Duranki - New series for the studio of Kentarō Miura

Not really a fan of this the more I see of it. It has its purpose, but it's definitely not a series for me.

I greatly dislike the main character; too perfect, too bland, too well liked, too skilled, etc. As if we don't see enough of that in current year fiction.
 
I love this series, I really hope Miura-sensei or someone else will continue This legacy. It got so much potential you know.
 
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Crocodile

Desert Croc
That assistant on Twitter did a one-shot for Jump recently so I guess they've left studio Gaga?
I wonder if any other assistants have left.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
That assistant on Twitter did a one-shot for Jump recently so I guess they've left studio Gaga?

I think you're confused. He retweeted someone else who had a one-shot published on January 31st. It doesn't look like he has left Studio Gaga.

I wonder if any other assistants have left.

Assistants come and go. That being said, all those credited in volume 40 of Berserk were already working with Miura on volume 30 (published over 15 years ago).
 
I greatly dislike the main character; too perfect, too bland, too well liked, too skilled, etc. As if we don't see enough of that in current year fiction.
Well, as the character in question is not human, I don't find it out of place and bothering. To me the general tone was very refreshing.

I just finished to read all of the episodes and loved it, more than I thought I would. Miura demonstrated again his storyteller and world creation skills and the more I read the more I was curious about the long-term vision he had for this tale... Unfortunately, we'll never know. As if I was not enough pained by Miura's demise this year..
I guess the series publication rhythm suffered from Covid crisis situation as unlike Berserk where Miura does almost everything by himself, Duranki was to be more of a collective work.
 
Duranki will be collected and released as a single volume on December 24, 2021 in Japan alongside Berserk volume 41.
 
That's a shame, I was hoping Studio Gaga would continue it but i'm not too surprised. I wonder if it will get an english release. I personally doubt it considering it's only a single volume for an incomplete series but who knows...
 
That's a shame, I was hoping Studio Gaga would continue it but i'm not too surprised. I wonder if it will get an english release. I personally doubt it considering it's only a single volume for an incomplete series but who knows...
All it would take is for Dark Horse to print Miura's name in the advertising and it would sell. I'm sure it'll be localized eventually.

That being said, I wouldn't be interested. I wasn't a big fan of it.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah it is a real disappointment to me. I had truly hoped to see Duranki find its footing and become something great and unique over time.

I think it either says something about the future of Studio Gaga, or about how critical Miura's role was in Duranki, that they can so definitively end it now, instead of parlay a vague announcement into an eventual continuation. I had hoped that Studio Gaga's members could continue the story, given how nascent it was. Miura had planted the seeds, so it seemed appropriate for me that someone else could take it over in a way that it didn't seem appropriate for a series as thoroughly developed as Berserk.

As for an English release from Dark Horse, I don't think there's any doubt about it. They brought over Gigantomakhia, and after all, Berserk is a big seller for them.
 
I think it either says something about the future of Studio Gaga, or about how critical Miura's role was in Duranki, that they can so definitively end it now, instead of parlay a vague announcement into an eventual continuation.
Yeah, that was something I had thought about, too. Before the announcement of this, I was telling a friend of mine that I think this is sadly the end of the studio. At least, perhaps as we know. Whether they continue working together in the future (which I don't see entirely likely given the nature of the role for assistants) remains to be seen.

That being said, I appreciated the experimentation. There's no doubt that the series had really excellent art. I'm sad about it not continuing, though I trust that it is for the best.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, I didn't even follow Duranki and this bums me out because this was something that could have continued without Miura while honoring him and Studio Gaga. I kind of hoped more would come of it and it could be a bit of a legacy series for him, his studio and the fans. Instead it's another casualty. Like the rest of Miura's other works, I'd definitely get it if Dark Horse published it.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, I didn't even follow Duranki and this bums me out because this was something that could have continued without Miura while honoring him and Studio Gaga.

Well I guess that's the thing: it apparently couldn't continue without Miura. While he generously had chosen to present it as merely "produced" by him and drawn by his assistants, his share of the work was too important for it to go on without him. We'd speculated about this in the past so it's not new (especially given the long delay since Duranki's last prepublication), but it is indeed still disappointing.

While I didn't pay too much attention to the series' episodic releases, I definitely looked forward to reading the first volume once completed. I'm sure Miura had great stuff planned for it, only waiting to be revealed. And I think it was a bold choice on his part to launch a very different series from what people expected of him. Something centered around gender issues and building relationships, with children protagonists and a hero who's literally chosen by the gods but has to be accepted by people, and whose key ability is solving problems through invention and not brute force. And what to say of the Mesopotamian setting? Just brilliant. I still very much look forward to the volume.

As for Studio Gaga, it was founded, headed and financed by Kentarou Miura. I've always suspected it to be a pun on the Queen song, but beyond that "我画" literally means "my drawing". It was his studio. So I really don't see how it could go on without him, unless he had planned some provision where part of his royalties would go to fund the studio after his death (not likely). And even then, who would manage it? Was it even actually a company, instead of an informal name?

In any case, they need a project to exist, and unless they can rise to the challenge and produce something on their own, they're out of luck. It's certainly a very difficult time for them, and I've had them in my thoughts over the past few months. I wish them the best in their future endeavors, whatever they end up being.
 
In any case, they need a project to exist, and unless they can rise to the challenge and produce something on their own, they're out of luck. It's certainly a very difficult time for them, and I've had them in my thoughts over the past few months. I wish them the best in their future endeavors, whatever they end up being.
We can only hope... but Wolfsmund is proof that a Miura assistant can strike out on their own.
 
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