News

Every story or narrative needs inspiration that could help its creators in forming a base for the story. Something similar happened with one of the biggest dark fantasy mangas, Berserk. While Berserk offers a plot that was never seen before, there were some things within the series that Kentaro Miura borrowed from other popular manga series.

Mangaka Kentaro Miura’s Berserk | Studio Gaga

In an interview once, Miura confessed that he had used three legendary manga stories for Berserk’s reference, and all three of these have played a different role in designing one of the best dark fantasy narratives of all time. These were some of his favorite works before he entered the industry.

These references and inspirations can be deemed Miura’s way of honoring the works that persuaded him to become a mangaka, and those who have read them can clearly spot the influence in the story.

Spinning off from the “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” universe, the character of Kishibe Rohan rests as the one standout from the Joestar family to see moderate success in stand alone series,. Combine this with the success of the long running Jojo’s anime series, also directed by Toshiyuki Kato, Rohan’s leap to his own series is no surprise. However “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan” focus on the titular character seems secondary, with the 4 episodes mini series offering tales within the “Jojo-verse” with Rohan being the binding factor.

The four different tales that were chosen from the manga series offer a complimentary balance to the work of mangaka Hirohiki Araki, with horror, fantasy, mystery and homo-eroticism to varying degrees. In addition, each tale allows an exploration of recurring themes without being tied to ‘stands’ that define the flow of action in the majority of Araki’s world. As a result, “Thus Spoke...