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RIP Kentaro Miura (Berserk creator)

decisions

Member
This is truly devastating. Rest in peace to a legendary artist who has influenced so many.

I have only seen the 97 anime but it is one of my all-time favorites and I have always wanted to read the manga since watching it, which I certainly will start soon with those awesome Deluxe editions.

I hope that he outlined the ending and his protege can finish it. Even if it isn't as good, why not try?
 
Wow... I have no words. Usually I'm not that moved by anyone passing but this news just makes me feel empty.

I only started reading Berserk 2-3 years ago but it almost instantly became my favourite story of all time - and I usually don't even like Manga. Most amazing characters and an incredibly emotional storyline. Sadly we will never get to know the end of it. At least Miura got to write Casca back to "life" before he passed. Together with Griffith getting a slap to the face from Rickert I kinda accept this a fitting closure.

RIP Kentaro and thank you so much for this journey.

Will collect the deluxe edition of the Manga until the end and then keep em forever.
 
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lachesis

Member
What the hell.
RIP Miura. He was really dedicated and talented artist.

One less pleasure in the world. Although I haven't really followed latest Berserk episodes - but I mourn the loss...
 

Rikkori

Member
These guys have brutal work schedules, not conducive to a long life sadly. It's too bad they can't pace it better, it would be great for them to enjoy more of a directorial role in old age for their creations.
 
These guys have brutal work schedules, not conducive to a long life sadly. It's too bad they can't pace it better, it would be great for them to enjoy more of a directorial role in old age for their creations.
This. No wonder some mangakas take a long break or never go back to work (Toriyama) after finishing long series.

I wish the industry would be more lenient with authors who have trouble drawing weekly and allow them to submit a new chapter every two or three weeks.

This reminds me, it's insane that Morikawa, who started Ippo in 1989, is still active. That dude has been drawing consistently longer than I have been alive.
 

SF Kosmo

Banned
This. No wonder some mangakas take a long break or never go back to work (Toriyama) after finishing long series.

I wish the industry would be more lenient with authors who have trouble drawing weekly and allow them to submit a new chapter every two or three weeks.

This reminds me, it's insane that Morikawa, who started Ippo in 1989, is still active. That dude has been drawing consistently longer than I have been alive.
Miura DID have a sweetheart deal with Young Animal that allowed him to publish at his own pace, take time off etc. But Berserk is so intensive, he would still end up working crazy hours just to deliver the 3-4 issues a year that he was doing.

Which, when you look at some of the art in Berserk, you can see why. Miura was a maniac. No one else in the industry does anything close to what he's doing.
 

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
My arms:

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No words.

Truly, an end of an era.
Awesome man. I've been wanting to get the brand tattoo myself.
 
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My heart breaks hearing the news. The collection will remain unfinished, but it will always have a space reserved on the shelf. Thank you for the many years of delightful reading and wonderous artwork surrounding the journey of Guts, Casca, Griffith, and all the cast of Berserk.

Rest in peace, Miura.

 

oagboghi2

Member
I would want his assistants to finish it. Anyone who has looked at Miura's recent manga Duranki where they do all the drawing shows they are a decent copy of him. Just a question of whether he shared with them the outline for Berserk's ending. I would even take some novels.
Yeah, I’m noticing there is a large debate online over whether his assistants should finish, or whether they should stop now.

it’s a testament to how great Miura’s work was that this is even a conversation
 
It's really dawning on me what a loss this is. In terms of modern genre fantasy, Berserk is practically on the level of the Aeneid for me. And it, as a piece of literature, has a lot of parallels - while the narrative of the Aeneid is complete, Virgil never considered it finished. Both (have now) ended abruptly with the narrative surprising tied up but still incomplete, their authors gone without realizing their full vision yet leaving behind something that anyone else would consider a masterpiece. It's a modern classic.

The only other series that comes close IMO is One Piece, which is basically the Japanese Odyssey + bits of the Illiad (especially Marineford).
 
Yeah, I’m noticing there is a large debate online over whether his assistants should finish, or whether they should stop now.

it’s a testament to how great Miura’s work was that this is even a conversation

If he had a few chapters basically done that still need some polish, I'd be okay with them getting the Silmarillion treatment. Maybe bring in another mangaka to help with keeping tone. But if they start going Brian Herbert or August Derleth-type "filling in the blanks" or pastiching that would be terrible.
 
J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
Also for any creatives in here, please don't hold off on your long term projects for too long. Do your best to finish what you've started because tomorrow isn't always promised.
 

oagboghi2

Member
I’ve heard for years that the ending was done, and he had notes. He was just struggling to get there. But of course this is all just here say and rumour.

I don’t think this is going to be a situation where someone comes along and makes shit up aka Game of thrones.
 

Wimbledon

Member
I was just talking about Berserk today at work, this and Vagabond and Hunter X Hunter are my favorite works.

But nothing I've found written yet in manga that has surpassed that first part of Beserk. That first park leading up to Griffiths's betrayal and everyone being sacrificed for Griffiths's dream was a Masterpiece.
 
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CGiRanger

Banned
I’ve heard for years that the ending was done, and he had notes. He was just struggling to get there. But of course this is all just here say and rumour.

I don’t think this is going to be a situation where someone comes along and makes shit up aka Game of thrones.
I'd imagine if they did continue those who worked closest to him would have the honor to do it justice to the best of their abilities and maintain as close to the spirit of his work as they can possibly execute. Their own pride would be on the line after all, as well as honoring their mentor.

I dunno how they would want to proceed if it does go on. There are many ways to go about it depending on how they want to enshrine his work. If they want everything from Miura to be its own thing, they could potentially end "Berserk" as is, and rebrand anything from now on with a subtitle or such, to note this transition.
 
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SF Kosmo

Banned
I just looked up The Overcoat.

Yeah, that shit's never getting done.
No, I don't think it is.

There's apparently a new documentary about it, which I just found out about because I was thinking of unfinished masterpieces after Miura. Gonna watch it tonight.
I’ve heard for years that the ending was done, and he had notes. He was just struggling to get there. But of course this is all just here say and rumour.

I don’t think this is going to be a situation where someone comes along and makes shit up aka Game of thrones.
Game of Thrones wasn't "just making shit up," they got their key plot points from GRRM, but they didn't know how to write to those points, how to flesh out the character development to get there, so those plot points didn't connect.

That would be my big concern with Berserk. Miura has his big plot points, his reveals, his answers to the big questions mapped our, but not the details, which he famously made up as he went along. And particularly when you consider how challenging Berserk tends to be as a narrative, making those events actually work requires a light touch.

I think there's no harm in trying, nothing can undo what he has done so far, but it's a tall order.
 
I have the old McFarlane one and a Skull knight, but probably warped to shit by now. I always think about doing a resin model but I know more about painting mechanical stuff than figures.

I got the Beserker Armor Guts Figma a while back. It's pretty nice.
 
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SF Kosmo

Banned
I got the Beserker Armor Guts Figma a while back. It's pretty nice.
This is the one I have been eyeballing.


I do know how to airbrush and brush paint, but this is just a very different style compared to what I'm used to (vehicles and mechs and such). But it might be fun to try.
 
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This is the one I have been eyeballing.


I do know how to airbrush and brush paint, but this is just a very different style compared to what I'm used to (vehicles and mechs and such). But it might be fun to try.

I'd like to get into real models once I get an actual house and can make a workshop area. I'm renting a tiny three room apartment now, and between my work-from-home desk and personal PC area I don't have much free space for projects.
 
I’m absolutely heartbroken over his death. Berserk had a huge impact on me growing up. I started reading it just after middle school, and into high school, into college, and now years later I was still following it. Berserk was a part of my life for decades. No not her dark fantasy even comes close.

RIP Kentaro Miura
 

Dacon

Banned
I’ve heard for years that the ending was done, and he had notes. He was just struggling to get there. But of course this is all just here say and rumour.

I don’t think this is going to be a situation where someone comes along and makes shit up aka Game of thrones.

If he left notes and outlined the rest of the storyline, then Studio GAGA could finish it. They were trained by Miura and Duranki, the manga they worked on looks almost identical to his artstyle. Miura did the script and they did the art.

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Still, what a devastating loss.
 
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SF Kosmo

Banned
I'd like to get into real models once I get an actual house and can make a workshop area. I'm renting a tiny three room apartment now, and between my work-from-home desk and personal PC area I don't have much free space for projects.
Oh yeah I have no proper work space (yay New York apartments), my shit folds up and goes away when I'm not working. It's not ideal, but I make it work.

I love making models, it was a hobby when I was a kid through my teenage years but I gave it up for about 20 years after that and came back to it a few years ago and found it very therapeutic. Helps my concentration and focus which has been shit since working from home.

I haven't done a resin kit though. I have a couple I bought but I haven't worked up the nerve to build them yet especially when I have some cool plastic to work on.
 

Fbh

Member
Fuck this still feels unreal.

Yeah, I’m noticing there is a large debate online over whether his assistants should finish, or whether they should stop now.

it’s a testament to how great Miura’s work was that this is even a conversation

Personally, if he left notes or if he talked to his assistant about where it was all going. What I'd like to see is someone writing it down and releasing it in text format accompanied with some illustrations of key moments. Sort of like a short illustrated book.

Continuing the story as a manga would be kinda weird. There's so much more to storytelling than just the overall plot. It's the dialog, the pacing, character interactions, the panels, visual design.

In the end though, whatever they end up doing with Berserk, I hope those who were close to him do what they think he would have liked.
 
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LMJ

Member
Damn tragic news...

Way too young, but he has forever created a fantasy epic for generations to be inspired by

Guts and his blade are timeless as they should be

Rest in Peace good sir
 

Labolas

Member
As I said in the anime and manga thread, one of the best mangka ever. There will be no one coming close to his creativity
 
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12Goblins

Lil’ Gobbie
Surprised and saddened to read the comments in this thread. I had heard of it, but had no idea it was this close to people's hearts. RIP.
 

Yoboman

Member
DAmn RIP!! Is Berserk cancelled now?

Its sad but imagine that it can happen to Oda too before he finishs One Piece
Oda at least has an end in sight in the next five years and he is taking regular breaks

When he finishes he will hopefully have a long and restful retirement for 40-50 years 🙏
 

Naibel

Member
It's been two days and I still can't get over it, and part of me still is in denial. The last time it's been like this was with Satoshi Kon's death. Like him, his loss will be hugely felt and his talent will be irreplaceable.

My sister basically said she cried all day when she heard the news. She's a massive Berserk fan and was the one that got me into reading it. I'm forever thankful for that, other mangas (save for, I dunno, Monster I guess, but that's "apples to oranges"), simply can't compete with this masterpiece of art and plot.

I want to know what's next for Guts and Casca but I dunno if his assistants can carry such a huge weight. Sometimes it's better not to tarnish such a perfect legacy and simply accept this incredible work as is, incomplete as it may be. At least Casca sorta came to her senses, that's all that matters :messenger_relieved:...
Bless your soul, Miura-sensei, and may it rest in peace...
 

Sophist

Member
For french speakers, he once did an interview for Le Figaro back in 2019 that you can read here
He ended the interview with this sentence
Après tout, c’est le destin des mangaka de l’ère Shôwa, que de mourir à leur table de dessin.
(After all, it is the fate/destiny of the Shouwa-era mangaka to die at their drafting tables).
 
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For french speakers, he once did an interview for Le Figaro back in 2019 that you can read here
He ended the interview with this sentence
Après tout, c’est le destin des mangaka de l’ère Shôwa, que de mourir à leur table de dessin.
(After all, it is the fate/destiny of the Shouwa-era mangaka to die at their drafting tables).
Thank you for sharing this. The interviewer insisted way too much on the topic of a hypothetical movie adaptation.

Here's a couple hints given by Miura about where the story was headed:
- It would have refocused on Guts and Griffith.
- The first "serious" duel with Griffith was drawing near. This could've meant that several fights between Guts and Griffith were planned.
 

MaestroMike

Gold Member
only saw the anime like 15 years ago in hs and read some of the manga always told myself I'd get back to it one day always felt a weird connection to guts and casca probably time to go back to it
 

NewComer

Member
Oh no...Berserk is my favorite manga of all time! I'm very dispirited to hear this but I'm not crying. He created one of the most legendary pieces of fiction ever observed in the manga sphere. His story and artwork will live on forever in the dark fantasy literature!
 
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