I-No

I-No
Guilty Gear character
I-No from Epic Seven
First gameGuilty Gear X2 (2002)
Created byDaisuke Ishiwatari[1]
Based onRingo Sheena[2]
Voiced byEN: Amber Lee Connors[3]
JA: Kikuko Inoue[4]

I-No (Japanese: イノ, Hepburn: Ino) /iːnoʊ/ is a character in Arc System Works' Guilty Gear fighting game series. Created by Daisuke Ishiwatari and first appearing in the 2002 video game Guilty Gear X2, she was originally conceived as a replacement for previous character Justice in the title, and a combination of a wizard and a musician. Ishiwatari designed her to be "the ultimate erotic character", making her cruel and sexually aggressive, while basing her physical appearance on musician Ringo Sheena. In the game's setting, she is a minion of series villain Asuka R. Kreutz, though works towards her own goals, and often manipulates the other fighters against each other. Since her initial appearance, she has since gone on to appear as a playable character in most Guilty Gear series titles, as well as several mobile games. She is voiced in Japanese by Kikuko Inoue, and by Amber Lee Connors in the English localization of Guilty Gear Strive.

I-No has been praised for both her character's sex appeal, but also her high difficulty as a boss in Guilty Gear X2. Called one of the fighting game genre's "most magnetic fighters" by Destructoid, approval from media outlets also came in regards to her character and how she emphasized "evil as sexy", and fit the image of a "rock and roll lifestyle". Though some complained that she was often shown being defeated in the game's story, her presence as a manipulator working towards her own goals and the twists with her character also saw praise. Meanwhile fan reactions to her were seen as breathing life into the character, and that her counter-compliant nature provided her with an illusion of agency.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference midnightcarnival was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference midnightcarnival-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Dennison, Kara (February 27, 2022). "Amber Lee Connors to Play Lead Role in Komi Can't Communicate Dub". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference badass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).