Berserk, the manga that inspired Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series, will come to an end later this year after a three-decade run.
According to the series' US publisher Dark Horse (via Polygon), the 41st and final volume of Berserk will arrive in November, having launched in Japan last year. The brutal, dark medieval fantasy manga began in 1988 and ran for more than 30 years until the death of creator Kentaro Miura last year.
Berserk's influence across those three decades has been significant. The series has been adapted for anime a number of times, and its setting and themes have inspired an array of other forms of entertainment. Arguably most significant, however, is the series' impact on Hayao Miyazaki's Soulsborne series, which occupies a similar dark fantasy setting.
References to the manga have been apparent since as far back as Demon's Souls, and appear throughout the Dark Souls trilogy. While Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Bloodborne both veer a little from the medieval setting central to the series, Elden Ring is filled with nods to the series throughout its world, with easter eggs popping up before the game was even out in the form of protagonist Guts' iconic greatsword.
Berserk volume 41 will be available in comics shops from November 9, 2022, and in bookstores from November 22. Even as the series draws to an end, however, its influence on video games is unlikely to fade anytime soon - FromSoftware has already suggested that Elden Ring will be the start of a franchise "beyond the game itself," which could mean echoes of Miura's world live on for a long time yet.
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