On September 11th, Hakusensha Publishingresponsible for publishing the manga “Berserk”, released an official statement to fans, informing that the animation project “Berserk: The Black Swordsman”, produced by Studio Eclypse, does not have authorization from the rights holders. The statement, shared on Twitter, surprised many followers of the series by publicly denouncing the project for copyright infringement.

The statement, issued in five different languages, clarifies: «To our readers, the production of a Berserk animation was announced on the indicated Twitter account and website, but said production was not authorized by Kentaro Miura (Studio Gaga), the copyright holder. In addition, the videos accompanying these announcements are being shown without permission.». This statement makes it clear that, despite the large number of animation projects created by Berserk fans, this one in particular has been singled out for clear violations of the work's copyright.

The Studio Eclypse project, which gained traction on social media for its ambitious promise of being a “faithful” adaptation of the original manga, has received great support from fans, some of whom have expressed their disappointment with previous official versions of the manga. Furious. However, the controversy has intensified because Studio Eclypse has been receiving donations through Patreon, which many consider an ethical violation in projects derived from this type.

In addition to Hakusensha's official statement, On the Twitter platform, a “Community Note” was added to the English trailer for Berserk: The Black Swordsman, noting that “the publisher of Berserk announced that the rights holder did not give permission for the production of the anime and that the audiovisual material used is also unauthorized.” Although the trailer clarifies at the end that “This is a fan-made project. Please support official Berserk releases.“It is unclear whether production will continue following this notice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpdMcgbE2uY

The trailer for this project was shown at a screening at Otakufest last summer, where it was presented as the first of several planned episodes. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Studio Eclypse is also working on another controversial fanmade project, “Attack on Titan: Requiem,” a spinoff animation that seeks to offer what they call “a satisfying ending” to Hajime Isayama’s manga, whose conclusion was divisive among followers. With the Japanese media's increasing scrutiny of Studio Eclypse, many are wondering whether Kodansha, the publisher of "Attack on Titan," will also take similar legal action.

In short, while the fan community awaits more news about the future of Berserk: The Black Swordsman, the future of the project is in doubt. Hakusensha's statement not only drew attention to the legal risks of fan-created projects, but also brought to the table a debate about the limits of what fans can do without infringing on the rights of the original creators.

Source: Official Twitter Account