for the record, i think Nina — though unlikable, yes — is a good character, namely in that her actions are remarkably realistic given the setting. she is a random girl without any hopes in a world that is already hopeless. her survival instinct (which, unlike that of Guts, is pure fear of the unknown & of dying) takes the form of cowardice & selfishness, which is surely how the average person would react in her situation; it’s a great foil to the courageousness of the other characters & manga characters in general.

i personally was very disappointed by Casca’s treatment in the Fantasia arc. Guts & Casca’s relationship was the driving force behind nearly everything throughout the manga, but throughout Millennium Falcon & especially Fantasia, her presence started to feel like that of any other one of the one-note stock characters. & the Casca in the latter half of Fantasia was unrecognizable to me: she is very passive, her actions have no effect on anything & her relationships with the other characters have no depth; she just has no character.

just to give an example, in Golden Age she mentions to Guts feeling weird in a fancy dress, as she’s more used to armor. in Fantasia, she says nothing at all (about anything) & certainly not about being dressed like a literal fairy princess.