Draculoid said:
I first read Berserk at a bookstore where someone had torn the plastic wrap covering off. I was 13 at the time and was shocked and entranced by what I was looking at, like I had stumbled upon some amazing secret nobody knew about. I was able to take peaks at the pages when I thought no one was looking but obviously didn't have the nerve at that age to really read it. It was my curiosity and fascination that actually inspired me to get my first job working a paper route. With my first pay from that job I was able to purchase the first volume (through my amazing Mother...she would even put in pre-orders for me), then another, then another.
The next step was showing my friends and getting them into it too, as well as occasionally smuggling volumes in my school backpack and lending them to people. I'm living out of country now but keep in touch with friends in a chat group. One of them actually posted about Miura's passing and reminisced how Berserk was one of his first memories of me and what brought us close together as friends initially. He isn't anywhere near as big a fan as I am, and I barely remembered that being a major reason we became friends, but 15 years later we still message all the time. It was really touching to see.
These stories are a bit more juvenile , I know, but I really look back on these things fondly and how they shaped me at such an influential part of my life. More importantly, Berserk is what really fostered my interested in Japan and Japanese media, and would eventually lead to my route in secondary education. From there it led to coming and working in Japan and even meeting my girl friend of 5 years now who I met on the plane coming here (she also now loves Berserk and we now share it together).
I truly believe that Berserk has influenced my life more than any one singular thing and if it wasn't for Miura and his story, I most certainly wouldn't have made the friends I have, seen this beautiful country, become the man I am today or met the love of my life. Thank you Miura for everything you've done to help me and get me through the last 17 years of my life. I will always be truly grateful.