They say that stories are not about the destination, but about the journey. Even so, when a journey has been as long as Berserk, it’s hard to not crave some form of conclusion to help make sense of it all.Berserk has an unshakable spot in the anime/manga hall of fame along with One Piece, Dragon Ball etc. The influential dark fantasy manga series has been in publication since 1989, and in that time has permanently changed the course of not just anime and manga, but of media as a whole. Tragically, for over a decade, the series was plagued by unpredictable hiatuses and much uncertainty around its future. With the death of its creator Kentaro Muira in May of 2021, Berserk has entered an even more uncertain state, and fans have been left wondering if they will ever see Guts’ story for another chapter, let alone a full ending.
Who Was Kentaro Miura?
Born in July of 1966, Kentaro Muira showed signs of a unique flair for manga very early on. He was only 10 years old when he created his first manga, Miuranger, which appeared in a school publication. It’s easy to think that nobody that age would be overly dedicated to what could just be a hobby, but Miura went on to write 40 volumes of this manga. In interviews, he has mentioned feeling like he needed to be good at something, so chose drawing. It’s clear that his choice was a valid one.
This persistence with manga continued throughout his schooling years, with several projects helping to grow his skills and cement his desire to be a mangaka. Just a year after Miuranger, Miura had already created a second manga, and by the time he was in high school, he was having his work published in school booklets along with other artistically minded students.
Even early in his career, before Berserk became the juggernaut that it is, Miura was catching the eye of the industry greats at the time. He briefly worked under Jyoji Morikawa, the creator of Hajime No Ippo, who famously dismissed an 18 year old Miura from his tutelage. Not because Miura was incapable, but because Morikawa felt that there was nothing he could teach that Miura didn’t already know. Around the time he published an early version of Berserk, he was also working under Buronson, the creator of legendary manga Fist of the North Star.
How Did He Make Berserk Special?
By all accounts, it seems like Miura was a man who took creating manga more seriously than he took anything. Not only did he get his start early, but some would argue that he had a natural talent for the medium. His art in general is of course impressive, but Berserk is where many believe his best work came through. When you look at some of the greatest mangaka like Ichiro Oda or Hieohiko Araki, they always possess some ability to think outside the box.
Oda is famous for One Piece’s ridiculously large and intricate world, and almost comedic length. But being able to match the quality with the quantity is what has kept One Piece as a household name even to this day. Araki meanwhile, has an ability to never get too attached to the status quo in his stories, famously having killed off Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s first protagonist in what was an unheard of move at the time. Miura shared such abilities, with Berserk not only featuring some impressively detailed world-building but also being no stranger to huge shake-ups in its narrative.
From a visual standpoint, Miura’s work is just beautiful. He had a wild imagination that allowed him to conjure up all of Berserk’s distorted, otherworldly abominations, and the skill to fit them all into intricate pages that give the best horror manga a run for their money. He could write everything from large-scale battles to intimate character moments and present them in equally striking ways. You don’t simply become one of the most influential figures in a craft for nothing. Miura was truly a one-of-a-kind artist.
Can Berserk Continue Without Him?
As of writing this, Young Animal, the magazine that publishes Berserk, have not officially canceled the series, nor have they ruled out the possibility of its continuation. In a letter to fans soon after Miura’s death, Young Animal stated that their priority would be placed on what Miura would have wanted, if he still with us. While some have speculated that his team of assistants or his old friend and fellow mangaka Koji Mori may take over the reins of the series, no official confirmation has been released. At the moment, we simply don’t know what discussions are happening behind the scenes. Even if Berserk does continue under a different pen though, it is hard to not feel like the story in its truest form died with its creator.