Berserk vol. 41
Before we get started, can I recommend some mood music? This is probably more appropriate, but I’m also quite partial to this version as well.
Kentaro Miura passed away in May of 2021 leaving his magnum opus unfinished. It’s since been announced that the series will be continued by Koji Mori, the mangaka behind “Holy Land” among other titles, and Miura’s assistants at Studio Gaga. It’s good to know that they’re working to give fans of “Berserk” some kind of closure and I’ll be there to support them whenever vol. 42 is released.
This volume still represents the real end of an era. However Mori and co’s efforts go, this is the last we’ll see of “Berserk” created by Miura. One wonders if the mangaka realized this and tried to offer some measure of closure to his readers along the way. While I have some specific thoughts about the actual ending of this volume, vol. 41 actually does serve as a pretty decent capstone to the series in that it catches us up on what everyone’s been doing.
Starting with Griffith who is still doing his best to save the country from the threats that assail it. Goblins, giants, dragons, and more are still making life miserable for most everyone in the world. Except for the part occupied by Griffith and his New Band of the Hawk. Things are going well enough for them that they’re able to hold legislative meetings where they debate what the best way forward for the country will be.
Some might find this part to be a little on the dry side, but the way things are presented here give it a sense that the country is trying to be bigger than itself. It also allows Princess Charlotte to be (a little) more than a plot device as she suggests an idea for taking care of the nation’s children that turns out to have some real legs. This part of the volume is so incredibly optimistic that it feels like we’re being asked to forget about what Griffith has done to get here. Or the nagging suspicion that something awful is going to everyone in spite of the grand and noble ambitions they’re displaying here. I don’t want to think that Guts is eventually going to murder them all while in thrall to the Berserker Armor after giving into his desire for revenge… but I can’t rule it out either.
Speaking of the man himself, he’s still on Elf Island with the rest of the cast and… things are a little better after the end of the previous volume. By that I mean Casca is up and about and looking much more like her old self. She even takes out a couple straw viking golems to show that her swordfighting skills are still intact.
Reconnecting with Guts is still out of the question. She can barely bring herself to talk to him, and laying eyes upon him just brings back all the awful memories of the Eclipse. It breaks my heart to see them like this, but I knew that their reunion wasn’t ever going to be easy. The way it’s rendered in the art, with the recall of a familiar face giving way to more horrific imagery really sells this, as does Miura’s depiction of the heartbreak on Guts’ face when he realizes what the sight of his face does to the woman he loves.
For now, at least. That the two of them are going to reconcile at some point feels like a foregone conclusion. It’s just a question of whether or not it’ll be handwaved away or whether actual work will be put in to have the couple get past the trauma that separates them. This may seem like a silly issue to raise, until you get to the end of this volume.
Vol. 41 touches upon a lot of little things before then. We get to see Farnesse and Schierke demonstrate their skills to the other magic users on the island and the latter makes the acquaintance of Morda, a young witch with a rebellious side. Guts also meets the Skull Knight again and he shows him the dwarven smith who made the Berserker Armor. This smith also sees fit to give its current user a glimpse into the life of the individual the wore the armor in the past, and the result is the volume’s most striking sequence as we get a horrific, phantasmagorical look into an Eclipse from the past.
What does it all mean? It’s a whole lot of hinting at the Skull Knight’s past that was likely going to be a long ways off in terms of paying off even before Miura’s passing. The whole sequence is still a strong reminder of how the mangaka could go really dark in his storytelling and still draw you in. Putting a nightmare that you couldn’t turn away from right there on the page.
This is balanced out by the silliness that follows as Isidro finds that the island’s magical atmosphere has enhanced his natural agility, leading for him to make trouble for its many young magic users. I know that some people dislike the level of overt comedy and outright slapstick that the series engages in from time to time, and the multitude of “Star Wars” references Miura engages in by way of Puck are likely going to irk them even more. Still, you can’t have a series going all-dark all the time, and these moments helped lighten the tone. Even if the best part here is seeing Isidro get what’s coming to him in a weird and out-of-left-field way. It involves a kelpie. That’s all I’ll say.
Then the mysterious long-and-dark-haired boy that has been a minor recurring character in the series for a while now makes another appearance. He’s always been drawn to Casca and now he can finally interact with her in a more meaningful fashion, even if he still doesn’t speak. The last chapter shows him having fun with the cast and the kid even gets a rare cute moment with Guts. It’s all well and good, but you start to wonder where Miura is going with all this. Is the final chapter of “Berserk” just going to be about everyone having a nice day on Elf Island. Which would be nice, actually.
The answer, as you may have guessed, is no. We finally find out the child’s true identity at the end of the volume and it’s a genuine surprise. In the sense that I didn’t see it coming, and that it made perfect sense at the same time. It also portends that Elf Island is going to be in for some BAD TIMES once the series continues.
More than that, the revelation here sets up a status quo that doesn’t cut Mori and company any slack in their decision to pick up the story from here. Rather than start with a smaller story to get a feel for things, they’re going to have to hit the ground running in order to catch the momentum that Miura left them with. I don’t envy them this task, but I can respect the fact that they believe themselves to be up to it. Whether or not that’s actually the case, well… I guess we’ll find out later this year.
While we were left with something of a cliffhanger at the end of vol. 41, at least it’s one that has the decency to offer a minor revelation in its offing. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if this had ended the way the first anime series did, right at the worst point of the Eclipse. Yet at least we’re left knowing what everyone in the main and supporting cast is up to and even got some hints about where the story is going to go from here. If nothing else, it was still reassuring to see that Miura was still firing on all cylinders at the end. May he find the peace that eludes his protagonist in the afterlife.