The fans of manga are well aware of Berserk manga. In fact, in the world of manga, Berserk is a very popular name. For those, who do not know, Berserk is a Japanese manga series. Kentaro Miura has both written and illustrated this series. It is set in a dark fantasy world, which has been inspired by medieval Europe. Miura has built the main story of this manga around the characters Guts and Griffith. This series has been so much popular that it was adapted by OLM, into a 25-episode anime television series.
In fact, the Golden Age story arc of Berserk manga has also been adapted into a trilogy of theatrical anime films. Moreover, it is an award-winning mange series. In 2008, 2009 and 2013, the series won the French AnimeLand‘s Anime & Manga Grand Prix for Best Classic Seinen. In addition, the mange also won the prize of best seinen manga at the Japan Expo Awards. Recently in 2021, it also won the Spanish Manga Barcelona award for the seinen category. Therefore, there should remain no shred of doubt regarding its reputation as a manga.
However, Kentaro Miura passed away just at the age of 54, last year. Following his sad demise, the fans were worried about the continuity of the manga series. In fact, the doubts are normal, as Miura had been the only driving force behind this intensely popular manga series. However, it seems that the fans now have the answer to their doubts. Read the entire article to discover more about the future of Berserk manga.
Berserk Will Resume
The fans had really been worried about the future of the Berserk manga, following the death of its creator, Kentaro Miura. Such reaction from the fans is more than expected, given the huge popularity of the series. It generally happens that we get attached to the books and stories that we love reading the most. Similar has been the case with the fans of Berserk.
However, the company, with a series of statements have recently cleared the cloud forming over the future of the popular manga series. The company has assured us that they will be publishing the remaining six chapters of the current story. After that, they will be moving on to a “new arc”. Now, the question is: how will the new entries be credited? Well, they have also clarified that. According to the statements, all fresh entries will be credited as “Original work by Kentaro Miura, Manga by Studio Gaga, Supervised by Kouji Mori”. Moreover, they will also continue the numbering of the older chapters.
The Statements
There are two statements that hold importance as of the present. The first one has been signed by the Young Animal Editing Department. In it, the department first, apologised for the delay in their response. Then they went on to state that before passing away, Miura talked with Kouji Mori, his close friend, about the stories that were in his mind about the Berserk manga. He also discussed the same with the editor and the studio staff. The statement further stated that they have also discovered some designs for characters that Miura drew and some notes of ideas written by him. The statement claimed that these will be their guides in creating new episodes of the popular manga series.
The second statement is from Kouji Mori. In it, Mori reflects back to the days when Kentaro Miura discussed the story and drawings of Berserk manga with him. He stated that Miura always discussed the story with him. Therefore, he knows the story of Berserk till its end. However, Mori states that in spite of knowing the entire story, it will be difficult for him to draw it. This is because he believes that only a genius like Miura can create something as grand as Berserk. He further claims in the statement that this is a great responsibility and he will be true to it. Mori states that he will create only those episodes which Miura discussed with him. Yet, he thinks that would not be perfect.
Conclusion
The Berserk manga has been an immortal creation of Kentaro Miura. Therefore, completing and continuing it after his death will really be a challenging job. The new entries will surely be intensely scrutinised by the fans. Therefore, any little lapse in quality might bring down a rain of criticism. Both Kouji Mori and the company seem to be aware of this very fact. At least their statements say so. Now it remains to be seen how the fans receive the new entries of Berserk manga.