Kentaro Miura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kentaro Miura
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| Native name |
三浦 建太郎
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| Born | July 11, 1966 Chiba, Japan |
| Died | May 6, 2021 (aged 54) Japan |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Genre | Dark fantasy |
| Years active | 1985–2021 |
| Notable works | Berserk |
| Notable awards |
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Kentaro Miura (Japanese: 三浦 建太郎, Hepburn: Miura Kentarō, July 11, 1966 – May 6, 2021) was a famous Japanese artist who drew manga comics. He was most famous for his exciting dark fantasy series called Berserk. He started drawing Berserk in 1989 and continued until he passed away.
By 2023, over 60 million copies of Berserk were sold around the world. This makes it one of the best-selling manga series ever! In 2002, he won a special award called the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for his amazing work on Berserk.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Kentaro Miura was born on July 11, 1966, in Chiba, Japan. When he was just 10 years old, in 1976, he created his first manga. It was called Miuranger and was published for his classmates at school. This series ended up having 40 volumes!
In 1977, Miura drew his second manga, Ken e no Michi (剣への道, "The Way to the Sword"). For this comic, he started using India ink for the first time. By the time he was in middle school in 1979, his drawing skills had become much better. He began using professional drawing techniques.
While in high school in 1982, Miura studied art. He and his friends started publishing their drawings in school booklets. There, he became good friends with another future manga artist, Kouji Mori. They even worked together on a science fiction comic. They sent it to a big magazine, but it wasn't chosen.
When he was 18, Miura briefly worked as an assistant for George Morikawa, a famous manga artist. Morikawa quickly saw how talented Miura was. He told Miura that he couldn't teach him anything new because Miura already knew so much. Even back then, Miura had drawn a dark warrior with a huge sword in his art book. This character looked a lot like the hero of Berserk.
His Manga Career
In 1985, Miura wanted to go to art college at Nihon University. He submitted a short manga project called Futatabi (再び, "Once More"). This helped him get into the college. This project also won him an award from Weekly Shōnen Magazine.
In 1988, Miura drew a first version of Berserk. It was 48 pages long and won second place in a manga competition. The full series of Berserk began in 1989. It quickly became Miura's most famous and successful work. It was published in a magazine called Monthly Animal House. Later, in 1992, the magazine changed its name to Young Animal, and Berserk continued there.
Miura also worked with another writer, Buronson, on other manga like King of Wolves and Japan.
In 1997, Miura helped create an anime TV show based on Berserk. He also helped with the Dreamcast video game Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage in 1999. In 2002, he won the Award for Excellence at the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes for Berserk.
From 2006 onwards, Berserk sometimes took breaks from being published. By 2023, Berserk had 42 collected books in Japan. Over 60 million copies were sold worldwide, including digital versions. The series also led to many cool items like statues, action figures, video games, and a trading card game.
Miura also released other short manga stories. In 2013, he created Giganto Maxia. In 2019, his studio, Studio Gaga, produced Duranki.
What Inspired Him
Miura said that the manga that influenced him the most was Fist of the North Star. He also mentioned being inspired by other works. These included Violence Jack, the fantasy novel series Guin Saga, and movies by Paul Verhoeven. The Hellraiser movies also gave him ideas.
He also found inspiration in shōjo manga (girls' comics) and Disney films. Famous artists like Hieronymous Bosch, M. C. Escher, Gustave Doré, and Pieter Bruegel also influenced his art style.
His Passing
On May 6, 2021, Kentaro Miura passed away at age 54. The cause was a sudden heart problem called acute aortic dissection. His death was announced to the public on May 20, 2021. His family held a private ceremony.
Many other manga artists and people who worked on the Berserk anime shared their sadness. This included his high school friend Kouji Mori and his former boss George Morikawa. The musicians and voice actors from the Berserk anime also paid tribute to him.
His Legacy
Berserk became one of the best-selling manga series ever. It had a huge impact on manga, games, movies, and anime. Many people say that the main character, Guts, and his giant sword inspired other characters. These include Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII and Dante from the Devil May Cry games.
The dark and exciting world of Berserk also inspired the monsters and settings in the Dark Souls video game series. Game creators like Hideaki Itsuno and Hiroyuki Kobayashi are big fans of Berserk. The game Dragon's Dogma even has armor based on characters from Berserk.
Many authors have said that Miura and Berserk influenced their own work. These include the authors of Blue Exorcist, Black Butler, Black Clover, and Attack on Titan. The author of Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama, called Berserk "tremendous, just magnificent."
In September 2021, a special Young Animal magazine was released to honor Miura. It included a new chapter of Berserk that he had worked on. It also had a special booklet with messages to Miura and a poster of famous scenes. His long-time friend Kouji Mori also published a short story about their friendship.
On June 7, 2022, it was announced that Berserk would continue being published. Kouji Mori, Miura's friend, will supervise the series. He will use the plans and ideas that Miura had shared with him. Mori promised to only write what Miura had told him. The new chapters are credited as "original work by Kentaro Miura, art by Studio Gaga, supervised by Kouji Mori."
His Works
- Futatabi (再び, "Once More") (1985) — A short story.
- NOA (1985) — A short story.
- Berserk: The Prototype (ベルセルク, Beruseruku) (1988) — The first version of Berserk.
- King of Wolves (王狼, Ōrō) (1989) — Written by Buronson, drawn by Miura.
- Berserk (ベルセルク, Beruseruku) (1989–2021) — His most famous series.
- Ōrō Den (王狼伝) (1990) — A sequel to King of Wolves.
- Japan (ジャパン) (1992) — Written by Buronson, drawn by Miura.
- Giganto Maxia (ギガントマキア, Gigantomakia) (2013–2014) — A short series.
- Duranki (ドゥルアンキ) (2019–2020) — A short series from his studio.
Images for kids
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A robot for kids.
See also
In Spanish: Kentaro Miura para niños
