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She got a text. That\u2019s how she found out her father was dead. Not a phone call. Not a knock at the door. Just a message, abrupt and unceremonious, that shattered everything.<\/em><\/p>\n On May 26, 2021, Yuka Miura\u2019s world changed with the sudden death of her father, Kentaro Miura\u2014the legendary creator of Berserk<\/em>. For fans, it was the loss of a genius. For Yuka, it was the collapse of a myth. \u201cHe was larger than life,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen I was little, I thought he was a god. And honestly? I never really stopped feeling that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, as the author of the internationally successful Kannazuki Series<\/em>, Yuka Miura walks a precarious line between reverence and reinvention. Her journey from private grief to public authorship is riddled with suspicion, scrutiny, and an unwavering commitment to storytelling.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: How did you find out?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: I got a text.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: You were at work?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Yeah. At first, I didn\u2019t believe it. When you have a parent with a public life, rumors happen. I called his phone. Voicemail. Texted him. Called the studio. Nothing. Then more messages started coming in. And finally, my mom called.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: That\u2019s when it became real?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: It wasn\u2019t denial. I just wanted to call him. I had so much to say. He was always busy, always working. But to me, he was everything.<\/p>\n Kentaro Miura\u2019s death was a seismic blow. Revered in Japan and around the world, his art style was unmistakable. Berserk<\/em> defied the typical decay of long-running manga and remained persistently relevant, despite its infamous hiatuses.<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Cleaning out his estate was probably the worst day of my life. So many books, so many tools. We couldn\u2019t keep it all. We donated most of it, especially the books. Some went to libraries. We kept the personal things.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: This was before plans to continue Berserk<\/em>?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Way before.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Are you involved at all in the new chapters?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Not at all. Kouji Mori and the team made that decision. I made it clear I was staying out. As a family member, I\u2019m not allowed to comment. I\u2019m just glad his legacy didn\u2019t die with him. That\u2019s what he would\u2019ve wanted.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Do you think he had a clear ending in mind?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Absolutely. But he was always evolving. He might\u2019ve surprised even himself.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Were there sketches or notes that stood out?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Yes. A lot. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s my place to talk about them. Some things were never meant to be seen.<\/p>\n When the dust settled, the studio made its choice. Miura\u2019s longtime assistants, under Mori\u2019s guidance, continued Berserk<\/em>. The decision wasn\u2019t universally accepted\u2014how could it be? But it was rooted in love, not commerce.<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: He had a plan. I knew that as a kid. He lived for those characters. So when they continued it, I was relieved.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Is that when you started writing?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: No. That was during the estate stuff. The hardest part.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: So when?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: About a year later. My therapist suggested I write about it. The funeral, the studio, all of it. It helped. At first just a little. Then more. Then I started writing about him, about our life.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Do you see his influence in your work?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Oh, definitely. I don\u2019t copy him, but he shaped how I see stories. That sticks with you.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: If your books became an anime, who would direct?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Doesn\u2019t work like that. People are busy or they\u2019re not. They care or they don\u2019t. I\u2019m just happy where things are.<\/p>\n But things haven\u2019t always been smooth.<\/p>\n Her debut, The Beast of Akune<\/em>, was accused of plagiarism by critics and anonymous online voices. They claimed she was lifting from her father\u2019s unpublished work.<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: It was tough. I expected scrutiny. But not like that. My editor told me to keep my head down. So I did.<\/p>\n Despite the backlash, the Kannazuki Series<\/em>found its audience. Millions of copies sold. A manga adaptation in progress. For someone accused of riding coattails, she has walked a very different road.<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: I think it\u2019s good. I\u2019m nervous. It\u2019s not my father\u2019s work. I hope people aren\u2019t expecting that.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: The fourth novel, Streets of Fire<\/em>, comes out this month. What have fans said so far?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: I haven\u2019t read any of it.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Not even one?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: I\u2019m the worst critic. I see every flaw they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Do you think your father would approve?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: No. And I\u2019m not going to explain that. Nothing I did was ever good enough for him. I don\u2019t think he liked his own work.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: What would he have said?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: That it needed to be changed. Always. But later I realized that was the medication talking. When he was on it, he wasn\u2019t interested in anything. Off it, he couldn\u2019t sit still.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Medication?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Schizophrenia. From a young age. He never told anyone\u2014not friends, not colleagues. In Japan, mental illness has a heavy stigma. He wanted to be seen as a creator. Nothing else.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: That must have been hard.<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: As a kid, I didn\u2019t even know. I thought all dads were like that\u2014vacant one moment, intense the next. On meds, he was silent. Detached. Off them, he worked in a frenzy. Days without sleep. Total extremes. Only later did I understand what was happening.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: He never talked to you about it?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Never. He thought it made him weak. Or worse, that people would say his brilliance was a symptom. He buried it. Let his work speak.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Some people online say you\u2019re capitalizing on his death. What do you say?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: I\u2019d tell them to hug their parents. You don\u2019t know what you have until it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: That\u2019s it?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: They\u2019re grieving too. Blame gives them focus. Some are mad I\u2019m not the villain they want.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: But you make money from these books?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: Very little. But I\u2019ll be okay. That\u2019s not what matters.<\/p>\n SY<\/strong>: Then what does?<\/p>\n YM<\/strong>: The stories. The art. That\u2019s what he lived for. And now, it\u2019s what I live for too. I don\u2019t write for profit or validation. I write because I have something to say. Because I want to create worlds people can get lost in. If that\u2019s all I inherited from him, it\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" She got a text. That\u2019s how she found out her father was dead. Not a phone call. Not a knock at the door. Just a message, abrupt and unceremonious, that shattered everything. On May 26, 2021, Yuka Miura\u2019s world changed with the sudden death of her father, Kentaro Miura\u2014the legendary creator of Berserk. For fans,… Continue Reading