Berserk is one of the greatest Seinen manga to be ever written. Late Kentaro Miura started the manga in 1989. The manga came to a sudden halt due to the mangaka’s untimely death in 2021. The fans were grief-stricken over the loss. The medieval dark fantasy genre had everyone on the edge of their seats. Guts’ journey remains one of the saddest things in the anime and manga industry. He had to face a massive betrayal from his best friend, who also r*ped his girlfriend.
Guts was a human but had to fight against supernatural beings. The mangaka’s thought process and character designs were on par with everything, and the fans could not help but feel an adrenaline rush during every fight scene. But the mangaka was scared of one particular thing. Unlike the villains, he did not want Guts to come out scary or inhuman, especially when he was angry. As a result, he had to be extra careful.
Late Kentaru Miura Had To Work Hard On Guts’ Anger
Guts’ has one of the saddest stories ever. Most of the time, the protagonist was calm and used his brain more than his muscles. But there were a few instances where he overcame anger, especially when his girlfriend, Casca, was r*aped. He was constantly battling with himself. As a person who had gone through a lot, he often became violent during his fights. His emotions used to get the better of him. Late Kentaro Miura wanted Guts to have expressive anger but did not want to project it scarily.
During an interview, he said,
“So how well I could evoke the fascinatingness of an angry person was going to make or break the manga at the start. Now, how do I go about making Guts angry? Depending on the answer, he might come out looking like a scary monster and seem inhuman, or maybe he’ll be scary in a more human way. And so when the God Hand showed up in the manga, Griffith still wasn’t all that important yet.”
Anger can be explosive, or it can be expressionless. The late mangaka chose the former option for his protagonist. The latter would depict Guts as a cold-hearted and emotionless person, which he was not. Even though his life was a frozen land, he was a ray of sunshine to others. He was also the former commander of the Bands of Falcon. So, even if it was difficult, Miura sensei tried his best to bring out the human side in Guts’ anger.
Guts Is Continuing His Journey In Berserk
Late Kentaro Miura once revealed that he did not want a grim ending and wanted Guts to be happy in the end. But it might never happen since he passed away. He left the manga unfinished. One of the reasons for it not reaching its conclusion soon was it being a monthly manga. The minute details, superior artwork, proper character design, etc., caused the mangaka to take up the entire month for one chapter.
But after his death, Kouji Mori and a few of Miura sensei’s assistants are continuing the manga. Currently, Berserk has 42 volumes. Kouji Mori’s written style might be different from Miura sensei and may affect the story. But as long as Guts is getting a happy ending, the fans would be delighted. Moreover, Berserk getting a proper ending and Guts uniting with Casca might be the most human thing about him.
Berserk manga is available on Hakusensha.
