The passing of Kentaro Miura left a major hole in the anime world, as the loss of Berserk’s creator meant that manga readers would no longer be able to witness his stellar art and epic storytelling explore the Band of the Hawk’s world. Agonizing over the decision as to whether or not to continue the story of Guts, writer Kouji Mori and the artists at Studio Gaga decided to finish what Miura started. In a new interview, Mori discussed how the series might end and how Miura’s notes will help cap off the brutal franchise.
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The last chapter Kentaro Miura created saw Griffith landing on the magical realm known as Elfhelm, shown to be the “Moonlight Boy” that had made various appearances in the manga’s past. Following this major revelation, Mori and Studio Gaga’s artists hit the ground floor running and saw not only the destruction of Elfhelm by Griffith but saw Casca kidnapped by the White Hawk and his demonic forces. As Guts and his surviving allies hit the seas and struggle with what to do next, the “Eastern Exile” Arc has begun and promises to throw some unexpected problems the Black Swordsman’s way.
Berserk’s Grand Finale
In talking with the Japanese Outlet Asashi, Kouji Mori discussed the eventual finale of the story that both himself and Gaga’s artists are headed towards thanks to the notes of Kentaro Miura, “It has a grand worldview, and there are various foreshadowings and all kinds of devices to close the story. This story exists for the final episode.”
Mori then further discussed the difficulty decision to continue Berserk following Miura’s passing and how the eventual choice was made to end the Band of the Hawk’s story as a way to honor his departed friend, “Miura-kun is a genius who possesses all of the above-mentioned concepts, mechanisms, drawing skills, and enthusiasm for completing the project. That’s why I thought it would be impossible to continue Berserk without Miura. Although I wanted to present to the world the idea that my best friend had in his head, I didn’t want to create a mook book where I would add illustrations and tell Miura-kun how he was thinking. I just had to put something out there. That’s the feeling I had.”
What are your predictions for Berserk’s series finale? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the Band of the Hawk.
