Axl Low

**Axl Low** (アクセル=ロウ, *Akuseru Rō*) is a character in the *Guilty Gear* series. He is a time traveller of British descent. He comes from the 20th century, over one hundred and fifty years before most of the *Guilty Gear* storyline. His main goal is to return to his own time period, mainly because of his desire to return to his girlfriend, Megumi. For this reason, he seeks out various means, and is continually attempting to solve his time slipping mystery.

## Character Design

Axl is always seen sporting a red bandana, a short blue vest, and black wrist guards. However, changes have been made to his design between the first Guilty Gear and the X series. In the first game, he is much more muscular. If one looks closely at his shoes, the pattern displayed on the Union Jack can be found. In the X series, he has a slimmer build. His shorts are replaced with jeans and the design of the Union Jack is transferred to his now-long sleeved shirt.

## Personality

Despite his troubles, Axl retains an optimistic and amiable nature. While he enjoys flirting with other women (especially I-No), he still loves Megumi.

## Gameplay

Axl is Guilty Gear's resident zoning character. His gameplan revolves around keeping the opponent at bay, via his powerful anti-airs at all directions and ranges, some being able to reach more than half-way across the screen. Should they stick to the ground, Axl has a great keep-away ability in the form of Sickle Flash (Also known as Rensengeki), which can be used to kill projectiles, stopping running opponents, and can transition into two other options, either for anti-air or a more damaging option. He also has a fully invinicible DP to get characters off of him. His weakness, however, is his lack of pressure and offensive momentum, not being able to deal a ton of damage from mix-ups, unlike Sol or Leo. Some of his moves also extend his hurtbox, making it bad to whiff them. But, if played correctly, Axl can easily punish any character.

## Powers & Abilities

Axl was gifted since birth with superhuman prowess that exceeds most normal humans. It is said that his natural reflexes and acuity, combined with his kusari-gama, render even bullets useless against him. He is also one of the few humans in the twenty-first century to use magic innately, despite the fact that Magic in his time had yet to be studied. He uses a brand of Fire Magic that is unique to him known as "Thief's Flame". He also possesses the unique ability to transport to different periods of time, including alternate timelines, seemingly through his own subconscious will. However, he previously lacked the ability to properly control this power and it has consequently rendered him ageless. However, as of Revelator, he has learned to slowly master his power, discovering that the level of power he currently possesses can alter the very state of this world as he sees fit, though it is primarily based in the flow of time itself. He can even compress time on a global scale, as shown when he used his ability to save Sol and Jack-O by slowing the world to a crawl.

He also discovers that he can enter different planes of reality by his own will, such as how he materializes in I-No's Integrated Point by simply wishing to be "nowhere" and when he entered Bedman's dream realm (whose world can only be accessed at 6:06 AM or PM of any given day). This technique manifests symbolically as grandfather clocks that allow Axl to enter/exit.

## Musical Themes

* **March of the Wicked King** - *Guilty Gear*
* **Make Oneself** - *Guilty Gear X*
* **Dogs On the Run** - *Guilty Gear XX #Reload Korean OST*
* **Drunkard Does Make Wise Remarks** - *Guilty Gear Isuka*
* **A Slow Walker** - *Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-*

## References and Allusions

* Axl owes his name to Guns'n'Roses leader, who's name is Axl Rose. Even more, it is said they have a similar outlook, and both of them are sort of playboys (Rose once said something like that: "It is a really bad thing to put your girlfriend or your wife into your music video, because when you break up - and you will - they will still be in your video").
* The second half of Axl's name may originate from the band Testament's album named "Low".
* Axl's Guilty Gear theme - "March of the Wicked King" - is named suspiciously similar to "March of the Black Queen" (by Queen), and sounds suspiciously similar to "You're Crazy" by Guns'n'Roses.
* Axl's GGX\GGXX theme - "Make Oneself" - could be an allusion to Incubus' album "Make Yourself".
* At Axl's GGX\GGXX background (London) there is a word "Napalm" written on the wall. It could be yet another allusion to the English band named Napalm Death.
* The english vocal version of "Make Oneself" sounds almost exactly like the song "Even Flow" by the band Pearl Jam in the way the lyrics are sung.

## TMNT X Pokemon

Axl appears in Season 3 when he along with Renet first met the Turtles. He helps them stop Savanti and restore Splinter's past before they are erased forever.

## Trivia

* It is unclear how Raven and Axl are connected save for their similar ability to control time and their agelessness, though Daisuke Ishiwatari has dismissed the notion that they are the same person given Raven's backstory, but he retains that they do share a connection to one another. It also hinted by That Man and Raven in *Guilty Gear XX: Midnight Carnival* how Axl performs an action in the future that links his existence with Raven's. Axl's power over time is also intertwined with I-No's, though the reason is similarly unclear.
* In the official relationship chart, it is stated that Axl knows I-No from the past, and that he has a gang.
* In his third ending in *Guilty Gear XX*, he will accidentally go back in time to fight with I-No and Sol Badguy again. If Axl cannot finish Sol Badguy using his Instant Kill, the match will be rewinded forever.
* Axl shares the same birthday as Dizzy and Elphelt.
* Axl, as a character, might be a reference to the British TV show Dr. Who, in which a seemingly normal Police Box is used to travel through time and space.
* Axl's theme in *Guilty Gear XRD*, A Slow Waker, contains a few nods to his original theme from the original *Guilty Gear*, March of The Wicked King.
* When Axl performs his Overdrive, **Hyakue Renshou**, inside the circle his Kusari-gama creates, for a split-second the image of a woman playing a guitar can be seen. This image can also be seen when Axl performs his **Benten Gari**/**Axl Bomber** combination. This woman is known as Benten, a Japanese deity of arts and wisdom not unlike Athena.
* Axl's American voice actor also voices Johnny. He also voiced Ky in Guilty Gear 2: Overture.