‘Tears of Morning Dew’ - Berserk and the Passing of Kentaro Miura
By Alfie Stubbs, Third Year History
On 11 July 1966, one of the most influential manga artists of all time was born, Kentaro Miura. Born in Chiba, Miura quickly learned to love creating manga, with his first series, Miuranger, being published at the age of 10 within his school publication. In 1982, he befriended Kouji Mori, a fellow manga lover and artist who first worked with Miura in co-authoring an unsuccessful science fiction manga for Weekly Shonen Sunday.
A photo of Kentaro Miura.
At the age of 18, Miura worked as an assistant to George Morikawa, author of Hajime no Ippo, but after having his skills recognised by Morikawa, he was dismissed. Henceforth, Miura submitted various series for publication, but whilst some were accepted, none were successful. However, success would soon come with the publication of Berserk.
In 1989, Berserk was first published in the seinen manga magazine Young Animal (previously Monthly Animal House), and would quickly catapult Miura to national fame. The medieval-Europe inspired dark fantasy story follows the lone mercenary and swordsman Guts, and his journey of revenge against Griffith, the ex-leader of Guts’ mercenary band. The story of Guts carving out a place for himself in a world that constantly rejects him quickly captured the hearts of the Japanese public, and continues to be felt today.
A duel between Griffith (left) and Guts (right) as the latter prepares to leave his mercenary group, the Band of the Hawk.
In 1997, Miura supervised a twenty-five-episode anime adaptation of Berserk, bringing the already popular series to a brand new audience. In 2002, Miura received the Award for Excellence at the 6th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes for Berserk, but his legacy would reach far beyond the anime and manga scene. Apart from the series itself being adapted into a variety of media, Berserk has influenced some of the most popular video games of all time. Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, Dante from Devil May Cry, and the sprawling world and monster designs from the Dark Souls series were all openly inspired by Miura’s legendary work.
From 2006 onwards, Berserk would frequently go on extended hiatuses, alternating between monthly and irregular releases, sadly hinting at Miura’s deteriorating health. At the age of 54, on May 6th, 2021, Miura passed away from acute aortic dissection. After it was publicly announced 2 weeks later, fans across the world would quickly show their profound love for Miura. Kouji Mori and George Morikawa both shared their story of friendship with Miura, fellow manga authors like Vinland Saga’s Makoto Yukimura would tweet their shock at the news, and fans even hosted a memorial service within the online game Final Fantasy XIV.
The cover of Volume 27 of Berserk, featuring Guts’ iconic design complete with his prosthetic arm, Berserker armour and his sword, the Dragon Slayer.
Upon Miura’s death, Berserk sat unfinished, with Chapter 364 being the last completed manuscript that he inked, and volume 41 being the last completed volume in the series. This left the series on a tragic cliffhanger, where Guts and Griffith come face to face after Guts found his place in the world, letting go of his quest for revenge. On June 7th, 2022, Kouji Mori announced that he would continue Berserk himself, promising to only write the plans Miura had personally told Mori about the series, alongside a memoranda and character designs that Miura left behind. By 2023, it had over 60 million copies in circulation worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
Miura’s impact on manga and the world cannot be understated. For everything he has done for fans, he shall always be seen as a legend, a pioneer, and a hero.
Guts lays a flower on the grave of Kentaro Miura. Credit to @Wanotta on X.
Kentaro Miura (1966-2021), thank you.
Edited by Ben Bryant