Learning Japanese with Berserk: The Golden Age
Added 2022-02-17 23:13:12 +0000 UTCBefore Guts' wandering days as the Black Swordsman was the period of his life known as the Golden Age. In Japanese, that's 黄金時代, pronounced おうごんじだい (OUGONJIDAI). It is a rather straightforward translation with English, since the term originates from Greek mythology and commonly refers to a prosperous era of the past (e.g. the 80s were the golden age of action flicks!).
Of course in Berserk it's not a past quite as distant or glorious as Hesiod meant, but it does starkly contrast to the aftermath of the Eclipse.
Interestingly, another age gets mentioned right as the Eclipse ends. Slan comments on how, with Femto's birth, a new age begins. She ends her dialog by saying people will call it 暗黒時代, pronounced あんこくじだい (ANKOKUJIDAI). That translates to the "Dark Age", just like the historical concept of the same name (once applied to the Middle Ages and still used by some to refer to various periods of history).
Miura no doubt used it specifically to contrast with the "Golden Age", but it also serves to underline the sinister goals of the God Hand. It is referred to again as part of the Falcon of Darkness prophecy, first by Farnese in volume 14, then by Schierke in volume 22. It's spelled differently there, as 暗黒の時代 (ANKOKU NO JIDAI). Hence why we refer to it as the "Age of Darkness".
Comments
I have wondered myself whether the final segment of the story might have been called that. Seems like a definite possibility.
Skullknight.NET
2022-02-18 14:09:57 +0000 UTCI know we were still firmly in the Fantasia Arc, with more on the way (it felt). But I wonder if we’d ever have gotten an “Age of Darkness” Arc to directly contrast with Golden Age.
Walter
2022-02-18 13:53:47 +0000 UTC
