Berserk Writer Talks Origin of The Series
New Berserk writer, Koji Mouri, discusses the origins of the Band of the Hawk and Guts' dark journey.
Berserk's legendary creator, Kentaro Miura, passed away before the grand finale of Guts and the remnants of the Band of the Hawk could be told. While the decision was difficult to continue the manga without Miura, the manga artist's friends at Studio Gaga and writer Kouji Mori are aiming to end Guts' long journey. In a recent interview, Mori discussed his early friendship with Miura and how their shared high school days helped to forge the dark anime franchise.
Kouji Mori stated how both his and Kentaro Miura's university adventures helped to forge the story of Berserk, with a Judo Team helping to create several members of the Band of the Hawk, "After that, there was an interfaculty judo tournament at Nihon University. The Faculty of Arts doesn't usually participate, but I was so strong, and Miura was also invited to participate as a representative of the faculty. The five people who participated at that time were Mori, Miura, Judeau, Korkas, and Rickert. Her face is just like that too."
"Naturally, we couldn't win against the jealous and womanizing Corcas and the handyman Rickert, so Miura, myself, and Judau had no choice but to win three times. I've known Judau since high school, and I didn't know him until then, but he used to do judo, and I was able to win because of his dexterity. So we won three games, and even though we didn't win, we were in a pretty good place as an art department among the amazing guys in the physical education department."
Berserk's High School Origins
Mouri then explained how several lines and events from Berserk were influenced by the writer and Kentaro Miura's shared university experience, "A lot of the lines are taken from things we both talked about in high school. One of my favorite stories is "The Bonfire of Dreams." Even if just for a moment, these disparate friends share a goal, achieve it, and have a drink together. That story also happened at my high school's cultural festival. Miura and I distanced ourselves from where everyone was having fun at the after-party and said, `I'm swinging my sword (pen). Not for anyone, but for myself. To kick out my momentary spark.' I was doing something like, `Ni...' lol. Even though there is a sense of security and joy in being part of everyone's circle, I still have to continue fighting a lonely battle somewhere on the last line."