Written by Daniel
A nerd from day one, who will talk about his love for fiction and printed stories for hours!
It has been about 3 months since I started writing for Walt’s Comic Shop. In my articles I have discussed a lot of different Manga from a lot of different genres. We set sail to the period of the Vikings and also explored magical worlds. However, there is one Manga that I haven’t talked about yet and only mentioned in other articles, like the one about Vinland Saga or the one about Inoue.
If you read those articles, you will know that I have used the term ‘The Big Three of Seinen’ a few times already. Part of this ‘Big Three’ of Manga that are designed for older male audiences are Vinland Saga and Vagabond of course. But I haven’t got to the final member of this small club yet. However, it is finally time!
Fellow collectors and Manga fans, let us discuss the Manga that is crowned as the best Manga by audiences (according to MyAnimeList)… Let us talk about Berserk and why it is the ultimate representation of the indomitable human spirit – in and out of the story!
What is Berserk?
At the beginning of this medieval story, we meet a one-eyed lone warrior called Guts, who uses an enormous sword and his prosthetic arm filled with gadgets to hunt demons for a living.
But don’t get this wrong… he is not your classic hero… He is moody, rough, and kind of a jerk, to be frank. However, here and there a few hints of a kind heart slip through this facade, which makes the reader feel like that there is a lot more about this character that you do not see right away. His wounds and scars suggest a life of tragedy and loss, which only further establishes this feeling.
While the first few chapters show us a world full of demons and war, which Guts travels to reach a goal that he keeps to himself. The story takes a turn a few chapters in.
We jump back in time and for a while follow along with Guts’ backstory as a child, a teenager and finally as a young adult.
Some people even suggest that you should skip the first few chapters and start here to experience the story chronologically. However, I would disagree! Read the story as the Mangaka Kentaro Miura intended. There is a reason why you meet Guts first and understand him after…
Nonetheless, this backstory arc is one of the best plots Manga has to offer! It is filled with immense tragedy but also times of happiness, which gives the character of Guts a phenomenal character development that is only rivaled by Vinland Saga and Vagabond. This whole arc then concludes in a final segment that is regarded as one of the most insane things that ever happened in a Manga.
At this point I cannot say anything more. Berserk must be enjoyed as spoiler-free as possible. But I can say that during this final segment of the first major arc, I felt emotions that I have never felt while reading. I was physically shivering from the intense action and drama that was unfolding in front of me. I was scared to flip the pages and had to take a longer break after.
While I find this experience to be life-altering and quite frankly emotional like nothing else I have ever read, there are people who won’t like this segment at all - for good reasons too!
This gives me the perfect opportunity to emphasize that Berserk is a DARK Fantasy… that means there is sexual content and extreme violence. Thus, this Manga is only meant for older audiences and those who are able to see visualizations of these things. This doesn't mean that the Manga is only filled with these images and themes. The Manga is far more than that and uses violence to build its world and represent certain themes.
Berserk is not only the Best Manga but also a Cultural Inspiration for your Favorite Dark Fantasy!
As mentioned, the world of Berserk is rough and dark. I would even go so far as to saying that it is one of the most brutal worlds I have ever seen in fiction. The medieval times in itself were brutal and filled with hunger, war, and disease, but combining that with demons, gives this an even more brutal touch.
However, this doesn’t mean that the demons of this world are the only brutal entities.
While they are certainly very disgusting, creepy, and gruesome, it is important to not underestimate how far humans can go. This is why the violent and sexual themes in Berserk work for the most part. They are a representation of the seven deadly sins and show us how far humans can go if they are corrupted by pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.
This corruption goes so far that at some points you question where the line between human and demon is drawn.
However, this dark world is not only filled with demons and humans.
In this Dark Fantasy, similar to others, we encounter fairies, trolls, elves, and other fantasy beings as well. All of these various groups are beautifully designed and thoughtful.
For the most part they have cultures, morality of their own and certain goals that other groups may not get. And although there is so much diversity, the groups and their designs feel cohesive. No matter what you look at in this world, it all feels fitting and logical.
This is thanks to the incredibly talented late Mangaka Kentaro Miura, who was able to present his consistent style since 1989. While further developing his skills and becoming better with each chapter, he never truly lost the sense of what his world should look like.
It is bulky, rough, and sometimes way too disproportionate. I mean.. just look at that sword!
This makes Berserk such a visually pleasing and thoughtful journey. You are following along with how the quality keeps getting better and better, but you never truly feel like the design changes too much. It just gets better! An incredible skill and incredible sense of his own world that Miura was presenting during his lifetime. Miura’s talent for worldbuilding, character design, and art makes the world of Berserk feel more alive and rounded than other Dark Fantasy stories. And this is not just an opinion!
Berserk’s worldbuilding and overall design are two of the most influential things that the Dark Fantasy genre was blessed with. Especially Japanese stories like Attack on Titan or classic games like Dark Souls and Final Fantasy, all took inspiration from Berserk.
No matter if you look at Cloud’s sword from Final Fantasy 7 or at the overall design of the monsters in the ‘souls genre’ like in Dark Souls or Elden Ring, you will see Berserk everywhere once you know what to look at!
The incredible story, the various groups, the tone of the world and its characters, the challenging of morality and world views, and also the disproportionate but cohesive design of the world made Berserk one of the best things that ever came out of Dark Fantasy. Miura completely understood how to write a story like this and transform it into something more – something even better! Thus, it is no surprise that many creative people that experienced this story want to pay homage or take inspiration from it to this day.
And while the world of Berserk is truly fantastic, there is one aspect of the story that makes it stand out even more and also inspired a lot of people – me being one of them.
Guts and Kentaro Miura show us how to keep fighting!
If you ask Manga fans who their biggest motivational figure is, then you will usually hear two options: Goku or Guts.
While Goku is a more cheery personality and definitely a good pick, I think that Guts is a character that truly shows that you need to keep fighting no matter what.
Part of this reason is Guts incredibly tragic backstory that will take you through the gutter and back. I actually cannot think of another character that went through worse. But despite his tragic life and the understandable rage, Guts keeps going. He keeps fighting. And although I would not recommend chasing the same goals, it can be motivational to some readers.
To me, Guts is the representation of the ultimate indomitable human spirit that refuses to break. This doesn’t mean that Guts is an overpowered and invincible being. Gosh, he takes punches and slices that hurt him like hell! But he does keep going through sheer willpower. And this immense willpower feels even stronger if you consider what the Mangaka and creator of Guts went through.
As you may have noticed, I have already mentioned that Mangaka Kentaro Miura is not alive anymore. He passed away in May 2021 from acute aortic dissection at the age of 54, not being able to finish Berserk. While it is not entirely clear how far in advance Miura knew of his rather rare lethal illness, he must have suffered from intense chest and back pain during the last month of his life. This would have made working on Berserk nearly impossible. But… this didn’t stop him from working on his story though. He kept going until his last days.
Additionally, a few years after his death, Kouji Mori, a close friend of Miura and fellow Mangaka, announced that he was entrusted with the story’s conclusion and what needs to happen. Together with Miura’s other assistants, they now work on the story and release new chapters under Studio Gaga, continuing the legacy of Berserk.
While it is sad to know that we will never see Miura conclude his own story, the adaptation of his style and his tone work really well and make the transition seamless. This must be in parts of Miura preparing this scenario in advance.
For me, Miura is a huge inspiration in many ways. He not only showed the world what good worldbuilding can look like, but he also showed any creative person that you should keep fighting for your dreams and stories – even in death. It gives me goosebumps every time I think about it. Combined with his amazing and outstanding character of Guts, Berserk presents itself as the ultimate representation of the indomitable human spirit – inside and outside the plot.
Berserk is the ultimate motivational piece of literature there is!
In conclusion, Berserk is one of the best and most influential Dark Fantasy stories there is. Fans of this genre should not miss the incredible worldbuilding and beautiful designs and panels that Miura created. While the series does face some criticism due to some violent and sexual scenes being a bit too much, most of it is used to show the depths of human sin and demon nature, which works perfectly most of the time. However, Berserk is not for the light-hearted and should only be read by mature audiences!
If you want to experience the world of Berserk right now, I would recommend by doing that with the Berserk Deluxe Edition! It is a beautiful hardcover 3-in-1 edition that is an upgrade in terms of size, binding and printing compared to the regular single volumes! It also comes with remastered panels that raise the quality of the art to a new high. Additionally, this bigger size makes Miura’s art more enjoyable. He works a lot with contrasts and small details that sometimes drowned in the smaller singular volumes but can now be appreciated perfectly!
This edition by Dark Horse became so popular that a lot of top-tier Manga are coming out with their own version of a massive faux-leather binding as well (like Vinland Saga or Vagabond). Especially if you are an omnibus collector or someone who values quality, then this edition is a must have!
If you buy all the current 14 volumes of this ongoing story at our store, then you can even save some money. Instead of the 49,99€ per Volume, you only pay 41,07€ per volume in this complete bundle! What a deal! Get it right here.
If you want to explore and understand the world of Berserk even more, then there is an Official Guidebook by the Mangaka, which explains the characters, groups, demons and the world even further, with new and exciting behind-the-scenes notes by Miura himself and never-before-seen art, including an eight-page color section! Just the best gift or addition for a Berserk fan!
At the end, a small suggestion. Miura did not only write Berserk during his lifetime. While he was never was able to finish Berserk, he also wrote some short stories once in a while, like Giganto Maxia and, his last Manga, Duranki. Both are great additions to your collection and good to take a break from the harsh world of Berserk and see how well Miura can construct new worlds with a similar quality of world building!
I am happy that I was able to talk about all the Big Three of Seinen Manga separately.
They all deserve their own spotlight and all bring their own tone and philosophy with them.
While Vinland Saga was about finding peace in violence and Vagabond about how you can always change no matter what, Berserk is the representation of never giving up. Although this may seem cheesy, Berserk does it in a way that is unparalleled in Manga.
Definitely a must-read alongside his brothers – journeys that definitely changed my life!
(A fan-edit of the ‘Big Three’ protagonists)
