When Berserk creator Kentaro Miura passed away, the anime world was made less bright. For fans, many believed that the brutal manga series would remain unfinished as it was one year before news arrived as to the future of the Band of the Hawk. Writer Kouji Mori and the artists at Studio Gaga, who were all friends of the deceased mangaka, decided that in order to honor Miura’s memory they would take on the task of ending Berserk. While no end date has been revealed for the fan-favorite series, there have been quite a few hints that the end is nigh for Guts, Griffith, and Casca.
Berserk has been a series that hasn’t just given anime fans some of the most brutal moments in the medium but it’s one that has a heart and emotional beats that can often far exceed many other stories. While Guts wields a comically large sword to fight against ever-increasing demonic threats, his story is one that mixes tragedy, action, and many other emotions. The series first began from Kentaro Miura in the 1980s, and while it has received several anime adaptations, there are many fans still waiting for the perfect example of Berserk hitting the screen. We might still be in for years of stories in the Band of the Hawk’s world but the end is on the horizon if you trust certain characters.
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Skull Knight Cometh
In an earlier Berserk chapter, the Skull Knight approached Guts following Casca regaining her sanity on Elfhelm. The mysterious armored horseman is one who still has quite a few questions surrounding his identity and his origin but he did make one thing clear to the Black Swordsman. Skull Knight specifically addressed the idea that Guts’ story was entering its final chapter, even before the magical land was decimated by the arrival Griffith and his demonic iteration of the Band of the Hawk. This chapter also was written and drawn by Kentaro Miura himself before his passing, proving that he had the series finale in his mind.
On top of Skull Knight’s hinting at the future, Casca regaining her sanity was a moment that had been built up for decades. The female warrior was mostly dragged along by Guts and his new companions as her mind was that of a child’s, so injecting this moment was a long time coming and made for a big checkmark on events that needed to happen prior to Berserk’s end. There’s one big moment that fans have been waiting for and that’s for Guts and Griffith to finally throw down in a fight where the pair are at their strongest and that leads us to the Eastern Exile Arc.
The Eastern Exile Arc’s Foreshadowing
Currently, Berserk’s manga is exploring the “Eastern Exile Arc”, which in and of itself has been focusing on the idea that the final push against Griffith is on the way. Following the Eclipse, a major part of Guts’ story has been leaving the darkness behind him and forging new friendships that will give him a ghost of a chance in fighting Femto (aka Griffith) and the Godhand. With the Kusshan Empire looking to take down the Band of the Hawk and hoping that Guts and company will join their campaign, it looks as though the Black Swordsman will finally have the back-up needed to push forward on his quest for revenge.
In a previous interview, writer Kouji Mori had stated that fans most likely won’t need to wait another “ten years” to witness the grand finale of Berserk and this makes sense. The writer and Studio Gaga’s artists have been taking something of an outline approach to their chapters of the manga, for better or for worse. They are using the notes of Kentaro Miura, and the past conversations with the deceased artist, to weave Berserk’s future. Sometimes, this means that the chapters don’t compare to Miura’s work but they make for the best possible option in a bad situation.
How Will Berserk End?
This is an aspect that many can have different takes on when it comes to Berserk. While Guts has been hellbent on revenge against Griffith, the character has changed fundamentally from his origins as a wandering mercenary to a vagabond surviving the Eclipse to a part of a team looking to make their way in a world overshadowed by horror. One interesting aspect of the Black Swordsman is that we’ve seen him team up with Griffith after the events of the Eclipse, as devastating as they were.
Ganishka was the previous emperor of the Kusshan Empire and was a more evil entity than even the White Hawk. Thanks to this fact, Guts joined forces with Griffith and Nosferatu Zodd to make sure that the evil demon was finally put to rest. For a character who was more than willing to see innocent people killed in pursuit of his revenge against Griffith, this made for quite the game changer in Guts’ life. Will Berserk’s series finale give us a Black Swordsman who chooses redemption over revenge?
In Berserk’s final manga chapter from Kentaro Miura, Chapter 364, many readers were prepared to say goodbye to a story that would never be finished but had a worthy ending all the same. If that installment was the last time that Berserk released a new chapter, it focused on a crying Griffith, revealed to be the Moonlight Boy, coming the closest we’ve ever seen to truly feeling sorry for what he did to his friends to achieve his demonic power. Berserk readers might not see Guts slamming the Dragon Slayer into Griffith’s chest, wrapping things up in a tidy bow but that’s ok. Berserk was a story that was complicated and dove into the human spirit in such a way that a series finale might hold true to these ideals.
Of course, the fact that Berserk’s chapters don’t arrive on a regular schedule might lead some to believe that the finale is a long way off, but there is hope. The next manga chapter will arrive this week in Japan, with the following chapter hitting the stands in November. While nothing is set in stone, we might witness Mouri and Gaga approaching the series with a more monthly output following the months-long hiatuses of the past.
Want to stay up to date on the Band of the Hawk? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Berserk and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.