I know there's still a lot of controversy over Bridget going around, and there's still people who are decisive about whom they think Bridget is, but let me just remind you:
Bridget isn't the type of character to make waves if it could be helped... leaving home to avoid creating those problems is the foundation of that past.
How you interpret Bridget, has more to do with YOU than anyone else... and the most important aspect of all this is that you get to play the character you want to play as and interact with that character on your own terms.
I know Bridget's past... and I know lots of people KNOW that past... but there are people who denied that past long ago just so that their fantasies could be established... That goes for Ky, that goes for Sol, and that goes for any other GG character.
As a Historian, I have to look at the Winners and Losers of History, and oftentimes only the Winners of History move forwards.
But sometimes the Winners of History are also the biggest Liars of History as well... smiling through their teeth as they lie.
With a game like Guilty Gear... every character is important to everyone... but everyone has their own different reasons for liking these characters. Even if those reasons don't always apply to the original ideas presented of that Character.
Ishiwatari took this in to consideration and in order to create a bigger and wider appeal, presented reformed characters that everyone could like on their own terms.
As Sol's theme says, "You and I both just have our Views that's all."
How you view the character versus how the character is presented... it's not always the same. But that doesn't change the fact that the character is still a part of YOUR life.
A part of WHOM YOU are.
Like the characters for the reasons YOU liked them, don't let other views tell you otherwise. Just don't decide other people's views for them. Let them be.
Not sure if you're still taking Bridget questions, and I know you mentioned it was up to interpretation, but I wanna make sure my reading of this is right, so to sum up all the points;
1) Bridget is still a boy
2) His story is that after finding success as a bounty hunter, he no longer has anything he wants to do, so he decides to do some self-reflection
3) He realises that he'd been repressing unresolved feelings regarding his village (relating to their superstitions, and what that has done to Bridget)
4) After lending their supportive voices, Goldlewis and Ky decide that they'd help Bridget confront his village (but not explicitly about his gender)
5) There is no explicit line where Bridget claims that he identifies as a girl
Also, I just wanted to thank you for being one of the few people in the lore part of GG community for looking at the full context of the story before drawing a conclusion. As someone who likes the stories in guilty gear, it was unfathomable to me that daisuke would willingly regress Bridget's character by making him a girl, so I thank you for playing the japanese version, and clearing this mess up for those of us who care about Bridget.
That's only if Arcade Mode isn't Canonized. Otherwise his C ending insists he decided to become a Girl. (A lot of fans will argue the point otherwise, but that doesn't really change much other than the fact his design got a serious retcon from previous games.)
That's the jist, but also it appears his conversations with Goldlewis and Ky appear to spur him on to greater heights, depending on what he wants to do.
Yes, and this is very BIG, actually. Especially given Goldlewis stating his sympathetic past and how he ran from his own past.
YEP (for the most part).
Well there is, but only in Arcade Mode and it's only a C ending.
It's not so unfathomable to me, mainly because this is something Ishiwatari wanted to do with Testament for a long time to begin with, but couldn't achieve it in a way that was easily translated or understood.
And yeah the Japanese Dialogue... for those who don't know, is unironically faithful to Bridget's original voicework.
Bridget uses the phrase "Uchi" (うち) to refer to himself "M'self" is what how Bridget always referred to himself as, even in past games, though it is gender-neutral.
That hasn't changed.
What has changed is the idea that Bridget is a character that identifies based on what fans want Bridget to be, at least for now.
I'm sure Bridget's past popularity was the foundation for that idea from the very beginning (even if there were jokes and misunderstandings at the outset).
In other words, when he was talking to Goldlewis about being a Cowboy or Cowgal... "call me what you want to call me... I'm just me" is the essence of what Bridget wanted.
Bridget (as a character) just wants to get along with everyone.
Not sure if you're still taking Bridget questions, and I know you mentioned it was up to interpretation, but I wanna make sure my reading of this is right, so to sum up all the points;
1) Bridget is still a boy
2) His story is that after finding success as a bounty hunter, he no longer has anything he wants to do, so he decides to do some self-reflection
3) He realises that he'd been repressing unresolved feelings regarding his village (relating to their superstitions, and what that has done to Bridget)
4) After lending their supportive voices, Goldlewis and Ky decide that they'd help Bridget confront his village (but not explicitly about his gender)
5) There is no explicit line where Bridget claims that he identifies as a girl
Also, I just wanted to thank you for being one of the few people in the lore part of GG community for looking at the full context of the story before drawing a conclusion. As someone who likes the stories in guilty gear, it was unfathomable to me that daisuke would willingly regress Bridget's character by making him a girl, so I thank you for playing the japanese version, and clearing this mess up for those of us who care about Bridget.
That's only if Arcade Mode isn't Canonized. Otherwise his C ending insists he decided to become a Girl. (A lot of fans will argue the point otherwise, but that doesn't really change much other than the fact his design got a serious retcon from previous games.)
That's the jist, but also it appears his conversations with Goldlewis and Ky appear to spur him on to greater heights, depending on what he wants to do.
Yes, and this is very BIG, actually. Especially given Goldlewis stating his sympathetic past and how he ran from his own past.
YEP (for the most part).
Well there is, but only in Arcade Mode and it's only a C ending.
It's not so unfathomable to me, mainly because this is something Ishiwatari wanted to do with Testament for a long time to begin with, but couldn't achieve it in a way that was easily translated or understood.
And yeah the Japanese Dialogue... for those who don't know, is unironically faithful to Bridget's original voicework.
Bridget uses the phrase "Uchi" (うち) to refer to himself "M'self" is what how Bridget always referred to himself as, even in past games, though it is gender-neutral.
That hasn't changed.
What has changed is the idea that Bridget is a character that identifies based on what fans want Bridget to be, at least for now.
I'm sure Bridget's past popularity was the foundation for that idea from the very beginning (even if there were jokes and misunderstandings at the outset).
In other words, when he was talking to Goldlewis about being a Cowboy or Cowgal... "call me what you want to call me... I'm just me" is the essence of what Bridget wanted.
Bridget (as a character) just wants to get along with everyone.
Any thoughts on Roger the Bear? The bear honestly piqued my interest and I wondered if it is....Backyard related or something.
HAH! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION.
Goldlewis seems to think Roger is a UMA… and given past vague information ABOUT Roger, I'm slightly inclined to believe Goldlewis may be right.
Actually it appears that Roger may in fact be a Youkai/Demihuman or rather a Tsukumogami (treasured heirloom turned sentient) that was passed along for generations in Bridget's family as some kind of family guardian.
But, here's the kicker… in Accent Core, Bridget makes a vague comment (after defeating Robo-Ky)… which implies Roger salvaged Robo-Ky for spare parts:
We don't really know the full TRUTH about Roger quite yet… but it's starting to get interesting!
That being said, Roger's got some subtle snarky dialogue when he comes out during Bridget's combos, it's hard to make out, but hopefully we'll hear it more clearly if we rip some audio from the game's files.
There are some days when I develop a knot in my stomach from debating GG Lore with some folks, so please forgive me if my concentration level to details isn't always 100%.
We'll cover more story content as we get more... but please bear with me as I gather more info when new content releases.
Do you think the whole situation with Bridget is the case of a localization error? Because it seems like the way they’re handling it seems wonky at best.
Okay, to clarify what happens:
Ending C: Bridget Talks to Ky and Goldlewis and decides to be a Girl (even if he corrected Goldlewis earlier...).
Ending B: Bridget is still rather hesitant but Ky encourages Bridget to come talk more.
Ending A (if you beat Ky completely without losing twice against Dragon Install Ky): they actually talk about Bridget making "an important decision", but they are vague about it.
GG Bio on Official webpage refers to Bridget as both "she" and "he" (in terms of being more manly/masculine).
The approach appears to be that Bridget's ending suits the player based on what route they prefer to take.
The main ending seems to suggest Bridget wants to confront the village and Bridget's past (and depending on how you interpret it, surpass being called a girl OR called a boy).
Does this imply Bridget is Transgender or NB? Well it's all in the interpretation.
Ky relates Bridget's "decision" to his decision to get involved with Gears and their power and how it transformed him as well.
The whole point, at the end of the day, is to make a character that appeals to everyone... which is what they were going for.
One thing about Bridgett is the story mode hinting it a bit that he sees himself as a "girl." Is the Japanese version the same?
Incorrect, I don't know how the English dub plays out yet, but Bridget's Japanese Arcade interaction with Goldlewis shows that Goldlewis HIMSELF initially mistook Bridget for a girl (the same mistake Johnny made in GGXX though not as brutal), but Bridget deliberately corrects him on this, stating "it's a long story, but I was raised like a girl".
Later on, Goldlewis has a heart to heart with Bridget, stating he had to give up his family life as well in his own past, but also gives Bridget an important piece of advice: "You still have freedom to make choices."
Bridget decides to talk to Ky Kiske (High King of Illyria) and wants to gauge the source of Ky's strength.
Ky observes that Bridget is afraid of changing his current situation of being a vagabond, and states that Bridget should truly consider "what he really wants" and what sort of change that might bring.
Up to this point in the story, Bridget had been hesitating to visit his home village and confront his family issues, but Ky's words spur courage in Bridget, so that hopefully some change can take place.
(There's probably more to this story, but that's it for now...).
I'm not saying it doesn't have anything do with masculinity, in fact, the bio paints it as Bridget trying to lean too far into his manliness when trying to capture Dizzy. I'm thinking that the changed symbol represents a sort of evolution of his identity in that Bridget doesn't really care about being 'girly' or 'manly' anymore and just wants to be himself. Does that make Bridget NB? Not exactly. But I think you can at least see the argument that it represents a sort of departure from caring about gender roles.
I'll concede the latter point, but it mainly boils down to mass universal appeal of the character.
The idea is that you have a character that everyone can play and enjoy regardless of whom that character is.
Someone previously argued that this is poor writing (particularly when you consider previous incongruous game entries), but that isn't always the case.
But, at the same time, Ishiwatari's designs haven't shied away from controversial belief systems either... like Christianity or Atheism or even Satanism.
Bridget's designs also had a Nun's habit nuance too, which is mostly reflected in Christian traditions (not unlike Ky's or even Asuka R. Kreutz's designs).
From my perspective, I try to consider the complete history of the character from inception to current form and respect the whole design as such as intended, rather than "what I want them to be" (even if that was ASW's current intent).
Whatever you may think of Bridget's gender, just know that the most important facet is his backstory in breaking past the superstitious traditions his family was bound with.
He really genuinely sought to be more masculine... and proved himself as a bounty hunter!
In fact I have to wonder if he shaves?
And we still don't know what happened involving his Brother yet.
so i did some googling and turns out that Bridget isn't wearing the Mars symbol - the Mars symbol ♂ has the arrow but not the parallel line, which would indicate it's the combined male-female symbol ⚦ that's been used to represent androgyne and trans people
Doesn't really change what the original design looked like.
Fwiw if you look closely at the symbol on Bridgette’s hat, it’s actually a combination of both the Mars and Venus symbols, as it has both the cross and the arrow
That's probably Ishiwatari's little nuance to keep both fan types happy.
It's probably also related to Christian Cross symbolism (since Bridget is wearing something akin to a Nun's Habit).
There's still people who insist that Bridget is a girl, but that's got nothing to do with the actual story in GG (as much as they try to deny it).
Annon-Guy: Well, I didn't expect Bridget to be the first Season 2 character, but like Testament, he's a welcome surprise. BTW, I know his voice is very feminine, but do you think appearance wise, he looks more like a boy in StrIVe then when he was younger back in X2?
As if the MARS (male ♂) symbol pin on his hood wasn't a dead giveaway.
Just read his "official webpage bio" (GGST Webpage updated btw) and yes... he sought to be more manly and surpass the superstition of his village about twins.
Now that he's brought home profits for his village as a successful bounty hunter, he's seeking a new purpose.
I wonder how that will play in to GGStrive's story?
As for his appearance... I think the idea of "gender" doesn't really have a fixed standard as much anymore nowadays... so while he identifies as a "male" and might "look feminine" (to some), he's got his own style and he's just who he is.
Looking "male" and Looking "female" really depends on your source culture and what you grew up with.
I knew a lot of kids growing up who were so blonde they messed up photos when people took photographs, and kids are just kids.
Though some people are blessed with a BABY FACE no matter how old they get... which I think is the case of both May and Bridget, here.
What are your thoughts about Happy Chaos after disocovering his true identity and what do you think will be the fate of the incomplete Happy Chaos?
Before I answer this question... I just want to DEEPLY thank you for phrasing this so eloquently!
I struggled a bit on how to broach this topic, because of everything involved in the story.
I was having a hard time trying to parse everything, and even now I still have my doubts about the man who "calls himself" Happy Chaos, "Mister Black Halo".
(SPOILERS AHEAD IN CASE IT'S NOT OBVIOUS):
Or should I say, "The Original Man".
It always struck me as strange to refer to the "Original Philosopher" as "The Original Man", even in comparison to "That Man" (Asuka R. Kreutz).
I remember when Xrd Sign first released information about "The Original", he puzzled me. And even when I spoke to "a certain someone" about why ARC System Works dubbed him "The Original Man"... they told me it was deliberate naming.
The "Man" behind the "Man".
What was his objective? Why did he meet with Axl Low as some disembodied voice in the year 2192... Babylon 5 years in the Future?
And then he gave Axl Low a "message" to give to Asuka... even encrypting it so that someone like I-No wouldn't be able to listen in on the conversation.
Even WE do not know, to this very day, what message Axl Low passed on to Asuka at that time.
This is the man who wrote the BOOK on the Backyard: The Tome of Origin. He was also to blame for creating the Merciless Apocalypse... and unleashing her upon mankind in 1999. Even his followers (the Disciples) who later became the Conclave were being twisted by his actions.
The Dawn of Revival.
The fall of civilization as we knew it started back then. Mankind's emotions were in turmoil even back then. Earthquakes, Floods, Fires, Panic and Pandemonium, Fear.... CHAOS.
But his battle with the Universal Will (Merciless Apocalypse) only just began...
He passed on Two Divine Seeds to the Gear Maker.
And just like that, another chaotic future was set in motion.
Only... we were never told the fate of The Original Man.
75 years... for 75 years, The Original Man was checked in a stalemate with his own creation The Merciless Apocalypse.
From 1999 to 2074, The Original Man had barely been involved with mankind's history... "GEARS" were the least of his concerns.
But then something happened: the Merciless Apocalypse attacked Justice, and indirectly forced the Gear Maker to Destroy Japan.
Humanity's Fears and Desires were at an all-time high: and that powerful will filled the Backyard as a massive influx of complex and corrupted DATA.
The Backyard couldn't handle all of those desires and fears all at once:
And so it sealed all that emotion and information inside a single woman... a woman who could scarcely be called "Human", and yet still was.
The "woman" that was born witnessed the battle between "The Original Man" and the "Merciless Apocalypse" from within the chaotic fringes and dense data of the Backyard.
The "woman" was all-powerful, having a piece of the world cleaved-off existing inside her very existence... a piece of the Backyard itself inside of her.
The "Original Man" had already stopped the Merciless Apocalypse from trying to use the Divine Seeds from creating an Absolute World... but now a brand NEW threat stood before him... as if he was facing TWO ENEMIES AT ONCE.
The Merciless Apocalypse absorbed "half" of the "woman's" power in an attempt to both contain her as a threat to the Backyard, but also to trap the "Original Man".
And thus, the Merciless Apocalypse "sealed" the Original Philosopher inside herself, leaving behind what remained of the "woman".
The Negative Emotions, Selfishness, and Fear quickly began to "corrupt" The Merciless Apocalypse itself... including what remained of the Original Man.
It was "his" fault that the "woman" lost half of her power, and yet she still had to bear the burden of Mankind on her fragile shoulders.
All the pain and darkness of being human along with incredible powers... with no measure of joy or true positive emotions... an emptiness and DEPRESSION beyond measure...
That was the fate of the woman who would later call herself "I-No".
But what of the fate of The Original Man?
If what I-No faced was a grey reality and emptiness... The Original Man faced an even DARKER reality and EMOTIONS beyond measure, beyond INFORMATION, beyond CAPACITY.
The "man" who was once "The Original Man"... became a vessel for all the NIGHTMARES OF THE WORLD... the abject TERROR and CHAOS of Human Emotions.
But... that's only part of the story.
For the next CENTURY... this "vessel" would EXIST within the belly of the Universal Will... writhing in the muck and insanity of his OVERFILLED emotions, trapped in a White Room filled with nothing.
A WHITE Room filled with a single "someone" made of BLACKEST EMOTIONS.
Perhaps it was his own Insanity... but it began to eat away at the staunch "Merciless Apocalypse"... what was once a LOGICAL ARTICIAL INFORMATION ORGANISM... became less and less logical, becoming less rational... even CHOOSING TO BECOME A HUMAN HERSELF.
But even amid this "slow" seemingly "unchanging" alteration of a nigh-unchanging scene... something else was happening in the OUTSIDE WORLD.
They were small "incidents".... small events planted by "someone" of "malicious intent", but they were all the WORK of someone called "The Original Man".
The destruction of Baiken's Japanese village... the death of her people... the invasion of the Gears just PRIOR to the Holy War known as the Crusades.
The "alteration" of the fate that would soon trap the boy (later known as Bedman) and the girl (later known as Delilah) in a NIGHTMARE WORLD, was also triggered by someone called "The Original Man".
But how can this be?
How can a man TRAPPED WITHIN A WHITE ROOM be capable of DOING THIS EVIL? And WHY WOULD HE DO SUCH A THING?
"Chaos" has no Logic. "Chaos" is not "Order".
From 2074 to 2192, for 118 years.... a single "Man" (if he was even human anymore) was trapped within the BOWELS of a WHITE PRISON. A prison of his own making... of his own Karma.
A Prison he perhaps DESERVED.
And yet still... he was able to pass messages on to others, possess others, change others... affect others... from within that WHITE PRISON.
How he did so... is not known.
Perhaps it was the "new power" boiling and writhing inside of him, that was the cause. The power he had obtained from the "woman"....
As "fate" changed hands from that of the Universal Will (a divine being with set expectations for Mankind's future) to that of a more "randomized future"... he (somehow) overheard a certain "conversation".
The speakers were of ill importance... from a past that no longer concerned him.
What he had heard... was from his successor and student... the "new man" called Asuka R. Kreutz.
Asuka saw the plight of the "woman" called I-No... and he wished to do something about it.
I-No had paid the price for her "suffering" and travelled through TIME ITSELF, even saving Humanity on her own, simply to bring Asuka to this point in time.
The year was 2183. Asuka had been a prisoner of the GEARS he had created... his own Karma, just the same as his Predecessor... a Karma and sin born from his own actions.
But I-No (while she had blood on her hands to get to this point), had chosen to MEET with Asuka... to change her fate and lessen her burden.
I-No made him the DEAL of a lifetime... her powers could change Asuka's fate and fulfill the FUTURE she so desired!
Asuka agreed... and I-No became his SERVANT.
The year was 2173.... that's when history REALLY began.
(So, actually, it was 128 years in the WHITE ROOM... but who's counting, right?)
By this point, Asuka had set to work on fixing his past mistakes:
--To restore the woman known as Aria Hale.
--To restore the man known as Frederick Bulsara.
But those were his own burdens to bear... so why take on another burden?
--To save I-No?
--To save Raven?
--To save HUMANITY?
Asuka was a selfish "MAN" in some capacity... he would not lose a fight like his Predecessor had... (ouch).
For Aria... Asuka created Jack-O'... an artificial existence that was still technically "human" (later known as a VALENTINE).
For I-No... Asuka had PLANNED to make "another Jack-O'" to further assist her with management of her powers and EMOTIONS... but time was running out on him... he would have to settle things with the MERCILESS REVELATOR and "soon".
I-No... could no longer wait for him.
Jack-O' had even "let slip" the 'truth' about I-No... along with the fact half her power had been TAKEN from her, along with her PRECIOUS PAST.
This might have been the "right decision" to Jack-O' (as insurance in case Asuka or Sol Badguy failed in their missions).... but it was a cruel truth for I-No to bear.
To know that you were NEVER a HUMAN to BEGIN WITH... the "detritus" of Humanity.
But that wasn't the only "truth" that Jack-O' had let slip...:
The "Other Jack-O'" had not awakened yet... and was still incomplete... the Jack-O' called "Happy Chaos Valentine".
That was "it".
That was the "inspiration" 'he' needed!
Perhaps that was in fact the "Original Purpose" of the 'vessel' meant to 'perfect' I-No... but even 'he' knew... that power was BEYOND something even "Justice" could hold.
'He' would become that vessel instead... the sacrifice (and trigger) to restore all things back to the way they "should" be.
A path to HAPPY CHAOS.
He had everything he needed to begin... and he had
Jack-O'(Valentine) to thank!
The year was (again) 2192... and 'he' laid the foundation and set events in motion.
The "man" called Axl Low was just as much a part of these events as I-No was... but 'he' had to keep quiet about that... it would ruin the surprise!
I-No unwittingly helped Axl Low send a certain "message" to Asuka... surely that information would be vital in Asuka's actions moving forward!
All according to plan.
Axl's powers would 'grow'... and while I-No's powers would 'diminish her' for a time... it was only a matter of time before his 'chance' would come.
A few weeks, a month, it was all the same to 'him' in the WHITE ROOM.
But then two somethings VERY LOUD shook that WHITE ROOM...
It was a FIST... and the strongest Magic Spell mankind had ever created.
And just like that... the "Universal Will" was 'defeated'.
Not by 'his' hands of course... but he couldn't afford to be picky... and he knew someone would find his handiwork sooner or later... He even managed to turn Sol Badguy in to a 'war criminal' without lifting a finger!
3 weeks passed... and the MOST DANGEROUS of "somebodies" FINALLY FOUND HIM.
I-No FOUND the Original Troublemaker... or rather... HAPPY CHAOS.
And from that moment on... his role as her "sacrifice" would change EVERYTHING.
I-No became a God... but she still lost her 'bet' with Mankind... and he fulfilled his task admirably... even if EVERYTHING WAS NOW BLACK TO HIM.
Now 'he' owes no one anything... 'HE' CONTINUES TO EXIST.
Or so he thinks... but the STORY IS FAR FROM OVER.
Delilah (Bedman's Sister) and Baiken are still CHASING HIM... along with Chipp Zanuff and Anji Mito...
WHERE HAS THE MAN IN THE BLACK HALO GONE? WHERE WILL HE GO NEXT?
And when will his SINS be PUNISHED in FULL?
And what of the "real" Happy Chaos Valentine... will 'she' ever wake up?
Even Ramlethal and Elphelt's journey in to the future have yet to begin...
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