If You Find Berserk Unwatchable Wait Till You Watch Devilman Crybaby by the Man Who Inspired Kentaro Miura (2025)

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SUMMARY

• Kentaro Miura has inspired many creators who have become acclaimed figures in the dark fantasy genre, but Miura himself was inspired by a wide mix of shojo, shonen, and fantasy.
• Miura was greatly influenced by Go Nagai, the creator of Devilman, and as a result, there are many noticeable similarities between the two series.
• While Berserk is undoubtedly more well-written, Devilman Crybaby is perfect for those who enjoyed the shock value in Berserk!

The world of dark fantasy is incomplete without Berserk. Kentaro Miura’s detailed art and compelling storytelling have reached many fans who appreciate it for what it is. Aside from commanding the attention of audiences across the globe, Miura also inspired many mangakas who garnered attention for their own dark fantasy series including Hajime Isayama and Tatsuki Fujimoto. But who inspired Miura?

From the iconic shonen title Fist of the North Star to the renowned shojo series The Rose of Versailles, Miura was influenced by various genres and creators. Go Nagai is one such creator who inspired Miura and the similarities between Nagai’s Devilman series and Berserk are pretty noticeable. For fans of Miura’s magnum opus, Devilman Crybaby anime is easily the next perfect watch, and here’s why that is the case.

The Charm of Berserk And Where It Comes From

Throughout Berserk, Kentaro Miura never held back from exploring the darker themes thoroughly and portraying them as such. For this reason, the manga can be quite heavy for many readers. Every time a character goes through something horrible, Miura’s art style captures their suffering and puts it on a display that communicates its intensity and severity.

As a result, the manga has many explicit and disturbing scenes that can’t be considered universally palatable. This gives Berserk a sense of exclusivity, and it’s impressive that despite this limitation, the manga has achieved great success and popularity. It was briefly mentioned in this article how Berserk was inspired by various genres, with Miura taking some aspects of them and turning them into his own elements.

He seamlessly blended them together, for instance, the transparency of emotions from The Rose of Versailles, Guts’ perseverance from Fist of the North Star, and the brutality from Devilman. While The Rose of Versailles and First of the North Star are wildly different from Berserk, Devilman shares many similarities in terms of mood and plotlines. This makes it a perfect recommendation for fans of the manga series.

Go Nagai’s Devilman Crybaby is a Challenge Even For Berserk Fans

First released in 1972, Go Nagai’s Devilman is a dark fantasy series revolving around two friends Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka. Akira absorbs the power of a demon to fight monstrous beings who keep themselves hidden in human society. Netflix’s Devilman Crybaby is an adaptation of the manga series, and it has many dark elements.

From graphic and gory violence to a story that deals with demons, there are many instances that transport the readers back to the pages of Berserk. If someone is familiar with both series, they would be able to identify the similarities quite easily. Although one could argue that Miura’s storytelling is much more compelling, Devilman is perfect for those who enjoyed the shock value of Berserk.

Devilman Crybaby is a good way to experience a gist of Nagai’s storytelling but the manga is much better in that respect. Even for Berserk fans, who are no strangers to explicit scenes, the goriness can be pretty overwhelming with Devilman Crybaby, so beware!

Berserk is available to read on Dark Horse Digital Comics and Devilman Crybaby is available to stream on Netflix.