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Berserk Manga's 1st Volume in 3 Years Ships on December 24
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Hakusensha announced on Monday that the 41st compiled book volume of Kentarō Miura's Berserk manga will ship on December 24. The release will come in both regular and special editions, the latter of which will include special canvas art (seen right) and a drama CD.
Miura drew the canvas art that will adorn the special edition of the 41st volume, and it will also serve as the key visual for the upcoming Berserk art exhibit that will open this Friday in Tokyo's Sunshine City. The drama CD will feature the return of the anime's cast, and portray the manga's key "Awakening" chapter, which has never been seen in any of the manga's anime adaptations. Makoto Fukami will also return to pen the drama CD's script.
This year's 18th issue of Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine will publish a new chapter of the manga on Friday as well. Chapter 364 will feature a full-color opening page. The issue labels the chapter as the "latest" chapter of the manga. The magazine will be a "memorial" issue to Miura, and will also have a special "Messages to Kentarō Miura" booklet and a poster of "famous scenes" from the manga.
Miura passed away on May 6 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.
The first eight Deluxe Edition volumes of Kentarō Miura's Berserk manga from Dark Horse Comics ranked in the list of top 100 overall best-selling books on Amazon.com in May, following the author's passing. 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.
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 in October 8, 2019.
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.
