4 Years Ago, the Anime World Lost Its Best Fantasy Creator (But His Work Still Thrives Today)

Kentaro Miura died on May 6th, 2021, passing away due to acute aortic dissection. Miura’s impact on the anime world was a big one, and with his story never finished, many fans believed that Kentaro’s work would never reach its conclusion. Four years following the passing of the manga artist, Berserk has continued thanks to Miura’s devoted friends taking the reins to honor their departed comrade. To help celebrate the life and works of Kentaro Miura, now is the perfect time to highlight the mangaka’s work and review what writer Kouji Mori and the artists at Studio Gaga have done with the series so far.

Kentaro Miura first started the Berserk manga in 1989, introducing the world to Guts the Black Swordsman as the terrible Eclipse had already taken place. The printed story took a unique route in showing where Guts was in the present and then chronicling his earlier years growing up as a part of a mercenary band and eventually finding kinship with the Band of the Hawk. While he would find good friends in Griffith, Casca, and the other young soldiers in the mercenary group, Guts would eventually attempt to carve out his place in the world, to horrible effect. Betrayed by Griffith and losing an eye and an arm in the process, Guts would wander the Earth in search of revenge.

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Berserk’s Past

Berserk is a story that is filled with some of the most horrific imagery in manga history but that hasn’t stopped the series from having truly touching moments and life-affirming messaging in its pages. Miura’s last manga chapter before he passed was a perfect example of this. While not definitively bringing the story to a close, Kentaro presented Griffith arriving on the magical land of Elfhelm, creating a heartfelt reunion that would turn into a nightmare. This chapter made for a worthy farewell to the series but Miura’s friends had a different idea.

Kentaro Miura not finishing the series was a tragedy for any number of reasons but a major one was clearly that the end was in sight. After decades of following Guts and the Band of the Hawk, there had been hints that the final chapter was within sight though was still years away. While Mori and Gaga aren’t Kentaro Miura, they have been using his notes and talks with the manga artist to forget Berserk’s future.

Berserk’s Present

Since Studio Gaga worked with Miura on Berserk for quite some time, the art has been able to retain the general feel of Midland’s universe. On top of this fact, Kouji Mori has been using detailed notes of where Kentaro Miura wanted the series to go in its grand finale and has experience in writing manga of his own. Luckily, Berserk’s recent chapters have been able to maintain the high quality that was always a factor for the original manga that started it all. Even with the destruction of Elfhelm and the kidnapping of Casca, there are still some bright spots for Guts and his crew.

The Black Swordsman was captured by the Kushan Empire, an Eastern nation that has been friend and foe to Guts in the past. Realizing that they will need to join forces to take down Griffith and his horrible new faction of the Band of the Hawk, the stage is set for the conflict that will end the series proper. Mori and Studio Gaga have yet to state when the final chapter will be released but it’s a good sign for fans who have stuck with the series for decades awaiting a definitive conclusion. Unfortunately, as of the writing of this article, no new anime adaptation has been confirmed but it’s only a matter of time before we see Guts and the Band of the Hawk make a comeback.

Want to see what the future holds for the Band of the Hawk? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Berserk and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.