Ky Kiske

"No matter what... the world needs justice."

- Ky Kiske Ky Kiske is one of two leading characters alongside his eternal rival, Sol Badguy. He is one of the most well known characters, and has been an integral part of the series since the first Guilty Gear. He is a very charismatic young man who possesses a strong sense of justice and a devout religiosity, which sustain and guide him through all manner of shaking uncertainties.

Character Design
Ky is a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes. His hair has grown in the timeline of the series, to the point where he sports it as a ponytail in Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-. His usual outfit is a loosely-fitting, blue base version of the white dime-a-dozen Sacred Order of Holy Knights (aka, the Holy Order) Uniform, fastened together by a white belt buckle is inscribed with the word "HOPE".

Personality
Ky is a deeply religious man, the adjective describing both his devotion to God, as well as his commitment to the ideals of law, order, and honor. He is diligent and scrupulous. However, despite his great faith and strong conviction, he is not beyond doubt, and is not entirely incapable of seeing the colors between black and white. Loyal to his ideas more than his surroundings, Ky will not hesitate to investigate his superiors if he believes them to be undermining his conceptions of justice. He is a compassionate man and chivalrous in the classical way, being known to hold back against female opponents if he is forced to fight them. Though his strong beliefs tend to color his moral world black and white, his experiences have developed his character beyond this caricature.

In his Overture profile, it is stated that his position as a king made him lose some of his zeal, but he gains a new perspective over things in its place.

Background
Ky Kiske is the current captain of the International Police Force (IPF). Charismatic and highly talented with both swords and magic, he was the former commander of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan) during the Holy War (2074-2175 AD) that was fought between mankind and the Gears (the latter under the leadership of Commander Gear Justice).

Orphaned at a young age during the war, he met the then-commander of the Sacred Order, Kliff Undersn. Afterward, Ky was told to come back after five years of training to see him again if he really wanted to fight. Five years passed, and Ky returned, ready to do battle.

A year passed and due to the retirement of Kliff, 16-year-old Ky Kiske was recognized for his talent and named the new chief of the Sacred Order. With the appointment, he was given the Thunderseal, a weapon that allowed the wielder to manipulate the difficult element of lightning, and one of the Sacred Order's holiest treasures. Soon after his appointment, he led the Knights to victory, and ended the 100-year genocidal war. The Order was disbanded after the Holy War ended.

Five years later, Ky entered the IPF. He was soon promoted to rank of captain. However, he is considered easily controllable, and is manipulated by higher powers who were unseen players from the Holy War.

Guilty Gear
After Ky hears rumors of bloodshed, huge prizes, and the possible resurrection of Justice, Ky Kiske enters a tournament that will select members for a second Sacred Order of Holy Knights.

Guilty Gear X
After hearing Justice's last words at the conclusion of the tournament, Ky hears new rumors, these ones of a new Commander Gear that doesn't wish to harm humans. He sets out to find the truth in Justice's final words and the flaws within his own concept of justice.

Guilty Gear XX
After rescuing a beaten Commander Gear Dizzy and entrusting her to Johnny's care, Ky returns to his normal duties as a captain of the IPF. As soon as he is returned to work, Ky Kiske is thrust into a new conspiracy which includes robot clones of himself, a secret organization, a woman in red named I-No, and his bitter rival, Sol Badguy.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
Ky investigates the Post-War Administration Bureau and fights its minions, ultimately separating from the police but continuing his labor as a banner of justice. He later helps out Dizzy control her power, and protects her. The two grow close to one another, marking the beginning of their romantic relationship.

Depending on if players defeated Dizzy with an Instant Kill or not, Ky will either look after Dizzy, leading into his Path 1 ending, or he will leave Dizzy in Johnny and May's care again before going his own way (Path 2).

Guilty Gear 2: Overture
Ky has assumed the position of king, reigning over the land of Illyria, armed with the sword Aquila, as he is keeping his lover sealed within a time barrier with the use of the Thunderseal's power. Having grown much more mature and composed over the years, his rivalry and animosity towards Sol has diminished entirely, having entrusted to him his part-Gear son, Sin. Ky is shown at constant conflict towards his own ineptitude of being a father and a husband, due to the racial issues regarding Gears. His relation with his son Sin is not quite close as well, as Sin is shown calling his father a "shitty king".

Gameplay
Ky is a simple yet versatile character with long range normals and a variety of projectiles. He can rapidly switch between keeping the opponent away and turning on the offense, and has a number of very useful FRCs for this purpose. In particular, Charge Stun Edge (236D) is an exceptional pressure tool when used after a knockdown, allowing Ky to attack without fear of retaliation and repeat it if he succeeds. However, he has one big disadvantage: his damage output is unusually low; whereas most characters can hit 60% damage quite easily with little or no Tension, Ky has trouble breaking 30% even with his stronger attacks. This means that a Ky player typically has to play better for longer each round and can't rely on cheap tricks. Because of his simplicity and reliance on fighting game fundamentals, Ky is an excellent choice for beginners.

Powers & Abilities
Ky Kiske is an extremely talented strategist, swordsman, and magic practitioner. In the novel Lightning the Argent, it is revealed that his ability to create lightning projectiles and constructs from his sword Thunderseal is extraordinarily difficult, as lightning is the most difficult magic to control, a testament to his mastery of the weapon. It also revealed that Ky is highly proficient in using other elements and areas of magic, but prefers to use lightning. In addition to his swordplay and proficiency in magic, he is an expert marksman and once created his own lightning-charged gun blade during the events of Guilty Gear Vast Edge. It is later revealed that he has somehow attained powers similar to a Gear, such as regeneration, though it unknown how he acquired this ability.

References & Allusions

 * Ky owes his name to the two musicians of Germany's Power Metal scene - Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen, former Helloween members.
 * Ky's theme name - Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead) - probably origins from Iron Maiden's song "Be Quick or Be Dead".
 * Ky's overdrive is named Ride the Lightning, and one of Metallica's albums has the same name.
 * Ky's Instant Kill is named Rising Force— an allusion to the Swedish rocker Yngwie J. Malmsteen's former band of the same name.
 * Rhapsody, a band that is quite popular in Japan, has a song named "Holy Thunderforce", which could be another description of him.
 * The "HOPE" inscription on his belt is probably taken from a lyric in the Iron Maiden Song "Revelations":


 * Bind all of us together
 * Ablaze with hope and free,
 * No storm or heavy weather
 * Will rock the boat you'll see.

Trivia

 * It is hinted that Ky's wife in Overture is Dizzy, as his wife is referred as 'The Maiden of The Grove', and that Sin is part-Gear. Likewise, Ky and Dizzy's endings in Accent Core+ imply that they get closer together. This is later confirmed in Ky's short story and in Dizzy's profile in Guilty Gear Vastedge XT.
 * Ky's exact age is never revealed, but various hints can determine the range. He's at least 21 years old in the first game and at least 26 in Overture.
 * Ky has more themes than any other character. He shares six songs with Sol, one with Order Sol and one with his own son, Sin, making a total of eight rivalry songs.
 * One of Ky's shouts during battle is "kokoda", meaning "here it is". But players always mishear this as "coconuts", because of the lack of English dub and translation.
 * Besides "coconuts," players always make fun of Ky's phrase in the Guilty Gear X anime trailer: "Oh no! I'm falling!"
 * During Ky's Instant Kill (Rising Force), a figure of a woman can be seen curled into the ball of lightning, and then would fly along the projectile. Her nature is unknown.
 * Ky can be seen once in a black outfit in one of the early drafting books.
 * Takeshi Kusao, Ky's voice actor, is known for voicing heroic young men using swords, such as Cless Alvein from Tales of Phantasia.
 * Tales' character, Flynn Scifo is based on Ky, considered that Ky's English voice actor is Sam Riegel, who also voices Flynn in English.