Berserk: Shinen no Kami 2

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Ah, Berserk. Its first 21 volumes were a masterpiece, astounding one with a vivid, fresh fantasy and gorgeous illustrations, especially those of medieval-inspired combat. Then, the next 7 volumes introduced lousy new characters who didn't belong in the story while being riddled with uninspired, lazy plots.

The 83rd chapter, where Griffith talks to the God of the Berserk universe, is a return to the former, happier time, when the series was still great. Never released with the Japanese collection because Miura feared it would give away too many future events, it tackles a tricky situation for any writer. Namely, when a character talks ... to a god, it's far too easy for it to come across as pretentious, silly, and lame. The revelations by the god are often insultingly simple platitudes or else absurd mumbo-jumbo.

With those challenges in mind, Miura handles the task well. He keeps it simple, with God representing the shared dark side of all mankind, and thus created by human consciousness. However, he is consistent, and doesn't venture into territory that would cause readers to roll their eyes. Furthermore, he ties it into the story, with Griffith accepting his role as a being answering to no one, and deciding on a form.

The excellent illustration helps, too. God's form is a unique mix of horror fantasy combined with an almost geometric landscape. It gives the entity a suitably grandiose, daunting presence. The constant shift in perspective between the outer parts of the God and the screaming faces on its inside also gave the conversation a more dynamic feel.

Overall, this is a very good chapter that perfectly fits in with the period when Berserk was one of the best manga series ever written.

This review is nothing but spoiler on this 17 page "chapter".

~SPOILERS~

A good divergent supplement to the Berserk story line it also adds a new "Major" boss that may be the puppet master behind the entire series. I can see why Kentaro Miura didn't want to add it when he originally wrote it. The being that is that worlds possible "god" is a giant heart that has too many valves, with a ton of eyes in it's "body", damn these quotations, attached to a helix that has a whirlwind of emotions swirling around it like a hurricane. It saying that this visage is nothing but its ... core. It raises more questions than it answers but it does answer Griffiths' question of who it is, and what it wants. It took a few minutes to read definitely worth a few reads to just let it sink in. Nothing super existential but only to Griffith and his place in the universe.

Okay. Why? Why would YOU watch this? It's a redacted chapter, not really a one shot. And it isn't even a truly out there chapter, it is a character whose only pull is the story relevance.

It is purely exposition about a world, but it is not canon and even directly stated by the author to NOT be canon. Literally worse than fan-fiction or fan theories, which at least might be right.

It is also too short to be worth of any praise on its own. The art is amazing as anything Miura releases, but honestly, when it comes to One-shot the bar is higher and this ... is not any higher — It is a regular chapter which was not published because the author realized that it isn't how he wants things to be.

I don't know why anyone would read this, honestly. It is a limited and redacted abstract exposition for a fictional work's world.