the thing about grounding your character design is "how many heads would this turn walking down the street?" and i think that's where strive hits that balance perfectly. all of the characters have fantastic (in both senses of the word) designs, but if you stripped away features, they wouldn't be so outrageous. sol without the spikey hair, headband, or all the belts and straps? he's a guy in chaps a jacket, probably a biker. gio looks like an office worker with no AC. testament fits in perfectly at a goth nightclub. i made replica hoodies for bridget and may, and wear them all the time. the only thing anyone ever asked about was the cartoonishly large zipper on my bridget hoodie. the fact these characters all look like they might not be walking down the street, but could exist somewhere in the world, is what makes them so cool. the only characters who really break this are the valentines, but they're supposed to be otherworldly and not technically from earth so it makes sense in context.
@@Meta_Break thank you! I've spent a long time trying to figure where the exact line between fashion and cosplay lies, and GGS balances that tightrope better than anything I've seen
"I want more people to play this game" Took this right from my tongue. This game is criminally overlooked. It just itches me that we don't have giant community like MK has for e.g
what do you mean overlooked, almost all big fgc events have guilty gear as their top 1 game that has the most registered players by far from 2nd. and also won goty 2021 award for fg. it really isn't overlooked. even people who never touched fighting games are drawn to this game.
I think what he means, not to put words in his mouth, is that guilty gear is not quite yet recognized on the same level as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. We recognize it and love it as the fgc, but the general public, not so much.
@@juliuswenceslao9655 meta said it before me. It's not about not being in tournaments but about not being too popular among normies. Like ever heard that ppl invite each other over to play some GGST. I believe mortal combat is 4 times more popular than GGST. Imo ggst is better in many departments
Guilty gear strive’s ramlethal is what got me into fighting games in general. I saw a cute girl with HUGE, and I mean a massive pair of swords, and I got excited. I wish I could play with those swords everyday
"Small woman with huge weapon(s)" is such a popular trope it should have gotten old by now but it just doesn't; not only can it look cool, it's funny by default (like May and her big fucking anchor)
I honestly appreciate Giovanna's unbuttoned shirt, because it really fits with her story. She works for the president, but is constantly at odds with her superiors becaude she isn't formal. She doesn't wear the badge she's meant to, doesn't show up on time, lays on the roof rather than doing her job etc etc. Her having an unbuttoned shirt almost more adds to the lazy feel she's meant to have, like she can't be fucked to do it up
Plus it contrasts her with Goldlewis, who despite his cowboy-style outfit is still incredibly formal, with him wearing a full suit and tie with dress shoes. You can see that Goldlewis means business, but it also hides how dangerous he is, which contrasts well with Giovanna, where you can see she's not particularly formal, and she's quite laid back, but she's constantly on alert
Hey this is a great video but I have to point out a few things that are inaccurate: 1. The part about Lucina and Marth looking the same is a strawman arguement; yes they are related so they look alike, but in the game Lucina is pretending to be Marth so of course they want them to look nearly identical for plot convenience 2. 1:12 The two characters you pointed out are Japanese, not Caucasian 3. And Axl isn't the comic relief character in Strive, in the past he was and is still a laid back and goofy character, but in Strive he's got ahold on his powers and his whole plotline is to save people and to try to reach out to I-No as a friend. If anything, the villain Happy Chaos is the comic relief since he's always fucking around and constantly screwing with Nago and Sol
@@therealjohncena760 they don't really always do it on purpose. Part of it is just that they don't see themselves as being darker skinned or any of the other major physical attributes a Caucasian person would identify on a Japanese person. This is why when you DO see a Caucasian person (usually American) in anime they are either tan beach dudes or extremely pale blonde people. Because those are the physical traits they associate with Caucasian Americans.
When I think of great character designs in anime, I think of JoJo's which I feel Guilty Gear took a lot of inspiration from. When I think of great fantastical yet grounded designs, I think of Arcane. Both work for different reasons, JoJo's because it combines Western influences while still feeling very Japanese, and Arcane because it decided to tone down the fantasy fluff of League of Legends but not too much to the point where the characters lose their identity. Shapes and colors matter in terms of design.
I don’t think Guilty Gear took inspiration from JoJo’s, they both took inspiration from the same thing: rock music. But Daisuke and Araki love rock music and have designed characters based off of it.
This video is amazingly edited and presented apart from a few volume mixing issues you have created a piece of art. I was astonished to find that the video hadn't even passed 1k views. Just know your audience is out there and you're top notch quality vids deserve to be seen!
Cool video. Same feedback. I found myself reflexively lowering the volume when loud music clips start and raising the volume on your relatively quieter voice over.
I think a big part of Guilty Gear's un-sameness is the focus towards characters who are mostly adults. Of course there is a lot more to it but just the age differences towards most mainstream anime-inspired stuff already changes how characters act and the dynamics between them significantly, at least to me. Imo it's such a shame that a lot of anime is very formulaic because as a medium it has a lot of potential that we might have even not began to tap because safe and well-estabilished stuff sells. My favorite anime tends to be those who don't use the same old dynamics or use them in a very different context. Like Lupin III, we have a Lancer (arguably two) and the fan service girl, but everything else that happens around these characters is different compared to most mainstream anime, so it gives a new flavor to even the more common tropes
I have to say though, despite at first appearing to have the generic personality of a brash shonen protagonist he looks like, sol is a character that I love personality wise. he's very intelligent, but he prefers to be reckless and not worry too much about stuff, he also does stuff for the hell of it and because he likes instead of being the logical or optimal choice. he's actually a pretty good subversion of the trope
I basically disagree with everything you said about anime designs being too fantastical, i love how anime is the only medium to take a "subtlety is for cowards" approach to it's visuals and tone and make it work. It's so refreshing in a world of media that's so afraid of being silly and straying too far from a grounded hyperrealistic ethos. Regardless, I somehow think guilty gear strive has the perfect balance and i loved this video.
The problem becomes that alot of these designs are over the top, yes, but because there are so many other things within the same genre attempting to do the same thing, this over-the-topness stops being something that is eye-catching, and instead just becomes part of its own norm. Thats why things like guilty gear, or full metal alchemist are so nice- they are often grounded in a sense of reality, but still pull off a fantastical story which fits their designs. On the other side of the spectrum, jojo's does hard in the other direction. No one looks generic. not even the artstyle looks similar to other anime/manga. Its characters wear things that are pretty much ripped from fashion shows, and because of this everyone is instantly recognisable- its not just that they all have wild blue spiky hair or somthing, but their entire body screams "look at me, i am an important character and have some cool otherworldly ability". And thats every character. *all of them*. And because of that, they also find a way to break out of the mold that most anime franchises are stuck in.
It also depends on on what medium the anime is if it’s visual novel they’ll have more simpler design (that’s why so many people were bummed out how morning Melty Bloods design were) and if it fantasy it’ll have out there characters designs
You know, I've had a similar experience with growing tired of the anime formula for character designs but the series that managed to be a breath of fresh air for me was, believe it or not, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Yeah, the guys are huge and could lift a car with one hand at 17, but they all dress really well, have faces that are more grounded and even pull clear inspiration from high fashion, which isn't common in anime/manga. They have a sense of elegance in their exaggeration
idk, i actually like the super over the top designs in anime and anime inspired media, that's a big part of the fun. though, i suppose that you did acknowledge that it's not 'bad' but rather 'not for you'.
I don't know if you're still looking at the comments, but Bedman?'s design and lore just stuck with me. I can fight as a mechanized killer bedframe. How fucking cool is that?!
2:10 what a glorious transition! I enjoyed every second of this video! VERY high-quality content... And the number of subscribers? That is bullshit blazing!
for me, the reason why GGS design is more interesting to me than most anime characters is that it has this western design, like it's simplified but keeps something on that makes them unique and you could know what kind of person they are just from looking at their pose alone, but yea dude worded it better that the character designs are pretty grounded and I agree.
For a video advertised as an analysis of the character designs, the video is super surface level and opinionated. Not only is half the video not even talking about the visuals, but the “analysis” basically boils down to you saying that you prefer grounded designs over fantastical ones. This is hammered in by you basically calling Xrd’s fantastical art and animation “a problem”. Truth is, both Xrd and Strive have phenomenal animation and designs for different reasons. One is not objectively better than the other. When you’re making an analysis video like this, your points need to be objective and not subjective. You can still share your opinions on certain things, but opinions shouldn’t be the main focus. The most in-depth you actually go with the analysis is pointing out the rock and metal inspirations of the characters. Talk about the color palette, shape language, how certain clothing and accessories relate to a character’s personality or backstory, anything meaningful at all. And when you actually get to talking about individual characters after having the viewers wait until nearly the end of the video, all you basically say is “new design good, old design bad”. Even if you’re going with the opinionated route, at least explain what you find appealing more than just “Axl doesn’t look like a twink anymore” or “May looks older”. Many of said observations don’t specifically apply to the Strive designs and in some cases they contradict what you’re saying. Like, Axl had jeans in most of the games, the only time he wore shorts was in the original game and Xrd. And the argument for I-no going from a sex appeal character to a badass woman like Bayonetta doesn’t work because part of Bayo’s design is getting naked to attack. I-no and Bayonetta have always been sexy badasses, it’s never been one or the other. Ironically, you point out Giovanna does the sexy badass look not too long after you discuss I-no. She goes for the same style as I-no, yet I-no is the one who gets the short end of the stick because as you firmly established “new good, old bad”. The absolute worst part of the video is right here: 10:40 The way you nonchalantly admit you aren’t a character designer, gives off the feeling that you’re saying: “I have no idea what I’m talking about, and I don’t care.” This is especially emphasized by using a Maximillian clip to express your point rather than putting it in your own words and telling people to watch it instead because it’s more insightful than your own video. Now you don’t have to be a character designer to analyze character designs. But you can research what makes certain designs appealing and make a meaningful video about it. This doesn’t just apply to art, many TH-camrs who analyze game design have never made a game in their life, yet they still manage to bring out something insightful you may not have thought about before. If your intention was to make an opinionated piece, then the title should have been something like “Why I love Guilty Gear Strive’s designs”. However, if it was meant to be a non biased analysis, it failed on all fronts. If you ever plan on making a design analysis video in the future, here’s what I recommend watching: “ANIMATION EXCELLENCE: Rock Howard” by Sugarpunch: While the video is mainly focused on animation, there’s a sizable chunk of the video discussing Rock’s design, what makes it appealing, how parts of his design tell you what he’s like as a person, and how his design was adapted into the modern day. “The Simpsons’ Missing Bus Stop” by Kid Leaves Stoop: A video discussing the Simpsons art style and how a group of five characters from the Season 1 opening break said art style’s rules. The video goes deep into art style consistency and making characters unique from one another.
"I'm not going to spoil the story" Bro you just put there the absolute best moment of Strive's story mode there. Anyway, good video, commenting for the TH-cam gods
i love gg designs but thank god i'm not the guy who had to model all those details for xrd and strive (yeah it's all meshed on details aside from the text decals)
great video! just a little headsup to the sound mixing. sometimes througout the video i had to lower the volume only tho crank it up again after a few moments because i couldnt hear what your talking ablut properly.
This only has 6.5k views? The fuck? If i didn't know any better, I'd think I was watching a high profile youtuber! This is some seriously good shit, dawg. Keep it up, it's only a matter of time.
the algorithm is cruel, making channels with such high quality content slip under the radar this much. my man, you made so many videos, but some got fucking 4 views, FOUR but that also means something, you made this video fully expecting this, you knew what you were going into, there was absolutely no financial incentive for this, the sole reason for this video's existence is that you felt this passionate for the topic, there was no reason to stretch it out, there was no reason to hit the 10 minute mark for ads, this genuinely needed 17 minutes to express what you truly felt about this funky game, and honestly i'm very happy to see it, i'm definitely subbing
I dunno, man. Nago, for example, has a lot of lil details, yea he's not overdisigned, but those details still make him a lot more complicated. Someone like Tanjiro from demon slayer has less details, but the things that he has stand out a lot, like the scar on his forehead or his green/black suit. By that logic, Nago is more overdisigned than Tanjiro. I think you just really like GG and i unerstand it, i like GG too, but i don't think popular anime charaters are overdesigned.
The series' incredible character design is a big part of why Guilty Gear has been my favorite fighting game series for the past two and a half decades. The incredible characters, music, animation, mechanical flexibility, and focus aggressive playstyle is why I have loved this series since I first encountered it back in 1999, on the PlayStation.
Despite loving GGST's designs as well, I feel this video is a bit unjust to some of the pieces it's criticizing, specially regarding what's being discussed VS what's being shown. 4:42 - "anime character designs are formulaic" while showing footage of MHA, which is aguarbly one of the most distinct and creative animes of the last few years in terms of character designs (the actual story is kinda bad now, but that's not the point here). MHA is one of the few shonen shows I've ever seen that let you recognize pretty much any major character from eye-shapes alone. Could've shown pretty much any majorly popular isekai anime from the last 10 years to illustrate that point. You also show footage of Kobayashi and Demon Slayer, the former which has striking and eyecatching character designs (for a romcom anime, at least) for its main cast, and the latter being one of the only anime I've seen that uses cloth patterns as character defining aspects. Doesn't really illustrate your point IMO. 0:53 - as another user pointed out. Picking specifically Lucina and Marth seems a bit disingenuous when you could've got pretty much any other FE character and compare them (I mean, just look at how similar Marth and M.Byleth look). 5:53 - Sol isn't the "young, hopeful good guy MC", so it really doesn't fit the comparison. Your typical shonen triad metaphor doesn't really work in GG. Specially mentioning Jack-O, since she was never a "companion" character up until Strive, and her design is pretty much untouched from XRD (where she was kinda an antagonist). Dizzy seems much more of a "companion" IMO. You could also have picked Sin as the "loud best friend".
I literally brought the game JUST to play as Nagoriyuki. The most badass character design in anime ever made. I didnt even care that hes a hard character to play, thats the power of good visual designs.
guilty gear was responsible for me liking games like street fighter, and potemkin was the first character I ever saw in strobe gameplay, as I saw BIG MUSCLE MAN grab his opponent and SCREAM AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, and I said that “holy shit I wanna be like that”.
14:34 can confirm that goldlewis is super attractive (Seriously though tell me that a giant Texan that swings his alien around in a coffin isn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever seen)
IIRC luncina was impersonating Marth for a time so not the best example I'm looking some more would be done intentionally regardless of similarity problems
cool? i'm not saying that your opinion is wrong but seem... a bit unfair, Guilty gear designs are fantastic but that's almost every fighting game, the design philosophy behind these and shounen animes are pretty similar, you can even add league to the list if want to but every character has to wear their personality on their sleeves and it shows but how different is Nagoriyuki's "keep out" sign are from Iida's white knight attire in terms of subtlety?
This video isnt made to make you think Guilty Gears character design is objectively better than shonen anime or other games. The point i wanted to make is that those design just didnt work for me, and guilty gears did. It all comes down to preference, and GGs rock and roll references and flair was what I fell in love with. I just wanted to talk about the sexy rock and roll gorilla for 15 minutes.
I have decided to share my personal favorite designs in guilty gear strive. I will not explain my reasons what so ever. 1. Faust 2. Happy Chaos 3. Bedman That's all that I'll give you. I won't explain why these are my favorites. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you disagree then that's fine, just don't talk to me about it.
It's funny you say leon massey is gonna make a vudeo about gg's character design because he did make a video on strive but it's an hour of him shitting on strive instead
I agree that this is definitely a high effort video and I can see what you're going for but overall, I feel like all that was said is how much you love guilty gear. While I would say that's totally worth making a video about, I'm not sure if its worth 17 minutes lol. I heavily debated writing this comment, really I just hope you can find it constructive. The only way to get better is to keep doing and in that sense I think you're doing great, so never stop creating!! Also at 6:05, its Aria not Ariel. Get the waifus right GODT damnit
If you’re reading this, save yourself the trouble and just watch MaximillianDood’s video. Like, every talking point here is also there, done better. This guy has no new or unique ideas about guilty gear or character design as a whole. He acts like a jerk, then walks it back to ride milquetoast regurgitations from the single video he bothered watching on the subject, a subject which he admits he knows nothing about. How is this almost twenty minutes?
I think it's worth noting that the character designs in some of the works you showed are as integral to the plot of those games and individual stories of its characters. If we're going to make a surface level critique of common tropes in anime without acknowledging western media for doing the asme thing it's a tad inconsistent. We're both wrestling fans and we both know pro wrestlers have outfit and entrance choices that are over the top. Westerners in media are known for being loud and obnoxious in both design and personality while Japanese designs are known for being over the top and ornate while most characters are not. It's just a difference in culture. I love your content but I do implore you to explore that perspective because it's usually just something that simple.
the thing about grounding your character design is "how many heads would this turn walking down the street?" and i think that's where strive hits that balance perfectly. all of the characters have fantastic (in both senses of the word) designs, but if you stripped away features, they wouldn't be so outrageous. sol without the spikey hair, headband, or all the belts and straps? he's a guy in chaps a jacket, probably a biker. gio looks like an office worker with no AC. testament fits in perfectly at a goth nightclub. i made replica hoodies for bridget and may, and wear them all the time. the only thing anyone ever asked about was the cartoonishly large zipper on my bridget hoodie. the fact these characters all look like they might not be walking down the street, but could exist somewhere in the world, is what makes them so cool. the only characters who really break this are the valentines, but they're supposed to be otherworldly and not technically from earth so it makes sense in context.
Great insight. You're way more knowledgeable about thais than me!
@@Meta_Break thank you! I've spent a long time trying to figure where the exact line between fashion and cosplay lies, and GGS balances that tightrope better than anything I've seen
Faust's look is pretty strange tbh
@@Emil4ek okay but minus the paper bag and...giant body he's a doctor in scrubs and sneakers
If I saw somebody wearing Axl's outfit out on the street I would call the police
"I want more people to play this game"
Took this right from my tongue. This game is criminally overlooked. It just itches me that we don't have giant community like MK has for e.g
what do you mean overlooked, almost all big fgc events have guilty gear as their top 1 game that has the most registered players by far from 2nd. and also won goty 2021 award for fg. it really isn't overlooked. even people who never touched fighting games are drawn to this game.
I think what he means, not to put words in his mouth, is that guilty gear is not quite yet recognized on the same level as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. We recognize it and love it as the fgc, but the general public, not so much.
@@juliuswenceslao9655 meta said it before me. It's not about not being in tournaments but about not being too popular among normies. Like ever heard that ppl invite each other over to play some GGST. I believe mortal combat is 4 times more popular than GGST. Imo ggst is better in many departments
Reasons why Guilty Gear Strive has the best character designs
Reason 1: Nagoriyuki
Reason 2: see reason 1
Agreed!!!
For me it was Potemkin and Anji
Guilty gear strive’s ramlethal is what got me into fighting games in general. I saw a cute girl with HUGE, and I mean a massive pair of swords, and I got excited. I wish I could play with those swords everyday
"Small woman with huge weapon(s)" is such a popular trope it should have gotten old by now but it just doesn't; not only can it look cool, it's funny by default (like May and her big fucking anchor)
@@seb_masou3179 totsugeki!!
don't lie, you like the feet
I mean the literal meat cape is pretty neat too
@@seb_masou3179See she gets 2 massive swords, just in case you think you can challenge her in neutral.
I honestly appreciate Giovanna's unbuttoned shirt, because it really fits with her story. She works for the president, but is constantly at odds with her superiors becaude she isn't formal. She doesn't wear the badge she's meant to, doesn't show up on time, lays on the roof rather than doing her job etc etc. Her having an unbuttoned shirt almost more adds to the lazy feel she's meant to have, like she can't be fucked to do it up
Plus it contrasts her with Goldlewis, who despite his cowboy-style outfit is still incredibly formal, with him wearing a full suit and tie with dress shoes.
You can see that Goldlewis means business, but it also hides how dangerous he is, which contrasts well with Giovanna, where you can see she's not particularly formal, and she's quite laid back, but she's constantly on alert
Wowie this does not feel like a video that should have less than 200 views. This is some incredibly high effort/high quality stuff.
Thank you very much. Heres hoping I can make more of these.
the video makes good points, production value is solid too. its possible youtube hid the video because of 14:06.
Well that aged poorly, in the best way possible
Man, that introduction of GG starting around minute 2 was the most hype inducing piece of editing I've seen a WHILE.
Thank you, man, I'm really proud of it.
Hey this is a great video but I have to point out a few things that are inaccurate:
1. The part about Lucina and Marth looking the same is a strawman arguement; yes they are related so they look alike, but in the game Lucina is pretending to be Marth so of course they want them to look nearly identical for plot convenience
2. 1:12 The two characters you pointed out are Japanese, not Caucasian
3. And Axl isn't the comic relief character in Strive, in the past he was and is still a laid back and goofy character, but in Strive he's got ahold on his powers and his whole plotline is to save people and to try to reach out to I-No as a friend. If anything, the villain Happy Chaos is the comic relief since he's always fucking around and constantly screwing with Nago and Sol
yeah the all the past guilty gear characters are depressed in each of their own ways, atleast now we have hc who is arguably a comic relief
the majority of Japanese characters in anime look Caucasian......on purpose
I'd probably argue that the comic relief could probably be May and Johnny
@@therealjohncena760 they don't really always do it on purpose. Part of it is just that they don't see themselves as being darker skinned or any of the other major physical attributes a Caucasian person would identify on a Japanese person. This is why when you DO see a Caucasian person (usually American) in anime they are either tan beach dudes or extremely pale blonde people. Because those are the physical traits they associate with Caucasian Americans.
When I think of great character designs in anime, I think of JoJo's which I feel Guilty Gear took a lot of inspiration from. When I think of great fantastical yet grounded designs, I think of Arcane. Both work for different reasons, JoJo's because it combines Western influences while still feeling very Japanese, and Arcane because it decided to tone down the fantasy fluff of League of Legends but not too much to the point where the characters lose their identity. Shapes and colors matter in terms of design.
I don’t think Guilty Gear took inspiration from JoJo’s, they both took inspiration from the same thing: rock music. But Daisuke and Araki love rock music and have designed characters based off of it.
@@Mr.Skeleton-ElDaisuke has openly stated he'a recieved inspirition from Hirohiko Araki's work. Jojo's was one of his favorite mangas growing up.
This video is amazingly edited and presented apart from a few volume mixing issues you have created a piece of art. I was astonished to find that the video hadn't even passed 1k views. Just know your audience is out there and you're top notch quality vids deserve to be seen!
Thank you man, i really appreciate it. 💜
Cool video. Same feedback. I found myself reflexively lowering the volume when loud music clips start and raising the volume on your relatively quieter voice over.
I think a big part of Guilty Gear's un-sameness is the focus towards characters who are mostly adults. Of course there is a lot more to it but just the age differences towards most mainstream anime-inspired stuff already changes how characters act and the dynamics between them significantly, at least to me.
Imo it's such a shame that a lot of anime is very formulaic because as a medium it has a lot of potential that we might have even not began to tap because safe and well-estabilished stuff sells. My favorite anime tends to be those who don't use the same old dynamics or use them in a very different context. Like Lupin III, we have a Lancer (arguably two) and the fan service girl, but everything else that happens around these characters is different compared to most mainstream anime, so it gives a new flavor to even the more common tropes
I have to say though, despite at first appearing to have the generic personality of a brash shonen protagonist he looks like, sol is a character that I love personality wise.
he's very intelligent, but he prefers to be reckless and not worry too much about stuff, he also does stuff for the hell of it and because he likes instead of being the logical or optimal choice. he's actually a pretty good subversion of the trope
The algorithm really has not been kind to you. You 100% deserve more recognition, this is some high effort/quality content! Hope to see you continue!
7:14
The joke here is that Dan is super loved by fans because of his design. (gameplay and look/personality)
And I love it'
Wow instantly getting a heart 8 month after the video release.
Never had this one before.
Great video really, but the audio levels with sound effects & music are really LOUD.
Noted!
I basically disagree with everything you said about anime designs being too fantastical, i love how anime is the only medium to take a "subtlety is for cowards" approach to it's visuals and tone and make it work. It's so refreshing in a world of media that's so afraid of being silly and straying too far from a grounded hyperrealistic ethos.
Regardless, I somehow think guilty gear strive has the perfect balance and i loved this video.
The problem becomes that alot of these designs are over the top, yes, but because there are so many other things within the same genre attempting to do the same thing, this over-the-topness stops being something that is eye-catching, and instead just becomes part of its own norm. Thats why things like guilty gear, or full metal alchemist are so nice- they are often grounded in a sense of reality, but still pull off a fantastical story which fits their designs.
On the other side of the spectrum, jojo's does hard in the other direction. No one looks generic. not even the artstyle looks similar to other anime/manga. Its characters wear things that are pretty much ripped from fashion shows, and because of this everyone is instantly recognisable- its not just that they all have wild blue spiky hair or somthing, but their entire body screams "look at me, i am an important character and have some cool otherworldly ability". And thats every character. *all of them*. And because of that, they also find a way to break out of the mold that most anime franchises are stuck in.
It also depends on on what medium the anime is if it’s visual novel they’ll have more simpler design (that’s why so many people were bummed out how morning Melty Bloods design were) and if it fantasy it’ll have out there characters designs
You could make a character study on Goldlewis's design alone.
Honestly, I would if I had more knowledge of character design
You know, I've had a similar experience with growing tired of the anime formula for character designs but the series that managed to be a breath of fresh air for me was, believe it or not, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Yeah, the guys are huge and could lift a car with one hand at 17, but they all dress really well, have faces that are more grounded and even pull clear inspiration from high fashion, which isn't common in anime/manga. They have a sense of elegance in their exaggeration
idk, i actually like the super over the top designs in anime and anime inspired media, that's a big part of the fun. though, i suppose that you did acknowledge that it's not 'bad' but rather 'not for you'.
Exactly
@@Meta_Break ok. thanks for the response!
I don't know if you're still looking at the comments, but Bedman?'s design and lore just stuck with me. I can fight as a mechanized killer bedframe. How fucking cool is that?!
2:10 what a glorious transition! I enjoyed every second of this video! VERY high-quality content... And the number of subscribers? That is bullshit blazing!
This popped up out of nowhere for me so the algorithm may be blessing you
Good to know! Thanks for watching.
Bro, this video deserves a lot more views, IT’S AMAZING
for me, the reason why GGS design is more interesting to me than most anime characters is that it has this western design, like it's simplified but keeps something on that makes them unique and you could know what kind of person they are just from looking at their pose alone, but yea dude worded it better that the character designs are pretty grounded and I agree.
This made me smile. Guilty Gear is something that I’ve only recently gotten into, but DAMN did it hook me.
For a video advertised as an analysis of the character designs, the video is super surface level and opinionated.
Not only is half the video not even talking about the visuals, but the “analysis” basically boils down to you saying that you prefer grounded designs over fantastical ones. This is hammered in by you basically calling Xrd’s fantastical art and animation “a problem”.
Truth is, both Xrd and Strive have phenomenal animation and designs for different reasons. One is not objectively better than the other.
When you’re making an analysis video like this, your points need to be objective and not subjective. You can still share your opinions on certain things, but opinions shouldn’t be the main focus.
The most in-depth you actually go with the analysis is pointing out the rock and metal inspirations of the characters. Talk about the color palette, shape language, how certain clothing and accessories relate to a character’s personality or backstory, anything meaningful at all.
And when you actually get to talking about individual characters after having the viewers wait until nearly the end of the video, all you basically say is “new design good, old design bad”. Even if you’re going with the opinionated route, at least explain what you find appealing more than just “Axl doesn’t look like a twink anymore” or “May looks older”.
Many of said observations don’t specifically apply to the Strive designs and in some cases they contradict what you’re saying. Like, Axl had jeans in most of the games, the only time he wore shorts was in the original game and Xrd.
And the argument for I-no going from a sex appeal character to a badass woman like Bayonetta doesn’t work because part of Bayo’s design is getting naked to attack. I-no and Bayonetta have always been sexy badasses, it’s never been one or the other.
Ironically, you point out Giovanna does the sexy badass look not too long after you discuss I-no. She goes for the same style as I-no, yet I-no is the one who gets the short end of the stick because as you firmly established “new good, old bad”.
The absolute worst part of the video is right here: 10:40
The way you nonchalantly admit you aren’t a character designer, gives off the feeling that you’re saying: “I have no idea what I’m talking about, and I don’t care.”
This is especially emphasized by using a Maximillian clip to express your point rather than putting it in your own words and telling people to watch it instead because it’s more insightful than your own video.
Now you don’t have to be a character designer to analyze character designs. But you can research what makes certain designs appealing and make a meaningful video about it.
This doesn’t just apply to art, many TH-camrs who analyze game design have never made a game in their life, yet they still manage to bring out something insightful you may not have thought about before.
If your intention was to make an opinionated piece, then the title should have been something like “Why I love Guilty Gear Strive’s designs”.
However, if it was meant to be a non biased analysis, it failed on all fronts.
If you ever plan on making a design analysis video in the future, here’s what I recommend watching:
“ANIMATION EXCELLENCE: Rock Howard” by Sugarpunch: While the video is mainly focused on animation, there’s a sizable chunk of the video discussing Rock’s design, what makes it appealing, how parts of his design tell you what he’s like as a person, and how his design was adapted into the modern day.
“The Simpsons’ Missing Bus Stop” by Kid Leaves Stoop: A video discussing the Simpsons art style and how a group of five characters from the Season 1 opening break said art style’s rules. The video goes deep into art style consistency and making characters unique from one another.
Funny that this was next in my watch later right after the designs video!
"I'm not going to spoil the story"
Bro you just put there the absolute best moment of Strive's story mode there.
Anyway, good video, commenting for the TH-cam gods
i love gg designs but thank god i'm not the guy who had to model all those details for xrd and strive (yeah it's all meshed on details aside from the text decals)
Fantastic work, dude! Looking forward to your next video!
great video!
just a little headsup to the sound mixing. sometimes througout the video i had to lower the volume only tho crank it up again after a few moments because i couldnt hear what your talking ablut properly.
This only has 6.5k views? The fuck? If i didn't know any better, I'd think I was watching a high profile youtuber! This is some seriously good shit, dawg. Keep it up, it's only a matter of time.
the algorithm is cruel, making channels with such high quality content slip under the radar this much. my man, you made so many videos, but some got fucking 4 views, FOUR
but that also means something, you made this video fully expecting this, you knew what you were going into, there was absolutely no financial incentive for this, the sole reason for this video's existence is that you felt this passionate for the topic, there was no reason to stretch it out, there was no reason to hit the 10 minute mark for ads, this genuinely needed 17 minutes to express what you truly felt about this funky game, and honestly i'm very happy to see it, i'm definitely subbing
Thank you, man. Your words mean a lot.
10:30 i think the fma designs are perfect for the most part
Theyre grounded in historical fashion which fits the more realistic medieval alchemist story
I dunno, man. Nago, for example, has a lot of lil details, yea he's not overdisigned, but those details still make him a lot more complicated.
Someone like Tanjiro from demon slayer has less details, but the things that he has stand out a lot, like the scar on his forehead or his green/black suit. By that logic, Nago is more overdisigned than Tanjiro.
I think you just really like GG and i unerstand it, i like GG too, but i don't think popular anime charaters are overdesigned.
The series' incredible character design is a big part of why Guilty Gear has been my favorite fighting game series for the past two and a half decades. The incredible characters, music, animation, mechanical flexibility, and focus aggressive playstyle is why I have loved this series since I first encountered it back in 1999, on the PlayStation.
Despite loving GGST's designs as well, I feel this video is a bit unjust to some of the pieces it's criticizing, specially regarding what's being discussed VS what's being shown.
4:42 - "anime character designs are formulaic" while showing footage of MHA, which is aguarbly one of the most distinct and creative animes of the last few years in terms of character designs (the actual story is kinda bad now, but that's not the point here). MHA is one of the few shonen shows I've ever seen that let you recognize pretty much any major character from eye-shapes alone. Could've shown pretty much any majorly popular isekai anime from the last 10 years to illustrate that point.
You also show footage of Kobayashi and Demon Slayer, the former which has striking and eyecatching character designs (for a romcom anime, at least) for its main cast, and the latter being one of the only anime I've seen that uses cloth patterns as character defining aspects. Doesn't really illustrate your point IMO.
0:53 - as another user pointed out. Picking specifically Lucina and Marth seems a bit disingenuous when you could've got pretty much any other FE character and compare them (I mean, just look at how similar Marth and M.Byleth look).
5:53 - Sol isn't the "young, hopeful good guy MC", so it really doesn't fit the comparison. Your typical shonen triad metaphor doesn't really work in GG. Specially mentioning Jack-O, since she was never a "companion" character up until Strive, and her design is pretty much untouched from XRD (where she was kinda an antagonist). Dizzy seems much more of a "companion" IMO. You could also have picked Sin as the "loud best friend".
how do u have only 298 subs? thats some real high quality video here
2:10 the second he said the daredevil and that music started playing I started doing a head bang knowing it was gg the series
To answer the first question
"But bro... I don't think it's a joke anymore"
very well put together video, i love your style
4:48 my guy, that's literally just the hero's journey template. fucking star wars and lord of the rings fit into that description.
It appears that the blessing of the algorithm has descended upon you.
Godspeed, brother.
Well, there is Delicious In Dungeon.
Glad I was not the only one thinking this lol
"they're all the same" meanwhile jojo:
Yeah, that was about my reaction to DNF Duel as well.
Good God how does this video have less than 1k views this was so good!
How the FUCK does this not have more attention dude
I literally brought the game JUST to play as Nagoriyuki. The most badass character design in anime ever made. I didnt even care that hes a hard character to play, thats the power of good visual designs.
1:20 You’ve got balls to sneak something like this into a video
How do you not have thousands of subs? Us Meta’s gotta stick together
guilty gear was responsible for me liking games like street fighter, and potemkin was the first character I ever saw in strobe gameplay, as I saw BIG MUSCLE MAN grab his opponent and SCREAM AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, and I said that “holy shit I wanna be like that”.
14:34 can confirm that goldlewis is super attractive
(Seriously though tell me that a giant Texan that swings his alien around in a coffin isn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever seen)
Gotta love arcsys taking a big guy, not making him a grappler, and just making him this absolute unit!
wish they kept axls jorts they were so funny
Bro i just realized the amount of views this video have. And lemme say, i think u deserve more.
Thank you man. Comments like this mean the world to me.
@@Meta_Break keep up the great vids 👍
*produced before Bedman was released for Strive.
I'm playing this game solely because I-No's design is just so fucking PEAK.
1:15 that's very vague way of describing a character because Nathan Drake and Joel from tlou falls under this description more then 2 asian dudes
i was drawn to this game by GGxrd faust. Im now a dedicated faust main with 400+ hrs combined across XX Xrd and Strive
The audio level doesn't exist
IIRC luncina was impersonating Marth for a time so not the best example I'm looking some more would be done intentionally regardless of similarity problems
Wtf why do you have only these few subs? You deserve more!
Thank you very much!
WHY DOES THIS NOT HAVE MORE THAN 1K LIKES, THAT IS A TRAVESTY
Amazing video, really wished you had more subs.
This video is helluva underrated
Love your videos. Keep up the hard work!!!
Step 1: make them hot
Step 2: make the character
0:50
she's his great granddaughter bruh
Great video, glad to see it and I hope it gets more attention
Youve also gained a new subscriber 😁
One punch man honestly has pretty good character design. Never really falls into any pits
Chainsaw man has a funny man made of chainsaw and I think that character design is funny and good
Can't argue with that logic
@@Meta_Break my brain see violence and the two neurones within generate an electric spark
cool? i'm not saying that your opinion is wrong but seem... a bit unfair, Guilty gear designs are fantastic but that's almost every fighting game, the design philosophy behind these and shounen animes are pretty similar, you can even add league to the list if want to but every character has to wear their personality on their sleeves and it shows but how different is Nagoriyuki's "keep out" sign are from Iida's white knight attire in terms of subtlety?
This video isnt made to make you think Guilty Gears character design is objectively better than shonen anime or other games. The point i wanted to make is that those design just didnt work for me, and guilty gears did. It all comes down to preference, and GGs rock and roll references and flair was what I fell in love with. I just wanted to talk about the sexy rock and roll gorilla for 15 minutes.
@@Meta_Break cool! nothing like talking 'bout something out of love to it, i would do the same if i could
15:12 What anime is thiss with the blonde girl
Bruh, I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea...
I have decided to share my personal favorite designs in guilty gear strive. I will not explain my reasons what so ever.
1. Faust
2. Happy Chaos
3. Bedman
That's all that I'll give you. I won't explain why these are my favorites.
I hope you enjoyed it, and if you disagree then that's fine, just don't talk to me about it.
No argument here, they all look killer
@@Meta_Break nice video btw. Keep up the good work.
Axl the comic relief?
Clearly may is over there
banger intro btw
You should watch Space Dandy, my man.
It's funny you say leon massey is gonna make a vudeo about gg's character design because he did make a video on strive but it's an hour of him shitting on strive instead
Really great video, but I think you should work on your volume mixing, your voice is too low while everything else is really loud.
Yeah, im already taking what i learned into the next video. Appreciate the feedback
dang man this is good
what is the music used at 3:34
Heavy Day. The main Vocal theme of Guilty Gear Xrd Sign
You’re issue is with “Shonen anime” saying anime is waaaay too general. That being said, I really enjoyed the video and the editing.
Oh, you're absolutely right. The shonen genre being more or less assumed, but I could have made it more obvious. Appreciate the feedback!
@@Meta_Break I for real had a smile on my face the whole video and thank you for taking time to reply😌
I really like the video but man, you have to regulate the volume pls
The announcer voice lines and music in the beginning were way too loud, idc that this is a 2 year old video, i am really mad
All hail robo ky
if i'm not wrong lucina and marth are brothers
15:32 "everything un this game is fantastic" while showing happy chaos Gameplay 🗿
I know the video was Made before the dlc's, but it's just funny
What's the song called at 2:11 ?
Heavy Day from the Guilty Gear Xrd Soundtrack
millie looks like maetal.
Why does this have less then 1000 views?! This is so god
I agree that this is definitely a high effort video and I can see what you're going for but overall, I feel like all that was said is how much you love guilty gear. While I would say that's totally worth making a video about, I'm not sure if its worth 17 minutes lol. I heavily debated writing this comment, really I just hope you can find it constructive. The only way to get better is to keep doing and in that sense I think you're doing great, so never stop creating!!
Also at 6:05, its Aria not Ariel. Get the waifus right GODT damnit
The problem with this game is the dlcs and how expensive they are.
If you’re reading this, save yourself the trouble and just watch MaximillianDood’s video. Like, every talking point here is also there, done better. This guy has no new or unique ideas about guilty gear or character design as a whole. He acts like a jerk, then walks it back to ride milquetoast regurgitations from the single video he bothered watching on the subject, a subject which he admits he knows nothing about. How is this almost twenty minutes?
How dare he upload his oppinions frfr
I think it's worth noting that the character designs in some of the works you showed are as integral to the plot of those games and individual stories of its characters. If we're going to make a surface level critique of common tropes in anime without acknowledging western media for doing the asme thing it's a tad inconsistent.
We're both wrestling fans and we both know pro wrestlers have outfit and entrance choices that are over the top.
Westerners in media are known for being loud and obnoxious in both design and personality while Japanese designs are known for being over the top and ornate while most characters are not. It's just a difference in culture.
I love your content but I do implore you to explore that perspective because it's usually just something that simple.
Calling sol brash is a misunderstatement sure the guy doesn't looks like it but he's had PhD in atleast three field
nah the transition from dunking on anime character designs to "here comes daredevil" had me tapping the hell out of my feet
"What is guilty gear? BULLSHIT" BLAZIING
THAT IS BULLSHIT BLAZING STILL MY HEART IS BLAZING
I mean idk what it is I just kinda like them