Nope, slownes and hiatus are tow different things.
Miura relased:
2008: 9 Episode [Year of the start of the "Hiatus Hell"]
2009: 8 Episodes
2010: 9 Episodes
2011: 7 Episodes
2012: 7 Episodes
2013: 1 Episodes [longest hiatus, in this period he also drew Gigantomachia]
2014: 4 Episodes
2015: 6 Episodes
2016: 4 Episode
On the other hand, Toghasi started a 2 year hiatus in 2012, followed by 9 Chapters in 2014, followed by another 2 years hiatus, followed by 11 Chapters in 2016 , followed by the current hiatus
Nope, slownes and hiatus are tow different things.
Miura relased:
2008: 9 Episode [Year of the start of the "Hiatus Hell"]
2009: 8 Episodes
2010: 9 Episodes
2011: 7 Episodes
2012: 7 Episodes
2013: 1 Episodes [longest hiatus, in this period he also drew Gigantomachia]
2014: 4 Episodes
2015: 6 Episodes
2016: 4 Episode
On the other hand, Toghasi started a 2 year hiatus in 2012, followed by 9 Chapters in 2014, followed by another 2 years hiatus, followed by 11 Chapters in 2016 , followed by the current hiatus
No updates, full stop for 2 yrs... ok, togashi wins this one.
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Irrelavant but... Kinda sad how so many shit on miura's hiatuses because they legit think he plays Idolmaster in the time he could be working on the manga
He's probably having a life in between breaks good for him. Imagine how brutal it is for a weekly manga artists to meet deadlines and never have time to travel or take a break for years on end.
Although if i had 1 complaint it's I wish Berserk were 45 pages per chapter ! That would certainly make the breaks less painful cause we would get far more story per year.
He's probably having a life in between breaks good for him. Imagine how brutal it is for a weekly manga artists to meet deadlines and never have time to travel or take a break for years on end.
Although if i had 1 complaint it's I wish Berserk were 45 pages per chapter ! That would certainly make the breaks less painful cause we would get far more story per year.
Ya know, I must say, there was a point where i kinda lost the passion for Berserk. It was always nice, but the constant hiatusses always threw my right out of the manga and i didnt have the passion to reread it more than once.
But right now, it is back. The latest chapters have been so great and they feel like they are going somewhere.
I mean, if you read the chapters right after each other, the pacing with the boatride and the seagod arc are absolutely fine and legit, but having them over several years without them being really important to the overall plot (the pirates come to mind) was tiresome.
But now, we are basically at the point where we all wanted to get. At casca's revive in the elf kingdom.
I am really excited about that.
And i wish for the best that Miura will actually be able to finish Berserk.
This felt out of reach at some point, at least for me, but right now i believe he can actually do it.
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Also, about togashi and miura: It is really a 'pick your poison' game between those two lol.
I mean, ya, on a whole, Miura does deliver more chapters. However, i felt less annoyed with togashi, because when he serializes you get 10 or even 20 chapters in a quick progression (weekly). That is enough to get into the serialization phase. Also , the chapters progress the plot rather fast, so often he can wrap up one event or even arc in a serialization phase.
With Berserk, it's worse for me. When miura delivers, you get like 3 chapters over the course of some months and then he goes back into hiatus again.
That's not enough for me to really get back into the story. I read them, i know what is happening and why, sure, but Miura even still draws chapters which do nothing but set the mood with almost no real plot progression.
It is good for berserk as a peace of art on its own, and berserk needs that.
But with HxH, the arrival on elf island and meeting the elfking would probably have taken exactly one chapters with loads of text.
You would not have got the awesome drawings of all the different creatures and the forest (you'd be lucky if it is no scriblle), but you would have got somewhere really quickly.
I am happy that Miura does not do that because it would be bad for berserk. It is much better the way he handles it because it is better when you read the tankubon. But if you just read the chapter when they come out, it can be hella frustrating, exspecially when it is a purely transitional chapter.
I really envy generations who can read berserk in one go.
Maybe it's because I haven't been there for the boat hiatus, but by now, I've come to terms with the fact that Berserk will take years to finish and it feels kind of reassuring. It is not unlike a journey, one that will be slowly cadenced by every release as the stops in Guts' struggle. The future generations will be able to experience Berserk all at once and it's a good thing, but hopefully so will we. Unlike those future generations, however, we are being witnesses of a masterpiece in the making, and for me, that is something worthy of being celebrated.
Or at the very least, something to console ourselves with when the pace becomes unbearably slow.
I never had that feeling with manga.
I understand it with games, when you see a game evolve from early betas to a full fledged thing, possibly with all kind of goodies for early players.
There is an aspect of it in manga too: Having a community to discuss plottwists together and theorize. I understand that, but I am not sure whether this makes it all worth it.
It would be if it as like with books: Releasing one arc on a whole once every few years and let people be talking for the time inbetween.
I agree in the regard that berserk should feel like a greek hero myth: A journey from the beginning to the end with a simple premise but a rich experience.
Berserk reads more like a ancient hero story, like beowulf or the arthus myth than a normal manga with all its iconography.
I just feel like that would not be lost when it is read on a whole.
But maybe you are right. There is certainly an element of attachment you feel if you see the story of guts unfolding over such a long time while still not being over.
My view is quite mixed, on the one hand it some how adds to the experience knowing others are progressing along with as the story unfolds currently, even if you never talk to them.
On the other... if it was possible, I'd bum rush all of berserk and leave it at that with an occasional re-read when the hunger for a good story demands it
I agree in the regard that berserk should feel like a greek hero myth: A journey from the beginning to the end with a simple premise but a rich experience.
Berserk reads more like a ancient hero story, like beowulf or the arthus myth than a normal manga with all its iconography.
I just feel like that would not be lost when it is read on a whole.
I agree on that, and also that it's not as easy to discuss every release of Berserk at length because of the scarcity of new developments, especially when the chapters feel pointless like those with the pirates.
But maybe you are right. There is certainly an element of attachment you feel if you see the story of guts unfolding over such a long time while still not being over.
I think that's the point. Willing or no, we'll have to be attached to the characters and their story for a very long time to be able to experience it and see it conclude, while those reading it as a whole will only have to turn a page. When Berserk will finally reach its conclusion, the current readers who will have stuck with it till the end will look back years to remember the first time they read the beginning of the journey as well as every step on the way, and that's something only those readers will have.
Do you think you would have felt the same excitement about the latest chapter if you hadn't read it after all the time you have waited for it? That's surely a subjective feeling which depends on the individual and their investment in the story, but for me who has only started it a few years ago, I can say I felt a shiver when the Elf Queen said Casca could be cured; it almost didn't feel real that we had made it to his point after all this time. I have to wonder whether I would have felt the same if I had picked it up yesterday and could see what's next tomorrow, but I don't think I would. And part of me is glad for it.
My view is quite mixed, on the one hand it some how adds to the experience knowing others are progressing along with as the story unfolds currently, even if you never talk to them.
On the other... if it was possible, I'd bum rush all of berserk and leave it at that with an occasional re-read when the hunger for a good story demands it
I know for sure I wouldn't rush it since I didn't even when I had all the current chapters at my reading disposal, but I know I'm very likely an exception about that.
Compared to game communities on the indie spectrum, i feel frustrated with waiting for manga because as a fan, there is nowhere to support it.
Creating manga or books is a very lonely thing. It's you and your editor, and if things are bad you have a bad relationship to him and he plays against you.
Noone except Miura as any influence over what happens with berserk. Whether it finishes or not and when is completely in his power and the power of his mood and motivation.
Now, i believe in a story being independend from its creator. And if Miura ever completely loses passion for it, this amazing story which we all feel is greater than mere fantasy will not get the end it deserves and will be left hanging forever. And that is a scary thought to me.
Because thus is usually not the kind of situation where someone else takes over and works with storyboards from the original creator. With manga, it is usually a do or die situation. There might be some subpar fanfictions which try to end the story, but that's about it.
So yes, if i had any influence over whether to read a manga in one go or suffer the chance of leaving it hanging, i will definitely take the whole thing.
I have been let down by too many TV series, manga or comics.
I can feel how hard it must be to sustain passion and quality of a work for so many years on such a high level. It must be very tiresome, and i am glad miura takes small adventures like gigaktomania (or however it is spelled lol^^) to distract himself and not let it tire him out completely.
Imagine if you knew how a story would unfolg for roughly 20 years, but needed those to spell it all out. Every little detail, a lot of bumpbs in the road.
You might stop liking some premises you had passion for in your youth, or even some characters. I believe that this is one reason for Miura's sudden decision to add more characters like Schierke or Isidoro to the story. I don't think that those were planned initially.
Elf Island is a huge milestone. For fans and probably for Miura too. I am an optimist. I firmly hope Miura can do it. But i do believe that this would be hard for anyone.
I think that's the point. Willing or no, we'll have to be attached to the characters and their story for a very long time to be able to experience it and see it conclude, while those reading it as a whole will only have to turn a page. When Berserk will finally reach its conclusion, the current readers who will have stuck with it till the end will look back years to remember the first time they read the beginning of the journey as well as every step on the way, and that's something only those readers will have.
Do you think you would have felt the same excitement about the latest chapter if you hadn't read it after all the time you have waited for it? That's surely a subjective feeling which depends on the individual and their investment in the story, but for me who has only started it a few years ago, I can say I felt a shiver when the Elf Queen said Casca could be cured; it almost didn't feel real that we had made it to his point after all this time. I have to wonder whether I would have felt the same if I had picked it up yesterday and could see what's next tomorrow, but I don't think I would. And part of me is glad for it.
Like you, I am not a binge reader. I feel that makes my experience worse, exspecially with works like berserk. I think it took me even 2 or 3 month when i contiously read until the eclipse. Must say tho that i didnt really read this chapter with the same excitement you did, i was tabbing arround between dota 2 and the mangareader because i was in a game when i noticed it came out.
I only realized how huge that chapters was later on.
When I reread the whole eclipse lately i felt the shiver tho. Even after all that years what happens in the eclipse is a pure AAA play. The dialogue, the drawing and the plot in general is just completely perfect.
Must say i never felt the 'oh my god what happens next' feeling with berserk. By now, it is more like a dream unfolding slowly with all the things happening feeling almost obvious after they happened. I don't follow Berserk like i do with HxH, i wont constantly refresh my browser on days on which i know it will come out and theorize too much. I just enjoy the ride once it is there.