My favorite part is when he said "It's gekkin time". Truly inspiring

Seriously, the FGC is really good anime material. I'm surprised that nobody ever tried to make some show about a guy just going to tournaments and getting slowly better. Just imagine, a show where you can actually hear the thoughts of the players while they both try to figure out each other games

As an Anji player, I have never felt more connected to another human being than when describing how the Gio vs Anji matchup is once the Gio player realizes they can just tilt you on demand.

OK i just finished this vid with my mates and holy fuck it's like we watched an underdog anime this was freaking amazing, like 2 people who never wanted to play a fighting game now just wanna try out something FUCKING AMAZING cant w8t for part 2 :DDDDDDDD

I love how fighting games can develop stories through their players

Absolutely fucking amazing video, every second was a complete joy to watch and I am already excited for part 2 GOOD LUCK GEKKO!!!!

wasn’t expecting the NMH intro, but god damn, was that clean

This is hands down your best video yet. The scary thing is that you dont know if its going to do well beforehand, but even if it doesnt, i encourage you to keep making this series

Watching this encourages me to push past floor 8. I'll be interested to see what breaks first, my fight-stick or the ceiling.

Holy Shit, The NMH Opening is So Clean

Yeah that acapella part with the slowmotion gave me goosebumps. Such an entertaining and inspirational video. Bravo.

This was a journey, and a good one too. This vid's masterfully crafted and written and narrated. I freaking loved it! Gekko, you never cease to amaze us with stellar quality.

52:50 the way how "there's always next week" here contrast with the first tournament is so god damn cool holy moly

GENUINE MASTER PIECE, not joking i literally cried like a baby when you won against Ino, truly inspiring, keep getting better Gekko, i wish for me something like this

The editing, the music, the EMOTION, this is the most invested I have been in a youtube video in a long time. I'm so excited to see the rest of the series, and am inspired to be motivated to play more Strive

So a couple things from this video: 1: I want to learn how to actually get good at Strive 2: you’re really fucking good at script writing, like genuinely way better than I initially thought 3: I need to play the NMH games. 4: Strive loading screens are hilarious

Thx so much for those amazing videos, I’ m waiting for you to burst into my subscription box ever since I discovered your channel, now more than a year ago. Truly the fgc content that I love the most. Thx 4 everything :D

Alright that trailer was fire but I will Be behind you in your journey to be the best

Amazing video! Think the entire process you describe here is something a lot of people should hear

You don't understand how much this video means to me as a person who has been wallowing in mediocrity in fighting games for years. This has shown me what I really have to put in to improve.

This has inspired me to play a bit more strive - Thank you for the amazing video and good luck!

Heh, takes me back. Unfortunately, my brushes with Grand Finals in games I played, never ended in a victory. So very good stuff. Best of luck at EVO, Gekko.

Excellent video bro! Like actually some of the most entertaining and passionate FGC content I've seen in a while. I can't wait for part 2. 🔥

Such a good video, i love these story based docs on individual development! Great job!

Yo!!!! I am from Alaska and have never entered a tourney ever (we don’t have locals and people kick us when they see our ping). I went to EVO this last weekend and made it out of pools! I had Idom in my first bracket and Daru I-No in my second! It was amazing!!! I’m still riding high from it!

5:22 "It'll take a large change in the way that she played in order for me to drop her" And that kids, its called foreshadowing!

Some of the most well-crafted fighting game content I have ever seen, really bringing the tourney hype to KZfaq in a way that's exciting and super entertaining. Hope your channel blows up like it deserves to; you're doing great work. (Now I gotta buy this game finally, haha)

Nice vid man! Also FYI top 300 get the aura, 100 people per color and that's about it, I made it to top 300 smth and didn't get it but a friend got to 299 and did, so that's its, keep on striving my dood!

"my brain is fried, it's really hard for me to concentrate" and then autopilots a giovanna combo @ 1:06:50 if it wasn't this moment that got me, it was when you put in the mistral boss fight music against that I-no. You have earned my sub

I think it's really well crafted work. Waiting for the next episodes. And good luck with EVO run.

I finally took the time to watch this video, and I am sad I didn't watch it earlier. This is clearly your best video! it's awesome and the love you put into it clearly shows! Congrats! (also thanks for making me want to play guilty gear and improve at it!)

I experienced the same thing as Gekko did, I went 0-2 in all my tournaments for like 2-3 years despite putting hundreds and hundreds of hours and despite the game. As a result, I was ready to retire. My good friend convinced me to attend the Big E tournament (bless his soul) Summer Jam in New Jersey and I said screw it let's go. I went 0-2 in Strive and 0-2 in SFV. My soul was absolutely crushed, but I still had 1 more tournament, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2. My first round I was trounced, I couldn't barely do anything, but the moment I hit losers, I told myself "No, not like this...not like this..." I proceeded to climb losers all the way to losers finals, I had finally placed top 3 for the first time in so many years of playing fighters and at a major of all places. It was magical, I was cheering, my heart was racing and I was crying so hard. I lost losers finals but at that point I've never, EVER been happier playing a fighter. I even won a third place medal to immortalize it! Here I am, a few years later now competing in 5 games at Frosty Faustings 2024, this year I'm looking to make it out of pools in Strive! Whenever Gekko achieved his goals, I truly understand that feeling, and it reminded me why I love playing fighters so much.

Amazing Video! This is for sure one of my favorite guilty gear/fighting game videos ever. Also the editing was on point!

Wow, what a story. Nice montage, good music and exclusive voice-over make these moments feel like I've experienced them myself. It was a real pleasure to chear your victories and carry on after your losses.

This was masterful storytelling. I was glued the entire time. Honestly, you make me want to start my own journey through Strive.

man that was absolutely legendary! I can't wait to see more!

Man, what an amazing video. You had me hooked from the beginning till the very end. As a low Celestial myself, this might have inspired me to go and challenge myself in a similar way in the next few months !

That I-no rematch though, your life really is an anime.

BANGING VIDEO Can't wait to see more like this!

I was not expecting this kind of video but god damn is this a journey I'm excited to see you take. Good luck Gekko, we're rooting for you!!

Such a good video you could really feel how much some of the moments in this vid were intense and stressful

This was honestly such a fun watch and I’m glad this introduced me to your channel

my immediate reaction to your description of zulu's playstyle was "oh no he's a sonic player"

Awesome video! We can tell a bunch of time and work went into it!

I just rewatched this video and only now noticed that in the beginning you used the hunters dream Ost, those chills!

Great video, thoroughly enjoy content around people trying to get better at games!

This video is so good I've rewatched it for background noise several times (my first time watching was active though) and it's so well structured and motivating it makes me want to try to get better, even as someone who sucks a lot at these games.

That was awesome :D I love the way you time songs to wallbreaks, especially in the finale :0 Fighting games really are real life shonen xD

Man I have been invested in a story like I have here for a while. Keep up the good work and hope the best for you. :)

This is a ludicrous amount of effort in a video. The challenge. The narration. The editing... I loved every minute of this video

Great storytelling, I was invested in your journey as a fellow Gio main from the start. Can't wait to see the next leg of your challenge!

Fantastic, documentary level work here. Such an inspiring narrative. I'm getting a copy and joining the GGST scene tomorrow. I haven't been serious about fighting games for over decade, but something about this one is calling to me. I'll remember your story when the going gets tough.

The editing and narration is dope as hell. Looking forward to this ride.

This was awesome! Can't wait to watch the next one!

This is a beautiful video man. Showing your defeats and progression takes a good amount of vulnerability people just don’t show. This video should not only go towards the game in not giving up but on life also. When we get knocked down we need evaluate ourselves and how to become better the next time to reach our goals in life. This was amazing man and the amount of love and work you put into this shows. Much respect and keep it up! God bless 🙏🏽

Glad i sticked to the whole video, felt like a film. You earned yourself a new sub my friend

Great video! This has inspired me to put more effort into my training.

My man, this video is amazing, thanks to this I'll make sure to practice and one day be up with the big dogs. Good luck at evo!

Thank you very much Gekko, thanks to you I started Guilty Gear. I love your videos and congrats on winning :)

That final run… that display… THAT right there is the most beautiful fighting game related thing I’ve ever seen and the reason I am now subscribed and invested in your journey. I wish you worthy victory until the day I face you myself

Amazing video, it drips of the passion you put into it!

That last game in grand finals was so stressful, congrats on the win! I really admire you for the effort it must have taken to put this together, and also for not giving up despite your problems with failure in the short term, tilt and low self esteem. That perseverance is an amazing quality to have. I have gone through a very similar process with a few things in my life, sad periods and tilt included, and eventually you do end up getting somewhere. It might not be exactly where you want to be at the exact time you want it, but eventually your effort does pay off, even if it really doesn't feel like it at the time. Psyched the next video + maybe see you around at some point fellow Yorkshire strive player!

AMAZING VIDEO this literally had me on the edge of my seat the entire video.

Great narrative, superb music choices, and the No More Heroes intro as the icing on the cake we got to eat first. This was the most fun I've ever had watching a Gio player, subscribed.

This is such a cool vid. Amazing edit and awesome gameplay :)

This is my favorite video you have made, it took the exact time it needed to and really put you through an emotional wringer, gl at Evo best FGContent creator!

1:16:26 is now my official mindset to learn this game.

great video man, quality content

You gave me anxiety just watching this video, really well made

I cannot believe you did the fucking persona thing and made me actually tear up instead of cringe. Absolute props, and good luck on the journey ahead!

Incredibly impressed by this documentary's pacing and storytelling. You did an incredible job telling this narrative and I'm especially impressed by the use of setup and payoff multiple times in the video. Consider me a fan

Great video, can’t wait for more

Love your vids. This one was amazing, good luck. Also, I picked up GGST just yesterday cause of you and kinda never touched fighting games other than for honor so I know I'm about to get rocked.

I like this way more than any video made by a "pro", I wish more people on the up-and-come documented their journey

Just started the game yesterday. Really great video man - can't wait for my own journey.

This is such a good video it got me rehyped to go to Evo and you happen to be my third round opponent in pools so that'll be fun to see how that goes

Hey man, i wanna thank you for making these videos. In addition to being well edited and well made as a whole. Watching someone else's journey progress has inspired me to progress my own journey too. Basically this reignited the spark ive had for strive and other fighting games. I stopped playing before this. As fighting games were kinda putting a strain on my mental health. Id beat myself up after every loss and ended up learning nothing from them because of this. After a break and finding this video my passion was reawakened. I plan on going to a local in the city 30 minutes away from me. And i also recently hit celestial again. So things are looking up

Dark souls and Team Fortress 2 references on top of an amazingly paced video about getting good at one of my favorite fighting games. Amazing work.

Great video! It evoked a feeling in me similar to what I felt watching Barny64's Scarab Lord series, which was an awesome series.

5:22 oooof, the unintentional foreshadowing

I wish you luck on this journey man!

It’s so bonkers that the entire intro is a reference that barely anyone will understand and as someone who does get it, I love that fucking intro

Good luck on evo my guy!!! I know you’ll do well bro 🔥🔥

God I see way to much of myself in the opening segments. Congrats Gekko, great story telling with this video.

I have to say, my favorite part of the movie was your battle against Ino. Mainly for the music, because I instantly recogniced A Stranger I Remain and new thr lirics would kick in at some point, though I doubted it when you changed the music because this was life before being scripted. Keep it up! I don't even play fighting games but you had me hooked

1:02:00 I cried for this man after he won.

5:39 "Get used to seeing the dog girl, cause she's here to stay!" says the now Baiken main XD

The editing was so fucking good here The ino match was a bloody highlight

oh my god the perfect use of "a stranger i remain" in the I-NO fight was just perfect, starting the match with the instrumental version but then the epic build-up of the lyrics at the climactic finish was just beautiful

Hey this vid is pretty goddamn amazing keep up ones like this!

Don't usually comment on videos but gotta say what a great video. Kept me on the edge of my seat! Strive is one of first fighters I decided to get into and am also a gio player, was very inspiring to me to see this.

1:10:15 I LOVE THE NEON WHITE SOUND EFFECT, also makes sense kinda... you did this all mental boomed and dead and the following quote in the game "Pretty good for a dead guy huh" FITS SO GOOD

Bro, I’m 1-hour in I’ve teared up 3x, this is incredible.

Love the work :)

I’m new to fgs so seeing the idea of making a checklist actually made me make one of my own. I’m not very far into it cus im still learning but it’s nice to have something like that. Thank you for the idea and great video

wtf saw the video length and thought nah but here i am at the end. damn good video bro

Never seen you channel before, but I legitimately popped off after you won Sunday Face-off!

Gekko my guy my favorite FGC content creator This is one of my favorite videos on this site. Ever. Amazing job 👍

Christ, this editing is on point!!

It’s criminal that this doesn’t have more views, great video