Johnny Sfondi

**Johnny Sfondi** (ジョニー·スフォンディ, *Jonī Sufondi*)[1] or simply called **Johnny** is a playable character in the *Guilty Gear* franchise. He made his first appearance in *Guilty Gear* as a central character in May's storyline, and debuted as a playable character in *Guilty Gear X*. Johnny is the captain of the Jellyfish Pirates, a group of sky-pirates sworn to help those less fortunate, which happens to consist mostly of very young girls. Johnny's flirty, debonair, swordslinging demeanor hides a man dedicated to the noble idea of caring for others.

## Character Design

Johnny is tall, muscled, and tan. He sports a black outfit, sparsely adorned with golden beads. The outfit consists of long, well-fitting pants, a large gunslinger-style belt worn diagonally, and a long collared trench coat, left unbuttoned to ensure his chest remains visible. Johnny has long blond hair, which he usually keeps in a pony-tail. He wears a wide-rimmed Cowboy-style hat which bears a skull insignia, and a pair of dark sunglasses complete his outfit. In battle, he wields a wooden-handled Katana, and is a master of the Iaido style of swordsmanship.

## Personality

Johnny is a daring, suave, and passionate man, who often appears somewhat aloof, carefree, and a bit self-absorbed. A self-proclaimed ladies man, Johnny appreciates his own beauty, frequently commenting on it to other characters throughout the series. He is a compulsive womanizer, hitting on nearly every female character he encounters, plus Bridget (whom he had mistaken for a girl). Beneath his swash-buckling, somewhat surly persona, Johnny has a good heart. He founded the Jellyfish pirates in order to help those less fortunate than himself, and he cares for May, Dizzy and the other members of his crew very deeply, often going to great lengths to protect them from harm, and reassuring them on numerous occasions that they are family to him.

## Powers & Abilities

Johnny is one of the strongest and swiftest human fighters in the series. Storywise, he has fought evenly with the likes of both Testament and Ky Kiske, and it is implied that he did not utilize his full strength in either encounters. When he fought against the copy of Justice that Crow created, the scientist had his creation set to optimal combat settings in order for it to serve as adequate challenge (though it was defeated regardless). He even subdued Dizzy when Undine and Necro went out of control. He is also able to hold his own against the powerful Bedman, with assistance from Leo Whitefang.

Like any swordsman should have, he possesses fast reflexes and a quick hand as fast as his mind, with his **Ensenga**technique having him toss a liquor bottle filled with flammable substance and cutting it in half with a turning slash, all in one motion. This is mainly icing on the cake compared to his skills in quick drawing with his blade, and vice versa. He is also able to dash at short distances with high-speed movement, much like teleportation, and is able to make improbably-stylish use of certain non-weapons (such as his coins). His swordsmanship is so quick and precise that he can swing his blade fast enough to displace the air around him, creating vacuums in space that can tear an opponent to shreds. He uses this tactic to prevent Bedman from teleporting during their battle.

A lot of his sword's strikes also cause some cloud-like smoke to emit, especially with his style of Iaidou, the **Unchou Shihan Jikiden** (雲頂師範直伝, lit. "Cloud Peak Instructor Initiation") which accounts for much of his focus on "mist" motif in his techniques.

## Musical Theme

* Liquor Bar & Drunkard - *Guilty Gear X* and *Guilty Gear XX*
* Desert Dust - *Guilty Gear XX: ♯Reload* Korean OST
* Exceptional Routine Work - *Guilty Gear Isuka*
* Original Bet - *Guilty Gear Xrd*

## References and Allusions

* Johnny wears all black, a possible reference to country/rock legend Johnny Cash, who was known as "The Man in Black." It is also likely that Johnny's appearance, namely his hair and outfit, is a reference to Johnny Winter.
* One of Johnny's attacks, **"Glitter Is Gold"**, is a reference to the opening lines of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
* Johnny might also be a reference to Jimi Hendrix, whose birthname is Johnny. His theme, "*Liquor Bar & Drunkard"*, shares a similar riff to Jimi's, "*Foxy Lady"*.
* It's possible that Johnny's name is either a refference to the Chuck Berry song "Johnny B. Goode", or the cover song of the same name by Judas Priest
	+ It bears mentioning that Johnny looks somewhat similar to Judas Preist vocalist Rob Halford

## TMNT X Pokemon

Johnny and his Jellyfish Pirate crew join the Strawhat Pirates during on of their voyages. They can take the heroes to high places where they normally won't go. You can gain access to their ship during certain missions

## Trivia

* Because of his **Ensenga** (Swallow Drill Fang) special move, many players mistake Johnny as a fire magic user, when he is actually just slicing a liquor bottle midair.
	+ **Ensenga** via its swallow naming may also be a take on Tachibana Ukyou's (from *Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits*) variation of Sasaki Kojirou's famous Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Return) technique, especially since Ukyou's version is also a flame-based sword-drawing attack that is done only in midair but can hit overhead and be Tiger Knee'd with its input. This may as well be an SNK shout-out by Ishiwatari's proxy.
* In the same vein of I-No, Johnny's voice is done by Norio Wakamoto, a man who is known for his roles as various villains in other anime/video game titles (or strange and absurd entities made to solely fit Wakamoto's voice tone). In this case, however, Johnny is merely a rebellious, but good-hearted man, rather than completely evil.
* Johnny and Axl Low both share the same English voice actor, Liam O'Brien.