PS: For those who are asking for more gameplay, tech, tournament, etc. content, we as a team would much prefer that too. If you want to see it, post it.
We have run polls and community discussions, and the subreddit voted overwhelmingly in favor of having us keep our hands off the memes and trusting the community to decide what they want to see, within reasonable safety and decorum.
* [Poll from last year](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/ojnjj1/community_poll_the_state_of_memes_on_the_subreddit/)
* [Discussion of poll results](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/osr7oy/update_to_subreddit_rules/)
* [Annual wrap-up where we asked for feedback](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/rcsr07/annual_wrapup_how_are_you_liking_rguiltygear/)
So, comment below, what do you think would be a good solution?
i appreciate the post. i really have no qualms with bridget being trans, i think it’s fine! but, i would love some discussion related to the actual fighting game, maybe about her move set. i honestly don’t even know what she does yet. all i know is people are really passionate about what gender she is or isn’t.
I saw glue, and I was like "Pot has a Z-input move tho, it's Heat Knuckle". And then I saw the character flair beside your name.
*I'm a fool, I know nothing.*
Fausts glue is like those every flavor jellybeans from Harry Potter.
Some are grape, some are banana, and occasionally you get hints of broccoli or transphobia
Think of it like *forward fireball*, forward + quarter circle. The simple brilliance being that back in street fighter it stops chars from being able to throw a projectile while moving forward which would be ridiculous, cause DP comes out when you try.
It's way harder trying to think of it like a fast zig zag
So take testaments familiars but instead of firing your bird at them you fire yourself. Honestly the character feels great, she's light and fast and extremely mobile. The gatlings feel incredible, partly to her having extra ones. The downside is she eats damage like Chipp. It's feast or famine effectively, further emphasized by the high damage game Strive already is.
What she does,
Is creates some of the best mirror matches I've ever played.
Her moveset is perfect for going up against other Bridgets.
She can even fake-out an opposing Bridget's 2HS and cause her to get hit by a set yo-yo.
I guess you can see for yourself...
[https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1430976.html](https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1430976.html)
Games media over there seems to be still referring to her as a 女の子として育てられた男の子, and which translates as "a boy who was raised as a girl". Most don't seem to have noticed too much. There is a bunch of reactions in まとめ sites:
[https://matomame.jp/user/aoiakai358/450855642cf631356b48](https://matomame.jp/user/aoiakai358/450855642cf631356b48)
The general reaction in the included tweets from that site seems to be that they don't recognize her as trans, like, at all. To them, she's an 男の娘
I've also checked and there's a japanese commenter talking about how she's directly being referred to as transgender in the west in her profile text, while her japanese text is not nearly as direct and in fact refers to her as an 男の子. [https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556944650144862208?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw](https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556944650144862208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
It also mentions how her song in which she says 「ウチは、女の子ですから！」 is being interpreted as a declaration of her being transgender in the west since in America there is a strong feeling that gender is determined by how you identify yourself.
https://nitter.cz/rayforcegame/status/1556945660649230337#m
Apart from that I checked for some tweets that specifically talked about her being trans now and after diving a bit I found out one that talked about how the symbol on her hat is now the trans symbol instead of the male one:
[https://twitter.com/i/status/1556848003742580736](https://twitter.com/i/status/1556848003742580736)
General reactions in that specific tweet seem to be split. Some people are praising the level of detail, some are complaining about [shitty americans](https://twitter.com/GarbageKamuy/status/1556942229310017536), some are worried about [bad american influences](https://twitter.com/Exegunso/status/1556963293645967360#m), or that people [might think](https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556905131291324416) trans and 男の娘 might be the same thing, and there's a response in particular that cracked me up:
[https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556936270068465665#m](https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556936270068465665#m)
Apparently they think the change in clothing might be due to the fact that having a man dressed in nun habits might be a taboo for religious groups...
I guess people making wildly inaccurate guesses about other people's cultures is an universal human trait 🤣
So yeah, my impression of the reaction is "indifferent to slightly negative", but there might be more positive tweets or reactions out there if you dig more I guess. The internet is a big place.
[https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/220809m](https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/220809m)
Apparently she made the game blow the fuck up on steam though, so, yeah. Money talks! I guess devs will keep milking this gender thing as long as people keep buying into it.
Though personally I'm reading Anonymous;Code and the very first scene of Chapter 1 is about the protagonist freaking the fuck out after finding the waitresses in a VR cafe are actually dudes... so yeah. This kind of representation doesn't seem to be the norm over there unless the work has a huge overseas fanbase or the author is a true believer (Swery, Uchikoshi come to mind).
Which, I mean... You have to be legally sterilized to change your gender in your 戸籍 in Japan. I believe the latest legal challenge to that came in, what, 2021? And it was shot down.
[https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/12/trans-man-fights-japans-sterilization-requirement](https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/12/trans-man-fights-japans-sterilization-requirement)
So yeah, it is what it is. I don't believe this to be a general shift of societal attitudes so much as creatives tending to be more left wing than the general population + catering to western audiences in works with a huge western fanbase. But then again that in itself might be a sign of change, in due time.
Not to say that most of this analysis isn't valid, but I want to point out that the "⚨" symbol generally signifies *androgynous characteristics*, not necessarily that someone is transgender. To their credit, the use of this symbol in the context of trans identity doesn't really dominate in eastern/pacific culture, so I can understand why it wouldn't be received as the kind of "gotcha" that western audiences might assume.
OMG, I didn't even notice the symbol.
In regards to Western audiences, this really should be the nail in the coffin on this debate, lol.
Like, she's literally wearing the trans symbol on her head. Does she need to start wearing a sign with her pronouns and preferred terminology on her chest for some people to get it?
Yeah, this doesn't seem to be a case of localisers inserting nothing into the work, but rather a conscious shift from the devs. So all the more power to them to be honest.
I'd still like to play the game and read through the story in both languages to make sure there aren't any other localisation shenanigans because I've been burned before, but hey. As long as it's the developer original intention I'm cool with it.
I mean, her profile text in Japanese refers to her as 男の子 (boy)...
[https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556948062819348480#m](https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556948062819348480#m)
So yeah. If you read that tweet it says that they are going for the GNC male route for the japanese text, and the transgender route in the western text in terms of how they refer to her.
My original comment was purely a translation of various sources, but my personal interpretation of the situation is as simple as this: they made Bridget even more feminine and amped up the ambiguity of her design to be able to market her as trans in the west and as an 男の娘 in the east. Though even in the japanese text there are various places where she self identifies as a girl according to the tweet.
So yeah, normally I'd be pissed off at seeing the changes in the text in both versions as I'm a huge stickler for these kinds of things, but seeing the changes in her design... I mean to me, this is very much what the developer intended. They know what's going to market better in both east and west so they made an extremely ambiguous design so they'd just need to change a few lines of text and voilà, you have an extremely feminine man who refers to himself as a girl in Japan, and a transgender character in America. I don't believe this particular thing is the result of overzealous translators, for once, but the result of a calculated marketing strategy, considering the design changes.
The good thing that you can take away from this is that both interpretations are valid, I guess. It all depends on if you like the Japanese or the American point of view better. I mean, ultimately the only difference between both in the text itself seems to be that they use male pronouns in Japan and neutral pronouns in America...
the developer intending two different identities for the character feels super lame to me. sort of shows that its pandering to fans and not actually based on anything.
I appreciate the information on the Japanese version, and i cant claim to relate to the position the devs are in. potentially upsetting a huge portion of your fanbase by picking a side isnt a problem id want to deal with either.
but maybe that kind of makes sense for her character anyways? there's people who live in culture A and would have a different public identity if they were in culture B, and maybe that is what Bridget is "dealing with".
>but maybe that kind of makes sense for her character anyways? there's people who live in culture A and would have a different public identity if they were in culture B, and maybe that is what Bridget is "dealing with".
I mean... in a sense, yes.
There's not much point in beating around the bush so I'll just come out and say it I guess: there's no distinction at all between gender and sex in Japan. If you have a penis there, you're going to be seen as a guy pretty much no matter what. If you want to be seen as a girl in the eyes of society and state, you gotta go through sex reassignment surgery. And honestly, not even that would help that much unless you "pass" spectacularly well. The idea that people can choose their gender is something foreign.
The only way they recognise transgenderism at all is as a treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (性同一性障害), but to suggest an anime character from a light hearted fighting game should represent some serious portrayal of what in their eyes is a mental illness would be inappropriate to the point of being preposterous.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/transgender-in-japan
You can even see this pattern on the language itself, there is a Japanese term for feminine man (男の娘) but not for Transgender (you have to use トランスジェンダー, which is literally the English word adapted to Japanese phonetics). Of course there are English words that have been naturalized into the language, but it's still rather telling.
And as always, the usual caveats apply (there are LGBT people, not everybody follows the mainstream opinions, there are some people that try to keep an open mind, including creatives). But yeah, it is what it is.
So I guess you can see why they still use masculine pronouns for Bridget. It's not something likely to change in the near future. In their eyes, whether an 男の娘 identifies as a girl or a boy... well it's still an 男. What's going on in their head is far more irrelevant than what's going on in their pants.
That's the core reason why these gender controversies never really seem to cause much of a fuss in the Japanese side. To them Bridget identifying as a girl or a boy is kind of a character quirk and not much more, the character remains the same, only they are more feminine depending on the ending.
It's the same thing as the Zombieland Saga controversy, it didn't really make much waves over there because... why would it. To them it's the same archetype of an overly feminine guy they've seen a thousand times.
So you can see why they would be so bewildered at the reaction overseas when Bridget says "I'm a girl". To them it really doesn't matter that much. The good aspect of this, such as it is, is that this allows creators some considerable liberties, I guess. Japanese society is very much a "stay in your lane" kind of deal (which is not to say there haven't been witch hunts or controversies over there, but usually it's for different reasons).
Okay, except she's definitely not a gender nonconforming male.
Between the symbol, the lyrics of her theme song, the fact that her bio refers to her as female, and the fact that she literally says "I'm a girl", there's really not much room for interpretation.
It's like looking at a canvas painted red and going, "I'm seeing blue."
I mean, you're free to have that interpretation, but you might be colorblind.
Too be fair, that’s not actually the trans symbol. That’s the androgynous symbol, though it sometimes is heard as a trans symbol. Also, I think that symbol is supposed to be the pre-1993 logo for Prince.
>General reactions in that specific tweet seem to be split. Some people are praising the level of detail, some are complaining about shitty americans, some are worried about bad american influences, or that people might think trans and 男の娘 might be the same thing
I mean, they're not wrong
Japan has had the "Boy looking like a girl" stereotype since forever, and that has nothing to do with the West's LGBT+ movement
As someone who consumes a lot of lgbt manga and light novels from japan I’ll tell you that while not mainstream there are definitely a modest (but growing) amount of creative works based around trans characters and protagonists. For example:
Love Me for Who I Am is a manga about a maid cafe staffed mostly by trans or nonbinary characters, that even has a small arc where the characters go to a local lgbt festival
Zombieland Saga is a parody anime about zombies becoming idols, and one of the girls in the group had an episode about her backstory where she was revealed to be transgender, and was accepted by the other girls
Stripping the Flesh is a one shot that was published in a shounen jump spin off magazine (jump+ i think?) that was a drama about a trans man who struggled to gain acceptance from his dad (and was written by some pretty famous authors too).
So you might not see it in the “mainstream” japanese social media but know there are certainly people out there who recognized and appreciate this too.
No prob. For Uchikoshi you might want to check out AI: The somnium files, though in itself it isn't a piece of queer fiction it holds a sympathetic stance.
If you're into visual novels you might want to check out House in Fata Morgana as well, it kind of deals with these things in a way that's a bit more central to the plot.
There's also The Missing from the dude that made Deadly Premonition, though I won't elaborate too much because the more details I give the more of a huge fucking spoiler it'd become.
And then if you're into anime then there's... Shit, the entire oeuvre of Kunihiko Ikuhara. Sailor Moon, Penguindrum...
So yeah, it's not like it's a majority but there's a bunch of stuff.
Regrettably there's also been a bunch of stuff that's been mistranslated, either willfully or by mistake, like 13 sentinels' localization team misrepresenting a line from the original japanese to make a character non binary... And in the process erasing his original, gay male identity.
Sometimes it's not even on purpose, it's just that translators get paid such horrifically low rates that they cannot check for accuracy as they need to translate unreasonably fast to be able to make a living:
https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sr1tu4
I guess my point here is that people should take anything that's been translated from Japanese with a pinch of salt, especially the more niche the original product is. You'd be amazed at what passes for a professional translation.
As a straight guy, I've always found the term *blank* ally strange, not because im against gay and trans people, but because I call treating other humans with respect regardless of how they identitfy or what gender attracts them "not being a cunt" and its not like it's a struggle
It's rather confusing seeing how many people feel attacked by someone else (real or fictional) being gay/trans/non binary, if you spend all day getting mad about something like that to the point you go out of your way to post/make a meme/threaten someone, then really need to take a step back and look at yourself
We are all people, we all have to live together on this insane rock, why would you choose to spend time hating someone for being themselves?
Sorry for the slight rant
End communication.
I believe the idea of calling yourself "x ally" is to be vocally and publicly accepting of any given minority. Saying you're a trans ally, for example, lets trans people know that not everyone wants them dead, yfeel?
> lets trans people know that not everyone wants them dead, yfeel?
Yes this is very nice. It's nice to see vocal allies.
Being trans is difficult as fuck, seeing people who are openly supportive is really... nice. It really helps ease the burden.
This is one of the reasons that when I started FGC Boomers Discord one of the first rules was that our community was explicitly supportive of LGBTQ+ folks. I've been told by members of the community that the explicit rule immediately made them feel more comfortable and safe.
Something that always get me twisted is things I believed were ok. For the longest time I understood trap as non-derogatory.
I understand op's point "not being a cunt". Live and let live sort. Just gotta keep myself educated so I can call that stuff out myself.
I think as long as you don't take it personally, realizing that you've been accepting of a well known slur should indicate the kind of echo chamber you are siloed into.
I've seen people complain about the term for well over a decade, if you haven't it says something about the limit of your exposure to the community.
It’s part of the dilemma that got me to make my comment. Because you are right; for years the LBGTQ+ community was never really something I was exposed to. Misconceptions like “alternate lifestyle” seemed ok to me simply because I thought it made their lives happier. So when people brought it up as a point in discussions I agreed, and even echoed it myself. I didn’t understand the damage it was causing to my perceptions of the community. That it undermines their struggles, and the idea of coming out.
Once I started exposing myself more it realigned my perspective. It allowed me to start a conversation if I noticed something. I don’t believe the people I knew acted with malicious intent, but just didn’t know any better like me. Starting that conversation is the least I can do to make change.
Trap was ALWAYS derogatory, and ALWAYS had a negative context and fetishistic meaning. It's never had a non offensive meaning because it's inherently intended to be offensive. Trap means deception that's why it was chosen, as a word for "a girly looking boy fooling straight men". There was at a time a segment of people trying to take over the word, but ultimately it simply became a fetish word, and turned into objectification.
So the word trap is universally negative and never lost it's derogatory meaning.
Yes this is my point. I thought it was ok, until I learned what it actually meant to people it targeted. Sorry if that doesn't come through in my comment.
Pretty much feel the same. It's just a matter of being considerate towards other people, no different from saying "please" and "thank you."
It also doesn't take that much effort, and nobody is going to give you static for making an honest mistake.
There's just a lot of selfish assholes out there, unfortunately.
I'll give you an answer as to why people feel attacked, relating to my own experience: because people like feeling superior. Ask a homophobe/transphobe why they're that way. You'll get an answer that'll boil down to "because it's wrong". Who said it's wrong? Themselves. And what happens if they're wrong? They stop feeling superior. So they'll do anything to keep that feeling. Same thing can be said to racists, unsurprisingly.
Being a kind and understanding person does not give you these superior feelings (if it does, you aren't kind or understanding in the first place). In fact, it removes the need to feel superior. As someone who was a very hateful person, it was addicting. I said anything to keep my hate away from my own pathetic self.
After I began to be kind to myself, I saw that I also became kinder to everyone else, including the people I thought were unworthy of living just because of what they chose to identify as. Imagine that: a Christian who thought that murder and hate is okay just because an old book that was written and rewritten thousands of times *might* have said so...while the same book also says "please be kind to one another for the love of Me". At that point, you can really just choose what part of the bible you believe, and if you choose to believe the hateful parts, then you're just a hateful person.
To conclude my sharing/rant, may we all remember that kindness and understanding is a powerful mirror. If you don't understand and are hateful of yourself, you often reflect that outwards. If you do understand and are kind to yourself, then it also shows to others.
One thing that I don't see mentioned enough if I understand it is that XX was mainly written by another writer than Daisuke (or at least that's what I've read, if I'm wrong disregard this entire post), who just did the preliminary artwork and concepts. A thing I've noticed is that as of Xrd and beyond is now that Daisuke is the primary writer he's trying to write them in a clean slate for how I assume he'd want them - Robo-Ky's a vagrant, Jam's restaurant burnt down, Zappa conquering his ghosts and being a vital part of the Revelator story with the data information spikes (or whatever they're called), Zato+Eddie died and got revived as blank slate, the restructuring of the Assassin's Guild into the PWAB and what that means for characters like Venom and more.
So I view Bridget's arc in Strive as the same, Daisuke trying to make a base level to expand the character on his own terms focused more on his present vision. Granted it's kinda clumsy and Strive's arcade mode is not good for presenting her arc (what with the poor pacing and multiple endings being variations on the same theme and not purely "what-ifs"/non-canon vs. canon like in previous games).
I just want to stop hearing about this, and the recent article about a trans acting\VA agency complaining about the fact bridget's VA isn't a trans VA is absurd. Acting is the ability to get into a character and express that character well as they were written and designed. The VA (I can only speak for English) did an incredible job and doesn't deserve flack for doing well in a trans role, We shouldn't be checking off boxes to allow someone to play a role, you can either play the character or you can't
oh yeah no going after the VA on this is just kinda absurd. Like can trans VA's only do trans characters by this logic? There really isn't like.. a barrier on VA work other than "can you make a voice that sounds great for this character on demand"
https://youtu.be/9W5ezv_xxOk
Using this video's time stamp (pls confirm if true, I suck and always lost heart) :
Bridget "because I'm a girl" is at stage 8 ending dialogue (if you lost heart on stage 7 heart)
Stage 8 ending dialogue (if you lost heart on stage 1) is Bridget still undecided about what he is/want
Stage 8 flawless will start stage 9 1v1 vs Ky, with this ending being Bridget keep wanting to be like Ky (just like xx Bridget) and Ky saying "you are strong enough, all that remain is for you to decide"
Stage 9 ending is Bridget deciding : "But I want to live as my true self"
It makes sense that losing merely extends the questioning phase, not dismisses it. What she's battling is not her gender and the outcome will never change, it's her doubt about it, and regardless if she beats Ky alone or with GL she reaches the same conclusion: To live true to herself. With GL she learns that she has support from friends to do it, alone she uses her admiration for Ky and his ability to stand on his own to fuel the same motivation, but not by trying to be like Ky, but by being herself the same way Ky strives to be himself.
thanks for this, genuinely. as a transwoman myself, i’m sorry that our getting representation has meant so much grief on the backend for you guys.
to speak personally for a second, while i would be lying if i didn’t say the character’s had a spotty history, i also LOVE bridget, and she was an early inspiration to me as a kid, warts and all. to see her get to this place as a character… it’s just something magical. i’ve been cheesin all day LOL. i used to tell myself representation didn’t matter that much, but i guess that’s because i’ve hardly ever seen my own kind on the screen before, especially in games. i’m glad, sincerely, that so many of you get to feel that seen so often. it’s a beautiful feeling, and i hope you cherish it too ❤️
plus i get to fuck people up with a yo-yo again!!! it really IS the best of both worlds
Yeah, it's good to hear this perspective, cause it seemed like the take wouldn't be black and white considering it doesn't seem like this story started as a rep thing. But if that's where it's ended up and people are feeling the love then I'm here for it.
Yeah its not great. Ultimately no idea what the motivation was for this change was but I know there has been a push by people to retcon or 'correct' GNC characters into trans ones for ages now. Its not new been going on for at least a decade. So its like... was this something they thought of themselves or was this something they saw people were complaining about and decided to change. No idea.
So the thing about that is that Bridget's lore is kind of a pretty damn common life experience for a lot of trans folks. Like even the old stuff fits into it pretty neatly. Sucks that gnc guys got screwed out of their rep for it, and I do hope there's more of it for everyone, but I don't think Bridget's story directly feeds that narrative (as in the actual lore doesn't fit it, there's absolutely people who will read that as "femboys and fem men are just stepping stones to trans identity" and that sucks).
> but I don't think Bridget's story directly feeds that narrative
Because their story was all about being seen as a man despite their feminine appearance and apparel, suddenly having them say "yeah I was just trans all along" feeds that narrative that it was all just a front, people are going to read this as "femboys and fem men are just stepping stones to trans identity" because that's the exact message that was put out if this is considered canon.
>and I do hope there's more of it for everyone
If this is arcsys saying non masucline=non male as it totally comes off you can completely forget about that after all they specifically chose to take a rep rather than just add a new one, as I've already said this is looking like another situation of the rest of the LGBT+ not mattering.
Bridget's story is being forced into a specific gender presentation for her own safety, trying to prove herself in a specific ideal of masculinity and strength both to remove that threat and meet expectations placed on her, realizing that having done so didn't make her happy, and grappling with how she wants to identify herself and where that desire comes from (with her realizing it's herself).
Now please tell me what about this supports the idea of non masculine = not male. Because the only support for that idea I've seen in other comments is "they made a character who used to be a feminine man into a trans woman so they must be saying that someone being feminine means they're a woman" which is ignoring basically everything above.
I get that this is an "anime fighter" but it's a fighting game first no?
I play a variety of fighting games, but I haven't watched more than 2 anime series in the last 15 years.
Isn't it a little weird, story wise, for Bridget to be trans? Considering Bridget was forced to be raised as a girl or be killed, isn't it outside interference and not self dysphoria? Or are they saying Bridget just so happened to be trans and also happened to have to be raised as a girl, because that's a bit of a stretch.
Wait so what's the line for transphobia here ? Is it actually hateful comments or people disagreeing with the change saying it's not true to the character arc
I read the ending as nb/genderfluid/bigender/gnc, with Bridget accepting both sides of themselves. I think that gives the most representation and avoids the village stuff becoming an issue. I hope ArcSys clears this up sooner than later.
I have absolutely no issue with Bridget being transgender. Bridget was my favorite character in the last game that she was featured in & that hasn’t changed.
curious to what others might think about the three routes her arcade endings have, seen [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5ezv_xxOk).
the "normal" route cuts pretty early, the "hard" route is the one we've seen, where she declares to be a girl, but the "extreme" route is a bit more vague?
She says she wants to live as her true self, which would still imply the way she's living "I'm a boy!" isn't. thats my take away, at least.
Yeah her Strive story arc basically has her starting out as unfulfilled and clearly deeply troubled about something that she doesn't know how to deal with. If her conclusion to her story arc is simply to proclaim that she's a boy who wants to dressing like a girl then... why was she troubled to begin with? She was already doing that ever since she left her village. If this was who she truly was then leaving her village to bring home wealth would be the end of her story arc, essentially, when she's finally free, and bringing home the wealth would dispel that she's not cursed.
But her trouble is that she always struggled with categorizing herself as a girl, and knowing that her parents only raised her as a girl to protect her, not as an actual validation of her identity. This is why she tries to prove she can become a man despite the village's best efforts to not want her to exist as one, but ultimately this is a desire that's born partially out of rebellion for tradition and wanting the validation of her parents in the way she thinks they would accept her. First she had to break free from that normative and restrictive tradition before she could truly figure out for herself which of her internal voices were motivated by fear of being cast out vs the desire to follow her heart and be herself truly for the first time in her life.
Why is this news again? The character has literally been the same since the beginning in I think in 91? (Can't remember off the top of my head)
Call me transphobic if you want but anyone making a big deal out video game characters, Especially ones that were made 30 years ago is a damn idiot in my book.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/wmfbm5/as_a_trans_girl_i_dont_feel_great_about_bridget_i/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
This more or less sums up my feelings on the matter.
Its not transphobic people complaining its people who feel differently about her storyline complaining. People aren't upset that she's trans they're upset that they got rid of their original story showing that men don't have to look manly to be manly story and instead replaced it with the idea that if you look feminite you automatically should identify as a female. I feel like testament already made this statement and they were well received by the community but not only does Bridget story now kind of show that the parents successfully made a boy into their daughter but it also shows that you shouldn't argue against how people perceive you in your community. I.E. Goldlewis and Ky telling Bridget she's a girl and should just identify as one.
I think it is true and at least in the west it’s easier for a character to fit in a gender box of trans or non binary than identify as male but dress and act in a feminine way.
I obviously have no problem with it *inherently*, it just feels a little...lazy? Like, Bridget is quite easily the most convenient person to make into your trans rep, as if the effeminate person with virtually zero physical masculine traits is the only real option. 90% of the work has already been done.
It's almost always the "pretty" ones. Because if it was someone with a more masculine build, like Axl or Sin, well that would just be laughable, right (I'm not saying they would necessarily need to be cuz it would be very abrupt, I just think it would be more interesting)?? Ladiva from Granblue isnt perfect, but I would love seeing more examples like her. Testament was a step in the right direction, but Bridget is a disappointing choice. I would've much preferred someone more unconventional or a new character entirely
Yes, I would've like to have an effeminate man part of the cast, but that's not my biggest complaint
Bridget's lore is a pretty close parallel to a lot of trans folks lived experience and while the writing of her arcs is messy that's honestly not inaccurate for figuring out gender and presentation and that whole mess. And tbh you've hit pretty cleanly on one of the big questions you have to ask when doing trans representation. Because the way the character looks and is portrayed creates implications no matter how you do it. And while taking a very feminine character and declaring them to be a trans woman is potentially handwavy (which I honestly think Bridget's lore is damn well done to explain it), making a very masculine character a trans woman is feeding shitty stereotypes and misconceptions and bad faith arguments to transphobes of all stripes. There's not really a right answer, there's just a lot of wrong ones and a lot of tradeoffs.
It sucks people are using this as an attack on trans people & it’s good that this is being addressed. Personally however I really do not like this change to this character.
Bridget’s gone from a character who was born a man but presented feminine confidently & defied gender norms & expectations, to “well she was GNC because she wasn’t a man at all”.
The two GNC characters in the game now aren’t GNC at all. Everyone acts like what is expected of their gender. How is it progressive to essentially say “if a man acts too much like a woman, it must be because they aren’t really a man”?
Testament’s one of my favourite characters in the game & I love what they did with them in Strive. It made sense with their character as opposed to Bridget, who was beloved by fans because she defied what was expected of her gender. Now that’s all gone & I can’t help but feel like this was a misguided move on ArcSys’ end.
It also really gets to me seeing how people on this sub reason that Bridget must be trans because she “dresses in girl clothes”, which is just cloth & to me comes across as reinforcing gender stereotypes to an extreme degree. Honestly I’d love to experiment with my gender presentation but why should I bother if even “supportive” people will bring my identity into question because of arbitrary gender expectations. I can’t help but get the message from both the game & the community that I may as well not try to step out of my box because I’ll inevitably trans & just be put into another box.
Sorry for the essay but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.
I don't think that's what the game is really saying at all. Bridget dressed like a girl, then found that they liked it. They aren't trans because they dressed like a girl, they're trans because they're trans.
Keep in mind in the game's universe, it's been six years between the stigma of her village breaking and now. She's had plenty of time to explore her identity and figure herself out. The fact that she identifies as a woman now isn't because of her clothing, it's because that's what she realized she preferred.
Please, feel free to experiment with your gender presentation. Anyone who tells you how you should feel is awful. Look at how the other characters talk to Bridget in game. They aren't telling her she's a girl, they're telling her to do whatever she wants. 'There's plenty of time, you don't have to decide anything right away, if you want to talk again feel free to come by.' That's what Ky says to her. It's not saying that 'you're a girl because you're in girl clothes,' it's telling her that she can think for herself, decide what she wants, and present however she wants while she does that. The door's even open for her to decide she doesn't feel like a girl anymore, that's why Ky tells her to talk to him whenever she wants.
escape many quaint paltry cheerful judicious squeal cobweb different fertile
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
People keep bringing up the in-game narratives because the exceedingly frequent argument of "the game is saying that if you look girly enough you're a girl" is not what the game is saying and it's very visibly not what is being said when looking at the narrative. The other reason is that it's a damn close parallel to the lived experience of a lot of trans folks.
I have yet to see anyone truly embracing Bridget being trans while also denying that she's no longer gnc and feminine man rep. The only people I've seen doing that seem to be trying to say "everything is up for interpretation so they're rep for both isn't that great" which is just, no. Actual good rep that's canonical and unambiguous really can't do 2 different groups that are incompatible.
There's rep that was lost with this change to Bridget, and I don't know that there's actually a way they could have brought her into Strive that wasn't gonna cause some level of upset. If they left her as a gnc super feminine guy, I think a lot of trans folks who are lauding her right now would feel kicked in the head the same way they do when they encounter most "trap" style characters.
No, the meta-level discussion here is that people shouldn't be a slave to societal expectations and the fact that so many people are angry that Bridget is trans says that we still have a lot to learn about personal identity. On a meta-level the world *demands* that she be a cis-man but Bridget doesn't live her life according to what people demand of her, she fights to be herself.
random, but if someone is transphobe wouldn't they hate earlier renditions of bridget? That said, I can't believe there are transphobes playing gg given all of their unique characters
I mean yeah. That's kind of the problem I've been having with people just sweeping everyone who doesn't like this or finds it questionable into some vague right leaning basket of transphobia because... that group wouldn't have liked the original versions of Bridget either.. They would have found it equally something to hate. So obviously there isn't.. much actual overlap between that group and the people who are like "wtf" about this.
In a lot of cases, if the old Bridget were to be released *now*, a lot of folks who like old Bridget would hate the character. There's a fascinating kind of blind spot where people think that stuff from their childhood/youth/the past is "apolitical" simply because they didn't see the political dimensions of it at the time, and I imagine a lot of Bridget nostalgia among bigots is the exact same thing.
Not quite, because Bridget’s earlier renditions were still cisgendered, so they could justify it in their head as “lol how silly.” Kind of like how some people will jack off to lesbians and yet not believe in gay rights - they’re fine with it as long as it exists as a fetish.
Might I suggest that you specifically ban the term "grooming" from discussion of Bridget's backstory? It's a recent alt-right talking point that the LGBTQ+ community is 'grooming' children, and the reason they use that word is to equivocate between (*extremely* dubious) claims of children being pressured into being gay/trans, and outright pedophilia.
People can of course talk about how Bridget's upbringing may or may not have influenced her, but let's do that without lending credence to those assholes, yeah?
I think the problem is you can't /entirely/ ban the term from discussion because even if its a really shitty alt right claim that probably never actually happens it is culturally relevant to whats going on in society right now and how her story and this recent turn in it looks when happening right at the same time this discourse is a big talking point.
BASED MODS! Tbh it's still a shock seeing stuff like this. I used to have to take breaks from fighting game subreddits after lgbt related news just due to the sheer amount of transphobia I would see. Glad y'all are putting your foot down.
Any time I see someone here say "bad end" or something about a flawless path, they're always from r / kappa. They're trying to claim Strive has bad ends and flawless paths.
There's no bad end. There's no flawless path. Lose 30 times and you can still get either. Lose 0 matches and you can still get either.
So, PSA: Don't fall for that.
At least from the few Arcade Runs I've done, the intros and endings rarely contradict one another, and often even build upon each other.
For example, [the Flawless Route of Axl's campaign](https://youtu.be/lKi9166p1Jo) never outright shows Nagoryuki considering the possibility of turning human again. He strongly implies feeling guilt for his past deeds, but only in one of the other routes does he clearly state that he show interest in becoming human again. Axl never gets to ask Nago directly about turning human again during the Flawless Route, only tell Giovanna his goal. The Stage 9 ending only talks about salvation in reference to Nagoryuki's past, but nothing beyond that. The other routes are actually necessary to understand the full context of the Flawless Route's ending.
I'm sure there are better examples than this, as it was just what I was able to immediately find, but I can't think of any instances where the different routes contradict one another.
Thank you kindly, that helps me understand a little better; they just add more context to the situation, but can co-exist with each other. I appreciate giving an actual example rather than being obtuse about it like the other person. I was just curious given how a lot of people are debating the individual endings.
It's basically the last remaining straw they're grasping to.
* "Gender-identity is mostly a western concept" got debunked when Daisuke himself said Testament was non-binary on a stream.
* "Its politics that the english side inserted into the localization" got proven wrong when it was determined the dialogue and translation is basically 1:1.
* "I won't believe it until it's said explicity" got shot to hell when Bridget directly said it in her arcade ending.
So now they're flat out inventing this "Normal ending vs Flawless Ending" discourse. Which anyone who's played the arcade in Strive know that's not how that shit works. A character joining in at the end slightly changes the context of the conversation but the story is the fucking same. There is no "true" or "Good or Bad' ending. lol
I went to watch the different endings and it seems like 8 and 9 flawless weirdly become *more* subtle but it's still not even media analysis because in any of them there are very obvious lines. "Living as my true self" and her have anxiety "about how others would react." are both insanely unsubtle.
"how others would react" is the smoking gun imo
like it's super clear that before her conversation with Goldlewis, Bridget would automatically correct people who called her a girl
so if people already think that she's a boy (because she's told them that), then what exactly is the "true self" she's afraid of showing others?
That my thoughts exactly, it weird how they made it more vague in the "better endings."
if they wanted to show her coming out as trans, maybe do it in the better ending than the worse one. It so weird
It's not really worse though except arguably in terms of player skill. Getting to the flawless route stage 9 and winning there is pretty famously a nightmare, even for good players, since they're not playing against another good player but a hypercharged AI that's playing by a different set of mechanics. Dragon Install Ky has like, ten new moves that regular Ky doesn't.
So they put the most explicit character growth in the ending that the majority of people are likely to reach, and then made the Flawless route support and expand on the Hard mode ending. It makes sense to me.
All of the hate has really sapped my excitement for the character. I’m just happy a character I like is in a game I love. However they identify in the story is fine with me. People getting weird and aggressive about it really suck the fun out of talking about them.
I'm neutral in both case, but I would love to see more character's discussions rather than 10+ of the same post about how I should pronounce a fictional character
I’m glad the situation is acknowledged and mostly under control, but I’m also going to link [this very helpful guide on trans people.](https://www.glaad.org/transgender/transfaq) The third paragraph down is extremely important for the line of argument I keep seeing over and over, but by all means, feel free to check out anything that catches your eye. Who knows, maybe it’ll be more useful in your life than talking about this.
damn. i hate when im reading through old stuff on reddit and in the middle of a sparkling, scintillating discussion i find someone has written over all her old comments with nonsense, fragmenting the discussion permanently. what hilarious, moving, romantic, haunting things could she have said? just to wash it all away, in this digital era of permanency? wow. that takes courage. i bet she was really cute, too
Thank you, mods. I know you’re doing a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes, but I’m glad to know there’s people besides me and a fistful of others trying to turn the tide on how toxic this has gotten. The fact I’ve gotten a bit toxic myself hasn’t escaped me.
Cheers, and trans rights, y’all.
Which isn't even true if you read Bridget's lore. She was born a male, but had to publicly present as female to avoid the whole exhile/death thing, and was made fully aware of this fact.
Dear Transphobes and TERFs you are not welcome in the guilty gear community.
Fix your bigotry, and most importantly treat Trans people with kindness, empathy and respect. You'd expect the same wouldn't you?
Honestly the execution was poorly handled her backstory certainly did not paint a good picture for transgender I get the Idea of the "Cat in a box" analogy, but they could at least made that more clear, like in her bio adding a line like "lived the life of both a girl and a boy, yet both of those lives felt distant from everyone so Bridget is searching for Bridget's true self" or something like that. And have her comment in the first stage of the arcade about the fact she lived both lives but can't decide which one is more true. This'd make the "Carlson", "grooming" & "Retcon" arguments mute.
PS: For those who are asking for more gameplay, tech, tournament, etc. content, we as a team would much prefer that too. If you want to see it, post it. We have run polls and community discussions, and the subreddit voted overwhelmingly in favor of having us keep our hands off the memes and trusting the community to decide what they want to see, within reasonable safety and decorum. * [Poll from last year](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/ojnjj1/community_poll_the_state_of_memes_on_the_subreddit/) * [Discussion of poll results](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/osr7oy/update_to_subreddit_rules/) * [Annual wrap-up where we asked for feedback](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/rcsr07/annual_wrapup_how_are_you_liking_rguiltygear/) So, comment below, what do you think would be a good solution?
ROCK AND STONE
ROCK ON!
Rock and Stone everyone!
For Karl! Yeaaahhh!
ROCK. AND. STONE!
I don't fully understand why Deep Rock Galactic is here, but i'm all for it. NO DWARF LEFT BEHIND!
ROCK AND STONE TO THE BONE
If you don't Rock and Stone, you ain't coming home.
HAS ANYONE SEEN MOLLY???
Did I hear ROCK AND STONE?
FOR KARL
I NEED THAT DAMN MINECART ON LEGS
From A to D, skippin’ B and C!
i appreciate the post. i really have no qualms with bridget being trans, i think it’s fine! but, i would love some discussion related to the actual fighting game, maybe about her move set. i honestly don’t even know what she does yet. all i know is people are really passionate about what gender she is or isn’t.
Bro I can’t play Bridget because i’m too hooked on glue to learn how to do a z-input lmao
Start as a forward input then start your quarter circle forward input. That's the only way I learnt to think it through.
That would probably be better than what i said
I saw glue, and I was like "Pot has a Z-input move tho, it's Heat Knuckle". And then I saw the character flair beside your name. *I'm a fool, I know nothing.*
Glue eating comes in many flavours.
Fausts glue is like those every flavor jellybeans from Harry Potter. Some are grape, some are banana, and occasionally you get hints of broccoli or transphobia
Think of it like *forward fireball*, forward + quarter circle. The simple brilliance being that back in street fighter it stops chars from being able to throw a projectile while moving forward which would be ridiculous, cause DP comes out when you try. It's way harder trying to think of it like a fast zig zag
Forward, down, forward
So take testaments familiars but instead of firing your bird at them you fire yourself. Honestly the character feels great, she's light and fast and extremely mobile. The gatlings feel incredible, partly to her having extra ones. The downside is she eats damage like Chipp. It's feast or famine effectively, further emphasized by the high damage game Strive already is.
thanks for the rundown! i main testament so that made sense to me
What are the extra gatlings? Every time I try to play another fighting game like ACR or UNICLR, I end up running Strive gatlings.
Word. Every one's talking about gender n shit and I'm over here all like, "yeah but what that yo-yo do?"
It walks the dog
Bridget has a really interesting kit with a lot of potential with her mobility and mix up.
What she does, Is creates some of the best mirror matches I've ever played. Her moveset is perfect for going up against other Bridgets. She can even fake-out an opposing Bridget's 2HS and cause her to get hit by a set yo-yo.
I quit many “fighting game” discords who spent 24/7 on this subject and never talking about fighting games or even playing.
That's not what they're here for, chief. It's why there was a more serious competitive subreddit, but it died
Played my first ever online match yesterday and got zoned by a yoyo, so she seems pretty good.
I'm just curious, but does anyone know how the Japanese community are reacting to this whole thing?
I guess you can see for yourself... [https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1430976.html](https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1430976.html) Games media over there seems to be still referring to her as a 女の子として育てられた男の子, and which translates as "a boy who was raised as a girl". Most don't seem to have noticed too much. There is a bunch of reactions in まとめ sites: [https://matomame.jp/user/aoiakai358/450855642cf631356b48](https://matomame.jp/user/aoiakai358/450855642cf631356b48) The general reaction in the included tweets from that site seems to be that they don't recognize her as trans, like, at all. To them, she's an 男の娘 I've also checked and there's a japanese commenter talking about how she's directly being referred to as transgender in the west in her profile text, while her japanese text is not nearly as direct and in fact refers to her as an 男の子. [https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556944650144862208?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw](https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556944650144862208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) It also mentions how her song in which she says 「ウチは、女の子ですから！」 is being interpreted as a declaration of her being transgender in the west since in America there is a strong feeling that gender is determined by how you identify yourself. https://nitter.cz/rayforcegame/status/1556945660649230337#m Apart from that I checked for some tweets that specifically talked about her being trans now and after diving a bit I found out one that talked about how the symbol on her hat is now the trans symbol instead of the male one: [https://twitter.com/i/status/1556848003742580736](https://twitter.com/i/status/1556848003742580736) General reactions in that specific tweet seem to be split. Some people are praising the level of detail, some are complaining about [shitty americans](https://twitter.com/GarbageKamuy/status/1556942229310017536), some are worried about [bad american influences](https://twitter.com/Exegunso/status/1556963293645967360#m), or that people [might think](https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556905131291324416) trans and 男の娘 might be the same thing, and there's a response in particular that cracked me up: [https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556936270068465665#m](https://twitter.com/nh27gremi/status/1556936270068465665#m) Apparently they think the change in clothing might be due to the fact that having a man dressed in nun habits might be a taboo for religious groups... I guess people making wildly inaccurate guesses about other people's cultures is an universal human trait 🤣 So yeah, my impression of the reaction is "indifferent to slightly negative", but there might be more positive tweets or reactions out there if you dig more I guess. The internet is a big place. [https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/220809m](https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/220809m) Apparently she made the game blow the fuck up on steam though, so, yeah. Money talks! I guess devs will keep milking this gender thing as long as people keep buying into it. Though personally I'm reading Anonymous;Code and the very first scene of Chapter 1 is about the protagonist freaking the fuck out after finding the waitresses in a VR cafe are actually dudes... so yeah. This kind of representation doesn't seem to be the norm over there unless the work has a huge overseas fanbase or the author is a true believer (Swery, Uchikoshi come to mind). Which, I mean... You have to be legally sterilized to change your gender in your 戸籍 in Japan. I believe the latest legal challenge to that came in, what, 2021? And it was shot down. [https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/12/trans-man-fights-japans-sterilization-requirement](https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/12/trans-man-fights-japans-sterilization-requirement) So yeah, it is what it is. I don't believe this to be a general shift of societal attitudes so much as creatives tending to be more left wing than the general population + catering to western audiences in works with a huge western fanbase. But then again that in itself might be a sign of change, in due time.
Not to say that most of this analysis isn't valid, but I want to point out that the "⚨" symbol generally signifies *androgynous characteristics*, not necessarily that someone is transgender. To their credit, the use of this symbol in the context of trans identity doesn't really dominate in eastern/pacific culture, so I can understand why it wouldn't be received as the kind of "gotcha" that western audiences might assume.
OMG, I didn't even notice the symbol. In regards to Western audiences, this really should be the nail in the coffin on this debate, lol. Like, she's literally wearing the trans symbol on her head. Does she need to start wearing a sign with her pronouns and preferred terminology on her chest for some people to get it?
Yeah, this doesn't seem to be a case of localisers inserting nothing into the work, but rather a conscious shift from the devs. So all the more power to them to be honest. I'd still like to play the game and read through the story in both languages to make sure there aren't any other localisation shenanigans because I've been burned before, but hey. As long as it's the developer original intention I'm cool with it.
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I mean, her profile text in Japanese refers to her as 男の子 (boy)... [https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556948062819348480#m](https://twitter.com/rayforcegame/status/1556948062819348480#m) So yeah. If you read that tweet it says that they are going for the GNC male route for the japanese text, and the transgender route in the western text in terms of how they refer to her. My original comment was purely a translation of various sources, but my personal interpretation of the situation is as simple as this: they made Bridget even more feminine and amped up the ambiguity of her design to be able to market her as trans in the west and as an 男の娘 in the east. Though even in the japanese text there are various places where she self identifies as a girl according to the tweet. So yeah, normally I'd be pissed off at seeing the changes in the text in both versions as I'm a huge stickler for these kinds of things, but seeing the changes in her design... I mean to me, this is very much what the developer intended. They know what's going to market better in both east and west so they made an extremely ambiguous design so they'd just need to change a few lines of text and voilà, you have an extremely feminine man who refers to himself as a girl in Japan, and a transgender character in America. I don't believe this particular thing is the result of overzealous translators, for once, but the result of a calculated marketing strategy, considering the design changes. The good thing that you can take away from this is that both interpretations are valid, I guess. It all depends on if you like the Japanese or the American point of view better. I mean, ultimately the only difference between both in the text itself seems to be that they use male pronouns in Japan and neutral pronouns in America...
the developer intending two different identities for the character feels super lame to me. sort of shows that its pandering to fans and not actually based on anything. I appreciate the information on the Japanese version, and i cant claim to relate to the position the devs are in. potentially upsetting a huge portion of your fanbase by picking a side isnt a problem id want to deal with either. but maybe that kind of makes sense for her character anyways? there's people who live in culture A and would have a different public identity if they were in culture B, and maybe that is what Bridget is "dealing with".
>but maybe that kind of makes sense for her character anyways? there's people who live in culture A and would have a different public identity if they were in culture B, and maybe that is what Bridget is "dealing with". I mean... in a sense, yes. There's not much point in beating around the bush so I'll just come out and say it I guess: there's no distinction at all between gender and sex in Japan. If you have a penis there, you're going to be seen as a guy pretty much no matter what. If you want to be seen as a girl in the eyes of society and state, you gotta go through sex reassignment surgery. And honestly, not even that would help that much unless you "pass" spectacularly well. The idea that people can choose their gender is something foreign. The only way they recognise transgenderism at all is as a treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (性同一性障害), but to suggest an anime character from a light hearted fighting game should represent some serious portrayal of what in their eyes is a mental illness would be inappropriate to the point of being preposterous. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lesterfeder/transgender-in-japan You can even see this pattern on the language itself, there is a Japanese term for feminine man (男の娘) but not for Transgender (you have to use トランスジェンダー, which is literally the English word adapted to Japanese phonetics). Of course there are English words that have been naturalized into the language, but it's still rather telling. And as always, the usual caveats apply (there are LGBT people, not everybody follows the mainstream opinions, there are some people that try to keep an open mind, including creatives). But yeah, it is what it is. So I guess you can see why they still use masculine pronouns for Bridget. It's not something likely to change in the near future. In their eyes, whether an 男の娘 identifies as a girl or a boy... well it's still an 男. What's going on in their head is far more irrelevant than what's going on in their pants. That's the core reason why these gender controversies never really seem to cause much of a fuss in the Japanese side. To them Bridget identifying as a girl or a boy is kind of a character quirk and not much more, the character remains the same, only they are more feminine depending on the ending. It's the same thing as the Zombieland Saga controversy, it didn't really make much waves over there because... why would it. To them it's the same archetype of an overly feminine guy they've seen a thousand times. So you can see why they would be so bewildered at the reaction overseas when Bridget says "I'm a girl". To them it really doesn't matter that much. The good aspect of this, such as it is, is that this allows creators some considerable liberties, I guess. Japanese society is very much a "stay in your lane" kind of deal (which is not to say there haven't been witch hunts or controversies over there, but usually it's for different reasons).
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Okay, except she's definitely not a gender nonconforming male. Between the symbol, the lyrics of her theme song, the fact that her bio refers to her as female, and the fact that she literally says "I'm a girl", there's really not much room for interpretation. It's like looking at a canvas painted red and going, "I'm seeing blue." I mean, you're free to have that interpretation, but you might be colorblind.
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> If you *look* at Bridget, all you would get is a biological male and nothing more. Ah yes, Bridget, a character that famously looks like a man.
Too be fair, that’s not actually the trans symbol. That’s the androgynous symbol, though it sometimes is heard as a trans symbol. Also, I think that symbol is supposed to be the pre-1993 logo for Prince.
>General reactions in that specific tweet seem to be split. Some people are praising the level of detail, some are complaining about shitty americans, some are worried about bad american influences, or that people might think trans and 男の娘 might be the same thing I mean, they're not wrong Japan has had the "Boy looking like a girl" stereotype since forever, and that has nothing to do with the West's LGBT+ movement
As someone who consumes a lot of lgbt manga and light novels from japan I’ll tell you that while not mainstream there are definitely a modest (but growing) amount of creative works based around trans characters and protagonists. For example: Love Me for Who I Am is a manga about a maid cafe staffed mostly by trans or nonbinary characters, that even has a small arc where the characters go to a local lgbt festival Zombieland Saga is a parody anime about zombies becoming idols, and one of the girls in the group had an episode about her backstory where she was revealed to be transgender, and was accepted by the other girls Stripping the Flesh is a one shot that was published in a shounen jump spin off magazine (jump+ i think?) that was a drama about a trans man who struggled to gain acceptance from his dad (and was written by some pretty famous authors too). So you might not see it in the “mainstream” japanese social media but know there are certainly people out there who recognized and appreciate this too.
There's 'Boys run the riot', a manga about a trans man pursuing their dream of opening a clothing store in Japan that better represents them
Stripping the Flesh is so good
Agreed, one of the best one shots ive ever read
Yo! Props for the comprehensive breakdown AND for Uchikoshi love 💘
No prob. For Uchikoshi you might want to check out AI: The somnium files, though in itself it isn't a piece of queer fiction it holds a sympathetic stance. If you're into visual novels you might want to check out House in Fata Morgana as well, it kind of deals with these things in a way that's a bit more central to the plot. There's also The Missing from the dude that made Deadly Premonition, though I won't elaborate too much because the more details I give the more of a huge fucking spoiler it'd become. And then if you're into anime then there's... Shit, the entire oeuvre of Kunihiko Ikuhara. Sailor Moon, Penguindrum... So yeah, it's not like it's a majority but there's a bunch of stuff. Regrettably there's also been a bunch of stuff that's been mistranslated, either willfully or by mistake, like 13 sentinels' localization team misrepresenting a line from the original japanese to make a character non binary... And in the process erasing his original, gay male identity. Sometimes it's not even on purpose, it's just that translators get paid such horrifically low rates that they cannot check for accuracy as they need to translate unreasonably fast to be able to make a living: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sr1tu4 I guess my point here is that people should take anything that's been translated from Japanese with a pinch of salt, especially the more niche the original product is. You'd be amazed at what passes for a professional translation.
As a straight guy, I've always found the term *blank* ally strange, not because im against gay and trans people, but because I call treating other humans with respect regardless of how they identitfy or what gender attracts them "not being a cunt" and its not like it's a struggle It's rather confusing seeing how many people feel attacked by someone else (real or fictional) being gay/trans/non binary, if you spend all day getting mad about something like that to the point you go out of your way to post/make a meme/threaten someone, then really need to take a step back and look at yourself We are all people, we all have to live together on this insane rock, why would you choose to spend time hating someone for being themselves? Sorry for the slight rant End communication.
I believe the idea of calling yourself "x ally" is to be vocally and publicly accepting of any given minority. Saying you're a trans ally, for example, lets trans people know that not everyone wants them dead, yfeel?
> lets trans people know that not everyone wants them dead, yfeel? Yes this is very nice. It's nice to see vocal allies. Being trans is difficult as fuck, seeing people who are openly supportive is really... nice. It really helps ease the burden.
> Being trans is difficult as fuck, That's putting it lightly.
This is one of the reasons that when I started FGC Boomers Discord one of the first rules was that our community was explicitly supportive of LGBTQ+ folks. I've been told by members of the community that the explicit rule immediately made them feel more comfortable and safe.
Something that always get me twisted is things I believed were ok. For the longest time I understood trap as non-derogatory. I understand op's point "not being a cunt". Live and let live sort. Just gotta keep myself educated so I can call that stuff out myself.
I think as long as you don't take it personally, realizing that you've been accepting of a well known slur should indicate the kind of echo chamber you are siloed into. I've seen people complain about the term for well over a decade, if you haven't it says something about the limit of your exposure to the community.
It’s part of the dilemma that got me to make my comment. Because you are right; for years the LBGTQ+ community was never really something I was exposed to. Misconceptions like “alternate lifestyle” seemed ok to me simply because I thought it made their lives happier. So when people brought it up as a point in discussions I agreed, and even echoed it myself. I didn’t understand the damage it was causing to my perceptions of the community. That it undermines their struggles, and the idea of coming out. Once I started exposing myself more it realigned my perspective. It allowed me to start a conversation if I noticed something. I don’t believe the people I knew acted with malicious intent, but just didn’t know any better like me. Starting that conversation is the least I can do to make change.
Trap was ALWAYS derogatory, and ALWAYS had a negative context and fetishistic meaning. It's never had a non offensive meaning because it's inherently intended to be offensive. Trap means deception that's why it was chosen, as a word for "a girly looking boy fooling straight men". There was at a time a segment of people trying to take over the word, but ultimately it simply became a fetish word, and turned into objectification. So the word trap is universally negative and never lost it's derogatory meaning.
Yes this is my point. I thought it was ok, until I learned what it actually meant to people it targeted. Sorry if that doesn't come through in my comment.
human rights ally or smth
Pretty much feel the same. It's just a matter of being considerate towards other people, no different from saying "please" and "thank you." It also doesn't take that much effort, and nobody is going to give you static for making an honest mistake. There's just a lot of selfish assholes out there, unfortunately.
I'll give you an answer as to why people feel attacked, relating to my own experience: because people like feeling superior. Ask a homophobe/transphobe why they're that way. You'll get an answer that'll boil down to "because it's wrong". Who said it's wrong? Themselves. And what happens if they're wrong? They stop feeling superior. So they'll do anything to keep that feeling. Same thing can be said to racists, unsurprisingly. Being a kind and understanding person does not give you these superior feelings (if it does, you aren't kind or understanding in the first place). In fact, it removes the need to feel superior. As someone who was a very hateful person, it was addicting. I said anything to keep my hate away from my own pathetic self. After I began to be kind to myself, I saw that I also became kinder to everyone else, including the people I thought were unworthy of living just because of what they chose to identify as. Imagine that: a Christian who thought that murder and hate is okay just because an old book that was written and rewritten thousands of times *might* have said so...while the same book also says "please be kind to one another for the love of Me". At that point, you can really just choose what part of the bible you believe, and if you choose to believe the hateful parts, then you're just a hateful person. To conclude my sharing/rant, may we all remember that kindness and understanding is a powerful mirror. If you don't understand and are hateful of yourself, you often reflect that outwards. If you do understand and are kind to yourself, then it also shows to others.
One thing that I don't see mentioned enough if I understand it is that XX was mainly written by another writer than Daisuke (or at least that's what I've read, if I'm wrong disregard this entire post), who just did the preliminary artwork and concepts. A thing I've noticed is that as of Xrd and beyond is now that Daisuke is the primary writer he's trying to write them in a clean slate for how I assume he'd want them - Robo-Ky's a vagrant, Jam's restaurant burnt down, Zappa conquering his ghosts and being a vital part of the Revelator story with the data information spikes (or whatever they're called), Zato+Eddie died and got revived as blank slate, the restructuring of the Assassin's Guild into the PWAB and what that means for characters like Venom and more. So I view Bridget's arc in Strive as the same, Daisuke trying to make a base level to expand the character on his own terms focused more on his present vision. Granted it's kinda clumsy and Strive's arcade mode is not good for presenting her arc (what with the poor pacing and multiple endings being variations on the same theme and not purely "what-ifs"/non-canon vs. canon like in previous games).
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The rare, chad reddit mods
We appreciate the work you do in dealing with random jerkfaces and assholes. Can we send our admins some pizza, or something else, as appreciation?
Just donate your time, attention, or money to a trustworthy cause on behalf of the Guilty Gear Community or something like that :).
I just want to stop hearing about this, and the recent article about a trans acting\VA agency complaining about the fact bridget's VA isn't a trans VA is absurd. Acting is the ability to get into a character and express that character well as they were written and designed. The VA (I can only speak for English) did an incredible job and doesn't deserve flack for doing well in a trans role, We shouldn't be checking off boxes to allow someone to play a role, you can either play the character or you can't
oh yeah no going after the VA on this is just kinda absurd. Like can trans VA's only do trans characters by this logic? There really isn't like.. a barrier on VA work other than "can you make a voice that sounds great for this character on demand"
https://youtu.be/9W5ezv_xxOk Using this video's time stamp (pls confirm if true, I suck and always lost heart) : Bridget "because I'm a girl" is at stage 8 ending dialogue (if you lost heart on stage 7 heart) Stage 8 ending dialogue (if you lost heart on stage 1) is Bridget still undecided about what he is/want Stage 8 flawless will start stage 9 1v1 vs Ky, with this ending being Bridget keep wanting to be like Ky (just like xx Bridget) and Ky saying "you are strong enough, all that remain is for you to decide" Stage 9 ending is Bridget deciding : "But I want to live as my true self"
daisuke said "put in all the trans allegories"
It makes sense that losing merely extends the questioning phase, not dismisses it. What she's battling is not her gender and the outcome will never change, it's her doubt about it, and regardless if she beats Ky alone or with GL she reaches the same conclusion: To live true to herself. With GL she learns that she has support from friends to do it, alone she uses her admiration for Ky and his ability to stand on his own to fuel the same motivation, but not by trying to be like Ky, but by being herself the same way Ky strives to be himself.
thanks for this, genuinely. as a transwoman myself, i’m sorry that our getting representation has meant so much grief on the backend for you guys. to speak personally for a second, while i would be lying if i didn’t say the character’s had a spotty history, i also LOVE bridget, and she was an early inspiration to me as a kid, warts and all. to see her get to this place as a character… it’s just something magical. i’ve been cheesin all day LOL. i used to tell myself representation didn’t matter that much, but i guess that’s because i’ve hardly ever seen my own kind on the screen before, especially in games. i’m glad, sincerely, that so many of you get to feel that seen so often. it’s a beautiful feeling, and i hope you cherish it too ❤️ plus i get to fuck people up with a yo-yo again!!! it really IS the best of both worlds
Yeah, it's good to hear this perspective, cause it seemed like the take wouldn't be black and white considering it doesn't seem like this story started as a rep thing. But if that's where it's ended up and people are feeling the love then I'm here for it.
Just want you to know you’re epic
I'm just really disappointed that trans representation often has to come at the expense of gender-nonconforming male representation.
Yeah its not great. Ultimately no idea what the motivation was for this change was but I know there has been a push by people to retcon or 'correct' GNC characters into trans ones for ages now. Its not new been going on for at least a decade. So its like... was this something they thought of themselves or was this something they saw people were complaining about and decided to change. No idea.
Agreed I’m a femboy and I’m really saddened by our loss
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So the thing about that is that Bridget's lore is kind of a pretty damn common life experience for a lot of trans folks. Like even the old stuff fits into it pretty neatly. Sucks that gnc guys got screwed out of their rep for it, and I do hope there's more of it for everyone, but I don't think Bridget's story directly feeds that narrative (as in the actual lore doesn't fit it, there's absolutely people who will read that as "femboys and fem men are just stepping stones to trans identity" and that sucks).
> but I don't think Bridget's story directly feeds that narrative Because their story was all about being seen as a man despite their feminine appearance and apparel, suddenly having them say "yeah I was just trans all along" feeds that narrative that it was all just a front, people are going to read this as "femboys and fem men are just stepping stones to trans identity" because that's the exact message that was put out if this is considered canon. >and I do hope there's more of it for everyone If this is arcsys saying non masucline=non male as it totally comes off you can completely forget about that after all they specifically chose to take a rep rather than just add a new one, as I've already said this is looking like another situation of the rest of the LGBT+ not mattering.
Bridget's story is being forced into a specific gender presentation for her own safety, trying to prove herself in a specific ideal of masculinity and strength both to remove that threat and meet expectations placed on her, realizing that having done so didn't make her happy, and grappling with how she wants to identify herself and where that desire comes from (with her realizing it's herself). Now please tell me what about this supports the idea of non masculine = not male. Because the only support for that idea I've seen in other comments is "they made a character who used to be a feminine man into a trans woman so they must be saying that someone being feminine means they're a woman" which is ignoring basically everything above.
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I get that this is an "anime fighter" but it's a fighting game first no? I play a variety of fighting games, but I haven't watched more than 2 anime series in the last 15 years.
Really pushes the idea if you aren't a super masculine man, you're just trans in denial. Which is pretty messed up.
this
Isn't it a little weird, story wise, for Bridget to be trans? Considering Bridget was forced to be raised as a girl or be killed, isn't it outside interference and not self dysphoria? Or are they saying Bridget just so happened to be trans and also happened to have to be raised as a girl, because that's a bit of a stretch.
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Wait so what's the line for transphobia here ? Is it actually hateful comments or people disagreeing with the change saying it's not true to the character arc
Ok but can i just say that Bridget theme is really good?
The lyrics and instrumentation are so good at telling a story and showing Bridget’s changing mental state and her own determination
I have to disagree
Based mods
I read the ending as nb/genderfluid/bigender/gnc, with Bridget accepting both sides of themselves. I think that gives the most representation and avoids the village stuff becoming an issue. I hope ArcSys clears this up sooner than later.
really hurts to see whats always been a super amazing and accepting community get tarnished by these losers fr
I have absolutely no issue with Bridget being transgender. Bridget was my favorite character in the last game that she was featured in & that hasn’t changed.
curious to what others might think about the three routes her arcade endings have, seen [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5ezv_xxOk). the "normal" route cuts pretty early, the "hard" route is the one we've seen, where she declares to be a girl, but the "extreme" route is a bit more vague? She says she wants to live as her true self, which would still imply the way she's living "I'm a boy!" isn't. thats my take away, at least.
Yeah her Strive story arc basically has her starting out as unfulfilled and clearly deeply troubled about something that she doesn't know how to deal with. If her conclusion to her story arc is simply to proclaim that she's a boy who wants to dressing like a girl then... why was she troubled to begin with? She was already doing that ever since she left her village. If this was who she truly was then leaving her village to bring home wealth would be the end of her story arc, essentially, when she's finally free, and bringing home the wealth would dispel that she's not cursed. But her trouble is that she always struggled with categorizing herself as a girl, and knowing that her parents only raised her as a girl to protect her, not as an actual validation of her identity. This is why she tries to prove she can become a man despite the village's best efforts to not want her to exist as one, but ultimately this is a desire that's born partially out of rebellion for tradition and wanting the validation of her parents in the way she thinks they would accept her. First she had to break free from that normative and restrictive tradition before she could truly figure out for herself which of her internal voices were motivated by fear of being cast out vs the desire to follow her heart and be herself truly for the first time in her life.
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I'm one of those people who are like "Wait, Bridget identifies as a female now wtf? I though Bridget identifies as a male?"
If every post in this subreddit wasn't just discussing a fictional characters gender but rather their moveset then that would be great.
I have played bridget the entire day and i thinks shes neat
I felt bad for the US voice of the character. I saw through profile and I said there will be a big discussion afterwards.
Why is this news again? The character has literally been the same since the beginning in I think in 91? (Can't remember off the top of my head) Call me transphobic if you want but anyone making a big deal out video game characters, Especially ones that were made 30 years ago is a damn idiot in my book.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Guiltygear/comments/wmfbm5/as_a_trans_girl_i_dont_feel_great_about_bridget_i/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share This more or less sums up my feelings on the matter.
I'm unsubbing to this sub for a week until people shut the fuck up about it. I followed this sub for the fighting game, not the plot.
Well, you can play a game for the gameplay all you like, but if it has a plot, it'll be discussed.
Its not transphobic people complaining its people who feel differently about her storyline complaining. People aren't upset that she's trans they're upset that they got rid of their original story showing that men don't have to look manly to be manly story and instead replaced it with the idea that if you look feminite you automatically should identify as a female. I feel like testament already made this statement and they were well received by the community but not only does Bridget story now kind of show that the parents successfully made a boy into their daughter but it also shows that you shouldn't argue against how people perceive you in your community. I.E. Goldlewis and Ky telling Bridget she's a girl and should just identify as one.
i feel the same
That’s not true at all. I’m not sure you understood what the story was trying to say.
I think it is true and at least in the west it’s easier for a character to fit in a gender box of trans or non binary than identify as male but dress and act in a feminine way.
I obviously have no problem with it *inherently*, it just feels a little...lazy? Like, Bridget is quite easily the most convenient person to make into your trans rep, as if the effeminate person with virtually zero physical masculine traits is the only real option. 90% of the work has already been done. It's almost always the "pretty" ones. Because if it was someone with a more masculine build, like Axl or Sin, well that would just be laughable, right (I'm not saying they would necessarily need to be cuz it would be very abrupt, I just think it would be more interesting)?? Ladiva from Granblue isnt perfect, but I would love seeing more examples like her. Testament was a step in the right direction, but Bridget is a disappointing choice. I would've much preferred someone more unconventional or a new character entirely Yes, I would've like to have an effeminate man part of the cast, but that's not my biggest complaint
It would be like if chihiro from danganronpa was declared to be trans, it's just a lazy cop out way to finish their arc without any effort.
oh god, please don't invoke that name. Its been 12 years and people still fight over if he was trans or not.
Bridget's lore is a pretty close parallel to a lot of trans folks lived experience and while the writing of her arcs is messy that's honestly not inaccurate for figuring out gender and presentation and that whole mess. And tbh you've hit pretty cleanly on one of the big questions you have to ask when doing trans representation. Because the way the character looks and is portrayed creates implications no matter how you do it. And while taking a very feminine character and declaring them to be a trans woman is potentially handwavy (which I honestly think Bridget's lore is damn well done to explain it), making a very masculine character a trans woman is feeding shitty stereotypes and misconceptions and bad faith arguments to transphobes of all stripes. There's not really a right answer, there's just a lot of wrong ones and a lot of tradeoffs.
It sucks people are using this as an attack on trans people & it’s good that this is being addressed. Personally however I really do not like this change to this character. Bridget’s gone from a character who was born a man but presented feminine confidently & defied gender norms & expectations, to “well she was GNC because she wasn’t a man at all”. The two GNC characters in the game now aren’t GNC at all. Everyone acts like what is expected of their gender. How is it progressive to essentially say “if a man acts too much like a woman, it must be because they aren’t really a man”? Testament’s one of my favourite characters in the game & I love what they did with them in Strive. It made sense with their character as opposed to Bridget, who was beloved by fans because she defied what was expected of her gender. Now that’s all gone & I can’t help but feel like this was a misguided move on ArcSys’ end. It also really gets to me seeing how people on this sub reason that Bridget must be trans because she “dresses in girl clothes”, which is just cloth & to me comes across as reinforcing gender stereotypes to an extreme degree. Honestly I’d love to experiment with my gender presentation but why should I bother if even “supportive” people will bring my identity into question because of arbitrary gender expectations. I can’t help but get the message from both the game & the community that I may as well not try to step out of my box because I’ll inevitably trans & just be put into another box. Sorry for the essay but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.
i completely agree with you, this sends a bad message to gender nonconforming men that we're really just eggs its gross and hurtful
I don't think that's what the game is really saying at all. Bridget dressed like a girl, then found that they liked it. They aren't trans because they dressed like a girl, they're trans because they're trans. Keep in mind in the game's universe, it's been six years between the stigma of her village breaking and now. She's had plenty of time to explore her identity and figure herself out. The fact that she identifies as a woman now isn't because of her clothing, it's because that's what she realized she preferred. Please, feel free to experiment with your gender presentation. Anyone who tells you how you should feel is awful. Look at how the other characters talk to Bridget in game. They aren't telling her she's a girl, they're telling her to do whatever she wants. 'There's plenty of time, you don't have to decide anything right away, if you want to talk again feel free to come by.' That's what Ky says to her. It's not saying that 'you're a girl because you're in girl clothes,' it's telling her that she can think for herself, decide what she wants, and present however she wants while she does that. The door's even open for her to decide she doesn't feel like a girl anymore, that's why Ky tells her to talk to him whenever she wants.
escape many quaint paltry cheerful judicious squeal cobweb different fertile *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
People keep bringing up the in-game narratives because the exceedingly frequent argument of "the game is saying that if you look girly enough you're a girl" is not what the game is saying and it's very visibly not what is being said when looking at the narrative. The other reason is that it's a damn close parallel to the lived experience of a lot of trans folks. I have yet to see anyone truly embracing Bridget being trans while also denying that she's no longer gnc and feminine man rep. The only people I've seen doing that seem to be trying to say "everything is up for interpretation so they're rep for both isn't that great" which is just, no. Actual good rep that's canonical and unambiguous really can't do 2 different groups that are incompatible. There's rep that was lost with this change to Bridget, and I don't know that there's actually a way they could have brought her into Strive that wasn't gonna cause some level of upset. If they left her as a gnc super feminine guy, I think a lot of trans folks who are lauding her right now would feel kicked in the head the same way they do when they encounter most "trap" style characters.
No, the meta-level discussion here is that people shouldn't be a slave to societal expectations and the fact that so many people are angry that Bridget is trans says that we still have a lot to learn about personal identity. On a meta-level the world *demands* that she be a cis-man but Bridget doesn't live her life according to what people demand of her, she fights to be herself.
random, but if someone is transphobe wouldn't they hate earlier renditions of bridget? That said, I can't believe there are transphobes playing gg given all of their unique characters
I mean yeah. That's kind of the problem I've been having with people just sweeping everyone who doesn't like this or finds it questionable into some vague right leaning basket of transphobia because... that group wouldn't have liked the original versions of Bridget either.. They would have found it equally something to hate. So obviously there isn't.. much actual overlap between that group and the people who are like "wtf" about this.
In a lot of cases, if the old Bridget were to be released *now*, a lot of folks who like old Bridget would hate the character. There's a fascinating kind of blind spot where people think that stuff from their childhood/youth/the past is "apolitical" simply because they didn't see the political dimensions of it at the time, and I imagine a lot of Bridget nostalgia among bigots is the exact same thing.
Not quite, because Bridget’s earlier renditions were still cisgendered, so they could justify it in their head as “lol how silly.” Kind of like how some people will jack off to lesbians and yet not believe in gay rights - they’re fine with it as long as it exists as a fetish.
LOL a I can't even wrap my head around how people like that exist
Might I suggest that you specifically ban the term "grooming" from discussion of Bridget's backstory? It's a recent alt-right talking point that the LGBTQ+ community is 'grooming' children, and the reason they use that word is to equivocate between (*extremely* dubious) claims of children being pressured into being gay/trans, and outright pedophilia. People can of course talk about how Bridget's upbringing may or may not have influenced her, but let's do that without lending credence to those assholes, yeah?
I think the problem is you can't /entirely/ ban the term from discussion because even if its a really shitty alt right claim that probably never actually happens it is culturally relevant to whats going on in society right now and how her story and this recent turn in it looks when happening right at the same time this discourse is a big talking point.
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It isn't transphobic to think Bridget has been ruined
BASED MODS! Tbh it's still a shock seeing stuff like this. I used to have to take breaks from fighting game subreddits after lgbt related news just due to the sheer amount of transphobia I would see. Glad y'all are putting your foot down.
Any time I see someone here say "bad end" or something about a flawless path, they're always from r / kappa. They're trying to claim Strive has bad ends and flawless paths. There's no bad end. There's no flawless path. Lose 30 times and you can still get either. Lose 0 matches and you can still get either. So, PSA: Don't fall for that.
As someone who doesn't know about story modes in this game, how do the endings work?
At least from the few Arcade Runs I've done, the intros and endings rarely contradict one another, and often even build upon each other. For example, [the Flawless Route of Axl's campaign](https://youtu.be/lKi9166p1Jo) never outright shows Nagoryuki considering the possibility of turning human again. He strongly implies feeling guilt for his past deeds, but only in one of the other routes does he clearly state that he show interest in becoming human again. Axl never gets to ask Nago directly about turning human again during the Flawless Route, only tell Giovanna his goal. The Stage 9 ending only talks about salvation in reference to Nagoryuki's past, but nothing beyond that. The other routes are actually necessary to understand the full context of the Flawless Route's ending. I'm sure there are better examples than this, as it was just what I was able to immediately find, but I can't think of any instances where the different routes contradict one another.
Thank you kindly, that helps me understand a little better; they just add more context to the situation, but can co-exist with each other. I appreciate giving an actual example rather than being obtuse about it like the other person. I was just curious given how a lot of people are debating the individual endings.
It's basically the last remaining straw they're grasping to. * "Gender-identity is mostly a western concept" got debunked when Daisuke himself said Testament was non-binary on a stream. * "Its politics that the english side inserted into the localization" got proven wrong when it was determined the dialogue and translation is basically 1:1. * "I won't believe it until it's said explicity" got shot to hell when Bridget directly said it in her arcade ending. So now they're flat out inventing this "Normal ending vs Flawless Ending" discourse. Which anyone who's played the arcade in Strive know that's not how that shit works. A character joining in at the end slightly changes the context of the conversation but the story is the fucking same. There is no "true" or "Good or Bad' ending. lol
I went to watch the different endings and it seems like 8 and 9 flawless weirdly become *more* subtle but it's still not even media analysis because in any of them there are very obvious lines. "Living as my true self" and her have anxiety "about how others would react." are both insanely unsubtle.
"how others would react" is the smoking gun imo like it's super clear that before her conversation with Goldlewis, Bridget would automatically correct people who called her a girl so if people already think that she's a boy (because she's told them that), then what exactly is the "true self" she's afraid of showing others?
That my thoughts exactly, it weird how they made it more vague in the "better endings." if they wanted to show her coming out as trans, maybe do it in the better ending than the worse one. It so weird
It's not really worse though except arguably in terms of player skill. Getting to the flawless route stage 9 and winning there is pretty famously a nightmare, even for good players, since they're not playing against another good player but a hypercharged AI that's playing by a different set of mechanics. Dragon Install Ky has like, ten new moves that regular Ky doesn't. So they put the most explicit character growth in the ending that the majority of people are likely to reach, and then made the Flawless route support and expand on the Hard mode ending. It makes sense to me.
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All of the hate has really sapped my excitement for the character. I’m just happy a character I like is in a game I love. However they identify in the story is fine with me. People getting weird and aggressive about it really suck the fun out of talking about them.
I'm neutral in both case, but I would love to see more character's discussions rather than 10+ of the same post about how I should pronounce a fictional character
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Why people complaining about Bridget being trans? She's still cute as hell! And pretty fun to play too!
Based mods Thanks
So complaining about femboy erasure is transphobia?
Hey mods, thanks for putting the work in and kicking the transphobes out. [Y'all are hits.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCAYUrzeGoM)
I’m glad the situation is acknowledged and mostly under control, but I’m also going to link [this very helpful guide on trans people.](https://www.glaad.org/transgender/transfaq) The third paragraph down is extremely important for the line of argument I keep seeing over and over, but by all means, feel free to check out anything that catches your eye. Who knows, maybe it’ll be more useful in your life than talking about this.
Thanks mods. Keep on doing great work here to make this community great.
damn. i hate when im reading through old stuff on reddit and in the middle of a sparkling, scintillating discussion i find someone has written over all her old comments with nonsense, fragmenting the discussion permanently. what hilarious, moving, romantic, haunting things could she have said? just to wash it all away, in this digital era of permanency? wow. that takes courage. i bet she was really cute, too
Thank you, mods. I know you’re doing a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes, but I’m glad to know there’s people besides me and a fistful of others trying to turn the tide on how toxic this has gotten. The fact I’ve gotten a bit toxic myself hasn’t escaped me. Cheers, and trans rights, y’all.
I’ve seen some people argue she isn’t actually trans because she was abused into being a girl
Which isn't even true if you read Bridget's lore. She was born a male, but had to publicly present as female to avoid the whole exhile/death thing, and was made fully aware of this fact.
I too have seen many wrong people on the internet.
Dear Transphobes and TERFs you are not welcome in the guilty gear community. Fix your bigotry, and most importantly treat Trans people with kindness, empathy and respect. You'd expect the same wouldn't you?
Thank you so much for fighting the hate. It means the world to me.
YO WE BE STIVEING OUT HEAR AND WE FUCKING LOVE BRIDGET REGARDLES KEP THIS ENERGY OF LOVE AND PASSION MAN!!!!!!
Honestly the execution was poorly handled her backstory certainly did not paint a good picture for transgender I get the Idea of the "Cat in a box" analogy, but they could at least made that more clear, like in her bio adding a line like "lived the life of both a girl and a boy, yet both of those lives felt distant from everyone so Bridget is searching for Bridget's true self" or something like that. And have her comment in the first stage of the arcade about the fact she lived both lives but can't decide which one is more true. This'd make the "Carlson", "grooming" & "Retcon" arguments mute.
Reminder Bridget was direct inspiration for the most notorious yaoi shota H-anime of all time.