REVIEW: ‘Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers’ Knows Exactly What It Wants To Be

Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, produced by SANZIGEN Inc., continues the story of the popular fighting game franchise as it follows Sin Kyske (Issei Miyazaki) and Sol Badguy (Jôji Nakata, Resident Evil 4) as they spearhead an attempt to save the world from the mysterious new threat posed by Unika (Yui Ishikawa, Attack on Titan: The Last Attack). But why does this unknown girl want to destroy everything so much?

The journey to discover the answers behind Unika’s motivations and the nightmarish battle they unleash strikes a delicate balance that is equal parts hope, courage, self-discovery, and absurd combat. The chaotic energy this combination creates allows the series’ eight episodes to resonate with a special tone that makes it stand out among the season’s anime offerings.

At the center of everything that Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers seeks to accomplish stands Sin. A true himbo with a heart that just wants to save everyone, Sin provides the grounding rod that keeps the narrative from spiraling into complete, fist-fueled anarchy. His determination to understand Unika and stop her from hurting others brings the bulk of the series’ emotional elements to bear wonderfully.

Opposite him is Unika. This antagonist clashes with her counterpart, testing his convictions as any good opponent should. Her matching resilience makes her a great foe, but it is her growth that makes her a great character.

Unika makes for a worthy antagonist, but more importantly, a great character to watch out for.

As the new personality in the franchise, Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers explores Unika in great depth. As her backstory and the secrets of her life come into focus, she must grapple with truths and decide what to learn from them. This exploration is well-paced and executed, even if a bit predictable, allowing Unika to claim a memorable role alongside characters with far more presence in the world than her.

While Unika’s history comes organically through her story, other elements of the past have to be worked in with a bit less tact. Leaning on a narrator (Tomokazu Sugita, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation), the show does its best to fill in the blanks on plot-critical details newcomers may not be familiar with.

Sugita’s energy in delivering this information is great. His enthusiasm leans into the franchise’s eccentric nature with gusto. His excitement keeps these brief pauses from feeling like interruptions, helping smooth out the implementation.

Where this element of Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers sometimes fails is with what it tells you. Details that could be easily deduced stop battles at times, and elements of past plots that don’t need mentioning get told, leading to more confusion than illumination. Knowing two people fought together before is fine; tossing in that they battled aboard a flying White House just confuses things.

Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers provides a balance between heart and sheer absurdity and violence.

The fairly large cast also brings a sense of depth to the story. Despite mostly focusing on Sin, Sol, and Unika, other fan favorites like Jack-O (Hiromi Igarashi, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War), Baiken (Mayumi Asano, Dance Dance Danseur), and Axl (Keiichi Nanba) find themselves drawn into the escalating conflict. Every character gets their moments to shine, both in combat and out, making each appearance feel meaningful and not just there for the sake of it.

Bringing all the characters and conflicts to life is an incredibly flexible art style. The core of the visual presentation does a great job of recreating the feel of Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers‘ namesake, but that isn’t all the show has up its visual sleeve. Still art, both in the show’s core style and outside of it, brings a variety to the show’s sequences, one that captures the narrative feel of fighting games. The timing and implementation of these shots always help build up the energy and never feel jarring.

As one would hope, though, Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers keeps its biggest visual moments for the climactic final battle. The scope of the power wielded comes through with incredible potency as the heroes pour their all into the final attacks. The only thing that tops the raw punch of the attack visuals in this sequence is the presentation of the big bad. There are a couple of moments with this monster that are pure nightmare fuel. The unearthly way the bad guy twists and turns into itself is unsettling perfection—a truly memorable moment.

Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers skillfully balances the heart that keeps its story rolling with the absurd nature of its world and combat. There are a few moments where filling in details creates more confusion than clarity; however, anyone looking for an exciting power fantasy that allows room for character growth and hopeful determination will find plenty to enjoy in this series’ story.

Guilt Gear Strive: Dual Rulers is streaming now on Crunchyroll.