Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is one of the top dark fantasy anime/manga to date, and Gut’s Dragon Slayer sword is featured in every image of the franchise. It has now become almost like a trademark for the protagonist to slug around the huge slab of iron.
However, it is because of the sword’s massive size that Guts can use it to slay the apostles of God. Every fallen apostle adds to the sword’s strength, making it more and more effective every kill. Let’s say that Dragon Slayer is no less popular than Guts himself.
So, indeed it should be surprising for Berserk fans to know that Miura might not like Gut’s sword as much as everyone else.
Kentaro Miura’s Problem with Drawing Gut’s Sword in Berserk
In an interview, Kentaro Miura was asked what martial arts materials he had to collect to use as sources for the action scenes in Berserk. Miura answered that he liked drawing action scenes realistically. His sweet spot is the perfect blend of reality and fabrication, but it is equally difficult to achieve.
Guts’ sword is another difficult thing that is hard to find references for. Due to its abnormal size and length, no normal swordsman images can fit into the context.
“In this case, I think there’s no real sword-fighting skill that matches it exactly.”
So, of course, no sword-fighting style can fit the Dragon Slayers‘ usage because, in reality, humans cannot use a sword gigantic. Thus, Miura initially collected some info but he did not want to taint the images in his mind with references.
“I decided to use the best balance between informative manga about martial arts and animations featuring machines.””I decided to use the best balance between informative manga about martial arts and animations featuring machines.”
At the end of the day, Miura has to create the positions of Guts’ action scenes with little to no support in the form of references.
Kentaro Miura’s Love for Martial Arts Reflects in Berserk
Kentaro Miura acknowledged his love for martial arts. In fact, Griffith also tried a joint-locking technique during the Guts vs. Griffith fight. Miura had many people around him who were absorbed in martial arts, some of whom were actual martial artists.
I find myself quite a big lover of it but when I’m with them, I get to think, “Ahhh, I’m just an amateur, indeed.” [Laughs.]
He further commented that he wondered if he could create a martial arts manga by amassing all his knowledge. However, the mangaka humbly admitted that his knowledge isn’t a lot, so he leaves this kind of thing to others.
Although he liked martial arts, he loved manga and stories more. He loves martial artists for their perfect builds, which inspire characters. In fact, he watched the Holyfield vs. Tyson match and used Holyfield’s body as a model for a Berserk episode.
“But what I ultimately like are things like manga and story. It’s not like I love martial arts themselves.”
For Miura, he had been wanting to become a mangaka for so long that he had lost track of age. For him, receiving praise for his drawings constituted the happiest moments of his youth. As his family moved around quite often, his drawings helped him make friends no matter where he went.
“I really don’t remember the very first moment. All I can remember is that I drew manga first on a notebook for university students during the second grade in elementary school. It was some kind of revelation.”
While Guts’ sword could have been an extra stressing factor for Kentaro Miura to draw, fans are thankful for his contribution to the manga industry as a whole.
You can watch the Berserk anime on Crunchyroll.
