Kentaro Miura died suddenly this year of an aortic dissection. To say this was a shock, and a great loss, would be an understatement. Miura was a fixture of the manga community, a near constant topic of conversation in the anime/manga communities, be it related to his love of The Idolmaster games, his frequent hiatuses for health and creative reasons, the praise of “Berserk’s” original anime series, which he oversaw, the roasts of the later CGI seasons, or the gobsmacking amount of details and care put into every panel, every background, every moment of all of his works.
It wasn’t just blood and Guts and horror that would make even the most jaded feel afraid and a little sick, but the tender moments too. His art captured the beauty of the serene, the warmth of a day spent with close friends, and the heartbreakingly bittersweet moments of reuniting and reconciling, and of love lost forever. Miura was an artist who thought about the whole of the human experience, at its worst and at its best, and let that shine through his art in ways that would send shivers down my spine. Here are just a couple examples:
When we lose artists young or suddenly, there is a tendency to lament their unfinished works. It is natural, and I have done it many times. I have done it this year, even, with Miura’s now-forever incomplete opus “Berserk,” as well as the early end of “Duranki,” the series he was helping spearhead with his Studio Gaga at the time of his death. But when one considers the life of an artist, there is always more, though that more is usually better expressed by friends and family. As such, the measure of a life can often be found in the people one has touched. If this is true, then Miura led a full and overflowing life.
Miura was a perfectionist. He was a caring friend. He was a talent unrivaled in the industry. He influenced a generation of creators not just in the dark fantasy genre but across the board, igniting imaginations and crafting relationships that will last long after he is gone. Rest in peace, Kentaro.
Kentaro Miura: 1966 – 2021
