Kentaro Miura's Berserk (1989–2021) is the longest-running and most-cited entry in the seinen dark-fantasy canon. Miura's death in May 2021 left the serial unfinished at chapter 364. From 2022, the publisher Hakusensha has continued the serial under the supervision of Kouji Mori, drawing from Miura's notes and storyboards. The unusual continuation arrangement has become its own subject of discussion within the manga industry.
The manga's run
Berserk began serialisation in Hakusensha's Young Animal in 1989 — having been preceded by a 1988 one-shot — and ran for 364 chapters across 41 collected volumes by Miura's death in 2021. The serial's draftsmanship is uniformly cited as among the most ambitious in serialised manga: single panels routinely contain hundreds of individuated figures in battle scenes, with architectural detail at the density of an oil painting.
Animated adaptations
Three animated adaptations exist: a 1997 TV series (OLM, directed by Naohito Takahashi), a 2012–2013 film trilogy (Studio 4°C, directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka), and a 2016–2017 TV series (GEMBA, in 3D CG, widely criticised for animation quality). None has been received as adequate to the source material; the manga is generally treated as the definitive form of the work. A new TV adaptation in the cel-shaded 3D style was announced in 2024.
The post-2021 continuation
Following Miura's death, the manga was continued in 2022 by Studio Gaga — the assistant team Miura had built around himself — under the supervision of his close friend and fellow manga artist Kouji Mori, who reportedly knew the planned ending of the series from extensive conversation with Miura. The continuation is presented as faithful execution of Miura's plans rather than as new authorship. Reception has been broadly positive, though the underlying ethical question — whether an unfinished work should be continued at all — remains under discussion.