Story 8 is on the way! ► gildedguy.com/story8

Andre: destroying the arena to end the unnecessary murders and violence Arzon: trying to preserve the RHG's legacy GG: *bitch gimme back my glow-in-the-dark magic pen*

A gladiator that realised too late the cost of it all and wanted to make sure nobody idolized arena based murder again, so he tried to destroy the stadium and all the statues and whatnot that held it. A misguided approach, but an understandable one, and Gildedguy and co only realized that was the actual goal after it was too late to really stop the fight.

It’s sad to think I’ll never be able to truly experience this era of the stick figure and RHG community, but god it’s absolutely magical to do deep diving and to explore the old animations and story behind the community and the many animators who worked with soul and heart.

I think I finally got why Andre went all skeleton-mode during the fight! I saw in another video breaking down some of the easter eggs in here that the symbols in Andre's eyes are the logo for FluidAnims, and the X's through them represent the death of the site. Andre's eyes show the symbol/turn red as he gets more serious during the fight, as if he's remembering his past as one of the strongest fighters during his time. When he turns into a skeleton, I believe it's a representation of Travis "Stone" Steven going inactive, leaving Andre in animation limbo and effectively killing him. I'm not sure if this is true, but reading Story #7's teaser description of the website, GildedGuy wrote a paragraph talking about burnout and losing passion due to priority shifts or simply getting tired. I believe, at one point, GildedGuy was struggling to continue animating as his passion. This would be represented when Andre glares into GildedGuy's eyes and takes the fight out of him. Which means holy crap this animation is *a lot* deeper than I thought! Keep up the great work GildedGuy! Can't wait to see what other hidden message you hide in your animations! :)

I said it before and I'll say it again. I'm so so honored to have Andre be featured in this animation. Gildedguy, you've done an absolutely amazing job and In forever in love with the world you've created! Thank you SO much for this amazing piece! I think I will make it part of my daily routine to watch this daily refuel my inspiration meter.

Amazing job as always! A true love letter to the stick figure and RHG comunity that couldn't have been done any better! I'm also very thankful that I got to be part of the production team for this one :) Was a cool experience!

I just noticed that, for a brief moment, you see Nhazul and Alpha in Arzon and Gildedguy while they are fighting in the air, more specifically at 7:03 and at 7:05. The living image of the legends in the new generations! That was amazing!

that's how i understand the scenario : Andre is an old hammer holder stickman who have been a gladiator in the RHG legacy. He had fight all over the years with other legends to amaze the public. But more the time pass, more he get disgusted by the tragic side of this legacy. He know that in these battles, there is one rule : when two warriors enter the arena, one gets out victorious, and the other DIE. This horrible situation frustrated him so bad that he decided to destroy every statues and arenas that related to RHG to make sure it will never make the blood flow again. When he arrived at the last arena, he encounter two young stickmans who's visiting the same location. there is Arzon, a wind user who is a big fan of the legends of the Legacy, and there is Gilded Guy, who is also a fan and he came here to get back his pencil he lost in his last fight. While battle-ling, Andre grab the sword of the gold knight and stab him in his right arm. At this moment, we can see his skull and rib-cage and he have a symbol who look like a blood drop in his eyes. he probably showing to gilded guy how violent and merciless the battles was at the "golden" period of RHG Legacy and he doesn't want him to know the same suffering he experienced. After a rude battle in the sky, he lost grip of his hammer and fall on the stadium where he wanted to make the final blow. While he fall, he look at Arzon who was trying to save him with a crossed blood drop in his eyes. I don't really get it at this point, but he probably tells him that he finally put an end of this massacre maker and he decided to bury the only thing remain : himself (he's part of the RHG. so if he lives, there will be risks that it revive from him). I was thinking about his disappearance. When i look at the end and saw some important parts of the animation, there is an option that pops out of my head : Andre was actually dead all along. There are two proof of this : 1 : at 5:53, we can barely see Andre, but the skin of his chest and head are missing, exposing his skull and rib-cage. That means that the hammer holder Gilded guy and Arzon are fighting died a long time ago and it's his spirit. 2 : at 7:28, we can hardly see that Andre progressively becoming transparent. this is showing once again that he is a spirit and not a real person (and that also explain why after hitting the stadium, he completely vanished without leaving any trace). That animation is talking about beginning, admiration, experience and tragedy. Gilded guy and Arzon are young fighters who's admiring their favorite gladiators of the RHG legacy at the point to copy their own signature moves. Andre is part of these gladiators and he saw his friends and enemies die one by one in all horrible ways. He doesn't destroy the statues because because of ego (he proved it by destroying his own statue at the beginning) but because he know the blood will still leaking if the remaining of the legacy is not fully buried. I really love the end when you see through the picture that the glagiators who's standing around the hammers are spirits.

I actually almost cried at the part where there was flashbacks of the past Iconic Animators. The memories man, and oh man how we've all grown up. Beautiful animation as always GG!

This story really hits so much andre wanted to destroy the arena so nobody else idolize it and uses it as a way for entertainment, he lost so many friends to the point he despises it, his only goal was to destroy what was meant to be destroyed in the first place which is a really understandable thing to do considering how the arena does nothing but uses people killing each other as entertainment

I'm just coming back to watch this again for the like 10th time but it's like more the 1'st time since it came out and I can't stop crying. for anyone interested this is gonna be a long comment. My friend showed me Story 4 back when it released and I was hooked (this is in high school mind you). Story 5 came out I loved it and so did my friend for us the animation style and the quality was fantastic I just don't like country to much so it was just good to me. then oj my god then... Story 6 was just a masterpiece. The music 10/10. The story 10/10. The animation 10/10. My favorite scene was when GildedGuy looks at Oxob and nods telling him "get up you can do this" pretty much and Oxob pushes past his past and lives for the moment after years of torment on himself. Me and my friend Raved about this one for like months after release and I decided to start supporting him Gildedguy on patreon. Because at this point I was working and had some extra money. Then Story 0 me and my friend loved this one. which this kind of hit home for me. My Stepfather actually didn't like my job choice because I ended up doing thats commission based and not as stable. And thats exactly what happens to gildedguy (well other than its his actual father). But we patched it up and our relationship has improved greatly after I left the house. Me and my friend loved this one a lot too. But then... I stopped hearing from my friend for like a month. and then I called his house only to be told he had passed away. my heart sank. Me at this point being a 50 dollar supporter took to the patreon chat on gildedguys discord and asked for a favor thinking maybe it would happen but scared to say @ the man himself. To add a cameo for my friend and a name card at the end. then to my genuine surprise. he said yes and dm'd me asking about the details. The statue on the left at the very beginning is stick me but next to me is a Fox head. My friends favorite animal and in the credits his name card has fox tails on the end. I miss him a lot. But we keep moving forward and honor those that make the path before us and change us for the better. As long as I financially can I will be supporting Gildedguy every month. He is a amazing guy and has the upmost respect from me. If you see this GG... Thank you.

6:41 Don’t miss the tears in GG’s eyes

I love the fact they showed and paid homage to all the other gladiators that have lost there lives glide remembers the competition as a fun challenge between friends but stone has lost so many friends that he now despises it

So much nostalgia on this, all of these RHG thing that many put their effort & passion is already over a decade ago, the old vids from them are now a relic of what stickman used to be. Sadly most of us have to move on.

i love how there's a sort of hidden lore to Stick fights and RHG that GildedGuy sprinkles in for those viewers who've been there since the beginning when stick fights were still new

Oh my god, 4 months later and there's still details that are new to me: There's 4 frames of the Green-Eyed Cowboy starting with the frame right before 7:00 It's REALLY brief but you can definitely tell because of the all-green sclera and the signature grin This animation is amazing

I get RHG here. Maybe the fact that so many of those he shared his legacy with have perished or retired. He felt alone and couldn't handle thinking of having to carry all of that legacy by himself, so he decided to destroy it. But seeing the new generation strengthening themselves so much with that same legacy that caused him so much pain, and not just that, but nearly incarnating those who came before and surpassing him, enjoying a good fight with cheeky smiles on their faces. I guess by the end he realized that maybe, it wasn't all that bad

The part when the Rock Hard Gladiator said his iconic line "I'm rock hard right now..." was stunning.

Something to note is that as soon as he gets his pen back, gildedguy's animation becomes so much more brighter and colourful

G.G didn't use his crazy sword attack (where the sword goes everywhere) because he had an ally that would get hurt in the process. Strategy = 1000

Andre: Fights to end the legacy of RHG for good. Arzon: Fights to preserve the legacy of RHG Gilded Guy: “I just wanted my pen back man…”

Out of everything in Story 7, my favorite moment had to be the scene starting at 2:50 when Arzon and GG meet Andre. You can feel the excitement of the pair seeing him in the flesh, the founder of the thing they love deep down. And then Andre just shoots them down like he’s saying “no, none of that” and just goes on with his purpose of tearing down the legacy he created, a legacy that was inspirational and entertaining to others, but to him is only filled with pain, bloodshed, and death.

Even after over a year after seeing this on debue, everything about this glorious & truely golden person still amazes me. Your animation is just so fluid & expressive, the characters feel incredibly lovable, and I love the subtleness in narrative portrayed in these videos. I seriously cannot express enough how incredible your work is. Please Guildedguy, never stop being awesome, because awesome is you.

I've watched this probably 100 times by now, and I've only just noticed that the fluidanims banner was stuck to the sword during the air sequence, and once Gildedguy attaches the green pen, he also wears that banner as a cape The attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. You and the team are absolutely incredible and I look forward to the premiere of Story 8! Man, this community is awesome.

So many memories here. Gildedguy and Arzon are like us in a sense. Having grown up seeing are favourite Stick Figures throw down, and yes idolizing them a little. But Andre being the creator, saw it move from friendly sparring to arena murder, and now he despises it because of it costing him his friends. And I guess he feels guilty. Going around destroying old arenas making sure that the newest generation doesn’t idolize people who have killed. But upon seeing these new Gladiators trying to save him he feels at peace and passes on the torch of carrying the legacy of RHG to the next generation. Seeing that they are worthy.

1:15 statues of FLLFFL, Chuck & Micwizard 1:19 Top left is Nhazul, above him is The French with the letters AV (referencing The French's animator Avans), Top right is FLLFFL, the one in the center is mr pix with Jomm on it's top left, Luther? In the left side of the entrance with a one vs many reference just above it. 1:25 Hyun's dojo banner, Zetabrand logo on the left circle, oxob in the right circle. orz is written everywhere as a sign of respect 1:26 Clan logos? On the wall. Nemesis logo can be seen below it is a logo similar to skyrim 1:30 Gildedguy watching Chuck vs FLLFFL, a doors figurine can be seen in between the chairs alongside a chuck figurine 1:43 Arzon's wind makes a drop of water which is a reference to Fluidanims the home of RHG 1:48 one of the stickfigure drawings have a party hat referencing hyun. Yoyo's statue behind Gildedguy 1:53 nemesis logo (again) in the dark blue banner, Fluidanims on the green and blue(left) banners, and dark demons on the red banner 2:13 Nhazul and Drifts statues. Zetabrand logo under Nhazul with no. 15 which is a reference to Nhazul's 15 hit combo 2:16 Arzon doing the Zeta pose, Gildedguy mimicking drifts, Arzon mimicking Chuck, Gildedguy mimicking Jade, Arzon mimicking Yoyo, and finally Gildedguy and arzon mimics FLLFFL 2:50 Terantula's statue (destroyed at 2:56) 2:58 on the far right circle is a reference to drunken stick 4:25 Nhazul appears on Arzon for brief moment 4:29 Gildedguy controlling electricity. Learned from his fight against oxob 4:50 the drawing of a running man resembling the doors guy 4:59 Wrench is in one of the posters 5:03 Micwizard's poster on the side of the stage 5:07 the Drop of water with an X in Andre's eyes is a reference to Fluidanims downfall 5:08 (in order of appearance) Drifts vs mario, Styr vs Mugen, Terantula, Mr Pix vs Oreo, (?), Franky vs Alloy, One and yoyo, Wrench lying dead (probably in his fight against Jomm), Umbrella vs FLLFFL 5:13 (weapons left to right) Morion's Naginata, Oreo's daggers, Franky's pickaxe, Nhazul's sword, Ada's sword, Sheim's gunblade, Styr's Spear, Centurion's shuriken, TG 108's metal staff, Chuck's nunchuck, Kixx's gun, Thunder's sheild 5:14 places of RHG coliseums Andre destroyed (in order): Niera, Nieran mountains?, Navia, Micfortress?/Highgate? 5:25 Andre marking every destroyed coliseum in Cier up to Aegis fields 5:32 Wrench's statue on the right 5:33 clan STYLE logo on the black banner 5:50 a skull with FLLFFL's sword and Drifts' scythe 5:53 Andre turns into a rotting corpse 5:55 Andre's eyes turns to a drop of blood. Probably similar to 5:07 6:16 A brief appearance of FLLFFL 6:39 the collapsed coliseum goes into a shape of the 5-pointed star Gildedguy is going after 6:40 Gildedguy is crying 6:58 Gildedguy's cape is the Fluidanims banner at the the coliseum 7:04 Arzon briefly turns to Nhazul 7:06 Gildedguy briefly turns into FLLFFL 7:30 When Andre lands on the ground a small pink flash appears. It appears again but faintly in 8:17 8:08 Andre's pose in Gildedguy's(animator) keychain 11:46 Name of characters (left to right): WeiEn, Munch, Mr Pix, Ehm, Nhazul, Tentionmaru, Micwizard, Drifts, Yoyo, FLLFFL, Wrench, Chuck, Jomm, Terantula, Franky. Fry's poster is at the far left I do not take credit for these references these were all from various sources like the comments and Hatena360's reaction stream Also fun facts: 1. Andre is still alive here according to Gildedguy. 2. Although not an RHG Sheim was referenced in the weapons scene. 3. This is not the first time Gildedguy steped in the coliseum stage. 4. The name Rock Hard Gladiator came from the website name 'rockhardanims' before turning into Fluidanims. Edit: Thanks for filling some of the references guys. If there are any that I have missed please reply to this comment and I'll add it Edit 2: If you wanna start looking into RHG, I recommend starting with FLLFFL's battles (kzfaq.info/sun/PLgazXJhzi1BJCOPLtWgkgGc7HLYpNzgfw ) then Umbrella's story. After that pick a character that looks interesting to you and follow their story, and from there do the same thing all over again (follow a character that looks interesting). A lot of these can be found in the Hyun's dojo channel. Go check them out.

7:04 nhazul appearing for 1 frame while arzon is doing his pose is legendary, gildedguy and his insane attention to detail is as always🔥🔥🔥 edit: SAW ALFA TOO DURING GUILDEDGUY"S POSE AT 7:05 GUILDED"S THE BEST!!!!!!

5:23 You know, somehow, I never noticed that the arena itself was laid out like Gilded's star. So many 'blink and you'll miss it' moments.

Gotta love how andre actually *feels* experienced and like a strategist in battle, goind on the defensive at first since he doesn't know what they can do yet, keeping some cards under his sleeve just in case, like the lighting, and not using it anymore after seeing that GG can control it. Genius choreography

I love how GIldedguy's skill set changes and adapts to his past adventures. There's a good continuity between stories

A bit late to this, I suppose. But to me, this is one of Gilded's works that hits closest to home. I have seen both sides of this battle. The fresh face, inspired by those that came before, and the elder, moved on and barely remembered among those on Hyuns Dojo. Admittedly, I was never a legend like Gilded or Stone. I never created amazing works for people to marvel at. My role was to help people achieve their dreams of duelling, to build a world they could play in, and to create events and quests for them to explore. But I've not been active on the dojo for...well, a long time now. The quests I crafted ended years ago, and my work is sure to be the foundation of a greater world built atop it. Yet, I find myself not mourning the time I spent, the things I made...but the people lost. My generation on the Dojo was...odd. Confrontational. Judgemental. But there were many good people, enjoyable moments, and the fact many of those people have left and I'll likely never see them again...like Andre, that's what hurts. That they felt it time to move on. And to you, Gilded: It's been a long time. I doubt you remember me. But I remember you, every time we spoke, every advice you gave and every question I answered. I treasure those. So please, continue on. Be the legend I never could. Lead a generation I am no lonfer part of. And good luck. Naitoshadou, signing off.

8:23 i always come back to GG's videos. Partially for the absolutely balls to the walls animation he's capable of. But mainly because of storytelling like this. As someone who didn't have internet to enjoy RHG during it's prime, it's impressive how I understand everything that it meant to these characters without any dialogue. But this part that I stamped is easily the most important part of the video. Preserving the arena that meant so much to GG and Arzon. While preventing further bloodshed with Andre's iconic weapon. Amazing storytelling GG I love your videos. And I wish nothing but the best for you and your future

andre in this story demonstrates that legacy is as much a blessing as it can be a curse. in spite of the pain that having a legacy can bring, though, preserving it's history is more valuable than anything, so that the next generation can learn from your experiences and one day carry the torch in your place. i truly mean it when i say that this animation is an incredible feat for the whole team, gil. your creative ingenuity is unlike anything else in the community, and the stories you tell through visuals alone are incredibly thoughtful and lush with detail every time. just as gil and arzon demonstrate their respect for their predecessors here, this community shares that same love and respect for your work in turn. thank you so much for all that you do ♡

The last animation, story 0, was great because it could be appreciated by anyone, it was a great tale of following your dreams, taking risks and not compromising on what's important to you. But this one? It's entirely personal. It's all meant to call back to another era, and I suppose not everyone can understand how important this is to an all things considered small corner of youtube and internet. But damn, I'm so thankful it exists. Gildedguy, you made something important. For those of us who were there, alongside you, in the good ol' days and for those who appreciate the unfiltered quality of your animations, thank you so much.

This is a nostalgia overload. I loved growing up and watching the old RHG videos on Stickpage and I'm so glad their legacy is living on in amazing animators like you. Great work.

I love how when Andre was defeated and the Airguy was like "No wait, don't die" and Andre was like "Nah" with his arms crossed and lax posture

Blessed to see this. For those who dont keep the lore. Rock Hard Gladiators are avatars that the animators use in battle and precisely one of the more oldest is Andre A.K.A Hammerguy. and here you can see how the massive amount of violence and bloodshed left him scarred and remorseful of his past.

I'm surprised people haven't mentioned yet the frame at 5:53 where it shows Andre as a corpse, seeing how it explains him later just disappearing seemingly into nowhere at the end: he was never alive. From the looks of it, Andre has been dead for quite a while, however, the pencil ended up reviving him, which would explain why he was so hellbent on keeping it in his hammer, even IF it was also boosting his power, it was also *keeping him alive* for just that little bit of time. It would appear, having come back to life, as others mentioned he's decided to destroy the arenas and legacy of RHG with his borrowed time, having realized the mistakes he'd made, and how many people had died from what he'd started. This would also explain why the pencil seems to have had *so much* of it's juice used. We've seen Gilded fight in the past, and his actions don't really seem to have ever even made any visible dent on it's supply, but not only reviving but also potentially empowering a wholeass person? That *would* probably be a whole lot more energy-intensive than anything Gilded's ever used it for, admittedly. Overall, it'll certainly be interesting to see what happens in the next animatic, since from the ending bit, I get a mighty feeling that the next animation might be the one where Gilded finally reaches his star, with only a small bit of juice left in his pencil and his armor very likely not in the best of states, it'll certainly be interesting to see what/who he has to face and how he'll deal with them in this situation where he's resources are more limited than ever. Also as an aside, man this animation was awesome, I especially loved the little first-person bit since it showed just *how* much more skilled Andre was and just how little chance Gilded and Arzon were from the beginning.

I like how innocent arzon and glided guy play around when they first meet its so wholesome

THIS IS BEYOND BEAUTIFUL THIS IS INSPIRATIONAL MOTIVATIONAL AND HOLY SHIT Gildedguy was the reason I came to Hyuns Dojo! He was the reason I became champion there! Out of envy I stopped watching him, lied to myself that he wasn't doing this all for good cause anymore. BUT GOD HE BROUGHT MY BOI ARZON THERE AND HE WITH HIS TEAM CREATED SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL THAT I FOUND THIS GUY, I SWEAR I'M CRYING T-T

This almost made me cry, man. i know this will get buried under a whole sea of comments but i remember being like 8-9 years old thinking these stick fight videos were the coolest thing i had ever seen. i spent days and days watching every single one, i probably watched Shock over 50 times haha. GildedGuy was also a huge factor in my love for these videos, but i remember Oxob, Hyun, and especially Jomm were my absolute heros, and even got me into making a few animations myself. Years have past and i’m sad to say for the most part i’ve forgotten about the way these animations made me feel, and as soon as i got this in my recommended it was like a breath of fresh air. This is such a work of art and as everyone else is saying, it’s a love letter to those days in the early 2010s. If any of you also feel the way I do, I’m glad we can share a memory. I hope I never forget where I came from :)

From what I can tell from the story, Stone wants to destroy the symbols that represent RHG because he doesn’t want people to cause bloodshed by fighting for glory and entertainment in coliseums anymore. He feels like he made a mistake by being one of the founders of all this and is trying to destroy what he essentially created. However, Gildedguy and Arzon got to where they are today because of people they look up to like Alfa and Nhazul, and they believe that they should cherish those monuments in honor of the RHG members. I’m guessing the red teardrop in Stone’s eyes represents the want for destruction, and the green one in both Gildedguy’s and Arzon’s represents the want for preservation/continuation! I love how you can tell such an intricate story in each one of these animations without any dialogue.

I know it’s a year later but I had to come back and comment this as a witness to the rise and fall of the OG RHG. This is my short story on how a little community of animators who animated stick fights inspired me to learn animation for myself. Once upon a time, I was a very young kid who stumbled onto KZfaq watching Alan Becker’s animator vs animation when I came across some of my first RHG content which happened to be flfl vs chuck. I immediately fell in love with it. The fight choreography, the battle progression, the music, all of it. I would search KZfaq for hours watching anything with flfl and I would look up stick figure games to play. This actually how I found gildedguy. I played slush invaders as a kid and the game inspired me to learn and pursue animation. I am currently in college for animation game design while I do KZfaq on the side. As I found these animators, the RHG legacy began to grow. Amazing animators like Hyun, Oxob, camellia, Resh, Terkoiz, McCool, Jomm and countless others made amazing works of art and developed an entire culture around stick figure fights. Isn’t that something silly? But as the years went by, stories started to come to an end and animators switched gears and did different things. A lot of them still reside in Hyun’s Dojo and terkoiz works for Alan Becker the last I heard. RHG never really died as the community still does animation where other artists compete with their stick figures and stick figure animations stories are developed. But the founders are more or less gone and not contributing to the RHG culture. Which is not a bad thing at all. I don’t think RHG was supposed to last forever between all the animators I mentioned. It was simply a fun idea that few friends who liked to animate stick fights had. And that idea grew into the community today and is what inspired me to pursue animation. I will forever be grateful for the beauty that the founders of RHG showed us. As I said before, it still does exist with some fresh meat at Hyun’s Dojo. This animation is honestly the hardest to watch for a veteran like me. The shot of gildedguy watching the chuck vs flfl fight was basically me. But now obviously it is a bygone era that can only be remembered by a few people in the community. For the few that still remember, they will tell you the same as me that it was the time of our lives here for the stick-figure-fighting community. Thank you all who contributed to some of my favorite childhood memories. I feel it is my duty to create something worthy of the RHG legacy in my career as an animator. Thank you for the memories❤️

It's a good thing that Gildedguy is immune to Lightning after battling Oxob in the previous episode.

The amount of effort, patience and joy going into this art style the characters everything about this are heart melting to watch. Seriously man this is amazing I’ve been waiting for this for so long and it was so worth the wait take a big long break cus you will definitely need it

"How much nostalgia are you going to put in this animation" Gildedguy: _YES_

The fact I was watching some Alfa fights earlier tonight and decided to check your channel and find this (Still dont know why youtube didnt notify me I have all notis on) chockfull of references to Alfa ((AND RHG as a whole)) was really something I needed to end this year off.

I love how I have rewatched this at least 9 times in the last week and I am STILL finding little bits of animation that show how traumatized Andre was by RHG, and how much Arzon and GildedGuy are massive fanboys(Kinda cute TBH) I especially love the eyeplay, with the blooddrop, green eyes, green blooddrop/teardrop and other ones. It truly shows the persons allignment or belief in that moment and how much Andre was affected by RHG its actions, even though he ends up being happy GG and Arzon only see the beauty in it. I also wanna say I am excited to see where GildedGuys story goes next, can't wait for Story #8

It has been a heck of a journey assisting with this animation! Everyone who worked on this did such a great job and I couldn't be more amazed with the result. This was a beautiful tribute to the importance of respecting the past and yet accepting the present. I am excited for future Gildedguy stories to unfold!!

I love how Gildedguy fights, you can tell he isn’t a trained knight, he’s a painter. He can’t stand on the same level as Andre and so the level of strength and skill is put on full display. Gildedguy is a painter that happens to wear knight armor and a sword, and so he is more of a brawler, yet his fights always end in him “winning” because it was never a fight, Gildedguy is trying to reach into the characters he is “fighting” and save them. Not destroy them. Thank you Michael for creating such a wonderful world and character, and sharing it with the world:

some of the most talented animators ive ever, and probably WILL ever see. My respect for you and everyone who worked on this is beyond its maximum. They even got my boy Arzon in here!

Can't *believe* it took me this long to watch this... absolute art, as always. Your videos hit me in the feels in a way that not even mainstream media can touch. Fantastic work!

Absolutely astonishing. You never cease to amaze me. And thanks for the little Sheim reference ☺️

I love how this potray the legacy of stick figure animation: one see it as nothing but meaningless bloodshed, and the other two see it as cool and inspiring, and both only realizes each other point of view when the battle already ended. Gildedguy magic pen is running out of ink, I hope he find a way to refill it...i'm a little bit worried about him.

No, thank you for making my childhood great.

Never really watched animation fights that much but after reading a few comments that say it died out slowly, I think we got this guy right here making story with his every video. So maybe the old guys are gone but we are getting new people like him creating new characters and animations so I believe this video is to show the transition from the old to the new and me myself I can't wait to see what other kinds of new story and animation we will get in the coming years.

The RHG legacy still continues, it's just up to us to continue the legacy. As old creators leave, new ones come in. As the song in this animation stated itself: "Rock's not dead"

Gilded Guy looks so tired compared to the other combatant. I’m wondering if he’s okay, since this is right after his last fight, which was freaking epic. EDIT: I couldn't edit this comment on the ipad so I edit it now lol. I post here what I responded with in the replies: "This was commented before the vid actually went up, but man am I worried about how little ink that magic pen has left. Given the context of Story 0, the next animation seems like it’s supposed to be the end of this adventure of his."

Who else just watched Gildedguy over and over? I'm not even trying to sound like one of those youtube bots, but I actually watch these animations on repeat, lol

I love the part when GG goes “you may be rock hard but I’m harder” and proceeds to swing his sword around

Literally one of the coolest animators I've seen on the platform. It is astounding how you don't have more than a million subscribers right now. EDIT: After watching the animation, I can 100% say that Gildedguy is definitely one of the coolest animators ever. Let's also remember that Gildedguy didn't make this animation alone. With the help of Kap, Rebonkulous, Voroxzii, Boks, Soapy, Sareth, Oxob, and Powermeep, this animation has became one of the best.

References and callbacks I noticed: - Statue of FL L F FL - Statue of Chuck - Statue of Micwizard - Chuck vs Alfa battle - Statue of Nhazul - Statue of Drifts - Nhazul's iconic pose - Gildedguy posing like Drifts - Arzon imitating Chuck -vGildedguy imitating Jade - Arzon imitating Yoyo - Gildedguy imitating FLLFFL - Statue of Terantula - Nemesis logo - 2 statues I can't recognize, assuming one of them is from Zetabrand because of the scarf - Gildedguy utilized Andre's lightning showcasing his ability after fighting Oxob - Drifts vs Mario? Not sure because this painting resembles Mario's win against Drifts but it shows Drifts walking away instead of being the one who lost. -The ending of Styr vs Mugen - idk who Terantula is fighting but seems like he's getting wrecked - ending of Mr Pix vs Oreo - I don't recognize the 2 other painting - Oreo's blade, Franky's pickaxe, Thunder's shield, Centurion's shuriken and sword, Chuck's nunchucks, Ada's sword, Styr's spear, are some of the ones I recognized here - One and Yoyo - Wrench... Poor guy - The fight that sealed FLLFFL's fate - Shadow of FLLFFL and Drifts behind Andre - FLLFFL riding his jet sword Oh my god the final picture is so sweet, ah my eyes... The legacy that hammer left... FLLFFL, Drifts, Chuck, Terantula, Franky, Mr Pix, Nhazul, Munch, WeiEn, Micwizard, Jomm, Tentionmaru, and Wrench. I don't recognize that one winged dude but I wish I did.

If Netflix had made a series out of all the battle videos of Gildedguy with more lore It'd be amazing

7:26 Andre just falling arms crossed is so cool to me

5:47 - 6:06 ): For anyone who didn’t know, this is a reference to a RHG Animation called FLLFFL Vs Drifts where FLLFFL/ALFA stabs Drifts in one of his arms using his Jet Sword in order to pin him down, similar to how Andre did it but with Gildedguy’s Sword and grabs a weapon to finish them off but unlike FLLFFL who grabbed Drifts’s Scythe and slammed it into his skull, Andre spares Gildedguy by walking away and retrieving his hammer in order to fully destroy the stadium. I’m surprised that little people knew about this until now.

I like the detail that Gildedguy was tired, but Andre was still fully energized and battling. I like it because it helps you understand that Andre comes from a time where he had to constantly be able to fight, or else he WAS going to DIE. It's not so much the case for duelists like Gildedguy and Arzon. He comes from a rougher generation, that alone puts him above the two and this perfectly demonstrated that.

I rewatch this a lot and some of those times I notice a little more than I do before which I find cool

I can't stop watching this.... also I'm surprised you actually read the comments even after 3 months. Thank you for still sticking to animating masterpieces for us. It's rare to find people like you to do this for us!

Gildedguy and Arzon fanboying over the old RHGs and forming a friendly bond with each other is something I never thought I needed in my life.

Andre: Let this burning memory die, this place, and everyone in it is gone, no one remembers it, and it only brings pain to me Arzon: No! We must cherish and preserve the past as best as possible, this is a historical art piece that marks the great cultural significance of our time! Gildedguy: Can I please have my pen back?

i cry sometimes while watching this i must admit. Me and a few friends have been working on an RHG tribute and seeing this right now when our project is so close to completion there is something super cathartic. Especially in an animators point of view, seeing Gilded's inspirations from Terkoiz FLLFFL shine through and the niche references is just so dope.

Can we just appreciate how good of a story this tells without using words?

Can we just appreciate the stupid amount of detail of a single scene's background music??? (3:30) When Andre *tries* to destroy the statue, it sounds like a *failed* guitar string It was revealed that little Arzon stopped the attack and the music turns to a small flute as a way to focus on him. The music quickly changes back to electric guitar to emphasize how pissed Andrea just got from yet another person in his way. GG interferes with soft piano keys and his signature gentle guitar strings as he pulls the pen away from the hammer only for the guitar music to scramble back into focus to toss GG aside As the statue falls from GG's back hitting it, Arzon floats the statue away, the two music keys (flute and piano) mix together into something else (like a keyboard electronic music) as they have a common goal And finally the music cuts into the real song, Rock Ain't Dead as Andre, the Rock Hard Gladiator, destroys the statue Arzon just tossed. This is Andre's theme This was his boss fight *And he was not going down easily.*

Planting Andre's hammer into the middle of the arena serves two purposes: It preserves the arena and serves as a monument to the warriors of old, like Gilded and Arzon wanted... ...and it prevents it from being used as a battle arena ever again, like Andre wanted.

Gildedguy's ability to just adapt to any situation is just amazing. Andre uses electrical attacks? He remembers his fight with oxob and redirects them. He needs to catch up to a flying andre? He sets up his armor and has arzon propel them towards him to not only take his pen back, but use it to stay in the air. Keep cookin man 👍

I may not have the slightest context for it, let alone the nostalgia others here clearly have, but I can always appreciate such nods to what once was.

Just noticed that "Rock's not dead" can actually symbolize Stone (Andre's creator) not being dead from the community. That's badass.

THIS. IS. AWESOME! Worth the wait! My windy boi is back in action after years of absence! I just want to say a big thank you to Gildedguy for featuring Arzon in this story. Thanks for making him return in style while i'm unable to (at the moment). It's a dream come true, i'm in tears. Your series is the best stickman series i've ever watched. It truly inspires me to make epic stories for Arzon. I also want to give thanks to the production team. You guys rock! I do have a plan of what Arzon is going next after and before this Looking forward to Story #8!

this was amazing, the nostalgia hit so hard,, kept replaying it to see all the characters i recognised, thank you for making this

What a nostalgia. Christ, so many memories fired up in me. Beautiful job!

HOLY GOD, I'M SUPER NERVOUS AND EXCITED, I REALLY ADMIRE THESE ANIMATIONS A LOT GOD I JUST SEE IT AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL, MY EYES COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY WERE SEEING, A MASTERPIECE WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, YOU ARE GREAT GILDEDGUY, KEEP UP, INSPIRING AND IMPROVING :D

Arzon being a fan of Nhazul and Gildedguy being a fan of FLFFL makes me emotional man, i miss them

funny that after GG picks up the pencil, his eye goes back to the highlighted green

There's two things I noticed that I haven't seen anyone talk about yet and both things go to show the level of intense attention to detail that goes into every single one of GG's animations. Firstly, I looked up the song's lyrics, and the song is generally about people saying rock is dead and too different, with the music replying that there's "New bands everyday, more than we have ever seen", and that mirrors the community too. Even though so many of the old animators have retired or stopped posting, and the familiar icons we're all used to aren't really around now, the community is still alive and well and because of their inspiration, there are more animators today than there has ever been. Secondly, on first watch, Andre's eyes have that little blood drop in them a lot, giving him that aura of bloodlust like he can't be stopped. But rewatching it, almost every time, the blood drop in his eye has a cross over it, he's not full of bloodlust, he's desperately trying to end all the bloodshed and the history of it. The only exceptions being just before he splits his hammer apart and when he pins GG to the floor by stabbing him. I'm not sure about the first one, but the latter definitely feels like Andre is conveying that he has gone through all of the death and survived by being just as brutal, and maybe the blood drops in GG's eye represent him beginning to understand Andre's point of view. Right at the end, when Arzon is reaching for Andre as he falls to the arena below, Andre's eyes lose the crossed out blood icon as he smashes into the floor. This could mean a lot of things, namely him seeing that he doesn't need to keep doing what he's doing because people like GG and Arzon are better than the tournament-based murder fest RHG was. I also think that it may have faded out because Andre felt there needed to be one more death, and accepted it as he fell to (potentially) his death. This is all just overanalysis potentially but with the amount of detail and effort that goes into every single frame it's so hard for me not to talk about it. I don't think I need to say that you smashed it out of the park yet again Gilded but you did, I look forward to watching this over and over again until your next project!!!!!

Very good job, Gildedguy! Really like how it turned out. Big props to you and your team for making such an amazing story! ;)

i love how the instruments fit their personalities and are kind of used in place of their voice

MY HEART ACHED TO SEE SO MANY ALFA REFERENCES, WHERE WAS I WHEN THIS WAS MADE AND WHERE IS MY BOI?!

It's so sad how Andre was the first RHG, but all his friends are gone. That is the main reason why he is so angry and sad. Andre's eyes are like blood drops, just goes to show how rhg was meant to be fun but turned violent.

RHG may no longer be quite what it used to, but I love this love letter to what it was, and the fact that it hasn't stopped yet.

I can never get over how great these are. The work you and your crew do make me happy to have studied animation.

Remember when the storys behind these stickfigures fighting were mostly "Hai lets fight because we can?" There is so mucht emotion and trauma behind it now.

A great moment I haven't seen anyone else remark on: At 7:12, when Gildedguy sword-jets into Andre, Andre sees the blue exhaust and, for a brief moment, is left astonished with the red blood drop gone from his eyes. Andre sees that while FLLFFL may be physically dead, he lives on in spirit through the next generation.

As someone who's been an advocate for Stick Figure Media since 2009. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate this animation! It's such a phenomenal love letter to everyone whos participated and supported RHG. Makes me wish I was that kiddish 11 year old watching stick figures fight to the death on a computer again. But as this story has taught us, all good things must come to an end. The old move on while the new takes its place, Thank you so much for creating this GG! This experience will forever be in my heart!

2:43 i remember when this came out i was watching with a friend on call and when this scene popped up he said “mmm, cheese” with this voice, we were laughing so badly

The look on his face right before he died had me in stitches lmao. He looked mildly inconvenienced at the situation right before hitting the ground

You can really feel that bitterness in Andre, the sense of catharsis from dismantling the Arena's. Man saw the whole world turn into a killing field, and throughout the whole video was working to dismantle that. I'm not aware of the history, but I think what ultimately gave him peace was seeing the two newcomers work together to try and stop him. Also your fight choreo is so goddamn fluid and bombastic, I love it. It really did feel like two scrappy kids against an overpowering opponent.

This. This masterpiece right here. It is awe inspiring. To me, an ex stickfigure animator from over a decade ago, this animation is the epitome of the foundation that this community has built a legacy upon. Gildedguy, this bought a tear to my eye, even on the re-watch. I remember when terkoiz first started participating in RHG, and the inspiration I felt, watching his journey, his rise and the end of Alfa. The stories that were brought forward. And now your story gilded. I really hope you have some years left in you, because the stories that you tell, and the homage you've been paying to stickfigures, you have elevated it beyond. And are introducing a new generation to the brilliance of this last two decades of original creation. Sorry for the spiel. But this was fantastic. Thank you. Thank you so much. 😂😭😂

This mans stuff is criminally underrated

That shot of alfa being killed got me more than i expected... God these animations are SO GOOD