Compassion and Regret - Judeau (Berserk)

[Music] berserk is a series that hinges on the exploration of its primary characters to do what it does best even in the latter parts of the manga in which the number of significant characters is higher than it's ever been the story still puts gigantic emphasis on its prominent individuals this point is truer than ever in the Golden Age arc where there would be absolutely minimal story content if you were to remove the characters of guts Casca and Griffith who all have so much impact on the themes and plot this approach to storytelling is pretty admirable to me because it's so risky if the characters that the narrative focuses on are weak then the story just can't work so a writer has to be either extremely confident or extremely foolish to take this approach to storytelling since everything crashes down if the characters aren't believable or engaging however this is all a moot point for berserk since the aforementioned trio are some of the deepest and most exceptionally written characters in modern fiction at least for me the character driven story that Kintaro Miura conceived in berserk works on so many levels simply because exploring the ideas and themes that are put forth through great characters is so fascinating although despite having minimal roles the secondary characters in berserk augment the story through their functions think about Luca whose positivity and maternal nature added just the right amount of light to the morbid darkness and brutality of the conviction art there's also Korkis who offered the audience of brilliant glimpse into the psychology of the average mercenary completely captivated by the band of the Hawks leader the type of loyal follower that Griffith desperately needs to accomplish his dreams yet the type that he will never respect by design my personal favorite of berserk secondary cast is quite a bit different from everyone else and offered exactly what the Golden Age arc needed in all of the places where it needed it judo has a really subtle function in the story of berserk he's extremely charming and likable throughout the arc but also has an under played role he's the type of character that you don't often take note of during the story but one whose absence is immediately felt and that's the mark of a support character done perfectly judo joins the band of the hawk as a young man having previously worked at a circus troupe and applying his skills there there were no real unique reasons for him joining other than being taken in by Griffiths infectious charisma and talk of dreams like basically everyone else from then on he grew in stature and solidified himself as one of the most important figures in this group our first proper introduction to Judah was truly well done he essentially acts as the Welcome Wagon for guts who was feeling justifiably a bit in prison having been enforced to enlist in the band and judo's natural optimism and comforting vibrancy went a long way towards allowing guts to feel at ease and begin to accept his new situation this wasn't a coincidence either judo has a knack for understanding people and he likely just sensed that guts could use a comforting word at this point another great example of Judo simply knowing the right thing to say was when he comforted Koska by reminding her how important she was to Griffith as we follow the band of the hawk slow and steady rise throughout the series judo was always there carrying out orders providing wisdom to the group being a part of missions he was an incredible asset to Griffith and his comrades and overall a really likable dude at least for me but the unfortunate truth of the matter is that judo's main purpose in berserk was to be slaughtered with the rest of the band of the hog to contribute to guts his insatiable yearning for revenge for the rest of the series while it definitely would have been awesome to see this charismatic guy live to fight another day and help guts kick some apostle ass it's clear that Judah was doomed from the start and fated to breathe his last breath and cost his arms now what I've just stated was basically a summary of what judo did throughout the Golden Age arc but here I'm gonna try and expand on the type of character he was just a little bit while judo's role was to die and fuel guts his lust for revenge for the rest of the series that's definitely not all that his character was good for and he did have other purposes as well he was a personality unlike any other band of the hawk member guts was sullen in the beginning and quietly contemplated later on Griffith was always focused on his goals rather alien to the day-to-day workings of his men Kosta was rough around the edges hiding a softer side Pippin was well not very talkative Korkis was obnoxious most the time and Rickard was a little bit naive and immature in his attitudes none of them were as easygoing perceptive and interpersonally intelligent as judo his vibrant attitude and personality provided a positive outlook that wasn't immature he was the optimist of the group maybe perhaps not even because he was an optimist at heart but because he was intelligent enough to realize that this is what the group needed at times I think that we get the most revealing glimpse of judo's character during his conversation with guts after finding out that guts intends to leave the band as judo States himself he has always been adept at many things he's clever agile stealthy great in combat but he has never been a true master at anything he says that in realizing this he made a choice that he would find a man who was truly capable of being the best and serve at his side he has essentially given up on grand ambitions or dreams I get the feeling that judo isn't completely satisfied that he's gone this route but he has settled and accepted it every man at some point dreams of greatness in saying this Judah was saying that in the making of the band of the hawk hundreds of great dreams were set aside to serve Griffith this just adds a sad little twist to the dynamic of the band as a whole and makes the implications of the eclipse that much more tragic Juno had dreams of being great but he had to do something that is excruciatingly ly hard to do for some people accept his limits and make do a very simplified way that I like to describe judo is that he is sort of like a guts with lesser ambition picture guts strip off a ton of muscle mass get rid of his overwhelming ambition to find a purpose in life and you get someone similar to judo he's intelligent and acknowledges that he is just a small part of a bigger picture he puts his dreams of greatness to the side but he's aware of this unlike people like Korkis he sees the melancholic aspect of this great mercenary band clear that I think nearly anyone does judo contrast guts in the sense that he isn't really pursuing a big purpose in life but similar to guts and that he knows exactly what he's doing the most tragic aspect of Judo I think was his unrequited love for Koska he always admired the women from afar and secretly fell for her but his inability to act on these feelings is really unfortunate I think that this is partly due to an extension of the comfort zone that judo acts within in his life but also because he feels that Kostka is someone that deserves someone who was willing to pursue grand ambitions someone like guts as a side note he thinks that she would deserve Griffith as well but admits that it would never work out between them because Charlotte is the one who will further Griffiths dream not Casca this is another example of Judo striking intelligence he's one of the only characters who can sense the true essence of Griffiths personality but I digress going back to his feelings for Koska it's a clear case of Judo living for others and not himself the guy could have really benefited with a bit of selfishness and he really did deserve it but I guess that he just thought himself unworthy of Casca which is really quite sad again this is all just my interpretation and could be off base I think that in the end judo died with a lot of regret in his heart regret that he wasn't able to live his own life and regret that he didn't have the courage to display his feelings to the woman he loved this is what's so brutal about his end and makes a more gut-wrenching than any of the other deaths and the Eclipse for me seeing this bright endearing brilliant man die a bloody death is one thing but seeing him die knowing that he has so many dreams unfulfilled and so many regrets and his heart was devastating life really is too short judo does just enough through a bizarre story to leave a lasting impact yet he also acts as a tool to reveal different perspective to the story and his other characters for example he reveals a great deal about carcasses past acts as an interesting contrasting character to guts and adds a different perspective to the band of the hawk any aspiring writer who doesn't know exactly how to write an effective support character need look no farther than judo but I feel like talking about him in this mechanical and functional way does a bit of a disservice to a great character overall judo works so well because he has a heart and a soul he's the type of guy that anyone would want to be friends with he was so human in his insecurities and regrets yet so admirable in his selflessness and attitude when I think of Judo I think of quiet confidence an inner spirituality and a sort of Zen that lead to a really notable sense of peace with the way of the world but an underlying yearning to explore himself even more that just brought forth some hints of regret he was the type of character that you wanted to see succeed with everything that he set out to do and seeing this kind of character being struck down in cold blood was brutal but really makes you savor the times in which judo was truly happy you you [Music]

Channel: Aleczandxr

Views: 265,471

Keywords: anime, analysis, review, best, all time, top ten, top 10, top 5, dark, fantasy, action, adventure, battle, war, manga, kentaro, miura, berserk, berserk 2016, berserk (2016), movie, movies, guts, griffith, casca, fate, god hand, eclipse, golden age, arc, judeau, band of the hawk, sacrifice, behelit, music, scene, scenes, moments, tragic, disturbing, series, tv, show, shows, dreams, ideals, character, characters, themes, theme, sex, brutal, symbol, romance, song, ost

Id: MKMxVyurYoA

Length: 10min 42sec (642 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 21 2016