Fighting game fans have a new reason to celebrate as Arc System Works confirmed the release window of the Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime.
This huge leap is a significant milestone for the franchise, as game fans and newcomers alike will be able to find a new way to experience the iconic Guilty Gear universe.
Arc System Works Confirms Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Anime
In mid-June 2024, Arc System Works finally announced a Guilty Gear Strive anime adaptation titled Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers.
Along with the announcement, the anime’s main staff has also been revealed.
Shigeru Morikawa (Loveless, Giant Killing), also known as Yuu Kou, will direct the anime at SANZIGEN studio, while Norimitsu Kaiho (Astra Lost in Space, School-Live!, Guilty Crown: Lost Christmas) will be in charge of the script.
Seiji Mizushima (Hiragana Danshi, Shaman King, Un-Go) is credited as an associate producer.
In August 2022, SANZIGEN Studios also provided the animation for Guilty Gear Strive’s first-anniversary video, highlighting the game’s anime-influenced aesthetics.
Arc System Works released the Guilty Gear Strive fighting game back in 2021 with original character designs by Daisuke Ishiwatari, and it has since carved a niche for itself in the competitive gaming world.
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Anime Confirms 2025 Release
At the Guilty Gear Strive special event at this year's Anime Expo, it was revealed that the series is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025.
The news came with an English-subtitled teaser trailer, which also reveals the anime's main voice cast composed of the following voice actors:
- Issei Miyazaki (Gen Nakaoka in Barefoot Gen) as Sin Kiske
- Jouji Nakata (Toshizo Hijikata in Golden Kamuy) as Sol Badguy
- Yui Ishikawa (Violet Evergarden in Violet Evergarden) as Unika, a new character
- Tomokazu Sugita (Gintoki Sakata in Gintama) as Narrator
While there's no word on the anime's exact premiere date, it is likely to debut in winter 2025 at the earliest given that a teaser trailer has already been released along with the main cast reveal.
If the anime doesn't get released in the winter season, it might come out in the spring instead, as that would give the staff ample time to animate and polish the show some more.
Nonetheless, additional updates will likely arrive in the following months leading up to next year, so fans should stay tuned.
What Will Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers Be About?
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers will take place after the events of Guilty Gear -Strive- and introduce a new character named Unika, who will be voiced by popular VA Yui Ishikawa.
Here is the anime's story as stated in the teaser's description:
After the decline of the once robust fields of science and technology, a new energy source known as magic fuels the modern era. Humanity creates forbidden biological weapons: Gears. Those Gears eventually stand against humanity in a rebellion.
Although they manage to overcome in the struggle for survival known as the Crusades, humanity’s losses are so great that even after several decades pass, their emotional wounds remain unable to fully heal.
Sin Kiske, the child of a human and a Gear, heads to his father Ky and mother Dizzy’s wedding ceremony. Their wedding breaks the ultimate taboo: a union between a human and a Gear. Even with the world at peace, it took many years for such a ceremony to come to fruition. Despite the complex array of emotions surrounding it, the wedding ceremony is met with blessings.
When suddenly, a mysterious girl appears… The fated child inheriting Gear blood–and the mysterious girl who despises Gears. Their meeting would shake the world.
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