FULL SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 384 AHEAD
It took nine months for this last chapter to come out, but it didn't take that long for Miura to reckon with the ideas the chapter explored. On June 11th, 2026, Berserk supervisor Kouji Mori tweeted:
Kentaro Miura passed away over five years ago on May 6th 2021. While fans mourned the loss of Miura as well as the characters in Berserk, thinking they would never get the conclusions Miura had been building toward for 30+ years, one of Miura's closest friends and fellow manga author, Kouji Mori, wondered how he could best honor his friend's legacy.
No one knows what to do when someone close to them passes away, especially in such a sudden case like Miura. Behind the scenes, there was time to grieve and process, but eventually Miura's assistants at his production studio, Studio Gaga, along with Berserk's publisher Hakusensha, had to have a discussion about what to do. It wasn't until June 7th, 2022 that, over a full year later, Mori announced he would supervise Berserk's continuation.
What Was 'Berserk' Before
In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control, even over his own will. Man takes up the sword in order to shield the small wound in his heart sustained in a far-off time beyond remembrance. Man wields the sword so that he may die smiling in some far-off time beyond perception.
- Kentaro Miura, Berserk, Vol. 5
Since the first volume of Berserk (1989-present), some of the major themes that have carried through all 43 volumes are destiny, fate, and the idea of free will. Series author Kentaro Miura placed this statement early into the series, and it's also in the 1997 anime before the opening of every episode.
The beginning of Berserk hints at greater powers beyond Guts' comprehension, and it's not until the Eclipse that readers meet the God Hand, the law and order of the universe given corporeal form. Even these figures potentially serve a higher power, which is somewhat explored in the controversial chapter 83, but regardless of the hierarchy, resisting the "destiny of mankind" has been impossible for the last 400 chapters. The recent chapter (Chapter 384) emphasizes that this is not the case.
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And What Is Berserk Now
Skull Knight calls Guts "Struggler" because in the face of this insurmountable obstacle, he continues to defy causality. From Chapter 1 onward, Guts is marked by the Brand of Sacrifice, visually emphasizing his resistance to causality the longer he's alive, the longer he struggles against the God Hand, against the Apostles, and against Griffith.
Guts has always struggled, but in the last 20 chapters, Griffith destroyed Elfhelm, kidnapped a restored Casca, and Guts couldn't lay a finger on him. This powerlessness amidst the destruction finally broke Guts.
The sword, the symbol that has comforted him since childhood, has abandoned him, and Guts is now hollow, surrendering to the causality he's so long fought against.
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Guts is without hope, but his comrades haven't given up on him. Daiba and the Kushan usher Guts into a stupa. Silat asks Daiba what it will do for Guts, and Daiba replies, "In darkness without sight, without sounds, there is but one thing to do. There is naught to gaze into...but the self."
Alone, in the darkness, Guts is ready to accept death. A flame cannot burn forever, and surrounded by regret and pain, in agony, Guts wishes to return to nothingness.
Descending into the Astral Realm, a presence that looks a lot like Flora appears to Guts and reveals to Guts that he was never meant to be alive in the first place, but he still lived. Born from a corpse, from a tree of death, he's existed in the interstice of the world of the dead and the world of the living since birth.
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Guts exists outside of causality and fate, and thus, he can affect the story in a way no one else can. This presence also tells Guts that, "Your being and his are alike. Creatures of the interstice."
But What Does This Actually Mean?
Causality never planned for someone like Guts, and while Griffith appears to be the chosen one, Guts is the one who was never meant to exist. While the reader has always known Guts is the Struggler, the one who can do anything, Guts may finally understand. This actualization is what he needed to actually confront Griffith and change the story.
In Chapter 237, Skull Knight tells Guts and Schierke, "No one in the mortal realm can threaten [Griffith]. It would be akin to someone in a story challenging the one who wrote it. It cannot be done. To stand and confront the hawk...one must also exist outside the story." Guts can stop Griffith's chosen destiny by being the one that is outside of the story.
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Some critics of these revelations may say it's deus ex machina, but I think that's the wrong way to think about it. Readers have always known Guts is special, existing outside of reason in this world. This chapter wasn't meant to be new information for us - it's for him.
Even the idea of deus ex machina comes from older plays where a god character literally descended from a crane and solved the central conflict of the play. That's not what this is.
Instead, this revelation for Guts is like telling an actor that they're in a play - instead of acting in the role he was given, he can choose to tell the story how he wants to tell it. Guts is outside the reason of his world, so he should make the story he wants a reality instead of letting Griffith and the God Hand be the director.
Is Berserk Under Kouji Mori Something To Care About
There's a lot of discourse about what the right or wrong way to honor Miura's legacy is, about whether they should or shouldn't continue the series, but everyone is probably grateful they're not making the decisions.
20 chapters later, one of the newer discussions emerging is how well Kouji Mori has carried Miura's torch. Yes, Studio Gaga is unable to capture the same visual dance between intensity and softness Miura made look effortless, but in my opinion, that's okay. One of Guts' biggest revelations in the series was, "I guess even if you force back what was lost...it still won't be the way it was."
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You don't have to read the new chapters. Every reader has their personal relationship with the story and their beliefs about authorship - it's just important to be positive. People not reading the new chapters shouldn't scold readers, and the readers shouldn't be upset with people not reading.
Why I Care
I'm a reader because I love Miura's story, I love these characters, and I think it's one of the greatest pieces of art, ever. I started reading in 2017 - thankfully missing the never-ending boat arc - and I can say I'm more excited than ever for what's to come. Still, I can't say this excitement isn't punctuated by deep sadness.
In Chapter 2, Guts remarks to an old man about his son's death, saying that "No matter what happened, he died doing what he wanted, right? I think he was fortunate. Of course, one day your life has to end, and it's better to die in the glory of a battle." Guts may have been reflecting Miura's philosophy, but this could also be pure speculation, or Miura's perspective could have changed after 30 years.
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It's impossible to know, but I do know that Mori feels like he's putting some of what Miura cared so deeply about on the page. Real progress is happening in this story, with two more chapters coming out soon. I care about the future of Berserk, and hope you might too.