Guilty Gear: Strive is a downright gorgeous game—gorgeous enough that it actually introduced me to the fighting game genre after a lifetime of abstinence. (I'm still a little sketchy on my dragon punches.) Its character intros and outros are lovingly animated in a 3D style that mimics 2D anime—which means it's only fitting that Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, an honest-to-keikaku anime, is arriving to Crunchyroll in April.
That's as per a trailer posted to developer Arcsystemworks' (Arcsys) channel yesterday, one that's looking like it'll be just as stylish as the game it's built on.
As per the video's description, Dual Rulers kicks off during the wedding of Ky Kiske to Dizzy, a half-Gear (a kind of magic, living weapon) who is the daughter of Justice. Everyone's a little nervous because, well, Justice sort of tried to wipe out humanity after she was created by That Man. No, really, that's his name. I've barely scraped the surface of Guilty Gear lore and it's all equally irreverent, which makes it perfect anime fodder.
In fact, Arcsys kinda knew that—which is why it had a stab at making a pseudo-anime for the game's Story Mode. Only, time and budget constraints being what they were (alongside the game's development during the Covid-19 pandemic) it's a little… inconsistent. It's charmingly ambitious, though, even if it feels like you're watching an in-engine storyboard at times.
Which is why this series, built in partnership with Sanzigen Studios, feels like a 'this is how we would've done it'—Arcsys isn't working with an Arcane-sized budget or anything, but the show is already looking super snazzy, with some flashes of exciting fight choreography that'll do its roster of ridiculously-armed superhumans justice.
I'm mostly just hyped to see some of its cast do their thing. As an Elphelt player I'm a touch biased, but seeing my girl strike a pose made me happy. Bridget fans'll also be eating good, as she's yo-yo'd her way into the narrative. The actual protagonist, however, appears to be Sin Kiske, who is Ky and Dizzy's son and is also, uh, three years old. He just looks like that. Gears age quickly. It's a whole thing.
You'll be able to watch Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers on Crunchyroll in April, with a specific date yet to be confirmed. And if it gets delayed, we can just pin the blame on the beasts, anyway.
