Berserk Chapter 364, A Tear Like Morning Dew Review: The Final Chapter(?).

When I first read Kentaro Miura’s Berserk and reached Chapter 363, I remember excitedly going to read the next chapter, only to realise it was the last one released before Miura’s tragic passing.
I was sad to see that I and many other fans would not know how Miura intended to continue the story, especially after the cliffhanger of the Moonlight Boy meeting Guts again.
This is why I was very excited to hear that there was one final chapter Miura completed that would be released, Chapter 364, “A Tear Like Morning Dew.”
After eagerly anticipating the chapter for a while, I finally read it and am pleased to say that what may be the final chapter of Berserk we ever get did not disappoint.
Picking up from the end of the previous chapter, “A Tear Like Morning Dew” begins with the first of many father and son antics, with the Moonlight Boy instantly climbing atop Guts’ Berserker Armour to rest on his head.
Guts brings him inside so he can be with Casca and what follows is a humorous sequence where Schierke mistakes the child for a disguised Danann.
The face she pulls when she realises she was wrong is so comically out of place with the rest of Miura’s artwork that it heightens the comedy of the moment.
After this scene, we get our reunion between Casca and the Moonlight Boy, only now Casca has all of her memories.
The connection between the two is obvious and Danann quickly picks up on it, along with the boy’s connection to Guts.
The following panel of Guts sitting outside while everyone reunites with the Moonlight Boy is both beautifully drawn and also highlights his purposeful distance from Casca, due to her trauma, as illustrated by the bottom panel of Casca lying in bed with the Moonlight Boy, seperated from Guts.
Once this distance is illustrated, we get many more wholesome moments between the seperate parents and their child, as Casca continues to bond with him while Guts trains.
This training does not last though because the Moonlight Boy quickly interrupts, sneaking into Guts’ Berserker Armour in a downright adorable moment.
After helping the boy out of the armour, Guts then leads him back to Casca, telling him to go be with them, once again keeping a respectful distance from Casca.
Their relationship is truly tragic and it is a sad thing we may never know how it ends for them.
Even sadder is the scene that follows, the final scene of this potential final chapter, which serves to punch us all in the gut.
This is Berserk after all, so we all knew there just had to be a catch to the numerous wholesome scenes with the Moonlight Boy in this chapter.
Turns out that catch is the brutal confirmation of the theory that the Moonlight Boy and Griffith are connected.
As Casca has a dream remembering her connection with her mutilated ghost baby and how this saved her during the Conviction Arc, she seems to awaken with a realization and runs outside to see Guts standing before the Moonlight Boy.
The child begins to speak, however, as he does so, their body begins to change.
“I had a dream. Under the fool moon, I was a child embraced by a nostalgic warmth. But when I wake from the dream, only a vague sense of longing remains… that too, will soon disappear… with a single tear like morning dew.”
With these fittingly poetic lines, the speaker turns, revealing the Moonlight Boy to have transformed into a Griffith, tears spilling from his eyes, bringing the chapter and potentially the story of Berserk to a close.
This was a fantastic chapter, full of both wholesome moments and gut punches.
If it really is the final chapter of Berserk, then I think it is a fitting one.
Is it frustrating for it to end on such a massive cliffhanger?
Certainly, however, it is important to take into account whether this story should continue without Miura’s guidance.
What were his wishes concerning the future of the story in case of his passing, if he had any, and will anyone be able to take over the story until its conclusion?
It is not unheard of.
For example, Brandon Sanderson took over the Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan’s unfortunate passing due to a terminal illness.
Maybe there is someone who could take over Berserk and end it for Muira.
Again, though, Muira’s wishes do need to be considered here first and foremost.
He is the creator of Berserk and his wishes for his series should be respected.
Whether this magnificent story ends here or continues, “A Tear Like Morning Dew,” is yet another brilliant Berserk chapter and Muira deserves all the thanks for gifting this great story that has influenced so many other creators.