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Berserk Vol. 13

Creators: Miura Kentaro
Fans have waited for three years, almost to the week, since Dark Horse unleashed Miura's Berserk to English reading audiences. Back when Berserk was initially released the anime from OLM/VAP had just wrapped up its initial run from MediaBlasters. As far as anime titles go, this series had to be one of the more acclaimed titles among fandom at the time. In terms of quality, all parts of Miura's story from his characters and to the setting and action worked well together, orchestrating a marvelous performance that was not only grand in scale but also in execution. This was possibly the last true epic in anime. The anime was supported by a story with characters that seemed bigger than life from the very start of the series. And when the series ended fans hit the ceiling in rage over what had to be the biggest cliffhanger in recent memory.

Their only hope... The long-awaited manga series from Dark Horse. The manga through twelve volumes has already unveiled much more of the world of Berserk than anime fans could have imagined. Readers got to see much more detail behind the history of the series lead and they also experienced Guts' time away from the Band of the Hawk. And long before that they got introduced to this manly manga's token mascot Puck. By the end of this latest volume everything; every panel and every scene is new!

The wait for volume thirteen was morbidly terrifying on its own. But to read this volume with its demon laden landscapes and its prolonged poignant rape scene one could only feel this is just the beginning of something much more disturbing than just the crossroads between two allies with ambition. This is now a declaration of war! And it is fought on by those who survived this manga. Readers and characters have to continue this series. Too much has been lost not to ? from Miura's awkward character designs early to the tragic loss of Pippin and the insane MSRP.

So harden up your bodies and hearts, Berserk is only about to get increasingly better... I mean worse. What you have been waiting for is here and judging from the last few chapters of this volume alone it is going to be well worth the wait.
--Eduardo M. Chavez