this is functionally the beginning of the meta. no tiers have been defined. it's a hard reset of the series. who knows which character actually works in this new set of rules. going with the character that has the most appealing playstyle or design is as good a reason as any. that's how i picked ramlethal in xrd; she played like a guest character due to her weird target combo juggles and i thought she looked cool

maybe giovanna has been designed for onboarding and will make for a better transition for new players. she might not be under-equipped because of universal mechanics like roman cancel and faultless defense. i will say that the thing that makes her unique is the lack of a unique mechanic or play style. millia has her airdash oki, axl is the zoner, ram has her shooting swords, faust has random item toss, nagoriyuki has blood gauge, etc. giovanna has at best a passive buff which isn't very guilty gear