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Berserk volume 42 cover art.

Miura's legacy continues (Image: Kentaro Miura, Kouji Mori, Studio Gaga Hakusensha).

Manga

11 hours ago

“Berserk” manga racks up 70 million copies in circulation worldwide

The beloved dark fantasy series is being continued in memory of Kentaro Miura. 

According to the 16th issue of Hakusensha’s Young Animal Magazine, released on Friday, 16 August, the dark fantasy series “Berserk” by the late Kentaro Miura now has 70 million copies in circulation worldwide. The manga is now the 12th bestselling title of all time for a series, with between 40 to 99 million copies. 

70 million copies divided between four languages

Hakusensha further broke down the circulation numbers by language:

Berserk has nine million copies in circulation in English, eight million copies in French, and five million in Italian. Furthermore, 30 million of the copies worldwide are foreign editions released outside of Japan. Hakusensha is set to release the 43rd tankobon volume for Berserk on 29 August. 

Kentaro Miura passed away on 6 May, 2021 at the age of 54 due to an acute aortic dissection. Fans at the time believed that Berserk’s story would remain unfinished, but Miura’s lifelong friend and fellow manga artist Kouji Mori, as well as Miura’s studio Studio Gaga, took on the mantle to continue the tale of Guts the black swordsman. 

Miura frequently discussed Berserk’s plot to Mori, and as such had enough of an idea about how the plot would go. An official press release by Hakusensha in 2022 stated that: “we will write the manga so as not to deviate from Mr. Miura's own words. We would like to take the ‘Kentaro Miura’ that we knew so fondly through our conversations and work and convey this to all of you in a sincere manner.”

Kouji Mori is currently supervising the remaining chapters of Berserk, while Miura’s apprentice and assistants at Studio Gaga are illustrating. 

Berserk follows the life and story of a lone swordsman named Guts, who in a quest for revenge, hunts down a variety of enemies all connected to his old friend-turned-nemesis: Griffith. 

Author

Arianne "YanKu" BlancoAnime and Manga enjoyer