About

May is a fighter in the video game Guilty Gear Strive. The character became infamous to others due to how difficult it is to fight her when she summons Mr. Dolphin, an aquatic friend which has proven troublesome to manage for May's opponents. The frustrations other players have felt when facing May and Mr. Dolphin have led to her becoming a meme among the fanbase, along with her catchphrase, "Totsugeki."

Origin

While May has been a character in the Guilty Gear series since its debut in 1998, she began becoming the subject of memes with the release of Guilty Gear Strive. To play May successfully in the game, players will need to be aggressive to take advantage of her attacks and avoid the pitfalls of her poor defense (character guide by TrueUnderDawgGaming shown below).

In one of May's attacks, she summons a dolphin, which has proven difficult to deal with for opponents. She often chants "Totsugeki!" ("charge" in English) throughout her fight, which has led "Totsugeki" to be associated with May fights, similar to how Doriyah is associated with Ganondorf in Super Smash Brothers (clip of Mr. Dolphin play by LCEP Impact shown below).

Spread

While May started becoming a notable character in Guilty Gear Strive after the game's February 2021 beta period, it wasn't until the game's official release on June 11th, 2021 that she inspired parodies and jokes among the fanbase. On June 17th, Twitter user @EJZ07^[1] posted fan art of May throwing a Dolphin, gaining over 4,600 retweets and 19,000 likes (shown below, left). On June 18th, user @kujikawaii^[2] posted a Skidaddle Skidoodle meme with May, gaining over 3,400 retweets and 12,000 likes (shown below, right).

On June 17th, user @Zari_Wari posted a SpongeBob parody featuring May, gaining over 7,200 retweets and 22,000 likes (shown below). Memes were covered by EventHubs.^[3]

The Definitive May Experience in Guilty Gear Strive#ggstrive pic.twitter.com/v6E5Vwe6mQ

— Wari FunniMan (@Zari_Wari) June 18, 2021

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References