Kouji Mori and his former assistants will continue to work on Kentaro Miura’s Berserk manga based on his legacy before his death.
>>> See also: Manga author Berserk passed away
A major announcement from publisher Hakusensha that the legendary manga Berserk will continue to be published in the future. Taking on responsibility from the late mangaka Kentaro Miura is his friend, Kouji Mori, and his former assistants.
In a message from Mori on the Hakusensha website, he was the only one Miura informed about Berserk’s full story.
“I will recall the details as much as I can and continue telling the story. In addition, I will only write the volumes that Miura has revealed to me.” – wrote Mori.
“I won’t go into dissecting it. I won’t write episodes that I don’t remember well. I will only write the lines and stories that Miura accurately described for me. Of course, it won’t be perfect. Even so, I think I can almost tell the story Miura wants to tell.”
Hakusensha’s editorial staff noted that the author Miura herself did not leave rough drafts for the series and stated that although it was impossible to produce an exact copy of the manuscript Miura wanted, it would not falsify the legacy. Mr. Miura’s wish. As to how the continuation will be done on the publishing side, will first publish six chapters until the end of the ‘ Arc Fantasia/Elf Island. They will then start a brand new arc.
Publisher Hakusensha also guarantees ownership of Berserk. After the author change, Berserk will still have the credits “Original work by Kentaro Miura, Manga by Studio Gaga, Supervised by Kouji Mori”. Numbering the manga volumes will maintain their order.
Currently, 41 tankoubon volumes have been published as of December 2021. Miura died following surgery on a ruptured aorta on May 6, 2021 at the age of 54.
Mori shared that he wasn’t sure what to do with his knowledge of Berserk’s story at first, saying he wondered if he should speak to fans through an interview or publish the article. newspaper with illustrations. Here is an excerpt from his statement:
“Just when I was trying to decide what to do, I got a text. The staff members who were discussing that they would finish the last chapter were left behind, so they asked if I could take a look?
The last few pages of the chapter are unfinished. Some are not even completely blank. I went through the manuscript, not expecting much. But despair can motivate people to create miracles. And here it is, the finished manuscript for Berserk.
“Mori, will you let us do that?” – Miura’s apprentices, whom Miura was very proud of while alive, asked me directly.
The company director Shimada, who mentored me and Miura, also said, “If you do that, the company will give you full support.”
I thought, if I ran away now, Miura would say: “I told you about it a lot, but didn’t you do it?”.
“OK. I will do it the right way.” – Mori said in the announcement will continue Berserk.
Berserk first began serialization in Animal House by publisher Hakusensha in 1989 and was later transferred to Young Animal in 1992. The manga has had several animated film adaptations, including Berserk 1997, a trilogy of Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 2012-2013 and a 2016 CG anime. Berserk has also been adapted into a number of video games, inspired by many franchises, most famously the Soul series. and FromSoftware’s Elden Ring.
>>> See also: Elden Ring pays homage to the late manga author Berserk who inspired the creation of Dark Souls
>>> Get the latest news about movies/story here.