The death of Kentaro Miura has left his fans devastated. It applies equally to the ones who were close to him as well as who knew him by his most famous work, Berserk. There has been no concrete communication by Hakusensha on the future of the manga over the past few months leaving everyone in dilemma.
The continuation of Berserk after passing away of its mangaka Kentaro Miura is still hanging by a thread. The no conclusion zone has also been conveyed by the editorial afterword and Young Animal of Berserk volume 41.
In the recently released tankobon Volume 41, Hakusensha said she hadn’t made any decisions about Berserk’s future. The editorial note added at the end of the volume, therefore, leaves a bad taste in the mouth for those hoping for a continuation or at least a definitive decision.
It’s frustrating that there’s no definitive answer on whether Berserk will be continued or not, but I guess it’s to be expected given how hard it’ll be to replace Miura.
Still, I truly think that Berserk should continue. A story like this deserves a proper ending and closure. Ending the story in the last chapter would go against the entire moral of the story which is to keep going despite the overwhelming odds against you.
having said that, if Miura-san hasn’t left clear and precise guidelines on Berserk’s future for his assistants with Studio Gaga, one should leave the thought of a sequel and an “official” ending. His work must rest in peace with him.
The Hakusensha publishing house released Volume 41 of Berserk, Kentaro Miura’s manga in two versions, Standard and Deluxe. Berserk Volume 41 release date was set for December 24, 2021, Christmas Eve. Hakusensha on Amazon has displayed the Berserk Volume 41 Deluxe Edition. It will contain a Drama CD and the canvas painting visible at the bottom (23.9cm x 8.7cm). It comprises only 7 chapters from 358 to 364. The last one was finished by Kentaro’s assistants.
Apart from these, Berserk Volume 41 will also be published by Dark Horse, a North American publisher and get a launch in Summer 2022, hopefully, a deluxe edition.
In the meantime, Berserk will have advertisements to commemorate the release of Volume 41 in the biggest newspapers- The New York Times, Le Monde, and Asahi Shimbun. Le Monde and Asahi Shimbun are leading newspapers in France and Japan, respectively.
Today, on December 24th (Friday), the Asahi Shimbun, The New York Times, and Le Monde’s three world newspapers will publish an advertisement for “Berserk” at the same time. Click here for the visuals of each of the three papers. If you can get each paper, please have a look!
Miura’s passing has brought a lot of attention to Berserk. It’s selling like crazy right now. A board of execs/publishers could easily decide that a definitive “it’s over” could hurt the sales from new customers who are getting into the franchise after the recent incidents.
There are chances of Young Animal moving ahead with the storyline because Berserk manga is doing exceptionally well in terms of sales and brand interest. A ton of people decided to check Berserk out after Miura’s passing, because of all the praise and publicity his work has gotten. The question arises why would a board of execs/publishers risk damaging their sales for no reason?
Is Berserk anime streaming on Netflix?
Netflix is streaming 2 seasons of Berserk anime. As far as movies are concerned, three of the Berserk movies namely The Egg of the King, The Battle for Doldrey, and The Advent, are streaming on Netflix US. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t have the original 1997 Berserk anime in its catalogue. It also refuted rumours about working on a live-action movie adaptation of Berserk.
Berserk was a masterpiece in itself. It marked an era that inspired many other productions, including manga, video games and many other recent collective imaginaries.
