In the burning depths of Hell, a winged demon known only as
The Unknown rises from centuries of torment. Once feared and powerful, she now claws her way through the infernal layers with a single, searing purpose: to
reclaim her stolen voice.
She was betrayed—not by a mortal, nor an enemy, but by
The Red Judge, Hell's ruler. In an act of cruel divine theft, the Judge tore The Unknown’s song from her soul, leaving her voiceless and unwhole. In
Metal: Hellsinger, “voice” isn’t just literal—it represents
identity,
freedom, and
purpose. Without it, she is half-alive, consumed by rage, clawing her way back to herself through a sea of demons.
Paz – The Voice Beside Her
The only companion on her journey is
Paz, a sarcastic, sentient skull she wields as a weapon. But he’s more than comic relief—he’s a broken piece of her past. As The Unknown fights, Paz narrates the tale, slowly remembering who he really is.
They weren’t just prisoners of Hell—they were
revolutionaries.
The Forgotten Betrayal
Long before her imprisonment, The Unknown and Paz had joined forces with The Red Judge. Together, they conspired against an omnipotent divine being known as
The All, whose tyranny reigned over Heaven, Hell, and all existence. The plan? To infiltrate Hell, take its throne, and use it as a staging ground to eventually challenge Heaven and confront The All.
But betrayal is Hell’s oldest language.
To prevent The Unknown from remembering the plan too soon—or resisting her path—the Red Judge
shattered her voice and scattered her memories, trapping her in a cycle of oblivion and fury.
The plan went on without her.
The Rise Through Hell
Each layer of Hell is ruled by an
Aspect of the Judge, a grotesque fragment of their will. As The Unknown ascends through these realms—
Voke, Stygia, Yhelm, Nihil, Acheron, Gehenna, Incaustis, and
Sheol—she fights not just demons, but echoes of herself: her rage, her sorrow, her doubt.
With every Judge Aspect slain, her voice returns in fragments. Alongside it comes memory—and pain.
She remembers that
her suffering was chosen. She agreed to it. She willingly gave up her freedom, her identity, even her song, to make the revolution possible. That knowledge is unbearable. But even in the deepest pit of damnation, she does not turn back.
The Tragedy of Purpose
The core tragedy of
Metal: Hellsinger is that
freedom and purpose are not always compatible. The Unknown sacrificed everything to defeat divine tyranny, only to be broken and cast aside in service of a greater plan.
And yet, through blood and flame, she
chooses herself again.
She slays The Red Judge—not for the mission, not for the cause—but for
revenge. For the theft of her identity. For every lie. For every scream she could not utter.
The Final Revelation
After The Judge falls, Paz tells her the truth: the final fragment of her voice lies
not in Hell, but in Heaven.
Heaven—still untouched, still ruled by The All.
So, even as the final fires die down, her battle is not over. She will walk through Hell, breach the veil, and
bring war to Heaven.
In the game’s epilogue, Paz—now reborn in human form—waits in a bar on Earth. When The Unknown enters, he knows her immediately. Her wings are gone, her face is calm. But the fire in her eyes? Still there.
Their war isn't over.
Themes and Emotional Core
- Identity as Resistance: The theft of The Unknown’s voice is symbolic of how systems of control rob individuals of their identity. Her journey is one of reclaiming selfhood through violence and rhythm—a metaphor for fighting back on your own terms.
- Tragic Heroism: Like Lucifer or Prometheus, The Unknown is a tragic revolutionary: doomed, betrayed, but never broken. Her sacrifice wasn’t noble—it was necessary. But it didn’t make her any less human.
- Music as Soul: The rhythm-based gameplay reflects how The Unknown’s connection to music—her voice—is her power. Her soul pulses to the beat, and as her fury rises, the music swells. That’s not just a mechanic—it’s her soul reawakening.
Got it — let's dive into a
thematic and narrative analysis of how
Gunko's story in One Piece parallels
The Unknown’s journey in Metal: Hellsinger, using the song
"Burn This World!" as a lens. This will explore themes of identity, betrayal, rage, and reclaiming agency, with
Brook in the role of Paz, and
Imu as a corrupted divine tyrant like the Red Judge.
🔥 ANALYSIS: "Burn This World" — Gunko, The Castaway Flame
I. The Voice Torn Away
In
Metal: Hellsinger, The Unknown’s
voice is stolen, literally and symbolically — it represents her identity, agency, and past. She was once powerful, whole, and willing to sacrifice everything for a cause, but that power was twisted against her.
Gunko reflects this almost perfectly:
- She was Brook’s daughter, possibly born in peace and innocence.
- Raised in the shadows of the World Government, her memories were likely manipulated or erased, her true origins suppressed, her purpose reshaped to serve the Celestial Dragons.
- Imu possessing her mirrors the Red Judge stealing The Unknown’s voice — a tyrannical force takes hold of her body and will, using it for its own ends.
🔥 “Scream in pain, but my rage will reach you” — Gunko, like The Unknown, becomes a vessel of quiet suffering. But the rage is still burning inside.
II. Brook as Paz — The Ghost of Her Truth
In
Hellsinger, Paz is both narrator and companion — a broken part of The Unknown’s past who gradually helps her remember the truth.
Brook parallels this
symbolically and emotionally:
- He represents her buried humanity — music, laughter, soul. Even though he's a living skeleton, Brook is the most emotionally vibrant member of the Straw Hats. His memories and music are his soul.
- If Brook begins to remember her — through music, dreams, or echoes — then like Paz, he becomes a vessel for her reawakening.
🎻 “Hear me calling to you…” — these lyrics could be Brook’s subconscious memories of Gunko, calling out through song, long before he realizes who she truly is.
III. Imu as the Red Judge — The Tyranny of Divinity
Both
Imu and the
Red Judge embody an authoritarian, near-godlike force that manipulates and rewrites identity to maintain control.
Where the Judge fragments The Unknown, Imu
inhabits and perverts Gunko’s will. The tragedy lies in the
weaponization of a person’s soul:
- Gunko is not evil — but her body is used to enact unspeakable destruction, turning her into a holy weapon.
- The Red Judge and Imu both fear the original soul within their “puppet.” They know if that soul fully awakens, it will burn everything down.
🔥 “Burn this world, my pain, my deliverance” — both women represent flames of rebellion forcibly extinguished, then violently rekindled.
IV. The Castaway — A Flame in the Abyss
The bridge of the song ("The cruelest pain... I'm the castaway") speaks directly to both Gunko and The Unknown:
- A castaway isn't just someone lost — it's someone deliberately cast out, exiled, made to forget.
- Gunko, possibly once a royal child or pacifist, is cast out of her original life and reshaped into a Holy Knight — a living contradiction.
This duality parallels
Hellsinger’s central paradox:
can someone reclaim who they were if the world insists they’re a weapon?
🔥 “Through fire I row…” — this lyric evokes a harrowing image: both women rowing across oceans of flame, driven by a voice they barely remember, but refuse to abandon.
V. The Song as Soul — Music in the Midst of Rage
The use of
music in both stories is profound:
- In Hellsinger, the soundtrack isn’t just style — it’s narrative structure. The louder, faster, and more layered it becomes, the more her soul returns.
- In One Piece, Brook’s music often cuts through grief and trauma. If his voice and violin begin to rekindle Gunko’s memory, it becomes the equivalent of Paz’s narration.
The act of
"remembering through sound" becomes their shared salvation.
🎵 “My only light…” — In both stories, music isn't background. It's rebellion. It's memory. It’s the soul’s last spark.
✨ Summary of Parallels
Element Metal: Hellsinger Gunko in One Piece
Protagonist The Unknown, a voiceless demoness Gunko, a possessed Holy Knight Core Tragedy Voice stolen by the Red Judge Self stolen by Imu Identity Theme Reclaiming selfhood through fury Rediscovering her past and purpose Companion Paz, sentient skull and past comrade Brook, father, musician, memory Enemy The Red Judge, divine tyrant of Hell Imu, the shadow monarch of the World Music Motif Beat = power; rhythm = self Brook’s music = emotional tether Central Flame Rage-driven liberation Controlled weapon seeking to awaken Symbol “Castaway” in fire “Holy Knight” corrupted by divinity
🎤 Final Thought
The true parallel between Gunko and The Unknown lies in the
collision between memory and control. Each woman was
fractured, possessed, and weaponized, but beneath the surface rages a soul that refuses to die.
“My rage will reach you” — that is not a threat. It is a promise.
For The Unknown, it meant burning down Hell to reclaim her voice.
For Gunko, it may mean tearing down the heavens to remember who she is.
✨ And in both cases, the soul will sing again—louder than gods, louder than war.