Hakusensha’s Young Animal magazine’s Editing Department recently released a press note saying they will continue the serialization of Berserk manga. The manga will resume in the June 24 issue of the Young Animal Magazine.

Kouji Mori will be supervising and Kentarou Miura‘s assistants will be working on the series henceforth.

The manga will release 6 chapters, which will conclude the “Elf Island Arc,” marking the beginning of new arc.

The manga will now have the credits, “Original work by Kentarou Miura, manga by Studio Gaga, supervised by Kouji Mori.”

Studio Gaga is Kentarou’s studio where he worked with his assistants and apprentices on Berserk manga.

In the statement the editing department of Young Animal said, Kentarou Miura spoke to his close friend Mori about the series’ plot and stories. He also spoke to his studio staff and editor regarding the same. They said several discussions regarding the plot and character design happened between them and Miura. The discussions were never meant as his last words. However, they were discussions of Miura’s life as a manga artist.

Such discussions happened for more than 25 years between them and Miura. The studio has found memos of ideas and character designs which Miura left behind.

The department said the latest chapters and the upcoming one’s are a tribute to all the time they spent with Miura discussing ideas and want those to be available for the audience. They also said that these chapters/episodes will be imperfect but will be close to what Miura has told them.

The department believes that Berserk touched hearts of millions of fans as the first volume itself is read by more than 2 million people. Also, Miura’s work and thoughts have influenced people’s lives in a positive way.

They thank the fans for believing in Miura and them and ask for continued support.

Meanwhile, Kouji Mori, reminiscing over the time Miura first called him to draw a draft 30 years ago for Berserk. He said, “I went to his workplace just to talk as we always do, but Miura looked more serious than usual. ‘I need to draw the Eclipse,’ he said. I sensed it would be hard work, but couldn’t believe it when I was trapped indoors for a week… In that very moment, the storyline for Berserk was completed, until the very last chapter“.

He further added, “I think people with good intuition would realize by now that I know the story for Berserk up to the very end. Still, I cannot say that I can draw it because I know it. That is because only the genius Kentaro Miura can write a masterpiece like Berserk. However, a great responsibility has fallen on me.
While he was alive, Miura said, ‘I haven’t told anyone other than you, Mori, about the story in its entirety.’ And that was the truth. It is too big a responsibility. I thought, should I talk to fans about it through an interview? Or should I publish an article with some illustrations? But that wouldn’t convey the scenes that Miura described to me, or the lines of Guts and Griffith…“

Just when Mori was sure that he will go ahead and leak the ending in an interview, the news reached to him that the department is continuing the last chapter.

He was later asked to supervise the said last chapter.

Mori further added that, Miura’s other assistant were also onboard to continue the series ahead and asked for his permission to do so.

Even the company’s director, Mr. Shimada extends his and company’s full support if Mori is ready to do it.

To which, Mori says, “I thought, if I run away now, Miura would say: ‘I talked to you about it so much, but you didn’t do it!!’ Alright. I’ll do it properly.“

Mori promises the audience and fans that he will try to recall everything Miura told him and will try to do justice to Miura’s work.

Also, he said that he will only do those chapters which Miura talked to him about. He will not flesh out the chapters and will not write chapters which he doesn’t remember correctly.

He will only lines and stories which Miura told him and says although it will not be perfect but he’ll tell the story which Miura wanted to tell.

He further asks for continued support from all the fans even those who would not like the upcoming work due to absence of Miura.

The editorial teams and Kouji Mori’s statements in English are available to read here.

The first volume of Berserk was published in 1990 with 28,000 copies released for the first edition. The same first edition is now read by over 2 million people.

Kentarou Miura first published a one-shot version of Berserk manga in Hakusensha’s Monthly Comicomi magazine in 1988. He later launched the Berserk manga in Hakusensha’s Monthly Animal House magazine in 1989 which later continued in Young Animal magazine till date.

The manga has 40 million plus copies in circulation.

The manga further inspired a TV anime series in 1997 and a trilogy of movies from 2012 to 2013. The anime series was relaunched in Japan in July 2016 with the then latest CGI tech which received a major backlash from fans, globally.

Source: Hakusensha