Few dark fantasy series have left as big a mark as Berserk, Kentaro Miura’s legendary manga and anime that redefined the genre with its brutality and profound exploration of human despair. Over the decades, Berserk inspired multiple anime adaptations and built a global cult following.
Now in 2025, fans believe they may have found a worthy successor: Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts, the Baby, and the Corpse Hero, a Crunchyroll anime adaptation of Yūji Iwahara’s manga.
The Story of Clevatess
At the center of the series is Clevatess, the ruthless King of Magical Beasts who sets out to eradicate humanity. However, his path takes an unexpected turn when he discovers and adopts an abandoned baby after a massacre.
Adding to the intrigue is Alicia Glenfall, a human warrior who initially died fighting Clevatess. She is resurrected by him and forced into servitude, creating an uneasy alliance between mortal enemy and monster.
This setup gives Clevatess a unique angle: the survival of humanity rests in the hands of a non-human king whose moral compass is shaped by an innocent child.
A Dark Tone Reminiscent of Berserk
Like Berserk, Clevatess does not shy away from graphic violence. The series opens with Clevatess wiping out an entire army in a blood-soaked spectacle. Brutal combat sequences, nightmarish imagery, and morally ambiguous choices echo the intensity fans associate with Miura’s masterpiece.
But it’s not gore for shock value—the brutality is deeply tied to its narrative. Clevatess forces viewers to grapple with questions of morality, redemption, and survival, much like Guts’ struggle in Berserk.
“Finding a new series that contains all of the aforementioned elements has been a tough challenge for fans … Clevatess is exactly what we’ve been looking for.”
Themes of Morality and Redemption
One of the greatest strengths of Berserk was its ability to balance gruesome violence with emotional depth. Guts’ endless battle against fate and his search for redemption turned the story into a timeless classic.
Clevatess carries this torch forward. The titular king is not human, yet he holds humanity’s fate in his claws. His decision—whether to destroy or preserve humanity—hinges on how the orphaned child grows.
The child, later revealed to have royal blood and latent powers capable of ending Clevatess himself, embodies both hope and doom. This dynamic ensures that the story isn’t just about destruction but about difficult choices, survival, and what it means to be human.
Why Fans Call It Berserk’s Heir
Both Berserk and Clevatess deliver:
- Unflinching brutality — showcasing some of the bloodiest, most intense battles in anime.
- Moral complexity — pushing viewers to question good vs. evil, revenge, and redemption.
- Dark worldbuilding — exploring the ugliest sides of humanity through a fantasy lens.
Where Berserk explored human wrath and trauma through Guts, Clevatess examines humanity’s worth through the eyes of a monstrous king. This inversion offers something fresh while still honoring the legacy of Berserk.
Is Clevatess truly the next Berserk? While no series can ever replicate Kentaro Miura’s magnum opus, Clevatess has captured fans’ imaginations with its unrelenting violence, gothic atmosphere, and philosophical core.
Sources: GameK
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