Arc System Works surprise-released Episode 1 of the official spin-off short anime for the fighting game, GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- (hereafter GGST), titled The Melancholy of Erika Bartholomew, on its official YouTube channel. English subtitles are also available via YouTube’s closed caption feature.
Follow-up episodes starting with Episode 2 will be released daily moving forward.
Episode 1 of Official GGST Short Anime, The Melancholy of Erika Bartholomew, Released! Discover a New Side of GGST in This Spin-Off
This short anime is a slapstick two-minute feature showcasing the daily life of Erika Bartholomew, a supporting character in GGST.
It reflects Guilty Gear’s active approach to multimedia expansion, alongside the in-game Story Mode included in GGST and the TV anime, DUAL RULERS.
Episode 1 also features playable character Goldlewis Dickinson.
The story follows Erika, Chief of Staff to the President of the United States, as she agonizes over Secretary Dickinson’s fighting style—which costs the state budget a small fortune.
Notably, the series explicitly states that “these events have nothing to do with the main story.”
Perhaps because of this non-canonical setting, the episode features meta-jokes unimaginable in the main campaign, such as “The more popular (among the GGST players) the Secretary gets, the more the state budget goes down the drain…”
突然はじまりましたが、本日から毎日公開予定です！
※本編とは関係ありそうでありません。 https://t.co/kdYVnVJtpL— Ken Miyauchi / 宮内 健 (@KenM_ASW) August 10, 2026
According to GGST producer Ken Miyauchi (@KenM_ASW), new short anime episodes will be released daily.
Fans can look forward to surprising character moments for other GGST roster members in upcoming episodes.
To catch upcoming episodes, check out the Official Arc System Works YouTube Channel.
#GGST ショートアニメ #エリカさんの憂鬱 にてエリカ＝バーソロミューを演じております！
エリカさんの日常が見られるなんて嬉しい✨️😳
どうぞよろしくお願いいたします！！ https://t.co/QUAGLpRnFX— 田澤茉純 (@masu_mikan) August 10, 2026