Last month, Studio Gaga, the publisher and copyright holder of the Berserk manga, took to social media and issued a stern statement confirming that Studio Eclypse does not have authorization to produce its fan-made film adaptation. The post led to speculation that the highly anticipated, but unofficial fan-made anime project would be canceled.
It took a few weeks, but Studio Eclypse has finally responded. The studio confirmed, "We did not receive any type of formal Cease and Desist, take down request or letter asking us to stop the project."
But that didn't stop the studio from practively seeking a way for the project to remain moving forward without interrupted.
"After a lot of consideration we have decided to move forward and establish communication with the IP holders," the statement reads. "Supported by a great company within the industry, we're working to get a chance to adapt this arc of the story the way fans deserve, as an official studio next year."
Unfortunately, Studio Eclypse has decided to take down their current videos of Berserk: The Black Swordsman until the situation is resolved. "During this period we will continue working on pre-production material sand animation tests to be able to show our vision for the project to them," the statement continued.
Studio Eclypse also unpublished their Patreon page "as a sign of respect to our overseas viewers and good faith for this project to come to life the right way." There was speculation that Studio Eclypse's Patreon page asking for money for the project was one of the reasons Studio Gaga initially started to take action against these sorts of fan projects.
Addressing the controversy, Studio Eclypse noted that its past fan-project have been self-funded and intended for free release to the public. Explaining the reason for setting up the Patreon page, Studio Eclypse said, "We decided to accept donations after a large number of the community asked for a way to support, this ended up helping us cover a lot of the Background Art, Clean Up and Compositing costs. All other stages were only possible by sheer passion and sleepless nights from our group of friends and animators."
Moving forward, this will now be a fully self-funded project. That is if the IP holders agree to allow Studio Eclypse to continue with it. Check out the full statement below!
Berserk is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. The series is set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world and follows a lone swordsman named Guts on a journey to exact revenge on Griffith, the leader of the mercenaries who betrayed him and sacrificed his comrades to become a powerful demonic being.
Announced back in October 2023, Studio Eclypse's Berserk: The Black Swordsman aims to deliver a proper 2D adaptation of "The Black Swordsman" storyline from the manga, which many feel was underwhelming in the 1997 anime adaptation. The 2016 CG-animated Berserk series, which covered the manga's Conviction arc in the first season, also just briefly touched on The Black Swordsman storyline, leaving much to be desired. Studio Eclypse released the first trailer for its Berserk: The Black Swordsman adaptation back in May, which received a glowing response from fans.
Studio Eclypse's Berserk: The Black Swordsman project is expected to premiere in the Summer of 2025, although obviously that will depend on what Studio Gaga agrees to.