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Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's not letting fear get in the way of action. That old (probably misquoted) truism certainly holds true for Guts, the big-sword-wielding, armor-wearing, Dark Souls-inspiring main character of the Berserk manga, but here's the thing: it's also true for his creator. Because as Miura's longtime collaborator Akira Shimada tells it, Kentarou Miura pushed through a massive fear in order to create what's become one of the most well-loved mangas of all time.

In fact, he pushed through it for several years after it began publication. 

For some context here, Shimada was the editor of Mirua's Berserk chapters for years, and currently holds the position of the manga's copyright manager. Recently, Shimada spoke to outlet sabukaru about his friend and former creative partner, whose death in 2021 created a hole that the manga community (and indeed, artistic community in general), will never be able to fill. Partially, at least, because of his boldness.

"I am very pleased with the recognition Berserk has received over the years," Shimada explained, "And I am sure Miura-san would have been as pleased, as well. I don’t say this out of the blue, because around midway through the production of Berserk, Miura-san worried about how well people would accept a medieval European style fantasy written by a Japanese person. In order to yield the best result, he devoted all his time and attention into creating the world of Berserk. I remember, after finishing writing the Misty Valley ordeal, Miura-san recollected how it was all okay now. To answer your question, my involvement in this work is something I consider to be a meaningful investment of my time and effort."

In case you haven't read the Berserk manga, the story that Shimada is referring to when he talks about the "Misty Valley ordeal" is part of the Lost Children chapter of the Conviction Arc, a story that lasted from 1997 to 1998. Considering the fact that the Berserk manga first came out vis publisher Young Animal in 1992, that means there were at least 6 years in which Miura wasn't certain audiences would accept his work, but created it anyway.

And the world is better for it.

Want to know when the next chapter of the Kentaro Miura-created fantasy manga will hit stores? Allow Popverse's Berserk expert, Trent Cannon, to tell you