Kentarou Miura has passed away

[Wyrm]

Haven't been in this forum in years but hearing the sad news I've come to present my condolences to you all.
I was/am a casual Berserk fan unlike this forum mods and participants. This is indeed a labor of love and I can imagine that most, if not all of you, are truly mourning at this terrible moment.

They say we die twice, the first time when our body fails and the second when the last person who remembers our name dies.
If that is the case then Kentarou Miura will be alive for ages to come.

Rest In Peace, Sensei.

 

[JamesS]

Hi all, I just wanted to say I really love this website and all the members here. I love the skullknight team. Thank you for everything. I love listening to the podcasts.

I found out what happened yesterday morning when my friend messaged me. It was the last thing I ever expected to happen. I always thought that no matter Miura would be around forever and would see his masterpiece to completion. We could all tell nothing was more important to him than berserk in life. He was not going to let something silly like death get in the way. It would have to wait. But here we are. Berserk and miura were always there and I felt like they would always be there. I found berserk 10 years ago and I have been rereading chapters everyday since.

I think the reason I admired Miura so much was because he was a man who was passionate about the craft. He was a quiet man who let his work speak for himself. Berserk is all about having dreams and working towards a goal and while guts was trying to look for a dream to follow. Guts was miuras dream. Miura I just want to say thank you so much for what you have brought into this world. A breathtaking work. I dont have words to describe how berserk makes me feel when I read it. It is a radiant chaos. I feel like I am saying goodbye to guts too because miura was guts in my opinion. I don't know if it is silly to feel such a way for somebody who is not real but guts just means so much to me and I care about him as if he were real. I don't want to continue rambling, so I'll just say again thank you Miura, you and your work will stay in my mind and my heart until the day I die.

 

[Defengar]

Didn't find out till today. Utterly devastated. I first read through what was published so far when I was to young, some time in middle school, but I'm glad I did anyways because I knew it was by far the greatest piece of art I had consumed up to that point, and remains in my top 3 to this day. I'm 26 and this is the hardest I've been hit by an artists' death. I can't imagine how much this must hurt for any old hands who've been with the series near as long as I've been alive.

 

[bolee]

I posted about it a few pages ago. I'm still planning to do it, but we have to be a little patient because there is a risk otherwise that Hakusensha will refuse to accept delivery of what we send. Please stay tuned, I'm working on it. I will probably have more concrete information next week.

Thanks Aazealh I hope we can make something that truly shows how much we appreciated Miura.

 

[Defengar]

Genuinely a titan of his craft, one of the giants that future masters stand on the shoulders of. From what I'm reading he left story notes, I hope his assistants can do the rest justice, I know they respected the heck out of him for paying them enough to buy their own houses when so many others in this industry do the bare minimum for their help. A truly great man, rest in peace.

 

[noise]

This is devastating news, I still can't believe it. May he rest in peace.

 

[Aazealh]

Yesterday, Puella and I scheduled white flowers to be delivered to Young Animal's offices in order to honor Miura-sensei. However today I was told they refused to accept them "due to too many flowers being delivered there", according to the florist. I believe this shows how strongly people are feeling about his death and so I wanted to share it with everyone.

Like evoked earlier, I will keep you all posted on the planned writing campaign to express our sorrow and condolences.

 

[Guin]

Do you think they will release volume 41? I know it will be one of the shortest volumes with only 6 episodes I believe. But I had a thought that they could use the remaining pages as a memorial of sorts honouring Miuras memory maybe with excerpts from other mangaka and people that knew him just sharing their memories. They could include many things.

 

[Walter]

Someone on Reddit posted a collection of different artists' responses to Miura's death, with translations and links to the source. Worth checking out: https://www.reddit.com/r/Berserk/comments/nhsse7/industry_artists_pay_tribute_to_kentaro_miura/

 

[Aazealh]

Do you think they will release volume 41? I know it will be one of the shortest volumes with only 6 episodes I believe. But I had a thought that they could use the remaining pages as a memorial of sorts honouring Miuras memory maybe with excerpts from other mangaka and people that knew him just sharing their memories. They could include many things.

I'm sure they will. Zero doubt about that.

 

[Ryouma]

I've never been an active member, except around Gigantomakhia (reveal period to release) which I love almost as much as Berserk itself, still nourishing my passion/imagination for years to come. In only one volume, Miura sensei delivered a world so fresh and nostalgic at the same time, rich, evocative, inspiring, a unique character & world building. I'm still impress and inspired.

I discovered Berserk during summer of 1996 with the first (terrible) french edition of Berserk volume 1 that my cousin just bought, and he was excited to share it with me. I was 11 years old then. I'm now 36. It would be difficult to pinpoint exacly how much it shaped who I am today but Berserk gave me principles, ethics and a level of expectation for myself and others that I still carry to this day. All my close friends have read Berserk and when I met my wife the fact she was drawn to it was another proof she is indeed the one. All my close relations have been tested in way by the level of appreciation/comprehension of Miura's work.
Anyway, in the end,
I'm glad we can all share this weight together and witness the appreciation growing and reaching even more readers than before.

 

[iguana]

Someone on Reddit posted a collection of different artists' responses to Miura's death, with translations and links to the source. Worth checking out: https://www.reddit.com/r/Berserk/comments/nhsse7/industry_artists_pay_tribute_to_kentaro_miura/

Thank you for that!

 

[Corr]

It’s been almost two days but I’m still lost for words.

I’m 35 years old, and 18 of them I spent with Berserk. I’m a writer, so fictional stories are my greatest passion, and Berserk is by far the dearest one to me. For almost two decades I’ve been following this masterpiece, eagerly waiting for the next chapter. And now it’s all over. Every fiber of my being is rising against the fact that Kentaro Miura is gone, and although I don’t have any rational reasons to believe otherwise, something inside me just won’t accept it.

Although I never knew the man personally, he was like a mentor to me. His world, his characters, his stories defined my taste and helped me understand what I want to do with my life and how to do it. The story of Berserk is the lighthouse of excellence that always guides me through the unsure darkness of storytelling.

Considering that the characters and stories are always the product of author’s own subconscious, it’s obvious that Kentaro Miura had a beautiful mind, a great heart and incredible talent to be able to dive so deep into human soul and describe its depths so vividly.

It is unbelievably sad that such a master of his craft couldn’t finish his magnum opus. The world became a bleaker place with his passing. I hope with all my heart that his soul will find an easier and happier way through whatever lies ahead.

As for the story of Berserk itself, it seems to me, that through all these years it gradually became a part of us, the fans. Each of us holds the characters inside our minds and hearts. In a way, we have all been branded, and will carry the brand until the day we die.

At this point, I feel like Guts, Casca and others are trapped in some kind of limbo, waiting for their journey to resume. We can let in unfold inside our minds and see where it leads… but I hope Miura left some notes about the continuation of the story and its ending, because I desperately want to know what fate he himself envisioned for his characters. I think Miura would’ve wanted us to know too.

Sorry for the clumsiness of my English, it’s not my native language, and thanks to SKnet for opportunity to share the grief in the company of people who love Berserk as much as I do. It would have been even more painful without you.

 

[Chieftain]

I've made an account to wish everyone well. Berserk changed my life and I'm eternally grateful to Miura. May he live on in his work.

 

[Rosenkavalier]

Longtime unregistered lurker, new registrant, and first-time poster checking in.

Compared to how long many others here have struggled alongside Guts & co., I am a baby. Discovered Berserk in 2016, but not through the anime series which was produced that year - rather, the '97 anime and Golden Age arc of the manga were my entry points. The anime's horrifying ending hooked me, and I soon binge-read the manga up to its most recent chapter at the time.

The infinitely fascinating world of Berserk mystified and engulfed me like no other work of film, animation, or literature in quite some time. The series' immense popularity and ardent dedication of its fans speaks volumes to how everyone can find at least something to appreciate. What makes Berserk special to me is how I relate to Guts and Casca on a deep, personal level. As someone who has been chronically ill and (probably) permanently disabled since their early teens - but was born healthy - Guts has been someone to admire and live in awe of. Casca's mental break, regression to an infantile state, (real world) decades-long journey in this condition, and miraculous restoration was like vicariously living something of which I can only dream.

This previous Sunday, my grandfather passed away. On Wednesday, I attended his funerary services, helping to shovel dirt onto the casket. I returned home exhausted beyond words after the 20-hour day, right before 10:00 P.M. in my timezone - when the news of Miura's passing was announced in Japan. Before collapsing into a deep sleep, I glimpsed a handful of the most recent tweets and immediately knew what the Hakuensha announcement was referring to - a couple friends, avid readers of the series as well, were discussing the breaking news on Discord. My grief was only exacerbated. I'll never forget that day.

In losing Miura, we have lost an incredible mind and talent. The unfathomable breadth of his knowledge and imagination was not wholly plumbed - but I suppose it was never going to be. We are all blessed to have been graced with the wonders of his mental world, actuated and shared far and wide by fiercely determined hands. I will dearly miss looking forward to fresh droplets of this dew, but will forever hold dear that which yet remains.

いい夢を見てね.

 

[jackson_hurley]

It's now my turn to say a few words. What to say, what to say,

First of, I guess it's no surprise here that I too, like many others here, fell on my ass when I learned the news yesterday morning. I cried before leaving for work. I cried at work. It was very heart warming to read all of the 11 pages from you guys, be it new members or old ones like myself! So for that, I say thank you all. I have been a member of this forum since 2005 and I am soooo glad I met you all here. This site has helped me to better understand Berserk and for having not many friends that read it as pationately as me, well its a good thing it exists. I can still remember when I was asking lots of stupid questions and getting answered by Aaz or another veteran member from here.

That said, when I got introduced to Berserk by a friend of mine that said I should watch that anime (the 97' one) I went and buy blindly the first disc without knowing at all what it was and boy oh boy was i happy that I got this suggestion. After finishing the anime I've noticed in the credit a name. The name was Kentarou Miura. From that moment it was clear in my mind that I needed to get my hands on that manga. The end was so abrupt that I needed to know more about it. I remember asking Aaz super excitedly if Guts still had his arm cannon because I thought it was so cool!

No need to say that it became a love story between me and Berserk. For me, Berserk has always had an impact on my drawings and my way of seeing life. Miura was such an inspiration for me to push my drawings further. Unfortunately I never pushed it far enough. This, this terrible sad news kicked me in the butt to actually go back to my own comic book and finish it.

I will always be gratefull for what Miura brought me (and us fans). His deatils, his story telling was just so awesome and inspiring. I'm very sadened by the fact that he passed away so soon and so young. he will of course keep beeing a huge influence in my life and I will always keep cherishing Berserk as my favorite story ever told even though it's unfinished. I'm glad with what we got even though I'm frustrated and confused and troubled by the reality we are living.

I want to give my sincere condolence to his family and friends and to us fans. We are a very nice community and I am glad that we can cope together in these hard times. Time will heal us and make us stronger in the end, like Guts!

So once again, thank you very much for exciting skullknight.net and specifically THANK YOU, master Miura for bringing us what is and might be the best series ever.

I think I will keep reading it once or twice a year as always. it will just be hard the next time when I get to ep363 but I think I'll be strong enough for that.

Cheers guys and glas and whatnot! if its okay with you, I'll share my comic once it's done!

Jackson_Hurley, devoted and obsessed fan since 2003!

Love you all and be kind to each other always!

 

[NeonTiger]

The weight of this loss (and the nature of it, being that he was only 54 years old) is going to sink in my head for a long long time.

Right now i cant even begin to understand how terrible this is. So ill just say that Kentaro Miura was a man i felt an enormous appreciation for. Just the fact that we had such a unique, devoted, inspired and genius individual in the same period of time that we exist in - is a blessing.

He gave it his all. Gave us his all. So the minimum that we can do from now on is just remember him.

The world will not forget you. Rest in peace, Miura-sensei.

 

[Chieftain]

If I may, I'd like to post a quote from Seneca, specifically regarding Miura's work. It somewhat puts my mind at ease.

"Life is never incomplete if it is an honourable one. At whatever point you leave life, if you leave it in the right way, it is whole."

 

[mazinken]

When I first read the news on Reddit I couldn’t believe it there were very few posts at the beginning after it was confirmed I was very sad my eyes couldn’t stop tearing when thinking about the loss.

Like many here Berserk has been a big part of my life since the year 2000 the Dreamcast game Gut’s Rage introduced me to Berserk I remember being fascinated by the soundtrack especially the 2 Hirasawa’s song forces 2 and Indra.

After a little while one of my friends told me that I should check the anime at the time there was no official english release and it can only be seen on a low quality VHS fan sub. The anime became one my favorite shows of all time the story telling was great needless to say the last episode cliffhanger had left me craving for more.

In the beginning BoH was the group that I turned into for the manga translation. I was blown away by every thing I saw and read the detailed drawings and the masterful story telling had no equal and after that it had been along relationship between me and berserk. I remember the days when I used to lurk here to see the updates and discussions and I am grateful for this community you guys played a big role in adding to my Berserk enjoyment.

Mr. Miura was such a perfectionist that He had no equal and to me he had surpassed all the people that inspired him. His works especially Berserk are one of the few thing that brought me true joy in life and I looked forward to every release like a child waiting for his present. I loved all berserk characters and guts have a special place in my heart.

It can be easily seen how big of an impact he had on entertainment industry from mangas, anime and video games. He had left a big impressions and influence on a lot of people and will be missed.

Thank you Mr. Miura for every thing you’ll never be forgotten may you rest In peace.

 

[Dimius]

Hey fellow strugglers,

Long time lurker of about 9 years finally checking in as well. Well overdue. Wanted to pay my respects to the great Kentaro Miura here as well.

Rest well, Miura Sensei. You and your work will forever be an enduring inspiration to me, and a core influence in so many aspects of my life.

I'd heard of Berserk for some time during my high school years before finally giving it a shot in my first year of college at the age of 17. Man oh man, did I not know what I was in for. I was always a fan of stories and storytelling, but never before did a story just speak to me like Berserk. A narrative and cast of characters that would become so precious to me. I was able to connect with Guts, Casca, and others on so many levels.

Back then began my greatest struggle in life thus far, and Berserk helped me through it at the worst of it. My father had begun his fight with brain cancer, and was given 1 year to live. He had undergone a brain surgery, a recurrence of the cancer, and another brain surgery which forever changed him from the strong leading figure in my life to needing full-time care. As a young and impressionable man who was angry at the world, the coming years were confusing and scary for me because I couldn't turn to my father for the advice and guidance I'd needed.

I battled with depression and thoughts of suicide for years before I found my way out of that darkness, and I credit much of that to Miura and Berserk. Guts and his struggle resonated with me and helped lift my spirit, his story about enduring and persevering no matter what. It helped to mold my way of thinking and living, to find the willpower to keep going, and to find a new respect for my father who struggled everyday to stay with us just so he could be there for us as long as he possibly could. My father went on to live for roughly 10 years before his struggle was over, and I was left with peace of mind and strength that a part of me will always credit Berserk for.

Had to fight off tears a few times yesterday after my best friend sent me the news of Miura in the morning, and I know many of you had to as well. For me, Kentaro Miura is not just the greatest mangaka of all time, and Berserk is not just a manga.

Miura will forever be one of the most exceptional storytellers of our time, and onwards.

Berserk, even unfinished, will stand the test of time and hold up as one of the most extraordinary works of literature in history.

"You’re going to be all right. You just stumbled over a stone in the road. It means nothing. Your goal lies far beyond this. Doesn’t it? I’m sure you’ll overcome this. You’ll walk again… soon.”

Thank you Miura. I'm indebted to you, and one day I will shake your hand and swap stories in the Astral World.

Sincerely,
A fan

 

[JIN]

Thank you for the reddit link Walter. While equal parts painful as it is smile inducing it is a must read. Reading George Morikawa's story about their youth yesterday plunged my heart anew yet it was again, so endearing.
Thank You Aazealh for keeping us up to date with the campaign to send correspondence. Please pass along years of compounded and late thanks to both Puella and Yourself for All that you guys do.
Thank You again SK.Net for being a Elfhelm for Miura fans and Berserk enthusiasts before we ever reached Elfhelm in the story.

 

[WizardSushi]

First of all, i would like to thank you guys of SkullKnight.net for this great community. Like many others here, i've been a lurker in this forum for years but never felt the need to create an account. Coming here every month to be frustrated by the lack of episodes and after every new release to read the discussions was part of my life. Thank you Aazealh, Walter, Heiji and everyone else.

I first heard the news yesterday morning and still can't believe it. I am sure many of you feel as if you had lost someone very close to you, like i am feeling now. I cried when it started sinking in and cried again when i re-read the last episode. I can't stop my mind of hoping for impossible things: maybe it's a lie and he is just on vacation, maybe they can bring him back somehow... The truth feels unbearable but we can't do anything but accept that he is gone. It's weird the amount of grief one can feel for another without ever meeting.

About the future, i would love to read about your feelings on the future of the series when the feelings settle. There is certainly tons of unreleased material between sketches, half-drawn pages, notes, etc. Will there be a 364th episode? Will it abruptly stop here? Is there any meaning to the wording "Berserk is currently serialized" in Hakusensha's english eulogy?

Personally, i am torn. I would love to have a special epilogue episode with the characters post-final-battle if Miura left plans for the ending but on the other hand i know it would never be the same and anything he planned for that far would probably change with the passing of time.

 

[john2356]

Hi well most are trying to share their feelings and I've been reading every single one. This shows what a great community this is! As for me, I got introduced into Berserk around 2016 by a college friend. He said that I must read this manga and insisted upon it. I asked if there was an anime (I was at the time watching HxH for the first time) but he mentioned that the manga was the best way to get into it. Now, I would probably differ saying that getting introduced to the '97 anime could be a better recommendation if someone is on the fence.

I introduced a coworker to Berserk directly to the manga, he usually reads manga and watches anime, and he really appreciated me for doing so. I've been for the past few months trying to convince another one and it was he who told me through a phone message. He said: 'is this the manga that you wanted me to read?' In a instagram post said the news about Miura's passing. I could not believe it, I assumed it was a joke so I went here, also checking the subreddit and the discord, but seeing it here was the wake up call.

I'm terribly sorry for what happened to Miura, he spent his whole life doing this and was probably a few years away from reaching some closure. Not only for us, but for him, to finally see his dream realized and out in the world. It is as if he was robbed of reaching the pinnacle of this great story and an important landmark as a professional.

As I said in another thread, the only way to know more about the story would be if Miura left some kind of note or letter talking about this. Maybe some notes on ideas that he discarded. No one could know for sure it anything there is left was intented to be in the final story. The responsability about that falls on the publisher and maybe his closest assistants, and then it would be up to us to accept it, but it wouldn't feel the same. Some will probably will reject it outright. As for me, I would only accept pieces of story that Miura maybe left, but as a way of knowing what he thought about, not as a definitive way of knowing what the story or ending was intended to be.

My best wishes to you all, I know some have been following this from the start probably. I will continue to be here, as there is things to discuss, probably fanfics will appear and there will be things to be said about that.

 

[ghats]

May he rest in peace. He wrote and drawed an incredible art

 

[TheWillOfT]

There are no words i can choose to explain my feelings at this point... At first it was surreal, like a bad dream, but i couldn't snap out of it. Still whenever i see reports of his passing, i can't accept it. The reality of the situation is just too bitter. I read every Miura interview i could find, you could feel his soul in Berserk, and with Miura being gone, whenever i open a page or look at Guts the manga seems to fade away.

Berserk was truly the most ambitious work in the medium. Drawing an epic fantasy of that scale in the quality that was presented, it was unmatched dedication. A work of a legend, and the reactions of fans all over the world confirm it.

Whenever im outside, going to the gym or buisy, i am able to not bury myself in deep sadness, but when im home alone in my room reading your guys messages, especially those of old timers and friends of miura on the net, i start to tear up.

It feels unfair, sort of like a sick joke that Miura had to go out the way he did at the age of 54, despite putting so much effort in his health in the later stages of his career.

Berserk gave me so much joy, so much motivation. And Miura, not only as a mangaka, but as a person will always be one of the biggest inspirations of my life.

I seriously feel for all of you guys who are griefing and offer my deepest condolonces to everyone involved. I hope we all find a way to cope with it, because ultimately thats what Berserk taught us with its themes. To struggle, to stand up, to face what is infront of you. I hope sooner than later we will be able to cherish Berserk, and especially Miura more than ever.