The late Kentaro Miura’s Berserk manga series will return on June 24 on Young Animal. The series will continue under the supervision of Kouji Mori, and be drawn by Studio Gaga. The Young Animal Editing department issued a public statement regarding the continuation of the series, Miura’s wish, and their plans for the series.
The official English notice posted on the Hakusensha social media explained that Mori is a long-time friend of Miura and has a full understanding of what Miura had planned for the end of Berserk. So it seems the perfect fit for Mori and Studio Gaga (Miura’s art studio) to continue the serialization after the manga was suspended for a year. Kouji Mori is also known to create the manga, Suicide Island.
▍Berserk Continuation Announcement
In a public statement by Hakusensha, they announced they will be continuing the berserk series following the overwhelming outpour of support from fans for The Great Berserk Exhibition (Dai Berserk-Ten).
The announcement goes on to talk about Kentaro Miura’s discussion with Kouji Mori, and how he left him with plot details and future plans for the series with him and other staff members. Wondering how people would respond if characters would be drawn in a certain way, and fan reception. He never meant the conversations to be his last words, but just the musings of a manga artist.
To honor Kentaro Miura’s thoughts and his wishes for the story, they decided to continue the series with Kouji Mori, based on the simple principle that “Mr.Miura said so”. The team aims to continue the series as closely as they can to Kentaro Miura’s vision, despite not being left with a manuscript, or any other notes regarding the future of the series.
Hakusensha will deliver Beserk’s six chapters to finish off the Fantasia Arc, and will continue a brand new arc afterward. The series will be credited as original work by Kentaro Miura, manga by studio gaga, supervised by Kouji Mori, continuing the series in the manga order.
The publisher ended with closing thoughts on Berserk, and how grateful they were that people enjoyed Kentaro Miura’s work and how much he has touched the world and hopes everyone will be able to continue that connection when Berserk resumes in Young Animal No.13 on June 24.
▍About Berserk
Berserk is a manga series written by the late Kentaro Miura. The story follows Guts, a traveling swordsman, also known as the Black Swordsman, carrying his signature giant blade, slaying demons. Guts is branded by the Brand of Sacrifice, causing demons to follow him wherever he goes, making sleep an impossible dream, and his rage never-ending. Fueled by one goal in mind, to take revenge on Griffith, the man that betrayed him, and caused him to be branded, Guts travels endlessly until he can one day meet Griffith again.
The story has been running since 1989 and is heavily influential in fantasy media. From Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, and most notably Dark Souls, the series has had an unimaginably large impact on popular media and is a big part of why much of the games and anime we love are the way it is today.