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| “ | No matter what... the world needs justice. | „ |
| ~ Ky Kiske |
Ky Kiske is the deuteragonist and the 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.
He was voiced by Takeshi Kusao in the Japanese version, and by Liam O'Brien in Guilty Gear 2: Overture and Sam Riegel in Guilty Gear Xrd: -SIGN-.
Appearance[]
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 a ponytail in the Xrd games, although he goes back to a short hairstyle in Strive.
His classic outfit is a loosely-fitting, blue base version of the white uniform worn by the Sacred Order of Holy Knights that consists of white trousers and shirt below a white longcoat; its knee-length front resembles a blue cross and has a white elbow-length cape. It is fastened together by a belt buckle inscribed with the word "HOPE". Ky invariably wears fingerless gloves, either black or blue. In Xrd, he returns to a modified Holy Order uniform, much more form-fitting than before. In casual settings, he is shown to favor collared shirts and trousers, seen in artwork and After Story A.
In Overture, he sports instead a elaborate rolled-up longcoat with two big belts as well as a blue cloak, while keeping his color scheme. In Strive, his outfit consists of simple dark blue trousers and dark brown boots, a single-sleeved V-neck dark blue shirt with lapels, a cape-like white jacket over his shoulders, and blue gloves with metal plates on the backhand. Attached to his brown waistbelts is a scabbard wherein he keeps the Thunderseal sheathed. Both his outfits in Xrd and Strive have the phrase "Nothing can be done without hope" and the Illyricum symbol throughout.
Personality[]
Ky is a religious man, the adjective describing both his devotion to God, as well as his commitment to the ideals of justice, order, and honor. Along with a straightforward and serious demeanor, he is also good-hearted, honest, diligent, polite, and believes in fair play. Ky is also chivalrous, being known to hold back against female opponents, and is utterly dedicated to protecting the weak. On the other hand, Ky can be notoriously inflexible and is easily disgusted by those who disturb the peace, having a complex about freedom even if he doesn't realize it. He is also a "hot-blooded fool", prone to taking rash actions when angered.
While others may mock Ky for his idealism (especially Sol), he has the determination to live life according to what he believes in. His dogged pursuit for justice and fairness has upset more than a few in power, as he is willing to confront his superiors if he believes them to be corrupt. Ky himself knows that his idealistic dreams can never come true, but he will try regardless for the sake of others he cares for.
Although Ky's strong beliefs once tended to color his moral world black and white, realizing that his 'justice' was limited to human convenience and that no single truth governed everything was a significant blow to his identity. Becoming king prior to Overture also made him lose some of his zeal—his view has since broadened significantly, and has learned to see the world from the perspective of others. Initially conflicted by the appointment, the throne made Ky lose the old shine he had as a youth, but he has since increasingly defied conventions, being the "problem child" according to Leo.
Ky is firmly committed to the public good and to bringing hope to others, and treasures peace above all. However, he was forged by war; such that Justice once remarked that Ky had the "eyes of someone who knew nothing yet but battle".Once a merciless enemy to all Gears, he actively wishes to move on from the "killing machine" that he was during the Crusades, and leave his hatred behind. Although Ky's skills remain as sharp as back then, his sense of honor prevents him from using war-time tactics in duels. It is due to such a change in his personality these days, as his iconic rivalry with Sol was softened to where Ky himself reflected on the lofty aspects of it.
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 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 is also said that he is well adept at performing other forms of elemental magic, though he prefers to use lightning. In Guilty Gear Vastedge XT, it is also revealed that he is an expert marksman, as he is seen wielding a lightning-charged gunblade.
Ironically in Xrd, his left eye becomes red, with a Gear symbol inscribed on the iris. It is unknown if he's either a human implanted with Gear Cells, or if he performed an experiment on himself to give him Gear-like qualities. When he activates the Gear Eye, it vastly increases his strength, speed, durability and magic to supernatural levels. He can regenerate fatal wounds in mere seconds and using raw strength in this state, He was able to prevent the titanic Justice from falling from the sky - as well as the small island of stone she rested on -. His lightning magic also intensifies greatly and takes on a violet hue. However, he can only maintain this state for short intervals and it seems to cause pain afterwards.
Ky has also discovered that one of Thunderseal's hidden abilities is to isolate a person or object within a selective space where time has stopped. However, Ky discovered this power out of desperation to save Dizzy from sublimation and does not know how he performed such a feat.
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.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Other Appearance[]
Videos[]
Merchandise[]
Trivia[]
- Ky appears as a guest character in Square Enix's upcoming game, Lord of Vermilion III.
- 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 was wearing an eye-patch like Sin in his short story, though on his left eye instead of his right. The significance of this is unknown, but in Xrd, he has a sigil in his left eye which is similar to a Gear's Mark. It is believed that he may been participated in an experiment to acquire these qualities.
- 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". Because of the lack of English dub and translation, however, players always mishear this as "coconuts".
- 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, though it is hinted that she is connected to the Thunderseal.
- Ky can be seen once in a black outfit in one of the early drafting books.
- In Xrd, if he were to be knocked down during his opponent's match point, his hair will become loose and his original theme, Holy Orders, will begin to play.
- It is revealed in Xrd that no matter the times he cuts his hair, it keeps growing at a rapid pace, thus leading to believe that he also has Gear cells like Dizzy and his son who both share the same trait. As Sin is a Quarter-Gear, this means that this development didn't occur until sometime after Sin's birth.
- 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.
- Ky's Blazblue counterpart is Jin Kisaragi. Both characters are blonde, orphaned as children, were considered prodigies and attained high ranks within a military organization as teenagers, and became hailed as famous war heroes for their efforts. Both also received powerful magical swords (the Thundersealed Sword and Yukianesa) during times of war. However, they differ significantly in terms of personality. While Ky emphasizes honor, camaraderie, and idealism, Jin outwardly disdains such notions, holding a pragmatic view about battle and war, and seemingly doesn't value the idea of comrades or friendship(instead perceiving such concepts as ridiculous). Also, while both have weapons that are heavily implied to be sentient, Thunderseal has never attempted to manipulate Ky and in the single instance that it acted on its own accord, it used its power to prevent Dizzy's death by placing her in a magical time seal , implying that its nature may benevolent. Whereas Yukianesa has deeply influenced Jin's psyche and encouraged homicidal tendencies within him, such as coercing him to kill Ragna on several occasions as well as any who would pose an obstacle to his goals, whether they are friend or foe.
Theme Music[]
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 Heroes
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