| Berserk #2: Immortal Soldier |
|
|
| Wednesday, 14 November 2007 | |
 Berserk continues, as does Griffith's rise to power on the back of his men's successes. Wonder how long it'll be before some of them begin to resent that. Along the way, though, there are major challenges for Guts to face, and an immortal solider has a warning for him about his friendship with Griffith...6 - Zodd the Immortal When laying seige to an enemy castle, just one soldier is enough to prevent Guts' squad from finishing the job and seizing the castle's commander. That news is enough to raise a few eyebrows amongst Griffith's band - how hard can it be to beat one man? - but that one soldier is no ordinary man. He's Zodd the Immortal, who records show has been fighting for over a hundred years, and whose exploits have earned him his name. Seeing his troops held back and killed by just one man isn't sitting well with Guts, either - but he's not one to let reputation or legend stand in his way. If Zodd has to be taken down, Guts is going to be the man to do it - or die trying...   7 - The Sword's Owner Griffith's continued military successes (despite the band's heavy losses at Chuder's castle, they did manage to secure it after Zodd's departure) looks likely to see him raised to nobility - something that other nobles of longer standing aren't too happy about, and they begin looking for ways to discredit Griffith and his band. Griffith and Guts, meanwhile, are still recovering from their injuries - and in Guts' case, is still on the wrong end of Caska's anger. Her harsh words get him to thinking about his own attitude, though - and about why Griffith seems willing to risk his live to save him. Meanwhile, Griffith seems to be taking an interest in the king's only daughter, Charlotte...   8 - Conspiracy Picture the castle. On the banks of a wide, deep and fast-flowing river - the only crossing, a bridge directly to the gate of the castle, with no other crossing for miles on either side. Several units of Midland's army have already failed to seize it - the bridge is simply too well-guarded - and so Griffith and the Band of the Hawk are sent in to succeed where others have failed. Not being Mr Tactical Genius, the castle commander has left his flanks exposed, believing that the bridge is the only way to reach his stronghold - but Griffith is smarter than that...   9 - Assassination Following Griffith's elevation to Count, the Hawks are chosen to fill the role of guards to the annual Royal Hunt - a role that's usually taken by the White Dragons, the troop commanded by General Yurius, heir to the throne. Seeing how quickly Griffith is rising to favour in the royal court, and under a little bit of persuasion, Yurius decides to take steps to protect his position - by ensuring that Griffith suffers a little accident. After all, accidents an easily happen on hunts - stary arrows, for example. Griffith, meanwhile, is taking the opportunity provided by the hunt to further his friendship with the princess, Charlotte - at least, until he ends up on the wrong end of a stray arrow. Except for some reason, even the most deadly poison can't seem to get through Griffith's defences...   The big problem with Zodd is that he's more demon than man - and he's been around a lot longer than even the 100-year legend. It's telling, then, that at the sight of Griffith's egg-shaped pendant - or "the Egg of the King", as Zodd calls it - he tucks his tail between his legs and heads for the hills. Sure, running away is one way of maintaining immortality, but somehow I doubt that's how Zodd earned his notoriety - so once again there are questions about Griffith's origins. There are a few other scenes over the course of this disc that hint at him not quite being "right", but no firm details yet on why that might be. What we do get are further steps along Griffith's rise to the throne. We already know from episode one that he gets there, now we get to see the beginnings of how he managed it, with his interest in the princess and his orders to Guts at the end of the disc to do away with the current heir to the throne. At the moment, he's still being seen to be the chivalrous outsider, who only acts against Yurius in response to Yurius' own attempts to kill him, but somewhere along the line you know he's going to turn bad, and I'm getting impatient to see it. In between Zodd and Yurius is a general with a name I can't remember, but who I call Mr Tactical Genius, on account of him really not being one. Episode 8 is supposed to give us another opportunity to marvel at Griffith's tactical skills and Guts' swordplay, but it really just turns into an object lesson in how not to defend a castle. Fun, but hardly enthralling, as you spend as much time marvelling at just how stupid the castle commander is as anything else. Against all the odds, he lives to fight another day & looks like he'll be back to humour us some more. All told, this is another enjoyable but not outstanding release. A lot of Berserk's infamy seems to come from the blood and guts that get spilled during the battle scenes - I'm old enough now that that doesn't really affect me, so I'm left looking at the story, and while it's showing potential in places it has yet to throw up anything really unexpected. Hopefully it will soon.  |
