Dani said:
I think you are ignoring a major aspect of the "magical" armour. Two in fact. The price Guts pays for having to rely on it is very high, it's draining him every day (notice the colour fading from his hair). The armour itself doesn't grant Guts super powers or anything special, it's simply a device that disconnects Gut's brain from his body is specific way. He can't feel pain so he can push himself further than any other human but the downside of of this is that he can't realise how broken and damaged his body is during a fight.
Internal injuries, bones breaking and serious burns are all issues Guts has had to deal with due to the suit.
I get that point, but I feel like saying it "releases his limiters" is kind of a kop-out way of just making it magic armor. I mean, how many times prior to getting the Berserk armor has Guts exceeded the limits of pain on his own? This is a guy who fought until he passed out against 100 men, had his arm ripped off and eye gouged out and kept on fighting, etc. You might expect it to increase his power by like 10%, but when you see him battling Grunbeld, the armor obviously has made him significantly more powerful. It just doesn't make sense that he was holding all that back before during all the times he was pushed to the edge. The other thing is that he is suddenly doing all these acrobatic moves in the armor like spinning flips in the air and whatnot that seem to have nothing to do with ignoring pain.
Secondly, the Beast is able to manifest itself physically when Guts losses himself in a fight using the suit. Guts risks the lives of his companions every times he goes into battle. Every time the Beast appears it becomes harder and harder to control and it's obvious there is a tipping point approaching, with the Beast biding it's time.
I don't think your Superman comparison has any merit. Guts is still very human and is in constant suffering with everything he holds close at constant risk because of his human weakness.
=)
I do like the beast angle, but it has barely made a difference so far in the story. He was already battling the beast before getting the armor. Once again, the consequences of the beast and the brand were pushed aside with "magic" as the deus ex machina. Maybe if the beast actually caused him to lose control and kill Schierke or Ishidoro the armor would be redeemed.
Erigu said:
Er... Puck?
I think that criticism mostly comes from people who were introduced to Berserk via the TV show (i.e. no Puck)...
(there were also that fortune teller in Puck's troupe (who obviously had some actual powers herself), the former inhabitants of Godot's cave, branded-Guts' numerous non-Apostle foes, and other references to magic/witchcraft here and there... plus, the Skeleton Knight might look sinister, but I don't think his powers have much to do with the God Hands)
See above. It was there from the beginning, but like it's explained in the story, "fantasy" like that has been in decline for decades/centuries, in the world of Berserk. Griffth and his men just didn't run into that kind of stuff. Just into a couple of Apostles and a Beherit, as that particular supernatural element was doing quite well, thank you very much.
Puck is something of an exception because, prior to the recent events anyway, he served more as a narrative element rather than something interacting directly with the world. There are only one or two instances in the earlier parts of the manga where Puck affects any change in the world (when he hits Guts with that wand to wake him up). For most practical purposes he could have just been a voice in Guts' head. Obviously that is changing now that we've gotten into the "magic" arc, assuming they ever make it to Elfheim.
As for Skullknight, there are a few theories tying him to the power of the eclipse. Some people think he is King Gaiseric and was involved with an eclipse event 1000 years prior (evidence of this eclipse is the pile of bones in the castle where Griffith is imprisoned). Obviously he has some ties to that source of power considering he can eat Behelits and turn them into a sword.
Jexhius said:
Yeah but the first shot is from after!
It's completely impossible to tell. Someone earlier mentioned Gut fighting his way slowly out of somewhere for years. For me, that took about half an hour because it was long complete by the time I got around to it.
It certainly makes a big difference. For example the more recent arcs where they encounter a ghost ship might be amusing to read through quickly, but all I can think of is that this will be another year of delay before they reach Elfheim.