By Curt Anderson May 25, 2021 6:26 pm Category: Anime (5.0 from 1 vote)       Write A New Article

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The New York Times reports that Kentaro Miura, who reached a worldwide readership for more than 30 years with his Japanese manga series, "Berserk," which set the standard for artistic originality and narrative boldness in the fantasy media industry — in card games, comics, video games and animated series — died on May 6. He was 54.

Kate Jay, a spokeswoman for Dark Horse Comics, Mr. Miura's English-language publisher, said the cause was acute aortic dissection, a tear in the aorta branching off from the heart. She did not say where he died.

The series follows the exploits of Guts, also known as the Black Swordsman, a one-armed, one-eyed former mercenary who inhabits a world of grotesque monsters, roving militia groups and medieval weaponry. For much of the series Guts seeks a safe haven for his love interest, Casca, and falls in and out of an alliance with Griffith, a friend who matches Guts's own fighting prowess.

Thirty years after "Berserk" began, he was looking forward to continuing it for many more. He said in 2019 that it was only "approaching its back half." (With his death, the future of the franchise remains uncertain.)

Like others who had expected Mr. Miura to resolve the tale, one fan said he found the news of Mr. Miura's death "soul crushing."

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1. nytimes.com