Jack-O' Valentine

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So it was a question of loss and gain after all. Which should disappear: the world, or me?
― Jack-O' Valentine[src]

Jack-O' Valentine is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. She is one of the three servants of That Man, alongside Raven and I-No. Her past is shrouded in mystery, and her own memories are vague. Because her awakening remains incomplete, she can't function without her mask and candy.

Design

Jack-O' Valentine is a slender young woman with fair skin, red eyes and long white hair with red highlights on the underside that goes past her hips. Her most prominent trait is the compass-like pale yellow halo hovering above her head.

Jack-O's main outfit consists of a white skin-tight one piece that loosens up and has slits at her forearms and calves. She wears an ankh pendant, a black belt with a gold skull buckle on her waist, and her arms are decorated with similar belts. She also wears black and red gloves and matching heels. She also wears a Jack-o'-lantern-esque removable mask and prison weight chained to her left ankle. Both are black in color and give off a light green lantern effect in their skull-themed eyes, nose and mouth. At the end of Revelator, her hair becomes fully red.

In Strive, Jack-O's design remains mostly the same, with the only differences being that her hair color changing to being predominantly red with white highlights on the underside, her eye color changing from red to green, as well as her halo becoming cracked.

Personality

Because she was awakened in an incomplete state,[1] before she could download half of her soul from the main body, her memories and personality data are fragmented and unstable.[5] This instability has resulted in the side-effect[12] of a split personality of sorts: That of a cool and collected[11] adult woman,[1] and a child-like one that is playful and cheerful, with her voice changing accordingly. The way she refers to others changes as well: her child voice using the honorifics ちゃん (-chan?)[13] and くん (-kun?),[14] while her adult voice drops them almost entirely and uses a more neutral tone. Despite the changes, Jack-O' does not actually become a child on the inside.[7]

Inside her remains the portion of Aria's soul that loved Frederick, and related memories;[1] at first, not quite able to recall information of him[12] or his name,[5] she was created with a complicated feeling of nostalgia towards Sol.[1] Being "a piece of Aria",[15] Jack-O' doesn't consider herself to be Aria, whom she has called the "original owner" of her body,[12] thinking of herself as a temporary, replacement personality[10] with artificial emotions.[15] Although she finds unsettling that "nothing" is all she has,[16] she is nonetheless well aware of her destiny or purpose[5]—protecting the world[10][17]—and is willing to fulfill it despite what that may mean for her own existence.[9]

Yet, while thinking of herself as disposable, Jack-O's ego starts to become independent, refusing to take off her halo after becoming human.[15] Though she claims otherwise[10] so that others won't notice, Jack-O' knows she has emotions, even if she may not fully feel them. Unable to accept herself, she doesn't reject herself either, falling in love with Sol despite herself.[9]

Initially, not having "established" herself in this plane of existence, Jack-O' needs some candy as a supplement, or wear her mask,[5] but as days pass and she stabilizes, she is able to forego their use.[8][18][19] Following the fusion, she remains in an unstable state due to Aria's consciousness within her, and may start acting child-like again if her emotions get the best of her; to keep her composure in check during battles, she continues to use her mask.[11]

Story

Background

In 2073, Aria Hale underwent conversion into a Gear, "Justice",[20] and was given the ability to control all other Gears so that she could stop the Gears' deployment as weapons of war.[6] However, during her activation test in 2074, Justice's body and consciousness were compromised by the Universal Will. The entity attempted to take over Justice, but when that failed, it mutated the people of Japan in order to materialize from inside the Backyard. To stop the entity, That Man ordered an override that transferred command of Justice's control systems over to himself and forced her to fire a Gamma Ray to destroy the island.[21]

Justice's mind, warped by the incident, forgot who she was,[22] and declared war on humanity.[23] Intending to free Aria/Justice,[21] That Man later created Jack-O' as a "half-Aria", or rather, a synthesis of Aria's fragmented memory designed to overwrite Justice's individual information sectors, like a physical patch.[5] The final version of the Valentine series, Jack-O' would be 100% compatible with Justice,[5] the "main body" from whom she must download half her soul[5] to revive Aria as a bonafide human.[6] As a contigency,[7] but also in order to save I-No,[15] That Man also created another Jack-O' unit,[7] who was designed to make I-No human if she ever awakened. However, he never finished that unit.[15]

Guilty Gear X

Jack-O' is alongside That Man and I-No after Raven completes his assignment in London.[24] In one of Sol's endings, Jack-O' and I-No are also present when That Man realizes that Justice had a daughter, and orders Raven to keep an eye on her.[25] Presumably, Jack-O' is then put to sleep inside the Sanctuary until the time for Justice's revival.

Guilty Gear Xrd

On November 6, 2187, Jack-O' is awakened by I-No, but in a childish outburst, Jack-O' escapes to the outside world to have some fresh air.[5] Among her encounters, Bedman realizes the threat she poses,[26] and injures her left leg.[27] She also spends a short while with Jam Kuradoberi, whose advise lifts her spirits.[16] When I-No tracks her down to Heaven's Edge, Jack-O' reveals to her and Axl the origin of their powers.[13][14] On November 17, Jack-O' is apprehended by Sol, Sin Kiske and Ramlethal Valentine, and Sol demands that she show her face. She shocks Sol with her incredible resemblance to Aria, explains her role,[28] and apologizes for not remembering him. Jack-O' then teleports away with Raven,[5] who berates her for running away,[7] so as to remain on standby until That Man can free himself from Bedman's prison.[12]

A "human" conversation.

While they remotely keep an eye on Sol, Raven decides to treat her wound; curious, Jack-O' asks about his change of demeanor, being "nice" to her. Raven laments that he has forgotten his last normal "human" conversation, affected by Ramlethal's change, and Jack-O' calls him a "softie".[27] When That Man returns following his escape thanks to Chronus,[29] he and Jack-O' teleport to Illyria Castle to make an uneasy truce with Sol, Ky Kiske, Dr. Paradigm and Leo Whitefang, revealing to them the full truth about Sol's conversion, Justice's purpose, Ariels' identity as the Universal Will, and the Absolute World.[6]

During the strategic session for their proceedings, Jack-O' smiles when Sol leaves his grudge aside and tells That Man how to improve the Saint Oratorio they will use for the "download" procedure.[18] After they locate Ariels, Elphelt Valentine and Justice, Jack-O', Sol, Ky and Sin board Johnny's Gullinkambi Dark to go. During the journey, Sin wonders if his mother is related to Sol; Jack-O' says she is qualified to answer, but Sol nervously shuts the conversation down. Afterwards, Ky asks Jack-O' about her opinion on humanity's fate, to which she replies that people should have the freedom to choose.[19]

Facing death.

While the others keep Ariels at bay, Jack-O' positions herself above Elphelt and prepares to absorb the energy to merge with Justice. After Raven and Ramlethal's intervention, Jack-O' receives the Saint Oratorio and partially fuses, while Elphelt is released. But the unconscious Justice/Aria resists the merge, too traumatized by her rampage to accept regaining her humanity. Jack-O' informs Sol that she needs more energy, and Sol decides to power-up a second Saint Oratorio with his Junkyard Dog. At that moment, Daryl's fleet appears with the intent of destroying Justice while she is still incomplete. Only thanks to Axl Low's time compression, Jack-O' receives the energy, overrides Aria/Justice's consciousness,[8] and forcibly fuses with Aria's soul.[1] Jack-O' and Sol then survive thanks to the barrier of a weakened Ariels. While asleep, Jack-O's halo disappears and her hair turns red,[8] restoring Aria.[20]

Guilty Gear -Strive-

Though Aria fully regains her soul, the old Aria's consciousness has yet to return from behind Jack-O's.[1] Three weeks later, Jack-O'—wearing her halo although she doesn't need to—is still waiting, but starts working with Sol as a bounty hunter. After a successful bounty run, Sol is recalled by Ky to the castle,[10] and learns that I-No took something from Ariels,[30] but Sol takes Jack-O' on a vacation to Iseo instead. Their journey is cut short by Axl's warning, I-No letting herself be capture, and a highway encounter with I-No's ally Happy Chaos that involves Nagoriyuki, Chipp Zanuff and Anji Mito.[2] Back at the castle, Sol and Ky interrogate I-No, but she reveals nothing.[15]

Internal conflict.

Instead, Jack-O' tells the duo of I-No's origins as a Magical Foci, and that she is incomplete. Thinking that I-No may be after Asuka's Tome of Origin, Sol decides to take up President Vernon's offer to be a knight at G4. Jack-O' remains behind to stop I-No if needed; in truth, she is projecting herself onto I-No, wanting to learn about her. "Aria" tells Jack-O' to understand the value of her own world, otherwise Aria will disappear.[15] As the summit starts, Jack-O' asks I-No what is her wish, and I-No admits to wanting to get out of her "empty cage", not without making Jack-O' question if there is a place in the world for her. Ky, hearing their conversation, has Jack-O' accompany him to G4 aboard his airship.[17] On the way there, Ky tells Jack-O' about humans' "necessary frivolities".[31]

They arrive after Sol, Vernon, Asuka and their allied forces regain control of the airborne White House, after ejecting Chaos on a escape pod. There, Asuka informs them that he will use the aircraft to go to the moon, and proceeds to remove from Sol his divine seed, restoring his humanity in the process. To their surprise, Chaos is still onboard,[32] and gets a hold of Asuka, who is one with the Tome; Chaos thus merges with I-No, ascending her to godhood. After she knocks Sol unconscious and proceeds to grant "freedom" to humanity, Ky asks her to stand back, but Jack-O' takes one last look at Sol's face and then forcibly enters I-No,[9] to turn her human at the cost of her own life[17] and fulfill her role of protecting the world,[15] in spite of Ky, Axl and Asuka's pleas.[9]

Saving a world.

Before Jack-O' can complete the process, Sol asks her not to do it, even if that may save the world, but she tearfully admits—thinking it is only Aria whom he wants a future with—that Aria isn't coming back. Sol says it doesn't matter, but that he won't let Jack-O' go no matter what. Deciding that she wants to be by his side, Jack-O' then comes out. With Jack-O' safe, Sol then has Ky distract I-No while he aims with the Outrage. Thanks to Nagoriyuki, he hits I-No at her weak point, killing her and saving the world. In the aftermath, Jack-O' decides to abandon her halo and live together with Sol—now simply Frederick—at Iseo.[9]

Abilities

Claiming to have a thousand years' worth of knowledge of her role,[10] Jack-O' is shown to be extremely knowledgeable about both magic. She seems able to state precise information about a concept, object or person simply by examining them, such as Johnny's ship,[19] the power and the magical knowledge of Bedman,[26] and even deeper subjects like I-No's and Axl's origins.[13][14] Furthermore, Jack-O' is able to gather information on unnatural phenomena via the use of sensors,[33] or to research via her Organ Deployment technique, such as a person's records, although she could find nothing on Bedman, leading her to think he'd erased them completely.[26]

Jack-O' has the ability to self-regenerate, and unless the wound is instant and fatal, she is able to recover over time without treatment. In addition, she has a fail-safe "seed", the Scales of Juno, planted inside of her by That Man to ensure she stands against the Absolute World.[1] Jack-O' has immense destructive power, such that Sol Badguy was taken aback by her strength.[28] However, her divine seed is later removed, making her a "regular" human,[31] though likely not entirely.

Her weapon of choice is an iron pumpkin flail, which allows her to trap the enemy, fly, and shoot green blasts of magic; it is actually a familiar named Dopros, being fairly similar to Lucifero, but is non-communicative.[source needed] She can also create "white pumpkin houses" that summon three kinds of minions: one with a spear that can perform combo attacks, another with a sword that can fly, and the last one with a staff that can perform anti-aerial attacks. The house's level can increase, becoming more resistant and deploying minions with upgraded weapons. Jack-O' can boost her minions' strength or even make them explode alongside their houses. She can also create an Aegis-like barrier to protect herself from projectile attacks and her own explosions.

Music

Quotes

Trivia

  • Like the first generation Valentine, Jack-O's blood is Type O, while Ramlethal and Elphelt's cannot be analyzed. This could be because they are technically less human and improved Valentines, and do not physically resemble Aria.
  • Although she identifies as a Valentine, material and in-game mentions usually only call her Jack-O' and omit the 'surname'.
  • Her playstyle is based on the real-time strategy gameplay of Guilty Gear 2 -Overture-.
  • Jack-O's hair changed from red at the end of Revelator's Story Mode to having white highlights in Strive as an effect of Aria's unstable spirit.[34]
  • When Jack-O's servants toss her in the air in her -Strive- victory animation, their cheer sounds like "Aria".
  • Her name as well as her mask, is a reference to the carved pumpkin Jack-O' Lantern, often associated to the holiday of Halloween and the German power metal band Helloween (whose mascot's name is also 'Jack O'). Helloween have been referenced previously within Guilty Gear.[35]
    • In addition to this, her Instant Kill is named "I Want Out" after a Helloween song.
  • Her design heavily features the ankh, specifically the circular-headed crux ansata adapted into Christianity. The ankh is commonly used as a symbol to represent "life".
  • A costume based on Jack-O's Strive look (under the name 'Hyper Energetic Marshal Fighter's Outfit') for the character Magilou, appears in Tales of the Rays.
  • Jack-O' has made guest appearances in the following games: Seven Knights, Crusaders Quest, Brave Frontier, Chain Chronicle 3, Last Period, Elemental Story, Code Shifter, and Epic Seven.

Gallery

External links

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 GG World/Jack-O'
  2. 2.0 2.1 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Encounter"
  3. 3.0 3.1 ジャック・オー | キャラクター | GUILTY GEAR Xrd REV 2 AC版公式サイト
  4. GG World/Jack-O'#Strive
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "Jack-O'"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Cause A"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "Raven"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Fireworks"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Strive"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Prologue"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Jack-O' | CHARACTER | GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- | ARC SYSTEM WORKS
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Contact B"
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "I-No"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "Axl"
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Omen"
  16. 16.0 16.1 Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 script § "Jam"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Intruder"
  18. 18.0 18.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Thesis A"
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Wall B"
  20. 20.0 20.1 GG World/Aria
  21. 21.0 21.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Kaleidoscope B"
  22. Guilty Gear script § "Sol"
  23. Guilty Gear manual (US), pg.4
  24. Guilty Gear X Lightning the Argent, pg.??
  25. Guilty Gear X Plus script § "Sol Path 3"
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "Bedman"
  27. 27.0 27.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Sense B"
  28. 28.0 28.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- Episode script § "Sol"
  29. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Face A"
  30. Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Chaos"
  31. 31.0 31.1 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Myth"
  32. Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Conclusion"
  33. GG World/Secondary Cosmic Rays
  34. 【ネタバレ注意】『ギルティギア ストライヴ』インタビュー。カイのドライン、イノの目的、ファウストの変貌……などなど、気になることを聞いてきました | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com
  35. Guilty Gear Complete Bible, pg. 78 - "Metal Room"