Ensenga is one of Johnny's Special Attacks, first appearing in Guilty Gear XX.
Overview[]
Johnny in one swift motion while in midair, throws out a rectangular bottle of a yellow flammable liquid (likely to be alcohol) before spin-slashing it apart, setting his blade fire to unleash a flame burst before he re-sheathes his blade.
This move can hit overhead via counting as a jumping attack, and also both carries a small bit of Johnny's aerial momentum, and/or completely halts it (if done while at the peak of his jump or when falling) before landing back down on ground. The first hit dubbed as "Enkasu" (where Johnny first cuts the bottle) has different hit properties than the second hit, thus it's a valid air-to-air option or overhead when performed as a Tiger Knee-motion (
+ 
).
In the Guilty Gear Xrd series, May has a version of her own dubbed Ensenga? (燕穿牙？, Ensenga??, lit. Swallow Drill Fang?), where she swings her anchor around, but instead of landing normally, she falls flat on her front, which acts as an extra hit. However, Johnny upon returning in Revelator 2 does not retain his version of the Ensenga.
In Guilty Gear -Strive-, the Ensenga finally returns in Johnny's moveset, but he instead from the ground leaps up in a small arc while throwing the bottle up in tandem, and slashing an upwards-arcing fire trail upon splitting the bottle open with his blade as he lands from his back-sault leap; it can no longer be performed in midair like before nor can it hit overhead.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This attack is likely inspired by the Tsubame Gaeshi (燕返し, Tsubame Gaeshi?, lit. Swallow Return), a technique created by Sasaki Kojiro, a renowned warrior in feudal Japan.
- Samurai Shodown/Spirits' Tachibana Ukyou has a technique of the same name, which also looks strikingly similar to Johnny's Ensenga and is also an airborne fire-slash technique with a similar motion, albeit the former's version being used as a bird-shaped fire projectile in some games.