Berserk - are you prepared to go all the way?

[horacethegrey]

I think anyone here at Enworld who's had some small interest in fantasy or anime has at one time encountered Kentaro Miura's Berserk. I also think most of you will agree that the series is one of the best illustrated and well written fantasy stories in the market today (although not for the feint of heart, as it's also one of the darkest too).

While reading some reviews on the manga, I came across a statement made by Miura-san on how Berserk is his life's work, and that it'll take at least 50 collected manga volumes to tell the whole story. Needless to say, that threw me for a loop. 50 volumes is quite a big number for a manga series whose chapters are released in an anthology magazine on a biweekly basis (unlike most manga which come out on a weekly schedule). To date there have been 32 volumes of Berserk released in Japan, with 20 currently in release in the US from Dark Horse. If one does the math, it means that'll be a good 10+ years before the saga of Guts finally comes to a close.

So my question is, are you loyal fans of the series prepared to go all the way? I know how much of a pain it is for us fantasy fans in having to wait for the next installment of our favorite series. Robert Jordan is a prime example, having unfortunately passed away before publishing the final volume of his Wheel of Time epic. And us A Song of Ice and Fire fans have been especially peeved at how slow George RR Martin is in finishing A Dance of Dragons (and once the book is finally released, we still have the last 2 volumes to look forward to! AGH! ).

If I were to answer my own question, I'd say yes. Berserk has consistently been one of the best comic reads I've had the pleasure of enjoying. Miura's masterful art is matched only by his wonderful storytelling. So it'll be great to see what surprises he has in store for us till the end of it.

So what about you guys?

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm just worried that I'll be dead or that he'll be dead before it all finishes.

It's some great stuff.

 

[horacethegrey]

It's some great stuff.

Indeed it is. I was one of those, as were many who wrote off Berserk as a "Fist of the North Star with swords" deal. How little I knew then. So happy to be proven wrong on that account.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Berserk is a great manga. I, at least, intend to read it until the end.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Wow... and here I thought it would be winding down soon. I'll definitely be in for the long haul with this one. I've got up to volume 23 pre-ordered on Amazon, and I'm anxiously awaiting Volume 21 this month (next week in fact!). Ten years, though... wow. I have no idea what I'll be doing in 10 years... well still reading Berserk apparently.

 

[Mistwell]

I stuck with Lone Wolf and Cub until the end...and with Cerebus until the end.

That said, I don't know Berserk, though it sounds interesting.

 

[Corwyn]

Berserk is great!

I really like the path the story has taken with the addition of the little witch and the forming of a kind of party. It gives the story a bit more of the D&D feel.

 

[horacethegrey]

I stuck with Lone Wolf and Cub until the end...and with Cerebus until the end.

But Lone Wolf and Cub was never in danger of ending prematurely, it's a 30 year old manga that ended in 1976 with volume 28. Berserk however, is still ongoing, and there's fear that it may be discontinued should creator Kentaro Miura suffer some kind of creative burnout (not saying that he is, just saying ).

And Cerebus has finally ended? Hmm... Maybe I should finally get on to reading it and see what all the fuss is about.

That said, I don't know Berserk, though it sounds interesting.

The ever handy Wiki link .

 

[horacethegrey]

Bringing this topic back again because I happened to have read the latest volumes via some helpful scanalations.

All I can say is... WOW.

As Corwyn mentioned, the latest arc of the manga has Guts forming a party of adventurers to oppose Griffith's new Band of the Hawk. Reading this, I feared the series would fall into some cliched trappings that befall other fantasy stories. But Miura has exceeded my expectations, the new party feels like a natural part of the story rather than a tacked on element that could have easily derailed the series. It helps that new characters themselves are an interesting bunch, particularly the witch Schierke, who's quickly become my second favorite besides Guts.

 

[Arnwyn]

That wiki really helped.

I now know where the Dreamcast video game finally occurs - in between two volumes that haven't even been released yet in North America! (22 & 23) Gack!