List of Guilty Gear characters

This is an index of characters from the Guilty Gear fighting game series.

Creation and influences
Daisuke Ishiwatari has cited Kazushi Hagiwara's manga Bastard‼, and the fighting game Street Fighter II as influence to the Guilty Gear series. However, he noted that the majority of other fighting games were just recycling the character's same skins or style, and so he wanted every character "to be unique in their own way." Kazuhiko Shimamoto's characters was also noted as an inspiration for the men characters, with Ishiwatari saying they needed to be "chivalrous person-like characters", and citing Anji Mito "the most closest to this type". The female ones, on the other hand, have not followed a standard, with he only saying that they needed look like real women.

There are many musical references in the Guilty Gear series, including various characters' names and moves, which were inspired by rock and heavy metal bands like Queen, Guns N' Roses, and Metallica. For instance, the main character, Sol Badguy, was named after Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury. Both his real name, Frederick, and his last name were influenced by the singer, whose nickname was "Mr. Badguy".

A.B.A
A.B.A (アバ) is an artificial life-form, or homunculus, that was created by a scientist who lived within a mountain named "Frasco" (フラスコ). However, before her birth, his creator was taken away by the military. A.B.A found herself alone within Frasco, and lived the first ten years of her life in total isolation until she managed to escape from Frasco. She began to collect keys to find relief from her sadness as they represented the opening of a bold new world and an escape from imprisonment. Eventually, she finds "Flament Nagel", an ancient war relic shaped like a key, and decides to keep it as her partner; she renamed it "Paracelsus" (パラケルス). Her new goal was to acquire an artificial body for her newfound partner, whom she refers to as her spouse.

Anji Mito
Anji Mito (御津 闇慈) is among the few people born of Japanese descent. Because of this, he is protected by the government since full-blooded Japanese are an endangered race. While there are those who accept this lifestyle, Anji doesn't—he compares acceptance of government to living in a zoo's cage. To regain his freedom, he escaped from his colony and pursued "That Man" for answers for his ever-curious mind. He fights with a pair of hand-held fans called Zessen (絶扇). It is implied that Anji stole the Zessen, which had been stored in the Japanese colony, before escaping.

Axl Low
Axl Low (アクセル＝ロウ) is a time traveller who comes from a 20th-century's England, over 150 years before the Guilty Gear storyline. His main goal is to return to his own time period, mainly because of his desire to return to his girlfriend, Megumi (めぐみ). For this reason, Axl enters the Sacred Knights Tournament as He thought the winner of the tournament could have a wish granted them.

Baiken
Baiken (梅喧) is among the few people born of Japanese descent. When she was young, her family was attacked by the Gears, a race of magical bioweapons that plunged the world into a hundred-year war known as the Crusades. After watching the death of her parents and losing her right arm and left eye, she swore revenge on the Gears creator, "That Man". For this end, she trained herself in the use of the katana. She also has many hidden surprise weapons within the sleeve of her severed arm: a Japanese mace, a fireworks cannon, a bladed fan, a rope dart, a hook, a claw, and a spear.

Bedman
Bedman is a character set to debut in Guilty Gear Xrd.

Bridget
Bridget (ブリジット) is a boy who born in a village where the birth of twins of the same gender was considered bad luck, and thus his family named and raised him as a girl. When he became older, he decided that he would prove his worth by becoming a bounty hunter. He is given a fake list of bounties by I-No, sending him against many of the other fighters. He fights with a yo-yo and Roger (ロジャー), his mechanical, over sized teddy bear.

Chipp Zanuff
Chipp Zanuff (チップ＝ザナフ) was a youth who struggled to live life on the streets of America. Chipp was a drug trafficker that soon became a drug user. He seemed himself in a complicated situation that lead to him fleeing from the Mafia. Chipp had become outnumbered and was almost dying, but his pursuers were dispatched by a man called Tsuyoshi (毅). He offered Chipp into his care, and trained Chipp in the art of Ninjutsu. They lived peacefully together until an assassin syndicate ordered Tsuyoshi's killing. Chipp, attempted to pursue the culprits responsible, entering the second sacred order tournament in order to get him a lead in his travels.

Dizzy
Dizzy (ディズィー) was abandoned by her mother Justice, and found as an infant roughly three years before the events in Guilty Gear X, by an old couple. However, the other villagers became afraid since Dizzy appeared to age from being an infant to her late teens in three years. This was compounded when she discovered, that she now had wings and a tail. Dizzy was now identified as a Gear—essentially, a living weapon of mass destruction, and a hundred-year war against Gears had just ended five years ago. Dizzy's foster parents hid her in a grove in the woods, but she was soon discovered and subjected to abuse at the hands of her captors. She quickly escaped, however, and the government issued a 500,000 World-Dollar bounty for her death. She was later taken in by Johnny and May, joining the Jellyfish Pirates.

Dr. Paradigm
Dr. Paradigm (Dr.パラダイム) is yet another of Guilty Gear 2: Overture's seven playable characters. He is one of the sealed Gears from the dimensional plane Backyard (バックヤード) during the era of the Genocide Gear Justice in the Crusades. This action was done so Justice could not control his mind using her Commander Gear abilities. Paradigm was later released when the 100 year war was over. Dr. Paradigm is a strongly skilled magician with a fairly large book of magics. He has a protective bubble around him in which it seems permanently around him.

Fanny
Fanny (ファニー) is a strange nurse with an unusual connection to Dr. Baldhead who saves her life from a sickness; she fights her enemies in much the same style as him, using a syringe that once belonged to her late mother. She appeared in the WonderSwan game Guilty Gear Petit and its sequel, Guilty Gear Petit 2. Her endings in both games show a big connection with Dr. Baldhead. In the first she is wondering why Dr. Baldhead disappeared; in the second she is saying goodbye because she knows she will never see him again.

Faust
Faust (ファウスト) was a very talented surgeon, but became a ruthless murderer named Dr. Baldhead (Dr.ボルドヘッド) after losing a young girl in surgery. After horribly killing scores of people and being imprisoned, Faust was given a second chance after the first tournament. He first decided to atone for his crimes by taking his own life, but he learned that the girl's death was actually caused by a third party. Donning a paper bag on his head and taking his oversized scalpel, Faust seeks out the truth about the girl's death while dedicating himself to saving as many lives as he can.

I-No
I-No (イノ) is one of That Man's servants, the primary antagonist and boss character of Guilty Gear XX. She appears in the Postwar Era approximately two weeks after the events of Guilty Gear X. She attacks Dizzy and sets the various fighters of the era against each other, seeking to help That Man's still-unrevealed plans. She fights with an electric guitar, both using it as a bludgeon and playing it to create deadly sonic waves, and with a pointed witch's hat that can shot projectiles.

Izuna
Izuna (イズナ) is another playable character who made his debut in Guilty Gear 2: Overture. Along with Dr. Paradigm and Valentine, Izuna also comes from the plane Backyard. Izuna is a Japanese fox spirit who himself was exiled to the Backyard. Unlike most spirits of his kind, Izuna gained a physical form through the power of his will. Izuna states that "There are more physical spirit demons like me, but were brainwashed by Valentine". He is a very skilled swordsman and has certain magical abilities. Izuna is also the one to teach Sol Badguy and Sin how to use the tactics of the Ghost and Master Ghost system in the game as well. Most fans believe Izuna's looks were taken off of Slayer, though this is not likely because various interviews with Daisuke Ishiwatari he exclaims that Izuna along with Valentine, Dr. Paradigm, and Sin are all new children (creations) of his.

Jam Kuradoberi
Jam Kuradoberi (蔵土縁 紗夢) is a master chef, and longs to create her own restaurant, but lacks the means to do so. She seems to have terrible luck in this endeavor even once she gets it off the ground. She's a fairly docile character, and also relatively unimportant during the beginning arches of the storyline. However, during XX, Jam's ability to wield Ki becomes a very notable aspect. She can be described as a bit of a flirt, as she has hit on both Bridget and Ky in her story.

Johnny
Johnny (ジョニー) is captain of the airship May Ship and leader of the Jellyfish Pirates. His first appearance was in Guilty Gear as a non-playable character in May's ending, and he became a playable character in Guilty Gear X. Johnny is a compulsive womanizer; his entire crew, including May, is composed of young women, but when it comes to the protection of his crew, Johnny is a selfless acting man who will protect the lives of his crewmates as well as others if need be. He is protective of Dizzy, defending her from bounty hunters in Guilty Gear X and I-No's attack in Guilty Gear XX. He fights with a wood-handled Japanese sword and uses the Iaidō style of swordsmanship.

Judgment
Judgment was originally Raymond, a mad scientist working on the remote island of Isene and exploiting its inhabitants, trying to create a living weapon that would surpass even the gears. He believed his work was the work of God. Raymond is devoured by Inus, a dark king of the underworld, who is subsequently killed. This allows Raymond to take control of Inus's power, transforming himself into Judgment. However because Inus wished to remain dead, Judgment was subsequently consumed after being defeated.

Justice
Justice (ジャスティス) is the original Commander Gear, Justice had the power to control all other Gears, which she used to wage war against the human race. Ultimately she was brought down and exiled to a dimensional prison by the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. However, she was freed by Testament, but was quickly defeated once again, and finally destroyed by Sol Badguy.

Kliff Undersn
Kliff (クリフ＝アンダーソン) was the founder of the Holy Order and wields a massive sword known as the Dragonslayer (斬竜刀). A hero of the Crusades, having clashed with Justice multiple times, he became a great mentor to Ky Kiske and personally scouted Sol Badguy to join the Holy Order. He is the foster father of Testament, whom he found as an orphan during the Crusades.

Ky Kiske
Ky Kiske (カイ＝キスク) is the chief of the International Police Force. He was made head of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights at age 16 and under his leadership, they were able to bring an end to the century long Crusades against the Gears. He is dedicated to God and works to maintain peace after the Holy War. Although he morally sees only in black and white and not in shades of grey, and is easily manipulated by unseen workers from the Holy War, he is working to adjust. His dedication to law and order puts him at odds with the free-spirited Sol Badguy, his rival. He fights with the Thunderseal sword and with his lightning magic.

Leopaldon
Leopaldon (レオパルドン) is the boss of Guilty Gear Isuka. He is a good man at heart who somehow manages to control a giant Gear, his faithful dog. A killer who shows absolutely no mercy, he is also a formidable beast.

May
May (メイ), a young, cute, and spunky member of the Jellyfish air pirates that is utterly dedicated to Johnny, the leader of the pirates and the man who raised her after she was orphaned. She entered the first tournament in order to bail Johnny out of prison, and fights in later tournaments for his benefit. She fights with a massive ship's anchor, which she is able to swing with ease.

Millia Rage
Millia Rage (ミリア＝レイジ) is a Russian descent girl who lost both of her parents at an early age. She was thereafter adopted into a nearby Assassin Syndicate, where she practiced in the art of Hi-Deigokutsuipou, or the "Six Forbidden Magics". Using the Sixth Hi-Deigokutsuipou, "Angra", Millia's hair gained the abilities she currently possesses, enabling her to control its movement as well as alter its length and shape at will.

Potemkin
Potemkin (ポチョムキン), a massive slave-soldier of Zepp, a floating continent controlled by a military dictatorship, Potemkin was forced into the first tournament by his superiors. However, during the tournament, the government of Zepp was overthrown in a revolt led by Gabriel, his mentor. Once Gabriel was made president of Zepp, Potemkin pledged his loyalty to the new government as a special agent. The mantle he wears was a slave collar used by his superiors to keep him in check. He decided to keep it as a memento of his past.

Robo-Ky
Robo-Ky (ロボカイ) is not simply one character, but in fact a line of robotic copies of Ky Kiske created by the shadowy Post War Administration Bureau. For some reason, Robo-Ky is often mistaken for the real Ky Kiske and vice versa during the game's story mode, even though his face is obviously metallic, his voice is higher-pitched and robotic, and he constantly blurts out *GIGIGI* or *BZZZT* noises during story sequences. A version of Robo-Ky, Robo-Ky Mk. II, whose moveset and technical parameters (like attack strength, defense, etc.) can be customized. Unlike the other Robo-Ky, Mk. II is built by and has loyalty to a mysterious scientist, not the Post-War Administration Bureau. Type is secret.

Sin
Sin (シン) is another of the six unique playable characters in playable in Guilty Gear 2: Overture. He is son of the king of Illyuria: Ky Kiske, though was left in Sol Badguy's care because of the exploitable fact of his Gear cells may be known to the public. He bears grudges towards his father for neglecting him because of his duties as a king and his mother the Maiden of the Groove who was confirmed to be Dizzy. Though Sin is at most five years old, he has the appearance of tall boy in his late teens—making it hard to notice his rash, childlike behavior. Through Sol's training Sin has grown into a very strong child.

Slayer
Slayer (スレイヤー) is an ancient vampire who founded the Assassins Guild, he comes out of hiding when the Guild dives into chaos after Zato's disappearance. Cultured and debonair, Slayer enjoys haiku and spends his time with his wife Sharon, another immortal. He also has a personal connection with Gabriel, the president of Zepp, but seems to be acquainted with all of the movers and shakers of the Guilty Gear universe. He has the apparent motive of either observing the cast, or warning them of being targeted by the Post-War Administration Bureau. He personally knows "That Man" and that character seems to hold him in high regard since he apologizes to Slayer.

Sol Badguy
Sol Badguy (ソル＝バッドガイ) is the main character, namesake, a lone bounty hunter and former member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights who has dedicated himself to the extinction of the Gears. At over 150 years old, Sol was involved with the creation of the Gear Project, and he is in fact the prototype Gear. He fights with his sword, Fūenken (封炎剣), with his fire magic. In Guilty Gear XX Slash and Guilty Gear XX Λ Core, there is another version of Sol, from back in time when the Holy Wars were still raging, called Order-Sol (聖騎士団ソル).

Testament
Testament (テスタメント) was an orphan during the Crusades, and was adopted by Kliff Undersn. When he was old enough, he desired to become a soldier in the war against Gears,and was known in the Holy Orders as the Black Knight. The Post-War Administration Bureau found him frustrated as he became mentally depressed, and offered to transform him into a Gear. He accepted, though unlike most Gears he still retained his sense of self. However, Justice turned him against humanity, and he found himself on the opposite side of the war from which he started.

Valentine
Valentine (ヴァレンタイン) is one of six playable characters in Guilty Gear 2: Overture. Valentine is the exact copy of Aria, who is indeed one form of the genocide Gear Justice. Valentine's motives lead her to be defeated by Sol Badguy who was once in love with Aria. Her weapon of choice is a talking balloon named Lucifero (ルシフェロ) with various amplified magic abilities. Valentine also has the power to brainwash enemies and turn them into her allies. Valentine's true form is a fake version of a Gear as yet her looks resemble an unfinished Aria. A similar character named Ramletherl Valentine appears as a nonplayable character in Guilty Gear Xrd.

Venom
Venom (ヴェノム) is an orphan raised by the Assassins Guild. Venom became an apprentice and the devoted right hand of Zato when he saved his from being deceased by the Guild's member who wanted to do it since Venom was reluctant to kill. Once Millia began to hunt Zato and the parasite Eddie began taking more control, Venom began his quest to save his beloved master.

Zappa
Zappa (ザッパ) is an unlucky young man, looking for a wife and writing in his diary about his new "disease" he has, which, from his point of view, consists of fainting and then waking up somewhere else, possibly with alarming wounds and fractures and no memory of how he got there. He seeks the doctor Faust to cure his paranormal ailment. When entering a battle, he is unconscious, with S-Ko (S子)—his most powerful vengeful spirit—and the other ghosts having control of his actions. These ghosts consist of three giant centipedes, several will-o-wisp-like apparitions that manipulate a broken sword, three gray ghosts, a dark chihuahua-like dog, and a manifestation of lightning called Raou.

Zato-1 and Eddie
Zato-1 (ザトー＝ONE) was a Spanish member of the powerful Assassins Guild that allowed himself to become the host of a symbiotic creature named Eddie (エディ) in exchange for his sight. Because of this, Zato-1 was able to take control of his shadow, and use it as a weapon to gain great power. With this power, he made himself leader of the Assassins Guild. However, as his body weakened, Eddie was able to take control until Zato-1's death at the hands of Millia Rage. Zato-1 was replaced by Eddie from Guilty Gear XX onward, after the death of his voice actor Kaneto Shiozawa, but returns in Guilty Gear Xrd.

Aria
A mysterious, unseen character who That Man refers to during Guilty Gear 2: Overture. Little is known about her, however she is at least an acquaintance to both Sol and That Man, and the character Valentine is stated as being a copy of her.It is also hinted that she could be Justice as in Overtune she was killed off and her final words were just a talk just all three of us.

Inus
A dark king of the underworld, Inus is the fifth boss of Guilty Gear Judgment. Split into skeletal sections (two of them resembling skulls), he devours Raymond just before attacking the player character. After whatever character the player is controlling defeats Inus, he is subsequently killed, allowing Raymond to absorb his power to become Judgment. However, since Inus wished to remain dead, Judgment was consumed after he was defeated.

Jellyfish Air Pirates
Jellyfish Air Pirates (空賊のジェリーフィッシュ快賊団) is the Johnny's all-female pirate crew, who travel with him on the May Ship. The members include eleven girls, one older woman, and a cat. There are several playable characters from the Jellyfish Pirates in the games; namely May, Dizzy and Johnny himself. Most of the members of the Jellyfish crew are orphaned girls adopted by Johnny, but there are exceptions; he took in Dizzy for her protection (and seclusion) from the larger world, and in one ending of Guilty Gear XX allows Bridget to live on the ship (although he is not officially a Jellyfish Pirate) when he has nowhere else to go.

The crew, whose names are derived from the English names of the twelve months of the year, includes, Janis, a black cat with a shaggy white forelock; Febby, a tall busty blonde who is the record-keeper; March, a pink-haired baby girl with a stuffed penguin; April, the ship's pilot; May, one of the crew's most capable fighters and the ship's namesake; June, the navigator; July, who is said to be the fourth strongest fighter on board, after Dizzy, Johnny, and May; Augus, a dark complexion fighter known to be fast; Sephy, a brown-haired and gentle-expressioned girl; Octy, the crew's lookout; Novel, the ship's mechanic who rides a large red mecha; Leap, an enormous white-haired woman who is the ship's cook; Dizzy, whom Johnny helped fake her death for her own protection.

Post-War Administration Bureau
The Post-War Administration Bureau (終戦管理局) (or P.W.A.B.) is a fictional secret society in the Guilty Gear fighting game series, making its first appearance in Guilty Gear XX. It is the organization that created Robo-Ky, and changed Testament into a Gear.

The organization was founded during the war between humans and Gears; as its name implies, it was intended to manage the affairs of the human race once the war was over. However, the war's end saw no need for them, and it was supposed to have been disbanded. Instead, they merely retreated to the shadows.

The group demonstrably has access to relatively advanced technology, as it created Robo-Ky. However, its members can also use magic; an unidentified member of the group used a crystal ball to observe Jam Kuradoberi in one of her endings.

The purpose of the organization has apparently shifted entirely to maintaining its own power and influence, as well as its own secrecy, and its members are willing to go to any lengths to do so, evidently lacking any ethics in how they go about this. Its interest in each character seems focused on whether they should be manipulated, killed, captured, or studied, and each characters' Story Mode begins with the P.W.A.B.'s profile for that character, accompanied with a "risk rating" that apparently denotes how dangerous they are to the organization. Robo-Ky was created both to impersonate Ky Kiske and as an equalizer should they decide that direct confrontation is necessary.

Raven
One of three servants to That Man. Little is known of him, but he does share some sort of connection with Axl Low which That Man describes as being "parallel existences" of each other. In the Guilty Gear novel "Lightning the Argent", Raven shows unusual battle prowess by essentially ignoring Sol's fire attacks, via regeneration, and beating Faust in an interdimensional battle. Raven is also present in several endings in Guilty Gear XX, in which one he is noted as the parallel existence of Axl Low. His voice actor is Yasumoto Hiroki.

Solaria
A character from the novel Lightning the Argent. Solaria is a full-blooded Gear created by the Blackard Company. She was used by the company to awaken and control the world's dormant Gears as their weapons. She was later rescued by Ky Kiske where she now lives freely under the protection of the International Police Force.

Erica Bartholomew
The President of the United States in the current Guilty Gear timeline and from the novel The Butterfly and Her Gale. An orphan, she is a child prodigy who became President at the age of 17. Chipp decided to become her bodyguard after the Assassin Syndicate tried to kill her. The reason for the attempt on her life is because the US had been under the influence and corruption of the Syndicate for many years. One of Erica's goals was to rid the US of their influence by forming an alliance with President Gabriel of Zepp since his nation was the most highly technological and powerful nation in the world. Despite attempts by the syndicate to frame each nation of an assassination attempt on their leaders, blackmailing the Senate and kidnapping her guardian and caretaker of her orphanage, the alliance was finally made thanks to the help of Chipp.

Tsuyoshi
Chipp's Sensei and the man who changed his life. Tsuyoshi was a ninja master who saved Chipp when he was about to be killed by the mafia. It was his tutelage that changed Chipp from a drug addict to the man he is now. He was killed by the Assassin Syndicate before the events of Guilty Gear. The novel The Butterfly and her Gale reveals he was killed because he was an undercover agent of the International Police Force who infiltrated the Syndicate until they found out about his true identity.

Volf
A member of the Assassin Syndicate from the novel The Butterfly and her Gale. He is the man responsible for the death of Tsuyoshi. In the novel he & the Syndicate tries to prevent President Erica from forming the US/Zepp alliance in anyway and even he himself was responsible for kidnapping her guardian. Ironically, his plans were thwarted by Tsuyoshi student, Chipp. For his failure to kill Erica, Chipp and stopping the alliance, he was killed by Venom personally.

That Man
"That Man" (あの男) is the creator of the Gears and the primary antagonist of the Guilty Gear games. He is not playable, nor does he ever directly fight anyone, but appears in several story sequences; his face is apparently in shadow and never seen completely (although in one of Anji Mito's endings in Guilty Gear XX his hand is revealed to be a glowing blue color). "That Man" appears in nearly every characters' endings of Guilty Gear XX at some point or other; his purpose appears mainly as a deus ex machina, since his purpose is largely to capture I-No or clean up the various messes she's made—she believed that most of the characters were a threat to his power, and attempted to harm or neutralize them, but he states several times that they are actually in accordance with his goals. These goals remain unclear as yet.

Reception
While some characters have been criticized for being "generic" or "typical characters", the cast of characters in overall have also been generally described with adjectives such "bizarre", "quirk", and "crazy", with IGN noting that the series' cast makes "the biggest freak show" of Capcom, Darkstalkers, "look like a Saturday morning cartoon". Aside of this, the characters have often been noted as the best element of the Guilty Gear series. IGN also said all the characters are very distinguishable and interesting, and remarked they "doesn't feel repetitive, even after dozens of hours of play", citing them as the reason that separates Guilty Gear from other fighting games. Game Infomer stated "character complexity and unique visual design" have become hallmarks of Guilty Gear. In a later article, IGN mentioned the character's play styles are "even more divergent" than their appearances. GameSpy cited the character as one of three reasons Guilty Gear X is hands-down the best 2D fighting game as of 2001, remarking that "[t]he difference in style for each character is profound". They also stated that "Guilty Gear X2 has some of the coolest character designs ever seen in a game", and "one of the best casts of characters ever assembled in a fighter." Gamespot agreed, calling them "unique character", and describing their move-sets as "sometimes-bizzare", while the attacks' names were described as "absurd" by Cheat Code Central.