The recent reveal of Genshin Impact’s next major region, Natlan, and nine of his (apparently playable) characters has reignited criticism of developer HoYoverse’s penchant for researching and borrowing from real-world countries, from Sumeru’s take on the Middle East to Natlan’s riff on what appear to be heavily African and Latin American elements, but filling his renditions almost exclusively with white people or white-passing people. Over a dozen Genshin Impact English voice actors have now joined countless fans in calling for Natlan to have skin tones that match the people of the countries the region is based on.
As Eurogamer It has been reported that Valeria Rodriguez, the English voice of Sucrose, was among the first Genshin voice actors to criticize Natlan’s treatment of real people and their culture.
“If you’re going to use real-world deities, respect them,” she said in a tweet“If you’re basing it on real cultures, respect that. I have no problem with things being inspired by diverse cultures – that’s great. Representation is great. But at least do some research and show some cultural appreciation.”
In response to people’s replies saying they would avoid Genshin’s English voiceover in protest of such comments, Rodriguez later “I’m not deleting my tweets either. Seeing the overwhelming response, both hateful and positive, means I’ve struck a chord. I’m tired of being silent. It’s 2024. We can all do better.”
Rodriguez referenced the Yoruba deity Ọlọrun, who appears to have inspired Natlan’s wolf pup Ororon, and how the god was accurately depicted as dark-skinned in the mythological MOBA Smite, despite Ororon being another pale male. “This is unforgivable,” she said. “Look at the sick job Smite did with their own interpretation!!! This isn’t hard!!!” At the time of writing, this post alone has been printed over 2.7 million times according to Twitter analytics.
Ọlọrun is the supreme deity of the Yoruba. You might even find that out with a quick Google search. It’s unforgivable. Look at the sick job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT’S NOT HARD!!! pic.twitter.com/LbP3nuT3MKJuly 13, 2024
This example was echoed by Alejandro Saab, the voice of Cyno – one of the few dark-skinned characters from Genshin’s Sumeru region, famous for its deserts and rainforests. “I didn’t know he was inspired by him… Ah, that’s bad,” Saab said. said Ororo. “You still have time to fix it.”
Anne Yatco, the voice of Electro Archon Raiden, put it like this:”I really hope that a video game company listens to its fan base when valid criticism is made over several years in a row about the execution of its research and the inclusion of elements/aspects from other cultures.”
Khoi Dao, the voice of Albedo, published a screenshot of a comment that wouldn’t fit in a tweet, again specifically targeting Ororo: “If a game takes so much inspiration from real-world cultures and bases a character on the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like the pale Sasuke Batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, especially when said game has a clear commitment to a global audience. I hope you continue to make your voices heard, and I hope they listen.”
Zeno Robinson, Sethos’ voice actor request“If even your core audience, Chinese fans, are asking for better representation/or characters with different shades of melanin, who are you creating these characters for?”
“I hope they will accept criticism with grace,” said Xinyan and Barbara voiced Laura Stahl. “There’s no feigning ignorance. The source material is rich and the audience was left wanting more,” she added. In a follow-up tweet, Stahl quickly told fans to “not attack the new cast members” because “there was virtually no way for them to know what this was about” and “the conversation we need to have is not with them.”
“It’s just disappointing that parts of the world that are so rarely represented in the media have been able to be accurately represented,” said Allegra Clark, voice actress of Beidou. “I know it’s ‘inspired by’ rather than a 1:1 representation, but if you’re drawing on specific sources, it would be so nice to see it done right!”
Some voice actors spoke more generally, but apparently with deliberate timing (all of these messages came just after the Natlan cast list was revealed) and clear intent. “It shouldn’t be a radical desire to want to see yourself reflected in the media you consume,” said Jenny Yokobori, voice actress for Yoimiya. “Dark skin is beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” said Bill Butts, who voiced a supporting character in Genshin but is better known as Owlerbert in one of HoYo’s other games, Honkai Star Rail.
“We want to be considered and treated equally,” Butts said. said in a later tweet. “Look at our beautiful and diverse backgrounds. Tell the wonderful stories of our people. They are incredible! Look at us as you look at others and smile at our beauty too.”
Christina Costello, the voice of Collei de Sumeru, Express They expressed appreciation for better representation in media and advised fans and creators to “keep creating your stories. Keep sharing your stories. Keep asking for your stories to be shared, to be seen, to be heard. We all deserve it.”
Gorou’s voice actor, Cory Yee sharing a similar thread on “how representation can make a huge difference in someone’s life and why it matters.” In conclusion, Yee writes, “Change is hard and I don’t know what the future holds. And I’m grateful that there have been improvements in representation; they are paramount. But this conversation is and will continue to be important. Stay vigilant and empathetic.”
The voice of the famous absent character Kaveh, Ben Balmaceda, is coincidentally wrote:“One of the things I love about[Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail]is how the story celebrates a wide variety of interesting and developed cultures and how their differences each contribute something unique to create a beautifully diverse and colorful society. I think that’s pretty cool.”
Dani Chambers, the voice of Nilou of Sumeru, directly shared and praised one of the many Natlan artworks circulating, with this example (below) giving Xilonen the lioness a noticeably darker skin tone. “Look how beautiful it is!” Chambers said“I really hope they hear everyone and what’s being said!” Dish, one of Genshin’s biggest Twitch streamers, also said argued that “fan redesigns carry Natlan’s composition I’m afraid” in a thread collecting similar character modifications.
Many of these sentiments have been echoed—literally, with the share button—by other Genshin voice actors who have not (to my knowledge) posted comments. This includes Kayli Mills, the voice of Keqing; Mara Junot, the voice of Lisa; Risa Mei, the voice of Kokomi; Kieran Regan, the voice of Heizou; Kimberley Anne Campbell, the voice of Nahida; Amber May, the voice of Dehya; and Anairis Quinones, the voice of Lynette.
hyv is fast but I’m faster… she’s so good #GenshinImpact #natlan pic.twitter.com/KAZ6zwCOD3July 12, 2024
It certainly didn’t help that, of the few slightly dark-skinned characters playable in Genshin, almost all of them rank among the worst units in the entire game in terms of combat performance. Dehya, Candace, and Xinyan are notoriously terrible, Cyno was one of Sumeru’s weakest five-stars, and Sethos is at best a worse version of existing characters. The strongest dark-skinned character is probably Kaeya, who was released at Genshin’s launch in 2020.
Of the nine Natlan characters revealed so far, the one with the darkest skin, a little girl named Iansan, was also first revealed in 2020, under the name Saab. observed. This model has led to debates about whether HoYoverse is starving the beast, so to speak: if the developer does indeed believe that dark-skinned characters aren’t popular or well-received, it may be because it has repeatedly given them weak and clunky skills for nearly four years, making these characters less appealing for a game where acquiring and building a new unit is a significant investment.
Genshin has seen some backlash over its portrayal before, but nothing on this level. I’ve reached out to HoYoverse for comment on this wave of criticism and will update our report if I hear back.
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