Berserk is the epitome of a dark, gory, seinen manga, and Kentaro Miura is well aware of it. A majority of the characters in Berserk are extremely cruel and of inhuman nature, not to mention their ugliness suits their inner demons. Even the protagonists slowly lose their nature to darkness.
So, it is only natural that the author would be perplexed if anyone wanted to buy goodies with Berserk characters on them. Sure, characters from other manga have some cool merchandise, but would you really want to look at the ugly faces of most Berserk characters on your products?
Kentaro Miura Underestimates Berserk Fans’ Love for the Series
In an interview from December 2020, Kentaro Miura can be seen discussing the different aspects of Berserk as well as the various merchandise available for the franchise. It turns out that the author had some pretty big doubts about whether anyone would be interested in ‘ugly’ Berserk merch.
They’re all really well-made, I think. But, I kind of had a worry that Berserk specifically, well, I’m not sure, but, is it OK to make a Beherit’s ugly face into a product?
The author seemed clearly perplexed by the fact that Berserk, of all manga, will receive its official merchandise. Who could blame him? It’s not like people particularly like seeing apostles or beherits on a daily basis. Miura then admits that he understands the people who will buy the products are interested in Berserk and that’s their reason to spend on the merch.
Miura repeated that if Berserk does have a line of goods and figurines, it would mainly consist of ‘those kinds of things’ referring to the messed up characters in Berserk and the awful, bloodthirsty creatures. So, he was doubtful if it was a good idea to base a line of goods on those specific features. But in the end, he did come to terms with it because he realized that his fans were just friends with the same interests.
Kentaro Miura Explains Why He Switched from Analog to Digital Means for Berserk
In the beginning of Berserk, Kentaro Miura used analog means for drawing because he was inspired by Nausicaä. He thought it would be faster, and he also wanted to challenge himself. The author admitted that his heart was drawn to a more elaborate and precise approach. However, after facing some difficulties, he began looking for ways to speed up the process and eventually landed on digitally creating the manga.
Miura used analog means till the Boat Arc, but soon afterward, he switched. The author then began to discuss the difference between analog and digital means.
Analog is like a calligrapher, and digital is like a craftsman. Doing something really precisely with tools versus kind of doing it based on feeling. It’s that kind of difference.
According to the mangaka, digital is focused more on the details, so sometimes, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture once you become absorbed in the detailing. For analog, you can even create something put of an accident. It’s almost like leaving it to the ‘energy’ of the creator. Miura admitted that, in general, Japanese people are more attracted to analog, but digital also has its own advantages and disadvantages.
In a situation where a studio has assistants who participate in the work, the most efficient method is preferred, which, in his case, was going digital.
You can watch the Berserk anime on Crunchyroll.
