Kentaro Miura started writing Berserk in the late 1980s. Since then, it has become one of the most sought-after manga in the Seinen genre. While the manga is quite popular in the anime fandom, there are a few aspects about the manga that give it a double effect. Miura’s choices made Berserk an iconic manga, but it also made it visually disturbing.
The protagonist, Guts, had to go through countless perils, and most of them were not visually satisfying. Starting from Casca’s r*pe scenes to the unlimited bloodshed, it was tough for people with weak hearts to read it. Even though the mangaka decided to make Berserk so engrossing, he later thought whether going to such lengths was necessary.
Berserk’s Disturbing Scenes Made The Mangaka Question Himself
One of the reasons why Berserk is so good is that it does not solely focus on the protagonist. The mangaka takes into account all of his characters. Guts might take the limelight, but other characters are equally crucial. But one thing that separates Guts’ from everyone is his journey. He rarely ever saw the face of joy and always suffered from pain and sorrow. The disturbing things he had to witness could have scarred any other protagonists.
During an interview, Miura mentioned that he questioned himself whether all the violence and sexual assaults were necessary. He said,
“Sorry about these scenes! I must say that my editorial manager defended me well. At the time, the head of the editorial board or higher said once or twice that I was going too far. I also refrained several times, thinking that it would not pass. You have to understand that a mangaka drawing takes very little distance from his work, which leads him to convince himself that his choices are the right ones. Today, with this hindsight, I wonder if my choices were really that necessary.”
Kentaro Miura liked to keep his work real, so he included multiple sexual assault scenes and bloodbath scenes. Casca was r*ped by Griffith, torture scenes, killing of children, etc., were quite disturbing. But those scenes made Berserk iconic. With each battle, there came multiple dead bodies with the characters covered in blood. Each stroke of the sword, blood spilling out, limbs separating from bodies, etc., were held up in each manga panel.
Without Violence Berserk Feels Empty
The plot of Berserk revolves around violence and emotions. Miura made sure to add enough emotions into his magnum opus to accompany the violence. Even though the sexual assaults and the onslaughts give out a disturbing vibe, without it, the manga would lose its true essence. When he was writing the manga, his editor always defended him and encouraged him to portray Guts’ journey through his eyes.
Unfortunately, Kentaro Miura passed away in 2021 and left an unfinished manga. Thankfully, his friend, Kouji Mori, picked up from where he left. He has written a couple of volumes. It might not carry Miura’s essence, but it is better to have a finished story rather than an unfinished one. Moreover, Kentaro Miura wanted Guts to be a happy ending, and Mori might respect his friend’s wish.
Berserk can be streamed on Netflix as of August 17, 2024.
