Kentaro Miura Wanted to Cancel Berserk’s Most Violent Arc That Defined the Story

Imagine Berserk without the Eclipse. It sounds almost impossible today, considering the infamous event is widely regarded as the defining moment of late Kentaro Miura’s masterpiece. The Eclipse transformed Berserk from a dark fantasy adventure into one of manga’s most devastating explorations of trauma, fate, and human suffering.

Yet a newly highlighted revelation from a Sabukaru interview with the late Miura’s former editor and current copyright manager, Akira Shimada, suggests the creator himself may have struggled deeply with the storyline. According to Shimada, Miura once asked to cancel Griffith’s descent during the Eclipse after it had already been published, revealing just how difficult the arc was for him to create (via Sabukaru).

Miura Questioned if the Eclipse Was Too Cruel to Publish

Griffith’s severely mutilated body hanging in Berserk Chapter 68. [Credit: Hakusensha]

The revelation comes from Shimada’s discussion of Miura’s creative process. While he described Miura as someone who rarely struggled with the act of drawing or storyboarding, he singled out the Eclipse as an unusual exception. Shimada recalled that Miura once asked to cancel the story surrounding Griffith’s descent into the ethereal world during the Eclipse after publication, leading him to believe the creator had genuinely wrestled with the material.

The Eclipse was never shocking simply because of its violence. The horror came from what it did to characters readers had spent years growing alongside during the Golden Age Arc. The sequence begins with Griffith activating the Crimson Beherit and accepting the God Hand’s offer.

In an instant, the Band of the Hawk, his loyal companions who fought, bled, and sacrificed everything for him, are offered up as sacrifices. What follows is one of manga’s most devastating betrayals and one of the coldest manga panels ever. Apostles descend upon the Hawks, devouring countless comrades while Guts desperately fights through impossible odds to reach Griffith.

However, this was an unusual case, but Miura-san once asked to cancel the story about Griffith’s descent into the ethereal world during the eclipse, after it got published in the magazine. It leads me to believe Miura-san really struggled to figure this story out.

Viewed through that lens, Shimada’s revelation feels less surprising. The Eclipse was not merely another violent manga storyline. It was an emotional breaking point that tested both its audience and its creator. The emotional weight of those scenes far outweighs their gore. Readers are forced to watch friendships, dreams, and years of shared history erased in a single night. Griffith’s betrayal is horrifying because it destroys the very foundation of the story.

How Griffith’s Descent in Eclipse Changed Berserk Forever

Ironically, the storyline Miura reportedly struggled with became the event that defined Berserk’s identity. Everything changes once Griffith activates the Crimson Beherit. His transformation into Femto marks the death of the ambitious but flawed leader readers once knew. The destruction of the Band of the Hawk permanently reshapes the narrative, while Guts leaves the Eclipse physically and emotionally scarred, losing both his arm and eye during the catastrophe.

Casca’s mental collapse further underscores the tragedy. The three central figures of the Golden Age emerge from the Eclipse transformed into entirely different people, each carrying wounds that drive the rest of the series. For Guts, the event becomes the source of his relentless pursuit of vengeance and his struggle against fate itself. For Griffith, it marks his ascension into something almost inhuman. For Berserk as a whole, it shifts the story’s focus toward trauma, survival, healing, and the long-term consequences of suffering.

That is what makes Shimada’s revelation so fascinating. The event Miura apparently feared may have crossed a line, ultimately becoming the moment that elevated Berserk into one of manga’s most influential and respected works. It’s a lasting reminder that the story he struggled most to tell became the foundation of his legacy.

Do you think Berserk would have reached legendary status without the Eclipse? Comment below.