Learning Japanese with Berserk: Qliphoth
Added 2022-07-14 14:19:41 +0000 UTCWe first encounter the word Qliphoth in the episode of the same name, #215 (collected in volume 25). The title is written like so: 闇 (クリフォト). That kanji means "darkness" and is pronounced YAMI. It's the same than in "Beast of Darkness" and is really quite common. The katakana spells KURIFOTO.
In the episode itself, Schierke gives out the Qliphoth's full description: 闇の領域 (pronounced YAMI NO RYOUIKI), meaning "territory/region of darkness". In episode 361, when the scene she sees in the gorge reminds her of it, she uses that phrase with クリフォト added as furigana, just likes the illustration for this post.
The word Qliphoth comes from the Kabbalah, a current of Jewish mysticism that was influential in Western occult practices. As he tended to do, Miura just borrowed the name without caring too much about its actual meaning and real world usage. In Berserk, it's just the name of a region of the Astral World where dark spirits gather.
