Kentaro Miura
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese manga artist
best known for his popular dark fantasy
manga
, Berserk
.
, Chiba Prefecture
, Japan, in 1966. He is left-handed. In 1976, at the early age of 10, Miura made his first manga, entitled Miuranger, that was published for his classmates in a school publication; the manga ended up spanning 40 volumes. In 1977, Miura created his second manga called Ken e no michi (剣への道 The Way to the Sword), using Indian ink for the first time. When he was in middle school
in 1979, Miura's drawing techniques improved greatly as he started using professional drawing techniques. His first dōjinshi
was published, with the help of friends, in a magazine in 1982.
That same year, in 1982, Miura enrolled in an artistic curriculum in high school
, where he and his classmates started publishing their works in school booklets, as well as having his first dōjinshi published in a fan-produced magazine. In 1985, Miura applied for the entrance examination
of an art college in Nihon University
. He submitted Futanabi for examination and was granted admission. This project was later nominated Best New Author work in Weekly Shōnen Magazine
. Another Miura manga Noa was published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine the very same year. Due to a disagreement with one of the editors, the manga was stalled and eventually dropped altogether. This is approximately where Miura's career hit a slump.
In 1988, Miura bounced back with a 48-page manga known as Berserk Prototype, as an introduction to the current Berserk
fantasy world. It went on to win Miura a prize from the Comi Manga School. In 1989, after receiving a doctorate degree, Kentarou started a project titled based on a script by Buronson, writer of Hokuto no Ken
. It was published in the monthly Japanese Animal House magazine in issues 5 and 7 of that year.
In 1990, a sequel is made to Ourou entitled Ourou Den (王狼伝 ōrō den, The Legend of the Wolf King) that was published as a prequel to the original in Young Animal
magazine. In the same year, the 10th issue of Animal House witnesses the first volume of the solo project Berserk was released with a relatively limited success. Miura again collaborated with Buronson on manga titled Japan
, that was published in Young Animal House from the 1st issue to the 8th of 1992, and was later released as a stand-alone tankōbon
. Miura's fame grew after Berserk was serialized in Young Animal in 1992 with the release of "The Golden Age" story arc
and the huge success of his masterpiece made of him one of the most prominent contemporary manga artists. At this time Miura dedicates himself solely to be working on Berserk. He has indicated, however, that he intends to publish more manga in the future.
In 1997, Miura supervised the production of 25 anime episodes of Berserk that aired in the same year on NTV
. Various art books and supplemental materials by Miura based on Berserk are also released. In 1999, Miura made minor contributions to the Dreamcast video game Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
. 2004 saw the release of yet another video game adaptation entitled Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War.
Since that time, the Berserk manga has spanned 35 tankōbon with no end in sight. The series has also spawned a whole host of merchandise, both official and fan-made, ranging from statues, action figure
s to key rings, video games, and a trading card game. In 2002, Kentarou Miura received the second place in the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize of Excellence for Berserk.
Miura provided the design for the Vocaloid
Kamui Gakupo, whose voice is taken from the Japanese singer and actor, Gackt
.
by Kaoru Kurimoto was his main inspiration. The manga artist Go Nagai
was likewise a key element in developing Miura's style.
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
best known for his popular dark fantasy
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, Berserk
Berserk (manga)
is a manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired world, the story centers around the characters of Guts, an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the...
.
Life and notable works
Kentarou Miura was born in Chiba CityChiba, Chiba
is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 km east of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. Its population as of 2008 is approximately 960,000....
, Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, Japan, in 1966. He is left-handed. In 1976, at the early age of 10, Miura made his first manga, entitled Miuranger, that was published for his classmates in a school publication; the manga ended up spanning 40 volumes. In 1977, Miura created his second manga called Ken e no michi (剣への道 The Way to the Sword), using Indian ink for the first time. When he was in middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
in 1979, Miura's drawing techniques improved greatly as he started using professional drawing techniques. His first dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
was published, with the help of friends, in a magazine in 1982.
That same year, in 1982, Miura enrolled in an artistic curriculum in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, where he and his classmates started publishing their works in school booklets, as well as having his first dōjinshi published in a fan-produced magazine. In 1985, Miura applied for the entrance examination
Entrance examination
An entrance examination is an examination that many educational institutions use to select students for admission. These exams may be administered at any level of education, from primary to higher education, although they are more common at higher levels....
of an art college in Nihon University
Nihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
. He submitted Futanabi for examination and was granted admission. This project was later nominated Best New Author work in Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Weekly Shonen Magazine
, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...
. Another Miura manga Noa was published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine the very same year. Due to a disagreement with one of the editors, the manga was stalled and eventually dropped altogether. This is approximately where Miura's career hit a slump.
In 1988, Miura bounced back with a 48-page manga known as Berserk Prototype, as an introduction to the current Berserk
Berserk (manga)
is a manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired world, the story centers around the characters of Guts, an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the...
fantasy world. It went on to win Miura a prize from the Comi Manga School. In 1989, after receiving a doctorate degree, Kentarou started a project titled based on a script by Buronson, writer of Hokuto no Ken
Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...
. It was published in the monthly Japanese Animal House magazine in issues 5 and 7 of that year.
In 1990, a sequel is made to Ourou entitled Ourou Den (王狼伝 ōrō den, The Legend of the Wolf King) that was published as a prequel to the original in Young Animal
Young Animal
is a magazine in Japan that features seinen manga and scantily clad women. It is published by Hakusensha and issued on the second and fourth Friday of each month in saddle-stapled B5 format, selling for 310 yen...
magazine. In the same year, the 10th issue of Animal House witnesses the first volume of the solo project Berserk was released with a relatively limited success. Miura again collaborated with Buronson on manga titled Japan
Japan (Buronson manga)
is a manga written by Buronson and illustrated by Kentarou Miura.-Plot:A yakuza, in love with a TV reporter, comes to Barcelona, Spain, where she's making a reportage on what's the foreigners' idea of the Japanese people, and how Japanese people see themselves; during her speech, she makes a...
, that was published in Young Animal House from the 1st issue to the 8th of 1992, and was later released as a stand-alone tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
. Miura's fame grew after Berserk was serialized in Young Animal in 1992 with the release of "The Golden Age" story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
and the huge success of his masterpiece made of him one of the most prominent contemporary manga artists. At this time Miura dedicates himself solely to be working on Berserk. He has indicated, however, that he intends to publish more manga in the future.
In 1997, Miura supervised the production of 25 anime episodes of Berserk that aired in the same year on NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
. Various art books and supplemental materials by Miura based on Berserk are also released. In 1999, Miura made minor contributions to the Dreamcast video game Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage, released in Japan as , is a hack & slash action video game for the Dreamcast based on the popular Berserk manga by Kentarō Miura. It takes place anywhere between volumes 22 and volume 23 of the Berserk manga; right after Guts and Puck depart for Elfhelm with Casca,...
. 2004 saw the release of yet another video game adaptation entitled Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War.
Since that time, the Berserk manga has spanned 35 tankōbon with no end in sight. The series has also spawned a whole host of merchandise, both official and fan-made, ranging from statues, action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s to key rings, video games, and a trading card game. In 2002, Kentarou Miura received the second place in the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize of Excellence for Berserk.
Miura provided the design for the Vocaloid
Vocaloid
is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
Kamui Gakupo, whose voice is taken from the Japanese singer and actor, Gackt
Gackt
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....
.
Influences
Kentarou Miura's influence comes from works in different media. The novel fantasy series Guin SagaGuin Saga
is the title of a best-selling heroic fantasy novel series by the Japanese author Kaoru Kurimoto, in continuous publication since 1979. A record 100 volumes were originally planned, but the final total stands at 130 volumes, the last four published posthumously, with 21 side-story novels...
by Kaoru Kurimoto was his main inspiration. The manga artist Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
was likewise a key element in developing Miura's style.
Works
- Miuranger (1976)
- Ken e no Michi (1977)
- Futanabi (1985)
- Noa (1985)
- Berserk Prototype (1988)
- King of Wolves (1989)
- BerserkBerserk (manga)is a manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired world, the story centers around the characters of Guts, an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the...
(1990–present) - Ourou Den (1990)
- JapanJapan (Buronson manga)is a manga written by Buronson and illustrated by Kentarou Miura.-Plot:A yakuza, in love with a TV reporter, comes to Barcelona, Spain, where she's making a reportage on what's the foreigners' idea of the Japanese people, and how Japanese people see themselves; during her speech, she makes a...
(1992)