The Big Berserk Exhibition

Okay now that I’m back from the exhibit I can explain it as best as I can. Photos were allowed within parts of exhibit. The first part of the exhibit showed every important character and a short brief about them. After that was just all of the art pieces and manuscripts. Most of the photo areas were either figures/statues or dioramas. The manuscripts and art pieces went in order of the time periods in the books. The wallpaper colors also changed as certain time periods began in the manga. At the eclipse section there was one circular part of the area that was just full on diorama of the eclipse and how you may feel being trapped in it. It’s very small but they had carved faces everywhere that lit up in color and there was also sound effects. This section was also all in black light and they had the hand where all of the God Hands stand on. This hand was scaled to the figmas of those five god hand characters so it was quite big. That was so cool. They showed all of the God Hand prime one statues in this area too. At the end of the exhibit before you walk into the merch area was an area that showed his desk set up and also had other manga artists remembering the author through those shikishi boards. There was no photography allowed in the merchandise area so I don’t have any pictures of that. They were restocking items very quickly though. I don’t know if they’re saving some of it for the coming days or they’re just sold out when they’re sold out. That’s pretty much it and for some reason I received two copies of the tickets when I got the printout from Lawson so I’m going to go back tomorrow.

Berserk Exhibit Pics
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Nice man, your pictures and words are much more flattering than some of the official promos, gives a better sense of the scale and size of the event than close ups of the color paintings, etc. Lucky with the tickets too!
 
Thank you so much for sharing those! If you don’t mind me asking, what was the crowd size like? The atmosphere of the place (quiet, somber, laughter, some chatter?)
They were letting people in groups of 120. I’m not sure if every ticket had a time slot but most of the first tickets did. Forces was blaring on in the background so you’re just listening to that while looking at amazing original manuscripts and canvas paintings.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Forces was blaring on in the background so you’re just listening to that while looking at amazing original manuscripts and canvas paintings.

I mean, I love Forces, but Guts' Theme was the way to go here. Or something kind of quiet but intense and fucked up like Beherit. Really, just play the whole Hirasawa anime soundtrack. :guts:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Thank you for sharing those pictures, Letty! I loved the garden of elves and the figure of Chich. Wish I could be there.
 
I just dropped by the exhibit hall so I know the route for tomorrow morning and they had the doors open and they actually had people out front(selling tickets?). I got a slight peak at the entrance and the gift shop. You could also hear the epic music being played. So psyched for tomorrow morning!
hope you have a fun safe trip :)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Okay now that I’m back from the exhibit I can explain it as best as I can. Photos were allowed within parts of exhibit. The first part of the exhibit showed every important character and a short brief about them. After that was just all of the art pieces and manuscripts. Most of the photo areas were either figures/statues or dioramas. The manuscripts and art pieces went in order of the time periods in the books. The wallpaper colors also changed as certain time periods began in the manga. At the eclipse section there was one circular part of the area that was just full on diorama of the eclipse and how you may feel being trapped in it. It’s very small but they had carved faces everywhere that lit up in color and there was also sound effects. This section was also all in black light and they had the hand where all of the God Hands stand on. This hand was scaled to the figmas of those five god hand characters so it was quite big. That was so cool. They showed all of the God Hand prime one statues in this area too. At the end of the exhibit before you walk into the merch area was an area that showed his desk set up and also had other manga artists remembering the author through those shikishi boards. There was no photography allowed in the merchandise area so I don’t have any pictures of that. They were restocking items very quickly though. I don’t know if they’re saving some of it for the coming days or they’re just sold out when they’re sold out. That’s pretty much it and for some reason I received two copies of the tickets when I got the printout from Lawson so I’m going to go back tomorrow.

Berserk Exhibit Pics

Thanks Letty, you're the best! So cool that they have a Chich diorama! (even though the likeness is so-so)
Also nice to see the names of those who helped with the crowdfunding. Man, I hope they tour the exhibition around Japan long enough that I'll be able to go. :judo:
 

CoolGuyZool

My love is like a truck.
Okay now that I’m back from the exhibit I can explain it as best as I can. Photos were allowed within parts of exhibit. The first part of the exhibit showed every important character and a short brief about them. After that was just all of the art pieces and manuscripts. Most of the photo areas were either figures/statues or dioramas. The manuscripts and art pieces went in order of the time periods in the books. The wallpaper colors also changed as certain time periods began in the manga. At the eclipse section there was one circular part of the area that was just full on diorama of the eclipse and how you may feel being trapped in it. It’s very small but they had carved faces everywhere that lit up in color and there was also sound effects. This section was also all in black light and they had the hand where all of the God Hands stand on. This hand was scaled to the figmas of those five god hand characters so it was quite big. That was so cool. They showed all of the God Hand prime one statues in this area too. At the end of the exhibit before you walk into the merch area was an area that showed his desk set up and also had other manga artists remembering the author through those shikishi boards. There was no photography allowed in the merchandise area so I don’t have any pictures of that. They were restocking items very quickly though. I don’t know if they’re saving some of it for the coming days or they’re just sold out when they’re sold out. That’s pretty much it and for some reason I received two copies of the tickets when I got the printout from Lawson so I’m going to go back tomorrow.

Berserk Exhibit Pics
Do you remember what Susumu Hirasawa songs were being played during each arc walkthrough? What sound effects and music (if any) were played specifically during the Eclipse portion? Low-pitched screams from the faces, humans screams, sounds from the hand? Was the diorama just the Hand + God Hand figmas or did that area display other aspects? Your summary and pictures are very appreciated but I'd like more descriptive details.
 
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Okay now that I’m back from the exhibit I can explain it as best as I can. Photos were allowed within parts of exhibit. The first part of the exhibit showed every important character and a short brief about them. After that was just all of the art pieces and manuscripts. Most of the photo areas were either figures/statues or dioramas. The manuscripts and art pieces went in order of the time periods in the books. The wallpaper colors also changed as certain time periods began in the manga. At the eclipse section there was one circular part of the area that was just full on diorama of the eclipse and how you may feel being trapped in it. It’s very small but they had carved faces everywhere that lit up in color and there was also sound effects. This section was also all in black light and they had the hand where all of the God Hands stand on. This hand was scaled to the figmas of those five god hand characters so it was quite big. That was so cool. They showed all of the God Hand prime one statues in this area too. At the end of the exhibit before you walk into the merch area was an area that showed his desk set up and also had other manga artists remembering the author through those shikishi boards. There was no photography allowed in the merchandise area so I don’t have any pictures of that. They were restocking items very quickly though. I don’t know if they’re saving some of it for the coming days or they’re just sold out when they’re sold out. That’s pretty much it and for some reason I received two copies of the tickets when I got the printout from Lawson so I’m going to go back tomorrow.

Berserk Exhibit Pics
Thank you for the pictures! There was also a mention that they would display original art that Miura did for the exhibition. Did you notice any unseen/new pieces?
 
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Thanks for the early preview Letty!! Did you manage to grab any merch?? I'm really scared of everything good being sold out.......
Because I was one of the first 120 in yes I was able to get whatever merch I wanted. It went very smoothly and there weren’t long lines but I have been reading the Twitter thread on the official account and it seems to have gone very badly altogether. Once they saw that there was a problem with the lines they started putting numbers on the postcards you receive when you enter the exhibit. Then a batch of numbers would be call out and you would be allowed into the store. They didn’t even get through everyone today and they were up to 580 last I checked. Those people that weren’t able to get in have been told they have to wait until at least Monday if they really want to go into the shop. Anyone who has a ticket for the 11th or 12th will be able to get into the merch store no problem but once the staff see that there’s a large back up they’ll start the my number system again. There’s no telling what the stock is of all of the items but we an see that it’s very popular and people are buying it up.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Being in restaurant sales I sympathize with them not being correct in their product counts for a special event with essentially no precedent, and under unprecedented circumstances (Berserk Museum Exhibition/Covid/Miura's passing). I mean, you essentially have to guess the volume you need, and they probably had to way in advance, and then even if you can somewhat keep up with tickets sold, not everyone is going to buy one of everything, but if everyone just buys one more or less thing than you anticipated because it's a special event... You're fucked. For as cool as this stuff is, if you don't sell it, most people aren't going to want a commemorative shirt for an event they didn't attend. =) Still, that said, it sounds like they were way too conservative with some of their stock and some of this stuff should have been considered 'must-have' for everyone that attends, because almost everyone would get a keepsake of some kind, probably a shirt at minimum.
 
Ashamed to say I've already spent $$$ on the manuscript replicas through second-hand market sites. I hate fueling resellers, but I knew I'd have to get my hands on them when they were revealed as exhibit goods. Would be awesome if they weren't exhibit exclusives, hoping for others that they might sell them online in the future.
 
Thanks. I finally get to see my name on the donor list.
Thank you for pointing that out! Saw the pics but only skimmed to save myself for next weekend. So cool to see my name :D Letty's horror stories of the merch has me worried on that front but, at the same time, has made it easier for me to just drop that notion all together and thoroughly enjoy the exhibit itself. That's the way it should be.
 
Ashamed to say I've already spent $$$ on the manuscript replicas through second-hand market sites. I hate fueling resellers, but I knew I'd have to get my hands on them when they were revealed as exhibit goods. Would be awesome if they weren't exhibit exclusives, hoping for others that they might sell them online in the future.
I threw down a bid on the art book. (Sorry, Aaz)

-

The mangaka of Hell’s Paradise made a shikishi for the exhibit.

 
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Atocas

Voice in the Void
Ashamed to say I've already spent $$$ on the manuscript replicas through second-hand market sites. I hate fueling resellers, but I knew I'd have to get my hands on them when they were revealed as exhibit goods. Would be awesome if they weren't exhibit exclusives, hoping for others that they might sell them online in the future.
I have to admit that I gave in as well and bought one of the manuscript reproductions from a scalper.

You really shouldn't support these kind of people, but it was too tempting to pass up. I love that the art extends a little further than what we see on the Manga pages and the ink stains from the working process on the side.

Still, the prices they charge compared to what they paid is straight up disrespectful. I saw someone on Yahoo Japan Auction having about a dozen of the reproductions for more than double retail, which they probably picked up from the exhibition just to make a quick buck.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Well you guys do what you want of course. I understand since I feel the urge as well. That said, it's useless to complain about it if you're fueling the business! The scalpers know there are eager fans out there, and so long as people are buying they'll be selling (and slowly raising their prices, as has been the case since it started).
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
So is the video (interview) of Kentaro Miura being broadcast inside the exhibition already? Or is the interview in the new art book basically a transcription of the video featuring Miura.

Yes, it's available in the exhibition (I posted about it months ago). And yes, the interview in the artbook will likely be a transcription of the video interview. As for what that tweet says, it's nothing we haven't heard before. Miura had said as much in interviews he gave in the past few years. In April 2019 he told French outlet Le Figaro that he "couldn't commit to saying he was 75-80% done", because it might be lower than that.

Same for the confrontation between Guts and Griffith, which is really pretty obvious anyway given that we were angling towards the conclusion of the story. However that doesn't mean Guts and Griffith duking it out for 10 volumes, just that with the journey to restore Casca being concluded, once the group left the island, their destination would obviously be Falconia (with everything that entails). I think it's clear enough that Miura's confirmation isn't even needed, to be honest.

As for the other tweet about the "narrative order"... It just seems to be common things but poorly relayed. Miura recorded that interview in December of last year, and he was excited for people to see a glimpse of the Skull Knight's past with episode 362. Then there's episode 364, where we finally get the revelation that the boy and Griffith share a body. Episode 365 would have had a skirmish between Guts and Griffith, which the Exhibition's banner image directly references (something Miura did on purpose). Finally, afterwards would come a time of reflection for the characters and uncertainty about their next steps, before more trouble, then renewed determination and departure. I'm pretty sure I laid out these developments 5 years ago already.

You see, the reason I always tell people to be careful with what they read, especially when it's crudely translated from Japanese, is that it's easy to get the wrong idea. This guy's doing people a service by relaying what he understood, but it's important to keep in mind it's just that: quickly relaying what he understood while watching a video in a noisy, crowded place. Obviously, at this point we don't know what Miura said in the interview exactly and maybe there actually are some big relevations in there, but the default stance should be skepticism. Furthermore, Japanese is not a straightforward language, it lends itself to vagueness and ambiguity. And Miura definitely leaned into that in his interviews, which is why they're tricky to translate correctly. It's very easy to minsterpret things, sometimes to a pretty big extent.

Lastly, and this is just common sense, but Miura most probably didn't reveal too much about Berserk's future developments. That was just a sneak peek at the very near future, originally meant for a select crowd, and that he kept vague on purpose because he still wanted people to be surprised and delighted by the story. Again, I'm not saying anything groundbreaking here, just stating the obvious, really.

In conclusion: relax. The artbook will become available eventually and then will be properly translated. If you want to help, you can pitch in to Puella's Patreon, since she's singlehandedly providing us with quality translations.
 
Apparently the art book is just a compilation of pieces we've seen many times over.

Anyone want to confirm that?

Episode 365 would have had a skirmish between Guts and Griffith, which the Exhibition's banner image directly references (something Miura did on purpose).
Is the Guts image from the banner only referencing the skirmish, or would it have been directly used? I don't remember we've seen that image yet in manga.
 
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