No anime tough guy trope is complete unless he has outrageous spiky hair, a sword that's clearly Compensating for Something and belts. Lots and lots of belts!
Ragna the Bloodedge. And Sol Badguy, the Flame of Corruption.
The sixteenth episode of the second season showcases two characters from Arc System Works fighting games, with Ragna being inspired by Sol Badguy. Wizard and Boomstick analyze their weapons, armor and skill to see which of the two would prevail in a death battle.
Nearly a hundred years before BlazBlue took place, the world was nearly annihilated by the Black Beast, and it took the efforts of six brave warriors to defeat it. What was left of mankind got subject to an oppressive government, but then one man dared defy the rule: Ragna, the Bloodedge. As a child, he and his siblings had been subject to a variety of experiments involving Seithr, an energy left over from the defeated remains of the Black Beast. They were rescued by a talking cat named Jubei, who took them under his care in a distant church. Ragna's brother Jin got jealous when the former tended to his ill sister Saya instead of spending more time with him, so he burned the church, mortally wounded Ragna and severed his arm with the assistance of Hazama/Yuuki Terumi (and the hosts can't understand). Ragna would have died at the moment were it not for Rachel Alucard granting him a new arm, the Azure Grimoire, a remnant of the Black Beast used to manipulate Seithr. Jubei then returns to finish up Ragna's training, and through that he can drain others' souls and even crank up its ability with the Blood Kain.
At the conclusion of training, Jubei gave him a red cloak and a huge sword called Blood-Scythe, which can be extended to strike further (and to alter into an actual scythe), and like the Azure Grimoire is capable of absorbing the souls of others. He then traveled the world in a violent campaign to fight the government, earning him the nickname the Grim Reaper and a large bounty on his head, and he didn't even bother disguising himself as nobody dared try to claim it aside from a few such as Taokaka. And why would they, given that he survived getting smashed through concrete, got stabbed in the chest multiple times, killed hundreds of trained soldiers and can level a street block with a sweep of his blade? However, he does have a fairly short temper and is not as seasoned or experienced as Jubei.
At the end of training, Jubei warned him that there are limits to the use of the Azure Grimoire; to lose control means that Ragna would be consumed and become the Black Beast. In fact, Ragna was the original Black Beast upon falling into a magic cauldron and separating, undergoing the same century-long cycle until Noel Vermillion prevented that from happening by clasping Ragna's arm before he took the fall. This move prevented the Black Beast from travelling back in the first place, although the hosts questioned how that is remotely possible, and Boomstick just wanted him to fight now.
- Ragna: I'm the main character, and yet again I get left in the dark! It's really starting to piss me off!
Wiz and Boomstick begin the analysis of Sol Badguy through the background: in 2010, magic was discovered, and eventually traditional technology was phased out in favor of this. A scientist called Frederick led a magical supersoldier project, and he volunteered himself to be the prototype for the Gears experiment. What resulted was one of the most feared bounty hunters to have walked the earth: Sol Badguy. However, he was responsible for the death of his lover Aria, who then got reformed into a Gear called Justice, likely by That Man. Wizard had to continuously tell Boomstick that really is the villain's name, but the confused Boomstick would have none of that and temporarily stormed out... until he looked it up and found that it really is his name.
In order to keep his powerful Gear appearance in check and maintain his human form, he wears an inhibitor on his forehead. Since he stopped aging thanks to the experimentation, he refined his fighting style through several decades of training, including his use of volcanic strikes and the Dragon Install, in which he taps a safe amount of his Gear potential to boost his abilities. However, it has a time limit and he will be open to attack as soon as it peters out. As That Man mobilized an army of Gears in a bid to take over the world, Sol crafted OutRage, the ultimate weapon designed to fight gears, but its power is too much even for Sol. As such, he split the weapon into eight pieces and took one for himself: the Fireseal. This flame-augmented blade alone can defeat That Guy at its full potential, and that was before Sol further upgraded it using the Junkyard Dog Mk III.
Sol had survived the soul-tearing Backyard, he can remove his inhibitor and tap into his full gear potential, including when he obliterated a Gear the size of Mount Everest, and he went back in time to witness his past self get murdered, and wasn't even so much as shaken. While extremely powerful, he is rather hesitant to tap into such potential, and he is somewhat lethargic in his approach, only putting in effort when his opponent would ramp up their game. This can be costly as it would lead to him underestimating his opponent, but when he actually does put in effort, they can be up for a world of hurt.
And so the descriptions are done, and IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLE!
One night in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, Sol Badguy was examining a wanted poster when Ragna walked by. Instantly recognizing the face on the poster, he sprinted and stopped the Bloodedge in his tracks. Ragna was annoyed and told Sol to step aside, but the latter scoffed before attempting to strike with the Gun Flame. Ragna knew that he won't get out without a fight and the two face down each other.
FIGHT!
There was a brief clash of blades to begin the battle, but Sol gained the upper hand, juggling his opponent through a variety of kicks. Ragna attempted to release a restraint on the Azure Grimoire but was struck by the savvy bounty hunter, so he ensured that he's clamped in place before nailing it on the second attempt. He darted back and gave Sol a beating with this enhanced strength before getting grappled, then used his Idea Engine to push Sol back. Sol initiated the Dragon Install and Ragna tapped into the Blood Kain, leading to a momentary exchange of blows with Ragna landing most of the hits. The Dragon Install wore out, leaving Sol open for the grab and a chest full of Blood-Scythe.
Although wounded and reeling on the ground, Sol wasn't finished yet, and he had just driven the Fireseal into Ragna's torso. It was right there that the powers of the Azure Grimoire got out of control, and after a moment the Black Beast emerged as Ragna was hopelessly watching from the inside. Sol had no choice but to release the inhibitor and let out his Gear form. The Black Beast attempted to strike at him, then he sent out a single, powerful beam that obliterated it and almost all of the city, leaving the mostly-unfazed bounty hunter and the single piece of land he was standing upon.
K.O.!
Sol jumped into the rubble and obliterated the BlazBlue script using Tyrant Rave before walking away. While Ragna did fight well, it is still clear that Sol had him outclassed. Boomstick hypothesized that's because the latter wore eighteen belts to the former's four. Wizard explains that Ragna's years of training with Jubei doesn't even compare to the more than century's refinement Sol had, not to mention that Sol had shaken off wounds more easily. Sol can resist soul-absorbing powers such as the Blood-Scythe since he survived the Backyard. While the Black Beast is no slouch, Sol had dealt with Gears that are more powerful than it, including the aforementioned Everest-sized Gearnote , with not even half of his power.
- Boomstick: Ragna just burned out in the end.
Wizard: The winner is Sol Badguy!
Ragna vs. Sol Badguy contains examples of:
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Not obvious at first but it soon becomes apparent that the only reason Sol was being beaten down by Ragna was because of his laziness (which is usually how most of Sol's losses end up happening in Guilty Gear). Then they both transform thus turning the battle into Dragon Install vs. Black Beast. This ends with the former one-shotting the latter.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: The ultimate reason Ragna loses. While certainly no slouch in the power department and considered one of the strongest members of the BlazBlue cast, Sol has decades of experience over him and far more power at his disposal.
- Running Gag: In the case of the hosts' rundown of Ragna, why the (usually relatively obtuse) aspect of BlazBlue lore? "Nobody knows"note .
- Single-Stroke Battle: Dragon Install vs. Black Beast. Sol in Dragon Install mode one-shots the Black Beast with a single Gunflame.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. Sol kicks Ragna while the latter was trying to recite the incantation to activate his Azure Grimoire. Ragna has to hold Sol in place with a Dead Spike just to be able to recite the full activation spell.
- Too Many Belts: Boomstick's guess for the result.
- Who's on First?: Wiz and Boomstick have this moment concerning That Man causing the latter to Rage Quit until he checked it on the internet.
