Anime Review: Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers - Episodes 1 & 2 (Spoiler Free)
Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers is a TV anime adaptation of the fighting game series Guilty Gear by Arc System Works. The new anime series was also produced by game developer Arc System Works and Sanzigen, a Japanese animation studio founded in 2003. The anime series takes place after the events of Guilty Gear -Strive-.
The anime revolves around Sin Kiske, an individual born out of a forbidden love between a human and a gear, as he tries to navigate his life while trying to become a strong warrior and is mentored by Sol Badguy, a bounty hunter who was once part of the Crusades and a member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. The peace around the kingdom of Illyria, led by Ky Kiske, a hero of the Crusades, and his wife Dizzy, a half gear, was then disrupted by Unika, a mysterious girl who wants to get rid of all gears.
The protagonist, Sin Kiske, has a very goofy and unserious personality compared to his father Ky Kiske. He may look like a full-grown adult, but he acts like a typical teenager. His goofy/funny moments are just a joy to watch. In the latter part of the first episode, Sin decides to get serious due to what has happened to his parents, Ky and Dizzy.
While her intentions are already known during Unika's first appearance in episode 1, there's obviously more to learn about her character. In episode two however, it showed a glimpse of her past during her second encounter with Sin Kiske. Despite that, she remained focused with her task of eliminating all of the gears.
CGI animation used on Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers, and Sanzigen did a great job with it. It's just as smooth as the CGI animation done on the anime movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. It was obviously required for the anime, especially for the fight scenes, to faithfully recreate/animate the moves of the characters from the game.
With Arc System Works as the main producer of the anime, fans of the Guilty Gear series can rest easy as Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers is in good hands, and the game developer has full trust on Sanzigen.
Overall, Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers is a faithful adaptation of the Guilty Gear series. While some of the original Guilty Gear characters have made significant appearances in the anime, more of them will surely show up soon. Despite that, it hasn't taken away the spotlight on both Sin Kiske and Unika. Surely, we'll see more of these two duke it out in the upcoming episodes.
Whether one is a fan of the Guilty Gear series or just a casual otaku looking for an action-packed anime, Guilty Gear -Strive- Dual Rulers is definitely worth a watch.
