Izuna

Something-something jump? Yadda-yadda warp? Let's just call it a shortcut.
― Izuna to Sin Kiske

Izuna is a major character in Guilty Gear 2 -Overture-. A non-human from another plane of existence known as the Backyard, Izuna lends his aid to Sol Badguy and Sin Kiske when they are attacked by a mysterious army, guiding them on their journey.

Design

Izuna is a yokai, a kind of Magical Foci, who takes the form of a pale, white-haired man with a goatee and fox ears. Bright red markings cross his neck, chest, back, forearms, and the backs of his palms. Though visibly non-human, he bears no relation to Gears. His clothing takes inspiration from traditional Japanese fashion; in Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- he wears a white and red two-piece outfit resembling a kimono, with an obi tied around his waist and a pair of zori as footwear. Though the jacket Izuna wears has sleeves, he doesn't keep his arms in them, and his jacket is instead held on by a length of golden tassel. Underneath, he is bare-chested. Izuna likes to accessorize with various trinkets, such as charms and sword crossguards, and his clothes and the hilt of his katana are decorated with what appear to be multiple tsuba.

Izuna wears a traditional Japanese hairpin resembling an ear of rice. The pin is the embodiment of his soul and a part of his physical form, and was created when the lingering emotions of a woman who died within the Backyard commingled with Izuna's essence. Having the hairpin tugged on is painful for him.

In Guilty Gear Vastedge XT, Izuna wears another kimono-inspired outfit, this one a single piece that includes a hood with fox ears and has a cloak layered overtop. He once again wears sandals, this time with socks. His hair in this outfit is mostly covered. However, he still has ear-of-rice elements in his design, as he holds a brushlike object resembling one.

Personality

Izuna is an easygoing, laidback person whose motto is "Whatever works". Though he can come off to others as frivolous or libertine, he's actually a keen observer who acts lackadaisically to keep enemies off their guard. Despite his playful nature, Izuna is cooperative and caring at heart; he values the company of others and will always help out those in need even when it's inconvenient. Izuna tends to be unphased by insults, allowing Sol to call him "freak" without complaint—however, he's offended by Sin gawking at his ears. Perhaps because he's from a world of of information, he speaks in a hybrid dialect composed of many different regional dialects. He often uses the phrase "ya know" and variations in his speech.

A self-proclaimed coward, Izuna hates to fight, but shows himself to be a fierce warrior when his friends are in danger.

He is well-liked by his fellow yokai at Underworld Hill, and has earned the affectionate nicknames "Oyabin" (meaning "boss") and "Oi-chan". Izuna's daily routine involves telling stories to his eager-to-listen brethren. He also enjoys having esoteric conversations with Dr. Paradigm.

Though not a Gear, Izuna, like other yokai, is susceptible to Justice's control.

Story

Background

Izuna was born in the Backyard. Initially he existed as a body without a conscience or feelings, but learnt emotions over time. Apparently, this is usual for Magical Foci.

Much of his early life is revealed through a story he tells Nekomata. A summary of this story goes as follows:

Many centuries ago in Japan, a husband surprised his wife with a beautiful hairpin shaped like an ear of rice. After giving her this gift, he told her he would be leaving the next morning on a dangerous mission from which he might never return. Nine stones cursed by a dying yokai's hatred were spewing toxic mist that poisoned the land and killed any unlucky enough to breathe it, and the only way to stop this curse was to mark each stone with a talisman blessed by the Emperor and pierce it with a ceremonial sword.

Hearing this, the woman feared for her husband's life and resolved to protect him no matter the cost. She waited until he was asleep, then stole the talismans and ceremonial swords given to him by the Emperor. Eventually, she decided to row to the center of a nearby lake and throw them overboard there. As she was dumping the items overboard, though, she slipped and fell into the lake, and quickly sank to the bottom.

However, when the husband woke up the next morning, unaware of all that had happened the night before, he found his wife alive and well. When he discovered the swords and talismans were missing, he didn't suspect her, and left to report the theft and his failure to the Emperor. The Emperor ordered him to wait for a new set of swords and talismans to be produced, but before this task could be completed he received shocking news: the nine cursed stones had suddenly and inexplicably purified themselves, and the husband's mission was no longer necessary.

Thanks to this, the husband was allowed to return home without being punished for losing the sacred objects, and he lived happily alongside his wife for many decades.

Though Izuna treats this as a bit of old folklore with no deeper meaning, it's all true, and is actually a lightly-edited recounting of Izuna's creation. When the woman fell into the lake, she didn't drown. Instead, she slipped through a gate between the physical world and the Backyard that had opened within the lake's depths. Exposure to sheer density of information within the Backyard killed her near-instantly, but her loving thoughts of her husband were too strong to be quickly destroyed and remained in the Backyard long enough to be absorbed into Izuna's still-forming soul. These lingering feelings profoundly shaped Izuna's personality and body; his soul is embodied within the red-and-white hairpin he wears, the same one given to the woman by her husband before her death.

Though not explicitly stated, it's strongly implied that Izuna himself brought about the unexpected happy ending in his tale. It's hinted that he purified the cursed stones, then took the wife's form and lived as her for many years, fulfilling the last desires of the woman whose feelings had shaped Izuna's soul by bringing her husband happiness. This "fox wife" motif is common in Japanese folklore.

Izuna acts as the leader of a group of yokai living in Underworld Hill, a constructed space that exists within the Backyard.

Guilty Gear 2

After Sol defeats the Vizuel a voice introduces himself as Izuna, a resident of the Backyard. Izuna tells Sin and Sol that the Vizuel were seeking out and destroying Gears. Their main area of interest is the kingdom of Illyria. Izuna, Sol, and Sin, stop by Underworld Hill through teleportation magic, where they learn that Valentine brainwashed Izuna's friends.

The group arrive in Illyria, where they encounter Valentine once again. She soon leaves to find a "key." At the castle, the trio finds Ky Kiske trapped in a seal before encountering Raven who proceeds to battle Sol. After the battle, Izuna examines the seal, mentioning he doesn't know how long it will hold. The group soon gets interrupted by Valentine once again.

After Valentine flees, Izuna brings Sol to meet Dr. Paradigm in Ganymede while Sin stays in Illyria Castle to watch over Ky. After a short confrontation, including another interruption from Valentine, Dr. Paradigm agrees to help unseal Ky. The group returns to Illyria and unseals Ky. After a brief line of questioning leading into an argument between Ky and Paradigm, it is revealed there is a Gear, Dizzy, hidden in Illyria. Ky informs Izuna and Dr. Paradigm that Dizzy is his wife and Sin's mother.

When Sin is captured by Valentine, she sets barriers that can't be broken by conventional magic or strength. Fortunately, as an inhabitant of the Backyard, Izuna is familiar with this kind of barrier. He demonstrates his abilities by destroying all of them.

After saving Sin and encountering That Man, Izuna, Sol and Dr. Paradigm travel to the Backyard to put an end to Valentine's plan. She grows tired of their intervention and shows her first emotion, frustration, before transforming herself into a giant mechanical being. In that moment, Sin appears and tells Sol to stabilize the Cube while the rest of the group focuses on stopping Valentine.

Izuna, Sin and Paradigm fight a hard battle against Valentine, and Sol is able to stabilize the Cube. However, in her increasing frustration, Valentine transforms into her larger third form and begins to close the entrance to the Backyard. Izuna, Sin and Paradigm are able to escape in time, but Sol stays behind to put an end to Valentine's rampage.

Guilty Gear Vastedge

Izuna and Nekomata briefly run into Sol and Sin while traveling the countryside selling magical seeds, and Izuna offers the two some information about the location of the Flashing Fang.

Guilty Gear Xrd

Though he does not make an appearance, he is mentioned by Sol and Paradigm, with Sol postulating the idea of using Izuna's Dimensional Traversal magic to teleport to Ariels' location. However, Paradigm states that he hasn't been able to contact Izuna in a while, which he speculates may be due to the Universal Will.

Guilty Gear -Strive-

Izuna has been unreachable since the Cradle Incident, and his current whereabouts and safety are both a mystery.

Abilities

Main article: /Commands

Izuna is a skilled magical practitioner. Thanks to his connection to the Backyard, he's able to use and understand irregular forms of magic that go beyond humanity's knowledge of the subject. He's able to create masterghosts to fight back against Valentine's army, and can lend his magic to others to allow them to unlock new magical skills within themselves, such as the ability to manifest masterghosts and summon servants. His magical skills include telepathy and invisibility as well as the ability to track foes who've teleported away using magic, though he often forgets to use the latter skill until it's too late.

Especially unique is Izuna's skill at teleportation. He can teleport to almost any place within his range, which is intercontinental, and can do so with several people at once—a feat only he is capable of. According to Sol, Izuna's teleportation magic surpasses the efforts of ten thousand humans cooperating to transport a single subject and is so powerful that is disproves the fundamentals of magic. His powers of teleportation are so impressive that Ariels herself took a keen interest in him.

In direct combat, Izuna makes use of his katana, Namakura. Though Izuna hates fighting and claims to be bad at it, when his friends' lives are at stake he shows himself to be a skilled swordsman capable of impressing even Sol.

Music

• 昼行灯 - Guilty Gear 2  

Quotes

Main article: /Quotes

Trivia

• The blade he wields is named "Namakura," meaning "Dull Sword."
• Izuna Gongen is a deity sacred to practitioners of the Izuna shugen cult, said to be enshrined on the summit of Mt. Izuma in Japan's Nagano prefecture and traditionally depicted as a tengu riding atop a white fox's back. Izuna shugen practitioners were historically known for izuna tsukai, a spiritual practice involving summoning fox spirits. Izuna's name may be a reference to the mountain, deity, or spiritual practice.

Gallery

Main article: /Gallery