I recently had the chance opportunity to do an interview with the lead singer of one of my favorite bands and had to come up with some far-reaching questions. It made me wonder what I'd ask Miura.
If you were to secure a real interview with Kentarou Miura, what would be the key questions you'd want answered? These should be fair, realistic questions. Questions that would spoil future events are out the door, since he would never answer those in a realistic scenario.
Here's what I've come up with, but I'd like to brainstorm with the rest of the forum here and see if we can perhaps get them answered in the long term with a letter writing campaign.
BERSERK QUESTIONS
1) Why was Episode 83 left out of the collected volume? Do you consider the events in the episode to be canon? Can we expect to see or hear from the Idea of Evil before the end of the series?
2) To the readers, Guts as a character has grown tremendously in the past few years, but how much time has elapsed in the Berserk world since the end of the Golden Age arc in Volume 14? (i.e. Lost Children - Millennium Falcon)
3) Regarding the kanji "Taka," do you intend that to be Falcon or Hawk? Was there ever an conscious change in its usage, such as after Griffith's reincarnation, or has it always been "falcon" to you?
4) Just before the launch of the Millennium Falcon Arc, you were quoted as saying now the story of Berserk could truly begin. Is that accurate? If that is the case, how far along are we in the story?
5) There is a recurring motif of the moon and water in many major elements of the series, such as the Yobimizu no Tsurugi, the reflection of the moon on water allegory espoused by Skull Knight and Slan, the primordial sea of the Abyss, the source of the Beherits and the power of the ocean during a full moon. Were these elements consciously linked or is this a coincidence? Could you describe how you got the germ of the idea?
6)There is a fascinating analog of historical detail between the real world and the world you've created within Berserk . It draws on many different eras of human history, religion and culture, but doesn't necessary subscribe to any one as a default. What sparked your interest in creating a world where realistic histories and timelines converged? (This was already answered in a previous interview shown in the Berserk Illustrations File artbook. Here was his reply: "I decided that creating a story that followed real history would limit my imagination.")
7) You've said that your real-life group of friends in college were the inspiration for the Band of Hawk characters, such as Carcus, Judo and Pippin. Were any of these characters based on you?
8 ) Do you intend to explain or allude to the origins of each God Hand member, or will it be left open?
9) What singular theme would you say Berserk is about?
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
10 ) You have created something truly unique with Berserk. But how many pieces of fan mail do you receive in a given week?
11) Is your workplace separate from your home?
12) Do you keep in contact with any manga-ka in your personal life? If so who, and how did you become friends?
13) Single?
If you were to secure a real interview with Kentarou Miura, what would be the key questions you'd want answered? These should be fair, realistic questions. Questions that would spoil future events are out the door, since he would never answer those in a realistic scenario.
Here's what I've come up with, but I'd like to brainstorm with the rest of the forum here and see if we can perhaps get them answered in the long term with a letter writing campaign.
BERSERK QUESTIONS
1) Why was Episode 83 left out of the collected volume? Do you consider the events in the episode to be canon? Can we expect to see or hear from the Idea of Evil before the end of the series?
2) To the readers, Guts as a character has grown tremendously in the past few years, but how much time has elapsed in the Berserk world since the end of the Golden Age arc in Volume 14? (i.e. Lost Children - Millennium Falcon)
3) Regarding the kanji "Taka," do you intend that to be Falcon or Hawk? Was there ever an conscious change in its usage, such as after Griffith's reincarnation, or has it always been "falcon" to you?
4) Just before the launch of the Millennium Falcon Arc, you were quoted as saying now the story of Berserk could truly begin. Is that accurate? If that is the case, how far along are we in the story?
5) There is a recurring motif of the moon and water in many major elements of the series, such as the Yobimizu no Tsurugi, the reflection of the moon on water allegory espoused by Skull Knight and Slan, the primordial sea of the Abyss, the source of the Beherits and the power of the ocean during a full moon. Were these elements consciously linked or is this a coincidence? Could you describe how you got the germ of the idea?
6)
7) You've said that your real-life group of friends in college were the inspiration for the Band of Hawk characters, such as Carcus, Judo and Pippin. Were any of these characters based on you?
8 ) Do you intend to explain or allude to the origins of each God Hand member, or will it be left open?
9) What singular theme would you say Berserk is about?
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
10 ) You have created something truly unique with Berserk. But how many pieces of fan mail do you receive in a given week?
11) Is your workplace separate from your home?
12) Do you keep in contact with any manga-ka in your personal life? If so who, and how did you become friends?
13) Single?