The Artwork of Berserk interview - First page (part 2)

Now available to Bronze & Silver tiers


First part

Interviewer: When you made your debut, did you expect “Berserk” to be a work that would grow this much?

Miura: No, I don’t think even a manga god could have easily envisioned that he would continue to serialize a work even after 30 years. Actually, even when I was young, I never pictured “the type of mangaka I would be in the future”. Honestly, even now, my prospect may be the same as that of a young mangaka who is just about to make his debut. I’ve simply continued to carry out the work in front of me, and maybe because of that, today isn’t different from 30 years ago. Neither my feelings about my work nor my stance have changed much, but I think there are some parts I’ve become accustomed to.

Interviewer: Does it mean your ability as a mangaka increased?

Miura: I’d like to say it has slided into other things rather than that it has increased. In fact, while I can draw better than in the past, my hands/skill [note: the word has both meanings] have become slower or is reduced in some way. As the range of my expression becomes wider, I can draw more things in my manga, so I get to spend a lot of time on my manuscripts. This side is increased, that one is decreased, I feel like a pie has been taken inside me. *laughs*

I couldn’t draw skillfully in the old days but my manuscripts were fast instead. Since no further vision occurred to me as I went, I didn’t get to stop drawing. But it’s natural to get better as you continue to draw, and so more things come to your mind, and when you step in there… it’s like opening the lid of the furnace of hell. *laughs* This got especially noticeable with the switch to digital.

Interviewer: Did the shift to digital change the way you draw or think?

Miura: With digital, I can do many things conveniently and easily but at the same time, by its nature, it causes me, for sure, to draw carelessly. So, like I said just now, it rather requires a lot of work. For example, since looking at detailed objects on a screen isn’t good for the eyes, I enlarge them on an LCD tablet and draw (them). Then I get to unconsciously draw (things) fitting the enlarged size. After that, I realize “ this would be actually a small panel on the manuscript”. *laughs* Having it back to the real size, I see overly detailed drawings but it’s a double hassle to redraw (the scenes), so I add more drawings accordingly, and in the end (my manuscripts) grow late. My work has become controlled by technology quite a lot.

Digital work is no doubt incredibly convenient since it allows to paint or erase with a single action. Bothering tasks like using white-out with analogue manuscripts are gone. But I still fall into a hole due to my character, I can’t help it…