“My story was published in a second-rate magazine”: Kentaro Miura had the Perfect Plan for Berserk to Avoid an Inescapable Problem

Kentaro Miura’s Berserk has remained on top of the psychological gore genre for years. Miura himself might not be amongst us, but he has left a legacy for other mangakas.

Berserk has always hit the sweet spot of dark fantasy lovers, and more so because it is not like a typical Shonen series. It is distinct from manga like Dragon Ball, One Piece, or Naruto and is more realistic. In a past interview, Miura revealed how his series avoided a common Shonen cliche.

Kentaro Miura on Character Development in Berserk

In an interview with French Journal, La Figaro, Kentaro Miura revealed how he kept Berserk from suffering from typical Shonen issues. According to the author, a common situation in Shonen manga is the arrival of more incredible enemies along with stronger and stronger power-ups and weapons. Miura calls this inflation in the manga.

This inflation goes unchecked as many do not have the time to control it. It quickly becomes a galloping increase in power which is very hard to stop.

“But in my case, and not wanting to disrespect my first publisher, my story was published in a second-rate magazine, which allowed me to keep inflation under control.”

When Berserk was first launched, it was published monthly, so Miura always let the inflation grow, but only by very small successive leaps. This allowed for a more regular development of the story rather than out-of-hand powers.

“I feel like talking about economy. Where the best inflation is 2%, 3%, 4%, a mild inflation.”

Miura stated that the first major development of Berserk was during the Falcon Troupe’s arrival. After that when Schierke joined Guts’ traveling party, the magical aspect of the story was developed.

How Miura Introduced the Berserker Armor

Kentaro Miura admitted that the Berserker Armor was never planned from the very beginning. When he began the manga, the story was not in place for the author to think of an armor. However, as the story developed and the characters became more powerful, Guts had to grow as well.

Slowly, supernatural elements were introduced to the manga, and Guts had to receive a supernatural powerup on top of his physical improvement. However, the author still wanted to preserve the dynamism brought by Guts’ hand-to-hand combat.

“By dint of searching, I found the solution you know. An armor that drives you crazy. It’s perfect, for a “berserk”. It is said that the ancient berserker was taking drugs to rage. As in a way, the pain is Guts’ drug, the whole thing was a coherent whole.”

The Berserker Armor was indeed a huge power bestowed upon Guts. It provided him with preternatural strength and agility. It lets Guts exert more force into his fights as the wearer fails to process pain. Despite its strength, the armor has heavy drawbacks. Its wearer’s psyche can be consumed by it, to the point where they can no longer differentiate between friend and foe and become bloodthirsty monsters.

Not only does it lead to mental deterioration of the wearer, it also lets the inner darkness of Guts to fester. Guts tries to stabilize himself by reinforcing his spirit with a powerful magical presence.

Unlike other power-ups and weapons in the Shonen series that barely have any drawbacks, The Berserker Armor is more realistic. It increases its wearer’s strength but only in return for heavy sacrifices. Thus, the weapon perfectly suits Berserk.

Berserk is not officially available to read online, so you will have to buy physical volumes to read it. You can watch the anime on Crunchyroll.