Every story or narrative needs inspiration that could help its creators in forming a base for the story. Something similar happened with one of the biggest dark fantasy mangas, Berserk. While Berserk offers a plot that was never seen before, there were some things within the series that Kentaro Miura borrowed from other popular manga series.
In an interview once, Miura confessed that he had used three legendary manga stories for Berserk’s reference, and all three of these have played a different role in designing one of the best dark fantasy narratives of all time. These were some of his favorite works before he entered the industry.
These references and inspirations can be deemed Miura’s way of honoring the works that persuaded him to become a mangaka, and those who have read them can clearly spot the influence in the story.
The Three Legendary Manga That Inspired Kentaro Miura
Before the release of volume 20 of Miura’s magnum opus, the mangaka was interviewed by popular Shojo manga writer Yukari Fujimoto. This interview was shared by Mangabrog, and it featured a revelation made by Miura about the other series that inspired him to create Berserk, and also had some contribution to the story.
Miura stated:
I was a manga reader. There are things that I’ve consciously borrowed from, but there are also things that have sunk to the bottom of my consciousness and pop up out of nowhere later. They’ve become part of me. Violence Jack and Guin Saga are things I was obviously really into, and I do think that Guin Saga was the biggest source for this fantasy universe. That atmosphere it has just stuck with me and now I think of it as the standard to measure things against, so I suppose you’re right.
Most of the aspects of Berserk are inspired by Go Nagi’s Violence Jack, Kaoru Kurimoto’s Guin Saga, and Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo. While all three of the series are from a different genre, they all had something that inspired Miura and had become a part of him. Miura kept them on a pedestal and measured Berserk’s story against them.
Gut’s Main Feature is Taken From Other Manga Series
While talking about the manga and novels that inspired him, Kentaro Miura also confessed that one of Gut’s most important aspects, his sword (the Dragon Slayer), was also inspired by two different manga series. One was the Guin Saga spin-off Snow Queen, and the other was Pygmalio by the popular mangaka Shinji Wada.
Miura revealed:
That comes from Shinji Wada’s Pygmalio. Also, I think it was in the Guin Saga spin-off The Snow Queen, there was this illustration of a two- or three-meter-tall giant wielding a sword. Guts’ sword is a cross between those two. It’s just the right size to be still somehow carryable while giving that close-to-the-action feeling of violent men’s manga.
All these inspirations arise from the fact that Miura has been a big manga fan since the beginning, and he has always dreamed of becoming a manga creator.
And now years later, even after his passing, Berserk and the protagonist Guts are inspiring and influencing other manga creators.
You can read the Berserk manga on Dark Horse.
