Kentarou Miura Memorial Proposal
By Jovan Rizza
Kentarou Miura’s contributions to culture far outreach the tangible products he labored over. Born in July 11, 1966 in the Chiba Chiba prefecture of Japan. Miura knew that he wanted to be a Manga creator from an early age. In 1989 the serialization of his magnum opus began. The world-renowned manga that he would continue for the rest of his life, Berserk. For those within the manga and anime community berserk needs no introduction. The epic Dark fantasy spanning a lifetime as it was produced from 1989 until September of 2021 starring Guts, the hyper masculine protagonist. Often Lauded as the best Manga of all time for its mindboggling art quality, storytelling, and character writing Berserk easily awes all that dive into its world. Kentarou was as known for taking painstakingly long with every panel to make a product that he believed could not be any better for every panel, of every page, of every chapter. The man’s passion, determination, and unyielding commitment to excellence is inspiring and eye opening to the capabilities of what a human being can achieve.
Berserk is a story of struggling, perseverance, revenge, love, and so much more. Guts is the main character as he forges his way though the world with his sword and a few trusted friends. Through the story readers get to bear witness to some of the most phenomenal character development for not only gut but the entire main cast that has ever been put to paper. The journey of the captain of the Hawks raiders Guts, The white hawk Griffith, and Casca is legendary from the medieval battlefields of the Golden Age arc through to the unbelievable fantasy world they find themselves in afterwords.
A key aspect of my design is that it rest atop a hill of swords. The symbolism of this can be sen even by someone completely unfamiliar with Kentarou Miura, It is a grave-site and memorial to those that ave fallen in the pursuit of dreams. Its for people that we call comrades. In the Manga Berserk the hill of swords is a memorial for all of the fallen comrades erected by one of the few survivors who is riven to complete it out of personal necessity. Kentarou Miura is one of few Manga authors who has either died or had their health severely impacted by working in the industry. They are all beloved and produce magnificent art. My hill of swords although primarily for Kentarou is also reflective of the plight of this special band of people that would die for their masterpieces.
Having a hill of swords would of course require a location with a Hill. There is no upper limit on how big the hill should be but a bear minimum size of approximately a football field in surface area and a height difference from bottom to top of 15 meters. Each sword will be made of bronze and the underground portion with be a massive ball of bronze in order to bring the weight of each sword to at least 1000 pounds to prevent theft and there would be approximately 100 swords.
The monument will look like a Bonfire atop a hill of swords. This is symbolic of several scenes in the Berserk Manga/Anime and represents the burning passion of every person’s dream and how when thrown together everyone’s dreams and desires become a roaring fire. Kentarou Miura as someone who has inspired many people to achieving their dreams is a great bonfire much like one of the main characters of Berserk Griffith during the Golden Age Arc.
My drawing of the monument
Translucent, light reflecting material in the shape of flames will be aligned to create the appearance of a bonfire. Flexible clear pillars will be placed between the flames with dark red crystals on them. They will be oriented where they can be swayed by the wind without striking the flames by having guides at the base of the flames. The flames would reach up to 30 feet high. In front of the bonfire would be a plaque Made of and engraved in steel thanking Miura for his lifework. Materials used: Carnelian Stones for the red crystals Clear corundum and quartz crystal for the flames Fire Opal and Amber for gilding the edges of the flames.
6
6
7
7
Outside of berserk Miura also worked on other manga such as Duranki and King of wolves. He also impacted the culture through his work on berserk. Anime and Manga such as Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan, Re:Zero would not exist in the same form or not at all if it was not for Berserk paving the way for them with its innovative content. All of those stories would later go on to dominate the global field and expand the influence of anime in pop culture.
Berserk also is a known heavy inspiration for multiple videogame franchises like Dark Souls which is a fan favorite and has since inspired an entire genre of video-games. Final fantasy 7’s protagonist Cloud Strifes Iconic sword is also ripped straight from berserk. Other games with notable influence taken from berserk include but are not
May we never forget Kentarou Miura
for his boundless contributions to global culture and endless drive towards perfecting his craft. But most importantly for teaching all of us too keep struggling.
Rest in Peace Kentarou Miura