I really enjoyed rereading this volume, it has it all. There are Trolls and Apostles, Zodd and the Skull knight have a fight and one of the God Hand even makes an appearance. Normally I would have written about them however, these things are all over shadowed by something else. The Berserker armour.
Over the last few volumes Kentaro has made it quite clear that all this fighting monsters is taking its toll on Guts, both mentally and physically. His internal struggle has taken the form of a beast, the hound of darkness, which is forever tempting Guts to let go of his humanity. Meanwhile his body is cover in wounds some of which have even hurt his spirit. The central character is fast approaching breaking point and we the readers are all too aware of the insurmountable task he has taken on.
I love the the way Kentaro pushes Guts to the brink and when we are sure he is about to lose he gives him an olive branch. And what an olive branch. The berserker armour is a double edged sword, that allows our hero to tap into the full potential of a human body by ignoring pain. A super powered boost that will literally tear the users body apart. It also looks really cool especially after it syncs with Guts mind and takes its true form.
This book feels like a turning point, a necessary step towards the ultimate goal of the series and it was bloody brilliant.
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