Writing Miura

Walter

Walter

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Staff member
In a thread in Berserk Misc., many members have been penning questions to Miura regarding a few non-spoiler mysteries of Berserk. You can check the thread here.

What we've done is assemble a list of the best questions of the thread and we hope to get this letter translated into Japanese so we can actually address this to Miura himself. I'm looking for any final thoughts, since this is an action that will represent the entire community.

Here's what I came up with for the full package:

To Kentarou Miura,

I am a longtime fan and devoted reader. I operate Skullknight.net, a website for fans of Berserk. We have grown into an international community of about 6,000 members that has been faithfully following your work since about 1999. Over time, we have accumulated several questions about the series and your views on the Berserk world. Several of our members voted on which questions would be addressed to you in this format.

We would all be deeply humbled if you could answer these unobtrusive questions, which we feel would give us a deeper understanding of the series.

1 ) 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)

2 ) Regarding the kanji "Taka," do you intend that to be Falcon or Hawk? Was there ever a conscious change in its usage, such as after Griffith's reincarnation, or has it always been "falcon" to you?

3 ) Just before the launch of the Millennium Falcon arc, you were quoted as saying now you felt you were truly on the starting line of the series. Is that accurate? If that is the case, how far along are we in the story at this point?

4 ) It's been years since the last art book release. There may now be enough content for 2-3 additional books. Do you plan to release any more based on your sketches and paintings?

5 ) What portion of the story was the most difficult in terms of making hard decisions about where to take the direction of the series? Any regrets?

6 ) You've talked of post-Berserk projects in the past. Do you still expect to do it, or will you be enjoying retirement after having spent so long working on Berserk?

7 ) Do you feel a sense of achievement at what you've accomplished over all those years? Was it worth the sacrifices to your life and health it has required?

8 ) Could you describe an average day in your studio? How many hours each day do you work?

9 ) Can we have some more details on why Episode 83 was 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 again before the end of the series?

10 ) Rumors of a second season, or new animation of Berserk have been persistent since the first animation's conclusion. These have all been proven false, in time. But to be perfectly sure, are there plans for a continuation of the animation?

- Frank ("Walter") Smith & the Skullknight.net community.
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I would really love to know more about Mr. Miura's work environment and episode production.

)What is an average day in your studio like?

I would say forget the animation question, there are much more interesting things to ask.

If we got any kind of answer back to any of these questions that would be unreal.

A note: Something should be added after the questions... something encouraging and friendly, maybe less formal. Something... witty. :void:
 
Yeah, it was mentioned along with others in the main thread, but I think it would have to be very loosely worded, like the way you have it here, for him to give a good response. I'll add it to the list.
 
pippin22 said:
A note: Something should be added after the questions... something encouraging and friendly, maybe less formal. Something... witty. :void:
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Keep in mind most of the letter will have to be rephrased not to sound supremely rude in Japanese anyway (it's pretty much inevitable), so you can forget about being witty.
 
Just wondering how this might go.
We (someone on SK.net) compose an excellent list of questions. Formal, respectful, mature, insightful.
Then we send it! But to where? A physical letter or email?
YA? Miura's Studio?

We have to attach something that gives weight to the letter.

Ok, now this idea might seem lame, but, why not spruce it up big time?

Send a real letter. On hecka nice paper, get a little Sk.net seal made up, stamp it that piece. Give the letter an appearance of coming from a place that LOVES this man and his work.
Also, personally, I'd provide something about Sk.net itself. How long we've been in existence, how large our community is, etc.

I just think they receive these types of questions/requests often and we might be overlooked. So if we all want to see our questions answered, then we should all brainstorm on how to make an impression.
 
Proj2501 said:
We (someone on SK.net) compose an excellent list of questions. Formal, respectful, mature, insightful.
Then we send it! But to where? A physical letter or email?
YA? Miura's Studio?
Click to expand...

Physical letter sent to the address provided by YA. They'll forward it to him. It's what I've always done myself.

Proj2501 said:
get a little Sk.net seal made up, stamp it that piece.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, now that'd be fun. But if we get one made then I want another one for me! :void:

Proj2501 said:
I just think they receive these types of questions/requests often and we might be overlooked.
Click to expand...

That will almost certainly be the case. But hey, at least we'll have given it a shot.
 
Aazealh said:
Keep in mind most of the letter will have to be rephrased not to sound supremely rude in Japanese anyway (it's pretty much inevitable), so you can forget about being witty.
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Actually, i think that letter would feel even more strange if you were to write it in perfect keigo. Then again, it may just be enough to get some attention at least. Whether that's really all that desireable remains to be seen, i guess.
 
I don't know if it's late to say this, but I do recall a question based on a map or geographic idea of how the Berserk world is placed.

http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=2050.0

I don't know if this would fall under the art book category question, but I thought it would be an interesting question seeing as for what I remember, there was no concrete information.
 
I don't know if I should suggest anything. But if I had to, I would suggest two things.

-Fewer Questions
-Simple questions

I think the letter will be more likely to get a read through if its short. I think its a way of playing it safe. I know there are a million questions we want to ask but I think the ones voted "critical" should make the list. On top of that, some of the questions seem to ask for too much elaboration or exponation. I mean, its great they breakdown and pin point specific area's and arks. But I think the simpler the question is to answer, the chances of a response increase. Again, this is just theory and only suggestions. It might be great the way it already is.
 
Yeah, that's how I came to the choices for the questions I've listed so far. But Ive been considering brevity and succinctness as second only to the importance of the question.
 
Wow, I'm very excited to see how this may turn out. Please let us know the very minute this puppy goes into the mailbox.

This is actually a very exciting prospect. I'm actually stoked at the very notion Miura will learn (if he hasn't already) about SkullKnight.net (AKA my homepage on EVERYTHING!!!!!)

To make it better. Hmm
Attach a thank you letter on behalf of the members of SkullKnight.net expressing our gratitude for his work.
I mean let's face it guys alot of us here are obssessed.

Good luck Walter and I really do hope the man replies in SOME way, shape or form.
 
Proj2501 said:
This is actually a very exciting prospect. I'm actually stoked at the very notion Miura will learn (if he hasn't already) about SkullKnight.net (AKA my homepage on EVERYTHING!!!!!)
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Miura spending his time to join this community, or spending his time to write more Berserk. A tough choice indeed.
 
zrexe said:
Miura spending his time to join this community, or spending his time to write more Berserk. A tough choice indeed.
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Knowing about and joining are two very different things. And I doubt Miura would join an english speaking fansite for Berserk.
 
I'm going to reword the letter so it's easier for translation and less rude to Miura. Things are moving forward.

I'll repost the new draft of it in my next post for you guys' review.
 
Walter said:
I'm going to reword the letter so it's easier for translation and less rude to Miura. Things are moving forward.

I'll repost the new draft of it in my next post for you guys' review.
Click to expand...

I can hardly wait. I think you know exactly whats going to be coming when you post it though.
 
Hold on, you're still not asking about the logistics and circumstances of Guts' Apostle fuck on page 1? Or Casca's disappearing/reappearing boots in volume 23? Outrageous! Do we not hold the man accountable? =)

Seriously now, I've been quietly following this with great expectations. Looking forward to the next draft!
 
I think question number 5 is definitely the most pertinent of the bunch. I would love if he'd answer it. On the other hand, question 10 is probably the only one that feels too forced.
 
NightCrawler said:
I think question number 5 is definitely the most pertinent of the bunch. I would love if he'd answer it. On the other hand, question 10 is probably the only one that feels too forced.
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What's not pertinent about question 3?
 
Walter said:
What's not pertinent about question 3?
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Well, it depends on how much planning of the story did Miura make. Maybe he just threw that quote in the air with no particular meaning. But i don't know the guy.
We might get a good and straight answer, but i wouldn't count on it. I think it deals too much with futurology.
Unless he denies the accuracy of his quote.
 
New draft with more "humble" questions.

------------------


To Kentarou Miura,

Thank you for creating such a wonderful series as Berserk. I have been a longtime fan and devoted reader of your manga. I own and operate Skullknight.net, a website for fans of Berserk. We have grown into an international community that receives about 1000 visitors a day and have been faithfully following your work since about 1999.

Over time, we have accumulated several questions about the series and your views on the Berserk world. Several of our members voted on which questions would be addressed to you in this format and we have intentionally left out questions regarding many of the series' mysteries.

We would all be deeply humbled if you could be troubled to answer these questions, which we feel would give us a deeper understanding of your series.

This letter was originally written in English and then translated into Japanese. We apologize in advance for any perceived rudeness in this letter, as it was wholly unintentional. We have only the deepest respect and reverence for you and your work.

1 ) Guts' character has grown tremendously in the past few years – congratulations on making such a realistic, human character. But it seems unclear exactly 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). We knew Guts' age around the time of the Lost Children Arc, but now it is unclear. It also seems that Griffith's age has been a little bit of a mystery. How much older is he than Guts?

2 ) Regarding the kanji "Taka," there has been much discussion among our users over whether this is intended to be “Falcon” or “Hawk” ? We are wondering if there was ever a conscious change in its usage, such as after Griffith's reincarnation, or if it always been "Falcon" to you.

3 ) Just before the Millennium Falcon arc, there was an interview with you where you seemed to imply that you felt you were truly on the starting line of the series. If that is the case, how far along do you feel we are in the story at this point?

4 ) It's been 9 years since the last art book release. It seems there may now be enough content for 2-3 additional books. Do you have any plans to release any more art books based on your sketches and paintings?

5 ) Berserk is a large, complicated story. It must be difficult to plan how these many events will play out. Because the story involves so many different components, was there was any portion that was extremely difficult to make decisions on? Is it possible that you have any regrets about the direction of any story elements?

6 ) In the past, there have been interviews where you discussed your interest in creating post-Berserk projects. Is there any hope for these still, or would you rather retire after Berserk's conclusion, having invested most of your career in such a successful manga?

7 ) The series has millions of fans across the globe, but as we understand it, the schedule you work on is very taxing on your life and health. The community wonders how you feel about your creation and whether you feel it was worth the sacrifices it has required.

8 ) Do you consider the events in Episode 83, which was not included in the tankoubon, to be part of the official series? Can we expect to see or hear from the Idea of Evil again before the end of the series?

Sincerely,
- D. Frank ("Walter") Smith & the Skullknight.net community.
---------------
 
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