is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sanzigen and Arc System Works, based on the Guilty Gear video game series. It continues the storyline of the video game Guilty Gear Strive (2021). The series aired from April to May 2025.
Plot The plot centers around Gears, which are magical creatures made to advance human evolution. Some gears began fighting against humans, leading to a 100-year-long global conflict known as the Crusades. Years after the Crusades, Ky Kiske, a human, and Dizzy, a gear, are officially getting married, hoping to promote peaceful co-existence between humanity and gears. Their wedding is interrupted by a mysterious person named Unika and anti-gear activist Nerville Hammer. The story follows Ky and Dizzy's son, Sin Kiske, as he tracks down Unika. Other characters from the Guilty Gear series, such as Sol Badguy (now a human), Ramlethal Valentine, Baiken, Johnny, Bridget, and more also play prominent roles in the plot.
It is revealed that Unika was sent from another timeline to aid Nerville in his scheme to kill all Gears with a virus he developed by infecting Sin. Nerville sees Unika as disposable, not only because she is a Gear, but also because she is Sin's alternate future younger sister. Nerville learns that the virus he created is meant to cause the Gears to rampage like in Unika's timeline and the past Crusades. Both Nerville and Unika have been manipulated by Nerville's alternate future self, who becomes a malevolent being. Future Nerville absorbs his past self and attempts to destroy the main timeline. However, Sol uses a bullet he obtained from Dizzy and Ky on the eve of Sin losing control of his Commander Gear cell one. The bullet stabilizes Commander Gear cells without killing them, thus saving Sin, Unika and all other Gears at once. Upon awakening and seeing her friend Bridget critically injured from Future Nerville's attack, Unika is ready to atone for her actions and stop Future Nerville.
The siblings manage to save their parents and defeat Future Nerville, restoring peace. Thanks to encouragement from the U.S. President, Sol comes to terms with his past and ultimately attends the wedding of his daughter, Dizzy, where their relationships becomes publicly known. After the wedding, Unika departs to roam the world like her grandfather, Sol, before serving as a bodyguard in training, per U.S. government jurisdiction.
Cast
The cast of Guilty Gear Strive reprise their roles for Dual Rulers, with the exception of Junichi Endo as President Vernon, who inherits the role following the death of previous actor Kiyoyuki Yanada in 2022.
Production The series was announced on June 14, 2024, on the Twitter account of Arc System Works, after which the studio released a trailer for the series on YouTube. The series aired from April 5 to May 24, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "AXCLUSION", performed by rock band , while the ending theme song is "Arika", by Nowlu. Crunchyroll licensed the series to watch online.
Episodes
Reception Overall reception to the early series was largely positive, with particular praise towards the series' animation and character interactions. Positive reviews pointed out the fusion between 2D and 3D graphics and extensive worldbuilding that the Guilty Gear series is known for. However attention to the first episode was given to the lack of effort put into explaining events that happened prior to the series.
See also List of television series based on video games List of fighting games
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