Giovanna

Foreword

Giovanna is a fast, versatile rushdown character characterised by her potent strike-throw, powerful special moves and incredible step-dash. Her attack speed is top notch and once she gains momentum, she has the tools to maintain a powerful advantage. In this guide I will cover each move in detail, as well as combos and setplay.

Meter Boost

Gio’s unique mechanic is her Metre Boost. This is a state she enters after exceeding a certain threshold of Tension, visually indicated by either the dog or her skin glowing a brighter colour of green. In Metre Boost, she gains higher damage values on her moves, as well as an absurd defence stat and chip on her normals, a trait unique to her.

• The damage boost is an approximate 5% increase at 50% Tension, and 10% at full Tension. This buff applies to her Overdrives as well, depleting after the move has entered recovery frames.
• The defence value improves from 1.03 to 097 at half Tension, and then to .93 at full Tension. This puts her on par with Potemkin for the highest defence value in the game.
• Her chip from normal moves starts at 12% at half Tension and increases to 25% at full Tension. 25% chip is the standard for special moves, which means she can get serious damage on blocking opponents with her blockstrings.

Legend

Moveset Rundown

Normals
	As far as jabs go, Giovanna's 5P is actually one of the better ones. It's tied for the third fastest move in the game, clocking in at 4 frames of startup. Without dash momentum, however, you're not looking at any worthwhile conversions. Dash-in 5P > 6P xx 214K works, but most of the time you won't be dashing in with 5P. It is possible to get 5P, 5P xx 623S, but the cancel window is tight. You're usually safest using 5P, 5P > 6P off of an abare situation, which should give enough time to Roman Cancel for more damage if needed.
	Gio's 2P is 1 frame slower than her 5P, but has a longer reach, and has 1 frame more of recovery. Much like 5P, this move is -2 on block, so it's pretty safe to throw out. Apart from that, it shares many of the same features as 5P, such as combo routes.
	6P is where Giovanna's strong tools come to the forefront. An incredible anti-air, it opens up great combos, namely into 214K, that allows her to get her gameplan up and running. Its best offensive utility is creating a frametrap from her K normals, catching foes who may be conditioned into throwing you during the gap in your 5K xx 214K blockstrings. It's a strong contender for being the default combo option from lights, since it can reliably go into your specials given correct spacing, such as 214K or 623S.
	5K is a cornerstone of Gio's neutral. A fantastic poke, you'll most often see Gios use this move thrown out in neutral or to catch whiff punishes. It has a decent amount of range, but it isn't disjointed. Also good safejump starter. My favourite thing about the move is that it will pretty reliably net you a 214K on hit, which allows Gio to get great damage from a poke using Roman Cancel if you're willing to spend the meter. As such, in combos it tends to be a starter, converting easily into reliable damage. You'll also find it used in juggle situations, and my favourite use, off of a 236K, more on that later. When used on dash-in, you're usually spaced just perfectly enough to get a throw after the 5K animation plays. That's pretty handy, since you tend to be throwing a lot of 5Ks out in certain matchups anyway. Be careful not to get overexcited though as if you fuck up and press D too early, you'll get a 5D, which is yucky disgusting on block and generally a terrible idea.
	Gio's main low. -2, just like 5K, and shares the same feature of reliably comboing into 214K. However, an advantage this move has over 5K is that its not throw-punishable on block, which lets you get away with robbery in neutral. Naturally, this comes at the expense of being more difficult to land. You'll usually use this move to interrupt blockstrings, and catch risky moves like Nagoriyuki's Fukyo (his weird special dash). The low stance Gio takes when tossing this move out allows you to low profile certain attacks.
	c.S, the successful sibling of the family. If 5K is holding down a steady job and offers to help pay for petrol, c.S takes everyone out to expensive dinner and even lets you get dessert. c.S does a little bit of everything. It's your main starter, reaching astonishing levels of damage on counterhit or normal hit. It can be jump and dash cancelled, allowing it to work fantastic OTG as a setup for safejumps and if that wasn't enough, it acts as the cornerstone for her ever-present strike-throw mix. It's also +3 on block! Learning what c.S can do is a great place to start for beginner players who want to learn what Giovannais all about. In combos, c.S is used either as a combo starter into something like 2H, f.S or 5H, or in the middle of a combo in order extend from another move. Be careful of the range at which you use this move, as you don't want to accidentally get a f.S when you mean to get a c.S.
	f.S is a pretty decent midscreen option. It has a lot of hits, which means your opponent is gonna be blocking for a while. This also makes it pretty nice to convert into, usually with 5H. When you use this move in conjunction with dash momentum, you keep sliding while the kicks come out, which means you can occupy a lot of space on screen for a long time. Just make sure you don't end up whiffing, as the move has some pretty long recovery. It can also be low profiled, so keep an eye on that!
	Underrated gem, in my opinion. Just like f.S, this one is a multi-hit. But, unlike f.S, it hits low. If defended against using Faultless Defense, the second hit will usually whiff, and with a 15 frame recovery window, you could be punished. Despite this, this move has a lot going for it. If the opponent uses the Faultless Defense trick, you can catch them with 5H. It gatlings out of c.S, and catches foes trying to jump out of your strike-throw pressure, adding another layer to her lockdown pressure. When hitting a close slash in the corner, some of her more optimal damage routes add a 2S after the c.S and before the 2H.
	Powerful poke with a disjointed hitbox at the tip. Catches bozos swinging for the nines and is a valuable tool for raw damage and battling with disjoints. Wallbounces on air hit and works as great combo filler when gatling cancelled from slash buttons. Decent combo starter too! 10 frame startup and -5 on block, but otherwise invaluable tool in her arsenal. This move shouldn't be ignored as a valuable option from round start, also. Generally very high risk, the reward is also rather high. It loses to faster options, but some characters with very threatening round start tools such as Nagoriyuki are often taken by surprise. On counter hit, you can get funky with combo options.
	One of Gio's bigger changes from when the game first release was to this move. This move launches when comboed into from moves like c.S, and actually vacuums on hit and block. This means her combo structure changed, and some of her highest damage combos see her using c.S to start the combo, 2H to launch and vacuum to the other side of her and 214S to extend. Most potent as combo filler, this move can also be used to frametrap 6Ps, but this is not advised.
	6H is probably a move you don't see a lot of top Gios use, and its not without reason. As far as combo enders go, she has more worthwhile tools with her special moves which set up for better knockdown scenarios or just do more damage. However, what 6H has going for it is easy access to corner carry and can also be used to wallbreak. 6H is styled similarly to a Rekka special move in that it can be split into three distinct parts, notated as 6H, 6HH and 6HHH. 6H and 6HH are special cancellable and super cancellable, which means you can get some more typical damage and knockdown using them, but 6HHH is not special nor super cancellable. 6HH can be cancelled into j.236236H for high damage and wallbreak.
	5D is your universal overhead button, even if it doesn't look like it. Useful to hit opponents conditioned into blocking low and can be Roman Cancelled into higher damage or knockdown. 5[D] is your typical charge dust attack, leading to a high damage combo if you're willing to learn it. 5[D] is also your highest damage meterless wallbreak option, if you have the time to hit it.
	Good lord. Perhaps Gio's most egreegle move, the slow start up this move has does not stop it from catching people by surprise. This move is an incredibly long range low, and is even DISJOINTED for most of this range. It's also a combo starter, and like all good starters, it's cheap as fuck. Usually, you can get a nice 214K for your troubles, but on counterhit the world is your oyster, going as far as carrying to corner from pretty far midscreen. Overall, you're going to catch people off guard with this move, and when you're not, they'll know to fear and respect it.
Jumping normals
	Bog standard air jab. It's fine if you need to mash something in the air, but it's nothing to write home about. Definitely a tool she'd rather have than not have.
	This is an aerial I'm personally very fond of. In those chance opportunities you have, this allows you to add an element of mix, since it hits both forward and behind. Gio already has magnificent tools for opening up her opponents, and this just adds to it. This aerial move is both jump and airdash cancellable, but if you get the backhit, cancelling into 214S might be a great option for some nice damage, or even as a double overhead on block.
	This move is a funky one. It functions as a good air-to-air button, and much like j.K, is jump and airdash cancellable. what this move excels at in particular is hitting opposing aerials that have a particularly large downwards disjoint, like Ram's j.H.
	The everyman aerial. Your best counterhit jump-in aerial, as well as your best safejump button. It has a particularly effective gatling into j.D, which is where you'll often find it used the most in combos. It has good air-to-air reward, and a decent downward hitbox. Just like oreo milkshakes, this move is a crowd pleaser, as its airdash cancellable and jump cancellable for even more combo magic.
	The last of her aerials, this is a multihitter. Say it with me folks! Jump and airdash cancellable. This one is handy for a cheeky bit of mix, making your opponent really have to think about when to start blocking low, or keep blocking high. You can often link this guy into itself in certain situations by air dash cancelling the first one, so keep that one in mind especially in situations where you're getting up close and personal with the corner.
Throws
	The non-strike part of her strike-throw mixup. Dash throw is a powerful tool to catch foes holding back, usually when you condition them with 5K pokes. Throwing is a great way to open up your opponent, and secure damage with Roman Cancel. Just make sure you wait long enough for them to reach the ground before you attempt a combo.
	Handy anti-air/air-to-air, catches opponents who are too happy to airdash past you.
Specials
	"Swiss army knife of specials", Updog is Gio's answer to combo enders. Easy to combo into and a fantastic option to extend off of with Roman Cancel. It's also safe on block, so it's a strong contender for your blockstrings. Oftentimes, you can even get a 5K from a 214K, extending your combo for a little extra damage. Updog can also net you a pretty nice hard knockdown, allowing you to run your shit a lot more often. There's not a whole lot unique about this move, it's just an incredibly versatile move and as such a powerful option for Giovanna to use.
	A special move with perhaps a little more nuance is 236K, affectionately called "Drill". Drill is one of the many reasons why Gio dislikers will insist she's always plus, as it is a staggering +4 on block and reaches (near) fullscreen at you. It's Gio's version of a Tatsu, being her response to projectiles via being totally immune to most of them. However, this move is entirely reactable and can be punished by anyone's 6P, so be especially cautious tossing it out of nowhere at an opponent who's ready. On normal hit, this move can be linked into 5K for easy damage and conversion if you're willing to spend the bar. Also fantastic counterhit reward, which can make the situations where you can hit the move even better.
	Affectionately called DP, this one is more like a dedicated anti-air special. On air hit, you can get a pretty nice combo reward, but you shouldn't expect that kind of benefit from hitting a grounded opponent. Also pretty rewarding on counter hit! When it comes to invulnerability, things get a little weird. Much like 6P, at the start you can expect upper body intangibility, letting you get those bastards with their jump-ins. However! Towards the end, you're actually lower body intangible, which means you can avoid poorly timed lows. The way to tell the difference is when she has both of her hands on the ground she loses to lows. This move is also airborne at a certain time, which means with a little practise, you can get a pretty nasty high-low mix at different times Roman Cancel by either doing an aerial normal or a grounded low normal.
	Flip! Flip has quickly risen the ranks to become one of my favourite moves. During Gio's rework, the drugs the dev team must've smoked led them to create some nasty new combos with this move. As mentioned earlier, this move is often used with a c.S > 2H starter. The 2H vacuums the opponent's helpless body backwards, allowing them to be hit with the starting hit of this move only, tossing them into the air for a rinse repeat. This lets Giovanna get sicknasty damage off of a pretty safe starter, which I call "Flip loop". This move isn't just useful in combos however, because that wouldn't be enough. It's also a disjointed overhead on the late hitbox! It clashes with DPs after c.S, and if you've seen the twitter clips, can also stuff some reversal supers. You can also alter the trajectory of this move a little bit to the left or right by inputting 4 or 6, which makes it potent as a left-right 50/50 tool! Trust me, people are gonna get caught by this move from time to time, either by the overhead property or the left-right mix, so make sure to be ready to Roman Cancel for a big opportunity. Oh, also it's 2 frames safer if you Tiger Knee the move. Overall, a lot to learn about this move! And a lot to optimise.
Supers
	Ventania is Giovanna's main super. This move provides two important functions for Giovanna, the first being that it is a fantastic high-damage combo ender. The sheer damage that this move provides is magnificent, and you will very often find opportunities to use this move, be they on wallbreak or cancelled from a normal. Breaking wall with a super is usually ideal, not only for higher damage, but the knockdown reward is superior to that of your other wallbreak options. Another use this move provides is that it is invincible on startup, so if you have the meter to burn and think your opponent will try and throw a move out, you can counter them with a powerful reversal.
	I call this one the "let them cook" super. Generally, you don't want to spend valuable meter on an inferior super, especially not a character like Giovanna with impressive Roman Cancel options and a Meter Boost mechanic. However, this divekick-super when used raw can catch foes by surprise, and is a decent option to break walls when the opponent is pinned against the wall by 6H. It's also very safe on block, capable of being +6, so if nothing else it makes for a great way to zip safely to the ground.