First time I saw Berserk, I was maybe my 3rd or 4th years in the USA. That would be around 2003-2004. Hmm, so even before I joined the forum. I borrowed some dvds from a friend which including Naruto (Chunin exam). Berserk was pretty dark for a middle schooler then. And since then it had been part of my top 5 favorite manga that I enjoy. To be honest, the news of the death which I learn late yesterday didn't quite hit me. I guess all the hiatus had draw my attention from the series, to the point I kinda okay with never finishing the story. I hope though that he found some leisure time, and personal time with his love ones in the last few years. I am at the age where people who define a lot of my childhood are starting to drop one by one. Jin Yong, Stan Lee, etc. I guess some of you probably feeling the level of anguish that I had feel when Fujiko F. Fujio die in 1996, or even when Anthony Bourdain die. It like saying good bye to an old friend. A friend you never really meet but you had let them in to your heart and mind, and influence so much of your thoughts and emotions. Of course, of his writing, most people probably mostly mention Griffith. But I always impress at how he wrote Farnese. Characters like that is very hard to write, the same difficulty of saying writing Sansa for George RR Martin. She never really my favorite, but I always thought she is one of the more interesting fictitious female character that I have the pleasure of reading. Serpico is my favorite though. I know a lot of folks prefer the Golden Age arc over all the stuffs that post Golden Age. But for me, I am glad that Guts isn't so lonely anymore. That he found new travel companions. I don't know why I talk about him as if he is real to me. I have experience the sort of loneliness that he felt. I have experienced the sort of childhood trauma that he had go through. Especially when I read Berserk I was at a point in my life that I was isolated due to poverty, cultural barrier, language barrier, and my own past. And even when things turn out for the better for Guts meeting the Band of the Hawk, when he had hope again for a normal life. The story just completely crush it. So it was nice to see him found companions in later arcs. All I can think about right now, was how heavy a second is. When I learned he passed away, each seconds just tick by. And there was a second between life and death. So small of a unit, but as heavy as a planet to move back. I hope the author live a life without regrets. That he was able to do most of what he wanted to do. That he was able to spent time with his love ones and that even though it was a sudden medical complication, that they had time to say goodbye somehow. And that his love ones and friends will find peace eventually. RIP Miura sensei. Good bye Guts and the rest. Let his life and work be the inspiration for many many great mangaka to come.
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