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If you are a dark fantasy fan, you would be no stranger toBerserk, Kentaro Miura’s lifetime work. The manga is a pioneer in its genre and fans hold it up to a pedestal. Miura conceivedBerserkwhen he was in college. As usual, the creation was influenced by a number of elements, and Miura’s favorite creator was one of them.
You might know Sam Raimi fromEvil Deadand theSpider Mantrilogy, but did you know his creations inspired Miura in his journey as a mangaka? Infact, the mangaka was shocked once he realized the similarities between Evil Dead and Berserk. Was it a conscious decision? Or did Miura get a subconscious inspiration?
Kentaro Miura was Scared of a Copyright Strike onBerserk
Berserkis a beautiful story of a dark and gory era and the pain of its protagonist. It is such a brilliant manga thatKentaro Miurais often considered a legend for his story’s progression. Thus, if anyone suggested Berserk was in any way copied from or inspired by another work, fans would probably become livid.
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Yet, in anold interview, Miura himself admitted that aftersubmitting his draft for Berserk, he realized that the manga is too similar to another work for his comfort.
Back then [the late 1980s] I was still in college, it was the day I finished the first episode of ‘Berserk,’ and there was ‘Evil Dead II’ playing at theaters. So after I mailed it to the publisher, I went to see it. It was so similar to ‘Berserk,’ I was really surprised by myself.
Evil Deadis a horror comedy franchise created by Sam Raimi. Miura was a huge Raimi fanatic and in the firstEvil Deadmovie (1981) the protagonist, Ash, was introduced. It is this character who overlaps with Guts and some of his major characteristics.
The Parallels Between Ash and Berserk’s Guts
The plot ofEvil DeadandBerserkare fundamentally different. However, the protagonists themselves are not so far apart from each other. Ash has become a cultural icon just like Guts. Both characters are trapped in a cycle of being hounded and tortured by demons. Miura and Raimi both have shown extremely sadist tendencies during thehandling of their protagonists.
Both Ash and Guts have missing limbs that have been replaced with mechanical prosthetics. Guts lost his left arm while trying to save Casca. Ash loses his right hand after it is possessed by a Deadite, eventually forcing him to cut it off himself.
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As a replacement for his original arm, Ash attached a chainsaw to his arm. Guts on the other hand also has a weaponized limb and was introduced with a mechanical arm, which also acts as a canon.
The similarities peaked duringArmy of Darknesswhen Ash was sent back to the Middle Ages and fought demons in castles and forests, much like Guts. Later on, Ash also carries around a slab of iron shaped like a sword which looks very similar toGuts’ special sword.
While there is no guarantee regarding who inspired what, it is always fascinating to find such influences between media originating during the same timeline. Rest assured, Kentaro Miura was never dragged to court for copyright infringement.
You can readBerserkon Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll. You can streamEvil Deadon Max.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1558
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
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