sleeplesspotato

I heard the news; I'm not a fan of Berserk, not having read it because I thought it's too grimdark for me. And yet I'm surrounded by the media it inspired, from the Dark Souls games to Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife and his ridiculously large sword. Today I learned about how well Miura treated his assistants; he shared the fruits of his success by paying them living wages, giving them enough job security to raise their families. I saw so many examples of his breathtaking artistic talent. Yet the most important thing about Berserk and the tragic story of its protagonist Guts, according to its fans, isn't about how badass Guts was, but how he was able to overcome his grief with the support of the people that he found on his journey. Beyond the darkness there is light, and healing.

Berserk is unfinished; in recent years Miura had to take long breaks, presumably due to health issues. Or maybe he was just burned out from working on a story that he'd been nurturing since before he was 18. I'm glad that he was able to work on it for as long as he did -- that he gave it his all. It was a great gift, and maybe someday I'll dive into it and see just how great it was.