Warning : The following post contains nudity/adult content.
Berserk (ベルセルク) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura (三浦 建太郎), who we sadly lost in 2021. Set in a medieval Europe–inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on the characters of Guts, a lone swordsman, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the “Band of the Hawk”. The series follows Guts’ journey seeking revenge on Griffith, who betrayed him and the rest of their comrades.
This sumptuous 220 pages hardcover art book is the official catalog for ‘The Great Berserk Exhibition -32 years of Kentaro Miura’s art career-‘ (大ベルセルク展〜三浦建太郎 画業32年の軌跡〜) that was held in major cities across Japan ( and also Seoul ) from 2021 to early 2025, showcasing a huge collection of the artist’s drawings and colored illustrations from the manga.
In creating Berserk, Kentaro Miura cites a long list of eclectic artistic sources that helped to inform his narrative as well as art style, including films like ‘Hellraiser’ (1987), The Name of the Rose (1986), the art of M. C. Escher, and the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. He also mentions manga artists like Katsuhiro Otomo, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Go Nagai and Osamu Tezuka, just to name a few.
I can certainly see the influences of many of the artists and films mentioned above in Berserk; and personally for me his art style is also synonymous with visual aesthetics of the Golden Axe fantasy arcade games that I was totally hooked on as a kid, and it kinda makes sense as they both developed around the late 80s/early 90s.
This is a tremendous collection and imho a must have for all fans of Berserk and Kentaro Miura’s art work. ( May he rest in peace. ) Very highly recommended.
Availability : Just like the official catalog art books for many other anime/manga exhibitions, this book is ( at the time of writing this review ) not widely available except at the exhibition venues. There are however Amazon Marketplace sellers carrying it and CDJapan also has limited copies available ( from time to time ). You can find the links below –
“The Artwork Of Berserk – Miura Kentaro 大ベルセルク展 公式イラストレーションブック図録 三浦 建太郎” details :
Dimensions – 30.7 x 21.9 x 2.6 cm
Hardcover, 220 pages
Full color, In Japanese language
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES
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August 7th, 2025 at 7:59 am
Instant vintage!
August 7th, 2025 at 1:10 pm
One of the all time greats. Just an unbelievable loss that he passed away so young.
August 10th, 2025 at 7:59 am
@Chris: Indeed. One of the modern manga greats. He is gone, but his work is still with us.
August 10th, 2025 at 9:46 am
DISTRAKT – Very much so !
Chris – Quite a shock indeed, a terrible loss. T___T
Marc – Much agreed !
August 11th, 2025 at 4:27 pm
The price increase from 3000 yen t0 9000 yen
August 14th, 2025 at 2:14 am
anonymouse007 – Yeah sadly it is often out of print so the sellers just re-price to a point they deem appropriate. T___T
August 15th, 2025 at 6:51 am
Do you have any of the Deluxe Editions from Dark Horse? I find that Miura’s artwork shines the brightest in the context of his epic two page spreads and intricate penmanship. (he also has an iconic sense of design that can be traced right back to the start of the series)
To my knowledge, even in Japan, they haven’t reprinted Berserk in its original magazine size, and is only available in the Tankobon format. So those English harcover editions are definitely worth checking out. (over the years I’ve managed to collect Miura’s entire run in that format. They look epic on a shelf.)
August 18th, 2025 at 4:53 am
Coffee – I do not have the deluxe edition, and based on what you’ve said, I really ought to check it out ! His work would look so amazing in a bigger print format ! Thanks for the rec !