Highlights
- Kouji Mori announced that the iconic Berserk manga will resume in 2026, ending months of uncertainty.
- The chapters follow story outlines left by Kentaro Miura, with Studio Gaga and Mori overseeing the continuation of Guts’ journey.
- With over 70M copies sold, Berserk’s 2026 return places intense scrutiny on how the dark fantasy epic preserves Miura’s artistic and narrative legacy.
The Berserk manga will return sometime in 2026, according to a public confirmation by writer Kouji Mori. The X (formerly Twitter) post, from Jan 2, 2026, notes that work on the series is continuing, though without specifying an exact serialization schedule.
Mori wrote, “I will be putting all my effort into supervising my own serialization, Berserk (machine translated from Japanese),” ending months of uncertainty around the future of one of Japan’s most influential manga franchises. As of September 2025, Berserk manga has 383 chapters, with the latest continuing Guts’ journey in the Eastern Empire, Kushan, after he was exiled.
Berserk, the famous Seinen series created by Kentaro Miura, started its serialization in 1989. However, after 42 volumes, the fate of the Berserk franchise spanning manga, anime adaptation, and movies, became uncertain in 2021, when Miura passed away.
In 2022, after the death of Miura, the manga resumed under Miura’s assistance, Mori’s supervision. Mori stated at the time that he was relying on conversations and story outlines that Miura had shared with him over decades of friendship. Back in 2021, Miura last worked on chapter 364, “Teardrop of the Morning Dew,” after which Mori and Studio Gaga continued the saga.
Berserk's Legacy and the Risks of Continuation
Few manga properties carry the cultural and commercial weight of Berserk. By Aug 2025, the manga had 70M copies in circulation, two different animated series adaptations, movie trilogy- The Golden Age Arc (2012-13), and video games, despite its dark and disturbing narrative. Even after decades since its first publication, Berserk's Vol. 1 became the best-selling manga property in 2023, according to Sales data by ICv2.
The narrative follows mercenary Guts through a brutal medieval world, blending graphic violence with philosophical inquiry, examining power, free will, and human resilience through long character arcs that unfold over decades rather than chapters. The Berserk manga currently holds a MyAnimeList (MAL) score of 9.47/10, placing it among the highest-rated manga series on the platform.
The long-running franchise has influenced generations of manga artists, anime creators, and game developers. Therefore, Berserk's continuation after Miura’s death was a crucial editorial choice. The series has long been under Miura's unique artistic vision, which raised concerns regarding authenticity, pacing, and fan trust when production switched to a successor.
Nonetheless, Mori’s confirmation that Berserk will return in 2026 closes one chapter of uncertainty while opening another period of scrutiny around how the manga will proceed. As of now, Mori hasn’t detailed any narrative updates regarding the upcoming chapters, except that he won’t be drawing Guts. He stated, “Guts is really difficult to draw... Mr. Kurosaki is truly amazing!! (translated from Japanese by X),” highlighting that Yoshimitsu Kurosaki will handle character design.
