A importância de Puck: O Personagem mais subestimado de Berserk

Puck is probably one of the most underrated characters in Berserk. Considered by many fans as just an almost unimportant comic relief. Despite this, he is one of the most important members of the work. Since he literally saved Guts from becoming a complete monster. But how did he achieve this feat and mainly, why did he do it? That’s exactly what we’re going to analyze in today’s video, so let’s go! Puck is introduced in the work in the first chapter of the manga, in the infamous arc of the black swordsman. Also known as the arc where Guts has a crush on everyone. Gustavão’s attitude was due to the trauma he had just suffered during the eclipse, so he had many reasons to be completely upset. All Guts wanted was to take the knife to every apostle on the face of the earth to eradicate each one of them. And for that he was willing to do anything. Anything at all… Guts wasn’t at all concerned about being a good guy who helps those in need, quite the opposite. He literally ignores a bunch of enslaved children right in front of him, even though he has perfect conditions to rescue them. This is already shown right away to make it very clear that he was not a hero, that in fact he was much closer to a monster than anything else. He enters a bar to attract the attention of some of his target’s henchmen, an apostle who lived in that region. Totally by chance, these henchmen were playing target shooting with our favorite elf. Guts’ plan was very simple, go in, kill everyone in an extremely cruel way, leaving only one of them alive, who would carry the message that the black swordsman arrived at. And this would indirectly save Puck, this being just a side effect of Guts’ plan. After that he feels indebted to Guts and sets out to save him from prison. Guts is obviously not at all friendly with Puck’s attempt to get closer, as he was in his villain arc. He only begins to accept the elf’s presence when he begins to use his magic powder to heal his wounds. So, seeing use for him, Guts allows his company, of course not in a very inviting way, but he accepts it anyway. The two characters’ friendship is developed unilaterally for most of this arc. Guts never really shows that he likes Puck, but little by little he becomes attached to the little elf until he is ready to say it clearly. But for that, a lot still had to happen… Much later in the work, during the lost children arc. Guts has just faced situations for which he was certainly not prepared He was hunting Rosine, another apostle on his black list During the fight he was forced to kill dozens of children transformed into pseudo elf apostles Which in itself was enough quite heavy, since after they died they returned to their normal forms So the scene shouldn’t have been at all comfortable for Guts But the worst thing was seeing Jill’s situation A child who was Rosine’s friend before she transformed And was so lost and helpless as Rosine herself, and had everything to also become a demon But Guts saved her, which ended up creating a very strong bond between the two . Until that moment, on his journey of revenge, Guts had never put himself forward to care for anyone He didn’t even allow anyone to break through his protective shell What Jill did at that moment was connect with him in a way that not even he knew was possible, not after so much suffering She in turn lived a life miserable with an abusive and exploitative father Nothing but suffering filled her days Her desperation was becoming unsustainable So much so that she literally asked to go with him, her life there was terrible, so anything would be better than that But obviously she was completely deceived Guts’ journey was certainly incomparably worse So much so that at the same moment they were attacked by several evil spirits that were attracted to Guts every night. In other words, being by his side was a death sentence That’s why Guts ran away, leaving her behind. behind He continued to be chased by more and more creatures, and even the shadow beast appears to torment him Extremely injured, discouraged and thrown to the ground Guts had no reason to smile in that situation But that’s when Puck begins to face the spirits with the his stupidly unique way Which makes Guts burst out laughing And he finally says: I can’t be tense with you around, taking all this so seriously just seems too silly…” Puck achieved an absurd feat It was as if he had open a window in the middle of a dark and stuffy room Guts was in the middle of a pointless journey for revenge, completely destroyed and probably getting lost in the darkness. The puck’s simple innocence pulled him out of this tangle of negative feelings, reminding him that not everything needs to be like this So serious and epic He’s still just a normal person, who can stop to breathe and maybe live Guts hadn’t become a monk after that, of course But what he says in the next panel already demonstrates a lot of his perception More once spirits whispered that the beast inside him was alive That he himself would be consumed by it, and when that happened, he would become a complete monster To which Guts laughs and replies: A beast? A monster? Fuck all of this… All of this is me, nothing more. I am what I am, and I will create my own path to it… In saying this, Guts recognizes his own individuality Not as a wild beast that fights for revenge, without control and without choices But rather a man who actively chooses to follow this path, until he doesn’t want to anymore This self-perception was most likely only possible because of what Puck did Showing Guts that he was still a person, a human being It’s a moment of recognition, for himself and for Puck too Since he then finally accepts Puck as a traveling companion Still having him as a kind of healer But now expressing that she accepts him by her side. Before Puck’s intervention, Guts was walking a path that would most likely turn him into a monster That would gradually be corrupted and dominated by hatred But with his simple insistent presence Puck managed to change this trend Guts was now starting to open up to new people This was the first step for him to create a new gang for himself And consequently move further and further away from the abyss of destruction he was heading towards Now that we understand how Puck saved Guts, the natural question is: Why? Before all that, he was part of a circus group that traveled the country doing their performances. So he got to know different places and people. Something that makes a lot of sense if we think about the little elf’s receptive and curious personality. But he didn’t do it, why? Guts was clearly not a pleasant person. In fact, during this arc, many people simply hated the character, since, even then, his traumas and motivations were not yet known. Still, Puck insisted several times to be by his side , even though he was cursed, expelled and even getting caught. The answer to this question may be directly linked to Puck’s elven powers. When meeting Guts he demonstrates that he can feel his emotions All that sadness, hatred and loneliness Everything that we, the readers, would only know later, in the golden age arc Understand the because of a person can make connecting with them much easier. The way to deal with people who are grieving or depressed, for example, cannot be the same as the way to treat a perfectly fulfilled and happy person. Puck’s magical ability allowed him to do an exact reading of what Guts felt And mostly, he felt the same things This is the basic difference between sympathy and empathy Sympathy is the act of treating someone well, trying to be nice, even if superficially Being nice is much more an act of social conformity than real support to those who need it. When listening to other people’s problems with sympathy, we will probably try to provide a solution to that problem, without emotional involvement, just rational. Empathy is related to putting yourself in the place of the other, not only proposing a solution, but understanding how the other feels about that problem, is feeling what the other feels. Puck is the definition of empathy in Berserk. He doesn’t tell Guts to stop suffering over the past, that it’s gone and move on. He sits next to him in the dungeon and helps him heal, in his own time. By doing this he knows that he can be hit by the anger and pain of the past. Guts, he’s still willing to take that risk. Because he knows exactly how Guts feels. Something that no character in the work has been able to do to date. And that’s exactly what makes Puck so special. He literally saved Guts. Well, I hope you liked the video. And if this is the case, you already know, right?! Sign up here to give me a boost that will help me a lot. Here’s to us and I’ll see you in the next video, thanks!