...Still, you may be right. Simply avenging my Master's death wouldn't be what he wants. If I'm really going to change the world, I'm going to have to become the President myself.
― Chipp Zanuff to Venom, Guilty Gear XX
Chipp Zanuff is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. A former drug trafficker and addict, Chipp struggled in the streets of his hometown until a man called Tsuyoshi took him into his care. He trained Chipp in the arts of Ninjutsu until his death at the hands of a syndicate.
Design
Chipp is portrayed as a muscular, yet slender young man with red eyes and earrings, and with white hair sticking out in all directions. He invariably wears a black tank top—which resembles a leather jacket—tucked into a pair of white trousers with two straps on the left hip, shod in high closed shoes with large buckles. He is equipped with a short, curved silver blade attached to his right wristband that goes up along his arm to his shoulder.
His Xrd appearance has some changes, such as red accents on his belts, a red sash, and a prominent ninja star on his vest. He also puts on a pair of glasses in his victory pose. His -STRIVE- look has him wearing harem trousers, a light brown obi-like rope, and black sandals in conjuction with his black jacket vest, red sash, and black wristbands.
Personality
Chipp is a straightforward and simple-minded man, impatient and quick-tempered, unable to get angry for a long time. More of a street-brawler than anything else, the hot-headed Chipp is not much of a thinker, but has a great intuition in the form of hunches. His methods are crude, but the morality he learned from his master, Tsuyoshi, never wavers. Chipp rarely loses hope, constantly striving to become stronger and improve his skills, and believes that failing is simply a chance to improve.
As Tsuyoshi was Japanese, Chipp possesses a great love of Japan, and even claims to have been born there, but his image of the country is largely idealized and has little to do with reality. Chipp's non-Japanese origin is given away by his speech: some of his lines during combat consist only of Japanese words known to foreigners ("harakiri", "kamikaze", "sushi", "sukiyaki", "Fujiyama geisha", etc.), and whenever he is surprised he will exclaim "What?" (ワット?) in English.
Story
Background
Born in the U.S. during the Crusades, Chipp was orphaned shortly after birth. From a very young age, he struggled to make a living in the streets and got addicted to drugs. In order to secure a regular supply of them, he became a dealer for the Mafia. After years of punishing his body with all manner of narcotics, he finally broke down and was to be "disposed" of by the organization.
Chipp fled from the Mafia. His pursuers were quickly dispatched by one man, but Chipp fell over and knocked himself out. He woke up in the care of Tsuyoshi, who rescued him but also took his drug stock away. To no avail, Chipp attacked Tsuyoshi to take them back for an entire month. Now completely sober, Chipp realized that he followed Tsuyoshi for another reason, owing him a debt, and asked to be his apprentice. Chipp became a student at the ninja's dojo and trained body and soul in the ways of the shinobi.
Tsuyoshi's death.
They lived peacefully together until, in 2180, the Assassin's Guild ordered Tsuyoshi's killing for his betrayal. Chipp and Tsuyoshi were training at the mountains when they felt the assassins coming, and they split up. Chipp later realized the main force were after Tsuyoshi. He returned to find the assassins dead and Tsuyoshi near death. Tsuyoshi berated Chipp for coming back for him, and wanted Chipp to promise he would walk away and live his own life. Tsuyoshi passed away with a smile, telling Chipp "I'm glad you're alive."
Guilty Gear
Chipp claims he cannot honor that promise, and vows to enter the tournament he and Tsuyoshi have heard of, and will use the prize to wish his own organization to take Tsuyoshi's killers down. The tournament turns out to be a farce to release Justice from her dimensional prison. Canonically, she is killed by Sol Badguy.
In Chipp's ending, Justice wonders why he wants to destroy her, and Chipp says it is simply because she opposed him. He doesn't care for personal justice, just wanting to avenge his master. Justice dies as she reflects she has no connections like that. Chipp then comes to the realization that he hasn't changed at all, he just traded one vice for another—crime for revenge. He remembers Tsuyoshi's proverb, "Those enslaved by vengeance lose the light of virtue." Unable save the soul of one monster, Chipp feels he needs more training.
Guilty Gear X
Having entered the previous tournament for revenge, during his battles Chipp realizes he lacks the devotion to complete the task at hand, and decides to go back into training. Less than a year later in 2181, when he hears news of a Gear with a bounty, he is ready to go out in search of "that which might truly save him" and focuses his interest on Dizzy's story.
Guilty Gear XX
A few weeks later, Chipp notices that the Guild has been acting pretty strange, and takes the chance to avenge his master. In the first ending, Chipp defeats Eddie and angers Venom in the process. Chipp wins and spares Venom; he demands answers regarding his master's death but gets nowhere. Chipp realizes that avenging Tsuyoshi's death isn't the answer—if he is to make a difference, he will have to become president. He demands the Guild to come work for him if he succeds; Venom laughs in his face, but agrees to the terms. In his other ending, his conversation with Slayer ends with Chipp vowing to accomplish something. In his third ending, the route beforehand involves him being brainwashed by Robo-Ky, doing his bidding until Johnny manages to snap Chipp out of his trance. Chipp then finds the robot, fighting against him for payback and when defeated, the robot claims that Chipp will never escape the Post-War Administration Bureau, and so Chipp decides to catch them and make them pay, despite not quite knowing who they are.
In Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus, Chipp from his prior rote that involves seeking presidency, tries to convince other characters to vote for him. It is Mito Anji, who makes him realize that the only nearby nation that holds elections is Zepp and suggests Chipp to head there. In Path 1, Chipp meets with Potemkin in Zepp, and is convinced to join the bodyguard group for President Gabriel as a first step towards making the presidency. Chipp and Potemkin later work together in fending off a group of Robo-Kys that have infiltrated Zepp.
Should Chipp ask someone else, it diverges to Path 2, where he runs into Crow who leverages Chipp with the promise that the PWAB will support his campaign, though later on, Slayer appears to give Chipp a similar conversation about accomplishing something and what he has directly done so far to do so, to which Chipp reluctantly agrees with what Slayer tells him. He then ends up meeting with Baiken later on. After a brief fight resulting from Chipp advising Baiken not to chase revenge, Chipp convinces Baiken to join him and Venom as part of a special troubleshooting group, starting with a corrupt politician named Marco.
In 2182, in The Butterfly and Her Gale, Chipp appoints himself as the personal bodyguard of the U.S. president, Erica Bartholomew, in order to help her pass a bill that will end the Assassin's Guild foothold over the country. He crosses paths with Volf, the man who killed Tsuyoshi. Chipp learns from Volf's taunts that Tsuyoshi was an assassin for the guild. In the end, Erica forms an alliance with President Gabriel and has the bill passed, whereas Chipp spares Volf's life. Ky Kiske tells Chipp the cause behind Tsuyoshi's assassination: Tsuyoshi indeed worked for the Guild, but as an undercover agent for the IPF. When his cover was blown, he ran away from the syndicate, which was when he picked up Chipp. Chipp parts ways with Erica afterwards.
Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-
In the following years, Chipp was travelling around when he came upon a rather lawless area in southern Africa that saw little aid after the Crusades. Chipp managed to restore some level of order and reformed it into the Eastern Chipp Kingdom, with himself as the President. With a population in the tens of thousands, Chipp got his own staff, led by Answer.
By 2187, Chipp is working to get it recognized by the United Nations. When Ramlethal Valentine declares war on humanity, Chipp sets off to fight her alone, hoping that her defeat will bring his fledgling nation recognition. He tells Ky, the High King of Illyria, they cannot team up because the only credit he'll get will be as "some punk". On his way to Japan, Chipp finds May and appoints himself as her chaperone. They confront Ramlethal, but it is too late for anyone: the Cradle is retrieved from Babylon by the Conclave. Chipp leaves May to go investigate Babylon, but the Jellyfish Pirates ask for his help in finding her after she runs away.
After a day of searching, Chipp finds May at the mountains of Uighur and saves her from falling from a bridge. May thanks Chipp, who convinces her to return to her friends, and escorts her back to Johnny and her crew. Faust soon shows up to give May medicine, but his suspicions make Bedman (carrying the unconscious Venom and Millia, and a weakened Slayer) attack them. Faust is knocked out, and Chipp tells Johnny to run away with the girls and Faust. Chipp keeps Bedman at bay, but he is soon knocked out as well. He is saved by Zato-1, and Bedman leaves to attend other business.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
The Conclave's plans thwarted by Sol and company, Chipp ponders as to why the public's bending the truth with the Conclave's case, and goes to the Opera House. Chipp finds some documents and learns that the Conclave has played right into the Universal Will's hands, and asks Answer to look into it. Ky and Potemkin appear to find info on the Opus, and Chipp tests their resolve. He raises to Ky the question of whether the Sanctus Populi is involved with the Universal Will. Thanks to Answer's report, Chipp realizes that Ariels is the enemy.
Chipp infiltrates Zepp and speaks directly with Gabriel, suggesting that their forces participate in the impending battle on his "hunch". Seeing his conviction, Gabriel agrees. At the celebration of victory, Chipp impedes Ariels from shooting Ky, and she retreats as Zepp's airship arrives. Chipp subsequently helps defend the Illyrian capital from Ariels' Phalanx and Antimatter Gears.
Guilty Gear -STRIVE-
To be added...
Abilities
Chipp is very skilled with his arm-blade, and is adept in the usage of kunai and shuriken. He has all the characteristic abilities of a ninja, such as invisibility, illusions, duplication, teleportation, and superhuman speed. He is able to easily run at hypersonic speeds for long periods of time. Taught the basics of Ninjutsu combat by Tsuyoshi, Chipp is the only known man who still uses this Japanese form of assassination according to the P.W.A.B.—although he is later joined by Answer in this regard. Chipp is regarded by others as "a highly skilled fighter" with unmatched speed, but his straight-forward approach and little mental defenses can often be used against him.
He also uses the power of Ki in his moves, presumably taught to him by Tsuyoshi as well. Chipp seems to use his Ki energy for lightning, ice and fire-based techniques. In The Butterfly and Her Gale, Chipp showed the ability to purge lethal toxins from his body using ki. He also seems to have knowledge of seals that can bind an enemy's movement or destroy them.
Musical themes
- Suck a Sage - Guilty Gear
- Suck a Sage II - Guilty Gear X, Guilty Gear XX
- Child of the Wild - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean OST
- Drumhead Pulsation - Guilty Gear Isuka
- Flash Hider - Guilty Gear Xrd
- Fight Like a Tiger - Guilty Gear STRIVE
Quotes
Allusions
- Chipp is named after bassist Chip Z'nuff from the band Enuff Z'nuff. His main theme songs, "Suck A Sage" and "Flash Hider", prominently feature bass solos, and Chipp's tendency to use a two-fingered hand posture could allude to the finger-style bass.
- Chipp's physical appearance and personal backstory is based on musician Billy Idol. Billy was said to have been one of the more serious cases of celebrities that engaged in drug abuse until he reformed after a near fatal motorcycle crash in February 1990.
- His theme "Suck A Sage" may have been inspired Megadeth's "Last Rites/Loved to Death", Iron Maiden's "Back in the Village", or Cream's "Crossroads".
- Chipp's Banki Messai is based off Ryo Sakazaki's Ryuuko Ranbu from The King of Fighters series. The move Hissho Buraiken by Dan Hibiki from Street Fighter is also similar, although the move is much harder to land on opponents.
Trivia
- Since the release of Λ Core, Chipp uses real Japanese names for his attacks instead of just uttering stereotypical Japanese words, implying that he may have learned to speak the language at last (although he continues to use them in the story, and his conception of Japan is as wrong as ever).
- In Guilty Gear XX, Chipp says that he hates doctors and medicine.
- In the same game, he had a bounty that described him as "A Class 1 terrorist, proficient in the ancient Japanese arts of infiltration and assassination."
- Chipp is the only character able to triple-jump naturally, without the aid of any glitches.
- Despite being one of the fastest characters in the series, Chipp also has one of the lowest defense stats. This is comically alluded to in Blazblue's Teach me, Miss Litchi segment when she tells Ragna that his defense is almost as low as Chipp's.
- Chipp has made a playable guest appearance in Crusaders Quest.
External links
- GGACR/ - GGXRD-R2/Chipp Zanuff at Dustloop Wiki