It's the end of the series and the end of Kentaro Miura's Berserk. On this episode, Reid and Gareth discuss "Great Gurus" to "Teardrop of Morning Dew" (chapters 345 to 364 from volumes 39 to 41). Though we're mainly interested in talking about the end of Berserk in general, we also get into Casca's "recovery," a reference to the literal idea of evil, how far the characters have come from their initial portrayal, and one last hurrah for eyeballs exploding out of heads. Thanks everyone for listening. Rest in peace, Kentaro Miura.

Gareth and Reid are living peacefully in an ancient Roman metropolis on this episode and extending a not-at-all ominous invitation for you to join us here as we talk about "Shooting Star" to "Village of Witches" (chapters 328-344) from volumes 37 to 39. As our series on Berserk nears its end, we get into what comes after the achievement of Griffith's dreams, an excellent flashback, the difficulties with bringing a decades-long work to some kind of conclusion, and Kentaro Miura's rocky transition to digital illustration.

Reid and Gareth may be a bit at sea in this episode, but, to be fair, so is Berserk itself in this stretch of the story. Hop aboard to join us as we cast away into the Fantasia Arc, starting off with an episode covering "Ghost Ship" to "Surfacing" (chapters 308-327) from volumes 35 to 37. Will the waters remain as choppy as they are in this section, which just sort of flounders around for a while without finding its bearing? Or will we enjoy a pleasant remainder of our voyage as we steer this series onward toward the safe harbour of Berserk's final chapters?

Gareth and Reid are tossing this podcast into the local demon womb and becoming a towering affront to reason itself on this episode of our Berserk podcast. Listen on as we cover "On Board" to "Falconia" (chapters 286-207) from volumes 32 to 35, wrapping up the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc by talking about the incredible scale of the series' vision of a world-rending apocalypse, Kentaro Miura directly confronting his artistic influences, demonic manifestations of human evil, and a whole lot else besides.

Reid and Gareth are flying into battle against giant mist-men in this episode, which covers "Divine Revelation" to Hero (chapters 264-285) from volumes 30 to 32 of Berserk. It's mostly a whole lot of fighting this time around, but we also get Guts riding around on Zodd's back and more instances of one of our favourite character archetypes: nasty, slobbering demons who love to gobble up humans. There's also the payoff to Griffith's big plan, culminating in the pope doing a respectful bellyflop.

Gareth and Reid cordially invite you to this, the most elegant episode of our Berserk podcast to date. This time, we're discussing "Proclaimed Omens" to "Demon Beast Invasion" (chapters 237-263) from volumes 28 to 30. We have crocodile men. We have Skull Knight dialogue. We have questions about the humanity and/or divinity of Guts. We also have an excellent ballroom scene that culminates with a bunch of snooty aristocrats being mauled by magical tigers. Next time: chapters 264-285, from "Divine Revelation" to "Hero," in volumes 30 to 32.

Reid and Gareth, bodies formed of clumped together troll guts, are back to keep talking about Berserk's Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc. On this episode, we're looking at "Retribution" through to "Roar of the Sea," chapters 217-236 from volumes 26 and 27. Come along with us for a discussion about Guts becoming a nice, supportive guy between rage blackouts in his new berserker armour, living battering ram Borkoff, and another look at the series' Kushan Empire. Next time: chapters 237-263, from "Proclaimed Omens" to "Demon Beast Invasion," in volumes 28 to 30.

Gareth and Reid continue diving into the swampy waters of Kentaro Miura's Berserk with a new episode covering chapters 198-216 (from volumes 24 and 25), "The Witch" through to "Corruption." We spend a bit of time mired in a bog of magical exposition here before talking about the series' focus on paganism, its trolls, and, most importantly, the introduction of an all-time great character: Miura's take on a kelpie. Next time: chapters 217-236, from "Retribution" through to "Roar of the Sea," in volumes 26 to 27.

Reid and Gareth have emerged from screaming, blood red eggs as strange new forms that are more appropriate for this, the beginning of the second half of our look through Kentaro Miura's Berserk. On this episode, we begin a discussion of the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc (or Millennium Falcon Arc, if you're not scared of Disney), talking through chapters 177-197, "The Rent World" to "Trolls, in volumes 22 to 24." We've got thoughts on the relationship between Farnese and Serpico, this section's depiction of the new and improved Griffith, and, of course, some very good Zodd panels.

Gareth and Reid are breaking out of their shells and ushering in the corpse-goop final days with an episode about the end of Berserk's Conviction Arc (chapters 151-176, "Captives" to "Determination and Departure"). In this episode, we get into how Kentaro Miura depicts characters experiencing absolute terror, the fantasy of retribution for systems that inflict cruelty on others, the lessons Berserk tries to draw from its latest exploration of human evil, and the grandeur of this arc's final chapters.

Reid and Gareth are heading on down to the Tower of Conviction for a trip through chapters 126 to 150 ("Revelations" to "The Cliff") of Berserk. This time, we're talking about a bunch of absolutely miserable people living on the precipice of the apocalypse, hanging out with some goatman-worshiping orgy fans, and meeting the stone-faced, thwomp-praying religious fanatic, Mozguz.

Gareth and Reid are sprouting wings and buzzing on into the beginning of Berserk's Conviction Arc with this episode on chapters 95-125, volumes 14 to 17. Now that the plot has finally caught back up to its post-Eclipse "present-day," we're back to a giant sword-wielding, arm cannon-toting, scowl-enthusiast version of Guts. With his return--and the introduction of new characters from Berserk's fantastical take on the medieval Catholic Church--there's a lot to discuss with regards to the comics' depiction of paganism versus Abrahamic religious views, Guts' now superheroic status, and why a chubby-cheeked, mischievously evil ghost baby may represent a shifting portrayal of the story's demons.

Reid and Gareth have applied droplets of blood to our audio behelit and summoned the end of The Golden Age with a look at chapters 70-94 ("Requiem of the Wind" through to "He Who Hunts Dragons") in volumes 12 to 14. We spend this episode discussing the Eclipse, the infamous climax to Berserk's extended flashback sequence, which includes more conversation about the objectification of Caska, lots of talk about the packed menagerie of demons drawn for this section, and thoughts about the cut chapter that sees Griffith meet the god who gives this podcast its name.

Gareth and Reid cover chapters 23-69, from "The Battle for Doldrey" through to "The Immortal Once Again," in volumes 7 to 11 of Berserk. In this episode, the Band of the Hawk falls apart, leading us into a discussion of the changing dimensions of Guts, Griffith, and Caska's relationship, with all the commentary on friendship, sexuality, and power that comes along with it. There are also lots of eerie moments as the Eclipse draws near and, par for the course at this point, plenty of terrible scenes to discuss.

Reid and Gareth cover chapters 7-22, from "A Wind of Words" through to "Campfire of Dreams," in volumes 5 to 7 of Berserk. In this episode, we're introduced to everyone's favourite bear/lion/goat/bat monster, Nosferatu Zodd, join varsity sports team Band of the Hawk as they face off against their rivals, wade into how sexual assault is used by Miura to develop his characters, and discuss how badly Casca's failed at this point in the story.

Gareth and Reid are hoisting their enormous swords onto their shoulders and setting off down memory lane with a discussion of Berserk's multi-volume flashback arc: the Golden Age. We get into chapters 1-6 from volumes 3 and 4, covering the not-so-halcyon childhood days of Guts' youth, the comic's shifting art style as it focuses on medieval settings, the introduction of the Band of the Hawk, and the most erotically charged, sword-biting-est confrontation between major characters we've witnessed to date.

Reid and Gareth pick up where we left off last episode by discussing "Guardian Angels of Desire," from the end of Berserk's first volume through to the beginning of Vol. 3. This time, we talk about the first glimpses of Miura's Escher-indebted depiction of hellish alternate dimensions, are introduced to the God Hand and Berserk's wider fiction, deal with Sad Guts, and, of course, encounter more sweaty little creeps.

Gareth Damian Martin and Reid McCarter begin a look at the entirety of Kentaro Miura's Berserk with a discussion of its first two chapters, "Black Swordsman" and "The Brand" from Volume 1. In our debut episode, we discuss how we first encountered Berserk, the influences it draws from (and the work it's influenced in turn), the joy of looking at all the ways Miura creates compositions based around Guts' absurdly giant sword, and a whole lot more.

We wrap up the plot of Disco Elysium and discuss the final events of the game, which fold the game's myriad themes into a great morass just waiting to be picked apart. Listen for our thoughts on The Human Project as a destructive force, nihilism as a selfish luxury, the overwhelming trauma of ideology, and nature's role as a fascinated, horrified witness to it all.

We pick up in the aftermath of the shootout and discuss the quiet sequences that precede the ending - an encounter with Lilienne the net picker, a hunt for mythical creatures, and a soul-crushing dream as seen through the world's rosiest glasses.