The news of Berserk Mangaka Kentaro Miura's death was shocking to the Manga community. Since it first appeared in 1989, the dark fantasy comic has become one of the best-selling comic books of all time, spawning multiple games, games, and merchandise.
The English version of Volume 41 will be released in summer 2022. The volume was released in Japan on Christmas Eve. Volume 41 is intended to commemorate the occasion with illustrations released in major newspapers for each country: Japan, The New York Times, and France.
An advertising manager at Hakuhensha's believed that the reason that Berserk remained so popular was due to Miura's award-winning artwork. He said that the late Mangaka was able to communicate a lot of information to fans all over the world. He believed that Miura treated Berserk as something for everyone, not just fans of Manga in Japan. Miura was always conscious of creating something that would be entertaining for readers in any country, and that's why the content was aimed at a worldwide readership.
The decision to release the Berserk artwork on newspaper as opposed to digital was made to enable the appeal of Miura's artwork, thereby eliciting stronger emotions. The goal was to have the artwork speak for itself, even though each artwork is different and France is in color. The manager said that several ideas were made for ad copy, but eventually they decided that no words were necessary to convey the appeal of Miura's illustrations.
It was important for the newspaper ads to thank fans for their support after the passing of their beloved creator, but it was also done to follow Miura's ambition of his story being something anyone could pick up and love. If the ad does its job, it will hopefully reach out and interest those who have never heard of the series. The manager pointed out that Berserk became a hot topic because newspapers reach lots of people on the same day. If this leads to the Berserk fan community spreading further, I will be very happy, not only as an advertising manager at Hakusensha, but also as a Berserk fan.
Fans are still wondering if the series will continue after Miura's passing. Young Animal Comics gave no answer after the release of Chapter 364, which was his final work and was finished by his assistants. In their open letter at the end of the chapter, they stated that their first priority would always be him, what he would think if he were still with them. Since then, they have been quiet on the matter, and it seems like it will stay that way until Volume 41 is in everyone's hands.
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