Kentaro Miura was a legend with his absolutely breathtaking artwork and storytelling. What he did with Berserk was absolutely impossible for anyone else to do and that is reason enough to justify the pedestal he still stands on. The element of horror combined with one of melancholy, relatability, and the brutality of the world, Miura created a masterpiece worth a thousand words.
When it comes to visually representing realistic elements through unusual perspectives, another name that comes to mind is Tim Burton. Both him and Miura are different in the genres and mediums they worked on, but that is not to say that one cannot have inspired the other. One thing Miura found interesting about Burton’s works, that he had to incorporate in his own storytelling, and that was the dark presentation of humanity.
Kentaro Miura was Inspired by Tim Burton
Kentaro Miura, in an interview with Yukari Fujimoto (via Mangabrog), the Berserk artist opened up about the elements he often took into consideration when it came to drawing out his story. The author was known for his dark depictions and even more brilliantly terrifying drawing skills. However, what may come as a surprise is that the monsters he put into his works were a result of Tim Burton’s own unique approach.
So for better or for worse, monsters constantly appear in Berserk, and there’s an old trope that the reason monsters are violent is because they’re sad. People like Tim Burton have really nailed that sort of thing, the sad but scary, and it’s something I want to do, too.
Burton is a genius when it comes to bringing out the melancholy of people and combining it with the horrific aspects of a movie or a series. This brought about a touch of relatability while also making sure that the works he had were spine-chilling.
Miura took that into consideration and thought of showing the sadness of a story and of the people through monsters. Monsters are scary, but people can be monsters too. That’s a common understanding, while at the same time not as often talked about as one would like. So are they really monsters if they just look terrifying or can they hold emotions that make them characters of deeper understanding as well?
Kentaro Miura Wanted to Speak to the People
When making Berserk and bringing about Tim Burton’s techniques with his own twist, Kentaro Miura also sought after the idea of showcasing humanity’s own descent into monsterhood. Taking modern Japan as an example, he cited that with the way he grew up, everyone had something to fear, like a sword hanging above their heads with no way to escape when it falls.
Then you look at modern Japan for sad and scary, and you’ve got people who turn to crime, or are on the verge of it, or are at least scared that they might turn to it. And that’s something that I want the reader to sympathize with. By the time you’re in high school I feel like everyone has this fear that they might do something bad someday, or have something bad done to them.
It’s something I still vaguely feel, even at this age. I think people these days tend to try to exclude anything that’s different from themselves. It’s the ‘Me’ generation. But we can’t let ourselves forget that there are a lot of people out there who can’t speak up for themselves.
Either they would choose a life of crime, get into the life of crime with force and need, or be directly victimized by it. There wasn’t a way people could run away from it. The sad reality he faced also showed that monsters are complex creatures. Some are driven by fear while others are sadists.
The fact that he showed these monsters through a light of dejection brought about a layering to them that only a few are capable of achieving. He wanted to become a voice for the people swept up in a world that goes on too fast for them. Some people are just monsters because the world sees them that way.
Berserk can be read on the official Dark Horse Comics website.
