This small reproduction was handed out during the original showing of the Big Berserk Exhibition in Tokyo, in September 2021. The organizers ran a mini-event themed after the Eclipse between September 16 and 21, where admissions were allowed until 7:30 pm and the venue closed at 9:00 pm. Visitors were asked to come dressed in black starting at 6:30 pm.
As part of it, copies of this exclusive "character fine mat" reproduction of volume 13's cover were awarded to visitors each day via a ...
2023-10-04 09:01:00 +0000 UTC
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It's been 30 years this week since the Bonfire of Dreams was published in Young Animal, can you believe it? We talk about it and why it's got such an important place in the series, but first we get into a discussion about Baldur's Gate 3 and the role that series has had in the fantasy RPG landscape.
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2023-09-18 04:16:53 +0000 UTC
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In Berserk, the Pishachas are Ganishka's corp of weaponized familiars, possessed animals created and controlled through his fog. The name comes from Hindu mythology, in which pishachas are evil, man-eating demons. There is no particular resemblance outside of the name and the fact they're monsters.
The name Miura uses in Japanese is 妖獣兵 with ピシャーチャ added as furigana to give us the pronunciation. It translates to something like "bewildering beast troops". The first kan...
2023-09-12 19:21:23 +0000 UTC
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There used to be an influental manga store in Tokyo called "The Forest of Manga". It was enough of a big deal that its owner was part of the judge panel for the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in 2002, in which Miura won the Prize for Excellence.
Shortly afterwards, Berserk was featured in the shop, and three autographed illustrations were put up as potential prizes for patrons. Here is a picture o...
2023-08-31 22:20:06 +0000 UTC
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Walter and Aazealh go over a topic that's seldom discussed: the similarity between the Brand of Sacrifice and the Holy See's symbol, why it's deliberate and what we can glean from it story-wise.
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2023-08-27 23:55:37 +0000 UTC
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Berserk's Kushan empire was inspired in large part by Indian mythology and that shows in the monsters Ganishka employed in battle. In volume 27, we discover the Dāka, monstrous foot soldiers that he pits against Locus' expeditionary force. The kanji for the word is 鬼兵, which means "demon soldiers" or "demons troops". ダーカ is added as furigana to specify its pronunciation. Note the long vowel.
The word Dāka originally comes from Hinduism, where it refers to male demons who eat...
2023-08-14 23:33:26 +0000 UTC
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There is a misunderstanding I've seen come up a number of times about Kentarou Miura having worked as an assistant to George Morikawa, the author of boxing manga Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩). In truth, they only met once, and Miura drew a single panel for Morikawa's first series, Kazuya NOW (一矢NOW).
So, how did the facts get skewed? In short: it's a misinterpretation of something Miura said, and so I figured it would be helpful to clarify things. The source of the confusion ...
2023-08-06 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Ever wonder what other books or series we’re into? Take a peek through Walter’s bookshelves and see what else occupies his mind beyond his Berserk love.
2023-08-04 21:09:54 +0000 UTC
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These are "Big Frame Magnets" that were sold online as part of an online lottery event called "Manpuku Gacha". They're mostly remarkable due to their size (approximately 11 cm x 7 cm) and concept, basically acting as miniature paintings. The actual art is about 8.5 cm x 5.2 cm. Five variants were produced. Their appeal is limited other than as a novelty, but they're not a b...
2023-07-16 19:29:58 +0000 UTC
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Goblins first show up briefly in volume 34, during the advent of Fantasia. We see them emerging from a cave next to a village. They are easily recognizable but not named. Then Locus mentions them in his report at the beginning of episode 358, in volume 41. We unfortunately never got to see them in action before Miura passed away.
Their name in Japanese is 土鬼 with ゴブリン (GOBURIN) added as furigana. The kanji means "earth demons". Its construction is similar to that of "
2023-07-14 10:02:37 +0000 UTC
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2023-07-09 10:59:56 +0000 UTC
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2023-07-02 22:31:02 +0000 UTC
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In volume 12, episode 73, as the solar eclipse reaches its peak in the sky, Griffith sees Guts running towards him and wishes for him not to come over. Because if he were to touch him at that moment, he would never again be able to....... And his thoughts trail off. Guts grabs his shoulders, the beherit activates, and the festival begins.
An interesting detail about this scene is that Griffith's final thought was originally complete when the episode was serialized in Young Animal in ear...
2023-06-28 22:22:20 +0000 UTC
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For this episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast, we decided to focus on unloved characters and the role they play in the series. Why does Carcus hate Guts? Why is Nina so weak-willed and selfish? But also why characters like Julius or Enoch's priest matter.
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2023-06-27 21:20:47 +0000 UTC
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2023-06-19 20:46:05 +0000 UTC
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2023-06-11 17:32:33 +0000 UTC
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2023-06-04 20:22:40 +0000 UTC
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There are few words in Berserk that have intrigued and confused readers more than this one. In volume 26, when the Skull Knight asks Slan about her kindred's whereabouts, she answers: "They've probably all dissolved into their favorite Sephirah and are floating around without a form."
Now that's all well and good, but what's a Sephirah? Surprise: it's no mystery in the original Japanese. The word she uses is 局, normally pronounced きょく (KYO), but on which Miura added セフィラ...
2023-05-31 17:41:42 +0000 UTC
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Uncontrollable rusty iron wheel
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Serpico: I was looking for you.
Isidro: Eh…
Isidro: ...Serpico.
Serpico: It’s dangerous (to stay) in such a place…
Isidro: …So
Isidro: What brings you to me?
Serpico: Schierke is going to perform a magic ritual to search for Casca, who has disappeared.
Isidro: Eh… magic…
Serpico: During the ritual, entering a deep meditative state, (she) expands her consciousness…
Serpico: (She) incre...
2023-05-28 15:03:31 +0000 UTC
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Berserk has received a number of adaptations over the years: TV series, movies, video games among others. Walter & Aazealh go over the music that was created for it over the years, some good and some bad, with one name looming large over it: Susumu Hirasawa.
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2023-05-24 14:57:25 +0000 UTC
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2023-05-23 22:53:42 +0000 UTC
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You know what they say: one man's trash is another man's treasure. Case in point: this precious plastic shopping bag adorned with Miura's artwork that was produced in 1999 to advertise the release of the Berserk game on Dreamcast (and volume 18 while they were at it). Who manufactured it? Where was it handed out? How many were made? I have no idea. I got mine second-hand and my best guess is that it came from a video game store.
Beyond the novelty of it existing at all, what's most pecu...
2023-05-17 12:00:03 +0000 UTC
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2023-05-14 20:17:01 +0000 UTC
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2023-05-01 18:05:32 +0000 UTC
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The Red Raven Sleeps in the Birdcage
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Casca: Going far away…!
Casca: Gut…
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Casca: A dream…?
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Maids: Good morning, milady.
Maids: …Then, your clothes.
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Maid: Well! What a vivid crimson dress!
Maid: It suits you very well.
Maid: For mi...
2023-04-30 13:54:29 +0000 UTC
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That's right, I went there. :P
Episode 324 was notable among other things because it explained the concept of Mana (真名 with マナ as Katakana), which refers to the "true name" of an ethereal being. By uttering her Mana, Isma transformed into a merrow, her true form. As Ivalera explains it to her, the Mana is a "secret name" for elves or spirits, and it shouldn't be carelessly revealed to other people.
I made a big deal of this at the time because it was cl...
2023-04-23 21:27:22 +0000 UTC
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For this episode of our exclusive Patreon podcast, Walter and I play a little game inspired by an old TV show called The Newlywed Game, where married couples had to answer questions to see just how well they knew each other.
Needless to say we aren't actually a gay couple (not that there's anything wrong with t...
2023-04-17 19:14:23 +0000 UTC
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2023-04-10 13:54:21 +0000 UTC
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Hakusensha is selling 17 reproductions of famous two-page spreads at the Great Berserk Exhibition. These are great and hopefully they will be available to purchase online eventually. However they are not full scale reproductions, and I thought it might be interesting to post a size comparison to help people see the difference.
The original pages Miura drew on are B4 JIS format, meaning 257 x 364 millimeters. For two-page spreads, he drew on B3 JIS paper (364 × 515 mm) which was then cu...
2023-04-02 13:54:12 +0000 UTC
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In our eternal effort to bring interesting scenes to light, we decided to each pick five great death scenes (whether they're cool, funny or just memorable) that don't involve Guts. Can guess some of them?
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2023-03-19 10:39:08 +0000 UTC
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