounter pirates, now transformed by a menacing new enemy. But this first battle is over soon after the noise Guts wakes up.

Atop Ganishka, Femto opens a rift that changes the world. This is it, the biggest moment of the series. Hear the impressions of Walter, Aazealh, Gobolatula, and Grail now and what we thought at the time.