Berserk Manga To Continue In 2022

The Berserk manga will continue this year, following the death of its creator, Kentaro Miura, last year. Kouji Mori, a close friend of Miura and a published manga creator, will take over the writing duties of the series, while the illustrations will be handled by Miura's art assistants.

"Before his passing, Kentaro Miura spoke to his close friend Kouji Mori about the stories and episodes he had in mind for Berserk," manga publisher Young Animal said in a statement. "He also had similar talks with his studio staff and editor. Since he did not leave behind rough drafts, it is impossible for us to create a manuscript exactly in the way he would have intended. However, we will write the manga so as not to deviate from Mr. Miura's own words."

Berserk will resume in the next issue of Young Animal's magazine, with the next six chapters concluding the Fantasia arc. A new arc will begin afterward, although Young Animal didn't mention how many issues this storyline will run for. "We believe that this policy, although imperfect, is the best way to deliver the Berserk that Mr Miura envisioned to everyone as faithfully as possible," the publisher said.

Young Animal is referring to this period of Berserk as "the last episode that we have put together," while Mori wrote that Miura had told him how he had planned to end the Berserk storyline, sharing plot details with him during the serialization of that series when it began in 1989.

"I have a message and promise to everyone. I will recall the details as much as possible and tell the story. Also, I will only write the episodes that Miura talked to me about," Mori said. "I will not flesh it out. I will not write episodes that I don't remember clearly. I will only write the lines and stories that Miura described to me. Of course, it will not be perfect. Still, I think I can almost tell the story that Miura wanted to tell."

Miura's sudden death on May 6, 2021, resulted in Berserk seemingly ending on a major cliffhanger. The series, which follows a haunted swordsman named Guts as he battles for survival in a cruel medieval fantasy world, has been hailed as a major source of inspiration for video games, with Final Fantasy VII, Devil May Cry, and Dark Souls being notable examples.