Header image courtesy of ficpen. (Used with permission) Thank you!
Casca is modelled after Guts in many respects. They are very alike, but somewhere also different, but in a way one complements the other.
Casca is someone who knows what she wants, has her pride, goals and passions, is dutiful, strong, iron-willed and also good at what she is doing. She is observant and smart and has a tendency to experience emotions in full intensity.
Guts is persistent, iron-willed, emotionally stable: as in, he does not have mood swings like Casca does, but he is still emotional like Casca. Just like Casca, he is also observant, however, he has a tendency to be impulsive: rather than pause and reflect, Guts will push forward and act – and often not in the right direction. He also does not always show the same level of awareness like Casca does.
Because of this, their dynamics really are something.
Stages of Guts and Casca’s relationship in the Golden Age
The other parts of this series can be read here:
The stages Guts and Casca’s relationship go through can be summed up as follows.
- Part 1 – Rivalry: Early Golden Age
- Part 1 – Tension: The Argument
- Part 1 – Hate: Encounter with Zodd
- Part 1 – Finding common ground: Fountain Speech
- Part 1 – Resolve: Falling off the Cliff
- Part 1 – Self-Sacrifice: 100-Man-Slayer
- Part 1 – Resignation: Campfire of Dreams
- Part 2 – Helping a dream you’re not part of: Battle of Doldrey
- Part 2 – Moment of Glory: The Ball Scene
- Part 2 – Abandonment: Leaving the Hawks
- Part 2 – Confusion and Hate: Return to the Hawks
- Part 2 – Sexual Healing: The Waterfall Scene
- Part 3 – Sexual Healing II: The Promise
- Part 3 – Supporting each other: Griffith’s Rescue and Beyond
- Part 3 – Protecting what’s dear to you: Wyald’s encounter
- Part 3 – Love or responsibility: Requiem of the Wind
Berserk Analysis 
Compliments, I have been following all your analyzes for a long time and they are extraordinary and accurate. Rich and interesting. Thank you. I just wanted to tell you what I look for this part of them, when how they make love. Because I, after following up to here, want to see what you saw, understood and connected. As an example, the book Griffith shows to Guts, and if it as a connection or as they both consider “the thing” to their past, which they show in those scenes. How they behave or not, letting the other do it. Or after Albion when he heads and acts that way. I hope for your in-depth analysis, and if there is anything else I haven’t noticed. Thanks
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Hello Deia!
Thank you very much for reaching out and letting me know! It takes quite a while to write each one of the articles on this blog so I’m glad I can provide.
It’s true that both Guts and Casca show the other their deepest vulnerabilities and fears and as they do so, they are deeply understanding of each other. In that mutual understanding they find comfort, and end up making love beneath the waterfall. I think it’s that comfort and understanding that Guts has experienced with her that makes him protect her selflessly after Albion. At the same time, he seems to be so attached to Casca and these old memories he has of her. In some way it’s completely understandable that he is trying to cling on a tiny shred of hope after losing literally everything that was dear to him after the eclipse. But at the same time, he’s forgetting there are other people around him that may are capable of giving him some comfort as well (e.g. Farnese and Schierke, who both are capable of understanding him). It’s like Godo said in volume 18: “He turns and starts running towards something one way, without noticing some other thing, and nicks himself.” I am looking forward to witnessing whether Guts has learned this lesson after episode 359 – something tells me he did. There is still a lot of material for new articles!
There is another reason why I decided against covering Guts and Casca’s love scene directly, and that is wordpress’ mature content policy (the pages can be considered pornographic, which – from what I understand – can results in a ban at the staff’s discretion). Maybe I will find a way around that though.
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Thanks for your answer. It’s true what you said, besides Casca is the only person who made Griffith and Guts open with her, only her, and not between them. And she didn’t understand this, that she really got to know them, and in things that the two friends didn’t know about the other. She is the only one in the manga to be the person who knows them deeply and made them naked despite the suffering they wear like armor. And in return they have made her what she is, she changes and accepts everything, about herself and others, about Guts and what it was for her. but it would be long 😀
In fact there are things that they do not know about the other, but only Casca, and between her and Guts there is an understanding of various things that make them characters (and couple) better created in the panorama of the anime. And as Miura said, try to make the characters and their choices (and the epilogue of the story) as if it were real and lived by humans. I understand the problems of the theme of the scenes, I hope then that it is possible to be able to read even that piece, because it also contains that part of Guts that it holds inside, and external only with her and would like to live again. Thanks, I’m sorry if I can’t comment many times but I only have time to read (sometimes at different times) but I follow every post. Thanks for all your analysis and the futures you enter.
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“Next, Casca asks Guts what made him show himself in a place like this, since he never was someone to to show up on parties or celebrations. He states that he wishes to see the end by himself.”
WOW what a reference to the eclipse.
Nice work as always 🙂
At a first glance I thought Guts was acting like a jerk with Casca, c’mon Guts you are not that dumb to not see Casca has give up Griffith and is constantly giving you sights of interest.
Then I though that maybe Guts thinks everybody else should be as stubborn as he is, so Casca should insist with Griffith.
But if you check it twice, specially those finals “ilogical” frames where Guts leaves in front of Casca without a word. Why Guts did that? Well my though is, that’s the awkward way to flirt of Guts, a flirt that probably no one there, specially Casca, understood. But think about it, Guts was playing fair, with Casca and with Griffith, he wouldn’t say things to influence their thoughts, that’s the way Guts is, fair. Guts doesn’t wanted to start an affair with Casca in the Hawks, but at the same time he refuse to told Casca he is open to that outside the Hawks, waiting or hoping, Casca’s free will would do that or not, finally it was not.
He just said to her instead he hopes thing will be well to her and Griffith. This would also be jerk style if I wouldn’t think that Guts truly believes that somehow Casca would be capable to make Griffith feelings towards her change.
So another reason to leave the Hawks could be to put Casca in question, does she want to leave with him or does she want to stay with Griffith? I don’t have much evidence to back that, it’s just my opinion on what the hell is doing Guts there. If it was that, it was a sounded failure because Casca don’t even consider the possibility of leave with him, that’s why Guts smirk in that frame, he’s laughing on how profound he has fail with Casca, not making her able to understand his feelings and his true purposes with that departure.
PS: I hate you for saying Farnese and Guts doesn’t share true love haha, joke. Farnie is my platonic love I ship her with everybody, specially with Guts and Serpico for obvious reasons.
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