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A review by twilliamson
Berserk Deluxe Volume 4 by Kentaro Miura
5.0
In this volume, which includes books 10-12 of Miura's Berserk series, Miura has Guts set out on the final path toward his transformation from young swordsman to fated demon-killer, and it includes some of the deepest character work to date from the series.
And, boy howdy, does Miura deliver on the ultra violence. What returns in these chapters, though, is Miura's twisted dark fantasy, and the story dives headfirst into surreal, cosmic horror on a scale the series has yet to uncover. Although Berserk is constantly filled with singular characters of intense horror, this is the book, more than any other, that really leans full-tilt into the insanity of Miura's imagination for horror.
But the horror isn't all just blood and guts, even if the blood and guts are masterfully rendered; the horror here is in service to the completion of multiple character arcs, especially Griffith's, so that it serves as the capstone to chapters and chapters of build-up and character development. Miura's economy in storytelling is amazing, because in spite of all the series' reputation for being ultra violent and horrific, Miura's been building up his characters to these specific moments for nearly the entire run of this arc. It's an immensely satisfying payoff, and though this does not take us to the point the series began, it still codifies the stakes of the series and plants its clearest thesis statement yet about the characters and Miura's interpretation of the role of power and relationships in life.
It's a masterpiece.
And, boy howdy, does Miura deliver on the ultra violence. What returns in these chapters, though, is Miura's twisted dark fantasy, and the story dives headfirst into surreal, cosmic horror on a scale the series has yet to uncover. Although Berserk is constantly filled with singular characters of intense horror, this is the book, more than any other, that really leans full-tilt into the insanity of Miura's imagination for horror.
But the horror isn't all just blood and guts, even if the blood and guts are masterfully rendered; the horror here is in service to the completion of multiple character arcs, especially Griffith's, so that it serves as the capstone to chapters and chapters of build-up and character development. Miura's economy in storytelling is amazing, because in spite of all the series' reputation for being ultra violent and horrific, Miura's been building up his characters to these specific moments for nearly the entire run of this arc. It's an immensely satisfying payoff, and though this does not take us to the point the series began, it still codifies the stakes of the series and plants its clearest thesis statement yet about the characters and Miura's interpretation of the role of power and relationships in life.
It's a masterpiece.