Young Animal announces a continuation of Berserk by Studio Gaga, supervised by Kouji Mori

I still need to process this information to properly form an opinion, but I want to see this in an optimistic light.

I have been (and still am) of the opinion of leaving Berserk alone because of many obvious reasons that have been reiterated many times. That being said, it doesn't mean that this continuation cannot be done well and be good. I sincerely hope for its success and wish the team behind it good luck, since they have endeavored on a exceptionally challenging path.

In the end, from what I could extract from Mori's message, they will try to stick to Miura's ideas as much as possible. If this sentiment it true and they would continue to stick to it, then this "continuation" is just an elaborate and easy-to-digest-for-new-readers way of passing to us Miura's notes and plans for Berserk.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
What are your quick thoughts on it Aaz? was it a surprise to you too?

Well yesterday the youngest assistant posted a cryptic message on Twitter (ドキドキ), which can imply nervosity and/or anticipation, that made me wonder if something wasn't going to be announced. Before that, I thought they would maaaaaybe announce something in September (like "we're working on something") if they intended to move "quick", but I didn't expect anything this fast, really. It could have easily taken a year longer for them to put something out, or it could have ended up not working out in the way they wanted. I think they're being very bold, which I guess speaks to their passion, but also has the highest risk of disappointing fans.

I feel like this is my main problem with it as you mention it, manga is a really short-term medium. This is why I don't know why Mori accepted this difficult task... he may know how the story was going to develop, but how much did he know? Man, it's too much to process.

Right now, the main issue to me is that they've decided to keep calling it Berserk. It really should be "Berserk: Legacy" or something like that. Because it's not going to be Miura's Berserk, and people who expect it to be will only be disappointed. I get why they went with manga for the medium instead of like, releasing a book with illustrations or some such. Miura was a man of manga, and the story of Berserk should be told that way. But I'm afraid they might create expectations they won't be able to fulfill. You can see it in Mori's message: "It won't be perfect". Nothing new, but in the end I wonder whether it'll be better than going with a "bulletpoint" approach and not pretending to be more than what it is.
 
Before getting too excited, I'd like everyone to ask themselves "When does something stop being art and starts being a product?"

It just feels like a solution for only a part of the fanbase who were begging for it to continue. I sort of already mourned Berserk ending with Miura. This is reopening those wounds for me.
 
Before getting too excited, I'd like everyone to ask themselves "When does something stop being art and starts being a product?"

It just feels like a solution for only a part of the fanbase who were begging for it to continue. I sort of already mourned Berserk ending with Miura. This is reopening those wounds for me.
It really does feel like that. I'm personally thinking of it as something completely separate from the manga, so that I can still think fondly of Berserk even if this "continuation" doesn't go well...
 
Right now, the main issue to me is that they've decided to keep calling it Berserk. It really should be "Berserk: Legacy" or something like that. Because it's not going to be Miura's Berserk, and people who expect it to be will only be disappointed.
This is definitely a concern of mine too. What you say is what I proposed they should do if they decided to continue it, that being a relaunch as Berserk: (subtitle) and restarting at a volume 1.

I'm also actually a bit worried how he says they won't be drawing anything outside of what Miura spoke of. On its face that sounds good, but I fear it may result in things feeling not fleshed out if they don't fill in the blanks a bit.

Before getting too excited, I'd like everyone to ask themselves "When does something stop being art and starts being a product?"

It just feels like a solution for only a part of the fanbase who were begging for it to continue. I sort of already mourned Berserk ending with Miura. This is reopening those wounds for me.
The fact it's being spearheaded by Miura's lifelong friend makes me feel as though it isn't being done for cynical business reasons at least. If Mori wasn't involved I'd lean more toward "corporate greed" as the motivation.
 
Before getting too excited, I'd like everyone to ask themselves "When does something stop being art and starts being a product?"

It just feels like a solution for only a part of the fanbase who were begging for it to continue. I sort of already mourned Berserk ending with Miura. This is reopening those wounds for me.
Yeah, at this point I'm already on the verge of tearing up a bit. It's too sudden, and I don't want to feel disappointed of what could be, I haven't made my peace either with Miura passing... so it's also another problem for me, I don't know yet if I want to read this!
 
Came here expecting a lot of enjoyment and excitement at the announcement and I see a lot of almost disdainful "ill take a look and see" responses.

I for one am happy, that one of Miuras closest friends, after seeing the outpouring love and support for his friends work, decides to give it a shot, believing that Miura himself would have wanted that. I'll take that man's opinions and continued version of Berserk over anything else. I don't believe anyone else has more insight on it.

I've followed several artists on various social media platforms that are doing their own take and continuing the story. I have no problem with their works either. I appreciate the fact that they are giving up their time and effort for something that benefits them very little. I guess Berserk is one of the few things I haven't become jaded to.

I'm celebrating today's announcement with some beverages that'll cure me from the inside out. Cheers.
 
Just woke up to this news. My brain is having a hard time processing this info considering I had finally come to terms with it never coming back; hoping that the team does this beautiful story justice in both the narrative and artwork departments.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I'm also actually a bit worried how he says they won't be drawing anything outside of what Miura spoke of. On its face that sounds good, but I fear it may result in things feeling not fleshed out if they don't fill in the blanks a bit.

Indeed, it's admirable in many ways, but it does contribute to the question of whether publishing it in this form is proper. We'll see soon enough.

I've followed several artists on various social media platforms that are doing their own take and continuing the story. I have no problem with their works either. I appreciate the fact that they are giving up their time and effort for something that benefits them very little. I guess Berserk is one of the few things I haven't become jaded to.

I don't think other posts in this thread are disdainful. However what your own message says to me is that you had so little appreciation for Miura's craft that anybody else could do it and it wouldn't bother you at all. Doesn't come off sounding as cool and high-minded as you think.
 
Just got to my car after work and read the statement. I almost began crying. I'm having so many mixed feelings and emotions as I had truly come to terms with Berserk being over.

Reading Mori's passage, I am feeling a lot better about what this is going to be than when I read the initial statement. If they were going to be doing some sort of continuation (besides a title change like Aaz said) I think this is one of the better ways they could have announced it and gone about continuing. We all know that it will be it's own beast, at least everyone as passionate as some of us here, so we will always look at it as something else and not Miura's work. However, if we take Mori's words as truth and his true feelings as opposed to something forced on him to take up, I feel as though he can deliver on at the very least, the main story and dialogue that Miura has told him in confidence. That much alone, even imperfect, will serve as something I'd like to see.

We've all been saying how his passing was sudden and no one can really know what his wishes were for the story after he was gone. I trust in Mori, as one of his best friends, intuition when he says that Miura would say to him "I talked to you about it so much, why didn't you do it!". That was probably the most important part of all of this to me. There is no way to truly know, but if one of the closest people to him feels like Miura would have said this, it means that Miura himself would have wanted it completed, even imperfect. That is what is most important to me in all of this. I know it is simply in trusting Mori's words....but if that is all anyone ever has to go off of, I believe that it should be done.

The most shocking thing besides the news as a whole is that we are getting a freaking episode this month, and it sounds like there is a plan to really get it done and release more episodes. I'm praying that what they produce is something that would make Miura smile, and I'm really hoping that they take the time to making it as perfect as they can while still admitting the product will be imperfect.
 

Dark Emperor

Dweller of the Lotus Moon
I'm skeptical. I will not buy these new volumes of "Mori's" Berserk until the final episodes of it are complete and feels like something Miura would have written.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I'm skeptical. I will not buy these new volumes of "Mori's" Berserk until the final episodes of it are complete and feels like something Miura would have written.

It will necessarily deviate from what Kentarou Miura would have done. It will be imperfect. If that wasn't already obvious enough, Mori clearly says so himself in his message. But at least it provides us with an outline of where Miura wanted the story to go, fleshed out by the assistant team he had trained to the best of their ability.

In my opinion, there's going to be value in that no matter what if you're a fan, because it's better to know what Miura's intent was than to stay in the dark and guess. That's also why I personally didn't want to write down my own take on what the rest of the story could have been like, despite a number of people asking me to. Miura's authorial intent is what matters.

This is really the key point to me here. Whether a continuation like this is the right form for it or not (compared to an illustrated book or something else), at least we're getting a window into what Miura had planned, as best recalled by Mori and as best put to paper by the assistants. Even if it's flawed (it will be), it's still an extraordinarily valuable framework for our own thoughts and imaginations about what Miura would have done.
 
I am cautionary excited about this news. What gives me comfort is that it's done by Miuras close friends and pupils. Mori being the supervisor to the story is much more acceptable to me than some random writer who just claims to be an expert on the story.

Regardless it's obvious it won't be the same, but in general i think its a gesture that if hopefully done on a qualitative level, can be a beneficiary cause to Miura's legacy which is already great enough.

I am moved by the effort by the people around him, but also as a fan that i can experince his intent for the rest of the storyline, atleast in terms of story beats.

I guess for a man that loved manga more than anything, continuing in this format was maybe the more obvious choice than something else. It's a very delicate topic, but this might have been the most acceptable route if you wanted to continue the serialization.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
...

They're definitely saying all the right things, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider his apprentices and Mori finishing the story as sort of the ideal version of this scenario. Of course, it's also an ideal sales pitch; Mori knows the authentic story, and we're merely delivering it the best we can! Of course, I already want to believe that and believe I'm actually getting to find out how Berserk was to end, even second hand.

My main objection actually, like Aaz with the name, is that they're keeping the same numbering system. Even if they kept calling it Berserk or releasing it under that banner let's say, I think they should have differentiated those episodes and chapters to come like when the episode numbers changed before. Just another acknowledgement this is a new beginning. It could just be an innocent decision, but it could also be a cynical one to obstruficate the difference to new or casual readers.

Anyway, I don't want to approach this cynically myself, but whatever the case with their intentions, it's going to come down to if it's good or not. That's my other biggest concern, none of this talk will matter if it's just not good. They can say it's from Miura's mouth to their ears all they want, but if it doesn't hold up that claim won't provide the credibility and comfort it does at the moment. Finally, I'm wary of anyone promising to restore something lost that I desperately want, that in reality they can't, like a seance for a still grieving widow. To quote Ganishka:

"What is this comfortable, humble voice?
By simply being before me
I am content with all
Yet at the same time, I am filled with longing
This feeling is.......

...maddening"
 
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For me this truly feels like an unexpected gift and the way they're treating this is maybe the best compromise I could have hoped for, at least for myself. Reading that Mori was told by Miura himself how the story would continue until its very end and that he remembers enough to make a continuation, not to mention that he doesn't want to "fill the gaps" and "flesh it out" without relying on anything he didn't say specifically is truly a good feeling for me.

Now I have no idea if the implication is that the continuation will actually have a linear narrative or it if will reach the conclusion albeit with several gaps between episodes.

I currently don't plan to jump on this rightaway, even with the next episode coming out later this month, I want to give it time, hear some of the reactions here and calmly finish my re-read of the series until the current end. If I hear that the continuation is worth reading and when I'll be curious enough, I'll proceed to dive into it. Still, I'm very happy that Mori out of everyone is handling this with utmost care and that Young Animal is giving him full support.

Anyway, am I wrong or they already released a panel from the next episode as background of one of the messages from YA / Mori?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUnxmfpacAAO_c1?format=jpg&name=medium
 
I'm not sure what to think of this. Personally, I haven't really found closure yet with how Berserk ended so this is a bit weird. I even "had to" stay away from Berserk for the past few months since actively participating with it always brought back the pain a bit. Really only some passive intake like the two podcasts were okay. So let's hope this will change for me now :???:
Mori supervising (and fully writing?) the rest of the story imo is the best way of continuing it. As many others here I think the ending we got was good and the story should've been left alone but at least it's someone dear to Miura who's job also is writing stories. Much better than some "random" aspiring young writer or so.
That said, I haven't read anything by Mori so it's hard to guess how well suited he is, besides being a friend and a mangaka himself. "Holyland" has been on my list for years but I never picked it up so far. What does make me hopeful is that apparently he finished the last few pages himself?
The last few pages of the chapter [episode] were incomplete. Some did not even have the characters drawn on them.
I'm not sure whether characters in this case means Guts, Griffith, ... or the kanji/dialogue. In any case, that last page of episode 364 was memorable for many so let's hope Mori lives up to that standard.

For me there's still hope they'll add a subtitle to "BERSERK" with some feedback of the fans btw. Until the print of the next volume there's enough time for them to change their mind about it. The title is just too important for a story and it should reflect that it's not *really* Miura's work anymore. Mori should understand this as well but maybe he doesn't have the authority to "force" that change and is fine with finishing the story as good as he can. All speculation of course.

edit: One thing I forgot to mention. With how irregular Berserk was in the first case, I hope Hakusensha doesn't rush Mori with the output of new episodes. Let the man work at his own pace so whatever we get is at least the best Mori can deliver.
 
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I’m open to them taking up this project. I certainly wish them luck. What I’m curious about is as the manga is released from here on out, if that Mori might confirm (down the line) what story points Muira might had “highlighted” to Mori as he works towards them. If the effort and story is bad, it can easily be discarded. However, (this is kinda hard for me to explain) if the work the team does is good or even great I’d interested in what ideas belonged to the team and which was Muira’s. I believe a lot of people can be amazing writers and they can enrich even a concept they didn’t develop themselves. So it would be promising to know what aspects Muira had told Mori and it would contrast how Mori chose to arrive at those aspects. It would help show and define how good the team over all was at developing the on going story points.
 
Yeah, hsv, for a second I thought they were referring to episode 365!! at this point I feel a bit more confused the more I read these two statements. The first one is quite understanding, except keeping the manga name past the credits, as if Miura retired (Heck, I'd gladly take that!) it's distasteful, feels like an american comic. And with Mori's comments, I'm still wondering why did he accept this. Was the first part about the making of the Eclipse ever revealed before? Sounds like an amazing story all in all.
 
Deep down I'm giggling in excitement for more Berserk. But logically extremely cautious which way this will go. I'm saving any emotional/judgment for the first episode to be released.
I do appreciate how long they waited before making the choice to go ahead, and of course, they are respecting the work as best they can.
It's in the hands of the right people.

So let's see. :shrug:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Now I have no idea if the implication is that the continuation will actually have a linear narrative or it if will reach the conclusion albeit with several gaps between episodes.

That is the main question I have right now. They clearly intend to finish the Elf Island chapter the traditional way, which makes sense as it was very close to the end. But what about afterwards? Mori's message sounds like they'll only be doing certain parts, leaving gaps in-between them. I'm not necessarily bothered by that all (on the contrary, it seems like a wise and very respectable choice), but I wish they'd clarify it so we're sure.

Anyway, am I wrong or they already released a panel from the next episode as background of one of the messages from YA / Mori?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUnxmfpacAAO_c1?format=jpg&name=medium

That is indeed a preview of episode 365, as Casca reacts to the confrontation between Guts and Griffith. It's clearly triggering her memories of the Eclipse (and the worst part of it). It might hint that Griffith shows his real self as Femto, which would make sense.

What does make me hopeful is that apparently he finished the last few pages himself? I'm not sure whether characters in this case means Guts, Griffith, ... or the kanji/dialogue. In any case, that last page of episode 364 was memorable for many so let's hope Mori lives up to that standard.

Just to be clear, he's talking about episode 364 here, not the end of the series or anything. We knew that some pages were finished without Miura, but it was already, like, 80% done, so it's not really the same. And he means the art yeah.
 

Jara

Eternal lurker
Mixed feelings on this initially, but the more I think about it the happier I am. I think there couldn't be a better situation - Mori has been working with Miura for 40 years, and the original studio and artists will still be involved. I'm sure Miura would have wanted to see his story finished too. Even if it isn't what we would have gotten, it's better than no ending at all imo. I think Mori is also taking a lot of personal risk to pull this off given how passionate Berserk fans are. I really hope they can pull it off.
 
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Such a monumental and daunting task they decided to pick up .... very cautious about what'll come out of this, but I really, REALLY hope things won't end up backfiring.
And as others have mentioned, they really should make it clear - whether from the title or a foreword of some sort - that these episodes are no longer Miura's work.
 
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