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Learning Japanese with Berserk: "The Schnoz"

Added 2021-10-12 23:10:11 +0000 UTC

Now that's what I call an easy word to write! Yeah, no it's not. But amazingly, that's the word Schierke uses to describe some of the creatures she and Guts' group encounter when they venture into the Qliphoth, in volume 25. The most famous of these is the "face monster" that Puck & Ivalera end up playing with, and that our very own Walter dubbed "the Schnoz" at the time due to its prodigious nasal appendage.

In Japanese, 魑魅魍魎 (CHIMIMOURYOU) refers to a traditional type of evil spirit, or Youkai. Its etymology is believed to date back to ancient Chinese folklore. It's a bit of an umbrella term for youkai that are associated with mountains, rivers and forests. They can also be dissociated as 魑魅 (CHIMI) for mountain demons and 魍魎 (MOURYOU) for nature demons.

Worth noting is that the 魑魅 (CHIMI) are specifically associated with 山林 (SANRIN): mountain forests, while the 魍魎 (MOURYOU) are related to mountains, water, trees and stones. This explains why Miura used that term in the context of the Qliphoth. As for their traditional appearance, it's nothing like what we see in Berserk. The 魑魅 have a human face and the body of a beast, while the 魍魎 look like grotesque little goblins with red skin and long ears.