Will Vagabond surpass Berserk...?

Will Vagabond surpass Berserk in official episode # before it's finished?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 38.1%
  • No

    Votes: 13 61.9%

  • Total voters
    21

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
...in official episode # before it's finished? :guts:
miura.gif


This is a fun little bet on account of their official episode designations being currently so close, Vagabond having been gaining for a while. This isn't really a question of "which is/will be bigger," Berserk is clearly the winner in that department with a few volumes worth of episodes that aren't even a part of its current tally, and unless Inoue lied to us, Berserk will continue long after Vagabond ends.

Anyway, as of today, Vagabond is at 289 and Berserk is at 310. Vagabond is released at a much faster pace than Berserk, but it might not last past the end of the year. Obviously, starting with Vagabond #290 this week, Inoue has 20 episodes to make up, with Berserk #311 and Vagabond #291 on their way; which, wouldn't be a problem as Inoue can easily pump out ten episodes in ten weeks, except that he's said Vagabond will be done by the end of the year, which makes things rather tight depending on how many episodes Miura puts out in that time to offset Inoue's production.

That's where the debate gets interesting :zodd: ...or not. :ganishka:
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
I said Yes, I think Inoue can actually caught up to Berserk if he continues to release episodes as he has been doing. Miura for all we know might take a long break this year also and Inoue can have that time to have more episodes out. Either way, I dont know the future, but that's just my thought from how this mangaka release episodes.
 
Well, even if we forget that Vagabond is weekly and Berserk is bi-monthly, Miura's incomparable attention to detail in all aspects of Berserk is a contrast to Inoue's "free-style", so it's understandable that Inoue takes less and shorter breaks. Also, if Inoue really wants to wrap things up this year, I suppose he'll take less breaks, or at least use them to work on Vagabond rather than REAL, for example. So it's probably gonna be a very productive year for him... I vote YES!

But, you know, we can never know for sure. Inoue changes his mind all the time, and Miura's schedule is really unpredictable as far as I can tell. They like playing with our hearts.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Well, we're split 4 for and 4 against. I voted yes as well, because I figured that Inoue is going to be at a high output until he finishes, if indeed he even wraps it up this year, and by simple math he only needs to put out about 30 more episodes this year to catch Miura unless Miura puts out more than 10 in the same time (and a big break in release or two could put a stop to that). On the other hand, if Inoue doesn't put out that many and Miura has a relatively high output this year, that's the game. This is also a perfect time for Wally to share some of his updated Berserk episode release charts. All I can tell you is that looking at volumes, and that's by no means exact when it comes to episodes in a year, Inoue averages about 3 volumes released in a year, while Miura has been at about 1 a year the last few years.

Let's hear from the folks who voted nay for their perspective.
 
X

Xem

Guest
I said no, but keep in mind I haven't been following Vagabond very well, but I have a couple reasons for my assumptions (other than bias!).

#1: We have reason to believe that Berserk slowed down a lot more recently due to events in the story, so it's reasonable to assume the pace might pick up significantly.

#2: Since this is the end of Vagabond, one might assume the author might take a bit longer to release episodes so he can take a bit more time making sure everything is absolutely perfect.

#3: Muira might be aware of this travesty and consciously make sure it doesn't occur. <---- MOST LIKELY SCENARIO
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Deci said:
#1: We have reason to believe that Berserk slowed down a lot more recently due to events in the story, so it's reasonable to assume the pace might pick up significantly.

That's a good point, the counter being that there's really no way to determine that what Miura has in the pipeline will take any less time. It doesn't seem like there's going to be a shortage of grand things to depict in Berserk, even relatively more mundane events such as life on the ship require an immense amount of detail. I think part of it is simply an evolution of Miura's style that makes drawing the episodes more time-consuming in general, the degree of difficulty and detail continues to rise, whether he's drawing something larger than life or something more common. The most recent episodes and monster attack for instance, the artwork is ridiculous on the ship, the monster, everything. It was basically just an action episode, but was presented with seemingly the same effort and detail as the confrontation with Ganishka and creation of Falconia. There's a larger overall trend here, take a look at Wally's updated episode release chart:

http://skullknight.net/images/eps.html

The most on this list by my quick count was 19 episodes in a year, and that was back in 2003. Since then, there's consistently been more breaks and less episodes, culminating in 2009, when only 8 episodes were released. While last year's low total was probably an aberration due to exactly what you're talking about in terms of story, it's still true that in the last 3 years, there hasn't been more than 11 episodes released in a year. No reason to assume Miura is suddenly going to return to the high teens now.

Deci said:
#2: Since this is the end of Vagabond, one might assume the author might take a bit longer to release episodes so he can take a bit more time making sure everything is absolutely perfect.

Not Inoue's style, not that he won't put in extra effort, but that his effort is hectic and face-paced, and his self-imposed deadline was to finish by the end of the year, which together could mean more production, not less. He did the entire Last Manga exhibition material in less than a month and that was for a museum showcase. Plus, if he does decide to take his time and go beyond this year, that's likely going to mean more episodes as well, and the longer Inoue takes, the more time is on Vagabond's side.

Deci said:
#3: Miura might be aware of this travesty and consciously make sure it doesn't occur. <---- MOST LIKELY SCENARIO

Ha, well, I think the most likely scenarios that sink Vagabond's chances are either Miura reverses the trend and puts out 15+ episodes again this year, which is plausible, or, maybe even more likely, Inoue does finish Vagabond this year, and in a relatively short amount of episodes. After all, if both series ended today, Vagabond would still be 20 behind; the burden to catch up is on Vagabond.


UPDATE: Perhaps Miura is making a push...

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=11472.msg182465#msg182465
That'll be 3 episodes before March. Your move, Inoue! :guts:
 
Oh my! What a turn of events! Inoue seems to be taking a break starting this week, too.

ohmy.jpg


Deci said:
#3: Miura might be aware of this travesty and consciously make sure it doesn't occur. <---- MOST LIKELY SCENARIO

:badbone:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Update! Not surprisingly, Vagabond has gained ground, with Berserk at #312 and Vagabond currently sitting at #296, it's now only 16 episodes back. But with both series on break, will Vagabond have the stamina to build on its gains before the end!? :zodd:
 
I'm even more clueless now than when you made the thread. I may be wrong, but judging from the last 10 or so episodes, Inoue seems to be quite unsure about what direction the series will take. So far the Matahachi segments have absolutely nothing to do with Musashi and Kojiro, though I'm sure it'll pay off later on (and we know this for a fact, since the young dude showed up on the Exhibition). Their fight hasn't even been hinted at, except for the contrast of the way they're living their lives, and honestly every episode is a surprise to the point that we have no idea which character will show up. Sometimes it'll end with a cliffhanger, like 295, and suddenly 296 is on a complete other subject. It's impossible to predict anything these days.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I agree, unless this chaos is supposed to be some kind of bizarro foundation for randomly jumping into the duel at some point, it looks like it's going everywhere but a conclusion. It actually reminds me of those tacked on pages at the end of volumes 27 and 28, where Inoue would add some pages of Kojiro or Musashi respectively, with them wondering about the other. Like that's where we were headed next, and look how that turned. It actually felt closer then than now.
Bottom line about all this: it makes me confident in my vote. :guts:
 
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