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Dark Horse to Publish 1st Berserk Manga Volume Since Kentarou Miura's Passing in November
posted on by Alex Mateo
Dark Horse Comics confirmed with Crunchyroll on Monday that it will release the 41st compiled book volume of Kentarō Miura's Berserk manga, which includes the final chapters that Miura had created for the series, in November. The volume (English cover pictured right) will go on sale at comic stores on November 9 and in bookstores on November 22. The trade paperback release will include a two-sided color poster insert.
This was the series' first volume since Miura's passing in May, and the first in three years.
The 41st manga volume shipped in Japan on December 24.
Previous advertisements in the The New York Times had stated that the manga's 41st volume would launch in the U.S. and France in summer 2022. Dark Horse Comics has since stated that those advertisements were estimated release windows, and the actual date had to be adjusted.
The afterword in the 41st volume from Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine's editorial staff stated that the future of the manga is still undecided. The staff also thanked its readers.
The editorial staff had stated in September that there was "no information to share about the future" of Kentarō Miura's Berserk manga "at this time." The statement added that the staff's priority will "always be placed on him — what he would think if he were still with us."
The 41st volume's release came in both regular and special editions, the latter of which includes special canvas art and a drama CD. Miura drew the canvas art (pictured left) that adorns the special edition of the 41st volume. The drama CD features the return of the anime's cast and portrays the manga's key "Awakening" chapter, which has never been seen in any of the manga's anime adaptations. Makoto Fukami also returned to pen the drama CD's script.
Miura passed away on May 6, 2021 due to acute aortic dissection. He was 54. Since the announcement of Miura's passing, creators in Japan and throughout the world have offered their condolences.
The Berserk manga follows Guts, a superhumanly strong warrior who wields a large sword, as he wanders a dark medieval world filled with demons, corrupt and decadent nobles, and other horrors. Every night, he is assailed by demons, attracted to the curse branded on him after a traumatic event. He makes his way through the world on a quest to slay a former friend turned demon, who took everything away from him.
Miura published the one-shot version of the Berserk manga in Hakusensha's Monthly Comicomi magazine in 1988. He launched the full Berserk manga series in Hakusensha's Monthly Animal House magazine in 1989, and the series continued in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine until now. The series has over 40 million copies in circulation. Hakusensha published the manga's 40th volume in Japan on September 28, 2018. Dark Horse Comics published the same volume in North America on October 8, 2019. Dark Horse Comics began reprinting the manga in the deluxe hardcover editions in February 2019. Each volume features three normal compiled volumes of the manga.
The manga inspired a television anime series in 1997, as well as an anime film trilogy from 2012 to 2013. Another television anime series premiered in Japan in July 2016, and the second half of the new series premiered in April 2017.
Sources: Crunchyroll (Kyle Cardine), Dark Horse Comics' Twitter account
