Death Battle: Guts vs Dimitri (my thoughts)
...Not sitting as pretty as I want to admit (even with the Faerghus W)
Well, it’s been another hot minute, huh…
Around this time on Sunday, I announced on VS Forums that, after the news that Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd had won his bout in the ex-ScrewAttack show ‘Death Battle’, I’d make an article regarding my thoughts on his episode (sometime after finishing up my 2nd playthrough of Three Houses, not-so ironically in preparation for the fight to come). To some, this came as a bit of a surprise, and others with slight mockery or ire. ‘A full article, you say? Surely you jest!’, and as I said to a couple of the lads on said forums, all I’m really doing is a written version of reviews of these episodes frequented by the likes of Nemesis Bloodryche and Biff Weed (channels linked thusly). ‘But Joycap, aren’t you a Blue Lions fan? You should be happy that Dimitri won!’, to wit I say… yes, I am content with that fact, alongside the inclusion of a new series in fictional VS formats such as these. But this notion (alongside the impression that we should settle for blind praise because an obligation has been fulfilled) is somewhat misguided (trust me, I’ve fallen into a similar trap when aiming my distain at the likes of Red vs Tai on servers such as DBW’s own (you know who you are, as do I - remember that)). My objection to how Dimitri was treated in this fight, even with the frame of reference that was his Post-Timeskip behaviour, being one of the primary reasons I am writing this article up now.
Needless to say, I’m mostly going to be tackling this from the POV of a Three Houses fan (or rather, a Blue Lions Representative, because as I hinted at in a prior article, I have more takes on the Fodlan Duology than I know what to do with). As someone who has never touched a minute of Berserk content (be it the anime, manga or ANY of his adaptations (yes, even the crappy CGI one)), Guts’s analysis I have very few things to say on one way or the other.
But enough bush-beating. Let’s get to the meat and gristle.
The Analysis (Dimitri’s, specifically)
All around… pretty good, no cap.
Starting with what is effectively the preview segment of Dimitri’s rundown, it’s plenty concise and filled with a good handful of references (including to Ingrid and Catherine’s supports). A name drop of Rodrigue was also a pleasant surprise, and the right amount of information is also included (such as the pace at which Dimitri is reminded of the Tragedy of Duscur). While Wiz and Boomstick’s sense of humour will always be slightly juvenile (such is the case here), the in-fandom dick-measuring over the best house (what with Wiz being an evident Adrestian and Boomstick going with Almyran territories) being referenced (as well as Byleth being called a ‘smash character’) did have me rolling on the floor laughing, even if it is weird in a meta-sense that Xander Mobus being referenced as the announcer also did Guts this time around (more on that later). Also, Joycelyn sticking up for the sewer rats Ashen Wolves was a… take, to be sure (does she not realise that the four were ex-house, and that Cindered Shadows was an alternate timeline, supposedly…? Eh, anyway).
If I were to offer any minor corrections here, it would be graphical/editorial ones (such as him lashing out at Edelgard after the reveal of her status as the Flame Emperor is used as an example of him being reminded of the Tragedy (which is technically not incorrect, but at that point in editing, wouldn’t Tomas’s experiment on Remire Village have been a better example?). Also (and technically this should be in the post-fight analysis, but it’s worth mentioning here too), while it’s true that every unit with access to Monk and other magic-based classes (Priest, Bishop, Dark Mage etc.) have access to at least preliminary healing magic, this healing is not applied to the self (unless you’re Mercedes with Live to Serve). Although if the analysis is going to bring up the Three Hopes ‘awakened’ states (which is fair, this is more or less canonical-compositing these characters), then it’s worth noting that Vulneraries and/or Concoctions would be considered a part of a character’s standard equipment. This alone doesn’t change the result or anything, I just thought it’d be prudent to clear that up. Although for some reason, the Evasion Ring is counted as standard equipment, which is… weird, to say the least (it’s almost like a corner box in how that’s glossed over).
Thankfully, there’s not too much emphasis on VS junk (not that I minded it either way). Once again, the editorial choices are a bit jumpy (such as using Dimitri’s Three Hopes supports with Felix as an example of the voices in his head, when his return to Garreg Mach after the time skip is a much more… blatant example), but that’s ultimately a nit-pick thanks to the lessons these guys must have picked up from doing comic panel editing for so long (that stuff gets high praise all the time, and I’m in no position to disagree). That’s eye candy, not gonna lie, Wiz.
Also, this might just be my inner conservative speaking, but Wiz coming out with ‘we really gotta pay teachers more, y’all’ did make me groan a bit internally (only a bit, though, as it’s a mix-up from any blind Byleth hate). Teacher pay is a… complicated issue, and not one that I’m in a position to give dividends on in this here article. I do know someone who could… though.
I could also mention that the notion that Dimitri and Edelgard’s ‘views for Fodlan being incompatible’ is only half-correct, as somewhere in Three Hopes, Dimitri does actually show sympathy for Edelgard’s views for reform - only that it should be gradual, not a band-aid that a society can just rip off at a moment’s notice. I won’t go further than that, as it’s outside the bounds of what this article is about.
Oh, and one final thing? RT obviously gave a nod to DimiDue shippers at the end of his analysis. Was Gascon-en-exil on the writing team this time around? (That’s not a jab at the guy, for the record, his Three Houses analyses are actually really fun to watch. Check him out, honestly).
Okay, so that was the pre-fight analysis, how was the fight itself? I won’t lie… this is where things started to come apart at the seams for me.
‘That’s the wrong line, boar!’ (the fight):
I guess if I’m going to start positive anywhere, while it’s not an explicit reference to either of the two fighters in question, ‘Gods Hand’ (the OST), is a pretty damn good track. I’m not any kind of music expert, so I’ll just let my readers listen for themselves.
EDIT 25/6/24: Edited with Yates re-upload of the OST as per the derpy nature of copyright negotiations due to Rooster Teeth shutting down.
Now, let’s take this fight apart piecemeal, and fathom out why it’s not ticking. First off, the VAs. And this is the point where I more or less admit that I have absolutely zero clue how casting decisions on this production work in the slightest.
Dimitri in this fight is voiced by Kevin Rivera - and I won’t dance around this, he is a far cry from the quality standards set by Chris Hackney (Dimitri’s actual VA in the Fodlan Duology). I will try and be generous and chock this up to a direction issue (for example, when he’s asked to make reference to his ‘I’ll tear your head from your shoulders’ line on Gronder Field, it’s delivered with the intent of preaching to Guts, and not in his usual lower tone of voice (oh, and memo to the writers, it’s “the dead will have their tribute”, not “the dead will have their revenge”)). But even by those standards, he vacillates pretty harshly between *occasionally* sounding like Hackney gave him lessons, and other times like a parody of Gilbert - mostly on a count of the pitch being completely off. At least with the likes of Nicholas Andrew Louie, he has the range to give off a legitimate impersonation of the character(s) he’s playing (that first line of the 2018 Mario vs Sonic remake legitimately made me think they’d gotten Roger Craig Smith in to voice him), which is the expectation I was going into this fight with. Needless to say, this doesn’t sound satisfying to me.
And then there’s Xander Mobus as Guts (yes, THAT Xander Mobus). Given his range, you’d have expected him to sound like the guy, right? Nap. And frankly, with maybe one exception, he sounds particularly phoned-in. And this casting decision perplexes me on several levels, most notably of all that Kaji Tang (Guts’s most recent VA, according to BTVA), just so happens to play Iwai from Persona 5 (one of Joker’s confidants in that game. And who plays Joker? Xander Mobus, of course!). This is why I mention the confusion of these casting decisions - now, of all times, was the guy unavailable? And don’t give me that ‘muh legal paperwork’ crap, we’ve given reprised VAs aliases before (yes, Johnny Young Bosh and Bryce Papenbrook, we know it was you playing Ichigo and Silver those days! And no, to my fellow reviewers, that joke was unfunny the first time I heard it). Hell, did Chris Hackney not get a say in this as far as his role as Dimitri was concerned? Or did he (perhaps understandably) not want to touch RT with a 10ft barge pole?
As for the fight itself, while the focus on actual momentum and brute force is appreciated (even if the movements themselves are floatier than they should be), there are several glaring issues and instances of noticeable jank present. For instance, the lightning on Areadbhar is the wrong colour (being closer to a greenish-cyan, as opposed to it’s usual azure / sky blue). Oh, and while the use of magic as part of his canonical-compositing is allowed in this context, his use of Thunder is portrayed more like Bolting than it is standard spells (not that he *needs* it to begin with). Dimitri doesn’t even get Bolting, for gods sake! I thought the researchers would know this!
Also, the bonk that Guts gives Dimitri towards the end of the preview is just dumb in general (and especially for a fight like this), and where the preview is supposed to cut off, well…
Yup… that’s more or less a kill face made in SFM, alright… (technically it’s a Blender animation in this instance, but potato, po-tart-o, my Nan says spud).
I’d be hard pressed to say the jank stops there, either. The cut after the ‘incorrect line’ I alluded to earlier more or less has Guts’s Dragonslayer bounce *off* Areadbhar still at Dimitri’s side. Dimitri doesn’t even react properly to that fact.
Things do look up briefly with a reference to Duscur Trauma combo’d into a legitimately kinda hype clash between the Berserker Armour and the Hopes’ Awakened State, which is where that momentum comes into play (even if it is, in a way, what my contemporaries would call a ‘flying brick moment’). Although if I am going to say anything else, what is it with Dimitri getting decked in the face twice this fight? Please, RT, this isn’t a bar fight. Have some class. And speaking of ‘class’, those three sword swings by Guts after the fact? What was that about? You were just going to politely let Dimitri dodge?
And to (almost) end off, we get a fairly sound Atrocity finisher complete with a nod to Three Houses’ signature crit cut-ins. Although if I did notice any jank here, it’s the way that Guts’ model seems to shift to the other side of Areadbhar faster than the camera can change angles (if I’m making any sense). This here GIF is probably not the best example, but in the heat of the full video, it honestly looks to me as if Areadbhar is overextending past the place it’s *supposed* to be. I’m not the only one who feels that way, am I?
Hence, we get to the ending, and… honestly, it’s one of my least favourite deaths in the series (roughly 4th, only to the character assassination that was Red vs Tai, and two unnamed episodes that basically boil down to ‘lmao booba’). Let me explain why.
The shot of Guts’s limp corpse on the ground? Honestly, the fight should have cut off right then and there (even with the whole ‘last drop of blood spilled’ thing in his analysis, I’ll get back to that). But no, instead, we needed a cheap as f**k fake-out that almost borders on a cop-out for how pointless it is. Guts manages to break Areadbhar as Dimitri is walking away, knocks him to the floor, and THEN stops short because of the whole ‘last drop of blood’ pact thing (even though, given the way that’s worded, there’s no relation between the Berserker Armour and the brand? Feel free to correct me on that one). And while I get what they were going for with the whole ‘Dimitri allowing some respect to the dead and also Guts’ thing… this is a version of his character somewhere between the Edelgard ‘reveal’ and Rodrigue’s death. ‘In character’ genuinely never crossed your minds. I wasn’t thinking ‘man, what a respectful way to go out’, I legitimately shouted aloud:
Post-fight analysis:
Not much else to say here that I haven’t already covered (I’m mostly thinking of the healing source here). Although if there’s anything to add, Mach 66 Meteor is actually a bit of a lowball given Hoarfrost exists (which VS forums calc’d out to at least lightspeed). Consider this also another bone I want to throw to the Berserk fans in the audience: yes, Atrocity is Dimitri’s way of demolishing all the Fortress Knights running around, but I think it’s a bit of a lowball on Guts’s part to say that the Berserker Armour is just ‘any old armour’ in the same vain.
Oh, and that’s another thing I neglected to mention: I know what the analysis is getting at with Seal Movement (a nod to Dimitri’s budding talent in Riding) and Swordbreaker (although what quantifies a sword in either verse is a little… estranged). But it feels like a bit of a ‘seismic toss scaling’ situation (see Goro vs Machamp) where it’s either a footnote or (like the namesake) an outlier because that form of coverage accidentally ended up on other mons that wouldn’t be able to do that otherwise. Anyone know what I’m getting at here?
As far as the scaling chains themselves, it’s mostly fine (although the Sothis scaling itself is also rather downplayed given what Fodlan is). I’ve tried reverse-engineering the scaling in my head, but somewhat drew a blank. Then again, it makes Tahles’s city-shaking feat a bit of a footnote (like, how do we even quantify the size of Shambala, in that case?).
Bit of a clunky way to end, and that 5/10 I put in the forums? I might bump it to a 6/10 at some point, but I’m not overly fussed.
Anyway, that’s about as much as I wanted to say. Development on the Saga retrospective is still going on (182 pages, accounting for image references, might I add!), so I’ll (hopefully) see you then.
Ja ne.