Berserk: The Flame Dragon Knight novel

[Handmade]

Aw man, I hope it'll be a light novel like the Fate Stay Night one, and every day/cycle change I can look forward, as Guts, to the meal segments eating with all me pals! I'll love the sound files of utensils lightly rapping on dishes to a pensive violin track, a fire crackling in the background, while Farnese talks about her day of magic training, ever critical of herself. Ho ho, I see her 2D artwork has switched to a blushing palette. She's so modest. But I see Serpico is anxious to hear everyone's opinion on the soup! It's true, he did work quite hard on it while I was training on trees this afternoon. You've come a long way, my friend, and I can trust you in a pinch, but I've still got to keep my eye on you! And Casca, what dinner isn't complete without a horrific cat hiss at me or you choking on your food. You know, it's times like these I remember the greatness of our epic romance, what it was, what it has become, and what it can--oh my! The rice from this new rice cooker is so GOOD!

[Aazealh]

Aw man, I hope it'll be a light novel like the Fate Stay Night one

Sorry to ruin your hilarious post but you're referring to a visual novel, which is not quite the same thing. As a matter of fact we don't even know if this book will be a light novel, the shop listings just say "novel". I just have a hard type imagining it as a 500 pages book, but who knows at this point.

[MrFlibble]

This wouldn't be the first time Miura dropped massive spoilers into spin off media, but with Miura as co writer, I'm confident the novel will at least be interesting. I would love if they wrote a fictional history compendium for Berserk, like A World of Ice and Fire, but it's never going to happen.

[Cyrus Jong]

This is my line of thought.  Look at all of the characters throughout the years and how many have backstories vs how many we want?  There is no conceivable way for the manga to throw all or even half without disrupting the story.

How? Why? Berserk has never shied away from character backstories. If anything, flashbacks are a very common element used to add depth to the world. We've seen the backstories for the Count, Guts, Casca, Jill, Rosine, Farnese, Serpico, the bird torturer, the Beherit Apostle, and Ganishka, and all of those flowed nicely into the narrative IMO. I don't see why more would automatically disrupt the story. If Miura is willing to go into detail on the pasts for one-shot or even outright incidental characters, then I think those that have a bigger and longer-lasting presence in the story, like Griffith's lieutenants or the God Hand, can get the same.

Too many times the expectations vs. the approach from the actual author become unhinged in an echo chamber, sometimes more passionate than reality and disappointment is blown out of proportion.

And too many times, other writers just muck things up because they don't have the talent, imagination, or intelligence of the original creator, resulting in works that don't match in quality, tone or theme. And that's assuming they don't violate the canon or continuity in any way. It's why a lot of company-owned franchises, like what you'll find in comic books and video games, tend to become messes. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Besides, you don't need another writer involved to keep you from falling into an echo chamber; you just need some people who can look objectively at your drafts and tell you what does and doesn't work.

And while this may not always be the case, do you really think this Makoto Fukami guy is going to add some quality material to the Berserk mythos, when he's been involved with a project that can't even get Miura's existing story right?

[Salem]

How? Why? Berserk has never shied away from character backstories. If anything, flashbacks are a very common element used to add depth to the world. We've seen the backstories for the Count, Guts, Casca, Jill, Rosine, Farnese, Serpico, the bird torturer, the Beherit Apostle, and Ganishka, and all of those flowed nicely into the narrative IMO. I don't see why more would automatically disrupt the story. If Miura is willing to go into detail on the pasts for one-shot or even outright incidental characters, then I think those that have a bigger and longer-lasting presence in the story, like Griffith's lieutenants or the God Hand, can get the same.

And too many times, other writers just muck things up because they don't have the talent, imagination, or intelligence of the original creator, resulting in works that don't match in quality, tone or theme. And that's assuming they don't violate the canon or continuity in any way. It's why a lot of company-owned franchises, like what you'll find in comic books and video games, tend to become messes. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Besides, you don't need another writer involved to keep you from falling into an echo chamber; you just need some people who can look objectively at your drafts and tell you what does and doesn't work.

And while this may not always be the case, do you really think this Makoto Fukami guy is going to add some quality material to the Berserk mythos, when he's been involved with a project that can't even get Miura's existing story right?

As far as Fukami goes, hell no.  If he is given free reign over this it'll be a laughable mess.  The point I'm making and going off of the 60% of the story being done, (from Miuras own mouth) the audacity as fans for all of or even most of the characters to get back stories at this point, it's a ludicrous thought.  No one wants to point this out and just follow in order as a yes man.  That's fine, fit in, I get it.  For myself, I find this approach silly.  Miura will do what he wants.  He isn't oblivious to the anime in 2016/2017.  If he really has no problem with that man taking his characters where he wants, who are we as readers to say?  At the end of the day it's Kentaros baby, whether or not the fans think it up to snuff in some regards, is in all actuality, irrelevant.  Should the story take a turn or get handed to imbeciles, a few will feel their  time was wasted.  I'll hold my reserves till then and hope for the best. 

Grunbeld is my favorite apostle.  I know Zodd takes the cake for most, but I'm curious of his personal fall into being such a beast of an apostle.  Perhaps his story is beyond a short few pages that would be worthy of a short novel.  I would personally relish an opportunity to read it. Regardless, when this "novel" is out, I hope to check it out.   

If the God hand do not in any way get a sizable or reasonable fleshed out episode or chapter for themselves, that is where I will draw a line in the sand and feel truly let down.  Kentaro could pull off a few pages for each, but I do hope for more.

[Rupert Sinclair]

the audacity as fans for all of or even most of the characters to get back stories at this point, it's a ludicrous thought.

I think you're really exaggerating the amount of characters that still have backstories yet to be shown.  And it is well within Miura's capabilities to pull them off with what's left of the story, especially given how he's handled these things in the past.  It's hardly ludicrous.  And how much backstory do we really need for Grundbeld anyway? 

[Walter]

The point I'm making and going off of the 60% of the story being done, (from Miuras own mouth) the audacity as fans for all of or even most of the characters to get back stories at this point, it's a ludicrous thought. 

That was in 2009, and he said 60-70%.  Anyway, it's ludicrous, why? Because you can't personally envision it? Just what I'd expect from a NO man. 

There aren't THAT many apostles / God Hand that require their origins to be explained (one could even argue that Locus, Grunbeld and Rakshas' origins have already been teased out -- such that not much more would be required).

When it comes to flashbacks, I never expect to get much more than Ganishka or the Count were treated to -- one dedicated scene that lasts less than an episode. Miura's proven time after time that he can tell an incredible story in a few focused panels. For Locus, Rakshas, Irvine, Grunbeld, and Zodd; and Slan, Conrad, Ubik -- these could all get a few pages worth of flashbacks and it'd be perfectly fine (as it always has been). Skull Knight and Void are a different circumstance, because their origin could be tied to the actual history of the world, so I'd expect a bit more. Two-part episode maybe?

That's what, 10 characters? Am I missing anybody big? I don't think the challenge for Miura lies in the number of flashbacks. It's a matter of how they're punctuated throughout the rest of the story -- striking the right balance. But that sounds like child's play honestly, considering the other challenges he has ahead of him.

No one wants to point this out and just follow in order as a yes man.  That's fine, fit in, I get it. For myself, I find this approach silly.

I find your outsider attitude silly. Are you the only one who gets it? Do you watch Infowars?

Miura will do what he wants.  He isn't oblivious to the anime in 2016/2017.  If he really has no problem with that man taking his characters where he wants, who are we as readers to say?  At the end of the day it's Kentaros baby, whether or not the fans think it up to snuff in some regards, is in all actuality, irrelevant. 

Well, thanks for the advice, but this is a forum where Berserk fans talk about Berserk. This is a big development, and we're sharing our thoughts about it. Did you really post here to complain about us doing that?

Grunbeld is my favorite apostle.  I know Zodd takes the cake for most, but I'm curious of his personal fall into being such a beast of an apostle.  Perhaps his story is beyond a short few pages.  That would be worthy of a short novel I would personally relish an opportunity to read.  Regardless, when this "novel" is out, I hope to check it out.   

Who isn't curious...? But the proper place for such a character reveal is in the pages of the manga, not a supplementary work that's merely "co-authored" by the series creator.

If however the Godhand do not in any way get a sizable or reasonable fleshed out episode or chapter for themselves

A whole chapter?!

that is where I will draw a line in the sand and feel truly let down.

Maybe you should listen to your own advice then, because according to you, your opinion about the story really doesn't matter.

[Salem]

Nearly all of the band of the hawk, Rakshas and what, all of the new falcons?  Flora, The God Hand, possibly a robust and thorough explanation of the IOE should he go that direction, other apostles, Silat, Boscone, everyone on elfhelm of significance.  Plenty more.  It's not as if that will never happen in the manga.  Acting as if it will or even could is unrealistic and obsessive to a degree which will leave many bummed out.  It shouldn't, it simply won't happen should the story really be where it is. So in what regard is that not ludicrous?   It's only a big deal to the community because of who is part of the novel, or in a nightmare scenario, who will ruin the character for publicity if Miura thinks it's not as big of a deal as we do?  Look at the track record of non manga material and assure me this isn't the direction we're headed.

Walter, I don't really have anything to argue with in regards to your response.  You run the site.  Anything else would be surprising.  Idk what info wars is.  The simple point is what we westerners surmise as a whole has no bearing in any way with how this turns out.  If I'm the only one to say why all the OH NOOO, that's fine.

BTW, I will always argue with you since no one wants to.  I do however appreciate the thorough dedication you and a few others attribute across the board. The time and fortitude alone command respect and the constant 0 bullshit is on another level.

[Walter]

Nearly all of the band of the hawk, Rakshas and what, all of the new falcons?  Flora, The God Hand, possibly a robust and thorough explanation of the IOE should he go that direction, other apostles, Silat, Boscone, everyone on elfhelm of significance.

Wow, that is quite a list! Boscone, though? I mean, don't get me wrong -- big Boscone fan here. But I can tell you his story. He was a very accomplished warrior who rose in rank to become the general of the Tudor forces. Were you waiting for more, all these years? 

In all seriousness, your list is a tad on the chubbier end, don't you think? I've already addressed most of these, but for many others, I like to think that Miura respects his readers enough to piece out some of the bits themselves. So, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but I'm not sure there's much left to reveal about characters like Silat or Flora; the latter of which is admittedly missing a chunk of her life, but it's likely being held  for a reveal that ties-in with Skull Knight's past.

"Everyone on Elfhelm of significance" is an off-the-deep-end request that no one but you is expecting. And "other apostles" like... who exactly would necessitate a backstory? Volkov? I'm good. Wyald? Way past dead. Cobra apostle? I can see it, and I'm not terribly interested. Who else, the chicken man? Schnoz (he may not get a story, but his dance will live FOREVER)?

It's not as if that will never happen in the manga.

All of these? Probably never will happen, no.  And fair warning, I picked up the domain BosconeTheUntoldStory.com.

Acting as if it will or even could is unrealistic and obsessive to a degree which will leave many bummed out.

I agree, explaining all of those in several "episodes and or chapters" as you prescribe is rather  unrealistic. However, that's an exaggeration of the precedent set for flashbacks in Berserk. You're complaining about something that doesn't even exist.

[Salem]

Wow, that is quite a list! Boscone...? I mean, don't get me wrong -- big Boscone fan here. But I can tell you his story. He was a very accomplished warrior who rose in rank to become the general of the Tudor forces. Were you waiting for more, all these years? 

In all seriousness, your list is a tad on the chubbier end, don't you think? I've already addressed most of these, but I like to think that Miura respects his readers enough to piece out some of the bits themselves. So, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but I'm not sure there's much left to reveal about some of these, including Silat and Flora, who is admittedly missing a tiny chunk of her life, but it's likely to be revealed as a tie-in with Skull Knight's past. "Everyone on Elfhelm of significance" is an off-the-deep-end request that no one but you is expecting. And "other apostles" like... who exactly? Volkov? I'm good.

All of these? Probably never will happen, no.  And fair warning, I picked up the domain BosconeTheUntoldStory.com.

I agree, explaining all of those in several "episodes and or chapters" as you prescribe is rather  unrealistic. However, that's an exaggeration of the precedent for flashbacks in Berserk. You're complaining about something that doesn't even exist.

I don't care whatsoever should these back stories come to fruition.  Simply stating there is plenty open for us to conclude.  However, would a few short stories OVERSEEN by Miura be amazing?  A ton of characters listed be something I would want?  Absolutely.  If it's the man in charge of the current anime and truly canon, maybe I'd just guess my own back story.  If I'm the only one that exaggerates the opposite extreme, we'll see the middle, eh?    On top of that, I think one episode would suffice the entire God hand. Chapter would be reaching, yes. We would eat it up though.   

You devil you.  Picking up that domain.  We both know that one is over and done with.  Let me know when it's finished.    I have little doubt I'll indulge and be swept off my feet.

Ok, I just clicked that first link and admit I chuckled. 

[Cyrus Jong]

As far as Fukami goes, hell no.  If he is given free reign over this it'll be a laughable mess.  The point I'm making and going off of the 60% of the story being done, (from Miuras own mouth) the audacity as fans for all of or even most of the characters to get back stories at this point, it's a ludicrous thought.  No one wants to point this out and just follow in order as a yes man.  That's fine, fit in, I get it.  For myself, I find this approach silly.  Miura will do what he wants.  He isn't oblivious to the anime in 2016/2017.  If he really has no problem with that man taking his characters where he wants, who are we as readers to say?  At the end of the day it's Kentaros baby, whether or not the fans think it up to snuff in some regards, is in all actuality, irrelevant.  Should the story take a turn or get handed to imbeciles, a few will feel their  time was wasted.  I'll hold my reserves till then and hope for the best. 

Grunbeld is my favorite apostle.  I know Zodd takes the cake for most, but I'm curious of his personal fall into being such a beast of an apostle.  Perhaps his story is beyond a short few pages that would be worthy of a short novel.  I would personally relish an opportunity to read it. Regardless, when this "novel" is out, I hope to check it out.   

If the God hand do not in any way get a sizable or reasonable fleshed out episode or chapter for themselves, that is where I will draw a line in the sand and feel truly let down.  Kentaro could pull off a few pages for each, but I do hope for more.

You didn't explain at all how or why going into the history of some characters would disrupt the flow of the story. All you're doing is setting up a strawman, exaggerating the expectations of those you disagree with. Where the hell has anyone said they want to hear the backstory of every Tom, Dick, and Jane in Berserk? No one here, that's for sure, and I most certainly haven't either; I even mentioned the characters I think deserve, and always expected, to be explored in the same way others before them have. And frankly, most of the previous flashbacks we've been treated to were not really all that long either. Casca got a couple of episodes, Rosine's was split between two separate episodes that covered 13 pages total, Ganishka's past was covered in half an episode, and the bird dude got even less than that. And that was enough for them. I honestly don't expect the pasts for most of the God Hand or the notable Apostles in the Band of the Falcon to warrant any more than that either.

I like Grunbeld too, he's an interesting guy with a lot of questions hanging over him (which I believe is intentional on Miura's part), as is the case for the rest of the notable Apostles in the Falcons, but I don't want his background to be relegated to some side material written by a twit who neither I nor you trust; I want him to be explored in the manga by the master himself. And we don't even know how much involvement Miura has with this, or if his involvement is enough; Miura was described by Kurosu as working with the anime "top to bottom," and we know how well that turned out. Either Miura just doesn't have the chops to properly oversee things, or the people involved are just throwing his name around and exaggerating his involvement to give them legitimacy. Either way doesn't lead to a free pass.

And there's of course another concern that I have: regardless of the book's quality, will anyone outside Japan even get it? Berserk is niche enough as it is, and I don't know if the publishers are going to think it'll be worth the effort to export.

[Aazealh]

Miura will do what he wants.  He isn't oblivious to the anime in 2016/2017.  If he really has no problem with that man taking his characters where he wants, who are we as readers to say?  At the end of the day it's Kentaros baby, whether or not the fans think it up to snuff in some regards, is in all actuality, irrelevant.  Should the story take a turn or get handed to imbeciles, a few will feel their  time was wasted.  I'll hold my reserves till then and hope for the best.

I find your logic pretty puzzling here. Yes, obviously Miura does whatever he wants. Don't you say. But if he outsources important parts of the story to someone whose work isn't "up to snuff" and it suffers as a result, then as readers we have the right to be disappointed and unhappy. I don't know about you, but personally I like Berserk because of the extremely high quality of its storytelling and art. So the possibility that said quality could be jeopardized matters to me. Also, for someone who speaks of the audacity of fans, I find it pretty audacious of you to refer to Miura by his first name. You guys childhood friends or something?

However, would a few short stories OVERSEEN by Miura be amazing? [...] If it's the man in charge of the current anime and truly canon, maybe I'd just guess my own back story.

Miura was also said to have "overseen" the 2016 anime, which Makoto Fukami worked on. We all know the result. So his name being mentioned here is absolutely not a guarantee of anything. For now the best thing we can do is to wait for more information.

[Salem]

We do have a right to be disappointed, but what will this do exactly to recycle the concern?  We have no voice or say in what he does.  Referring to someone by their first name rub you wrong?  Cultural differences, respect, what is it?  No different than a last name to me, especially with my first name. Reading my previous posts regarding this, if Fukami is in charge more so than Miura, the quality will not be there.  At least it's not attached to the manga.  It's very possible the idea was pitched and our beloved author didn't have any plans to tell the story and just let it go. 

[Aazealh]

We do have a right to be disappointed, but what will this do exactly to recycle the concern?

Recycle the concern? What does that even mean? I'm sorry but I have a hard time understanding your point here, and it's not just this sentence...
In return it seems you have a hard time understanding other people's point as well, so I'll rephrase it. We're worried this book might suck (because there is little doubt that Fukami is the main writer), but not just that. We're also worried that we won't get Grunbeld's backstory in the manga because of it. Which would blow. It means we would get Fukami's shitty version of it and not Miura's.

Of course, it's just empty speculation because we have no details on the book at this point, which is why I don't think we should be talking about it for now. But it's also what a discussion forum is for: share our thoughts and opinions.

We have no voice or say in what he does.

That's obvious and no one is saying otherwise. We can however share our thoughts and opinions about it.

Referring to someone by their first name rub you wrong?  Cultural differences, respect, what is it?

Well uh, that's not the most appropriate way to refer to someone you don't know and have no relationship with, no. And it's definitely a big no-no in Japan specifically. But I just pointed it out because you were talking about the "audacity" of other fans and I felt it was ironic you were engaging in such audacious behavior yourself.

[Salem]

   I truly love your rebuttals and I'm only saying this in response to the constant doom in gloom.  Many are obsessing to the point that this very well may turn into (at least the adaptation side) a "Lost" kind of letdown when all is said and done.  What we view Berserk as may not be as serious as the one putting it on paper, hence the lack of hesitation to hand over a character I find fantastic to someone who would be more likely to helm another gangnam style music video.

[NightCrawler]

Storytellers outsourcing parts of their stories to peripheral material is not only lazy, but lame.

[Griffith]

Storytellers outsourcing parts of their stories to peripheral material is not only lazy, but lame.

It sounds more like a spinoff of a tertiary character than a "part of the story" though. As Aaz pointed out, even the game Miura wrote specifically as part of the story ended up in a grey zone, and I don't think there's any such area here.

[Tabris]

I'm going to wait on completely judging this until I know exactly what the hell this is.

But speaking what little I do know now, I don't see the point. Miura can create an amazing backstory in a few pages. An outsourced story seems lame. That being said I hope it's good I guess.

Most things outside of the manga itself have been pretty meh though.

[NightCrawler]

It sounds more like a spinoff of a tertiary character than a "part of the story" though. As Aaz pointed out, even the game Miura wrote specifically as part of the story ended up in a grey zone, and I don't think there's any such area here.

There's a point to be made for the quality of all these recent adaptations in different media diluting the Berserk brand. In comparison, the DC game or the 97 anime are masterworks (mainly because of Miura's involvement).
So far the manga hasn't dipped in quality, but the longer breaks make it easy to assume that Miura is in the Berserk game for life. I don't know how much control he has over the property outside of the manga, but it seems that he's just saying yes to every other project and cashing in. The increased popularity of the series attracted more garbage/cheap third-party content, and even though i don't consume it, it's not pleasant to witness.
Are we becoming more forgiving because we choose to believe that Berserk will never be influenced by all that bears it's name in it's periphery? Miura's involvement on those early adaptations/side stories, kinda show that he had a sort of preciousness towards the Berserk name that doesn't seem to exist nowadays.

[Griffith]

There's a point to be made for the quality of all these recent adaptations in different media diluting the Berserk brand.

Oh, for sure, but that's a given when it comes to the expansion of any brand, and I think the expansion is the point, and there's some logical reasons for that, not all of which are detrimental. To be continued...

In comparison, the DC game or the 97 anime are masterworks (mainly because of Miura's involvement).

In my estimation it's actually incredible how bad Berserk-related media is today; it's so much bad luck and bad timing it's like a curse! I mean, the '97 anime is like some classic of the form compared to this current shit, and the movies are somehow relatively tolerable by comparison (at least they had some animation =)! Even Berserk video games suck dick now. It's disheartening, especially for a fan that's looked jealously upon lesser, yet more celebrated, series and thought, "Why not Berserk? It should be so great!" I guess the moral is be careful what you wish for, and be grateful for and satisfied with the manga being great, which is all we had to lose here in the first place...

So far the manga hasn't dipped in quality, but the longer breaks make it easy to assume that Miura is in the Berserk game for life. I don't know how much control he has over the property outside of the manga, but it seems that he's just saying yes to every other project and cashing in. The increased popularity of the series attracted more garbage/cheap third-party content, and even though i don't consume it, it's not pleasant to witness. Are we becoming more forgiving because we choose to believe that Berserk will never be influenced by all that bears it's name in it's periphery? Miura's involvement on those early adaptations/side stories, kinda show that he had a sort of preciousness towards the Berserk name that doesn't seem to exist nowadays.

First, I actually don't think he's "in it for life," at least not by choice or in a cynical way. But let's consider all you said and put it together: Miura has benefactors, publishers or "investors" to please one way or another, and he's producing "first party" content at a decreased rate while maintaining high quality and ridiculous standards for a long-running serialized comic with a single author and modest staff. He furthermore doesn't have time for every side project, let alone this many, as when Berserk was smaller and there was, like, two. So, even without truly knowing the dynamics at play, it's possible, even probable, all this Berserksploitation crap that's more popular than ever is basically subsidizing the continuation of the manga at such a quality. I don't like the cesspool surrounding Berserk any more than you do, but if it's helping keep it afloat in its current form I'll take that deal rather than have him compromise what's important. Anyway, I'm not saying Miura is some victim here or Berserk would hit the skids without this stuff, but I think it makes sense, makes things better/easier for him to do his work on his terms, and he doesn't have the time to play arbiter to everything or the inclination to be some raging creative dickhead about it.

I think this is easier to compartmentalize for a child of Star Wars (it always comes back to STAAAR WAAARS ). The Manga is to the Original Trilogy what everything else is to the EU, and this latest animation is like The Prequels. Yes, quite unpleasant to witness, even if one knows not to consume it, but unlike that scenario at least there's fresh and continual payoff to reward and invigorate purists that have the good taste to stick with the manga and ignore the noise surrounding it. Now that's a far rarer and pleasant thing to witness.

[ApostleBob]

I wouldn't be surprised if we still get a Grunbeld backstory in the manga as well, in the same form we often get for characters like Rosine and The Count. Maybe not a full episode dedicated, but maybe a few pages. The novel may just be an expanded version of such a backstory, filled with details and backstory that is unnecessary for a comic medium. I wonder how much more world building will be covered in such a novel.

Would a novel like this that is essentially canon be a part of the Patreon translation project? It certainly seems like a worthy candidate, even if it were just an abridged version. The implications it may have for the world of Berserk and the characters could be interesting.

[Aazealh]

I wouldn't be surprised if we still get a Grunbeld backstory in the manga as well, in the same form we often get for characters like Rosine and The Count. Maybe not a full episode dedicated, but maybe a few pages. The novel may just be an expanded version of such a backstory, filled with details and backstory that is unnecessary for a comic medium. I wonder how much more world building will be covered in such a novel.

That would make sense if the story was first told in the manga and the novel came out afterwards, but that's not the case here. And that's what could be problematic: the fact the manga might have to conform to the merchandise and not the other way around.

Would a novel like this that is essentially canon be a part of the Patreon translation project?

Definitely not.

[ApostleBob]

Definitely not.

Well here's hoping they translate it into english then.

[Delta Phi]

Well here's hoping they translate it into english then.

Dark Horse did/does publish Vampire Hunter D, so there's a chance they might pick this up, but considering their history with Berserk, translating an entire novel might 1) take forever, and 2) never actually happen.

[RaffoBaffo]

I already know I'm gonna end up with the Japanese Novel, just for the [eventual] illustrations of Miura