You don't have to be a Berserk fan to grieve the death of Kentaro Miura, the creator of one of the most popular and bloodiest fantasy sagas in Manga. The Berserk fans can take solace in the fact that the hit series will return to the Young Animal magazine to continue Miura's story, but only thanks to the creator's close friend.
It wasn't an easy decision for the creator of Holyland to make. Between the staff of the studio that produced Berserk and the realization that his friend Miura would want the saga of the cursed swordsman Guts told in its entirety, Mori accepted responsibility. The statement was released in English.
Thirty years ago, Miura called me and asked me to draw a rough draft. Miura looked more serious than usual when I went to his office to talk. He stated that he needed to draw the Eclipse. When I was trapped inside for a week, I couldn't believe that the storyline for Berserk was complete.
The story for Berserk remained the same as we discussed at the time. Whenever there was a big episode, I kept talking to Miura. We consulted each other while we worked on Manga.
People with good intuition would realize that I know the story for Berserk up to the very end. I can't say that I can draw it because I am aware of it. Berserk can only be written by the genius Kentaro Miura.
A request from Miura's staff to help them finish the entire story helped finalize his decision about how to relate Mi.
A lot of responsibility has fallen on me.
Miura said while he was alive that he had not told anyone else about the story. That was true. It is a lot of work. I wondered if I should speak to fans about it. Is it a good idea to publish an article with illustrations. That wouldn't show the scenes that Miura described to me.
There was a message that I received when I was trying to make a decision. Can you take a peek at the last chapter that was left behind?
The final few pages of the chapter were not complete. They didn't have the characters drawn on them. I didn't expect much when I looked at the manuscript. There was a finished manuscript for Berserk that was pushed by desperation.
Will you allow us to do it?
The apprentices of Miura asked me straight.
While he fully understood fans' skepticism at anyone but Miura concluding the series, he hoped that fans would support him by stressing that he won't add to Berserk's story beyond what he was told by Miura. I will only write about what Miura said to me. I will not make it into a finished product. I won't write episodes that I don't remember I will only write the stories that Miura told me. It will not be flawless. I believe I can tell the story that Miura wanted to tell.
The talent Miura's apprentices have is legit. They are great artists. Many of you may not be happy with the Berserk written without Miura, but we hope everyone's thoughts will be with us. We would like you to continue supporting us.
It has been over a year since Miura passed away of an acute aortic dissection, which means that everyone involved really struggled over the decision, which they should have done. Right now, the plan is to produce six new chapters to finish out the current one, "Fantasia Arc/ELF Island Chapter," and then use the information and conversations Miura had with his staff and the editors at Young Animal.
It would have been better if Miura had been able to finish Berserk on his own terms. It looks like the Manga will continue in the best possible way.
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