The Story of Blazblue - Fighting Game Retrospectives

[@windego999]

Imagine the bad guy's whole plan being to make the main hero hate him so much that the bad guy lives rent free in the heroes head which makes him technically immortal. What a concept.

[@animeking1674]

Funny enough, that's literally Sephiroth's plan in kingdom hearts and ff7

[@gabrielrosendo9553]

Afroo samurai villain:Justice

[@Seraphkiel]

I was about to comment about Sephiroth as well😂😂

[@punksnotdeaditsconservativ1693]

Sounds like something DSP would do or is doing.

[@knoxarrian6302]

eobard thawn

[@jasonrobinson401]

The best part of Blazblues story is that you can't spoil it, you can only spoil one facet of what happened at a time.

[@Halfwit_658]

In any other series, "izanami is saya" would have been a giant thing

[@spiggityspoo756]

@@Halfwit_658 At this point, who the fuck ISN’T Saya?

[@lordwarryl5712]

You can spoil that Ragna died in the end, but he died like gazillion times.

[@mrmeteor64]

Actually that’s wrong I spoiled the third game for someone he hated me for 10 years.

[@RavenGamingOverLord]

@@mrmeteor64 It probably was worth it, just for their reaction

[@enemyv]

So, God is an anime fangirl, the world is her fanfic, and Ragna is her OC.

[@hikari_3277]

I hate that you phrased it like this and that it makes sense

[@BlossomPathOnStage15]

No wonder Ragna lives and backstory was soo fucking edgy as fuck.

[@DreadSHADIA]

Literally everyone is the Original's OC. Ragna was just chosen to be the knight in shining armor.

[@cipnec]

exactly, how was that so complicated

[@someguyonyt9270]

@@BlossomPathOnStage15 Yes, Ragna the BloodEDGE being edgy. Quite right.

[@thepriorstone4064]

I always thought Terumi put himself in Ragnas head for no other reason than, “those kids? Yea fuck those kids” and just kept Ragna alive so he could stay in reality. But now that I know Ragna is the literal center of the universe and God will keep him alive at any cost, he was the perfect person for Terumi to mentally dominate 24/7. This story is insane but so good

[@ProtagonistLover]

This is 100% canon and that's what makes it so funny.

[@zeehero7280]

Observing is clearly based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Where anything you observe is changed a tiny bit just by the act of observing, meaning nothing can be perfectly measured. Shroedingers Cat as well, but it makes me think of both.

[@naffadagamma1697]

Imagine my confusion when I decide to learn english by playing Blazblue

[@Ben-fx9kx]

😂 That's like learning English through Shakespeare combined with a quantum physics textbook

[@cipnec]

😮❤

[@RavenGamingOverLord]

Wait what?

[@naffadagamma1697]

@@RavenGamingOverLord Blazblue and their own fantastical term man! I thought Ars Magus are actually english words

[@damiang_r]

I thought I was the only one who had this experience with this franchise. The pain I would feel everytime I would try searching the terms in the dictionary…

[@azureheart2846]

Finally. The plot explanation to my favorite game.

[@malikmuhammad9085]

_I've turned your 68 likes 69 likes. You're welcome and no need to thank me it's what heroes do_

[@tabkg5802]

Finally. The lore explanation of my favorite lore.

[@zengetsu4309]

I thought, blazblue couldn't get any more than I originally thought, but where's the pain killer?

[@justice8718]

The game series is honestly pretty simple. A goddess creates the world in her image and resets the world every time the paths fail to meet her ends. Terumi, another being of high grace, crashes down the earth to break the cycle and become God.

[@danny12788]

​@@justice8718 thank you for clearing up the jargon that this game series does in writing its narrative.

[@garytaylor8193]

Key note for anyone wondering the reason why the origin specifically "made" ragna was because the original black beast was the brother of the origin who tried to save her. Hence why in the story the "hero" kept killing the "girl". It was a retelling how the origins brother ended up becoming a monster instead of the hero

[@longphan7656]

Bruh Humanity of the past world deserves to die then Not only do they want God power by turning a little girl into a god, they also choose her own brother to be the thing that kill her “children” and destroy the old world

[@azureheart2846]

It’s amazing how Ragna's very last conversation gets overlooked. You’d think there’d be loads of theories regarding that. But you’re probably the only person I’ve seen ever mention that.

[@dekaidoku]

The real popular theory is that he wasnt her actual brother but likely a scientist who had bonded with her like a brother.

[@azureheart2846]

@@dekaidoku where did you hear that theory? And where kind I find other theories?

[@Maho-ln2fu]

This also means the original beast Terumi, Relius and Nine’s father pulled out from the boundary was actually the brother of the origin.

[@MrBruh77]

I have this feeling, that every time whenever Terumi burned down the church and did all that stuff, he would always come up with a different insult to destroy Ragna mentally. Like, he just has a little note book of his previous insults, and just makes new ones and practices them constantly. I don’t know why, but that’s my head canon.

[@24Nyome]

Terumi with his little book writing down and planning out which insults will specifically make Ragna the most angry, and practicing in the mirror to sound like as much of a douche as possible, is the best head cannon I've heard so far 😂

[@thecommissar4461]

Sol Badguy's ending: World is saved, remarries long-dead wife's clone. Ragna the Bloodedge's ending: "Who's Ragna?"

[@ezrel6477]

Lmao the BlazBlue story is just anime and suffering, and it’s weirdly amazing

[@KhangNguyen-ij4xh]

Sol’s ending is even better: “World is saved, becomes (more) human again, wife back, rides wife, found out he has a daughter, son-in-law, sisters-in-law/granddaughter and a grandson all on one package and he sort of made peace with his nemesis/bff. Dude got the best ending possible

[@DecadeNeo18]

​@KhangNguyen-ij4xh But hey atleast Ragna's in Peace so yeah he's finally got that Eternal rest

[@luridus584]

I remember being in a voice call with a bunch of people from Skoriath' server, and we were having a heated discussion about some details on the plot. After a while some guy goes "We'd have to ask someone who's and expert on this" then there was like a second or two of silence and someone else mentions that "we ARE the experts"

[@megaman1on1]

Oh god, it's that moment of "I need an adult!" "...But... We are the adults." OH GOD.

[@WardofSquid]

Classic movie moment😂

[@Momijitheawoo]

Certified glue eater moment😎 ps I was in that chat well the discord but still

[@jorgeperez2872]

I think most problems in understanding come from a localization problem of the script of the plot. For me, this story is cool af precisely because is convoluted, like Evangelion.

[@draco8x3]

Oh hey i know that guy :D

[@primodouglas]

My favorite part of the story is that Azarel is so strong that he can tear reality with his bare hands

[@primodouglas]

And tottaly ignore rules stabelish by some wierd cristal in BBTAG

[@Skallva]

I love that Kokonoe trapped him in a prison that was designed specifically to withstands his attempts of ever escaping And then later, he casually escapes it by ripping it open with his bare hands.

[@valwill5247]

The thing is that Hakumen, Nine and Relius did that shit to prove a point. Az is so strong that thats not even really impressive.

[@DaichiTheBrawler]

She just put that man in between dementions and he just broke out

[@cipnec]

Asrael looks like such a gym guy to me...

[@KigaiOkasu]

Possible hot take: For an idea of how that BlazBlue bad dad sliding scale might work, Jubei might be the best dad in the game. Now consider that he constantly popping in and out of the lives of his students rather than sticking around and that he’s so neglectful of his own daughter that he’s never on screen with her at any point during the story, and you can get an idea of how much worse it goes from there.

[@Nougatbars]

And that she expresses loathing for him *every time he comes up.*

[@chrismanning2888]

I would say Relius would be a slightly better dad. He did raise Carl and Ada normally for the most part when he had them, up...until the whole Nirvana situation happened.

[@mrnoob-333]

mai dad was actually pretty good father for sure

[@shadowclaw7210]

@@mrnoob-333still can’t believe that.

[@ScaraProlly]

Who asked though

[@megamawile8540]

I Usually dislike time manipulation stories, but BlazBlue won me over. You brought back all my feels reminding me of all this. Good job digging in.

[@Nagalior]

The short version: Mad scientists tried to play God, now everyone are stuck in time loop, so everything that happened did happen. Only the power of family can save the day.

[@LexisVoyage]

even shorter version: god x oc (do not steal) fanfic.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@LexisVoyage The creator of Blazeblue is a fan of RPG's. So he wanted to like an RPG like story in a fighting game.

[@fanofsimonpegg]

2:03:34 Given the same mythology they're pulled from, you could've gone "Izanami is the Master Unit's Persona" and carried the same message while also lampshading the fact BlazBlue & P4 share a villainess Izanami. Now I kinda wish BBTAG leaned into that where the Investigation Team and Team BlazBlue attempt to trade notes on Izanami only to confuse the hell out of the other party.

[@shadowclaw7210]

If you want go further. Salem big bad from RWBY is a freaking Izanami. At lest if you check boxes from myth. Wife of important guy Was originally nice lady until something bad happened After bad stuff started hate her husband Bad stuff apparently transformed her into worse shape She now apparently hates her husband Trying to wipe out humanity Apparently she is connected to death

[@chrismanning2888]

I got a better one. She could be the Master Unit's Shadow

[@reececollins9212]

Honestly I’d would have love to see Izanami in Cross Tag battle just for the P4 characters reactions

[@andrewlinehan2834]

It is cliche but Ragna is up there as one of my faves from Blazblue. His everyman person getting frustrated with everything going on around him is extremely relatable and makes him one of the most funny and relatable characters. Mai is also up there she is just such a pure soul, and her being able to eat Noel's cooking cause she tastes the pure love that Noel puts into her food that is not even edible to most people. Also Hazama and Terumi is one of the most fun chaotic evil villains ever, guy is just fueled by pure spite and revels in making the lives of everyone around him worse. Love Makoto cause she is honestly just a ray of sunshine and makes things fun. I can't really give an exact reason or choose a single character to be my favorite character, cause each one has so many reasons to love them. These are just a few off the top of my head. Last one, Tager is great cause he is such a good gentle giant type character and making him feel like a chill office worker despite walking around like a bloody Red Oni is genius.

[@tabkg5802]

That's cool and all, but Hakumen >>>>>>>>>> /jk Ragna is close to him

[@RevolverDivider]

Ragna is genuinely a far better written and more compelling character then he has any right to be.

[@RedTygon]

Same. Normally don't go for the main protagonist as they tend to either be bland or overblown but Ragna is by far one of the best written lead characters.

[@RedheadedReaper]

@@tabkg5802 THE NAME IS HA-KU-MEN!

[@erdood3235]

@@RevolverDivider why?

[@CantApproach]

I like how I'm somewhat confused still, but can say "hey, that actually makes sense" from time to time just cus you've made following the main events much easier.

[@AngelMeteor]

I haven’t touched Blazblue in the past 5 years or so. Seeing that opening montage start up with a showcase of “The Wheel of Fate is Turning” from all 4 BB games has left me grinning from ear to ear with nostalgia. Thank you for the incredible video.

[@sussybaka8560]

shut up 236d cancel 222d Feel The True Power... OF A GOD!!!! ASTRAL FINISH!!!

[@disk3001]

Being one of the people who plays BlazeBlue for the story, I had so many "oh yeah, that happened" moments in this video It's bonkers when you actually think about everything that happens in the story, but when actually playing the game, you just go along with it and get hyped when the big thing happens Thank you for a refresher on this madness Also, I am so glad that in the end, Rachael was the true best girl. She lowkey had experienced the most BS out of all the characters over the course of thousands of years of loops, in my mind she will find her Ragna in the end and have a happy ending..

[@joshualowe959]

2:04:40 The arcade mode in Central Fiction had 3 acts: 1. Act 1: all characters face Nine in the end 2. Act 2: all characters face Izanami in the end 3. Act 3: each character has a unique boss at the end(along with 3 secret unlimited bosses that can be fought after meeting certain conditions)

[@DuvJones]

That is mostly due to how the Arcade game was released.... it was dropped in three waves because.... story? From what I understand each act was itself an update to the game, so with the whole.... more story?... was a set of balance patches and character releases (namely the bosses). It did keep things interesting for a year

[@pieoverlord]

You can have as many problems as you like with Centralfiction but that finale is stupendous and heart-wrenching and a vital lesson to anyone with aspirations for long-form fiction: the finale is not about solving your lore problem, it's about solving your characters.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Didn't exactly solve the most of the character problems, which thorgi even hilights.

[@Furigou]

People who appreciate Blazblue writing have a negative amount of sex

[@lordvasha5246]

@@fightingmedialounge519 I think that's because BlazBlue isn't finished. Only ragnas story is finished.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

@@lordvasha5246 the issue sentiment is that it's current state leaves it to where it effectively is, and the initial suggested the central fiction by itself resolved the characters problems.

[@flameknightdragon]

@@lordvasha5246 I think it is over. not only was it meant to be continued with with the blazblue mobile game that flopped and the creator of blazblue left the company.

[@riotowa]

2:21:29 Terumi didn't want to destroy the unit's creations endlessly as that was only a means for some revenge, the reason he wanted to create worlds was to plague them with fear and hate of him to gain power as he is strengthened by hatred.

[@agsdragon5475]

Which makes him a better villain in my opinion then some of the bullshit Disney is coming up he was planning on not only being God itself but make every universe into one where everyone dies and suffers

[@GabrielMichaelDels]

😶WOW. As entertaining as Terumi is, he's a Monster. Maybe that's what makes him a good villain.

[@AndrewNarog]

Just wanted to express my immense gratitude for making this video. You did an amazing job in explaining BlazBlue's convoluted but captivating story. Also, Bang is the hero we all should aspire to be. For love and justice!

[@iXSIKOBOIXi]

Kagura doesn't want to kill a Noel either, he tries to save her but Noel fights him because she doesn't know if she can trust anyone anymore, so Kagura just holds back.

[@tokeiru]

Hakumen, literally for the meeting of him and Tsubaki. My man made some strong mistakes in his life/timeline and then he got the chance to go back in time to meet the person he cared for the most. He then took the opportunity to go out of his way to protect her and guide her. I'm a huge sucker for redemption arcs.

[@geraldposter1496]

Yeah probably Hakumen for me too. Plus the moment I learned he named a technique after her, and for so long was an absolutely beastly move in game got me. One his strongest tools in his arsenal is named after her.

[@cheryymonsoon]

You know the story of Blazblue had a great resolution when I got to the clip where Thorgi showed the cutscene of Ragna embracing Rachel and I started tearing up a little bit. Man these characters are so good I love this series so much.

[@kaoskween3]

1:03:58 Honestly, with the way, you’re explaining the story I’m actually really getting it. It’s weird and confusing but with the way that you’re explaining it, it’s actually understandable.

[@Juju2927]

It's the same feeling as when the Villain in any Jojo Arc is explaining how their stand works. The explanation in itself makes zero sense, but when you got the context and examples, you're like "Ok, I can see it".

[@kaoskween3]

@@Juju2927 Exactly!!!!!!

[@thund3rstrik329]

Well, I'm a major Blazblue fan whose been following the series since I got Calamity Trigger on my PSP when I was 7, and I gotta say, this is the first time in all 12 years that I've been a fan of this series that I feel like I actually understand the story, so thanks for that!

[@LdNidd]

The unsimplifiable story, and you did an admirable job simplifying and explaining it. A very enjoyable video from start to finish. As someone who's enjoyed the series for years, I loved the whole retrospective. Great series!

[@ghostlord656]

Wow, that sure was a lot of story, I wonder if we’re halfway through the lore or something? *Thorgi mentions how that was just the first game.* *Realizes it’s already been an hour.* …..Oh.

[@JinhC]

literally yesterday i was thinking "hey it's been about a month, i bet thorgi's blazblue retrospective part 2 is finishing up" and here we go!

[@HandofOmega]

Haha, same here!

[@lostmediadetective2590]

Me three

[@shadowclaw7210]

Lol same

[@chrismanning2888]

Same

[@VixYW]

It's actually impressive he managed to do it so fast, I was expecting to wait for waaaay longer.

[@dantekirenryu980]

I knew nothing of Blazblue’s story and only liked one of the songs and like most of the character designs…to learn this whole game was a MASSIVE TIME LOOP that continues from multiples games so insane to me. And yet I’m fascinated -w-

[@momo55o71]

Hazama/Terumi/Susano'o is my favorite character, and one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. He's just THE most hateable bastard and every scene with him is always incredibly entertaining. Hazama was also the first character I've ever cosplayed at 12 years old, and has always held a special place in my heart. I DON'T CARE HOW EDGY HE IS, HE'S COOL OK?!

[@eridenmajesti8794]

now imagine being a child playing the games backwards... this clarified so much after so many years yes, I just got this

[@VongolasFamiglia]

I knew the lore of Blazblue before this but I love to see how other people explain it so I can get different perspectives on Blazblue

[@freddyalejo1657]

I remember a while back there was this video game KZbin channel I stumbled upon named WoolieVersus who did a multi-part series explaining the Guilty Gear timeline, and I was hoping they would one day take on the colossal task of explaining the BlazBlue timeline. They never ended up doing it, so my hat's off to you good sir for taking a shot at it. Also thanks for reminding me of that final shot of Ragna's grave, where his signature sword which was embedded into the ground right next to it, was now missing. That final scene always felt both a bit hopeful and a bit ominous to me.

[@MetaKnuxXbeats]

Always wanted a WoolieVersus style Blazblue summary of the whole series but who knows, maybe it will be made one day by someone. This video is awesome anyways.

[@brayenmorrison3199]

Going through the Blazblue lore is Madness. How confused am i? It's like looking at the Azure itself. I'm suprised that i haven't gone mad, become a monster or became an observer. I mean i already knew about most of the Blazblue lore.

[@BlueMoonX79]

I am indeed listening to this while at work, and this is the first time any of this has made a lick of sense that I could actively follow! Thank you for the crazy amount of work you put into this!

[@Psychobe]

Man I'm so glad someone made a video explaining this story. I started in BlazBlue cross tag battle, so you can imagine how confused I was. After trying to understand the guilty gear story for months now. Trying to understand this story through this video alone is actually a breath of frsh air and a sigh of relief.

[@MaxP345]

No matter how long the story is or how crazy the plot twist events become like Kingdom hearts. Blazblue definitely needs some attention and appreciation, too, and I hope Arc system works would make more games in the future (also bring the dub cast again). P.S. if possible, Marvel vs Arc system works would be random, but a cool idea to see as a BTR video

[@SpritemaniacJ]

Guilty Gear X Blazblue when?

[@MultiBoxingKid]

@@SpritemaniacJHe already did that.

[@morbiusv5857]

what about DC vs Arcsys, pretty random sure, but kind of seems to be for me the opposite of Marvel vs capcom

[@miguelbarrera2468]

I do you guys better Capcom vs Arc System Works

[@lindenwong5393]

For bringing back the dub cast, that's what Cross Tag Battle did

[@GetterBurai]

I feel like being prepped by both Guilty Gear and the Fate/* material, this isn't really confusing at all ... as you present it; I imagine I'd have been flabbergasted trying to piece it together in realtime. :)

[@pious83]

Going into the multiple endings of the first game blind, when it first came out. My reaction was essentially... 0_o

[@МагжанЖаксылык-м1с]

Guilty Gear isn't all that confusing to be honest. There's a strict timeline and continuity, and the lore basically boils down to the creation of magic and crusades .

[@eightthgie4579]

Guilty Gear is actually tame compared to Blazblue. And Fate whole confusion is actually just "actually this series kinda set in another world"

[@mallow2902]

@@eightthgie4579 I would say Guilty Gear isn't just tame compared to BlazBlue, it's tame compared to most other stories often noted to be confusing, like Metal Gear Solid and Kingdom Hearts.

[@МагжанЖаксылык-м1с]

@@mallow2902 yes. Unlike some other series, you can actually understand what is going on in GG if you play games in chronological order

[@malikmuhammad9085]

*Celica!* She's a real one, basically sacrificed herself for the whole world twice. She's definitely the most positive character of the bunch. Shout out to the nuns

[@thirteenthirtyseven4730]

Clearly a reincarnation of the Celica in Fire Emblem Echoes: SoV.

[@gabbyty7144]

actually telling this story chronologically is so useful. i remember being so confused when i first played calamity trigger. you need information from chronophantasma to understand what the heck is going on in calamity trigger lol.

[@mas8705]

Not sure how many people might be finding this video for the first time thanks to Triple KO, but I did say I was going to watch this, so I'm going to get comfy and enjoy the chaos that is about to unfold.

[@roqm0z666]

So in terms of how confused I am: I have never in my life believed that you could have a headache from being confused. I thought it was a trope. I thought it was a funny meme or joke. I was grinding in a game while listening intently, and when I tried to re go through everything up through calamity trigger, I actually felt my head throb and I had to stop for a moment. This story feels like a wad of jumbled floss given to language. I had no idea that I was signing up for this, I just wanted to see the haha funny snake man be mean and green. So on a scale of 1-10 in terms of confused I'd say I'm firmly at 12 and going strong. Also I applaud you for being able to take this complicated story and put it in a way that a dumbass like me can sorta follow.

[@johnynoway9127]

well if you want it simplified: Ragna exists cuz The original God unit girl was lonely. So he errased himself to stop an eternal time loop where nothing ever changes. (He may have gone to her to be with her) Also he destroyed the snake man in the process becsuse Snake man cant exist without Ragna's hate for him + the 2 Jins weakened him already. And thats how i met your mother

[@ruikirisame1744]

welcome to blazblue lol

[@andrewbowers2604]

Re: Confusion. Honestly, keeping track of the character names has been the most difficult part of grasping this plot. You've done a bang-up job outlining the major beats of this story!

[@suprame4068]

What did I learn from this video? Being Ragna is suffering Jin is crazy Terumi is a bad person But most importantly, Bang is the best. Also, did you know, when Hakumen killed the Black Beast, the Black Beast tranform back into Ragna, young Ragna. Then Hakumen proceeded to commit a non-living action on young Ragna, aka he killed a kid. Our hero, everyone, Hakumen

[@kojoappiah7088]

No it was normal ragna😊

[@suprame4068]

@kojoappiah7088 Yeah, you're right. it still doesn't stop the fact Hakumen killed his brother in cold blood

[@kojoappiah7088]

@@suprame4068 the ragna that was in the black beast was at the time dying anyway. their is acctuly a poem form his perspective

[@firepuppies4086]

​@@kojoappiah7088 so it was a mercy kill

[@chrismanning2888]

@@kojoappiah7088 what's this poem called

[@rainbowstory3333]

I’m so terminally in love with complex fiction like KH and GG, to the point where I understand the story clearly from beginning to end…I NEED HELP

[@friskycalibri2293]

Honestly, same. I think the brainrot we share is pretty much unshakable at this point lmao.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@friskycalibri2293 The creator of Blazeblue is a fan of RPG's. So he wanted to like an RPG like story in a fighting game.

[@friskycalibri2293]

@@orangeslash1667 And he did an excellent job. No other fighting game story has made me as emotional as Blazblue's.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@friskycalibri2293 Oh, thats surprising because I you hated the story if you said brain rot???

[@friskycalibri2293]

@@orangeslash1667 no, the brainrot comes from having to remember a thesaurus of lore. Reality good otherwise.

[@IThinkIStoleYourSandwich]

To answer the bigger question this video was amazing and will have been essential to me finally getting into this series. It feels like you need to play through this series again each time you beat a subsequent game to understand all the different little pieces. This video feels like what you get after finally beating the fourth game and now you're ready to go back through one more time and hope all the pieces line up and that's exactly what I'll be doing, while feeling like I have to ability to take my time and really pay attention to all the character interactions and side bits without feeling overwhelmed with trying to understand the main plot. Essentially what I'm saying is I'm a successful case of your exact mission when making this video, I think you absolutely nailed the lynch pin with this one

[@jabezmanch1323]

lambda was my favorite, having her chase the faintest memory of comfort in her blanked head made me care for her and hoped she would get some sort of happy ending.

[@videogamerzero1schannel]

You finally got through the Blazblue experience and for how you condensed it, I say you did a good job with it even making me surprised with stuff I didn't know like Observers and Onlookers being completely different as for who my favorite is, it'll be Ragna the Bloodedge for being a tragic hero that'll not get the happy ending he wants but will at least make sure the new world will have a future for everyone else, and why he's some of my favorites in video games

[@xhenjinndk2810]

I thought Noel's eye verified terumis existence. Up untill that point ragna blamed jin for cutting his arm. After Noel's vision, ragna now knows that Terumis was the one that cut his arm.

[@Malkamok]

The fact that you managed to make this storyline understandable is truly a feat worth of commendation. THANK YOU

[@BingoBlitz55]

Made it to the “intermission” and I was asked to come to the comments and say if I’m still following. I am, surprisingly. I think I had some interaction with BlazeBlue before knowing what it was. I remember an animation I saw a very long time ago that had a boy falling into a glowing pit and being sent back in time becoming a giant monster. So when the time loop and the whole turning into the Black Beast was mentioned, everything clicked and I had a huge nostalgia wave. I realized I’ve found the story that inspired the short animation I had seen so long ago. I want to say thank you for making this video and reuniting me with this memory I had nearly forgotten.

[@Kaizanor]

This has been the best explanation that I've seen of the plot for this game, I am extremely grateful for this video as it really helps organize the story in a very digestible way. Also I know a lot of people meme the story for it's complexity but honestly I've always found it incredibly interesting even back when I was a little kid that didn't understand anything, maybe it's cause I've always weirdly been a fan of convoluted plotlines (I absolutely love Kingdom Hearts too XD).

[@mayzenharriz8083]

NOPE. If Blazeblue is convoluted as heck, Kingdom Hearts would be that to the hundredth degree. Also people have already done that.

[@epsyblue7714]

Fun Fact (unless you already know): It's heavily implied thaton top being an altenate version of Ragna, Naoto Kurogane is also his uncle. Reply if you're curious.

[@penguinpowerpack3p78]

For me my favourite character is 100% Ragna, other characters like Celica, Es and Naoto are also up there but for me Ragna is the absolute top of character writing in this game. I love how his initial impressions are fairly bland and on the surface he seems like a typical edgelord but below the surface is once of the kindest, most caring and multifaceted characters i've ever seen. The way his character progresses and you get to see exactly what makes him tick makes him constantly changing in a way that feels natural and interesting. Also the fact that he's constantly manipulated by others like Terumi only to only to find the world is centred around him and then using that knowledge and the powers granted to him from that to give back a world where all of humanity, his friends and his siblings can all find happiness by sacrificing himself is heartbreaking by bittersweet. I would love for Ragna to return in later games but all i wish for is that they don't take this one moment away from him as it's the one chance he gets to do something purely for himself and he choses to give it to everyone but himself. Blazblue despite it's quirks remains one of my favourite franchises due to it's pristine gameplay, amazing characters, crazy if not overcomplicated story and it's top tier soundtrack and visuals and I hope that never changes even with all the uncertainty with MoriP leaving ArcSys. Thank you for making these videos so that others can discover these games that mean so much to me

[@nikeday4256]

💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@Gamer_Lizard_68]

Nice but he isn’t Terumi so wrong opinion.

[@akasajian]

I got into the BlazBlue story back in 2013 when I was 15. I saw the character designs and liked fighting games (even though I had no deep understanding of them at the time), so I was immediately hooked. I checked out the wiki, and was flabbergasted at the insane complexity before me. But that somehow served to intrigue me more. I watched the stories for CT through CP since I only had Nintendo systems until I was 18. I eventually also got into GG and got Revelator with my PS4 in 2016 and preordered CF. So I'm already familiar with a lot this, but a recap is always necessary for this series, and it's entertaining just to see someone explain this insanity.

[@calmsunshine511]

Possible hot take, but Tsubaki is my favorite. I know she’s not exactly liked in certain circles, but to me, not only does she have a great design, really fun gameplay, and that I love she uses light for her attacks, she’s a great deconstruction of the “ideal Japanese woman” archetype that is common in anime. She was raised from birth to believe the NOL and Imperator are holy and never wrong. It reminds me of extremist religious households. It’s kinda more clear when you take into account that Tsubaki references God and religious terms quite a bit in her attacks. It’s not surprising living like that all her life would screw her up. Her dilemma over what true justice or blind justice is is also pretty interesting to me. Her Arcade modes tend to be my favorites, especially her BBCF one. Also, her moments with Jin, Hakumen, Noel, and Makoto are among the most heartrending of the series, the fight with her against Jin, Noel, and Makoto in Chronophantasma being one of the best moments of the series for me.

[@jorgeperez2872]

Also, is interesting that at least you didn't leave Terumi's plot twist of him being Susanoo for later. And plot twists/surprises like that is the reason I like the story so much, it keeps on adding details and overarching stuff to each character and plot to the point it really looks solid and makes you go "OOOOoooh" when you find the dots connect.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

I love Ragna and Bang the most. They both have endured so much, Ragna especially, and it would've been so very understandable if they'd fallen off their paths at any point, lost their way. Even still, they remain steadfast and continue to endure, retaining their values and going above and beyond for others, even when those others might treat them poorly.

[@impishlooter1550]

Freaking amazing job man! You somehow actually condensed blazblue plot into an understandable video that didn't go over 10 hours! Cant imagine the amount of work it took.

[@impishlooter1550]

Oh yeah, I also really like Jin, I like his playstyle and how over the story you learn more about who he actually is as a person, plus him being used at EVO was my first exposure to blazblue

[@burningprodigy]

I really REALLY appreciate this video. I've played the series from CT to CF and while I had an idea of what was happening, it was still difficult to piece it together. This not only explain it in a concise manner (albeit still long), its a nice refresher for people who might've forgotten about the story down the line. Great job!

[@Ripcookiethief]

Jin still being a bastard but on his own terms was such a funny way to put it.

[@etaquince5220]

To answer your question, the video is really well made and easy to undertsand. I've watched competitive blazeblue since it first came out, but never played a single game. So like a decade later, having a whole video dedicated to explain the very VERY heavy lore of BB is a blessing. Also, Im french, I have to translate everything on the spot (plus you talk fast), yet I manage to follow. Good job. And thank you for the hard work EDIT: It took me two sitting and a giant bag of chips but I finished the video. Again, thank you for the work. Im putting that video on my fav. For your answer, Arakune and Rachel. Because the weird creature / princess designs are something I like in fighting game (Merkava / orie in UNIEL; Peach / Ridlet in Smash)

[@WabbitHunter47]

Man, I thought I understood Central Fiction when I jumped into it... But now that I understand it better, I just like it even more. The overall themes of self-determination and fighting against the impossible are fantastic. And as for favorite character...I really like Terumi. I love his unhinged, joyful glee at ruining everything around him. I also love that even he, at the end of the story, is just trying to fight against the destiny forced onto him by the Amaterasu Unit, giving him an interesting dynamic with Ragna. Overall, I love both BB's and GG's story. Can't wait to see what's next.

[@firebreathingsnapdragon3344]

I haven’t seen the episode yet, but this video explaining the whole story is 20 minutes longer than the retrospective on literally everything else. I commend Thorgi for summarizing it down to the essential events.

[@firebreathingsnapdragon3344]

After watching the whole episode: I was joking, I WAS JOKING!!! Also, now that I’ve seen how Ragna’s story ends, I wonder how that would affect Thorgi’s Guilty Gear X Blazblue idea?

[@chrismanning2888]

@@firebreathingsnapdragon3344 I don't think it affects much. It could just go the cross tag route and be noncanon where the plot makes no sense

[@quantumfisticist5538]

The literal hundreds of times I've heard or read someone say that Blazblue's story was complicated did not adequately prepare me.

[@PegAsi_]

I can not thank you enough for this. Not only did you tell the story and try to make it as understandable as possible. You also were entertaining and made sitting through over 2 hours info dump actually fun to listen to. Thank you so much

[@PoboiDraws]

1:03:46 Honestly speaking you’re making this VERY comprehensive, which in turn is making me enjoy the world of Blazblue a ton!! I’m mainly confused on whether Hakumen was also Jin in the Dark War but other than that, you’re doing a great job Thorgi👌🏾

[@chrismanning2888]

He is

[@MathewPatrick]

I've watched a "full story of Blaze Blue" befor and your doing a better job so far.

[@DarkRuler71]

Thank you Thorgi for all the hard work done for this video. Just from listening to this, u can tell this wasn't an easy task, but I'll see for me at least, I had a blast listening to it

[@lbpblitz]

I remember trying to figure out this story for weeks back before chronophantasma and getting completely lost. Thank you for doing all of the heavy lifting to make this impactful, if convoluted, story really sing!

[@shinygrowlithe3882]

At half way point: Confusion: I'm actually still not confused because thankfully I've had to go through this story telling too many times After the end: Yuuki Terumi. Now knowing his goal, it makes me love him even more. He's a harbinger of destruction and chaos for something/one that wants to torture. He went through YEARS ON YEARS waiting to get it by setting it up and nearly got it

[@DB-xn4qo]

I'm half way through this vid and you've already cleared up years of confusion trying to understand the story. And yes, you're narration is S+ tier :D

[@FGEnjoyer]

The number one reason why I'm sticking on this channel is his narration

[@memoryofgremory]

you told this story so great I cant imagine how big the impact wouldve been being a fan from the beginning if this 2+ hour long video got me emotional by the ending.. also rachel bc I love spooky characters and her playstyle is fun

[@AnneAleph]

One-hour-mark request, not confused because A: I somehow seem to vibe with these kinds of BS stories just fine and B: You're actually doing a very good job at summarizing the events of the plot, including some parts that I definitely missed out on when I did my story playthrough, kudos to you for that!

[@Nobleman_-kw3ls]

Honestly I had trouble keeping everything straight in my head by the end of CT, but holy shit this is a RIDE and I'm here for it.

[@punksnotdeaditsconservativ1693]

Compliments are in order for Thorgi. You did a fantastic job with all aspects of this video. The story, editing, and even your voice are all great. You made a crazy complex story understandable. Compliments and gratitude never get old so excellent job and thanks.

[@quantumstar]

First Thorgi's Arcade video, but you've definitely earned a sub. I've always been a little confused about this story, and this video made everything (for the most part) make sense without playing all the side games/reading all the side manga. Thanks for all your efforts in making this video!

[@JoaoSilva-nx7ql]

Between the last one and this video I actually managed to find a copy of Centralfiction in a second hand games store, so it’s very cool to learn the story now with the gameplay experience.

[@pr13m]

2:18:01 Honestly, the best way I can wrap my head around this is that The Azure is essentially The Root from Fate and Es is The Azure’s version of a Counter Guardian. Meanwhile you can say that Drives are the BlazBlue equivalent of True Magic from fate😅

[@azureheart2846]

Those with the Power of Order seem to be more like Counter Guardians, but what you’re saying about Es isn’t entirely wrong. Bonus points where she’s technically not the actual Es from XBlaze. But a copy meant to fight in itself behalf. Like a Servant

[@epsyblue7714]

To me, a Drive seems more like an Origin from Fate/Kara no Kyokai.

[@Marco-Antonio11]

No bro The Azure It is superior to the root since it makes you almost omnipotent, the root only gave you the 5 great magics that were not superior to Avalon

[@uchophamxuan6515]

​@@Marco-Antonio11 The mage in Fate find all kind of shits in the Root which they use to make True Magic, the Root gives mages all kind of knowledge acquirable not give them spell.

[@Marco-Antonio11]

@@uchophamxuan6515 and that is still inferior to the power of the azure

[@anggakarapreviandana2877]

Thanks to the St Elsewhere clip, I cannot help but imagine that what Ragna did at the end of Central Fiction is basically the final scene of the aforementioned show.

[@saxuri9563]

I really love this video this is the 3rd time I’m watching this and i still love it ! Thank you for making a video this long to explain that fabulous (and completely crazy, weird at times, complex, but lovely in the end) tale !

[@C.A.R.T]

This is my second it's really good, and I like the lore of blazblue

[@model-ss7386]

I started the video having only known the story for Calamity Trigger (and a rough idea of the backstory during the whole Black Beast before the game events happened). I just got done watching up until you finished explaining Calamity Trigger, and I'm surprised by how much I understood the story myself and also how smoothly I understood your explanation for events I didn't knew. So yeah, your video and explanation has been greatly enjoyable and helpful so far. Maybe I'm just demented already, but I think this whole video has been fully understandable so far. And also entertaining, hearing how batshit it all sounds like from another person's mouth lol

[@DjinntoTonic]

Took a while to watch it all and digest everything, but what a wild ride. You’re doing Amaterasu’s work, Thorgi!

[@observersbirdhouse]

So in simple terms, Blazblue is what happens when you take the plot of Guilty Gear and mix it with a plot of a Teen Dystopian Novel.

[@OwO377]

as result it like a fighting game fuse with not just normal visual novel a *STEROID* visual novel that take 1 year to finish it cuz relate every like literally everything even the weird count as importance.

[@thirtysixviews]

That statement hit the nail on the head so well it’s scary.

[@Stroimex]

Except this one was really good for 2 entries while GG was bullshit nonesense since day 1

[@Sceppyo]

*AND* Kingdom Hearts

[@aidennoth5463]

@@OwO377 l

[@TheSwordsman100]

As a fan of the games and got into it because of its story and characters I think you did a mostly good job summarizing it. Though the streamlining process did harm the video a bit. Like with Jin/Hakumen my favorite character, who thanks to only focusing on the main story parts without going into the character interactions within them makes him come off far worse than he actually is. (Heck his school life plays a big part into understanding the real Jin, without outside influences effecting him and that is in the games proper) Basically your first inclination about Jin wanting to save his brother is correct.

[@Metahodos]

To put into it anime terms, Jin is a tsundere that's been turned into a yandere by like three separate layers of mindfuckery.

[@azurestriker8015]

dude, this video was just freaking great. i've played these games since continuum shift but i've only ever brushed with the story, but actually understanding the events behind each of the games makes me appreciate the series so much more. and the way you made this complicated as heck story really digestible and understandable is just fantastic, and I know it must've not been easy. Also my favorite characters gameplay wise are Azrael and Ragna.

[@clyre7408]

I can't believe someone was able to explain this in a way I could understand it and stay interested in it. Its a year late but thank you so much for making this and putting the time into it. You are awesome ^^

[@michaelgorman4693]

I used to think BlazBlue was stupid- and it undoubtedly is- but it’s stupid in a very cool way. Amazing video

[@deathofme1]

I fell in love with this channel after the Darkstalkers retrospective. I'm really confused by BlazBlue, but I had fun with Calamity Trigger back in the day. I'm learning a lot! Thanks for all the hard work

[@jacegarcia3255]

I have learned a lot from this video, but the most I have learned is that you can basically make a drinking game or some sorts of just how many times Thorgi could say: "I'll get back to this later".

[@KyoKusaka]

Just hit the 1 hour mark and it's starting to make sense, although I already knew a few details here and there, I just couldn't connect some dots and It's been a hell of a lot of time since I played the first and second games. Thanks for the explanation fam, you earned a sub today.

[@idman2]

You told me at 1:03:57 to let you know what I think of the story so far. I have to say that I had to rewind it a couple of times to make sure that got the names of certain things right, but I am enjoying the video. Kind of mind blown at the fact that the first game was a giant time loop of 100 years this whole time.

[@DragonGodXIII]

No lie, I love Blazblue's characters, gameplay, and crazy story. It was absolutely confusing at points, but when the pieces fall into place, it's fantastic. BTW, Mai is my favorite for very personal reasons.

[@snelldor1474]

2 and a half hours. Yeah, this is going to be fun.

[@spookypyromaniac9048]

1:15:23 Thank you for including one of the most hype moments of the story

[@cavalierimp505]

Confusion checkpoint from a fresh, no idea what BlazBlue is, person. Makes sense so far, but only because I don't really get hung up on loops and you're providing a well written timeline of events in a digestible way.🙂

[@Vendavalez]

Thank you for making this! This needed to exist and you were the one who made the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. I can’t imagine how long it took to put this all together. So one again, thank you!