Remembering Kentarou Miura

Aazealh

Aazealh

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Today is May 6 in Japan. One year ago on this calamitous day, Kentarou Miura was struck by a sudden, unpredictable medical condition and passed away. Those who knew him were left in utter shock and deep sorrow, as were his fans around the world. It's hard for me to believe it has been a year already. That's in part because the reality of it is still somehow intangible in my mind. As if I were in a stupor.

It is no exaggeration to say he was a genius, peerless in his mastery of the arts. Not simply drawing or painting, nor creating a rich story or compelling characters, but doing all of that together in the medium of manga. There is simply no other work of art like Berserk, and there probably never will be. In that regard, his loss is incalculable, because he still had so much to offer to this world. But on this first anniversary of his death, rather than his work, my mind is drawn to the testimonies of his friends and peers about who he was as a person.

They paint a striking picture, that of a passionate man whose artistry did not prevent from showing kindness and benevolence to all. He shared his gift with many and probably created more vocations among mangaka than we will ever know. The popular saying goes "never meet your heroes", lest you be disappointed. But Kentarou Miura seemed the rare man who would surpass even the loftiest expectations.

This makes his untimely disappearance all the more bitter, and it will never not feel unfair to me. But I can feel solace in the fact this great human being lived a great life, and led it exactly how he wanted to. That aside, his work is eternal, and so will be his legacy. Of that, I am sure. When we learned of his passing, my wife and I decided to plant a cherry tree in his memory. We put it in the ground at the end of the year. It bloomed for the first time a few weeks ago. In that, too, I found solace, so I'm leaving you with a picture of it.

Miuranoki.jpg
 
Miura was (and will always be) my hero. His work speaks for itself, and his life was untainted by controversy or anything of the sort. Some geniuses are terrible people, and some good people are not very successful. As such, Miura was the rare sort that combined both. Till today, his loss stings me every time I recall it, and no other person I don't know has affected me like that with his passing.

May we never experience such a loss again. But then again, there was and will only be one Kentaro Miura. So, in that sense, we won't.

That's a beautiful tree, Aaz. Miura was fortunate to have fans as passionate as you.
 
He was a true master of his craft, and despite that remained exceedingly humble. In a world driven by ego, that was a rare and wonderful thing. The day heard the news, I cried uncontrollably for hours, something I hadn't done since I was very young. His work meant the world to me, and my world is forever darker in his absence. Thanks to this community, at least his work will never be forgotten.

Rest in peace, Miura.
 
A great tribute, Aaz!

Like you've said, Miura's passing somehow still feels very recent, and as a fan and admirer from afar, the news was devastating on a level that's hard to describe. I can only imagine how deeply this loss is felt among his friends and family, who directly experienced everything that made him such a special person. My heart truly goes out to them.

Your cherry tree is already looking great, and I hope that it continues to bring you and Puella peace and comfort as it grows! In the past year, I've often reflected on Miura's legacy, and I think that the importance of growth, both as an artist as a person, are among the lessons that his work imparted. To live in the era in which he was creating Berserk, and getting to join this community as a result, are things for which I'll always be grateful.
 
Wow, that picture of the tree Aaz, thanks for sharing. What a touching tribute–one that makes the loss and renewal of life physical instead of abstract. I want to see that thing in 20 years!

I went through this whole year having lapses of memory about Miura's passing. Then it would hit me, jolting me back to reality like I'd been dreaming, and wanting to return to that dream. It's likely the result of his death being so sudden and unreal that it took a long time for it to settle into something that felt real.

I've also been living for years in a near-permanent state of "next episode could be any week now!" so a part of my subconsciousness couldn't so easily move on. And that's okay. Berserk will always be a part of my life, just like all good stories and characters live on through us and our memories of them. And after all, there's still a bunch of podcasts to record, right?

What's been the most surprising development this year, in our first full year of no new Berserk news, has been reading the messages from Miura's friends and those who knew him best. The stories they shared, recounting their memories of their friend, both bolstered and expanded my perception of Miura as a human and as an artist who lived his best life. These stories really healed a part of my soul, which felt scorched this year from not only Miura's death but from disingenuous coverage of his life and his contributions that farted around the internet in the immediate aftermath of the news.

I know many are probably waiting until all of these messages are completely translated but there's really no reason to wait. If you haven't read any of these yet, I'd recommend start with Takashi Hoshi, who gives a rambling but heartfelt story about how Miura inspired him to keep creating, along with some behind-the-scenes chatter about a project Miura never got to complete.
 
Miura-sensei changed my life. I owe him forever like those who he helped much.
I'm still lamenting our loss deeply, but at the same time I'm happy I could have a chance to enjoy his great work. The more I learn how he lived and what kind of person he was, the more I'm amazed in every regard. It's like a new discovery.
He had a great talent and all his life he did what he loved. Besides, he had many people who cherished him. He lived a good life. Like his friend Shizuya Wazarai said, his legacy will be followed eternally.
I've read Berserk for 20 years, I'll re-read it for another 20 years. No problem.
 
I didn't start reading Berserk until after Miura's passing, and I never thought it would leave such an impact on me as it did. It's sad that something so sad and sudden happened last year, but I'm going to take the day to celebrate his work and life. He truly was a master in the medium. I'll never forget reading through Berserk for the first time and experiencing it arc after arc. It always kept me interested with something new being introduced, whether it be a new character or some new location. I wish I could've read his work while it was ongoing, but I am glad to have been able to read Berserk. Thank you Miura for one of the most beautiful stories ever created, may you rest in peace.
 
The tragic and sudden passing of Miura-Sensei still feels like it happened not even a month ago.
Having lost really dear people to me in the last year and one other being on the verge of death right now, I'll still say Miura-Sensei's passing is the one which hit me the hardest for some reason. The thought of that one and only person who I really looked up to, the one who brought me joy, without even knowing me, who tought. inspired and motivated me since my teenage years...now being gone, is still surreal and hurts to this day.
I've started reading Berserk years ago and I still remember the thrill and excitement I've felt after having read the first chapter and from then on it was one hell of a ride. Like many others I've laughed and cried but most of all I couldn't help myself other than to feel for and with the characters, always wondering what kind of an incredible person must be pulling off to write and draw a story that's connecting with me on such a deep and personal level as Berserk. I'd even go as far as saying that Guts and his group feels like family for me (probably also for many others).
It's amazing to think how much one single person gave to so many others he doesn't even know, for them to mourn his death, maybe even shedding tears and thanking him so much for what he created. Even though I didn't know him personally it feels like one of my dearest friends is not here anymore.

Thank you Miura-Sensei for everything you've done and rest in peace.
 
Since I started reading Berserk in October 2018 and caught up a few weeks later, it became something similar to my sole reason for living. The following 2.5 years have been like living a dream, even if I could only get my dose of Berserk three times a year at best, it felt like my life had purpose and no matter what, I had to live long enough to see how my favourite storyteller would continue and finish writing my favourite work of fiction and see what would happen to my favourite characters. I consider it a profound priviledge to have experienced the excitement and anticipation for every new chapter and the sheer magic of reading it and the tangible feeling of Berserk being alive at every turn of the page, even if for such a short period of time. I've realized some negative character traits about myself and learned some things about life only through Berserk, not to mention appreciating storytelling and art on a deeper level thanks to Berserk and Kentaro Miura's work.

On that fateful day, I was forced into the only reality I could not imagine myself living in: a world where I'd have to live on without Kentaro Miura and where Berserk was left unfinished. Over the past year complex feelings arose... Beside the loss all of us experience daily, I came to the realization that this tragedy made me aware of how dependent I was on a work of fiction (and entertainment in general) to the point of neglecting my own real life and as painful as it is, maybe it will do me good in the long term. At the same time though, I feel like I lost my fuel for my daily life and my raging passion for Berserk itself is turning cold and still the longer time passes.

Maybe this is caused by me not having learned to cope with loss in a healthy way, as apathy and putting distance seems to be my own instinctual ways of dealing with suffering, but I hope everything will turn alright for me and everyone here. I'm currently rereading the manga (I just started vol.7), I hope to find again the spark that I lost, an encouragement to move on and that I'll find my own healthy way of elaborating this tragedy and live this troublesome life happily.

Sorry for this messy contribution and for bringing out my own negativity, but I felt like I could share this on this day. Thank you for reading and sharing your own thoughts and experiences, they are very appreciated.
 
I'm going back and revisiting moments in Berserk that meant alot to me as well as going over so many of the analysis videos left behind in the wake of Miura's passing a year later.

It hurts.

It hurts because as much as I love this series and as much as I love what it gave me and what it can still give me I know for a fact that we'll never see anything like it again, we'll never see another writer/artist like Kentaro Miura again or the sheer level of intense dedication and hard work gone into creating such an enormous world with such a rich mythology and so many characters that are likeable, flawed, horrible, interesting, insane but also so engaging that this series feels like lightening in a bottle that could only come once and never again and that's what kills me.

Because knowing how close Kentaro Miura was to finishing in this and what he had planned on doing next, it really hurts to know that a talent that gave us so much and still hard years ahead of him left us. So now him and his creations are gone and it feels like saying goodbye to someone who was there for you in all your hard times and good times and was there to lift you up and help you become a better person.

This world will never know his kind again and that really hurts.
 
I can't believe that a year has passed since his death. I'm still in "never-ending hiatus" mode and probably will be for a long time, somehow I find it fitting thinking the situation like that, and of course to be completely frank, it's easier for me. Maybe it's a bit unhealthy, but I still haven't fully accepted the reality of the situation, the fact that this significant journey that I started back in 2007 has ended abruptly. Still feels like a distasteful joke, made by a dumb, edgy internet troll.

This forum helps greatly, seeing the love of the fans and being a part of it is really important. Keep it up, everyone.

iu
 
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The fact that it took me nearly a year to accept (and make peace with) the fact that Kentaro Miura is dead and gone is a testament to how much his life and talent meant to me and how devastating was his death. I still remember it like yesterday the moment I read the reports of his death and the stages of grief I went through - the initial shock that lasted for over a week - "No, this can't be him. It's gotta be some other man by the same name as him. Or maybe Hakusensha's website got hacked as a sick joke" (denial). Then there was "If only Miura had gone to the hospital days or weeks earlier, before his aorta ruptured...." (bargaining). And the hardest and longest of them all, lasting for months - "Why him? Why Miura had to die? There's so many scumbags out there walking the earth that don't deserve to be alive, why couldn't it have been any of them?" (anger).
Only during the past 4-5 months have I truly felt at peace with the fact that Miura's dead and Berserk is no more. I know I've finally reached the acceptance stage by how any time I think of Miura's death now, it only provokes slight twinges of sadness within me and nothing more.
But no matter what I feel now or how well I've moved on, I will always miss him and never forget about the impact Berserk had on me.
Rest in peace, Miura-sensei.
 
I feel bad for coming onto this thread so late, but I was swamped with final exams, so much of my attention was shifted elsewhere. I'm in the same camp as most of y'all. It does not feel like one full year has gone by since his passing. Thank you Miura for your work that has kept me intrigued for the 8 years I've been a fan of it. Last year, I made it a mission that I would read it once a year, and I will continue to do so.
 
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I can't believe it has already been a year...
I wouldn't be the person I am today without Miura and Berserk. I still remember reading through the Golden Age Arc for the first time and being absolutely blown away. Whatever I end up reading or watching for the rest of my life, I'll still remember and read through Berserk again and again. I doubt anybody will ever come close to doing it like Miura did ever again.
Thank you for everything, and may you rest in peace.
 
To call Miura a genius is no exaggeration. I truly believe the man was a one-in-a-million prodigy, even if it never seemed like he was ever aware of it. He was in his early 20s when he started drawing Berserk, and the quality of his artwork back then was leaps and bounds better than most mangaka with decades of experience today. And he only got better from there. But it wasn't just his art; his storytelling was on another level as well, beyond most other writers that I know of, both in and out of the manga medium. For years, I thought that he had planned many plot points out years in advance what with how seamless he was able to tie elements introduced early on to future events years down the line. So when I learned he didn't even know what the demon child was when he began the story was a real mind-blower for me. Most writers who go into their story like that would screw things up tremendously, and yet Miura was able to make Berserk one of the most internally consistent tales I ever had the pleasure of reading. It was mind-boggling what he was able to accomplish.

And yet, despite making one of the most powerful stories I ever knew of, Miura always came across as a very modest and down-to-earth man in every interview he took part in. Too many artists and writers act like they're God's gift to Mankind. Despite creating one of the deepest, darkest, and most brutally honest stories I ever read, he never seemed like he was intentionally creating high art; he always just came across as a regular guy who simply wanted to make the kind of pulpy manga he enjoyed. It was just so unreal, and the people who knew him personally were truly privileged.

Miura's death was a terrible blow for me, but I'm happy to say that my love for his story has not diminished in the slightest. It's still my all-time favorite manga, my favorite fantasy story, and heck, even one of the my stories period, and it's still always lurking in the back of my mind, just the same as it did the first time I read it from start to (its then current) finish. I feared my opinion of Berserk would decay over time, that I would on some level regret ever getting into it like I have many other stories, but that is not the case at all. This will be a tale that will inspire me for a long time.
 
I can't believe I haven't seen this thread! I guess I try to chat more than post on the forums given it's more convenient (and my train of thought goes bonkers after two or three sentences in English!) Still, I already confessed my sin before. I was actually quite "fine" and accepting with Miura's passing for the past year. If something, I could say I was able to appreciate his work in a more sincere way, I felt really grateful I got the chance to know about his life, his inspirations, his aspirations, how much he was slandered about turned out to be wrong, and how he was such a tranquil person (given the setting of his manga, I'd had thought he was a really extroverted person!).

And yet, I honestly carried along after remembering his passing in recent weeks. Until yesterday, when I listened halfway to the podcast of his passing, some sort of in memoriam special. Oh, boy. Did I cry after listening to you guys, Walter, Aaz, Griffs... with special guest puella breaking my heart. The bigger aspect of this story, at least for me, and I know it well now, is about how everyone else I know about, at least in here and some other friends all over the internet, or close to me have made a connection with this manga, and to an extent to Miura Kentarou. Because, there's no doubt in my mind that Miura was Berserk, and that's why he lives still with us every time we pick up the manga for the hundredth time. It's an inexplicable feeling, one I didn't get to understand until I realised how important this man was. His legacy is just too big, the fact that this site has existed for 20 years and is still going strong is a testament to that.

Anyways, I'm tearing up already. Thank you Miura, through your work, at last, I was truly able to see how much passion a man can pour to the thing he likes most.
 
I can't believe it's already been a year since Miura's death. When I started reading Berserk, I had no idea how hard my life would get. Thankfully, when I struggled and didn't want to keep going, I could read Berserk and find joy in my day. His story, his art, and his characters are nothing short of amazing. I'll always love Berserk and be thankful for what the story got me through.
 
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