Judeau (Berserk)
Title: Smooth Talker
Character/Fandom: Judeau (Berserk)
Author: FuziPenguin (fuzipenguin@hotmail.com)
Spoilers: A few minor relationship spoilers, but mostly spoiler-free
Notes: Based entirely on the anime series; I didn't have time to rewatch the DVDs, so it's a little short, but perhaps that's best as I dislike to lace things with spoilers.
~ My apologies for this being nearly a week late; almost four days of travel plus no internet really put a dent in my plans.
Background:
To begin, I thought it would be best to give a short overview of the series Berserk which was created by Kentarou Miura. Berserk takes place in a medieval-like society. There are kings and queens, princesses and knights, armies warring against neighboring countries, and mercenary groups that sell their swords for hire.
Gattsu, or Guts if you’re watching the dubbed version, is a young man in his teens at the true beginning of the story. He is a lone mercenary, toting his overlarge sword around and making impressions with his skill left and right. He encounters the Band of the Hawk, a mercenary group led by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic man. Although he’s not really a team player, Guts ends up joining the Hawks and the rest of the series is devoted to the group’s growth and rise in military ranks.
Judeau is a member of the Hawks. He is blonde, with long hair tied back into a ponytail, and has friendly brown eyes. He’s got a cute little button nose, freckles, and is rarely seen without a smile. Not much is known about his past so I always place him in his twenties, age progressing with the series. Before joining the Hawks, he was a member of a circus troop where his knife tricks were popular. He admits that he never was, and never could be, the best at anything, so his goal was to find, follow, and support someone who was. Which lead him to Griffith, arguably one of the best swordsmen around.
Rank doesn’t really play a large factor in the Hawks. Griffith is the leader and earns the rank of General in the kingdom of Midland’s army, eventually. Caska, the only woman in the group, is second in command and Guts is a commander of the Raiders. Judeau is a leader of scouts and seems to do a lot of reconnaissance for the group. He is good with a sword and a crossbow, but I think that his skill with throwing knives is unique to the Hawks.
Relationships:
Griffith - As I said before, Griffith is the leader of the Hawks. He’s a little aloof from his men, but they all have a great deal of love and respect for him. I think any of the Hawks would lay down their lives for him, an ironic point that is explored in the series. It’s apparent that Judeau has just as much respect for Griffith as the others do.
Guts - Guts needs no looking after in battle, but Judeau often keeps him company outside of it, especially later in the series.
Caska - Two words: unrequited love. Judeau sees Caska not only as a lovely woman, but as a capable and dangerous comrade. He never acts on his love for Caska. At first, she is painfully devoted to Griffith, and then later, she develops feelings for Guts. And all Judeau can do is watch, and respectfully step out of the way for Guts.
Pippin, Korkus, Rickert - these are fellow soldiers and friends that Judeau can often be seen with. Pippin is a giant, rarely-speaking man that can be counted on to physically pick Guts up and carry him back to the group when he’s being anti-social. Korkus is the obnoxious and coarse, former leader of bandits. He wanted to kill Guts when the other man first joined the Hawks and that desire was only very slowly replaced with respect over time. Rickert is the only child in the Band of the Hawks; he is perky and friendly with a charming sort of naivety.
My Experience:
The first time I watched Berserk, I was focused on Guts with his huge sword and angsty brooding, easy to do, since he is the main character. But like always, next time around, a secondary character pops out at me, and I become fascinated with him/her. For Berserk, Judeau was it.
For a mercenary (a grisly career, when you think about it), Judeau has a very cheerful and friendly personality. And I don’t think that it’s an act to push away the horrors of continual blood and death. I honestly think that’s just the way he is. That in itself amazes me. Judeau is also able to see the greater good in most people. For example, he immediately befriends Guts when the man joins the group, and continually attempts to pull the moody loaner into activities outside of fighting.
Judeau is the very definition of a "good person". The Hawks fall upon bad times and when Caska is left to deal with everything, he is constantly by her side, supporting her. By this time, the audience knows he has feelings for her, and we know that Caska has feelings for Guts. Guts isn’t around however, and Judeau has the perfect opportunity to court her, but does nothing. To me, that speaks of a great deal of honor and loyalty; to Guts, to Caska, and to the Band of the Hawk.
His belief in the Hawks is very great. It spurns his final actions in the end of the series. He flees with Caska because he is trying to protect her life due to his love for her, but possibly just as important, he is trying to protect the future of the Hawks. Without Caska, the Hawks would probably disintegrate, and the odd family that they all have along with it.
Finally, the throwing knives just got me. My own personal kink, I suppose, but I think Judeau puts himself down when he says he isn’t the best at anything. He does seem to be quite talented with his knives, and he relies on them quite often. It is rare to see Judeau without one or more of the knives in his hands or near him.
Conclusion:
Judeau was my first favorite anime character, and he still remains on my favorites list. He's friendly, loyal, dependable, and trustworthy. He's always ready with a smile, a joke, or insightful comment. He’s the very definition of a good person. He’s remarkably well-adjusted for what he does for a living, and he’s very supportive of those people around him. In a world of anime and manga where all the characters are devastatingly handsome with horrible pasts, Judeau is a refreshingly real and often overlooked character.
And beyond…
If you haven’t checked out the anime, I do highly recommend it (if you're bothered by violence, gore, rape, torture, and other dark stuff, do keep away, however). 26 episodes, you can find both a 3 disc and a 6 disc collection. I haven’t read the manga, but there are over 25 volumes in Japanese, and I believe the fifth volume has just been translated into English.
General sites:
A good general site
Arctic Nightfall - another great site
LJ communities:
midland - Pretty much the only community devoted entirely to Berserk
violent_manga - Because Berserk is definitely classified as violent.
Stories I recommend:
Under His Wing - PG-13, no pairings
Hawk and Phoenix - WIP, with 15 chapters so far. Continues the anime series after the last episode and is techinically AU. Revolves completely around Judeau.
- Well, there's not a whole lot out there, sadly. There are a few more stories that I remember reading, but never kept the links to.
I hope this was informative to some people and intrigued at least one person out there to go out and start watching Berserk
Character/Fandom: Judeau (Berserk)
Author: FuziPenguin (fuzipenguin@hotmail.com)
Spoilers: A few minor relationship spoilers, but mostly spoiler-free
Notes: Based entirely on the anime series; I didn't have time to rewatch the DVDs, so it's a little short, but perhaps that's best as I dislike to lace things with spoilers.
~ My apologies for this being nearly a week late; almost four days of travel plus no internet really put a dent in my plans.
Background:
To begin, I thought it would be best to give a short overview of the series Berserk which was created by Kentarou Miura. Berserk takes place in a medieval-like society. There are kings and queens, princesses and knights, armies warring against neighboring countries, and mercenary groups that sell their swords for hire.
Gattsu, or Guts if you’re watching the dubbed version, is a young man in his teens at the true beginning of the story. He is a lone mercenary, toting his overlarge sword around and making impressions with his skill left and right. He encounters the Band of the Hawk, a mercenary group led by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic man. Although he’s not really a team player, Guts ends up joining the Hawks and the rest of the series is devoted to the group’s growth and rise in military ranks.
Judeau is a member of the Hawks. He is blonde, with long hair tied back into a ponytail, and has friendly brown eyes. He’s got a cute little button nose, freckles, and is rarely seen without a smile. Not much is known about his past so I always place him in his twenties, age progressing with the series. Before joining the Hawks, he was a member of a circus troop where his knife tricks were popular. He admits that he never was, and never could be, the best at anything, so his goal was to find, follow, and support someone who was. Which lead him to Griffith, arguably one of the best swordsmen around.
Rank doesn’t really play a large factor in the Hawks. Griffith is the leader and earns the rank of General in the kingdom of Midland’s army, eventually. Caska, the only woman in the group, is second in command and Guts is a commander of the Raiders. Judeau is a leader of scouts and seems to do a lot of reconnaissance for the group. He is good with a sword and a crossbow, but I think that his skill with throwing knives is unique to the Hawks.
Relationships:
Griffith - As I said before, Griffith is the leader of the Hawks. He’s a little aloof from his men, but they all have a great deal of love and respect for him. I think any of the Hawks would lay down their lives for him, an ironic point that is explored in the series. It’s apparent that Judeau has just as much respect for Griffith as the others do.
Guts - Guts needs no looking after in battle, but Judeau often keeps him company outside of it, especially later in the series.
Caska - Two words: unrequited love. Judeau sees Caska not only as a lovely woman, but as a capable and dangerous comrade. He never acts on his love for Caska. At first, she is painfully devoted to Griffith, and then later, she develops feelings for Guts. And all Judeau can do is watch, and respectfully step out of the way for Guts.
Pippin, Korkus, Rickert - these are fellow soldiers and friends that Judeau can often be seen with. Pippin is a giant, rarely-speaking man that can be counted on to physically pick Guts up and carry him back to the group when he’s being anti-social. Korkus is the obnoxious and coarse, former leader of bandits. He wanted to kill Guts when the other man first joined the Hawks and that desire was only very slowly replaced with respect over time. Rickert is the only child in the Band of the Hawks; he is perky and friendly with a charming sort of naivety.
My Experience:
The first time I watched Berserk, I was focused on Guts with his huge sword and angsty brooding, easy to do, since he is the main character. But like always, next time around, a secondary character pops out at me, and I become fascinated with him/her. For Berserk, Judeau was it.
For a mercenary (a grisly career, when you think about it), Judeau has a very cheerful and friendly personality. And I don’t think that it’s an act to push away the horrors of continual blood and death. I honestly think that’s just the way he is. That in itself amazes me. Judeau is also able to see the greater good in most people. For example, he immediately befriends Guts when the man joins the group, and continually attempts to pull the moody loaner into activities outside of fighting.
Judeau is the very definition of a "good person". The Hawks fall upon bad times and when Caska is left to deal with everything, he is constantly by her side, supporting her. By this time, the audience knows he has feelings for her, and we know that Caska has feelings for Guts. Guts isn’t around however, and Judeau has the perfect opportunity to court her, but does nothing. To me, that speaks of a great deal of honor and loyalty; to Guts, to Caska, and to the Band of the Hawk.
His belief in the Hawks is very great. It spurns his final actions in the end of the series. He flees with Caska because he is trying to protect her life due to his love for her, but possibly just as important, he is trying to protect the future of the Hawks. Without Caska, the Hawks would probably disintegrate, and the odd family that they all have along with it.
Finally, the throwing knives just got me. My own personal kink, I suppose, but I think Judeau puts himself down when he says he isn’t the best at anything. He does seem to be quite talented with his knives, and he relies on them quite often. It is rare to see Judeau without one or more of the knives in his hands or near him.
Conclusion:
Judeau was my first favorite anime character, and he still remains on my favorites list. He's friendly, loyal, dependable, and trustworthy. He's always ready with a smile, a joke, or insightful comment. He’s the very definition of a good person. He’s remarkably well-adjusted for what he does for a living, and he’s very supportive of those people around him. In a world of anime and manga where all the characters are devastatingly handsome with horrible pasts, Judeau is a refreshingly real and often overlooked character.
And beyond…
If you haven’t checked out the anime, I do highly recommend it (if you're bothered by violence, gore, rape, torture, and other dark stuff, do keep away, however). 26 episodes, you can find both a 3 disc and a 6 disc collection. I haven’t read the manga, but there are over 25 volumes in Japanese, and I believe the fifth volume has just been translated into English.
General sites:
A good general site
Arctic Nightfall - another great site
LJ communities:
midland - Pretty much the only community devoted entirely to Berserk
violent_manga - Because Berserk is definitely classified as violent.
Stories I recommend:
Under His Wing - PG-13, no pairings
Hawk and Phoenix - WIP, with 15 chapters so far. Continues the anime series after the last episode and is techinically AU. Revolves completely around Judeau.
- Well, there's not a whole lot out there, sadly. There are a few more stories that I remember reading, but never kept the links to.
I hope this was informative to some people and intrigued at least one person out there to go out and start watching Berserk