Late last night, we learned that Kentaro Miura, the creator of the Berserk manga, passed away earlier this month. The tweet sent out by the editorial department for Young Animal magazine says that Kentaro died on May 6th from acute aortic dissection, and adds that "we would like to express our utmost respect and gratitude" to Miura. The news of his death has resulted in an outpouring of support from fans of his work, including industry names.
What is Berserk?
First published in 1989, Berserk is a dark fantasy manga about Guts, a swordsman haunted by his past. A past that cost him his eye, his hand, and everyone he cared about. He wanders the earth seeking revenge against his former best friend Griffith, slaying any human or demon who gets in his way. However, he discovers one last chance to save someone he thought he lost forever.
Since its publication, it's been a huge influence on dark fantasy in Japan and beyond, which can be seen in games like Dark Souls, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Dynasty Warriors. Many a game owes its tone, or some ideas to inspiration from Berserk. With Kentaro's death, the future of the series remains unknown.
【三浦建太郎先生 ご逝去の報】
— ヤングアニマル公式 (@YoungAnimalHaku) May 20, 2021
『ベルセルク』の作者である三浦建太郎先生が、2021年5月6日、急性大動脈解離のため、ご逝去されました。三浦先生の画業に最大の敬意と感謝を表しますとともに、心よりご冥福をお祈りいたします。
2021年5月20日 株式会社白泉社 ヤングアニマル編集部 pic.twitter.com/vy923fIqiP
How and who are mourning Kentaro's death?
One of the biggest gatherings of people honoring Kentaro's memory is in Final Fantasy 14, where hundreds of players, all as the Berserk-inspired Dark Knight class, from many different servers are lined up in cities like Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa with their swords in the ground. There, the mourners talk about their memories of the manga and find comfort in gathering with other players. The gatherings are so large that some videos show that the game has trouble loading in all the players. One Redditor who visited the Balmung server said that "the line stretches from one side of Ul'dah to the other. I went to check the other parts and it wouldn't let me back to the main part for a few moments because of how congested it is.
Meanwhile, several prominent names in the video game industry have expressed their own condolences for Kentaro's death. Yoko Taro, Hideki Kamiya, Yasumi Matsuno, and others have all posted tweets responding to the announcement tweet. Adam Deats, who is the Associate Director of the Castlevania animated series, added that "I cannot express how important Berserk has been to us as a source of inspiration for Castlevania. A quarter of our team drew from it for inspiration. It defined what dark fantasy was for us."
What are some of your favorite Berserk memories? Let us know in the comments below!
