Studio Musician | Guilty Gear Strive OST: Character Themes #4 Reaction & Analysis

Fun fact: The high speed part in the kiss of death is roughly 51 seconds long, which is Goldlewis’ favorite number

"Bro this is a fucking metal party!"

think it's more of a Rock Parade personally. :V

The Secretary Of Absolute Defense is a reference to The System Of A Down. Both abbreviate to the SOAD. Also one of his supers is called "down with the system" which is another reference to the same band.

Goldlewis’ theme just radiates the vibe of getting pummelled in the corner with no hope of escape.

Anji's theme is about him being down horrendous for Baiken

You got goldlewis's theme on the money, he's a dog for the government and hates it, but someone's gotta do the job correctly

Faust is just insane, and is kinda going through it in strive, and is trying to find the happiness he felt in previous titles

Actually... Axl low is in fact inspired by axl rose. Much like I-no is inspired by the japenese musician Shina Ringo.

Character breakdown time:

Anji is Baiken's childhood friend who was made to kind of reflect her; Anji being an feminine man and Baiken being a masculine woman. His theme is basically recounting his memory of the both of them going to a festival and how he's chasing after Baiken.

Goldlewis is the secretary of defense for the United States who also heads Area 51. He ironically doesn't believe in aliens but believes in UMAs (unidentified mysterious animals) which is the Japanese term for cryptids. His theme is about how he hates being a government dog but goes along with it anyway. It should be noted that a few lyrics are wrong. For example "the only myth that no one knows" is actually "your regret that no one knows" which is in reference to how the American government can sometimes make people just, yknow, disappear.

Axl is a British guy from the 1990s who slipped through time and wanted to go back to see his girlfriend again. His song is about his progression from having no control over his time and being reminiscent of his girlfriend to him having control and his girlfriend being brought to the future. Also it's about his carefree go-with-the-flow nature.

Faust is a miracle working doctor who became a murderer for a bit because an operation he did to save a little girl's life failed. He found out his operation was sabotaged and became a quirky philanthropic doctor as an attempt at redemption. Although in Strive, to truly redeem himself he has to "go back to square one" which is why he looks scary and malnourished, his body is operating on instinct. His theme is about him reminiscing about the little girl he tried to save.

Smell of the game is basically Sol Badguy's second theme about how he discovered that he has a place in the world despite being half Gear.

I'm surprised Sol's theme still manages to avoid being appeared in these videos
He's literally the mc LMAO not complaining though, love seeing anybody's reactions to all the soundtracks, they're all bangers

There are a few themes that you still haven't seen:
Jack-O theme
May theme
Sol Badguy theme
Sin kiske theme
Giovanna theme

Funny how you interpreted Faust's theme, Faust has had many regrets, he lived his life as a normal doctor, some even saying the best doctor. He was tasked to cure a little girl's disease which curing could have meant the concoction of immortality. He obviously failed, and it drove him INSANE. He went on a killing spree from the insanity, and became known as the serial killer "Dr. Baldhead". In the midst of the insanity, a moment of clarity happened. The little girl told him (Possibly hearing her dead ghost) that it wasn't his fault and that he should move on, for her sake. He tried to atone by ending his life, but before he did the deed, he found out that the whole thing was a setup. After finding that out, he became Faust, and tried to help everyone he can and tries to find the truth.

Many kinda unimportant things happen, but he finds the people behind the whole setup, thanks to Zato-1, which is why he hates him in Xrd (as he's partially responsible for giving the little girl that condition), and exacts revenge on the conclave, the ones behind the whole mess. However, instead of giving in to his old urges, he wants to find out the cure to the Japanese population becoming sick with an extremely rare condition. One of the members agrees to help and, presumably, they find the cure, as it's never mentioned again in the strive story and May and Anji (Both Japanese) are completely fine now. Some people think the cure lead to Faust's body undergoing some skin grafting and wild procedures, which is why he has the skin patches stitched together.

In Strive's extra story, he seems a bit better than he is in gameplay, and we find out it's because in order to stop a big bomb from happening (LOOONG story) Faust had to use magic to create a door to the Backyard (Kind of the Hell of the universe) and in trying to do so, he had to go back to his instinctual roots (Square one, as he says), and almost died. When he came to, he was... Not himself, not Dr Baldhead again, but not Faust. Something, in between. Still caring, but in a more sinister way, which is reflected in most of the song. Going through bouts and madness and sadness.

I don't blame you for not liking Axl's theme lol It's often regarded as one of those songs that grows on you overtime. As for Faust, you almost got him correct as rather he is a doctor turned murderous psychopath turned back in to doctor, but in Strive he appears to be going through a crisis. His type of magic is so incredibly unique that he is able to manipulate reality (including his body) while his knowledge as a doctor makes him the best in the medical field. He's so determined to make up for his murderous rampage in the past that he can't seem to let himself die, reason why he appears so zombie-like even after apparently losing his soul in the game's side-story.

Goldlewis is so FAT it's so good. I love that with little to 0 information about the characters you basically get the gist of most of them through their songs its what made me sub. Really shows how well you can read the music and Daisukes ability to tell a character through song

Ok, so Faust was originally a doctor who became a murderous psychopath after the death of one of his patients due to a failed surgery. However after finding out it was purposefully made so that he would fail (the procedure he was gonna do was the solution to immortality) decided to go on a path of redemption, became very happy-go-lucky and started helping everyone he could with a paper bag on his head. Now, during the TWO WEEKS between Xrd and Strive it seems he has gone very insane again, but not murderous. He just seems depressed now. I hate fighting Faust, but I love him as a character so much.
Goldlewis Dickinson is the Secretary Of Defense of the United States Of America and that's pretty much all we know about him, his coffin has an alien in it but he does not believe in aliens.
Axl was originally a punk from 1980s Britain who got time-travelled to the modern day by accident, there's a lot more but in short he shares the same "LIfe ID that everyone has" as I-No, so them existing at the same time is a paradox and not meant to happen, which is a big part of his lore that I cannot recall now.

Goldlewis is actually a very kind person, he’s actually a key character in helping Bridget accept herself! He’s just a big and scary guy when he needs to be, but when he knows someone needs it, he tries to push them in the right direction of being better for their own sake!! (Also the thing in his coffin is an alien, but he also doesn’t think aliens are real. He thinks it’s a cryptid like Bigfoot or mothman)

Love that you're a fan of it all, even if you haven't yet played the game. It really does reinforce the standing meme that "it's an album with a free game attached".

Soo, we have a few fun characters here.

Anji Mito was born in the Japanese colonies, and he’s kind of a curious soul, always kind of more interested in the “could I” rather than the “should I”. He was very hopelessly in love with Baiken, the samurai lady you reacted to a while ago. After the Japanese colonies were invaded by Justice and her army of gears, Anji and Baiken kind of ended up going their separate ways, preventing Anji from actually admitting his feelings for Baiken. Anji still supports her from the shadows, even if he doesn’t really agree with her seeking revenge and is still trying to pull her away from revenge, being her informant on the whereabouts of That Man (the guy responsible for the nuking of Japan AND the creation of the gears that raided Japan) all while also searching for the truth of the actual REASON That Man had for the atrocities.

Goldlewis is fairly simple. He’s the Secretary of Absolute Defense, and he’s got the hobby of searching for UFOs and aliens, even if he doesnt believe they exist. He still carries one in that coffin though, but thinks its just a cryptid. His job also tasks him with dealing with area 51 stuff (I think), so he’s not really allowed to talk about his work or hobby. His theme talks mainly about him just disliking his job, taking orders like a dog (Bark Bark, both his superiors barking orders at him and him just rolling over like a dog for them.)

Axl is kind of a simple one but with complex execution. He’s just Axl Rose in guilty gear, and its hilarious. But, in GG lore, he’s a time traveler from britain (as someone said before, Post Apocalypse is a total upgrade from Britain, at least) and is kinda just dragged around by his time powers. He’s pretty chill about it though, even if he can’t go back to his girlfriend without destroying the current timeline he’s in. His theme expresses it pretty clearly. He takes it all in stride, not too worried about his circumstance and being pretty averse to fighting. He’s learned to enjoy the new sights and old smells he’s experienced thanks to his now-controllable powers. Thankfully, by the end of strive he gets his girlfriend brought to HIM in the current timeline, so happy ending for him.

Faust is the greatest doctor in the world, able to make miracles happen and solve the majority of problems thrown his way. Sadly, back in the older game story, he went mad after the Conclave orchestrated a patient’s death, because he was about to figure out how to resurrect the dead. He ended up a murderer for a while. Later on, he recovered and put a bag over his head in shame, becoming Faust and trying to atone by treating as many people he can. In Strive’s story, he ends up wearing himself out too much saving Delilah (the girl from Bedman?’s portrait) and is now this kinda zombified version, shambling around trying to treat people as best he can.

The kiss of Death is one song that CloudDrop got pretty wrong in terms of the lyrics.
It's not "I'm ready for this work that I do", it's "I'm ready for this, what about you?"
Here are full lyrics:

It's not a big deal
We can handle it
I don't have to think about it
What we need to do is clear
Don't you think?
I don't know any other answer than "yes"
And I don't need to know
Now, it's your turn
Cat got your tongue?
I'm ready for this
What about you?
Bark and bark
It's a vacant dirge
Your regret that no one knows
Bark and bark
Keep going
That's the last sound you'll ever hear
Who do you think I am?
The kiss of death
I'm sorry about that
You've thought this through
I don't have to think about it
Because there are those who believe
What about you?
When I'm ordered to
I'll do anything
I want to keep it that way
Now, it's your turn
Cat got your tongue?
I'm ready for this
What about you?
Bark and bark
It's a vacant dirge
Your regret that no one knows
Bark and bark
Keep going
That's the last sound you'll ever hear
Who do you think I am?
The kiss of death
Bark and bark
It's a vacant dirge
Bark and bark
Words that reach no one
Bark and bark
It's a vacant dirge
Your regret that no one knows
Bark and bark
Keep going
That's the last sound you'll ever hear
Can we start over?
Deal

anji is my favorite character in guilty gear because his fighting style is dancing

pair that with the banger tunes every single game has and we have a perfect combination

Mankind knew that they cannot change society. So, instead of reflecting on themselves, they blamed the beasts. Is said at the start of every round. The beasts in this case would be the gears. Many characters had lost family loved ones to the gears. the games song is pretty direct to the main characters Sol(the first gear) and Ky(a veteran of the gear wars) You can always go back to look at the older character themes or the songs from the previous games. Like ino's theme she was first introduced with The midnight carnival. Or some songs that are well loved like Juno, Fresscia or Heavy day. The game is a series and has a massive catalog of fantastic OSTs.

You should listen to the other non character songs “talk about you” and “the name of heaven”

I think they’ll give you whiplash