Bayonetta

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Lore & Background

Bayonetta was born in Vigrid from the forbidden union of Lumen Sage Balder and Umbra Witch Rosa, a birth that caused a rift between the clans leading to war. During these conflicts, her childhood friend and rival Jeanne sealed Bayonetta away in a coffin at the bottom of a lake to protect her, erasing her memories for five hundred years. She eventually awakens when journalist Antonio Redgrave is murdered by Balder's angels at the site, an event witnessed by his son Luka. In the first game, she travels to Vigrid where Balder plans to awaken Jubileus to create a new world. There, she encounters Jeanne under Balder's control and her own younger self, Cereza, sent through time. Bayonetta bonds with Cereza, who believes Bayonetta is her mother, before Bayonetta advises the girl to keep treasures close to her heart.

In Their Own Story

The narrative begins five centuries after Bayonetta's sealing, as she awakens in Vigrid following the death of Antonio Redgrave. Pursued by Luka, now a journalist seeking vengeance for his father, she navigates the city fighting angelic forces while uncovering fragments of her history. Her path intersects with Jeanne, who acts under Balder's control, and Cereza, Bayonetta's younger self sent from the past by a Lumen Sage. A pivotal moment occurs when Cereza, believing Bayonetta is her mother, shares a charm given to her by her own mother as a birthday present; Bayonetta tells Cereza to keep things she treasures close to her heart. In Bayonetta 2, the focus shifts as she becomes a demon hunter confronting her own literal demons, moving beyond the initial search for identity into direct confrontation with supernatural threats.

Reader's Guide

Bayonetta's design was crafted over a year through one hundred character alterations by Mari Shimazaki under Hideki Kamiya's direction. She features a modern witch aesthetic using four guns named parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme after the ballad 'Scarborough Fair.' Her outfit is made of her hair, serving as adornment and protection; she loses control of it to summon creatures, shifting into more comfortable attire. Shimazaki gave her longer limbs to counter trends of short, thin female characters, while Kenichiro Yoshimura modeled her backside to be wider and more rounded based on non-Japanese models. For Bayonetta 2, the design shifted to straight lines with blue as a key color due to water themes, featuring new guns named Love is Blue (Toccata, Prelude, Nocturne, Minuet). Her hairstyle was redesigned to reflect her desire not to remain stagnant.

Did You Know?

• Bayonetta's birth name, Cereza, means 'cherry' in Spanish.
• The character designer Mari Shimazaki insisted on a beehive hairstyle to replace the traditional pointed witch hat.
• Hideki Kamiya specifically requested that Bayonetta have an English voice actor because he felt speaking Japanese would not suit the character.
• Jennifer Hale replaced Hellena Taylor for Bayonetta 3 after Taylor alleged she was offered an insulting $4,000 flat rate.
• The outfit color black persisted from early designs as Shimazaki's 'theme color' because Bayonetta is a witch.