Thread: The gut's physique

I have devised a theory that the real reason that most people so adore the manga Berserk is not only because of it's compelling plotline and glorious battles, but because of the amazing size and anotomy gut's body.
Before you start making gay jokes, hear me out.
Lets face it, in almost EVERY hardcore American action film the hero is almost always cut, toned, and/or massive. Granted there are plenty of exceptions to this, but let's face it, the biggest selling actions movies were the ones where seven time Mr. Olympic Champion Arnold Schwarzenegger was starring them.
No one went to see "Conan the Barbarian" because of Arnold's impressive acting skills (seriously back then even Owen Wilson would have won an Oscar over him). It was all because Arnold had something no one had ever seen before, a body like a greek god.
I honestly think that Berserk would have half it's current audience if Guts was the atypical "skinny" samurai we see in most animes (not that this is a bad character, but you know what I mean).
Berserk bring a new type of main character to the anime fray I believe, granted guts is by no means massive (at least not to the standers of most of the "mass monster" body builders of today) but he deffinently is more cut and large then most anime characters we've seen. Granted this could possibly is because most Japanese men DON'T have muscle mass and definition (the 2007 Mr. Olympia will host the first EVER Mr. Olmpia contestant from Japan Hidetat Yamagishi [sorry if I spelled that wrong], they're skinny and generally small in stature (as opposed to Americans who are generally fat and bulky in stature).
I could be wrong, but I have a funny feeling that the day volume 1 of Berserk made it to the book stores in Japan, as many Japanese men hit the gym as American's did when "The Terminator" came out in the theatres. Not because it made people feel inadequate but it inspired them to create a body much like their new found heros.
Granted, Guts physique is 100% impossible considering the type of activities he's involved in, his frame is far too cut in certain areas (mostly abominals and cheast) for his body to truly be accurately apportioned.
And it's also a given that MANY succesful action animes/movies don't have ANY main characters who have huge musclely frames, but I don't know of a single action movie/anime where the main character was an out of shape lard sack

Well the few times we see Gutts train is usually him swinging his big ass sword, which to my limited knowlegde is at least over 60 pounds mind you he's one handed. I agree with you on how unreal is physique is but then again most magazine depicts people with bodies that are unreal most of the time anyways. I workout alot and lift weights but I'm know where near Gutts but im pretty damn big.

its a manga with little or no references to japanese culture whatsoever

that's true!!!( DIDNT NOTICE UNTILL A FEWW MONTHS AGO WHEN I REREAD THE MANGA FROM START TO VOL32) it is more infulenced by european, indian and middle eastern themes

How could you not notice it being influensed by that?
All in all the world where the story has taken place so far is much more a "around europe" world than an asian world.
And how anyone even can miss it is just beyond my imagination. Seriously, they ride around in metal armor of obvious european design, with shields and weapons also of european design. And fasion in both clothes and buildings.

Uh, Japanese don't have mass or ripped bodies? Try watching Ninja Warrior on G4 or hell watch a hotdog eating contest and you'll see the most physically fit competitive eater in the world, "Takeru Kobayashi" (dude is buff and he eats food for a living!), Japs just don't participate in most world wide events... if you're gonna say something as ignorant as Japs don't have muscular bodies, then lets just say that Americans don't either, since we are a bunch of fat, fast food eating, gas guzzling, morons...

on topic, Guts has good genetics, he is buff without exercise just like he is tall, has large hands or possibly ginourmous balls (joke), because he has great genetics, swinging the sword around helps but there is no need to explain that any further since we should all know at least one person who is ripped/buff and almost never has to work out, I mean I do at least.

First of all, I agree party with ur theory regarding the "affection" for Gutt's body felt by readers. I don't think it's the reason for Berserk's success tho. Gutt's is, in many aspects, the most manly Manga character u see around nowadays: He's tall, strong, loves to fight, every woman falls for him and he's pretty much invincible (for a human). Those are aspects that make him Gutt's. Now imagine a small, skinny, a little pale, plain-looking Gutt's swinging around his 60 pounds sword (i'm just quoting this, dunno wether it's realistic) and killing houndreds of enemies while getting hit by some arrows and howling in joy. Personally, I've gotta laugh imagining this. Well, the point is this: The way Gutt's physique is drawn simply supports his character, making him the Gutt's that slays houndreds of enemies etc while enjoying it. I remember a scene at the beggining of the battle against the purple rhino knights, Gutt's and Griffith riding side by side on the battlefield right before the start. An entire page then shows Gutt's head and upper body drawn in a dark, sketchy way, lusting for battle. Again, part of his character. So, to sum it up, this exaggerated physique of his is merely to improve the credibility of Gutt's. Oh, I forgot to mention the extreme weight of armor, weapons and additional clothings back then. Knights or generally soldiers had to have a strong body or they wouldn't have been ablo to move at all. Just keep that in mind, together with manga's way of exaggerating altogether.
Another thing: U mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger looking like a Greek God. Ancient Greeks actually modeled their god statues after athletes. So it wasn't anything like an actual exaggeration, it was just the physique of the greek sporties. That's because they adored sporty bodies (and because those people probably lived the longest and got the most women).

Guts reminds me of Lu bu from Dynasty Warriors.

Sure, Berserk wouldn't have nearly as many fans if Guts weren't huge like he is...because Guts would have died years ago. The Apostles would have snapped him like a twig.

Interesting theory.