The recent passing of Kentaro Miura is a hard blow to all those who love epic and dark storytelling. His manga epic Berserk pushed the boundaries of dark storytelling. For years fans have followed the journey of "The Struggler" Guts and his epic quest for revenge against Griffith. This journey went to some very dark places, with some storylines being incredibly brutal and heartbreaking.

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Yet the story was never depressing, Guts himself eventually found a way to smile even after all he had been through. Many fans began to see a way for him to achieve some happiness in life, but Mr. Miura left this epic unfinished. Luckily, his influence is felt in numerous manga and anime series to this very day.

5 Claymore

A manga that is legendary in dark fantasy circles is Claymore. The story follows a group of female warriors that hunt down and eradicate monsters known as Yoma. The mission is complicated by the fact that these warriors, known as Claymores, are half Yoma themselves. This premise sets the stage for deep explorations into the nature of humanity, revenge, despair, hope, and love.

These explorations are also showcased in Berserk, to great effect. Every storyline in the Claymore manga series feels like it could have spun out of Berserk. To its credit, the show manages to stand on its own and explore areas that even Berserk did not tread. While the anime is fairly short and has a different ending, it does the manga justice.

4 Re: Zero

The popular Re: Zero series owes a decent amount to Berserk. While the general tone and its characters may seem vastly different, they do share some small similarities. The largest similarity is with the concept of fate and causality. This concept is complex and immutable in Berserk, Guts entire battle is essentially centered around it.

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Subaru is also in a battle against fate, his constant resurrections have consequences that he can't even begin to fathom.  While it does make its spin on the concept of fate, no one can doubt that Berserk played a large part in this crucial aspect of the show's mythology.

3 Hellsing Ultimate

Alucard and the Royal Order of Protestant Knights are in a war against the Nazi Vampire group known as Millennium. This war is brutal and bloody, causalities are innumerable on both sides. Alucard, the original vampire takes much joy in all the death and destruction that surrounds him. This dark world has the same tone and feel to it as Berserk.

There are few truly good people, the monsters are the stuff of nightmares, and our protagonist racks up gigantic body counts. Nothing is held back in terms of gore, blood is spilled fast and freely. Surprisingly, the biggest similarity is that a growing feeling of hope can be felt throughout the entire series. As with Berserk, no matter how dark things got hope remained. It is a massive accomplishment for any series this dark to create an air of hope. 

2 Attack On Titan

Attack On Titan is one of the few anime out there that can give Berserk a run for its money in terms of brutality. Each season has one or two moments of pure brutality that at times it can be hard to watch. Berserk had been doing the same thing in manga form for over 20 years. One could argue that Berserk elevated brutality to an art form. Attack on Titan has taken this art form and reworked it for this generation of anime fans.

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For the most part, it did it successfully.  The dark and at times depressing world of Attack on Titan is also one where hope seems nonexistent yet it somehow remains alive. Both series have a unique ability to simultaneously present humanity at its worst and its best. Many beautiful moments have arisen from this ability. A few of these moments are as simple as seeing characters find a way to smile even though they witnessed atrocities.

1 Gungrave

The biggest conflict in Berserk all boils down to friendship. Guts was brutally betrayed by his friend and fellow warrior Griffith. This betrayal has motivated Guts to push on no matter what kinds of monsters or demons he may face. The mere thought of Griffith can push Guts beyond his limits and allow him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. At times this can make Guts seem like a monster himself.

Now imagine this battle being shifted to a world full of guns, gangsters, and corruption. Gungrave tells the tale of Brandon and his quest for revenge against his former best friend Harry. Things become complicated when it is revealed that Harry killed Brandon, with the latter now an undead gunslinger. While not reaching the level of brutality of Berserk, it comes close.

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