Guilty Gear / Shout Out

Guilty Gear not only has awesome music, it also has lots and lots of Heavy Metal and Rock references (and even influences) to count. Almost anything worth a name in this game is a reference to a rock band. And when it's not, it's very likely to be a reference to something from both Western and Eastern pop cultures alike. Take a look:

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Queen references

It's no secret that Daisuke Ishiwatari is a HUGE fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury. Here are some of the many Queen references found across the series.

Sol Badguy:
- His full actual name is Frederick Bulsara.
- The last part of the nickname is a reference to "Mr. Bad Guy".
- His head-plate has the words "ROCK YOU" engraved on it, taking after "We Will Rock You".
- In his story mode in Accent Core Plus, Crow Kuwabara's dialogue with Sol actually as him calling Sol "Mr. Badguy".
- A subtle one — his sword technique is clearly inspired by Mercury's theatrics with the top half of a mic stand.
- One of his servants in Guilty Gear 2: Overture is named Queen.
- At the end of Guilty Gear -STRIVE-, he opens up a machine parts shop named Jazz.
Order-Sol, Sol's clone in XX, has an attack is called "Rock It", named after the song "Rock It (Prime Jive)" on the The Game album.
Axl Low gets an Overdrive in -STRIVE- called "One Vision".
May is named after Brian May, Queen's guitarist.
FIVE of Slayer's attacks are called "Dead on Time", "Under Pressure", "All Dead, All Dead", "Spread Your Wings" and "It's Late".^note
Potemkin's fist attack is called "HammerFall", also a reference to the song "Hammer To Fall".
Bridget's bear is named Roger, after drummer Roger Taylor.
One of Zato-ONE's intro quotes in Guilty Gear -STRIVE- is "Nothing really matters", after a line in "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Completing the band members we also have Johnny, taking after bassist John Deacon.
- He also bears a resemblance to Roger Taylor, especially his looks in the "I want it all" video clip.
Romeo (Bedman's real name) and Delilah reference the cats owned by Freddie Mercury. Among the two, Romeo was aggressive around other cats to the point of needing to be rehomed, referencing Bedman's originally bloodthirsty nature.
Prior to the beginning of a match, the announcer usually screams "Heaven or Hell", a line partly inspired by the last few lines of the song "Stone Cold Crazy".
They are going to put me in a cell, if I can't go to heaven
Will they let me go to hell

Soundtracks and theme songs

Not only is the music of the series awesome, it also comes packed with tons of references:

Sol Badguy's theme song from The Missing Link/GG1 all the way up to XX is "Keep Yourself Alive".
Ky Kiske:
- His theme song from The Missing Link/GG1 all the way to Overture ("Holy Orders (Be Just Or Be Dead)") is a reference to both Iron Maiden's "Be Quick Or Be Dead" and Megadeth's "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due".
- His Xrd theme, "Magnolia Éclair" has a similar riff to Judas Priest's song Electric Eye. This ends up becoming a Musical Spoiler.
- His theme song in -STRIVE-, "The Roar of the Spark", contains a few notes from Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer".
Axl Low:
- His theme song in The Missing Link/GG1 is called "The March of the Wicked King", a reference to "The March Of The Black Queen".
- "Make Oneself", his theme song from X onwards, may be a reference to "Make Yourself."
- Continuing with his Doctor Who references, his theme in Guilty Gear -STRIVE- is titled "Out of the Box", a reference to the TARDIS, the blue police box that serves as the Doctor's time machine.
May:
- Her theme from X and XX, "Blue Water Blue Sky", is inspired by the Skid Row song "Forever".
- Her theme in -STRIVE-, "The Disaster of Passion", sounds like a cross between "Thanks for the Memories" by Fall Out Boy and "Misery Business" by Paramore.
Potemkin's theme song from X and XX is called "Burly Heart", and it sounds very "Kashmir"-like.
- His -STRIVE- theme "Armor-Clad Faith" contains multiple mentions of "Society" and "Clowns", suspiciously reminescent of Memetic Mutation related to Joker.
Zato-ONE/Eddie's theme from X and XX, "Feel a Fear", takes a few cues from Slayer's "Dead Skin Mask".
Millia Rage:
- Her theme song in The Missing Link/GG1, "Writhe in Pain", references Impel's song of the same name.
- "Love the Subhuman Self", her theme in -STRIVE-, takes heavy cues from the works of Evanescence and Nightwish.
Venom's theme in X and XX, "A Solitude That Asks Nothing In Return", has an opening similar (as in, almost identical) to that of a Napalm Death song called "Breed to Breathe".
Faust's theme in -STRIVE-, "Alone Infection", has certain bits reminiscent of "The Court of the Crimson King".
Testament's theme in -STRIVE-, "Like a Weed, Naturally, As A Matter Of Course", has Naoki Hashimoto putting on a voice similar to Chuck Billy, Testament's leader. It also takes (of course!) after Queen and Megadeth.
Kliff Undersn's theme in The Missing Link/GG1, "Pride and Glory", shares its name with Zakk Wylde's first self-fronted project.
Baiken's theme in -STRIVE-, "Mirror of the World", takes certain inspirations from the works of Pink Floyd and The Eagles, especially during the intro portion.
Johnny's themes in Xrd and -STRIVE-, "Original Bet" and "Just Lean", take inspiration from Aerosmith.
I-No's Final Boss theme from XX, "The Midnight Carnival, is a full-on homage to "Kurenai" by X Japan.
The beginning of Ramlethal Valentine's -STRIVE- theme, "Necessary Discrepancy", is similar to "Bitches Crystal" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Elphelt Valentine:
- The beginning of her theme in Xrd sounds similar to Team Japan's theme "Esaka", especially the ''KoF '96 version.
- Her theme in -STRIVE-, "Extras", contains a nod to "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. Fittingly, Elphelt's birthday is Christmas (December 25).
- Near the end of her -STRIVE- theme, there is a nod to the Christian hymn "Amazing Grace", written by English poet John Newton in 1772.
Leo Whitefang's theme in Xrd, "Stolz" has a riff near the end that is just as similar to "Freewheel Burning" by Judas Priest.
- A portion of his theme in -STRIVE- has a part that sounds like "Great King Rat".
Sin Kiske's Xrd theme "Just do it" could be inspired by Van Halen song "Hang 'em High".
Jack-O' Valentine's theme in -STRIVE-, "Perfection Can't Please Me", sounds very similar to "Don't Stop Me Now".
Nagoriyuki's boss theme, "Crawl", sounds very similar to "Raining Blood", one of the signature songs of Slayer.
- His normal theme, "What Do You Fight For", has some influence from "Come Together".
Giovanna's theme in "-STRIVE-", "Trigger", sounds extremely similar to Beast ie Boys's "Sabotage".
Goldlewis Dickinson's theme in -STRIVE-, "The Kiss of Death", takes inspiration from Pantera's "Walk".
Happy Chaos's theme in -STRIVE-, "Drift", is heavily inspired by Queen.
Bedman?'s theme in -STRIVE-, "The Circle", takes several cues from "The Show Must Go On".
In perhaps a bit of irony, Asuka R#'s theme in -STRIVE-, "The Gravity", takes heavy inspiration from Guilty Gear's sister series BlazBlue, sporting many techno-driven and orchestral elements to it and sounding similar to the themes of characters associated with Sector Seven and those related to the Mercury family of mages, showcasing just how different he is compared to the rest of the cast. It also takes heavy cues from Dream Theater.
A.B.A's theme in -STRIVE-, "Symphony", contains a portion that is a reference to "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Hey You" by Pink Floyd.

Characters

Sol Badguy (incl. Order-Sol)

He takes a few design cues after Hayato Kanzaki, as both characters have a metal bandanna and are also bounty hunters.
Instant Kills:
- In The Missing Link/GG1, his IK is named "All Guns Blazing".
- In Guilty Gear X and XX it's instead called Napalm Death.
In Xrd, his sword is called Junkyard Dog Mk. III, which is both named after a wrestler who used "Another One Bites the Dust" as his entrance theme, as well as the song "Junkyard Dog (Tears of Stone)" by Winger. Order Sol's sword was also called "Junkyard Dog" before he obtained the "Fireseal" sword.
- Sol often says "Yare yare daze", and his theme in Xrd is even called "Gimme a Break", a rough translation of that phrase.
- If you use Elphelt's Magnum Wedding on him, with the dialogue set to Japanese, he'll say "Remember yesterday!", a reference to the song of the sane name by Hammerfall.
When Johnny's Joker Trick Overdrive in -STRIVE- hits him, the card shown is a Queen, which is otherwise used for women only.

Ky Kiske

His name is composed by Kai Hansen + Michael Kiske.
An unused voiceclip reveals that he was supposed to have an attack called "Aces High".
His main Overdrive is called "Ride The Lightning".
His Instant Kill from X all the way up to -Xrd- is named "Rising Force".
His version of the Dragon Install, as seen in -STRIVE- looks very similar to a Soul Charge animation, and his appearance afterward makes him resemble Grøh.
- One of his intro quotes in -STRIVE- may be a reference to "Call Me Lightning" by The Who.

Axl Low

He's named after William H. Rose, Axl Rose, of Guns N' Roses fame.
He takes gameplay cues from Billy Kane, from his dress sense (bandana, Union Jack-pattern shirt) to his fighting style (long-range pokes, counters, "leap-off-the-screen-and-dive"-attack, flaming weapon spin Overdrive).
His time slips are reminiscent of the time travel wormholes in Terminator.
Like Doctor Who, he's also a british time traveler.
- If you use him as your system voice in Xrd, he makes a pretty obvious reference to the show if one chooses Zato-1 on the character select screen.
- As of -Revelator- it is shown that he's actually a magical Time Master, bringing the reference full circle.
His stage in the first game features pixel-sized background cameos◊ of Geese Howard, Athena Asamiya, Kyo Kusanagi, Joe Higashi, Mai Shiranui, Andy Bogard and Terry Bogard.
The sign in his Guilty Gear X stage is spelt "Napalm".
His "One vision" Overdrive is a walking JoJo reference, involving Axl striking Jotaro Kujo's signature pose when using it after its activation, and it being able to stop time just like the Stands Star Platinum and The World.
Another music reference can be found in him being an Englishman dating and marrying a Japanese girl (Megumi).

Justice / Aria Hale

She's named after the Metallica album "...And Justice for All".
- Aria, who is her pre-gearization human form, gets her name from an obscure^note band with the same name (spelt as "Ария").
Her design is based on EVA-01. She even has a purple and green color palette in a more overt reference to it, and her dialogue in the first game consists of nothing but berserk shrieking and howling.
Her main stage is called "Heaven" and features a large stairway.
One of her Overdrives is called "Gamma Ray".
She also possesses two moves: "Michael Sword" and its Overdrive variant, "Michael Blade", a shout out Saint Michael, an archangel who was usually depicted as being armed to the teeth and a dangerous fellow to get on the wrong side of.
Also, she looks an awful lot like Cybernetics Guardian, albeit less over the top.

Testament

Their name is a reference to the band of the same name.
Their design, being gender-ambiguous, is a reference to Marilyn Manson, who was male but wore makeup during performances that made him look effeminate.
Attacks:
- "Master Of Puppets"
- "Grave Digger"
- "Warrant"
- "Badlands"
- "Unholy Diver"
- Instant Kill: "Seventh Sign"
Their outfit in -STRIVE- references Slash.
- Their facial appearance and added gothic elements in their design also makes them resemble Chelsea Wolfe.
- Their androgyny and semi-British inflection in their English voice may also be a reference to David Bowie.
- Their core gameplay mechanic, "Stain", might be a reference to the American post-grunge band Staind.
- Their status as a Perky Goth may be a reference to Tim Burton.

Venom

His name is a reference to the band of the same name.
One of his attacks is called "Dark Angel", by The '80s Thrash Metal band of the same name.
His Instant Kill is called Dimmu Borgir, though it is often transcribed as "Deimvolger", "Dame Buger" or "Dim Bomber".
His hairstyle, dress sense, outlandish poses (even by Guilty Gear standards!) and billiards-based fighting style into account can mak you think that Venom could have stepped straight out of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (more specifically, Golden Wind, which ended one year before his debut in GGX).
The insignia in his hairstyle and many of his attacks resembles the Eye of Wdjat, better known to Yu-Gi-Oh! fans as the symbol of the Millennium Items.
His entire fighting style and many of his quotes are based on the game of billiards, and his hairstyle calls Maximillion Pegasus/Pegasus J. Crawford to mind.

Slayer

His name is a reference to the band of the same name.
Another of Slayer's special moves is called "Undertow".
His Force Break in Accent Core is called "Big Bang Upper".^note
He takes after Ozzy Osbourne, being the series' most powerful and influential character. It also helps that his wife is also named Sharon.
He's also a massive homage to two characters from Giant Robo, Chief Chujo and Shocking Alberto, even having the voice actor of the former.
His English voice is essentially JB Blanc doing a rather convincing Sean Connery impression.
One of the lines of Slayer's haiku for his One-Hit KO move reads "Alien" in katakana. How is it translated in English to keep with haiku's five-seven-five structure? "The truth is out there."
In Xrd, Slayer received a new follow-up to his Dandy-Step, called "Helter Skelter".

May

In Accent Core+ R, a few of the Jellyfish Pirates in her stage have their sprites changed to look like Palette Swaps of the main characters of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Not!Homura even has different sprites for her pre/post time travel outfits & personality.

Zappa (including his spirits)

He's named after Frank Zappa.
He's also a walking reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
- His outfit is heavily inspired from Vanilla Ice and DIO, especially the heart bands. He even has Dio's walk animation from the game JoJo's Venture.
- When Zappa is possessed, he twitches wildly and strikes increasingly bizarre poses, a subtle references to Araki's notable style of drawing his characters striking poses.
- His most powerful summon, Raoh, looks like Star Platinum.
One of his attacks is called "The Last Edguy".
For a non-rock reference, resident Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl S-ko is a Captain Ersatz of Sadako from The Ring, a fact referenced by Zappa's Instant Kill.
His most powerful summon is named Raoh.
One of his "idle" quotes translates to "That burger-selling clown is scary!"

Jam Kuradoberi

Her full name is a subtle Cloudberry Jam reference, due to her surname being a Japan-romanized writing of "cloudberry".
One of her Guilty Gear X battle quotes is "Omae wa mou shindeiru aru!", "You're already dead!"
- To really nail the reference in, she gains a new full-tension Overdrive in Accent Core where she punches the opponent in a Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs fashion exactly 100 times.

Potemkin

He borrows some moves from anime works:
- His Gigantic Pressure move resembles Hell and Heaven.
- He refers to his Kinniku... erm, Potemkin Buster as his 48th Certain-Kill Technique.
The name of the nation he serves is Zepp.
He shares his own name with that of the eponymous battleship that underwent a mutiny. (Or at least, the movie of it) Coincidentally, his ending in the first game shows him and Gabriel preparing to instigate a rebellion against Zepp's corrupt leaders.

Millia Rage

She's named after the metal band Meliah Rage.
Her surname also references the band Rage as well.
Her Instant Kill is called Iron Maiden.
One of her attacks is also called Iron Savior.
Another one is called "Winger", a reference to a Hard Rock band from The '80s.
And yet another one is called Silent Force, a reference to a German Power Metal band.
And again yet another is called Emerald Rain, a reference to a Canadian Rock band.
Her "Bad Moon" attack is named after the song "Bad Moon Rising".
The magic technique that lets her control her hair is named "Angra".
Millia's new evasive move in -STRIVE- is called Mirazh (Russian for Mirage), a possible reference to the USSR/Russian band of the same name.
- One of her new overdrives is called Septem Voices, a Russian Symphonic Gothic Metal band.

Bridget

Her "Shoot The Moon" attack is a reference to the Mr. Big song of the same name. Cleverly enough, it's also an actual yo-yo trick.
Her "Kickstart My Heart" attack is a reference to a Mötley Crüe song of the same name.
Her dragon punch special move is called Starship.
One of her Overdrives is called "Me and My Killing Machine".
- The -STRIVE- version of "Return of the Killing Machine" even gives Roger a motorcycle and sunglasses.
When being abducted by aliens in Goldlewis's win animation, one of her possible lines mentions "The Dark Side" before being cut off.

Zato-ONE and Eddie

His name, Zato-ONE, is a reference to the blind samurai Zatoichi, by way of "1" being pronounced "ichi" in Japanese. Zato also shares his namesake's blindness.
- There's also a reference to the Metallica song "One".
He has an attack called "Break the Law".
His Instant Kill attack in the original GG is called "Fear of the Dark", after the eponymous Iron Maiden album and song of the same name.
- Another Iron Maiden reference is his parasite shadow, who's called Eddie after the band's mascot, Eddie the Head.
His Instant Kill from GGX onward is called "Black in Mind", another reference to Rage (Band).
There's also "Shadow Gallery", another of his attacks, named for the Progressive Metal band of the same name.
Eddie itself is a lot like the Venom symbiote which bonded with Eddie Brock in the Marvel Comics.
His "Amorphous" Overdrive in Xrd is a reference to the Finnish band Amorphis.
One of his victory pose looks like Dio's "WRYYYYYY" pose.
His story from Xrd onward, which involves him being resurrected without his emotions and memories but being driven by faint fragments of them, is reminiscent of RoboCop.

Kliff Undersn

His "Soul Survivor" attack can also be called "Sole Survivor".
- It also references the album by the Dutch Death Metal band Gorefest.
He has a giant sword called the Dragonslayer, just like Guts.

Chipp Zanuff

His name is taken near wholesale from the one of the founders of the band Enuff Znuff.
His teleportation move takes cues from Dragon Ball Z, more specifically Goku's Instant Transmission technique.
His appearance is based on Billy Idol.
His design as an American Ninja who speaks in Gratuitous English is inspired by Galford from Samurai Shodown.

Dizzy

Her name is inspired by the Goo Goo Dolls.
- It also references Guns N' Roses, by way of Dizzy Reed, their keyboardist.
Like her mother Justice, she has an Overdrive called "Gamma Ray".
Also, much like her mother, she has a move in her EX form called "Gabriel Sword", another archangel reference.
Her characterization as an unfailingly-kind and pure-hearted young woman of unparalleled beauty who touches the hearts of all who encounter her is a reference to Yuria from Fist of the North Star.
Her Instant Kill in Xrd has a reference to the cover art of the Megadeth album Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?. It's a nuke attack that takes the form of al Angel Arm.

Johnny

His name is inspired by the Goo Goo Dolls.
His name, outfit and long hair, also reference Johnny Winter.
In all of his black-clothed glory, he also references the original Man In Black himself, Johnny Cash.
He's a Casanova Wannabe who has blonde hair, wears sunglasses and is quite a flirt, much like Johnny Bravo.
His narcissistic personality is also reminiscent of another John, this time Johnny Cage.
He has some clear parallels with Zorro - black clothes, heroic bandit style, swordsmanship, even one of his Overdrives even draws a Zorro Mark on his opponent.
His coin throw is likely a reference to Heiji Zenigata.
- His "Ensenga" is a take on Sasaki Kojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi, possibly by way of fellow heartthrob Ukyo Tachibana.
Johnny's card throwing gameplay style is a reference to Gambit.
His personality and wardrobe also have some similarities to Hol Horse, even sharing a voice actor.

A.B.A

Her name is a reference to the swedish pop group ABBA, as well as to ternary form in music.
A.B.A's key companion, Paracelsus, a key with blade-like properties, also takes some inspiration from the band Laibach's side-project album Paracelsus.
Her lore, Instant Kill, and victory animation and outfit in -STRIVE- is a walking reference to Fullmetal Alchemist, even going so far as summoning the Gate of Truth itself.

Baiken

She's a female wandering swordswoman with red hair, making her a female Kenshin Himura.
Her name takes inspiration from Shishido Baiken^note, a swordsman who was also skilled with kusarigama.
Her appearance is influenced by Tange Sazen, a fictional samurai who lost his right eye and right arm.

Anji Mito

He's named after Japanese musician Hananosuke Mito and his band ANGIE.
When his Shitsu projectile hits a blocking opponent, it takes a shape similar to the Aerosmith logo.
In XX, he has an Overdrive called Tenjinkyaku, shaped like Rugal Bernstein's "Dead-End Screamer".

I-No

Her character design is based off of Japanese rock singer Shiina Ringo, complete with her trademark mole (which she later had removed), guitar, and her bobbed haircut from her early days.
Her name references Brian Eno.
Her guitaring win pose shouts out Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
The solo she plays in her riffing win pose has been compared to solos from Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley", Van Halen's "Eruption" and Metallica's "One".
Her Xrd Instant Kill move, as well as her Boss form's IK back in XX, "Megalomania", references the Black Sabbath song "Megalomania" and Aria's first album "Мания Величия".
As of -STRIVE-, it's revealed that she is a full-on Rei Ayanami Expy, albeit a much darker take on the character she is based on.
- -STRIVE- also reveals that she's essentially the GG counterpart to the Origin, AKA the Amaterasu Unit, from BlazBlue.

Dr. Baldhead/Faust

Faust is named for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's namesake play.
He also shares the name with the drummer of Emperor and the German band Faust.
"Going My Way?" could possibly be referencing "Are You Gonna Go My Way?".
His history of suffering a mental breakdown and turning into a crazed killer, then regaining his sanity and becoming a gentle healer once more may be a nod towards Minoru Kamiya, aka "Doctor" of The Sensui Seven.
When he performs a Burst post-The Missing Link/GG1, one can spot a few marks or scars in the shape of the Big Dipper on his chest.
Several of his battle quotes reference anime ("Mou icchou OISSU!"), manga ('Shigyapi~!'), ("Kao FLASH!"), TV shows ("Final Answer?") and comedy routines ("Hige Darou? Ore Hige Darou?").
One of his quotes when activating his pre-Instant-Kill boost: "What's the deal with hospital food?!".
If he gets hit by Elphelt's Instant Kill, one his quotes is "This is bad medicine indeed!".

Leopaldon

He shares the name with an electronica/house band.

Fanny

She shares her name with the alias of Fraser Runciman, a proponent of the breakcore genre.
- It may also reference the Sweet album Sweet Fanny Adams.

Robo-Ky

His kiai is DAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEDAMEEE!!!
One of his Overdrives is called "Aegis High", which alludes to the Iron Maiden song "Aces High".

Zako-Dan

They are inspired after Team Rocket.
Zako-C is an Anime Chinese Girl who not only has clawed gloves, but also wears a Qipao that doesn't cover her back and has Odango Hair, much like Alpha!Chun-Li. Even one of her palettes you get to see during GG Boost even makes her look perfectly like her.

Bedman and Delilah

Their overall visual themes reference the puppeteers of BlazBlue, Carl and Relius Clover.
- The original Bedman and Relius are late-coming villains fighting with mechanical gadgetry and having another being fighting with them (Ignis and the mechanical bed), and both are powerful Dragons to their imperialistic bosses (Imperator Librarius and Ariels). They also have an Instant Kill with unique interactions depending on the target they landed it on (tortures and nightmares).
- Personality and story-wise, however, Bedman is more in line with Carl, willing to do anything and go to any lengths to be able to see his sister again.
- By the time of STRIVE, Bedman ends up in the completely opposite situation as Carl. He is now the soul trapped within the machine (as Carl's sister Ada is within Nirvana), and Delilah is the one piloting him.
Their family name, Neumann, is a reference to famous mathematician Carl Neumann, an occupation referenced through their theme "The Circle" in -STRIVE-.
Bedman is named after Bedemon, a side project of heavy metal band Pentagram.
- His ability to trap people in nightmare worlds is a direct reference to Freddy Krueger and Death 13.
- His stage, Nightmare Theater, is a reference to Dream Theater. When a Dust attack is used here, players can see an eye in the left-hand corner that resembles one of the eyes that appears when Alucard unleashes his restrictions in Hellsing.
- When using the English version of his System Voice, his pre-match line is "May the odds be in your favour".
- His Instant Kill, "Theater of Pain", references a Blind Guardian song of the same name.
The mecha-bed takes a few cues from Roujin Z.

Sin Kiske

He's named after a song by Nine Inch Nails.
Lore, personality, and appearance-wise, he takes inspiration from more modern Stock Shonen Heroes such as Naruto Uzumaki.

Ramlethal Valentine

Her name appears to be an amalgamation of the name of the Swedish metal band Ram and and Lethal, an American heavy metal band.
She has combos that resemble the chain combos used in Tekken.
- Her "Dauro" attack even has a Just Frame version that turns it green, just like the "Electric Wind God Fist" attack used by the members of the Mishima family.
She somewhat resembles Lambda-11 with her color scheme, slow developing emotions and being used as a pawn by others. Ironic considering how many BlazBlue characters were Guilty Gear expys.

Elphelt Valentine

She has a rose motif in her design and wields guns. Guns N' Roses.
- She has the words "You could be mine" on her dress somewhere, a possible reference to the song of the same name.
She also shares her birthday with Axl and Dizzy, who are named after Axl Rose and Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses.
Design-wise, she resembles Hisui and Kohaku from Tsukihime and Rachel Alucard from BlazBlue. Her fighting style, however, is similar to Roberta from Black Lagoon and Noel Vermillion from BlazBlue.
Aside from being similar to Noel Vermillion in terms of weaponry, Elphelt also shares the same birthday and dislike of bugs/insects.
Her Instant Kill is a reference to Bon Jovi 's "You Give Love a Bad Name", particularly the specific lyric "shot through the heart". Doubles as a reference to Bullet for My Valentine.
One of her Instant Kill quotes is "Do you feel lucky punk? Because I sure do!"
Her role in the Story Mode mirrors that of Alisa Bosconovitch in Tekken 6, being a mechanical sidekick of the protagonist(s) assisting them on their missions created with tech belonging to the bad guys.
Her eyes having a diamond-like color to them might coincidentally be a possible allusion to the album Diamond Eyes by alternative metal band Deftones.

Leo Whitefang

He's a badass blond lion-ish guy, making him a stand-in for Alan Gado.
His name and surname are a reference to Danish/American band White Lion.
His "Leidenschaft Dirigent" Overdrive resembles both Wolverine's "Berserker Barrage" and "Fatal Claw" attacks.
His Instant Kill borrows from Warsman's "Double Claw Screw Driver", particularly the spinning and the "stacking" of multiples.

Jack-O' Valentine

She bears a striking resemblance to Kula Diamond, another mysterious girl with bell-bottom pants and oddly-colored hair who also happens to like lollipops, and appears very innocent and childish while being extremely powerful. Her crouching animation also closely resembles the pose Kula strikes when performing her "Diamond Edge" (S)DM.
- Her color scheme and mask design, however, bring Saiki to mind.
She gets her name from the mascot of the power metal band Helloween which also inspires her mask.
Her Instant Kill has been compared to the Inazuma Kick from Gunbuster. It's named "I Want Out!"
Her air grab involves an Iron Maiden.
Her stage in Xrd is called "Heaven's Edge".

Raven

His backstory involves him being a naturally-born immortal and being despondent over it, which mirrors the plot of Highlander.
He fights using claws, licks them in sickening fashion, and has exceptional reach, just like Vega.
- In Overture, he even wears a mask that looks similar to Vega's.
His outfit in Xrd, a hooded cloak, references Yuuki Terumi, another ArcSys character with a sadomasochistic streak.
Immortal sadomasochist with a raven/crow motif? Hidan meets Karas.
He borrows several mechanics and aesthetics from Jedah Dohma. Both of them are batshit insane and use arcane, dark techniques. They even utilize claws and have the exact same attacking flight airdash. One of his winposes is also similar.
His Instant Kill in Xrd, "Sehnsucht", gets its name from the second album by Rammstein.

Ariels

She gets her name from the song "Aerials" by the Nu Metal band System of a Down.

Nagoriyuki

His name comes from the Japanese song "Nagori Yuki", and the inspiration for his ethnicity comes from a singer in Japan named Chris Hart, who covered the song.
His White Mask of Doom and overall samurai getup calls Hakumen to mind. They even share similar gameplay of having specials that cancel into each other while being locked behind careful meter management.
Him being a Scary Black Man vampire who fights with swords makes him Blade in all but name.
The sheer brutality and power behind his sword attacks is very reminiscent of Samurai Shodown.
The way in which his mask is put on is a reference to Metal Gear and its various cyborg ninjas, especially Raiden. In addition, his blades can gain a red hue by being drenched in his opponents' blood, similar to the legends surrounding Jetstream Sam's Muramasa sword. The sheer brutality of his fighting style combined with his blood motifs also calls to mind Raiden's Jack the Ripper persona.
His primarily white color palette, along with his use of Japanese swords and a demonic-looking mask calls the various Arrancars and Espada of Bleach to mind. Zommari Rureaux in particular, as both not only have an affinity for Flash Step, but also have the same voice actor.
In a somewhat meta-example involving the same voice actor, Kusunoki is the current official Japanese dub voice of Darth Vader starting with Star Wars Rebels. Vader is a character wearing a black armor, played by a white actor but voiced by a black voice actor. Nagoriyuki is a black character, with a white armor.^note
His "Wasureyuki" Overdrive animation has his blade's reflection showing an image similar to a classical depiction of a gashadokuro.◊
He may also draw influence from the historical figure Yasuke, a real-life African servant who would become a samurai and retainer to Oda Nobunaga. The story proper even hints that he might outright be the man himself.

Giovanna

She shares her name and her Fighting Spirit abilities with Giorno Giovanna.
Her overall appearance is very similar to Vanessa from The King of Fighters.
- Her fighting style also borrows cues from King and Blue Mary, as she's a Kick Chick and also an up-close grappler.
Her appearance, fighting style, and penchant for high mobility call two Sega games to mind: Jet Set Radio and Streets of Rage. In the latter's case, she resembles Cherry Hunter from 4.
Her "Sepultura" special get's its name from a Brazilian metal band of the same name.
Her 6th alternate color seems to be a shoutout to Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto's Interstella 5555, with Giovanna colored like the human versions of the band from the anime, before reverting to something like their original, blue-skinned form when her tension bar is full.
Given notes from the developers, the concepts behind her design might be a reference to Shaman King.

Happy Chaos

His x-shaped sunglasses and perpetual smiling face logo bring to mind the one used by Nirvana.
He's also basically the Hazama/Yuuki Terumi stand-in in terms of appearance and mannerism, and Nine The Phantom in terms of his insane magical powers and fall into insanity after a terrible incident in the past.
His mannerisms and voice are based on Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker, while his looks and behavior are reminiscent of Jared Leto's take on the character.
His design, being a demonic looking counterpart to an already-existing character, is a thinly-veiled jab at Kage and a form of Self-Deprecation on ArcSys' part, as they are no strangers to reusing existing character designs.
The black halo he has floating above his head may be a reference to the album of the same name by Kamelot.
The way he handles his guns in certain moves is based on Devil May Cry's Dante.
His ability to summon Expendable Clones to take hits for him through a tear in reality is reminiscent of Funny Valentine and D4C.
Gameplay-wise, he takes several cues from fellow Arc System Works fighting game characters with troll personalities like Yuuki Terumi, Tohru Adachi, and Belial.
His ability to summon clones, as well as his gameplay focus on shooting his guns, are a nod to NetherRealm Studios fighting games such as Mortal Kombat (more specifically, in order, Sub-Zero's ice clones and Kurtis Stryker's pistol-based style).

Goldlewis Dickinson

He's named after Bruce Dickinson, the vocalist of Iron Maiden. His first name come from the vocalist of a Canadian band Teenage Head, Gord Lewis.
His entire Area 51 and alien motif brings to mind "Hangar 18".
Appearance-wise, he somewhat resembles actor John Goodman. His English voice also somewhat sounds like Goodman's.
The kiss mark on his left eyeglass, while not an exact match, may be a reference to the logo of The Rolling Stones.
His taunt, where the alien holds up a mirror for him, is a reference to "Morris Day & the Time".
Given that he fights alongside an alien, his Overdrive where he calls down a Kill Sat is likely a reference to Independence Day. There's also a reference to the Hammer of Dawn from Gears of War somewhere.
Skyfish allowing Goldlewis to wield a coffin and a minigun at the same time is inspired by a scene from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines which sees the T-850 doing the same.
His main special move is called "Behemoth Typhoon" while his Overdrives are called "Down with the System" and "Burn it Down".
- His in-game title is "Secretary Of Absolute Defense". Take the first letters of each word and you get S.O.A.D.
He's a large-framed Action Politician with heavy-hitter gameplay and some grappler moves thrown in, as well as an affinity for swinging a giant weapon around, making him the series' answer to Mike Haggar.
Using a coffin as a melee weapon which has a gatling gun inside it bears similarities to Beyond The Grave.
Him being a cowboy dragging a coffin with a gatling gun inside it is also a shout-out to Django, famed for its iconic scene for the Coffin Contraband in media.

Asuka R. Kreutz / Asuka R#

Being a Mechanically Unusual Fighter with a whole load of magic spells at his disposal, he's basically Guilty Gear's answer to Nine the Phantom, with a rather priestly outfit not unlike Izanami's Imperator clothing. One of his spells is even similar to Nine's "Kunzite of Keep Breaker".
- He also has a spell that can manipulate the trajectory of his projectiles including his Overdrive projectile, similar to Nine's daughter, Kokonoe.
His overall gameplay design is one to collectible card games, especially Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic: The Gathering. He even sports an equivalent of Maximillion Pegasus/Pegasus J. Crawford's Millennium Eye, and his -STRIVE- appearance is reminiscent of Aleister the Invoker.

Other

Some texts in Accent Core+ uses Iron Maiden font.
In Accent Core Plus R, the Dust color of color set 1 is a reference to BlazBlue.
- Sol is Ragna, which adds in another Shout-Out because both are similar to each other and Ragna's Guilty Gear skin is based on Sol.
- Ky is Jin, which adds in another Shout-Out because both resemble one another and Jin's Guilty Gear skin is based on Ky.
- I-No is Nine.
- May is Platinum.
- Eddie is Carl.
- Millia is Noel.
- Axl is Hazama.
- Potemkin is Tager, which adds in another Shout-Out because both both are similar to each other and Tager's Guilty Gear skin is based on Potemkin.
- Chipp is Bang.
- Baiken is Bullet.
- Jam is Makoto.
- Anji is Azrael.
- Johnny is Izayoi
- Venom is Relius, which adds in another Shout-Out because both share the same Japanese voice actor.
- Dizzy is Mu-12, which adds in another Shout-Out because both are similar to each other and Mu-12's Guilty Gear skin is based on Dizzy.
- Bridget is Kokonoe.
- A.B.A is Kagura Mutsuki.
- Slayer is Rachel.
- Zappa is Arakune.
- Order Sol is Tsubaki.
- Kliff is Valkenhayn.
- Faust is Litchi.
- Justice is Hakumen.
- Robo-Ky is Yuuki Terumi.
Overdrive, basically GG-ese for "super move"^note, can be seen as a reference to the guitar amplifier effect of the same name. ^note
In addition to the Queen reference, the announcer line Heaven Or Hell, references the song "Heaven or Hell" by Gamma Ray and the album Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath.
When the match ends by KO, the announcer will yell SLASH! Which is a reference to the Guns N' Roses guitarist of the same name.
Guilty Gear X's subtitles (By Your Side "G. Gear") is a possibly a reference to the album By Your Side by The Black Crowes.
An alternate version of XX was ♯Reload is a possible reference to the album Reload by Metallica.
Two stages in X also have references
- One has an Iced version of Hell. Which could be referencing Iced Earth.
- Zato=1 & Venom both share a stage called Nirvana.
The theme "Fatal Duel" sounds similar to "Venomous Vixens" by Sinergy while "D.O.A." sounds similar to "Kiss of Death".
Among the trophies in Xrd are "Communication Breakdown", "Tie Your M.O.M. Down", "A Man of Wealth and Taste", "Training Kept A Rolling", and "Cradle Will Rock", along with several more general references to music and the music industry.
"High Voltage", from the Xrd soundtrack, is most likely a reference to the AC/DC album of the same name.
The X2 character selection theme is inspired by the Dokken song "Kiss of Death".
The multiple musical references conveyed through the series' characters, move names, and music could very well be inspired by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which also uses many musical references.
Xrd's Story Mode mentions a burger joint called Danny Missiles, a play on the Real Life burger chain Johnny Rockets.
The vocal hard rock tracks from Vastedge and Xrd onward have a similar sound to Shinedown, right down to Naoki Hashimoto's vocals being very close in tone to Brent Smith's.
The general plot of the series, which involves humanity coming into contact with a godlike power and seeking to study and control it, only for things to end up going horribly wrong and humanity suffering a cataclysmic event that changed the world forever, is straight up Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- To further drive the parallels home, some installments feature quotes from The Bible.
- The climax of the story mode in Strive is basically Daisuke's love letter to The End of Evangelion, including a recreation of the Giant Naked Rei scene, with Rei being replaced by I-No, and her final plan greatly resembling Instrumentality.
Daisuke himself has stated in several interviews that Bastard!! was a huge inspiration for Guilty Gear. From the numerous hard rock and heavy metal shoutouts (some of which are even shared), to the general plot, and even the character designs, it's easy to see the influence Kazushi Hagiwara's epic had on Daisuke's own.
- The series' backstory of scientists creating weapons of mass destruction in the form of Gears and Justice is almost entirely lifted from the origins of Anthrasax that was eventually revealed in Bastard!!. The parallels grow only stronger post-Xrd, where it's revealed that Justice was controlled by the Universal Will, similar to how Anthrasax was revealed to be under the control of Biblical Angels.
- Ky Kiske can be considered a Composite Expy of Kall Su and Lars Ul Metallicana. Having the former's appearance and sense of justice and the latter's status as The Rival and Supporting Leader, his classic Holy Order costume is even a Whole Costume Reference to Lars' in the Crime and Punishment arc!
- Ky's Thunderseal and affinity for lightning is also similar to Arshes Nei, who had a thunder sword of her own.
- Likewise, Sol's Fireseal is a reference to Dark Schneider's own Flaming Sword, Ifrit, from the early chapters.
- Dragon Install's appearance in later games is similar to DS' Majin form. Dragon Install's name is also a subtle reference to the manga, namely how Dark Schneider was physically installed into the Dragon Knight Lucifer.
- The plot of the Xrd games follows similar beats to the Crime and Punishment arc: The heroes work to stop the Resurrection of Justice (Anthrasax), The initial villain, Ramlethal (The Sorcerer Shogun) undergoes a Heel–Face Turn after her defeat. The heroes have to team up with former villain That Man (Abigail) who turns out to be one of the original scientists that created the God of Destruction. After the resurrected Justice is defeated, it's revealed that the Universal Will (Heaven) was behind the whole thing while more light is shed on Sol's (Dark Schneider) Mysterious Past. The climax of the arc even takes place on a floating continent where Sol, Ky, and Sin fight the Universal Will (The Archangels) while the remaining cast fend off the Phalanx 9 (lesser Angels).
In -STRIVE-, performing an Area Shift on the right side of the Original Times Square stage will move the action inside a "Polar Star Cafe" coffee shop which is based on the real-life coffee chain Starbucks. On top of that, the store's mascot, a polar bear wearing an apron, is reminiscent of Shirokuma Cafe.
In an older version of the Verdant stage from XX, two gnomish creatures resembling Mario and Luigi can be seen in the background.
Very powerful, or at least very big Gears, such as Dust Strikers's boss Gig, are classified as a Megadeth-class Gear.

Shout Out / Guilty Gear

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