His Shame
I have been reading Berserk recently. I haven't really actively interacted with the Berserk Fandom before but have seen people post the above panel of Guts for years now. It is undoubtedly really good but i think the shame Guts shows in the second panel after realizing that Casca rightfully doesn't trust him is so much more emotionally resonant to me. I teared up reading this a couple minutes ago.
I have really not personally liked Guts for awhile now, as a character he obviously IS well written but his general conduct has had me really annoyed and disgusted with him. He choked Casca in rage and puts her in ropes after she runs away from him, only to then rape her after she already defended herself by killing the other men seconds before he arrives, (The amount of narratively unnecessary rape of Berserks female characters is certainly a point of critique) and while he was shocked at himself for doing something like that he never even came close to properly grappling with it before now.
In that moment she is just a piece for him to play some solo mindgame against Griffith, expecially terrible considering that he is a survivor himself. She stays his prisoner while he thinks to himself how exhausting it is to take care of her. Luckily for Casca, Farnese takes over soon after joining the group and provides a bit of active comfort.
It is important that he takes it to heart that he fucked up and did something horrible, that he actively acknowledges this and understands that she doesn't trust him and might never again, that this is something he caused and has to accept and make amends for, not out of some desire to get her back but out of genuine regret and interest in being better to her and the others around him, people that have become part of his family. Really good Manga :)
I have been reading Berserk recently. I haven't really actively interacted with the Berserk Fandom before but have seen people post the above panel of Guts for years now. It is undoubtedly really good but i think the shame Guts shows in the second panel after realizing that Casca rightfully doesn't trust him is so much more emotionally resonant to me. I teared up reading this a couple minutes ago.
I have really not personally liked Guts for awhile now, as a character he obviously IS well written but his general conduct has had me really annoyed and disgusted with him. He choked Casca in rage and puts her in ropes after she runs away from him, only to then rape her after she already defended herself by killing the other men seconds before he arrives, (The amount of narratively unnecessary rape of Berserks female characters is certainly a point of critique) and while he was shocked at himself for doing something like that he never even came close to properly grappling with it before now.
In that moment she is just a piece for him to play some solo mindgame against Griffith, expecially terrible considering that he is a survivor himself. She stays his prisoner while he thinks to himself how exhausting it is to take care of her. Luckily for Casca, Farnese takes over soon after joining the group and provides a bit of active comfort.
It is important that he takes it to heart that he fucked up and did something horrible, that he actively acknowledges this and understands that she doesn't trust him and might never again, that this is something he caused and has to accept and make amends for, not out of some desire to get her back but out of genuine regret and interest in being better to her and the others around him, people that have become part of his family. Really good Manga :)