The recent reveal of Genshin Impact’s next major region, Natlan, and nine of his (apparently playable) characters has sparked criticism over 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 which almost exclusively populates his portrayals with white or white-passing people. More than a dozen of Genshin Impact’s English voice actors have now joined legions of fans calling for Natlan to adopt skin tones that match the people of the countries the region is based on.
If Eurogamer Reportedly, Valeria Rodríguez, the English voice of Sucrose, was one of the first Genshin voice actors to criticize Natlan’s treatment of real people and their culture.
“If you’re going to use real gods, respect them,” she said in a tweet. “If you’re going to be based on real cultures, respect that. I think it’s fine if things are inspired by different cultures – that’s great. Representation is dope. But at least do some research and show some cultural appreciation.”
In response to comments from people saying they would avoid Genshin’s English voiceover in protest of such remarks, Rodríguez said later confirmed “I’m not deleting my tweets either. The massive response, both hateful and positive, means I’ve hit a nerve. I’m done being silent. It’s 2024. We can all do better.”
Rodríguez pointed to the Yoruba deity Ọlọrun, who was apparently the inspiration for Natlan’s wolf cub Ororon, and how the god was accurately depicted with dark skin in the mythological MOBA Smite, while Ororon is another pale man. “This is unforgivable,” she said. “Look what a sick job Smite did with their own interpretation!!! It’s not hard!!!” As of writing, this post alone has over 2.7 million impressions, according to Twitter analytics.
Ọlọrun Is the supreme Yoruba deity. You could even find that with a quick google search. This is unforgivable. Look what some sick job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT’S NOT HARD!!! pic.twitter.com/LbP3nuT3MKJuly 13, 2024
This example was picked up by Alejandro Saab, the voice of Cyno – one of the few somewhat dark-skinned characters from Genshin’s Sumeru region, famous for its deserts and tropical rainforests. “I didn’t know he was based on that… Ah, that’s bad,” Saab said from Ororo. “You still have time to fix it.”
Anne Yatco, the voice of Electro Archon Raiden, put it this way: “I really hope a video game company listens to its fans when there are several years in a row of legitimate criticisms of the conduct of the research and the inclusion of elements/aspects of other cultures.”
Khoi Dao, the voice of Albedo, Posted a screenshot of a comment that wouldn’t fit in a tweet, again specifically aimed at Ororo: “When a game draws so heavily on real cultures and bases a character on the supreme god of the Yoruba religion, and that character looks like the pale Sasuke Batman, then people absolutely have the right to demand better representation, especially when the game has a clearly stated dedication to a global audience. I hope you continue to make your voices heard, and I hope they listen.”
Sethos voice actor Zeno Robinson wondered“If even your core audience, the Chinese fans, is asking for better representation/characters with different shades of melanin, who are you making these characters for?”
“I hope they take the criticism with grace,” said Xinyan and Barbara voice actor Laura Stahl. “There is no feigning ignorance. The source material is rich and the audience was left hungry,” she added. In a follow-up tweet, Stahl was quick to tell fans to “don’t attack the new cast members” because “there was virtually no way any of them could have known what this was” and “the conversation we need to be having is not with them.”
“It’s just disappointing that parts of the world that are so rarely reflected in the media can be accurately portrayed,” said Beidou voice actor Allegra Clark. “I know this is ‘inspired by’ rather than a 1:1 representation, but if you’re using specific sources, it would be so cool to see how it’s done!”
Some voice actors spoke more broadly, but seemingly with deliberate timing—all of these messages came shortly after the Natlan roster reveal—and with clear intent. “It shouldn’t be a radical desire to want to see yourself reflected in the media you consume,” said Yoimiya voice actor Jenny Yokobori. “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 Owlbert in another of HoYo’s games, Honkai Star Rail.
“We want to be looked at and treated equally,” Butts said said in a later tweet. “Look at our beautiful and diverse backgrounds. Tell the beautiful 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 Sumeru’s Collei, expressed appreciation for improved 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, for them to be seen, for them to be heard. We all deserve it.”
Gorou voice actor Cory Yee shared a similar thread about “how representation can make a huge difference in someone’s life and why it matters.” In closing, 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’re of the utmost importance. But this conversation is and will always be important. Stay vigilant and stay empathetic.”
The voice of the famous absent character Kaveh, Ben Balmaceda, coincidentally wrote: “A [of] the things i like about [Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail] is how the story is a celebration of a wide variety of interestingly developed cultures and how their differences each contribute something unique to create a wonderfully diverse and colorful society. Just think that’s pretty cool.”
Dani Chambers, the voice of Sumeru’s Nilou, immediately shared and praised one of the many pieces of Natlan fan art that had been circulating, with this example (below) giving the lion girl Xilonen noticeably darker skin. “Look how beautiful this looks!” Chambers said. “I really hope they hear everyone and what’s being said!” One of Genshin’s bigger Twitch streamers, Dish, also said: argued that “I fear the fan redesigns will include the Natlan cast” in a thread collecting similar character changes.
Many of these sentiments have been shared – literally, via the share button – by other Genshin voice actors who (as far as I know) have not posted comments themselves. These include Kayli Mills, voice of Keqing; Mara Junot, voice of Lisa; Risa Mei, voice of Kokomi; Kieran Regan, voice of Heizou; Kimberley Anne Campbell, voice of Nahida; Amber May, voice of Dehya; and Anairis Quinones, voice of Lynette.
hyv is fast but i’m faster… she’s so nice #GenshinImpact #natlan pic.twitter.com/KAZ6zwCOD3July 12, 2024
It certainly hasn’t helped that of the few light-dark characters playable in Genshin, almost all of them are among the worst units in the entire game in terms of combat performance. Dehya, Candace, and Xinyan are notoriously terrible, Cyno was one of the weakest five-stars in Sumeru, and Sethos is at best a worse version of existing characters. Arguably the strongest dark character is 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, as Saab noticedThis pattern has led to debates about HoYoverse starving the beast, so to speak: if the developer does indeed think that dark characters aren’t popular or well-received, perhaps it’s because it has repeatedly given them weak and clunky abilities for nearly four years, making these characters less appealing to a game where acquiring and building a new unit is a significant investment.
Genshin has seen backlash over representation before, but nothing on this level. I’ve reached out to HoYoverse for comment on this wave of criticism and will update our coverage if I receive a response.
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