Berserk Manga Review: Conviction Arc (Part 6)

We’re back in business! Which chapters are we covering today?

• The Black Swordsman on Holy Ground
• Straying
• Ambition Boy
• Den of Evil
• The Reunion

Oh. Oh, we get to talk about some good shit today!

Word of Casca’s Brand has spread, and her growing reputation as a witch is drawing unwanted attention. While Luca ponders on how to proceed, one of her girls is dragged into the road by the Holy See. Luckily, Guts has finally arrived on the scene, and his search for Casca has put him right in their path. Not so luckily, Nina has slipped away with Casca and unwittingly led them into danger. The cultists have strange dangerous plans for her, and the Holy Iron Chain Knights are closing in. Can Guts reach Casca in time to protect her from prophesied doom?

Despite what the title may lead you to believe, ‘The Black Swordsman on Holy Ground’ isn’t really about Guts. All he does is show up at the end and mess up some soldiers. Rather, this chapter is all about Luca; if you didn’t like her before, you will after this. She was already super smart and cool, but seeing her throw herself into harm’s way to protect others and verbally assault the abuser is just *chef’s kiss* perfection.

‘Straying’ is where the arc really starts to get moving. With Casca so close, Guts is more frantic and determined than ever. He’s so distracted he doesn’t even notice Luca talking to him, and he doesn’t stop to even catch his breath before going to look for her again. Right now, he’s put all his stock into finding Casca. If he fails, the consequences for him – and everyone around him – could be catastrophic.

Unfortunately, Nina decided it was the perfect time to go and get Casca captured by freaky cultists. Remember? The cannibals?

Hey, look! You can see the stakes going up from here!

Isidro also gets further fleshed out in this segment. We learn about why exactly he’s decided to trail Guts: kid basically read One Piece, saw Zoro, and decided he wants to be the world’s greatest swordsman. But he’s so proud that he refuses to be an apprentice under anyone, instead trying to steal Guts’ sword techniques. From listening to him, Isidro paints himself as a selfish, if ambitious, person. As we’ll soon see, however, that is far from the case.

Meanwhile, word reaches Farnese and the others about Guts’ arrival. I love Farnese’s reaction here. It isn’t just that she’s terrified because Guts gave her massive PTSD (though that’s certainly true.) In a flashback panel, we get a small glimpse of what Guts has become in her mind. A tall, dark, imposing figure, almost divine in his terror. He’s become not just a threat to her safety, but to her faith.

Back with Isidro, his character development continues at incredible speed as he wanders into the domain of the cultists. What does he do when he sees their freaky orgy and people-eating antics? Starts chucking rocks at them and taunts them about their small dicks. He’s clearly scared, but he still fights to protect Casca and Nina. This is the scene where Isidro really started to grow on me; he was already interesting, and now he’s become extremely likable.

Oh, and Casca’s brand is acting up, so it’s time for some horror shit.

‘Den of Evil’ is a pretty standard chapter of Berserk. Cultists are turning into monsters, weird nightmarish shit is happening, everyone is terrified and getting brutally murdered. Y’know. Uneventful, normal stuff.

This is, however, the chapter where we get a bit more info on the mysterious creepy eyes that have been watching our heroes throughout this arc. Turns out, it has the ability to turn people into pseudo-Apostles, sort of like what Rosine did back in Lost Children. It’s an interesting change of pace, one which does an excellent job of raising the stakes even further.

Finally, we have ‘Reunion.’ It’s finally time for the main event.

Guts is not a man at the beginning of this chapter. He is a black wind, blowing past the Holy Iron Chain Knights without even looking at them. Hell, Miura even drew him like a tornado in one panel. He kills so quickly that all anyone can do is stare.

Then we get one of the most iconic pages of this arc.

This is such a brilliant way to reunite these two characters. No dialogue. No sound. All the carnage is faded, far away, barely noticeable. It’s a moment of calm and stillness, barely even a second. It’s beautiful.

And then all hell breaks loose because this is still Berserk. The rest of the chapter is pretty standard. More fighting. More demons. It’s all cool and horrifying, but we’re through all the stuff of substance.

So we’re done for the day. Sorry, but with some of the stuff coming up, I’ll be here all month if I’m not careful.

This section has so many great bits I didn’t have time to mention. There’s an even balance of comedy panels in here to balance out the tone, and they’re all hilarious. Isidro and Casca’s meeting will always make me chuckle. We’re currently in my favorite stretch of the Conviction arc.

The rest gets a bit… hit or miss. But we’ll get to that later.