Berserk Volume 41: Thank You Kentaro Miura

Griffith kicks off this volume with uncanny art of him. If you can imagine a chibi version of Berserk‘s characters, you wouldn’t be entirely mistaken.

The Newer Art

The Previous Art

I am not especially a fan of this newer art style Miura had, but I can appreciate the detail he still puts in Griffith’s design. An important scene occurs when Griffith, at the dawn of night, fades. Seemingly, into the moonlight.

We then cut to Casca who is doing well for herself, even holding a sword on her shoulder like she used to in Golden Age. She really is a warrior again. And Miura shows this excellently through her battling it out in Elfhelm, showing off her techniques. It wasn’t long ago that she was leading armies, maybe Elfhelm needs a new leader. But that can be considered later as the moment she tries to talk with Guts, she is now reminded of poor Judeau and the Eclipse, causing her to faint once again, to Guts howls.

While Casca is unconscious, we can see that sisterly relationship with Farnese take form when she holds onto her. Yet when someone tries to call their relationship too attached, we can Farnese deny that. Farnese is the sister Casca never had, someone who can understand and protect her from the world. Like Judeau to Guts, she is her compass. After this, Schierke and Farnese decide to show off their skills to the other witches, to much amusement. This moment helps to clarify the structure of magic which seemed so distant for so long. Here, we can see what Schierke and Farnese are doing is not new, rather it’s something that connects many different people together. And while Guts speaks to Skull Knight, Schierke and the witch Morda go riding on her broom, exploring more of Elfhelm. Berserk here is more concerned with worldbuilding and exploration than telling it’s narrative, which is a great way to freshen things up.

Later, Berserk offers us the chance to see something fans have been waiting for: Skull Knight’s backstory. But as it’s Berserk, we only get a couple panels to which we can take what we want from it. But things change as he appears, the Moonlight boy. And this could be around the same time as Griffith faded into the sky, remember that.

Now, onto the final chapter Miura wrote. In regards to it’s contents, we see the affect the Moonlight boy has everyone, which is generally trivial. He loves to be around Casca, plays with Guts armor, but it all seems too specific. In a dream, Casca recalls her lost child, causing her to search for the moonlight boy. Looking out her window, she spots a view of him and Guts. Going closer, she notices he is Griffith.

It’s an understatement to say this final chapter had a strong impact on many of us. This is Miura’s final show to his audience who has been following him since 1989. And it’s a glowing chapter. Even if Miura had more to say, this ending works more than fine to cap off one of the greatest manga’s of our time.