Why The Berserker Armor Is The Greatest Power Up Of All Time

manga and anime tend to have two types of power-ups and transformations the first being ones which are foreshadowed and worked up to over a period of time the prime example of this being Super Saiyan from Dragonball where the second are those which kind of come out of nowhere neither type is inherently better than the other though the latter tends to be done poorly more often than not berserk finds itself in an interesting position in this regard because its transformation or powerup falls within both categories while simultaneously drawing inspiration most likely indirectly from writing that is far older what I'm getting at here is this the Berserker armor and all its badass glory is one of the greatest transformations of all time and I want to explain why that's precisely the case as odd as this sounds berserk is very Western despite originating from Japan yeah no [ __ ] the setting is inspired by medieval Europe I hear some of you say I bring this up because guts much like the characters in my hero academia what a weird connection draws a lot of parallels to Western heroes no I'm not talking about Batman or Superman I'm talking about these guys the Greek heroes of myth like Perseus Hercules and Odysseus there are a lot of similarities between these characters and guts which warrants its own video like the struggle against destiny and fate enduring otherworldly trials getting [ __ ] over by gods and some good old-fashioned certainly not gay man love but right now I want to focus on something a bit more specific a step in the hero's journey many of those I mentioned tread called the meeting with the goddess real quick I do want to acknowledge that the broad strokes that I mentioned in relation to guts and Western heroes could be applied to guts and eastern heroes as well I bring up ancient Greek ones in particular since they are highly recognizable have more specific similarities to the black swordsman and their stories tend to be a bit more formulaic if you will there are a lot of common elements that tend to reappear the way guts gets the Berserker armor is rather odd at least for me as a reader as boo fire 191 because it goes against every convention I like concerning power-ups and trans formations for all intents and purposes the armor is essentially handed to him by sheer Kay's master I probably said that wrong oh well guts doesn't work for it or go through some great trial to earn it it's a segment in the manga I should hate yet I don't in fact guts butchering countless apostles with ease is one of the most glorious things I've ever seen a lot of lesser manga and anime have done something similar to berserk yet they failed where berserk succeeded this makes me beg the question what's the difference why do I like one but not the other to address that question I want to highlight a sentiment brought on by the youtuber spired in his video about escalation in berserk guts needed the Berserker armor on the face of it without any context this statement seems rather odd since in most manga and anime that have transformations the wrote agonist needs a powerup to defeat their foe within the context of berserk however this rather straightforward statement that touches upon a reoccurring trope in the genre takes on a whole new meaning by the time guts receives the Berserker armor he has become the pinnacle of human strength he has gone toe-to-toe with demonic or angelic depending upon your interpretation beings and has come out on top time and time again he's as strong as any normal man can get however the world has changed the threat has escalated a threshold has been crossed at points very very literally guts can no longer be just a man he has to become something more sure case master is a powerful old woman and master magic who's seen the threat of a god hand before she is like a lad real from Lord of the Rings she knows the enemy guts and his companions have to contend with and understands that if there's to be any chance of victory they're going to need her help the moment she Kay's master gives guts companions magical fetishes is akin to something called the meeting with the goddess in contemporary literature something I mentioned before this step in Campbell's hero's journey comes after the heroes have crossed the threshold of the world they know into one that is foreign an alien one that's extraordinary the gifts granted by the goddess are to themselves foreign and alien thus allowing ordinary people to contend with extraordinary obstacles the reason this is relevant comes down to the makeup of those traveling with guts outside of sheer Kay and the elves everyone is ordinary they need some sort of boon that allows them to contend with the forces of an extraordinary world guts on the other hand is an extraordinary man in an extraordinary world his physique skill and sheer willpower put him on equal footing with beings such as apostles the Dragon Slayer is an extension of this fact as wielding it visually demonstrates to the reader what guts is capable of it's a giant anime sword that's not actually anime whose size serves a purpose here's the problem though guts is an extraordinary man in an extraordinary world which means he's little better than an ordinary man in an ordinary world if he used to stop Griffith and the God hand that has to change what makes the introduction of the Berserker armor not feel like an ass pole though it for the most part comes out of nowhere is the fact that the characters and world unto itself crossed a point of no return it's a moment that the setting itself and it's radical change other than the work of its characters built up to guts putting on the armor indicates this change and marks the next stage of his journey much like Perseus or the other great heroes of myth guts needed help from one who understood the strange world he just entered otherwise his quest would fail here's the thing though guts couldn't just be an even more extraordinary man in an extraordinary world this in part explains why he declines a fetish when offered one there would have been little point guts is going up against Griffith and the godhand he needs something to level a playing field with them not Nosferatu Zod or the other apostles a regular fetish like the ones ysidro Serpico and Farnese received wouldn't have been enough thus Gus needed the Berserker armor this begs the question why didn't she raise master prep the armor and give it to guts when the others received their magical fetishes if guts needed it why didn't he get sooner the answer is rather simple and comes down to the master's history with the armored skull Knight and her have a past both with each other and with the armor those two have walked paths similar to the ones guts and sheer K walk she understands it's a fetish of great power that can not be taken lightly or used irresponsibly a power which is the opposing counterpart of the BA helot sounds crazy doesn't it let me explain magic as it works in the world of zerk is based around contracts and cooperation mages like Shearer K tap into the magical realm and ask the entities that dwell there for help magical fetishes work in a similar way as witness with Serpico's self cloak and sword even though the magic system is rather trippy and based around very fantastical ideas its core concepts are applied to everything paranormal with two exceptions the ballot and the Berserker armor two things which start with B go figure on the surface the ballot seems to fall within the precedents set for magic in the setting since it's used to form a contract with the god hand what sets it apart however is the nature of this contract instead of cooperation it requires a sacrifice in order to gain the power offered by the ballot an individual has to sacrifice the ones they love or hold dear to the God hand something which no other fetish or item in the setting requires thus far in essence the sacrifice of others grants an individual near godlike power at least in certain instances like Griffith this is important to mention since the Berserker armor like the ballot breaks the conventions of magic laid out in the setting put simply the armor was imbued with a violent ode which allows the human body to transcend its limits by blocking out the wearer's ability to feel pain while also keeping the body together in the midst of battle there's no contracts or cooperation just an overwhelming sense of Rage and a wave of negative emotions in essence the power of the Berserker armor stems from the individual and the sacrifices they make by putting it on the armor is self-destructive everything it does hurts the wearer in one form or an other sometimes to such a degree it leaves permanent damage beyond just scarring the ballot is power at the cost of others the Berserker armor is power at the cost of oneself this distinction is important to understand for not only further contrasts cuts and Griffith but it marks a major shift in berserk as a story it's definitively no longer a tale about an enraged swordsman hunting down demons for vengeance but about a battered man putting it all on the line to protect the ones he cares about what makes the Berserker armor one of if not the greatest transformation of all time isn't so much the overwhelming power our hero gains but rather smaller moments like this after very literally letting sheer K in guts his priorities completely change he's no longer concerned with petty things like hatred and vengeance his fight with the Apostles just doesn't matter it's outweighed by his desire to protect those he cares about be a Casca or everyone else like the world which required him to put on the armour guts has crossed a threshold a point of no return he's no longer a lone mercenary a captain in the band of the hawk or even the black swordsman he's now a hero though many transformations have impressive amounts of build-up behind them the prime example being Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan two few if any have as much thematic weight as the Berserker armor guts didn't train or suffer through the harsh ordeal to obtain the armor because it was unnecessary the ordeal to obtain it was guts his life unto itself in how it changed him as a person if guts receive the Berserker armor at the start of his tale he would have given into a selfish rage his quest for vengeance and become a monster if the Beast of Darkness is anything to go by he would have become little better than Griffith however with the aid of puck ysidro farnese serpico sheer gay Casca and everyone else who's been there at his side guts was able to find a way out of his darkness and become a better man this is something I feel many people forget about when discussing the drawbacks of the Berserker armor after its introduction the fights and berserk take on a whole new meaning they're no longer about guts using every tool and dirty trick he has in his arsenal to take down apostles but rather the threat the armor has upon our hero's mind we as readers no guts can kill virtually anything if he lets loose but we understand it's very easy for him to lose control if the powerup that came with the Berserker armor was merely balanced out by drawbacks then it would have been little better than the kaio-ken from Dragonball this however isn't the case unlike Super Saiyan one two or three and how they become irrelevant come Dragon Ball super the Berserker armor has and will continue to have an impact on the story because the drawbacks are there for reasons other than Power Balance they're there to make guts face his demons and become a better man they're there to make him a hero the drawbacks have and will always have narrative impact when guts put on the armor for the first time he was no longer a man driven solely by his own selfish desire for revenge he had grown into someone better as time passed as guts faced foe after foe the armor forced him to come face to face with his demons demons which he's been able to overcome thanks to those he let in once more this fetish that guts needed to continue his quest the one that tears down his body has made him a better man the Berserker armor is a trial unto itself unlike a traditional transformation an example being Super Saiyan the Berserker armor isn't the end the high point of guts his journey it is instead the tool he needs to reach his true potential as the story progresses guts his rage holds less and less power over him he's becoming a better man the form the Berserker armor takes some recent chapters is a testament to this very literally his eyes are open is no longer blinded by rage he's becoming something more in a similar vein to how the Dragon Slayer demonstrates guts his physique showing how he's an extraordinary man from an ordinary world the Berserker armor puts on display guts his strength of character the trials he's gone through over the years and shows how he's becoming a heroic man in a world that has gone terribly awry the Berserker armor is one of the greatest transformations of all time because it's preparing guts a man powered by self-sacrifice for his final clash with Griffith a monster fueled by the sacrifices of others instead of being the final trump card unto itself with that said guys I've been boof our one-on-one I hope you've enjoyed this video let me know what you thought in the comments down below I'll see all of you guys next time goodbye

Channel: BOOFIRE191

Views: 917,296

Keywords: Berserk, Manga, Anime, Berserk 2016, Berserk 2017, Nux Taku, Spired, Berserk Manga, Kentaro Miura, Summer Anime 2019, Fall Anime 2019, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Magic, Entertainment, Action, Adventure, Comic, Comic Book

Id: cxHLsLKATSg

Length: 13min 41sec (821 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 16 2019