Berserk Staff Condemns Popular Fan Anime Ahead of Its Release

The staff responsible for Berserk condemns the fan anime created by Studio Eclypse.

By Evan Valentine

Following the tragic passing of Berserk creator Kentaro Miura, the likes of Studio Gaga, writer Kouji Mori, and publisher Young Animal made the difficult decision of continuing Guts' story to honor the fallen manga artist. As the manga has released new chapters on a sporadic basis, there has been no word regarding an anime adaptation that will bring to life events from the Band of the Hawks' journey. Keeping this in mind, fan studios have worked on animations that portray the story of Guts in their unique styles. Unfortunately, one of the biggest of these projects has received condemnation from those working on the brutal manga franchise.

Deciding to continue Berserk following the passing was no easy choice to make for those working on the manga's newest chapters. It took one year following the passing of Miura for his friends at Studio Gaga, and writer Kouji Mori, to decide that the best way to honor the fallen artist was to bring an ending to the long-running series. Luckily, the creative team that now leads the charge was given notes and commentary from Miura himself regarding how he planned on ending the series. While the next manga chapter has yet to confirm a release date, the series is marching forward toward its grand finale.

The Berserk Staff Isn't a Fan of Studio Eclypse

In a surprising new social media post, the official Berserk account on X (Formerly known as Twitter) distanced itself from Studio Eclypse's fan animation. Hakusensha Inc., the holders of the property, released the following statement, "The production of a Berserk animation is being announced on the following X account (https://x.com/studio_eclypse) and website (https://www.studio-eclypse.com), but such production has not been authorized by Kentaro Miura (Studio Gaga), the copyright holder. In addition, the videos accompanying the announcements are being displayed without permission."

What is Studio Eclypse? 

For those who might not be familiar, Studio Eclypse is a fan studio that has released several trailers for an upcoming project titled, "Berserk: The Black Swordsman". There has yet to be an official release date for this new animated project though the fan collective has stated that they were aiming for a 2025 release. As of the writing of this article, Eclypse has yet to release an official statement and/or state if Hakusensha Inc's statement means that they will reverse course on the project itself. 

Eclypse isn't the only studio that garnered headlines in creating fan-made Berserk tributes. Studio ARCHE released a new fan anime that attempted to recreate the style of the 1997 Berserk anime series, picking up where the original series had left off with Guts' story. Following this new statement from the official franchise, the future appears uncertain for these Berserk fan animations.

Berserk's Anime Future

The last time that Band of the Hawk fans had the chance to catch Berserk on the small screen was thanks to the compilation series, Berserk: Memorial Edition. Studio 4°C's original trilogy of films recreating the Golden Age Arc acted as the source material for this latest anime, though the anime adaptation did inject some new scenes into the proceedings which were originally left on the cutting room floor. Despite the franchise's continuing popularity, Berserk has yet to announce a future anime adaptation.

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While Berserk has had its fair share of anime projects, vast swaths of stories have not been adapted to the screen. Should the Band of the Hawk return to the anime world proper, there are more than enough battles and events to help populate several seasons, and/or movies, for an anime adaptation.

Want to follow along with the ongoing developments of the Band of the Hawk? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook for the latest updates on the world of Berserk. 

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