Discussing Studio Gaga's art

[Vitris]

As Walter and I briefly discussed in the chat, having a dedicated thread about Studio Gaga's art might be good to talk about the thing that's basically in every discussion when mentioning the continuation.
I decided to make this thread to analyze Miura's former studio's art to better understand what they do wrong and how they might improve their skills. Of course, the visual aspect of every comic and manga is strictly tied to its story, so most of the time the two will go hand in hand, no matter what we're talking about.
Personally, I'll choose a specific topic and go further into detail, providing (I anticipate) A LOT of visual examples. Needless to say that there are gonna be comparisons with Miura (and maybe other artists) all over the place, because that's what they're trying to emulate. I hope this will be interesting and somewhat educational for everyone who will participate.

 

[Vitris]

Toning down violence and gore

We all know that one of the things Berserk is known for is how brutal it can get.

People getting possessed that start eating each other, Rakshas tearing a horse in half to put out the fire on himself, Ganishka crushing his own army while he's losing his memories... Well, you name it.
But since the continuation had started, I noticed (as probably most of you did) that the violence and gore have been turned down too much, while the pages have been filled with random details.​

The closest they've come to something interesting is in episode 368, when one of the sailors was eaten by the gnawers (although the reason for it was pretty stupid).

And even though they had different opportunities to go over the top with the violence, they haven't done anything that comes even close to this scene since then. There are a couple (and I literally mean a couple) of panels where they try to show something more graphic, but they feel more like the exception rather than the rule.

​

For example, let's talk about Rakshas popping out of that Kushan guy.
The fist thing we see is spikes coming out of the dude's back, which is a good start. Then we see him in an awkward pose, and, for some reason, there's drops of blood coming out from every part of his body, not just the back, which doesn't make any sense.



And after that, we see the others reacting to some kind of “blast”, and a couple of pages later there's Rakshas with his mask covered in blood (a detail that they forgot about in the next episode).
The way they've portrayed this scene is very contrived, especially because of the aforementioned blast. There's this weird panel where a guy is getting hit in the face by something caused by said blast, but it's unclear as to what hit him. But what this panel (and the one after) tells us is that the blast is strong enough to knock people on the ground, as we see in ep. 377's last page. Now let me ask you a question: what exactly caused that blast? Are they trying to tells us that Rakshas tore this man's flesh THAT hard? Well, that can't be it, because when we see Rakshas he's just poking his head out of the Kushan's back. Even though Rakshas seems to get out of the guy's back pretty violently in the next panel (and in the episode right after), we don't see any details, like organs and bones flying out at full speed. The most that we get out of this is some drops of blood.



Changing the subject, there's elephants crushing Kushan soldiers, but they hide the impact by adding the same blast effect that they used for Rakshas.



But this scene isn't anything new in Berserk: we've already seen the same thing in volume 32, episode 280.


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Notice how Miura did a way better job in just one page with three panels, while Studio Gaga did worse with double the amount of work.

This difference comes down to the way they handle panelling (a topic that I'll go further into detail in another post) very differently, which is that Miura was a genius, and his former assistants are still very amateurish in that regard. The way I would describe Studio Gaga's panelling is that it looks more like an anime storyboard rather than a manga storyboard: there are many things that could be portrayed with half of the panels that they put on page. Every scene is filled with reaction shots, big and small, and some scene are depicted in a “frame by frame” style. Going back to the elephants, while Miura shows them killing people in just one panel, Studio Gaga has one panel to show the elephants crushing people, and another to show that those people have, indeed, been crushed. I mean, of course that would be the outcome. There's no reason to split the same action in two different moments: it's unnecessary and uninteresting. And the fact that the soldiers are just drawn as silhouettes, hidden by that blast effect, only does a disservice to this moment.

Another thing that bothers me is that there's no blood on the ground, even when the place is full of corpses.
For example, in this panel we see Farnese standing in front of what I guess should be dead people. But since there's no blood and they look intact, it looks more like they're sleeping on the floor.



Here's two other panels, where Rakshas is running away. Same problem as above, even though this time there are dismembered people.



And now we see him reaching Guts' cell. There's a Kushan dead on the stairs, but... how did he die exactly? Was it because of the trolls? And if that's the case, then why didn't the trolls try to kill Guts as well? Looking at how everything went, they certanly would've done a better job than Rakshas.

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Speaking of Rakshas, it was already mentioned in ep. 378's thread that he didn't kill anyone, but it really can't be stretched enough how much this was disappointing. The fact that they even dared to tease a fight with Silat just to forget about it instantly is just the cherry on top, but the "fight scenes" will also be another topic for the future.

 

[Walter]

Censoring implies that Studio Gaga are covering up portions of the panels because they're sensitive or squeamish over gory content. Instead, I think what you pointed out is the result of them masking or simplifying complicated or difficult to execute on-page action. It's easier this way. So I see it as them operating at the limit of their abilities, not necessarily editorialization.

 

[Vitris]

Censoring implies that Studio Gaga are covering up portions of the panels because they're sensitive or squeamish over gory content. Instead, I think what you pointed out is the result of them masking or simplifying complicated or difficult to execute on-page action. It's easier this way. So I see it as them operating at the limit of their abilities, not necessarily editorialization.

Thanks! Now I changed the term to avoid any misunderstanding.

 

[cijhho123]

The Bad
When I think about studio Gaga's art the first thing that come to mind is the blurry, indistinct panels of the kushan soldiers from the earlier episodes they created.



Although they did got better with more time and experience, the core issue remains: the paneling lacks fluidity, and the action feels static when it should be dynamic. The pages often come across as a collection of loosely connected images rather than a continuous visual narrative. More importantly, they feel weightless. It's as if the panels only capture the broad strokes of a scene, missing the subtle details in expressions, poses, and environments that were synonymous with Miura’s Berserk.

Now, manga by definition is sequence of images, but a good mangaka knows how to orchestrate paneling and composition to guide the reader’s eye, and to make each beat feel like a frame in a film, flowing with rhythm and emotion.

Here's a manga panel (and trust me I just picked at random) from the golden age:
:

Look how alive Guts’ momentum is as he charges toward Silat, and how naturally Silat’s body reacts: you can feel the panic in his transition from offense to defense. Every motion is packed with tension, each line suggesting speed, power, fear.

And another one (which I didn't pick at random at all!) from only a little later in the story:


Each small panel here conveys a specific emotional beat. Guts first kisses Casca’s head in a gentle, almost protective way, like a father comforting a child. Then, little by little, the gesture becomes more romantic and vulnerable, as if he’s allowing himself to feel love through soft, hesitant touches. Casca’s initial hesitation: her brief pause speaks volumes. And when she finally responds to his affection, it feels earned and sincere.

This is Miura sensei using the manga form to its fullest potential: paneling, expression, body language, framing - all working together to carry emotion beyond words.

Now let's compare it to another scene from studio Gaga. To make sure we are comparing apples to apples, I'll go with another emotional and intimate scene, and god knows we don't lack any of them in Guts' depression arc we are currently having.



The whole scene just feels emotionally flat. In the first panel, Guts' body language signal he's tired more than anything, not like someone on the verge of breaking down. Then in the second panel, his expression suddenly shifts into this intense, almost feral look like he’s about to scream. But right after that, it shifts again into quiet sobbing.
There’s no build up, no emotional flow. Instead of a natural unraveling of grief, we get disconnected beats that don’t really add up. It jumps from tired, to explosive, to tearful without any of the subtle transitions.


The Good

Now, Just to be frank about everything, when Studio Gaga do it it well, it is really well made and feels a little more like the real Berserk. For example chapter 372 when we see brainwashed Casca's new routine at Falconia.

This scene is handled with care. The pacing feels steady, and there’s a quiet tension underneath it all. The maids treat Casca with respect and loyalty, but their expressions tell a more complicated story. There’s fear behind their politeness, subtle signs of anxiety, like stiff smiles and uneasy eyes.

You can tell they’ve experienced one of her violent outbursts before, and that tension stays with them. It’s not over-explained, it’s just shown through body language and expressions, which is exactly the kind of visual storytelling that made Berserk so powerful to begin with.

It is obviously not close to Miura's level of care and details, but If Studio Gaga can maintain this level I think I'll be pretty ok with the continuation (art-wise at least).


The Meme
It was a really good meme when the episode came, but regardless this panel is legitimately very good in my opinion, I had to mention it.