The leading man of your favorite story is a grizzled veteran of many intense battles. He has a massive sword, is boiling with constant internal conflict. Maybe he's a mercenary, or maybe he's in touch with some demonic power. Final Fantasy fans will immediately recognize this as Cloud Strife, while Devil May Cry fans are sure to say Dante. Superfans of both and many other series certainly already know the ancestor of these tropes: Guts from Berserk.
Manga artist and Berserk creator Kentaro Miura tragically passed away early this May. Fortunately, the legacy he is leaving behind cannot be understated. His stories echo in many popular video games and anime, including the aforementioned Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry. The brutal dark fantasy series Dark Souls follows trends set by Berserk, too. Moreover, other high-profile anime and manga artists like Attack on Titan’s Hajime Isayama have also been vocal about their admiration of Berserk. These series and countless more have been touched by Berserk, and creators are happy to admit Miura’s influence on their work.
Berserk has had an undeniable influence on Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the “Soulsborne” series of games. A perfect example can be found in Dark Souls 3. The final DLC boss, Slave Knight Gael, is commonly viewed as a Guts reference. Gael bears a striking visual similarity to Guts’ Berserker Armor. Both fighters also share similar fighting styles and wield the signature big sword and crossbow weapon combination. Berserk’s influence on Miyazaki is not only present in the dark fantasy world of Dark Souls, however. For instance, the visual similarities between Berserk’s Brand of Sacrifice and Bloodborne’s Hunter’s Mark are hard to ignore.
Devil May Cry is another video game series that bears Miura’s influence. Devil May Cry director Hideaki Itsuno said he redesigned the series with lessons he learned from Berserk. If that wasn’t enough, he even included Guts and Griffith armor sets in the initial release of Dragon’s Dogma.
The Shonen Jump manga series Chainsaw Man has also been touched by Berserk’s influence. While creating Chainsaw Man’s Hell, Tatsuki Fujimoto said, “If I tried to depict hell without thinking, it would be like Berserk’s ‘Eclipse.’” Blue Exorcist mangaka Kazue Kato and Attack on Titan mangaka Hajime Isayama have both also professed their love for Berserk. They were each interviewed to discuss the impact of the second and third “Golden Age” Berserk films, respectively. Kato has always been impressed by Miura’s intense, beautiful battle scenes. Isayama, on the other hand, was inspired by the great despair and struggles of Berserk’s characters.
It comes as no surprise that the anime adaptation of Castlevania has also felt Berserk’s impact. Thematically and visually, the series’ similarities are striking. In a trailer dropped for the final season, fans even noticed a direct Berserk reference. In the trailer, a black-clad swordsman drops into a battlefield wearing what appears to be Guts’ Berserker Armor. Berserk has obviously left a clear line for creators to follow: if a game or series needs an imposing, unbeatable warrior, they should look like Guts. Castlevania director Samuel Deats has even tweeted that he would love to create a new Berserk adaptation. If a new Berserk series is to be made, Deats and many other creatives have certainly proven they can nail the style.
Creators and fans alike are mourning and celebrating Miura’s work. Berserk’s visual aesthetic also influenced Final Fantasy’s Dark Knights, and Dark Knights in Final Fantasy XIV were quick to pay their respects. Countless Final Fantasy XIV players have donned their Dark Knight armor and gathered to pay tribute to Miura in-game. Final Fantasy XIV game director Naoki Yoshida has also admitted that Miura’s work has impacted every game Yoshida worked on. Ultimately, it is clear that Berserk's legacy will never disappear. Rest in peace, Mr. Miura.