Go Away.

Seriously though, can anyone even say that they disliked that moment for real? ‘Cause I wouldn’t be able to believe that.

I mean, without even mentioning Griffith deserving it, Guts has been trying to land a single blow on this dude for idk how many years since the Eclipse, but…

each time his moves got rejected.

Meanwhile Rickert is arriving on Griffith’s turf (Falconia) like all is well in the world, Griffith intending to manipulate him like everyone else in the city, but Rickert went #nope

and got the hell out of there using a freaking lance rocket.

Like ??? If this isn’t the most epic development of the whole manga, I don’t know what is and I didn’t even mention Silat and Daiba helping him out. xDD

Honestly? I think only Casca coming back as the leader of the forces who don’t intend on taking Griffith’s bullshit for any longer will top that moment for me. :))

Hello Anon! And nice take on it, I think this may be a little related, although personally I wouldn’t have put it that way exactly.

Like, I always thought that, as much as Femto isn’t human anymore, he is still a master at manipulating “the sheeps” aka all the humans who see him as their savior when he’s here to doom them all. 

And he tried the same with Rickert, nudging him into thinking it would be like the good old days if Rickert were to join him, when…

Rickert feels guilty about what happened and also grieves the comrades that Griffith sacrificed to be reborn as Femto. 

So Rickert can neither be as mad as Guts or as traumatized as Casca because he didn’t live through the Eclipse, but he can still slap Griffith in the face for pretending like nothing changed…

…when everything did change. 

In other words, Griffith as the otherworldy dark angel Femto is in a way above humans and, as such, he knows how to manipulate most of them despite being void of feelings. 

However, even though he knows about the Eclipse, Rickert became neither of the two extremes that are Guts and Casca. Therefore in vol 38 Griffith failed to read through Rickert properly and this misstep cost him a slap in the face and a wound to his ego. 

As for whether Guts will manage to overcome his hatred for Griffith, well, we know he managed to put the thought of mad revenge away all for Casca’s sake which is already huge considering his days as the Black Swordsman. 

Now, does it mean he doesn’t hate Griffith anymore or that he will stop to one day… I don’t think so personally, if just because Griffith reincarnated in the corporeal world using the demon infant….

and I think Guts will be pissed once more when he finds out.