Hakusensha released new Berserk art to promote the series' upcoming return.

The new art was shared online by Twitter user @MangaMoguraRE and portrays the Black Swordsman, Guts, and his elf companion Puck in full color. The new art was released to commemorate the upcoming return of the long-running and highly influential dark fantasy series. The new chapter, which is being credited to original creator Kentaro Miura, the manga studio that he established, Studio Gaga, and Miura's friend and fellow manga creator Kouji Mori, will be published this July in the 13th issue of Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine. Mori will continue the story based on discussions about the series' future he had with Miura before the artist's sudden, unexpected passing in May 2021.

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Miura passed away from a sudden aortic dissection last year. He was 54 years old at the time of his death. The final chapter of Berserk that he worked on was published posthumously in Japan the following September, in a special issue of Young Animal that also contained messages of condolences and thanks from the series' many fans, including other luminaries from the anime and manga industries. Fans were initially split on whether they wanted the series to continue; some thought that Berserk was the work of an auteur and the story could not properly be told without Miura guiding it, while others felt that Guts' long quest for revenge deserved a more definitive conclusion.

After a year of speculation about the future of the series, Hakusensha confirmed earlier this month that it was planning to continue publication of the series without Miura. Beginning with Chapter 365, the story will be penned by Mori and will be drawn by Miura's team of assistants at Studio Gaga. The series will continue with six more chapters of Fantasia Arc/Elf Island storyline, after which the manga will begin a brand new story arc. "I will only write the lines and stories that Miura described to me," Mori explained when the series' continuation was first announced, adding, "Of course, it will not be perfect. Still, I think I can almost tell the story that Miura wanted to tell... Many of you may not be fully satisfied with the Berserk written without Miura, but we hope everyone's thoughts will be with us."

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Berserk was first published in 1988 and has since gone on to become one of the most celebrated manga series ever created. The series is also one of the best-selling manga of all time, with over 50 million copies in circulation around the world. The series is published in English by Dark Horse Comics.

Source: Twitter