Queer Self-Acceptance in Guilty Gear Strive

Content Warning: discussions of characters experiencing depression, gender dysphoria, loss of autonomy, and nonconsensual body alteration. It also includes discussions of real world queerphobia

Spoilers for the Guilty Gear franchise, including Guilty Gear Strive and Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers

Guilty Gear Strive (2021-present), the newest entry in the Guilty Gear fighting game franchise, is an example of positive queer representation in fighting games, showcasing several explicitly queer characters and their paths towards happiness and self-acceptance. Three of these characters—Testament, Venom, and Briget—have evolved throughout the franchise’s history, and Strive demonstrates the growth and fulfillment they have each been able to achieve over time. The characters’ growth in their personal plotlines runs parallel to the evolution of LGBTQIA+ representation in games, increasingly offering us a roster of nuanced, happy queer characters. 

The Basics of Guilty Gear

Guilty Gear is set in an alternate future where, at the turn of the 21st Century, our contemporary technologies have been abolished and magic has become the universal source of energy. Gears are artificial biological organisms made from magical energy and can come in a myriad of forms from humanoid to animalistic to mechanical. Various organisms, including humans, can be given Gear cells that permanently change their anatomy and biology.

After a tragedy which resulted in the destruction of Japan, a Gear named Justice rebelled against humanity, using her power to control other Gears and instigating the century-long war known as the Crusades. The war ended in 2175, with series protagonist, Sol Badguy, defeating Justice and the Sacred Order of Holy Knights sealing her in a dimensional prison.

The events of the Guilty Gear video games take place as humanity picks up the pieces after the Crusades. Despite its wartorn backstory, the franchise is one of the quirkiest and most colorful fighting game series, which says a lot considering how striking and eccentric the genre can be. Humans, Gears, vampires, robots, and more comprise the roster, with fighting styles as visually extraordinary as their fashion choices. The games’ story modes know when to take a breath from high action, allowing for humorous interludes and quieter moments of characters contemplating what it means to find and pursue happiness.

Guilty Gear Strive (2021-present) is a continuation of the franchise’s intense passions, but also explores multiple changes in the status quo and storytelling style. This includes the character themes—pieces of music associated with a specific member of the roster—incorporating lyrics rather than their previous instrumental versions. As a result, the inner psyche of characters has taken on a new level of depth and nuance.

The three canon LGBTQ+ characters of Guilty Gear—Testament, Venom, and Bridget—are no exception to this. While their circumstances and personal journeys are all different, what is remarkably similar is that they have all gained a significant amount of self-acceptance and personal affirmation since their introduction in the franchise—reflecting their internal character growth, but also broader trends towards complex and positive depictions of queer characters in media.

Testament: Regaining Agency and Self-Love

Testament is the first canon queer character in the Guilty Gear franchise, being introduced in the franchise’s first video game released in 1998, where they were the secondary antagonist. When Testament is killed on the battlefield during the Crusades, their corpse is experimented on and injected with Gear cells, which brings them back to life as a Gear under Justice’s villainous control.

After the events of the first game, Testament is finally able to regain control of themself for the first time in decades. Ashamed by their actions, they hide away from humanity in the Forest of Demons. Even after bonding with Justice’s pacifist daughter, Dizzy, and helping her find freedom and happiness, Testament still chooses to isolate themself and stays as far away from humans as possible.

Testament is an agender person who uses they/them pronouns, as confirmed by in the ARCREVO Americana 2021 Finals stream. Ever since they became a Gear they have “lived without the concept of gender” according to Strive’s game director Katano Akira. While they have always had an androgynous character design, with long hair and a wrap skirt, and series creator Ishiwatari Daisuke offhandedly mentioned that their gender was “androgynous” back in 2002, Strive was the first game in the franchise to explicitly confirm their gender identity.

Making their 3D debut in Strive, Testament has undergone a massive change in their outlook on life, becoming a much happier person. Rather than the bitter and angry introductions they had in previous games, Testament is now usually polite and cordial to their adversary—especially when facing Dizzy or her family—and if they win the match they might invite the loser for some tea. 

Testament’s character theme “Like a Weed, Naturally, as a Matter of Course” also demonstrates how they have moved away from their tragic self-imposed exile to become interconnected to the rest of the world again. The pronouns used to identify the subject change from masculine to feminine throughout various points of the song, showcasing that Testament’s gender identity does not fit within a strict binary. The fact that they want to live “as a matter of course”, means that they just want to be a natural part of life, being neither special or insignificant, but instead being themself. 

This idea is also reflected in the recurring lyrics “Life (sustenance)/Life (respected)/It’s drawn to each other/Ubiquity/Life (radiant)/Life (existence)”, showcasing that Testament, who has known an existence surrounded by and associated with death, is now one encircled in the constant, continual flow of life.

Testament’s character arc is important for multiple reasons, but one of the most crucial facets is how, in their journey from a mind-controlled villain to a self-assured self-made Gear, they have retained their androgyny as a core part of their being. If anything, with the addition of their new tophat and curvaceous figure in Strive, they are even more gender nonconforming than before. This is especially great to see when one considers how characters who defy or play with the gender binary are typically vilified in media, punished with defeat or conformity. Furthermore, in accepting themself Testament does not deny their gothic, Grim Reaper-esque imagery from previous games, but instead embraces it, creating a unique combination of intimidating, playful, and alluring. This may reflect on the recent trend in media to re-examine the imagery given to what is conventionally perceived as “monstrous,” especially considering its overlapping connections to queerness.

Testament’s arc demonstrates the power of reclaiming autonomy and finding self-acceptance. While the conflicts in their life have not ended, Testament now has the resolve to live it to the fullest, by exploring new hobbies, walking new paths, and spending time with their loved ones.

Venom: Forging Community and Partnership

Introduced in Guilty Gear X (2000), Venom was an assassin despite being a gentle soul who abhors blood and violence. He followed this path out of love and gratitude to the man who saved his life, Zato-ONE. Once solely devoted to his savior, the events of Xrd (2014-2017) cause Venom to finally take steps towards living on his own terms and making choices for himself rather than the organization that raised him.

Venom is one of the games’ most powerful representations, and readings, of a gay character in the Guilty Gear franchise. While his sexuality has not been explicitly stated outright, there are hints and inferences throughout the franchise, the most obvious being his immense unrequited love for Zato-ONE, which other characters have commented on. Additionally, he declines Elphelt’s marriage proposal by telling her that he does not want a wife, even after being hit by a love spell.

During his Arcade Mode in Strive, Venom confirms his new goal of supporting a town as both a baker and a vigilante protector known as the Phantom. While Venom is still fighting for the sake of others, his focus is now a reciprocal, positive connection within his new community rather than his unrequited adoration of Zato-ONE.

Venom’s character theme, “A Tenth of Myself”, reflects the man’s personal journey and inner psyche, including musings on his identity, struggle with learning to find his place in the world, and partnership with his companion from Xrd onwards, Robo-Ky. The most notable section of the song is one where he associates his life as being comparable to prime numbers:

Oh Prime numbers can’t share with many others./I thought it,/I thought it was a tragedy./I thought it,/I thought it was lonely./Sometimes I thought it was special./But it’s just a number./Like everyone else,/it just waits to be called one day./I should accept the fact that I am tragic,/lonely, and special at the same time

Prime numbers are indivisible, and as such they are usually left alone, much like Venom has known a life of isolation being raised by the Assassin’s Guild. Another interpretation is that prime numbers are represented as same-sex desire, being perceived as having less opportunities to find a pair in comparison to heterosexual presenting couples. Therefore, we can read this as Venom originally perceived his identity in extremes, negative or positive. 

Even so, everyone, and every number, is part of the world, with their own struggles and nuances, and so Venom begins to accept that he is “tragic, lonely, and special at the same time,” not rejecting his past, or complex feelings, but carrying it forward into the future. The chorus also emphasizes that even though Venom is “a tenth of [himself]”, he still retains the “indispensable part” of his identity, and that “Life will begin again and again”. His connection to Robo-Ky is also present throughout the song, most notably as a robotic voice that harmonizes with the singer. “A Tenth of Myself” is a song that is both a sombre reflection of the past, but is also an affirmative anthem celebrating the life, and partnership, that Venom and Robo-Ky have made together.

Venom’s character arc subverts the idea of homosexuality being synonymous with tragedy and isolation, and instead, being an experience as human as any other. Venom’s unrequited love for Zato-ONE was once a crucial element that defined the man’s life and decisions; now he has channeled that love from a single person to his greater community. Furthermore, Venom no longer fights alone, as Robo-Ky is now his trusted comrade-slash-hype man, who works hard to be a “worthy partner” in all aspects of Venom’s life. This reflects the reality of many queer people, who have found strength and support in community and chosen families to uplift them when cishet society, or their birth family, had not. Having been “reborn” as the Phantom, Venom strives to protect the chosen family of his new life, flipping negative narratives where gay characters are pitted against isolation into a story where a gay man can find and experience love, companionship, and community.

Bridget: Finding Her Shape

Making her debut in Guilty Gear XX (2002), Bridget, and her older twin brother, were born to loving parents who spared no expense to ensure their childrens’ happiness. However, to avoid a local superstition that twin boys would bring misfortune, Bridget’s parents opted to raise their child as a girl. Believing that they were forcing their child to live as a girl and that Bridget’s smiles and laughter were the result of putting on a front, instead of genuine expressions of happiness, her parents became distressed. As a result, Bridget believed that appearing “manlier” would make her parents happy and began her life as a bounty hunter, with the secondary goal of disproving the town’s superstitions. Eventually she succeeds, and the superstition fades, but in the end, Bridget feels emotionally unsatisfied.

Bridget is explicitly a transgender woman, as confirmed by Isiwatari Daisuke, and is also the first in the Guilty Gear franchise to have a story arc focused on the process of coming out. Bridget’s characterization journey from “crossdressing” to a canonical trans woman is a significant part of queer media history, and the queer aspects of her identity are further explored in Strive. Her Arcade mode in Strive is entirely focused on Bridget gaining the courage to stop running away from her feelings, and to accept who she is, even if that means it changes her relationship with her family.  

Her theme song “The Town Inside Me” is also about this transitional phase of her life, when she was holding herself back for fear of the changes that would occur after being honest with herself: “I can’t go home because I’m afraid/Something will change, me without me/I’m the one to blame”. Thankfully, just like in the game, the song changes to a positive affirmation of self: “I know who you are!/I’m not leaving you again! (…) No matter what changes, will no longer change me.” Witnessing such a positive, and unambiguous, depiction of coming out and queer self-acceptance in Guilty Gear Strive was already delightful, the recent continuation of Bridget’s story was an even greater surprise.

The new anime series Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers (2025) brings an additional story arc for everyone’s favourite yo-yo wielding bounty hunter. Bridget saves the life of Unika, the secondary antagonist, and listens to the young woman’s concerns as she begins to question her adopted father’s negative outlook on Gears. Later, Bridget asks Unika if she “knows her shape,” and recounts her own personal journey of self-discovery. The scene is unambiguously about how Bridget used to perceive herself the way the people from her hometown did—as a cute AMAB child crossdressing. However, just because that’s what other people saw didn’t mean that this was her true identity. As Bridget reflected on herself and met more people, she realized that her “cute” was that of a transgender woman, with roughness around the edges that the townspeople could not, or would not, see. 

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Bridget also recalls when she tried to present more masculine to make her parents happy, but how “that didn’t feel right either.” Unika, who is incredibly deferential to her adopted father, is surprised that Bridget even went against her father’s wishes. Bridget says that she loves her father and that they are still on good terms, but emphasizes that “Your shape, your true self…It’s something you have to find.” Thanks to Bridget’s kindness and earnest discussion of her coming out, Unika is able to take the first steps on her own personal journey.

Encouraging self-discovery and personal reflection is not the only aspect of Bridget and Unika’s relationship that is queer: many scenes suggest that Unika is in love with Bridget, and vice versa. In the anime, there is Unika’s enamored expression upon seeing Bridget seabathing,  Unika sensing when Bridget was severely injured, and seeing said injuries being the motivation Unika needed to finally rebel against her father. Guilty Gear Strive is no slouch in terms of romantic subtext, either, with Bridget and Unika having several unique dialogue interactions, their tone of voices ranging from flirtatious to bashful.

Overall, Bridget’s character arc shows the importance of taking the time to reflect on oneself, and affirming that your identity should not be defined by other people’s happiness or expectations. It also demonstrates the importance of supporting other queer people through their own personal journeys, and that we each have our own answers to find about ourselves.

Conclusions: Why This All Matters

When I first began to learn about Guilty Gear, I had no way of knowing that this series would eventually capture my heart and introduce me to several delightful queer positive narratives. While I still have a lot to learn, and will certainly never be a top player, the franchise has given me renewed interest in fighting games and makes me want to try to push myself out of my comfort zones and try new things. The fact that the fighting game community is in general one of the more welcoming spaces to LGBTQ+ players, especially in comparison to other forms of online multiplayer games, is certainly another beneficial factor.

It is becoming an increasingly fraught time to be an openly queer person in either online or offline spaces. These problems are large, overwhelmingly so, but there are still little ways that we can work together to take care of ourselves and our communities. Having zero tolerance for bigotry in your community, and standing up for those experiencing harassment, is crucial, as well as continuing to exist and feeling joy for the space you occupy in the world.

Seeing people like you, even in a fantastical space like Guilty Gear, is important, because losing sight of the various ways we can find joy and connection in this world is a terrible fate. As Testament, Venom, and Briget show, we all have our own journeys and our own shapes, and no one can take that away from you. I sincerely hope that we are able to find that happiness in ourselves, and are able to support each other.