That's why-One

Romaji Zato Wan Profile Career Human Gender Male Age A stranger Height 181 centimeters [1] (5 feet 11 inches) [2] Weight 68 kg [1] (150 lbs) [2] Blood type A [2] Origin Spain [2] Birthday January 28th [2] Eye color Formerly blue [2] Hobbies Trying to understand the language of flowers [2] Tastes Pride [2] ( GG — GGX+ ) Milia [3] ( GGXrdS —) I don't like Women [4] Millia (GG—GGX+) [3] [note 1] State Occupation Murderer [2] Affiliation Assassin's Guild [4] ( GG — GGX+ ) Postwar Administration Office [5] ( GGST ) Talent Weapon Eddie Qualification Technical Shadowbringer (テクニカルシャドーウォーリアー, Tekunikaru Shadōu Wōriā?)

Zato-ONE, also written as Zato-1, is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. By sacrificing his eyesight, he became a host for Forbidden Beast Eddie and gained the ability to fight with his shadow. Zato was the rightful leader of the Assassin's Guild until his fall from grace, brought about by his former lover Millia Rage.

Zato is a handsome man, with long, flowing blond hair and strong features overall. To cover his eyes, Zato wears a bright red blindfold held in place by a black belt. He dresses rather simply in a black sleeveless turtleneck sweater, a choker, arm warmers, pants held in place by a belt at the waist, and combat boots. Only his belt buckles and boot laces differ in color, being gold and red, respectively.

His appearance in Xrd remains largely unchanged, simply adding silver accessories below his collarbone and the back of his hands. He features the phrases "Walking shadow" and "A light frees me from all the weight and pain of life." His Strive design changes his outfit by giving it a more military look with padding, more belts, as well as dark brown leather harness straps and belt with pouches. His boots remain largely unchanged, except that their soles are now red.

In Zato's idle stance, Eddie appears as a circle around Zato's feet and takes on many forms, sometimes even covering Zato's entire body. In the Xrd games, outside of combat, Zato can use Eddie in the form of a long black coat.

Zato is a level-headed and cruel killer [7] , but also a stylish one [8] , he has a calm disposition and is someone who considers every aspect of a problem very well. He still feels things strongly, but keeps those feelings hidden from the world [3] . His calm demeanor, with the implication of never seeing others on equal footing, is a self-protection mechanism, because in truth Zato is just an ordinary, if vain, man [7] .

Despite his arrogance, Zato has good intentions,[7] wanting to turn the guild into a place where those who had nowhere to go after the war could take refuge,[4] having a certain naivety according to Venom.[9] Kind and caring to those in the same circumstances as him,[10] Zato is respected by his subordinates[11] and his predecessor.[8] However, the betrayal of Millia, the only woman he ever trusted,[2] and her imprisonment[12] caused Zato to become bitter, and the affection he felt for her turned to hatred.[4]

Following his death and resurrection, being subjected to the breadth of human experience has drained Zato of all capacity for emotional reaction, [4] though his memories remain intact. [8] [13] Unable to be emotionally moved, Zato perceives no value [4] or interest [14] in anything, including himself. [4] The only exception to his boredom is Millia; [4] as the only thing that elicits any sort of reaction from him, Zato is determined to protect Millia [14] and keep her safe, wishing to become stronger for her sake. [15] In a way, Zato has gained immense knowledge, but at the same time he has reverted to being a child and is relearning things that others would naturally do. [15] He is also keenly aware that his sins are not, and never will be, cleansed. [14]

Background Having lost his parents in the Crusades, Zato was taken in by the Assassins' Guild in 2166. [16] As an underling, [2] Zato presumably witnessed the guild's rapid expansion and deviance, Slayer's resignation as leader two years later, and the organization's subsequent decline. [16] In 2173, [16] Zato, disgusted with his own powerlessness, [17] risked death by invoking the forbidden arts. He lost his sight, but with his new powers, he became the guild's leader within weeks. [2] That same year, Millia Rage and Venom were taken in by the guild. [16] To them, Zato was their savior and master; [18] [19] Zato earned Venom's undying loyalty, [18] and eventually fell in love with Millia, with the two becoming Zato's right and left hand men respectively. [19] As leader, Zato had the guild turn to money contracts, [11] but attempted to make it a place where those who had nowhere to go after the war could take refuge; however, the guild had become too massive, making change difficult. [20]

When the guild was hired to assassinate Duke Dorian Scaburi of Castellia, the mission attracted the attention of Slayer, [11] who tested Zato to see if there were any changes in the guild. His meddling led to Millia's capture by Leon Mining. Zato, unaware that Slayer would release Millia of her own free will, agreed to assassinate King Saltelia I in order to save her. However, as they were about to kill the king, Millia stabbed Zato, leaving him for dead, and snatched the baby from him to protect him. [21] Despite his injuries, Zato escaped Mining's ambush and reunited with Slayer beneath a poplar tree outside the castle. They were soon surrounded by Mining's forces, but thanks to the intervention of Millia and Venom, Mining was defeated. Zato spared his life, [22] Mining then became his ally. [23] Despite her betrayal, Zato forgave Millia and allowed her to find foster parents for the king instead of inducting him into the guild. [22] Some time later, Zato, Millia, and Slayer would cooperate again in Operation Monte Rosa. [24] In 2177, [16] Zato was hired to "take care" of Dr. Baldhead, but Zato ended up killing his patient instead, ruining the doctor's life by making him think he had committed malpractice. [25] Then in 2178, [16] Zato led a high-risk operation, [4] but Millia, who was secretly working with the IPF for his acquittal, [26] betrayed him and took the opportunity to flee. Her escape threw the assassins into chaos, allowing them to be caught red-handed. Zato was arrested [2] and put in a barrier prison, [12] where his affection turned to hatred. [4]

Guilty Gear Languishing in the absolute darkness of his prison, a tall, thin figure appears before him. He asks Zato if he wants to get out of there and if he has an urgent appointment with a woman. Zato wonders how he knows about Millia, but the figure says that if he wins an upcoming tournament, he will be free to punish her. Though wary, Zato accepts the offer, as he has nothing to lose. [2]

Manipulated by Testament like the others, the tournament's bloodshed frees Justice from her seal, [27] but she is quickly killed by Sol Badguy. [28] However, the constant fighting takes its toll on Zato. [29] Having demanded too much of his curse, [7] Zato's shadow begins to move on its own and tells Zato that it can no longer control him. The shadow thanks its host for incubating it and takes possession of Zato's body as Zato calls for help. [27]

Guilty Gear X In 2181, while searching for his siblings, the shadow, calling himself Eddie, begins to track the free-willed Gear, Dizzy. [29] On one path, Eddie taunts Millia, who learns that Zato has been taken; after a fight that results in her defeat, she challenges him to finish the job, but Zato resists and rips Eddie off of her even though it will kill them both, in an act of repentance. On his other path, Zato implores Eddie not to hurt Millia; the shadow simply takes her hair, his "comrade" and companion weapon. [30]

His life force eroded due to unintentional overuse of the shadow,[31] the physically weak[32] Zato perishes,[19][33] but by then Eddie is almost completely in control,[32] and continues to use Zato's body as his own.

Guilty Gear XX However, Zato's body continues to deteriorate,[34] and Eddie consults with Faust.[35] Without Zato's soul,[32] the cellular structures of his body are disintegrating to prevent him, as a weapon, from becoming independent.[35] Through I-No's manipulations,[36] Eddie begins desperately searching for another host. However, his efforts are in vain and he soon follows Zato into the afterlife,[32] presumably buried by Millia.[9][37]

Guilty Gear XRD Zato's remains were confiscated by the Conclave, and he was subsequently used as a "guinea pig" to develop the Art of Resurrection, [38] with Baldias conducting the research. [39] By September 3, 2187, Zato and Eddie are revived, [40] and later confined in a dimensional prison. Becoming a shell of his past self, Zato makes no attempt to escape despite Eddie's urging until he senses Millia nearby on October 14. [14] Upon emerging, Zato finds himself before Millia and Venom at the Opera House, [13] [14] [40] soon joined by Slayer. [8] Zato asks Venom to protect her as she attempts to track down the Conclave. [40] Before his departure, Faust appears to resolve the "mistake" that ruined his life; Zato says he can kill him if he wants, but needs some time before that, revealing why the Conclave targeted the doctor. [25]

On October 28, Zato's search leads him before Ramlethal Valentine; with the activation of Cradle, [14] he attempts to locate Ky Kiske to pass on the information he possesses, but is unable to. He thus returns to his fellow assassins' side, only to find that they were attacked by Bedman and taken to Uighur. Zato attacks him for harming Millia, thus saving Chipp Zanuff, and Bedman disappears, recalled by his ally. Afterwards, at Slayer's suggestion, [41] Zato goes to Zepp and meets with Chairman Gabriel. On November 1, Ky and Sol arrive, and Zato is able to reveal that the Conclave intends to use the art of resurrection to revive Justice by binding Chronus' soul to his body. [38] With the defeat of the Conclave and the looming threat of the Universal Will, [42] hoping to rebuild the guild, [24] Zato is sent to make an offer to King Daryl, [43] who by November 7, [15] [44] agrees to have the assassins enlist as "soldiers". [43] At the Slayer's mansion, Zato relays this to the others; they all decide on Bedman's elimination as a symbolic requirement, [45] with Venom taking on the task of being the sacrificial lamb for legitimacy [24] and recruiting Robo-Ky to assist him. [46] Meanwhile, Zato tests his own accuracy in tracking Bedman [47] and leads Slayer and Millia to a wasteland; there, Slayer briefly engages Bedman in revenge combat, but they soon leave.

During the battle at the Illyrian capital, Zato, Millia, and Slayer lead the guild in defending the capital from the forces of Ariels, Phalanx, and the massive Gears. [49] As they fight, Zato questions why Slayer saw the light in him, and the vampire reminds them both of Operation Mount Rosa, rekindling their convictions. [24] Eventually, the main Illyrian team defeats Ariels, and Jack-O' Valentine merges with Justice. [50] Meanwhile, Bedman is defeated by Venom and Robo-Ky, who sacrifices his body to do so; Venom, however, survives, [24] [50] but is declared dead. [51]

Following the events, Zato takes it upon himself to "eliminate" Venom, his loose end due to unintentionally surviving his battle with Bedman. Zato has 2cave test Venom's resolve and make him choose between protecting the city or rejoining the "wolves"; having chosen the former, 2cave gives Venom, on Zato's behalf, a deed to a bakery so he can live a normal life incognito while he attempts to restore Robo-Ky's body. Zato later visits them. [51]

Guilty Gear -Strive- In the following weeks, King Daryl reestablishes the Post-War Administration Office, hiring the assassins due to their skill in information warfare, with Millia as its director,[5] to support the Illyrian government.[34] About three weeks after the battle,[52] when the United States agrees to That Man's participation in the G4 Summit, they request that all nations involved assist with security.[53]

Daryl calls upon Zato and Millia as specialists to investigate the White House. They show up at the Illyrian War Room to inform Daryl and Leo Whitefang of their findings, though the latter is reluctant about the assassins' recruitment and methods. Zato and Millia tell them about a "black box" they found before Daryl leaves for the summit. Unbeknownst to them, Happy Chaos hacks into their files. [5] After the summit begins, Zato tells Leo why the assassins have changed their ways (to "stay human"), and Leo grows fond of them both. He also decides to leave the box alone, but then Zato realizes that they have been hacked. [54]

Meanwhile, Chaos takes Daryl and the other representatives hostage and launches all of the world's missiles. Zato manually disables the castle's weapons, while the other missiles are disabled in mid-flight by the dignitaries themselves. [54] After a link is established between Sol and Vernon at the White House, Zepp, the Pentagon, and Illyria Castle, Chaos activates the White House's Tír na nÓg mode. Zato then assists in analyzing the black box [55] and the facility. [56] Despite their combined efforts, Chaos eventually uses That Man's Tome of Origin to restore I-No to godhood. As with the rest of the world, Zato witnesses I-No begin a process to grant humanity her same powers, but is soon defeated and seemingly killed by Sol, Ky, and Nagoriyuki. Afterwards, Zato, Millia, Leo, and Ky ponder the future I-No wanted. Some time later, Zato takes Millia to see Venom (and Robo-Ky) at his bakery. [57]

Main articles: /Commands or /Gameplay Having activated the fifth forbidden magic spell "Life-Devouring Shadow", Zato bound a Forbidden Beast [31] (apparently created and issued by the Post-War Administration Bureau [58] ) to his own shadow, but due to its protective seal, he had to give up his sight. [31] Zato instead gained enhanced senses [17]—enough for him to perceive his surroundings better than he could with sight alone [2]—, identifying others in terms of light and darkness. Thanks to Eddie, Zato-1 has complete control over his own shadow, and is able to shape it into a variety of different forms, ranging from simple swords to monstrous beasts. Able to deflect bullets and magic with his shadows, he can also fuse with darkness for a number of uses, including his own brand of teleportation.

Following his return from the Underworld, he appears to have become even more powerful,[14] having gained hidden knowledge such as being able to track an individual's whereabouts (though the extent of this ability is unknown)[45] and a heightened awareness of things. For example, Bedman states that "only someone who has already died once, like Zato, should be able to perceive" the extent of his abilities.[59] Also, now that Eddie is much calmer than before, their relationship seems to be very different than it was before.[32] Gameplay-wise, Zato is a puppet character in that he is able to control Eddie, a secondary entity (his "puppet") alongside him in combat. Zato generally attacks by pressing a button, while Eddie attacks by releasing it and using Eddie's gauge. Able to dominate neutral gameplay and with an extremely overwhelming offense, Zato's fighting style is one of the most dynamic in the series, but also one of the most difficult to learn.

Its name is derived from the fictional blind swordsman Zatoichi, which is how "Zato-1" would be pronounced in Japanese. Zato's performance in Guilty Gear is inspired by the cover art for Testament's Souls of Black album. His first track is also called "Black Soul", which is a possible reference to the album itself. Her Fear of the Dark ability is a reference to the Iron Maiden song of the same name. Black in Mind is a reference to the album and song by German metal band Rage. His Break the Law move is likely a reference to the Judas Priest song "Breaking the Law". Similarly, Dark Sentinel could be an allusion to their song "The Sentinel". Its Rise and Fall move is a possible reference to the Helloween song of the same name. Its special move, Shadow Gallery, shares its name with an American metal band. Coincidentally, they have a song called "Venom". Dead Man's Hand is a poker hand, considered a cursed hand and associated with death in popular culture. It is also the name of a song by British metal trio Motörhead. His Great White Overdrive may be named after the rock band of the same name. During his jumping Slash attack in Strive , Eddie takes the form of the demon Buer , specifically the depiction shown in the Dictionnaire Infernal

According to Strive, Zato believes in aliens and has searched for them his entire life. [source needed] Zato might be of Andalusian origin. In Strive, one of his catchphrases when he gets hurt is "gazpacho", a cold Andalusian soup. In one of his victory animations, he strikes a flamenco pose while castanets play in the background, both of which are very important in Andalusian culture. Zato also briefly mentions sherry during Night of Knives, which is a fortified wine only produced in very specific areas of Andalusia. An outfit based on Zato's Strive look, belonging to Shizel, appears in Tales of the Rays.

Eddie, also written as Eddy, is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. He is the Forbidden Shadow Beast bonded with Zato-ONE, granting him his shadow manipulation abilities. Eddie used Zato's corpse as a sort of "human skin." Other than that, Eddie is an amorphous mass of black shadow that can take the form of almost anything imaginable. His preferred form, and most common depiction, is an all-black silhouette of a tall, muscular man with an unusually thin waist, spikes on his elbows, a gargoyle-like head, and glowing red eyes.

Eddie appears to possess a glowing red "core" void in place of organs which is shown in his eyes, in markings on his body, and inside his body during some of his attacks.

Interestingly, Eddie is also shown to have some sort of tangible body structure. In the XX series, Eddie's Dust attack involves him removing his own mouth and hitting his opponent with their own skulls. The skull is that of a cow, but with curved horns and of an enormous size, as large as its entire body. It also has a natural bone color instead of the usual black color. This suggests that this skull is real and not a polymorphic shadow, and that Eddie's true form may be much larger than it appears. Eddie's personality is similar to that of his host, having inherited his memory and personality during his incubation, but he is noticeably deranged and sadistic. When he is not desperately searching for host bodies, he is often pondering the meaning of his existence, as well as the meaning of life in general. In combat, Eddie fights with a distinctive brutality and ruthlessness as shown in most of his moves and techniques, all of which are gradually toned down or completely modified as Zato regains control of both his body and Eddie's.