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Oh, thank God! There's something wrong with me... Every now and then I lose consciousness, you see... And then, when I wake up... KYYYARRRRRRGGGGHH!
― Zappa[src]

Zappa is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. He is a very unlucky man afflicted by what he thinks is an unknown "disease", but in truth, a number of spirits inhabit his body and can control his movements at will, including the violent S-Ko and the powerful Raoh.

Design[]

Zappa is a young man of muscular build, with blue eyes and brown hair that covers his ears in a style reminiscent of a bobcut. In XX, he wears golden hoop earrings and a thin gold headband with a pink heart attached to it, while in Xrd, he drops the earrings and now wears a black and white cap, with a chinstrap and a golden heart-shaped accessory on the left side that has "Flucht In Den Norden" etched on it.

His main attire during his playable appearances comprises of a white, skin-tight shirt that entirely covers his hands, almost resembling black gloves, and which has a pink heart on the chest. On his writs, he wears golden hoops. Above the white shirt, his dark underpants can be seen. Rectangular pieces of orange cloth are held up by belts to each side of his low-cut, knee-length beige cargo pants. Beneath, he appears to have dark stockings. Zappa's shoes are prominently white, with an orange heel and black soles.

In Xrd, Zappa's attire is drastically altered. Besides the aforementioned hat, he wears an Illyrian-styled uniform, comprised of dark brown jacket with white hemlines, buttons, cuffs, and a rectangular piece to the front of his high collar; the black tie hanging from it has a heart-shaped clip-on. Once again his undergarments can be seen below flared dark pants, but now to their side are two black bags big enough to put research documents inside. Both have a orange running man figure as well as silver magnet clasps with "Exit" inscribed on them. The stockings are now light gray, while his ankle boots almost entirely black. He no longer wears hoop bracelets.

Personality[]

Described as just a typical Joe who sadly happens to be possessed by evil spirits,[3] Zappa is by and large a normal young man; apart from timidity, there is little to distinguish him.[6] He is rather polite,[7][8] greatly respects his mother, calling her 母上様 (hahaue-sama?),[8] and seeks companionship, hoping to find a wife.[3] Something of a romantic, Zappa once chides Randy for getting excited over every cute girl he sees, finding a show of how much a given girl loves him more appealing.[9]

However, something about Zappa that causes him to attract spirits,[4] most of whom seem protective of him.[10] Likely as a product of his possession by these ghosts, Zappa often blurts things during battle, although what he says often doesn't make any sense,[4] and is quickly interrupted by S-Ko, making him utter curses and shrieks, especially against men due to her grudge.[7][8] Suffering under her curse has made Zappa mentally unstable and damaged him physically as well, the numerous injuries and amnesia making him fear for his life and causing him to despair.[6]

Enduring her possession for years,[11] Zappa has shown great resolve and self-sufficiency, first going to great lengths to find the extremely elusive Faust, and later to research all there is to the occult[6] and the physics behind them.[11] By Xrd, becoming a "spiritual phenomena nerd"[5] and discovering his purpose[12] has given Zappa a boost in confident[13] and turned him into a believer of self-actualization (advising Randy to make an effort to change himself, instead of blaming his surroundings[5]). Although he sees the events five years before as "horrors" he went through,[9] by better understanding what is happening to him, Zappa has been able to accept the spirits.[14]

Story[]

Background[]

Hailing from Australia,[3] Zappa was an originally a normal, if somewhat shy, young man, until the day he got possessed by[4] the vengeful spirit[15] S-Ko, as Zappa happened to look exactly like the man she once loved and who betrayed her, and his life turned upside down.[4] Beside her, he came to be haunted by other spirits—Raoh, a pitch-black dog, a bloodstained sword, and featureless triplets—under unknown circumstances. Although Zappa was told he had a ghost attached to him, the conflicting claims made him skeptical: Some said it was a woman with long black hair, while others saw a blind Chinese warrior instead.[10]

One rainy day, Zappa was travelling along a mountain path when S-Ko led him into a seemingly abandoned house nearby. Hoping to find shelter, he entered, only to find a Robo-Ky (whom he mistakes for a lifelike doll) lying around in the dark. It activated and Zappa, overcome by fear, lost consciousness. He woke up later in a moldy bed and briefly saw his ghost dog chewing the doll's arm. Leaving the room, Robo-Ky came to take back his arm, but Zappa fled and his ghost sword flung at the robot. Although Zappa tried to barricade himself inside a room, Robo-Ky got inside; saved by the triplets throwing furniture at the robot, Zappa took the chance to flee the house, which caught fire. Days later, Robo-Ky found Zappa while he was asleep and tried to make him pay for ruining the house, but Raoh appeared and presumably did away with the robot.[10]

Zappa became worried for his health after a number of episodes in which S-Ko roamed around the world, contorting his body into strange shapes, scaring people, and acting jealous around happy couples. Sometimes awaking covered in blood or gravely injured, but unable to remember anything, Zappa began to believe he suffered from a mysterious illness.[6]

Guilty Gear XX[]

Ggxxr mm 19

Illustration.

After hearing rumors of Faust, a doctor said to be able to cure any condition, Zappa sets out to find him. Unfortunately, as Faust rarely remains in one place for very long he proves extremely difficult to track down. As the search drags on, Zappa begins to worry he might die during one of his episodes, and redoubles his efforts to find the doctor.[6]

Sometime after October[note 1] 2181,[16] his search for Faust is hampered by S-Ko.[7] In one path, he finds Faust, but the doctor says his sickness cannot be cured by modern medicine and advises that he train his body to withstand the effects.[17] In another, he laments his victory over Faust, and is re-possessed by S-Ko.[18] In his third ending, S-Ko attacks Ky Kiske, who as an officer of the law puts Zappa in a holding cell for the felony; left feeling miserable, the dog, the triplets and Raoh surround him, but he doesn't notice.[19]

Finding himself in prison, he wakes up unable to remember the night before[19] and wonders how he can get rid of the spirit that has possessed him ("Oh dearest mother... Whatever shall I do...?").[8] In one path, while Zappa is sleeping, Faust takes care of things and assures that he won't wake up with mysterious injuries anymore; a month later, Zappa feels S-Ko's absence and wonders if she would come back, only for her to immediately break through the window, much to Zappa's horror.[20] In another path, Slayer invites S-Ko on a journey to another world, where creatures like them belong; she agrees, taking Zappa with her. Upon waking up, Slayer explains to Zappa where he is thanks to his "girlfriend", and Zappa distressedly finds himself wanting to go home.[21]

Guilty Gear Xrd[]

Having heard the prognosis from Faust that his "fatigue" is not physical in nature, and therefore nothing can be done to treat his condition, Zappa begins to research occult means to solve his problems. But even that proves useless, driving him to the brink of insanity, until a thought comes to him: What business do spirits have messing with the world if they are supposedly higher level than humans? Theorizing that they may not actually be supernatural, Zappa dedicates himself to the proper sciences. He joins the Finnish Spiritual Phenomena Observatory, after passing a standardized exam,[6] where he meets and befriends Randy.[22]

Ggxrdr Zappa Randy

Monitoring phenomena.

Following the disappearance of Justice and Elphelt Valentine in November 5, 2187,[23] Zappa and Randy are on monitor duty when a category 3 Information Flare with tremors occurs. Fascinated by the extremely rare occurrence,[5] but then detecting other concerning signs, Zappa submits[24] a number of reports[13] that reach King Leo Whitefang by November 9,[25] but they receive no response. Thinking they have been ignored, Zappa resolves to report to the higher-ups directly[24] and travels to the kingdom's capital alone.[12]

Before going to Illyria Castle, he stops at the Royal Library to find some books, where he is reunited with Faust, who is trying to help the Japanese.[12] Resolving to team up, Zappa demands a guard to let them inside the castle, and is promptly allowed entry by Leo.[13] Soon afterwards, Zappa and Faust attend a meeting with Sol Badguy, Kings Ky and Leo, and Dr. Paradigm to determine the relation between the Information Flares, massive Gears, the Japanese, and the Universal Will.[26] Using the castle's facilities, Zappa shows Paradigm a forecast for the next Information Flare by using his Zappa-scale method, revealing they have little time left.[9] Later on, Zappa oversees the War Room operators during an evacuation procedure that results in an incident at Scandiva.[27]

Ggxrdr Zappa Paradigm

Firing the Saint Oratorio.

After another meeting, now involving That Man, Jack-O' Valentine and Sin Kiske, to coordinate efforts against the Universal Will[28]—or rather, St. Maximus Ariels[29]—, Zappa assists That Man and Paradigm in preparing the former's laboratory[28][1] while a battle unfolds at the capitol. He also calls Randy and tells him use his Painkiller software to locate Ariels at the Celestial Altar.[30] Despite the complications, Sol's team manages to defeat Ariels, rescue Elphelt, and have Jack-O' merge with Justice via the Saint Oratorio, therefore saving the world.[31]

In the aftermath, Zappa, Randy (both now considered heroes) and the operators Ellsworth, Alexis, Anders, and Trey are invited by King Daryl to celebrate. However, the first party is dashed by the loss of the main dessert, a massive pudding made by Alyssa. Days later, Daryl invites them again, but the easygoing night takes a turn for the serious as the group talks about how the pudding collapsed. Zappa starts piecing together the evidence, and comes to the conclusion that Alyssa summoned a demon to make sure the pudding stayed intact but failed to extend the contract. As a result, anyone who has tasted the pudding is to literally blast into the sky as a penalty. Due to not tasting it himself, Zappa is the only one not punished.[32]

Guilty Gear -Strive-[]

By December 2187,[note 2] following a victorious conclusion to the G4 Summit, Alyssa once again attempts to make her giant pudding with Daryl's backing; upon the dessert's presentation, Zappa, Randy, and the Illyrian operators celebrate her achievement.[34]

Abilities[]

Although something about Zappa has always attracted spirits,[35] he has no spirit sense whatsoever,[10] and is unable to perceive the ghosts that haunt him.[21] Zappa originally had no control over them; his protection entirely on their terms,[10] he would lose consciousness,[7][8] and—in S-Ko's case, at least—often wake up covered in blood or gravely injured, and no recollection of what transpired during the possession.[6][8] He is stated to mainly fight with a bizarre style of swordsmanship.[6]

Upon being told by Faust that his condition is not physical,[6] but supernatural[12] in nature, Zappa turned to research of occult phenomena and, after the realization that there must be a non-supernatural explanation to them, of the proper sciences.[6] Discovering the physics of possession[36] and pneumatic occurrences,[11] Zappa has become something of an expert regarding these matters, passing an Illyrian standardized exam,[6] inventing the Zappa Scale method,[37] greatly contributing to solving the Universal Will conundrum,[26] and somehow earning the regard of magic expert Dr. Paradigm.[9] Although Zappa has yet to find a solution to his problems,[6] he is now able to exert control over the spirits and call upon for help if the need arises, although he no longer fights himself.[14]

Foremost amongst the cadre of ghosts attached to him is the vengeful spirit[15] S-Ko, who is able to contort Zappa's body into strange shapes,[6] such as completely bending his body over backwards for his fighting stance and drastically changing his appearance, such as enlarging his head into that of a giant demon with uneven teeth, or manifesting a face on Zappa's back. Although she is not the first, she is said to be the only one to have stayed.[35] The other spirits appear to be more like guardians in that they attack opponents by themselves, as opposed to manipulating their host's body in any way, and only appear to fight those who would harm Zappa.[10] These are a powerful warrior named Raoh, triplets able to curse others with bad luck, a bloodstained sword that seems to be more an instrument than a self-aware being, and a small pitch-black dog that can grow in size or even shoot its entire skeleton to attack.

Gameplay-wise, Zappa—or rather, S-Ko and the spirits that take possession of his body and control his actions—fights using constantly shifting playstyles: summonless, Dog (pressure), Ghost (zoning), Sword (mixups), and Raoh (damage, reach, and speed). Zappa will start the round summonless and return to it if he takes damage. His general strategy is to get a summon, play based on that summon's style, and gain the unique resource at his disposal called Orbs. Zappa can gain up to maximum of eight orbs by hitting enemies with certain moves, the orbs floating in a circle around Zappa's body. At eight orbs, the player can summon Raoh, who is extremely powerful but temporary, only lasting for 15 seconds.

Music[]

Quotes[]

Allusions[]

  • He is named after American musician and composer Frank Zappa. His songs tend to have acted and scripted conversations, perhaps inspiring Zappa's ghosts' attempts at communication.
  • One of his special moves, Last Edguy, is named after the German band Edguy.
  • S-Ko is based on Sadako Yamamura from The Ring. The legend that inspired her, Oiwa-san, is actually mentioned by Chipp Zanuff.[21]
  • Zappa's running animation resembles Regan MacNeil's crawl in the film The Exorcist.
  • His appearance in XX seems to be a strange combination of outfits worn by Vanilla Ice and Dio Brando from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
    • Zappa's ghosts hover around him in wraith-like forms, similar to a Stand, and Raoh looks rather similar to Star Platinum. Zappa also twitches wildly, striking bizarre poses, perhaps alluding to Hirohiko Araki's artstyle.
  • Zappa's haunts might be named after characters from the series Fist of the North Star: Dog/Sword can both be read as "Ken", Ghost (yūrei) stands for "Rei", and finally, "Raoh".
  • Zappa may sporadically blurt out about a "clown at the burger shop", alluding to the fast food chain. Another phrase (おまいら表でろ?) is a 2ch story about the mascot.[38]
    • It may also recall the Wesley Willis song "Rock N Roll McDonald's". (Willis, whose material is similar to Frank Zappa's, suffered from schizophrenia, mirroring the character's plea.)
    • Other phrases allude to a joke from Snakeman Show, the "priceless" tagline by Mastercard, and a famous scene from the detective series Taiyō ni Hoero!.
  • The phrase "Flucht In Den Norden" on his heart accessory in Xrd is the name of a 1934 novel by Klaus Mann, also known as Journey into Freedom, later adapted into film. The novel is set in Finland, where Zappa is stationed.
  • S-ko is short for "Sadako Yamamura" the famous ghost from the Ringu series of horror films, known elsewhere as "The Ring Trilogy". It recently got a sequel with "Sadako 3D".
  • In case you didn't know, Zappa's 'hunched-over backwards' stance, head-spinning and other freakout transformations (including puking) are a reference to novel "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty, adapted to film by William Friedkin... It has since spawned many pastiche films and horror media. Zappa's pose alone is probably one of the most bizarre fighting stances in the history of fighting games... Topping even the weirdest poses found in the Darkstalker games, not to mention how random his summoning fighting style is!
  • In an alternate ending, Faust rearranges Zappa's face to make him undesirable to women (referencing the artist Picasso)!
  • Many of Faust's interactions with Zappa tend to be parodies of gags in comedies such as the "Gong Show."  From blatantly asking why Zappa got arrested (even though he should KNOW why!), to falsely leading Zappa on to think he found a 'real cure'.
  • Last Edguy (often misread as 'Last Elegy') is a reference to the German Power Metal band "Edguy".
  • Darkness Anthem is a reference to the Japanese metal band "Anthem".
  • Bellows Malice is a mixed reference between the U.S. metal band "Malice" and the Visual Kei Rock group "Malice Mizer".
  • The Demon Dog might be a possible nod to Stephen King's novel and horror film "Cujo".
  • In 2005, the Dutch Thrash-Death Metal Band "Thanatos" released an album called "Undead, Unholy, Divine" in which they did a tribute song "The Sign of Sadako". Not a direct reference, but still related.

Trivia[]

  • Characters who have been confirmed so far to be able to see S-Ko clearly are Anji Mito,[17] A.B.A, and Slayer.[21]
  • Many of the "unique" phrases he wails during his matches are Japanese tongue-twisters. The reason why he mutters to himself is most likely due to all of his spirits all trying to talk at once.
  • Zappa shares his birthday with his Japanese voice actor, Yuuji Ueda.
  • Regarding his status in Strive, Ishiwatari has stated that Zappa is still capable of using spirits to fight should be the need arise, and that S-Ko is still obsessed with Zappa.[14]
  • In his Λ Core character artwork, Zappa appears to have six fingers on his right hand.
  • Out of all characters in XX, Zappa's Instant Kill move is the only move of its category that is unblockable.

Gallery[]

External links[]

Notes[]

  1. The events of XX take place soon after X, which involves Johnny's birthday.
  2. The events of Strive take place "three weeks"[33] after Revelator (November 7—20).

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Wall B"
  2. 2.0 2.1 ギルティギア イグゼクス アクセントコア【キャラクター】|ザッパ
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Guilty Gear XX manual, pg.27
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Guilty Gear Codex, pg.25,56,62-63
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Revelator A"
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 [GGWorld - "Zappa"]
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Guilty Gear XX script § "Unwanted possession"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Ghost cleansing"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Identify A"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Guilty Gear XX Drama CD Red script § "Night of the Living Doll"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 [GGWorld - "Pneumatic Phenomena"]
  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- script § "Sense A"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 【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
  15. 15.0 15.1 Guilty Gear XX script § "Report ♯6940"
  16. Guilty Gear X manual, pg.4
  17. 17.0 17.1 Guilty Gear XX script § "Zappa Path 1"
  18. Guilty Gear XX script § "Zappa Path 2"
  19. 19.0 19.1 Guilty Gear XX script § "Zappa Path 3"
  20. Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Deliver it path"
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Didn't see path"
  22. [GGWorld - "Randy"]
  23. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Resolution B"
  24. 24.0 24.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Contact A"
  25. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Leo"
  26. 26.0 26.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Sense B"
  27. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Face A"
  28. 28.0 28.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Thesis A"
  29. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Cause B"
  30. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Wall A"
  31. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Fireworks"
  32. Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 script § "After Story C"
  33. Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Prologue"
  34. Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Strive"
  35. 35.0 35.1 [GGWorld - "S-Ko"]
  36. [GGWorld - "Possession"]
  37. [GGWorld - "Zappa Scale"]
  38. 表へ出ろ (おまえらおもてへでろ)とは【ピクシブ百科事典】


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