Hajime no Ippo creator George Morikawa shared a photo of Miura’s tribute drawing of Hajime no Ippo character Takemura given to him. Miura previously worked with Morikawa as an assistant. Miura’s written message in the illustration reads “Back in college, I worked with you as a short-term assistant, and I was worried my lack of skill would hold you back. I learned many things, and this is both an apology and a thank you!”
Morikawa added his comment on Miura’s passing:
After he drew more, I had already become deeply interested in him, and we only stopped drawing to talk about manga. When I asked him to show me some of his drawings in his sketchbook, and it stopped my heart and gave me goosebumps. Within were drawings of fairies, a certain brand, a swordsman wielding a huge sword; the beginnings of what would later be Puck and Guts, all drawn in thick lines. It was too much. “What is all this?” I asked him. “They’re what’s inside my head,” he answered. “I want to get better, so I thought I should draw them.” How long had he been saving this up in his head?, I wondered. Berserk was already there, in those drawings.
The months passed by, and I started serializing Hajime no Ippo, and it wasn’t long after that Berserk started. Miura shared some stories of difficulty with me, but I was confident that his manga would be a hit. Kentarou-kun had poured his strength and confidence into this long-awaited serialization, after all. The world would soon be as astonished as I was when I first saw his drawings. He had a completely refined artistic skill and drew with all his soul, and I had nothing but the deepest respect for every new chapter of Berserk.
We only worked in that short time, but it was my pride and honor to have met him. Forgive me for speaking so much, Kentarou-kun. One day, I’ll go and read that last chapter of yours.
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