addressing my statement on cyno: yes this video was made & edited before the 4.6 livestream and yes i can't wait to play his second story quest BCS ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME
Neuvillette's story gives me hope for Capitano. I realy hope they stick with the uber powerful but honorable and noble member of the Harbingers while still giving him the nuance to show why he is the way he is. Also, plz keep the helmet on Hoyo.
Nilou's story quest is the most underrated and misunderstood quest of all characters, her story is about exploring the meaning and expression of art, it speaks directly to me as someone who went to art school. Most people's negative reaction to that quest is exactly why the Sages and Inayah's father are against art, just like how art is oppressed in real life. And even this reaction is normal, artists like Nilou and Inayah will continue to do what they do despite people not understanding them, just like in real life.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHatthats entirely true the only issue is that they didnt really execute it well, the message was there but it wasnt really presented well considering how it flew over 90% of peoples heads. With chioris or baizhus or yoimiyas quest we can easily see what the point of the quest was in relation to the characters attributes bit nilous quest was so unclear with that message especially considering how little was actually spent on nilou. it felt more like a world quest ft-Nilou. Its not that the quest lacks a purpose, they simply didnt show the purpose well.
I think that Xingqiu has a very endearing backstory to him that usually gets overlooked, like, people just think that he is some bookworm kid that likes to bully Chongyun and thats it, when there is so much more to him, you just have to dig a little deeper. I find it so relateable how he struggles between the life he wants to live and the life he is forced to live by his family, and how he has to constantly lie and put up an act while edging closer and closer to a breaking point where he wont be able to take it anymore. I would love to see Hoyo explore his story more!
There's a lot of context about Xingqiu that the West doesn't get because of loss in translation and just generally not knowing about CN culture, this also applies to every character. Xingqiu's character archetype is the Wuxia hero, Wuxia is a very culturally dense genre that just doesn't exist in the West. In fact it's impossible talk about it without even using CN itself. First his name Xingqiu 行秋, is made up of the words "walk/travel" and "Autumn", this name is derived from the Wuxia phrase "行走江湖/xing zhou jiang hu", "to walk the rivers and lakes". Jianghu/Rivers and Lakes is the Wuxia metaphorical term for the "world of martial arts", one who travels this world is called a Wuxia/ martial hero. In Xingqiu's eyes, the Traveler is the epitome of a Wuxia hero, he straight up says that in many of his lines throughout the years, he actually looks up to your adventures and travels. He also explains his idea and love for Wuxia during the Waterborne Poetry event while talking to Noelle and Mika when they were exploring and camping together. Secondly, why is Xingqiu called "Walking Autumn"? In Wuxia, it usually exists a nostalgic and golden era of the world of martial arts, and this era is often called the "Spring", where martial artists and heroes are everywhere and competition between the skillful is plentiful. Xingqiu's name implies and characterises him as someone who is born and thinks he is born at a time past the Spring, golden age of martial arts. He is born in a time of peace and heroes are no longer a common sight, which is why he desires to be a hero and has great nostalgia for the age of martial arts and heroes, which is why he picked up the long "dead" martial arts of the Guhua Clan. Guhua being one of the few humans, a great hero who transcended and actually reached Celestia. Xingqiu's love for reading got him into ancient legends and myths, creating an obsession for the age of heroes for him, which is why he now has a secret hero/Wuxia identity where he skips work for more heroic travels. There's a ton of such context that would require essays to talk about, the entire Wuxia context of Liyue is lost to the West. Such as Keqing who is born from a long line of extremely rich merchants, she could have lived her life off old money and never work a single day. However on the other side of the family is the Yunlai Clan, the exact same clan that Qiqi came from since the Archon Wars. Both Keqing and Qiqi have purple hair and red eyes showing their lineage. Being a descendant of both ancient Wuxia warriors who fought in the Archon War and one of the oldest prestige families, Keqing grew up both trained in the sword and pen. On top of that she believes that humans should not rely on gods and instead take responsibility for themselves; so rather than just being a rich princess, she dedicated her entire life to serving people when she has no obligation to do so, just like a Wuxia hero . Keqing actually is like a fully realised Xingqiu, being born from both merchants and Wuxia clan, she lives the life that Xingqiu dreams of having. Also Qiqi is Keqing's ancient ancestor, probably a great, great, great... grand aunt from 2000 years ago. Qiqi's Qing dynasty costume also means that during the Archon War, it is equivalent to China's Qing dynasty. She actually has huge context behind her going all the way back to the first emperor Qin Shi Huang and even Sun Wukong, but this post is already far too huge.
"razor hasn't been explored since his story quest" the mondstadt event where he's the main character and focused on the question of who his parents were: *am i a joke to you*
@@Accountthatexists true but the video acknowledged character development that happened in events for cases like albedo and kazuha. i just thought it was worth making a small correction/reminder since while razor doesn't show up much, he did have that one event a year ago or so
@@AccountthatexistsDid we not watched the same video or what? She (the uploader) acknowledges time and time again character's development in Events. I don't think she decided to not mention Razor's event, but she simply forgot about it.
To be fair the only reason she might’ve not mentioned it is very simple Razor DIDNT get any development from that event at all. The event goes out of its way to literally gut punch us by saying “ who cares about your dead parents?” Effectively making the entire storyline up to rosaria mean less because razor doesn’t change at all, all he did was just become slightly less caveman but even then calling that event character development for him is honestly a joke
I love Heizou hangout quest though, it highlight his different side in different routes, his curious detective side, his playful scheming side, his serious and human side
Could just be the Heizou fan in me but I don't think Heizou is just fan service. Sure he is flirty and has that sus pic but while I think he doesn't get enough time to shine, and follows the same pitfalls as Ayato and Kokomi's tell not show, I think there's still some subtle hints about his character in the dialogue and his character mechanics. Like he is a detective, and wants to look out for justice, but he had something in his past that gave him guilt for the people he arrests, and sometimes he questions his morals, if he is actually doing the right thing. I think Heizou's problem is more that he doesn't seem to get any major roles or screentime that people often just boil him down as "sussy detective" or "fan service".
@@yuri-sama.questionmarkI love Heizou but I couldn't agree more, he definitely needs more screen time bc I know they can do something interesting with him if they just tried. That's the problem tho, a lot of other characters need screen time as well. It's probably hard for hoyo to balance so many characters all at once with how large the roster is, which is why I think we've been getting too many Itto related events. I don't dislike him, it's just other characters seriously need attention. Justice to my boy Heizou, how ironic :(
I feel like 4-stars such as Kaeya and Kaveh have become some of the most well-written characters in the game. Their depth, their natural growth/development, the reveal of more information about them overtime, and their character interactions with others have been such a delight. They felt like proper payoffs to the build-ups that were established. Sometimes, they felt more like 5-stars in terms of their treatment by Hoyoverse. And, honestly, I hope more 4-star characters get this type of treatment cause one less of a star shouldn't take away from their potential. Thankfully, with Fontaine, I feel like we're seeing more equal treatment. And Sumeru, while not perfect, felt like a step in the right direction. I also feel like if Hoyoverse places more care and focus on 4-star stories, both old and new, it'll help strengthen the writing of 5-stars who either felt a little meh at the start or have suffered more stagnance in their development over the years. For example, Diluc. I love the guy but he's been pretty stagnant lately in terms of lore and development. However, if you look toward the writing and focus lately placed on Kaeya, I feel like that suddenly opens potential doors for Diluc's development. Heck, it probably already has cause of their connection. Overall, great video! I love the bois in Genshin, so this was a treat to watch and get another perspective on the writing quality for the men.
I agree with this fully! Fontaine has been doing a lot for more strongly written fem characters, and I agree, Kaeya and Kaveh are in the top most well written imo. Like kaveh’s own personality, past, mindset, and how that affects his actions is just written so masterfully. And Kaeya, oh Kaeya, his lore is better than a lot of 5 stars in my personal opinion. Not only this, any sort of Khaeriah mention ends up thickening the plot development for Kaeya as well imo. Though I have to say, my favorite fem character of Genshin from story alone is Arlecchino. It’s very much biased as I’ve loved her for over two years by now, but her story makes me very emotional.
Xiao liking us is very understandable though. Xiao devoted his whole life to protecting Li Yue to show his gratitude to Morax, Li Yue is what he fought for for thousands of years, and the Traveler helped him protect the most important thing in his life from being obliterated, he was a pivotal figure in bringing people and Adepti together to protect Li Yue from being destroyed, so it doesn't feel like a stretch that he likes us more than others. We were the link between humans and Adepti that helped to save Li Yue, and because protecting the harbor is the most important thing to Xiao, he feels inclined to support this link to the humans. In the way he acts towards the Traveler he shows gratitude for helping him in the duty he devoted his life to, I just don't see much fanservice or romance there, even if there was - it looks very organic in the story.
Not to mention that traveller is the first person he properly opens to after the liyue archon quest, and he lived more emotionally secluded especially after the death of all the yakshas. From his story quest to all the lantern rite and other events, we see him slowly opening up more to traveller and eventually trusting them with their life. And this was precisely because traveller went out of the way to help him take it easy more.
Honestly it’s up to interpretation or whatever, as a Xiao fan who hates traveler ships, I also kinda see this relationship as romantic idk. But you can also see it more as gratitude and him being thankful.
@@Texxyz.Yass he literally said I dreamed about you.. And that made me miss you can we go out on a date? Seeing you in real life would make me feel better.
Kaveh is really a great example tho of how well executed male characters can be, we have all our questions abt him answered before he is basically all of what we wished ayato would have, you really should have talked more abt him considering the amount of lore and character development, layers he has he got basically the Alhaitham treatment we know all we need to know abt them
Such a shame his story is barred by a limited time event, it showed so much more depth with his relationship with Alhaitham. It was sooooo fascinating!
I want to give a shoutout to Gorou’s hangout quest as having my favorite and least favorite ending. The ending we get to see Gorou the war general grieving over his fallen comrades has stuck with me. The ending where he and the traveler run away from yae miko was certainly……one of the endings
the war general grieving ending still sends chills... i can't believe that's inside a hangout. i'm glad they touched on it because they never showed it in the archon quest... the yae ending though... yeah oof. made me dislike yae, which is probably for the best.
Baizhu is NOT evil. He is seeking immortality so that no one else would ever have to inherit the contract. He wants to keep Changshang, his Adeptus snake friend, alive, but for that to happen she needs a host. She in turn provides them with longevity (as long as they don't get killed, nor overdo what their body can handle, they would have a longer than normal lifespan). Changshang and Baizhu care about each other and about their patients. There are no ulterior motives, Baizhu is a genuinely good individual. Plus, even if he seems secretive at times, newsflash: EVERY CHARACTER HAS SECRETS!!! Hu Tao and Baizhu are opposites in the sense Hu Tao wants you to die while Baizhu would do everything he can to keep you alive. Qiqi was resurrected by his predecessor, not by him, and simply letting Hu Tao bury her would go against his morals since, while she is undead, she is still fully sentient (unlike Resident Evil zombies which are mindless). He sacrifices his own health to ensure his patients survive if conventional treatments fail. Everyone, Changshang included, warn him about overdoing it yet he is adamant in his goal. "My Mortality is no one's concern but mine." his line from his teaser, he would sacrifice himself if it meant saving Changshang and his patients. I hate it when people try to make it seem he is after immortality for his own benefit when he is doing it to save others.
I think a lot of people (at least those who have done his story quest) have changed their minds about Baizhu. Before that even I was suspicious of him because of some concerning things other characters said about him. Qiqi being okay with not remembering his face and Xingqiu says he can't talk with Qiqi when Baizhu is around does sound alarming. Before his story quest everyone just made the assumptions because he was described as having a weak constitution and he looks after an immortal zombie child, due to all of this assuming he was bad was not a stretch at all.
@@Suited_Nat Because snake. Almost everyone automatically assumes any character associated with a snake to be evil. Changsheng, the white snake adeptus, is always trying to keep Baizhu alive, she cares for his well-being and likely also cares about the patients being treated. Liyue is heavily inspired by China, and in Chinese folklore there is a White Snake named Bai Suzhen who could take a human form and fell in love with a man named Xu Xian because he, in a past life, saved her from being killed. She risks her life to save him after he died from shock upon seeing her in her true form. This is a rough summary of the tale, but it is clear white snakes, like Changsheng and Bai Suzhen, are benevolent.
@@Candytime9 Maybe not, but I still find it annoying that people constantly try to make it seem that everyone associated with a snake is inherently evil. Why must people try to demonize my favorite animals, or those who associate themselves with them? Baizhu may be secretive but I have never once sensed malice, spite, nor any other ill intent from him. He has always seemed likeable and trustworthy. If anyone tries to compare him to, say, Orochimaru from Naruto, even that doesn't work... Orochimaru is morally ambiguous at worse. He was a war hero who, along side Jiraya and Tsunade, saved many people during his time as a Sanin. He did kill the 4th hokage, but considering that specific hokage ordered the execution of his parents when he was but a child, thus robbing him of the two who would've taught him right from wrong, I'd say that was justified. He did look into forbidden jutsu to gain immortality but he most likely started looking into it in hopes of bringing his parents back, which is a very understandable feeling. He leads the Sound Village, which he uses as a place to take in those who have lost their families. Every act Orochimaru did that someone might label as evil is instantly countered by something that logically justifies it.
Hot take, but i think itto is probaly one of the best written chars in all of genshin, cause the nailed what they wanted him to be perfectly, he is just a guy, whos an idiot, who wants to have fun.........they dont need to give a char a "oh so tragic" story to make them well written and alot of people think thats a requirment, which is just wrong
This is precisely why I like the fact that Itto appears in many events. He is the type of character I wanna see in the events: not one with a lot of lore that can only be shown in specific events (Albedo), but rather one that makes all events pure fun for... just existing.
@@Otherface and thats purely why they need to make events permanent, the rewards can go away cause this is a live service game, fomo has to exist, but leave the quests in the game (And the excuse of people saying "oh they have to take them out of the game to keep the game small" and to that, they can just make a menu to download files for certain events and quests, problem solved, they have file downloads in hi3rd they can do it in genshin)
Eh I don't agree, back then when there were only his story quest and the Chasm AQ I had the same though but right now it's at it's worst with the Fontaine patches, he appear way too much with the same character trait in every event he is featured in while adding nothing to inazuma itself even though it's in desperate need of something new, not to mention a lot of characters should have this much screentime to make them atleast likeable, not even talking about him being the center of the 4.6 main event.. at least it's happening in Inazuma this time ig
@@Wolf-vy7et ur pretty much missing he point of itto, he doesn't add anything to the plot, he is there for PURE COMIC RELIF, and thar job he does in whatever he's in, is done well
@@AccountthatexistsAnd that the exact problem, they made his character too bland and overused him to death that he is not entertaining anymore when he appears, that's just my opinion though.
I unironically think that Ayato's story quest showed us a lot about Ayato's personality and the way he does things as head of Yashiro commission, on par with Childe's. The marriage between the heads of other two commissions didn't suit him, so he went and got it cancelled , and the bride and groom to be even thanked him for that. The dialogues with the Traveller, when he never says his objective directly, just pushes us along the way, were also very amusing. To me, it never seemed to be about npc's problem. Otherwise, great video!
I think Ayato's story shines a lot more than Kokomi's when it comes to showing the characters' calibre in handling political affairs and strategising. Maybe that's because Ayato's problem is more intriguing (in terms of who's plotting it, why and how to resolve the crisis), and its pacing allows players to think things through and try to come up with a solution in Ayato's shoes. Not so with Kokomi's, which is resolved by luck...
i swear u gotta be the only person who thinks the same way i do, i sometimes think ppl did his quest with eyes closed bc the way the got the whole inazuma political scene - the rest of the 2 comissions (expect shogun) dancing on the palm of his hand IS SO AMUSING AND CUNNING AND OMG I LOVE THIS MAN
@@melian5018 for real kokomis quest still bothers me to this day like, "where is it, where's the genius stragetist moment" meanwhile ayato's at least shows him being a politician
I did read his character story and his story quest, He can be terrifying and cunning if you mess with his family. He can ruin your life without even trying. Let's be honest, if it weren't for Ayato, Inazuma would have plunged to chaos long ago.
i'm surprised you didn't talk much about kaveh. yes some of his screen time is locked behind alhaitham's story quest and an event but he also has a hangout that fleshes him out very nicely and he's just very well written (biased opinion but still)
I loooove Kaveh! He's a character both well written and relatable. I sincerely hope we get to see more of him, though I'm unsure since he's kinda "just a guy"
Kaveh is probably one of the best written characters in Genshin! I'm still baffled they dedicated the 3.6 event to him instead of Baizhu considering Kaveh is "just" a 4 star while Baizhu is a 5 star. Whoever came up with Kaveh at Hoyo must really love him and his personality.
As someone who was DYING for Kaveh's hangout to come out (because 4 stars don't get story quests:(), I was pretty pleased for the most part. Do I want more? Yes. Do I need it? Only 'cause he's one of my main's and I related so heckin much to him.
i think the reason a lot of the male characters feel better written is cause a lot of the female characters suffer under the male gaze, whether it be in their designs or their personalities going into waifu mode (ganyu being a shy secretary sterotype, raiden's first story quest being a cute date after years of martial law, etc). i've heard people say the female fontaine characters don't suffer from this as much and i agree, which is such a breath of fresh air. for a long time its felt like the two female archetypes have been shy and submissive or "step on me mommy" (or a combination of both) and it feels like they're finally moving away from that with characters like navia and furina
For Xiao’s affection towards the traveller, I’m a fan of the Xiao fan service in comparison to Ayaka’s simply because Xiao’s affection makes more sense than Ayaka. The reason? Ayaka has friends and family that she cares about. Even though the traveller helped her save her nation, this was the joint effort of many other people. Ayaka has strength that doesn’t come from the traveller. Ayaka could’ve gone through her character arc without the traveller. As for Xiao, even though he was saved by Rex Lapis, the traveller was the one who opened his heart up to the potential of warmth. The traveller taught him that he was allowed and deserved to feel compassion. That’s why it makes more sense for Xiao to be compassionate with the traveller in comparison to Ayaka, who seems to pander to the traveller for no apparent reason? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the interactions that both of them have with the traveller, but I think Ayaka’s affection towards the traveller doesn’t make too much sense.
I think at the end of the day, Hoyo's reason for males over females in lore is just, males don't sell the same on design alone. Male characters unfortunately need to be sold a lot more than the female characters.
It is easier to sell pretty girls to guys; than hot guys to girls!?! It probably has to do with the ages of the player base. Young guys tend to be easier to attract than young women? This is just a thought from an old woman who likes games. I like certain characters not JUST because they look good, but because of their personalities. Childe, and Ayato are a good example. I don't like their personalities, where as Kaeya, Zhongli, and Dainsleif have very pleasant personalities. They have secrets but they aren't likely to hurt you if you upset them. Then you have Childe; he would definitely hurt you, and Ayato might have you taken care of quietly if you "know too much".
@@canadalovesanime3137 im pretty sure not that many people would have anything against childe hurting them, tbh i would let childe destroy me bc he is pretty, cool, and interesting, and i would be the happiest person alive if childe kicked me like please
@@gfecbtgrbgtfrvgbvtfrgfvbbgvfr OH! I see. I guess in my old age I prefer a gentler touch, like Kaeya. Everyone has their own preferences after all. 😁😁
The day i get to see heizou outside of work is the day i will be a very happy man I’ve been begging hoyo to see heizou outside his work because in the 3.3 event he was working and in his hangout he was also working. We only ever see him in work mode and i want to see more of his lore and character development He has really interesting lore and after the 3.3 event you can see him not taking part in the festival. I want hoyo to explore that more for him bc he has trauma related to festivals. I really want to see him finally overcome that trauma and take part in a festival
In terms of recent events, I also enjoyed the Thelxie event, while it was mostly about the NPC's story (which was also heartbreaking, ngl), I liked that we got a glimpse of Freminet from how he seems dreams/fantasy and also that bit of him mentioning how some of the Hearth members fared mentally before.
Parents and other family are something I'd like to see more of so it doesn't feel like these characters came from thin air and/or their family just disappeared/tragically unalived or is just super negligent/absentee. Was expecting to get some hint to Kaveh's mom since she's supposedly in Fontaine now (maybe in the future). I'm not expecting to meet Timmy's dad anytime, and I know Jean and Barbara are siblings, we've met Diona's dad and even done commissions for him, Shenhe and Chongyun, and stuff like that: but everyone comes from somewhere. Why don't we know more about them? Especially after maxing friendship we should probs have learned SOMETHING about their families. Although many tend to be ancient beings, orphans and stuff. Where are the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.?
The main deal one has to understand with this subject it’s that gacha characters are products first and characters second, they are made to appeal to certain demographics and within those limits they build everything else and we have seen how volatile this fanbases can be,there are certain topics and conflicts they won’t touch to avoid angering the fanbases and sadly the main demographic that pays for waifus it’s quite…vocally active when something doesn’t go the way they want, even having a female character interact with a male one in a too friendly manner can be seen as “cheating” limiting even more how they are written
You mean like those absolute loonies who murdered a cat that looked like Scaramouche? Ugh, fuck those guys. It's a shame that these types of nutjobs are the main money spenders.
Exactly. And the CN (and KR?) fanbase especially seems to be kinda vocal in what they like and dislike in certain characters. But with them being Hoyo's main audience (in money revenue) I don't blame the writers for playing it safe most of the time.
You hit the nail on the head. As someone coming from a lot of different fictional media (especially games) before getting into Genshin, I care none for a character's "attractiveness" and solely focus on the kit, power, personality and such. Heck, I LOVE a lot of characters that are beasts, otherworldly creatures, animalistic or not at all human-like, which are often perceived as being "ugly" by people. Seeing pretty faces all the time gets boring, and I'm not joking when I say I play Genshin for the world, exploration, power systems (I'm a sucker for elemental systems like in Pokémon), and combat. The characters are just vessels for me to traverse such a fictional world.
@@valse6195that’s why fgo is my favorite gacha game. The designers are allowed to make characters like hessian lobo and Ivan alongside your sabers and jeannes which makes every servant feel new since we get a bit of everything.
Alhaitham story is about him being him. Yes, some of us might hate someone like him. This smartass that just couldn't be bothered with others. If you read his story or lines? The ones you unlocked in his profile, you'll get to know that his parents died early and he was taken care of by his grandma. Please correct me if I'm wrong, guys. But I remember the fact Alhaitham is always been like this ever since a kid. He's the kind that enjoys knowledge which fits him being a scholar. Even in his grandma's last moments, she told him not to change himself for others. This hits me because it's true, we can't please everyone in real life. Sometimes people can hate us due to some reasons and we might never know. So about the story quest for Alhaitham, it's something some of us can relate. The other guy is trying to do his own ways and unhappy with Alhaitham for getting in his way. Imagine if you have something you want to do but someone else is trying to "sabotage" you, thus you might have some hatred for them. But in the end, what makes Alhaitham is good character to me because he doesn't need to be all good and trying to win your heart (let's not talk about his designs, people xD). And what's even more better is the fact the Sumeru boys are indeed close friends. Kaveh despite always get frustrated with Alhaitham, they are still friends. I'm just happy Hoyo finally made a smart and calculated character THEN they SHOWN IT! Unlike one character... *Coughs* Kokomi being the rebel strategist... There are some other male characters I enjoy and would like to express but it would be just a whole essay!
The worst thing about npc impact is the opportunity loss from the lack of character interactions. 99% of story quests only involve the titular character. Making Ayato's story quest without involving Ayaka or Thoma is criminal. I mean, come on, that quest would've been a opportunity to flesh out all three of them. And they somehow managed to do nothing for any of them, even Ayato. How?
I loved that in the archipelago event with Kazuha, we learned a big part of his story and he was just like "well I learned nothing really, might pick up bonsai as a hobby".
Gorou being so forgotten that he didn't even get mentioned... I think he had some good moments in the Inazuma story, even if just a little. His hangout is good, just a bit simple. But then his appearances have been mostly reduced to being bullied by Yae and being afraid of... Let's say "teasing" women, like Lisa in the latest event. Wish we would get more of him being a loyal soldier and a natural leader, or explore why he's part dog. Maybe some Youkai genes? Or something like the Katzlein?
I have several comments about this video Why no mention about 4 star character event also highlight male 4 star more frequently, Razor windblume, Kaveh Interdarshan, Freminet Thelxie No mention about hangout quest? Or is it for another video? About Xiao vs Ayaka, the reason many likes Xiao Traveler ship so much (Like SO MANY people like it), I think is because the writing for Xiao gradual attachment to Traveler is more believable 1. Xiao didn't outright head over heels to Traveler from the start, he even shoo them in their first meeting, meanwhile Ayaka already admired Traveler from the start and she ask for help and trust Traveler from the start 2. Xiao start to trust Traveler because Traveler is the one that pursue Xiao. Xiao told Traveler to not get involved many times, he keeps refusing Traveler invitation to Lantern Rite, but Traveler keeps getting themself involved with Xiao. Meanwhile with Ayaka, it's Ayaka the one that do the pursuing and Traveler is just following her 3. Traveler genuinely changed Xiao's life, unlike other characters that have their own story and character development without Traveler. Traveler IS part of Xiao's story and character development. The involvement of Traveler in Xiao's character development is so big it makes the illusion (or maybe not illusion) that Traveler also have a thing for Xiao. (that waterborne event fanservice, such a personal moment) Then we have an event featuring Ayaka having character development on her own (making new friends in Fontaine), without Traveler involvement at all, her interaction with Traveler is only very little too
@@Suited_Nat I feel like Hoyo miss the chance to show Ayato and Ayaka can be a caring sibling relatonship and show great they are with one another. Like we rarely get to have siblings interactions in the game sadly just like Barbara and Jean also. It would be more exciting if they make Ayaka and Ayato work together in the Archon quest.
I think the big difference between Lyney and Xiao vs Ayaka is how the former are allowed to interact and have relationships with other characters besides the traveler (Lyney and Lynette are always together, I think that helps him become more dynamic), Ayaka had us waiting for her to talk with her brother until 4.2, and had a very interesting arc about learning to make new friends skipped/go off screen.
i just want more playable characters to be allowed to be assholes. not even EVIL evil, just... let them be annoying or mean. Chiori for example is a good direction for the game. sure i know she will be hated by many people and it's fair imo, but she feels unique. it's not even like Hoyo can't do it. i mean look at HSR, half the cast in that game is insufferable and they still sell well all the same so what are hoyo scared of ? 😂
That would be cool. I was personally hoping they would’ve made The Knave the Genshin equivalent to John Constantine but it doesn’t seem like they’re going that route.
Alhaitham's story quest have a very interesting lore implication, the hive mind idea is very consistent in genshin lore, from the golden slumber to the narzissenkreuz ordo plans, it seems they have taken the opportunity to explain the idea even more, especially that we are in sumeru where the irminsul tree is.
the strides we would make if we just had other characters in people's story quests. (like other characters not npcs) the best part about Alethiam's quest is just... the fact that Kaveh was there! like Baizhu's quest was great because Hu-tao and Qiqi were THERE! !!! it ate! So many characters have accompanying ofther characters which should be pivotal to hanging out with them but it just... doesn't??? like- HEY why weren't any of the resistence present for Kokomi's story quest? I would love to see her dynamics with them now that the war is over. Lynney's quest is great because his VERY lore relevant sister is also there playing off of him. The traveler doesn't talk outside of dialogue choices and Paimon has just about as much chemistry as your average beetroot (like her random beef with Alheithem? idk what that is she's just 40% more obnoxious when he's on screen)
I would love to have a story quest with Mona where she just Larps with Vishl.(maybe also shove Ayaka in there somehow idk how but her trying to be very polite as Mona and Fishl commit more and more to the bit as Ayaka is trying desperately to figure out what they're talking about without seeming rude) Or one where Zhongli is trying to sell therapy to Xaio without letting his "I don't need help" instincts kick in. (also put Hu-Tao there cause funny) I want to lock Furina Wanderer and Fishl in an escape room just because I think it would be funny (idk why that trio is so funny to me but I want to see it so badly) Furina and Fishl both just larping back and fourth and wanderer tries to call them dumb, but they outnumber him so he's just trying trying to ignore how similar he and Furina are (in like a "omg we met at the AA meeting" way). I want to have the hearth kids and Childe in a room with them all being like "oh a superior" and be very formal and serious and have that be Juxtaposed by Childe fighting for his life trying to keep his older sibling instincts from kicking in to keep up appearances.
In my opinion, Xiao's and Cyno's story quests' problem isn't about having too much focus on NPCs, but about not touching on much new about the characters' personalities (and boring execution in Xiao's case). Both characters have a lot of interesting lore, but the story quests don't really go into it and instead regurgitate stuff we already know about the characters.
I think it maybe lore related and that is why they have to hold back until the time is right. If they give us all the back story now; we could figure out where they plan to take us story wise. Plus too much all at once is just overwhelming. The NPC's are just plot devises at the end of the day. Stories are hard to tell without good characters.
2:10 ok, I will tell you: Because *it shows us how, contrary to Ganyu's internal belief, she's deeply connected to the Human society in Liyue.* She knows how people work internally, how to exploit that, but can also connect to the people close to her quite easily. THAT is what Ganyu's story quest shows us. She does, in fact, fit into human society perfectly well. She's just too self-conscious about something most people either don't know, or don't care about. People respect her and what she does not because she's a (half-) adeptus, but because of her accomplishments and reputation of being an incredibly reliable person, worker, and a great mentor. In other words, what a Story Quest should be about.
24:04, to me, it makes sense narrative wise. Yes, the Traveler was friendlier, but that was the point, to rebuild their relationship. The Traveler initially left Lyney in act 1, apologizing and basically saying they needed some time to think about it. They aren't inherently mad at Lyney and closed up to any sort of reconciliation, and understand his pov; his story quest making them further understand his psychology. During act 3, they also have to team up with Lyney. It's in a different context than his sq, which is why they're on their guards still, but at no point do they seem mad at him, no frowning, no turning their backs... just a polite refusal at first, before accepting as Lynette makes a comment about how Lyney just wants to spend time with them again, and genuinely appreciates them, which is what makes the Traveler give in. For that, Lyney's story quest seems rather undeniable, it needs to be played before act 3. It is narratively good and makes sense, I really don't understand how it doesn't.
kaeya's a well written character. he's first introduced as a mysterious, is he a good guy or a bad guy sort of dude but through his hangout and the manga you see how he's genuinely willing to help just about anyone with just about anything, usually without expecting much back. his lore actually has an impact on his development from his childhood, teenage years and finally adulthood (shy, rule-following child, broken teenager, uses-extravagance-to-cope adult). they've revealed enough of his lore to make him intriguing and crucial to the story while leaving out essentially all the important bits. he's a likeable, morally grey guy who makes impact and has been impacted.
One weird thing about male characters that feels related but not part of their writing: sensible everyday clothes. There are a lot (a few) female characters in genshin that wear an outfit for a specific event, except they wear it all the time. The stage performers are the biggest offenders here. There's no way Nilou and Yun Jin wear stage costumes 24/7 but thats the look they're stuck with. Xinyan, she lives the rock lifestyle and probably does always dress like that. But as the men are defined by more than a single role they play, none of the male outfits are glaringly stupid to wear all the time. Oh yeah all the high heels are bad too but that just is what it is.
Can't wait for cyno second story quest coz desert for me is the most interesting and vibing place, soundtrack is crazy good and the hidden story is thrilling and so so dark. I return to the lower desert every day
For me it's been surprising how within a year they released 3 MALE CLAYMORE 4* characters with good quality characterisation (at least in my opinion), which I think is a funny coincidence for them to have so many similarities, and additionally, the events they were featured in were super enjoyable for me. The Parade of Providence featured a good half of the Sumeru cast and served as an amazing exploration of Kaveh's past and how guilty he feels about his father's death. Gaming (along with Xianyun and Shenhe of course, they are officially a comedic duo) made this year's Lantern Rite very refreshing. And Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures was one of the few times when I've actually deeply cared about an NPC (even though I would've liked to learn a bit more about Freminet). After the 4.6 trailer, I'm hoping both Freminet and the twins will get even more development alongside Arlecchino.
the whole of inazuma could be its own video in absolute boredom save for a few cutscenes. but it was the worst pacing ever. also i wish they would write in ayato more. he's legit the biggest missed potential for real. alhaitham also shows different sides to him around kaveh, so anytime they're together, it's really entertaining, especially his development in the PoP event. which well sadly, suffers from being an event and not everyone will see him. both him and kaveh are very relatable as people, living together, having normal jobs ( in comparison to other genshin characters lol ). and that makes them more loved for me
One thing that many people might miss is the note Furina wrote to Neuvillett on the table before and after his quest XD Although Furina doesn't show up, that note did show a lot Furina character and her relationship with him
@@lelouchlamperouge1287 it in his story quest which add to his character? This video is about how Hoyo write male character story quest so it should be inclued as well?
I think it would’ve been interesting if Ayato’s and Kokomi’s quests were kind of side by side-they can tackle both sides of the Narukami/Watatsumi politics. That was one of my favorite aspects of Inazuma, and they had this tee’d up perfectly but they didn’t swing. Yoimiya’s SQ focused around a festival, but festivals are a common aspect of Japanese culture, so both Ayato’s and Kokomi’s quests could’ve been about their respective organizations planning festivals. We can dive into the Watatsumi culture with Kokomi’s quest (because we don’t get to see a lot of that), and we can explore Ayato’s relationship with Ayaka as they plan a festival together.
You missed thoma lore. His dad went to go visit his homeland but died in a shipwreck. So when Thoma was old enough he was like 'you know what I should go visit it to see what it's like' (and also I guess to find belonging.) and then he got in a shipwreck So the siblings found him and took care of him in exchange for him taking care of them and the house. And he kind of got really attached to his Lord to the point where he's like 'I'm not leaving even though your dirt broke and we all might get assassinated' and got his vision
I am glad female characters got better in Sumeru - Fontaine. Nahida, Dehya, Navia, Furina, Cloud Retainer/ Xianyun, Arlecchino are all good written and had important roles. The males were written well since Mondstadt on with Inazuma being a low again. Inazuma writing was just overall bad. Kazuha is good written but you need to have been tehre for numerous events to really get all.
With such a large amount of females you’d think they’d be more variety but nope mihoyo was stuck in the past off oh waifu=money however ever since Fontaine they’ve been cooking on both the men and women I was genuinely surprised on how well written xianyuns and chihoris quest were so well done and nevuilette and lyneys quest as well(we don’t speak about wriothesely)
the way a lot of these characters have interesting aspects to their lore or personality if you just look at their character stories and they manage to make it "a day in the life of this character" or "let's help this random npc who ends up being the real main character" instead feels like so much wasted potential. and yeah, this is probably partly just because there are more female characters than male ones but there are so many female characters that literally just feel like copies of the same concepts over and over again. like, workaholic? check. generically nice? check. it makes me feel like they just don't care to put more effort in sometimes because they know she's pretty so she'll sell anyway. but when it comes to the male characters, they genuinely (for the most apart) feel like unique people with their own qualities that set them apart from others. and if you consider that story quests are the permanent content anyone can access while events are just gone if you miss them, it's so sad that sometimes events flesh out the character more than their story quest. (prime example: albedo)
Personally I’m convinced the writing or design of male vs. female characters comes down to who they are designed for. I would say female characters have to appeal to the male gaze and vice versa. I think staff at hoyoverse is almost 50/50 as well as their player base - which I’m thankful for since I think their design is rarely too fanservicey. I’m amazed how they improved their writing of the female characters but I’m also impressed how male characters can be meta defining now. So all in all I think they doing a great job. I miss Wanderer tho.
Theres different levels of tragic backstory if you ask me. XIao`s backstory is many times more tragic than Ayaka because its less relatable. If you meet people in Ayaka`s situation IRL, friendless orphans. they are most of the time more tragic than Ayaka cuz they arent the 1%(yes i am saying Ayaka looses tragic-ness points because she`s rich and her name has influence) Whats Xiao`s irl situation? A war veteran who lost all his buddies to mentaly debilitating diseases they got from service and yet continues to serve so trying to re-acclimate him to society, show him what his team sacrificed themselves for before his own mind goes too?(and yes Xiao does earn tragic-ness points due to the time bomb that`ll Hoyo`l never trigger)
I feel like you can't really have a conversation like this without including the four stars. In my honest opinion it makes this discussion kind of hollow
Thank you for the deeper dive into Ayato. He always felt very underwhelming to me as a character, and I pondered why that never got better with time. The answer turned out to be both obvious but also more than that, and I appreciate how this video gave my messy thoughts more clarity, lol. It makes me a little sad that he was so close to being a far more interesting character, but it felt like Hoyoverse took what time and effort should've desperately been used for Ayato and placed it into Ayaka. He definitely should've been introduced a lot sooner. Hoyoverse also seemed to have a pretty noticeable issue in Inazuma with the, "telling and not showing" trope when it came to a chunk of their characters there.
Good timing on the Cyno bit-- it's getting some explanation in the upcoming patch. There's a new character that seems to be some kind of Cyno rival for Hermanubis, and he has a unique enough charcter design to be playable in the future.
i think my favorite men who are written is Kaveh and Alhaitham and I loved both of their individual content, aka Alhaitham's story quest and Kaveh's hangout. No matter what anyone says, I think it's important to see them as individual characters and then analyze them together, you cannot omit either aspect. Because they're both solid characters alone, but they are a complete set together and it makes a very beautiful story when put together. I can't even compress it down, but they're just so well written. Especially Kaveh, he's such a realistic character and his story is so beautiful. His convictions, motivations, ideals, all of it. They're so well written, I wish we saw more of him in the offical story other than that little part with him and Alhaitham. They're just both so special to me
As a person who has been hyperfixated on these two for the past two years now - yes. Not even mentioning the ship aspect (which, imo is incredibly beautiful but I might elaborate on that later), they tend to often be put together as their stories intertwine with each other quite a bit. And the reason for it is very much valid - both of them have played an important role in each other's lives, with Kaveh especially being affected by Alhaitham bringing his issues to light back in their student years. And while the aspect of them developing around each other is extremely well-written and interesting, they are also wonderful characters on their own. Kaveh is such a troubled man, and honestly, anyone in his place would have surely either given up already, or become bitter against the world or even other people. But he doesn't do either of those things - not only does he stick to what he believes in, he also remains kind and considerate towards those in need, regardless of how much discomfort he might be putting himself in in the process. People don't realize the amount of strength a person must have in order to carry this heavy of a burden and still somehow remain kind and hopeful. I'm still a firm believer that the people of Sumeru would probably not even care too much about him being in debt or living in Alhaitham's place, but he kind of needs to keep that last little bit of pride he has left haha As for Alhaitham himself, man, I could go on for hours about the autistic coding of this man. His story quest only further solidifies the fact that he is literally just a guy being himself, and other people still see him as cold and aloof or even downright condescending when his story LITERALLY says that he doesn't look down upon anyone, regardless of their stature or even intellect. His personality may not be pleasant, but he's not being outright rude, and his disinterest in social interactions doesn't stop him from being considerate when he needs to (example: asking the npc in his story quest whether he would be comfortable with him looking into his files). When it comes down to them together, what I find fascinating is the fact that they act completely different around each other than they do with literally anyone else, and due to their contrasting personalities, they almost do a full-on switch. Alhaitham, from being described as selfish and disinterested, suddenly sacrifices his peace and quiet just so Kaveh can have a place to live. He also does it again during the PoP event, during which he takes on the role of commentator in order to investigate Sachin - and he literally tries to show his findings to Kaveh, only to end up investigating on his own until he finds an explanation that gives Kaveh closure on the death of his father. He goes from selfish to selfless in a matter of seconds. Kaveh, meanwhile, from a self-sacrificing kind-hearted man who trusts people way too easily, suddenly becomes distrustful of Alhaitham's intentions and ends up trying to prove his own worth to him. They both allow each other so much room for growth that it's almost insane to me that people still don't see how deeply they care for each other, and how much they need each other for that development. As for the ship itself - I think it's surprising to see that a company like Hoyo managed to write a compelling relationship between two men that isn't just "haha funny roommates so players can headcanon them to be gay". There is genuine depth to their connection, they have a history together, they constantly evolve with each other's help, improving their relationship with every new quest that comes out. Their relationship also relies heavily on them discovering the true meaning of "home", which I just think is a beautiful trope. Also, I do love the fact that they are presented as equals in terms of intellect and skill, and that they are both depicted as capable - mostly because even in subtextual (implied) gay romance, there is usually an attempt to make an obvious imbalance between the two men, where one is usually feminized or shown as the smaller, weaker, or in some cases even less intelligent. Their dynamic is just so realistic and somehow manages to be a positive depiction of what a deep connection between two men can be, which is strange coming from a Chinese company. (Also before anyone jumps at this, yes, I'm aware nothing is confirmed, which is why I'm treating this as pure subtext, because there is A LOT OF SUBTEXT to these two. There is an over 30 page Google doc with all the hints and evidence regarding these two to be easily found!) All of this to say, they are wonderful both separately and as a set, and I absolutely adore that. However, no matter which way you look at it - in order to fully understand one, you have to look at the other as well.
I'm pretty sure Benny will return when we have to cross Mare Jivari to reach Natlan. And some Mondstadt characters will return for the port Dornman expansion, but that may happen much later than we think.
I won't call them bad per say, but even the "worst" ones are ok in terms of story quests. Most stpry quests available are Act1 of the character's story an introduction to the character's personally, the way they behave, the way decide to deal with things in their own ways are things that are focused on more so then their lore or backstory in most cases as it's their introduction not a complete story arc. Many character don't particularly have their "Character moment" because it has already happened, these characters that we see and experience aren't characters whose stories have just storted but character's who have already grown from the original person they started off as, now they are not complete charactets they are still and will continue to grow but grow requires reason it just doesn't happen juts because and sunce the character's live in a more peaceful life there is little necessity for growth. That's where the continuation of their story quest (otherwise known as act 2) comes into play outing the characters in either an unfamiliar situation that tests them or situations the puts them face to face with their past. Genshin's stories both the Archon Quests and Story quest showcase a more of a peaceful time, sure there have been internal problems within each nation but those don't particularly affect the peace of a nation (mostly because the traveller's Dull blade wacks stops the problem before they get out of hands). I'd say Liyue's probably the only nation who's peace was actively threatened due being attacked by sealed god and such. My point being that hoyo is staging up the world all stories that place in the present are meant yo show the peace of the continent and how people and characters live(the over archinh story is still in it's opening act even if we've reached Fontaine and will cross over to Natlannin a few months) only so it can all be destroyed in one fell swoop when the final act of the story begins. I would talk about Inazuma but i don't think that would work seeing how many mistakes were made by the inazuma writing team which inevitably caused the characters to suffer alongside their stories with the sole somewhat exception of Ei. Now i have seen people complain alot about how Ei's first story quest was just a date with traveller without ever putting in the smallest thought into what story quest meant. I really liked what they did with Ei's first story quest it held up very well when compared to the entirety that was Inazuma's Archon Quest. After the Archon Quest's event Ei is left confused and unsure what to do next as she was basically forced to abandon her idea of Eternity that so proudly proclaimed before (thanks to the power of the Dull blade). She basically locked herself in from the outside world because she believed that locking herself and her nation in dtate of stagnancy everything will remain the aame but her walk with traveller showed her that regardless of all her attempts things still changed nothing she remembered as Inazuma wete the same and then continuation of the story quest showed us why she did what she did. She tried to put everything in stagnancy because she wanted to protect her people because she thought change will cause them to suffer eventually. She wanted to create a Nayuon of her people that existec for Eternity. Her story quests are probably the only one's yhat held up any hope of Inazuma to me. Character story quests that rely on NPC interactions will always feel a bit weak since the character will take place of the problem solver then the problem itself and I'm not against this kind of approach. As YOu said Ganyu's story started good with her adeptus training and ended not si good with a fraud case investigation but i don't really see it like that. It's just part of her character the dual nature of being half adeptus and half human. First we experience the adeptus side with ger training with Xiao, the adeptus choose to follow Morax none of them were forced to do so and they left Ganyu's life choices to her they never wanted/forced her to stay in the monntains and do the adeptus stuff that they all do but the doors are ipen if she vhooses to. And on the complete opposite side of the spectrum are the humans who actively need her due to her experience and knowledge as the secretary of the Qixing and part of the Ministry of Cuvil affairs(shady goverment organisation) there are and will always be thing that will need her expertise and experience. Her story quest is more about choosing does she go on with the life she was supposed to live considering her own lineage or live a life where people really need her (desperately) note: Ganyu is i think the only secretary that we know of so she basically habdles work detail of all 8 members by herself of course the other members have their undelings probably, maybe not kequing but still that's alot of work not to mention she's being doing it for multiple generations of the Qixing. I can see the Xiao and Ayaka comparison but i don't necessarily agree. Ayaka is fan servicy for no reason like there is literally no reason for it she just starts like that and that's why i don't like her very much. Xiao's on the other hand is a different case. The traveller was the only person who managed to put the idea (if not convince) Xiao that what he's doing is bad and that he's allowed to rest and live life. As From Xiao's introduction he trues to keep people at a distance being worried for their safety, alway fighting, he cinsidered himself as kind of brink of a monsters but throughout his continued interactions with the traveller his perspective starts to change. Like the first lantern rite we barely managed to get him close to the city, the second lantern rite tho he participate in the festival we still see him watching the fireworks go off, the chasm interlude he ginally starts to acept that he's not all bad and can consider himself a hero a good guy like everyone does (this time indtrad of the full blade we needed help from the great words spoken by none other then Ushi), and frim then on we see him attending thr frdtivals snd even participate sometimes even if he fid it off his oen will, was a noyed into it orcoversed into it.
I actually hope hoyo would released all of the event story and make it permanent. It's very limited to know a character just from archon quest and their own story quest as not everyone would get their act II, act III, etc. (I hope so but I believe not) I agree that a lot of character really get fleshed out from event story and the experience will change if you missed them. In my opinion, Xiao is still acceptable because I don't feel he flirt with traveller. He just trust the traveler now. But Ayaka feels so abrupt. I only see her in archon quest, her own story quest, and almost missed all of the other event quest that she shown up. Then suddenly i met her in the limited event when she get new skin and she kind of flirt with the traveler. I get so much goosebump and almost skip the entire story line because I just don't get why this character became like this. It's also weird when it came to albedo. I am fortunate enough to get to play the event story when we get to know about his clone so I don't feel that he is weird. But if I play his story quest then suddenly met him in recent events, he had changed so much (in my case, I use the JP voice, the acting direction had changed extensively) that it feels so weird. When it came to story quest, there are not much that stood out in the early versions. The only story quest that stood out to me is Zhongli, Venti, and Hu Tao. I like Hu Tao's story quest because of the mysticism concept in it so it's kind of biased. I feel they handle the story quest better especially for the female character since Ye lan and Raiden act II, i don't feel they are just a tool for hoyoverse to sell waifu anymore so it's kind of a good improvement. But there are still some story that are not interesting enough such as Nilou's story quest. And personally, I hate how they handle Navia. I feel that they just dump all of the tragic, sad, and injustice to her to get our sympathy. But they just keep repeating the same pattern (she lost her father, lost her close subordinate, than get betrayed in story quest). All of this just put me off. Navia kept repeating that she usually don't cry but most of the time I see her crying 😅
I really think that they need to put the Event Story quest as actual story quests that you can unlock with the purple keys and play for that 40 primo and lore, most of those events primos are from mini-games so I don't why they are not making those permanent and don't say its because of the size of the game cause it's too big already for most Phones 😂
I'm not even a new player I just was when Albedo's limited-time event came out and didn't know how to access the events page. I thought it was part of the main story quest so I specifically avoided getting spoiled and now I've missed out on a lot of cool lore/fan art/speculation when it was happening and the only way to experience it now is recordings of other people playing through it online
I prefer the male characters because most of them don't look like they're going to fall out of or rip their clothing the moment they step outside. I know it's not practical to run around exploring in suits and stuff, but most of them have more practical outfits than the women. I see the female characters running around in their dresses, tight clothes, heels, ruffles, lace, etc., and all I can think is "you would have broken your ankle several times in the last ten minutes, go put some proper outdoors clothing on". The female characters are pretty but in a game where so much of it consists of outdoor exploration I find it immersion breaking.
Dehya would realistically be dead from the heat from the desert with how she dresses: dark colors, overly exposed skin, that metal thing she has on her shoulder.
I think that the male characters fell deeper/better written can be attributed to how acceptable it is for characters to have traits of the opposing gender. Since male characteristics in females is often seen as a downgrade or disservice to the soft femininity they are supposed to have, males having more emotional depth and being kind/caring is less noticed, especially if that depth comes from a tragic backstory (males are the ones enduring hardships in traditional thinking)
Honestly, I hope you make a 2 hour video just talking about Genshin characters. Also I would love for you to do a deep dive on more of the 4 stars, like Kaveh cuz I’m biased. Or just how some 4 stars sometimes are more interesting than 5 stars. Especially in the early game in my opinion. Like I think we can all agree that Beidou should have been a 5 star
Diluc too is very lore intensive like he's had an entire event dedicated to him he's for some reason connected to Nicole and his father had a delusion of abyss origin like hoyo really need to hit on that.
I think the issue of storage for the limited time events could come in the form of dlc, if you want to see the extra bit of lore you can just download it at your own decision
I'm from the future (I just watched after 4.6 was out) I can safely say "Father" is one of the few very-well written female characters in the entire game, Hoyo really went all out on her.
After seeing arlecchino story quest I honestly don't see us getting a character like dottore playable unless out of no where they give him redeeming qualities that will make the traveler be on good terms with him which I would dislike. If he is playable it will probably be one of his clones cause I honestly feel like he will die. But who knows Hoyo might surprise me. Also I feel like most fans feel like Xiao and the traveler had more of an arc together with their relationship which I guess makes the shippy moments feel more natural where with Ayaka and Lyney their crushes happened rather quickly which makes it feel more fan service feeling.
Even the most foreboding aspect of Arlecchino’s quest - at the very end of it where she goes on her big speech - is downplayed by the characters - including the Traveler - holding her in reverence so what she says just comes off as edgy and cool sounding then anything of weight.
I don't play genshin but based on what I usually hear about the story I'm of the opinion that similarly to how female characters are designed to be very physically attractive to appeal to a male player base, male characters are often written with a romance novel trope in mind. because of this, their personality is very important to their sales, and they often have one other character in particular that their relationship is particularly fleshed out with to use as an audience stand in for the trope. Alhaitham and Kaveh have their roommates situation and their banter, Neuvillette is very much so the powerful and cold guy who is actually very sweet and will take care of your kids, etc. problem with this theory is that I also don't read a ton of romance novels so correct me if I'm wrong TvT.
Don't read many romance novels but as a female writer who has entered a lot of times to readings clubs in Wattpad and uses that plataform and others to publish my novels this could be 90% true
Dottore better be playable and send us a food that instantly kills our active character on his birthday 😭😭 I don't think he would get redemption arc because hoyo has written multiple mad scientist type of characters in their other games none of them were redeemed to be playable.
Hoyoverse doesn't do pure evil because that's a naive approach to creating antagonists, it's basically creating an "other" for the audience to simply hate. You don't write characters that are evil for evil sake, you write evil characters who are driven by great motivation and reason behind their actions. Hoyoverse has a way to write characters whose deeds look so evil and yet all makes sense in the end and even make you realise that what they did was the only way possible, and that while it was terrible, it was what they had to do. Hoyoverse antagonists have no interest in clearing their own names, what they want to do is do whatever it takes to achieve what is "right" to them, this ends up taking them down the dark path, but in the end they will save everyone. They will get punished for what they did, but at the same time everyone benefited from what they were trying to achieve, some times a person has to take the fall for everyone else. East Asian writing in general doesn't do "redemption", instead we do the Buddhist concept of "atonement". Atonement is different from redemption, to atone means to make up for what's lost, redemption is to clear one's own name. It is how Hoyoverse has written worse antagonists than Dottore in Hoyoverse that people now cry over for what they were trying to do. Hoyoverse are the best anti-villain writers out there. They did not redeem themselves, they atoned for what they did by doing what's right in the end, saving more than those they had harmed.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHat this is why I don't like when people call Dottore "pure evil" he's driven by his desire to make humans equal to gods and free humans from shackles of fate Celestia forced upon them. To me pure evil is when someone does evil things just for sake of doing evil. He's still not a good person of course, he did a lot of bad things for sake of knowledge. Atonement seems like a very interesting concept, it makes sense why I love hoyo villains so much and it makes me very excited for Dottore's arc in the future
Maybe it also has something to do with the way the female playerbase handles fandom things in general. Like, look at all the fanart and fanfiction out there, I'm sure a lot of them are done by female players. And of course, to do those content, we tend to delve deep into the lore, their personalities, their backstories. Heck, some people even make headcanons based on those lore, no? Also some comments have pointed out below that design and gameplay alone is enough to sell female characters for guys. They prefer the visuals and action generally, after all.
I think the problem with female characters is despite how well written their story quests are, in the end they'll always have a soft spot for the player, ocer literally any other character growth or traits. I love Shenhe but I genuinly find her soft spot for the traveler a noting, she should be more distant with us, but mihoyo wants to pander to a certain audience so the female characters have to always like us. The male characters are less important (since a lot of the time certain parts of the fanbase hate them eg Lyney and Scaramouche) and hoyo can give them proper characterisation without conforming to the "you're my special little silly rabbit traveler" rule. The male characters can be standoffish, they can keep secrets from us, they can be mean or sly and they don't need to like us.
To me Zhongli is one of the best male characters ever written because from the formation of the guili assembly(the time he had guizhong) to the start of the archon war and after centuries of defending liyue(fighting alongside the adepti during the archon war, sealing of azdaha one of his beloved friend ) he wanted to retire and to allow the quixing(Humans) to handle there fate for there time is right Zhongli has leaded Liyue to an age of prosperity for far enough enduring this he needs to enjoy is remaining life to the fullest
I would say that the guys are a good amount better written then the girls because at least most of the quests focus on the guys, not so much on NPCs, even if they did, the character is still important and we learn more about them. However, it is 50 50 especially with some being mid while others are being great in terms of writing. Hopefully Hoyo will keep up the pace with the cast and not go the usual one side has more growth then the other. Great job with the video as always!
Well Genshin's only playable Father... is a Woman.... Ah Woman who looks cool as heck, has an interesting personality AND also has a friggin Animated vid that has feels!
Well saying this after Arlecchino’s banner has gone by, she’s an antagonist in such a good way. Like I feel as though her design makes it kinda obvious but she’s very much a morally grey character. Not going to spoil her story quest, but I have to say her story quest was the best one in Genshin in my opinion, compared to every other character.
Hii otsuu! Since you made a video for both male and female characters(loved them both), I am hoping to hear your thoughts on Arlecchino! After her story quest I think she really takes some traits from both male and female characters, also something about her origin, backstory, development and role in the story feels so unique and fresh. I think for a really long time the entertainment industry thought people do not like intimidating strong women but Arle's existence kinda proves that otherwise since she's really hyped and well received. I think she's truly a character for the mature audience especially women, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! (I'm sorry for writing this request under a male char video tho 😭)
I 50% agree with you about the male story quest. However, i think it's bigger issue. all the character quests feels lazy, offers no additional insight from what we already know, and un-engaging content for a game. for instance, Xiao's character during the chasm quest, or giving ayato screentime during the storming of Raiden's castle would have done more service than their character story quest can ever do.
its sad how i learned more about kazuha, fischl and xinyan in a limited event quest that isnt playable anymore by new players (that quest was amazing tbh)
I normally pull for characters my account needs to get stronger teams... Shadows amidst snowstorms event made me pull for Albedo and it was the only time I pulled a character for their story...
Great video, lot of of interesting point ! I do not agree with you on the relation between Lyney and the traveller, during his trial and following the revelation that the Lyney is a fatui. I don't understand the travellers reaction because yes he is a fatui but we did help the fatui in some side quest in the chiasm but also we babysit childe's brother and help him after he tried to destroy liyue by unleashing an ancient god on the city to escape.
![Kodak Black - Versatile 4 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VcP_1Ua__vY/mqdefault.jpg)
![[5.1] The Most Important Symbol In Genshin.... Maybe - A Genshin Impact Theory](/img/1.gif)
addressing my statement on cyno: yes this video was made & edited before the 4.6 livestream and yes i can't wait to play his second story quest BCS ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME
I know you where like "FINALLY HE GETTING HIS SHINE! 😭😭😭"
No worries. As an cyno main and cosplayer, I cannot wait too!
Meanwhile the 2nd Venti quest in the background: It's fine, it's fine, it doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me, it bothers me, IT BOTHERS ME A LOT!
Ahh lovely
Neuvillette's story gives me hope for Capitano. I realy hope they stick with the uber powerful but honorable and noble member of the Harbingers while still giving him the nuance to show why he is the way he is.
Also, plz keep the helmet on Hoyo.
Seriously hoping that they don’t pull a Firefly with Capitano.
@@fencerderio9814 Women can be Kamen Riders and pilot mecha as well
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHat Yeah but this is hoyo we're talking about. It be even more surprising if SAM didn't turn out to be a waifu.
The helmet part is so real.
@@aeso3555I didn't even want SAM to be a guy, I wanted him to be a straight up robot lmao
Well, now we got Cyno story quest 2
At least it will be better then nilou’s
@@potatopeller6985 everything is better than nilou's
Nilou's story quest is the most underrated and misunderstood quest of all characters, her story is about exploring the meaning and expression of art, it speaks directly to me as someone who went to art school.
Most people's negative reaction to that quest is exactly why the Sages and Inayah's father are against art, just like how art is oppressed in real life. And even this reaction is normal, artists like Nilou and Inayah will continue to do what they do despite people not understanding them, just like in real life.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHatthats entirely true the only issue is that they didnt really execute it well, the message was there but it wasnt really presented well considering how it flew over 90% of peoples heads. With chioris or baizhus or yoimiyas quest we can easily see what the point of the quest was in relation to the characters attributes bit nilous quest was so unclear with that message especially considering how little was actually spent on nilou. it felt more like a world quest ft-Nilou. Its not that the quest lacks a purpose, they simply didnt show the purpose well.
Finally
I think that Xingqiu has a very endearing backstory to him that usually gets overlooked, like, people just think that he is some bookworm kid that likes to bully Chongyun and thats it, when there is so much more to him, you just have to dig a little deeper. I find it so relateable how he struggles between the life he wants to live and the life he is forced to live by his family, and how he has to constantly lie and put up an act while edging closer and closer to a breaking point where he wont be able to take it anymore.
I would love to see Hoyo explore his story more!
There's a lot of context about Xingqiu that the West doesn't get because of loss in translation and just generally not knowing about CN culture, this also applies to every character.
Xingqiu's character archetype is the Wuxia hero, Wuxia is a very culturally dense genre that just doesn't exist in the West. In fact it's impossible talk about it without even using CN itself.
First his name Xingqiu 行秋, is made up of the words "walk/travel" and "Autumn", this name is derived from the Wuxia phrase "行走江湖/xing zhou jiang hu", "to walk the rivers and lakes".
Jianghu/Rivers and Lakes is the Wuxia metaphorical term for the "world of martial arts", one who travels this world is called a Wuxia/ martial hero.
In Xingqiu's eyes, the Traveler is the epitome of a Wuxia hero, he straight up says that in many of his lines throughout the years, he actually looks up to your adventures and travels. He also explains his idea and love for Wuxia during the Waterborne Poetry event while talking to Noelle and Mika when they were exploring and camping together.
Secondly, why is Xingqiu called "Walking Autumn"? In Wuxia, it usually exists a nostalgic and golden era of the world of martial arts, and this era is often called the "Spring", where martial artists and heroes are everywhere and competition between the skillful is plentiful. Xingqiu's name implies and characterises him as someone who is born and thinks he is born at a time past the Spring, golden age of martial arts. He is born in a time of peace and heroes are no longer a common sight, which is why he desires to be a hero and has great nostalgia for the age of martial arts and heroes, which is why he picked up the long "dead" martial arts of the Guhua Clan. Guhua being one of the few humans, a great hero who transcended and actually reached Celestia.
Xingqiu's love for reading got him into ancient legends and myths, creating an obsession for the age of heroes for him, which is why he now has a secret hero/Wuxia identity where he skips work for more heroic travels.
There's a ton of such context that would require essays to talk about, the entire Wuxia context of Liyue is lost to the West.
Such as Keqing who is born from a long line of extremely rich merchants, she could have lived her life off old money and never work a single day. However on the other side of the family is the Yunlai Clan, the exact same clan that Qiqi came from since the Archon Wars. Both Keqing and Qiqi have purple hair and red eyes showing their lineage.
Being a descendant of both ancient Wuxia warriors who fought in the Archon War and one of the oldest prestige families, Keqing grew up both trained in the sword and pen. On top of that she believes that humans should not rely on gods and instead take responsibility for themselves; so rather than just being a rich princess, she dedicated her entire life to serving people when she has no obligation to do so, just like a Wuxia hero . Keqing actually is like a fully realised Xingqiu, being born from both merchants and Wuxia clan, she lives the life that Xingqiu dreams of having.
Also Qiqi is Keqing's ancient ancestor, probably a great, great, great... grand aunt from 2000 years ago. Qiqi's Qing dynasty costume also means that during the Archon War, it is equivalent to China's Qing dynasty. She actually has huge context behind her going all the way back to the first emperor Qin Shi Huang and even Sun Wukong, but this post is already far too huge.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHat I appreciate this informative post as an ignorant westerner.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHat thanks for the info, that's actually pretty interesting!
100% agreed, I love Xingqiu and it'd be great to see Hoyo explore the deeper parts of his lore a bit more
Basically the darker side of Gaming's story
"razor hasn't been explored since his story quest"
the mondstadt event where he's the main character and focused on the question of who his parents were: *am i a joke to you*
It's an event, if u missed it then it doesn't exist to u, and u can't blame somebody for not playing an event that no longer exists
@@Accountthatexists true but the video acknowledged character development that happened in events for cases like albedo and kazuha. i just thought it was worth making a small correction/reminder since while razor doesn't show up much, he did have that one event a year ago or so
@@AccountthatexistsDid we not watched the same video or what? She (the uploader) acknowledges time and time again character's development in Events. I don't think she decided to not mention Razor's event, but she simply forgot about it.
To be fair the only reason she might’ve not mentioned it is very simple
Razor DIDNT get any development from that event at all.
The event goes out of its way to literally gut punch us by saying “ who cares about your dead parents?” Effectively making the entire storyline up to rosaria mean less because razor doesn’t change at all, all he did was just become slightly less caveman but even then calling that event character development for him is honestly a joke
I was so disappointed they faked us out during the Potion event, where Lisa invites him to meet Gorou but he's 'busy'. So lame.
We’re getting Cyno’s second story quest next patch and it’s about the temple of silence and the nature of cyno’s power! I’m super excited for it
yesss omg i can't wait to just know more stuff about cyno
Kaveh, kaeya and freminet are good examples of well written characters where as heizou on the other hand, was treated as fanservice
***We*** love his birthday art
The way these three together with benny and fischl are my favourite 4 stars ever
I love Heizou hangout quest though, it highlight his different side in different routes, his curious detective side, his playful scheming side, his serious and human side
Could just be the Heizou fan in me but I don't think Heizou is just fan service. Sure he is flirty and has that sus pic but while I think he doesn't get enough time to shine, and follows the same pitfalls as Ayato and Kokomi's tell not show, I think there's still some subtle hints about his character in the dialogue and his character mechanics. Like he is a detective, and wants to look out for justice, but he had something in his past that gave him guilt for the people he arrests, and sometimes he questions his morals, if he is actually doing the right thing. I think Heizou's problem is more that he doesn't seem to get any major roles or screentime that people often just boil him down as "sussy detective" or "fan service".
@@yuri-sama.questionmarkI love Heizou but I couldn't agree more, he definitely needs more screen time bc I know they can do something interesting with him if they just tried. That's the problem tho, a lot of other characters need screen time as well. It's probably hard for hoyo to balance so many characters all at once with how large the roster is, which is why I think we've been getting too many Itto related events. I don't dislike him, it's just other characters seriously need attention.
Justice to my boy Heizou, how ironic :(
I feel like 4-stars such as Kaeya and Kaveh have become some of the most well-written characters in the game. Their depth, their natural growth/development, the reveal of more information about them overtime, and their character interactions with others have been such a delight. They felt like proper payoffs to the build-ups that were established.
Sometimes, they felt more like 5-stars in terms of their treatment by Hoyoverse. And, honestly, I hope more 4-star characters get this type of treatment cause one less of a star shouldn't take away from their potential. Thankfully, with Fontaine, I feel like we're seeing more equal treatment. And Sumeru, while not perfect, felt like a step in the right direction.
I also feel like if Hoyoverse places more care and focus on 4-star stories, both old and new, it'll help strengthen the writing of 5-stars who either felt a little meh at the start or have suffered more stagnance in their development over the years. For example, Diluc. I love the guy but he's been pretty stagnant lately in terms of lore and development. However, if you look toward the writing and focus lately placed on Kaeya, I feel like that suddenly opens potential doors for Diluc's development. Heck, it probably already has cause of their connection.
Overall, great video! I love the bois in Genshin, so this was a treat to watch and get another perspective on the writing quality for the men.
I agree with this fully! Fontaine has been doing a lot for more strongly written fem characters, and I agree, Kaeya and Kaveh are in the top most well written imo.
Like kaveh’s own personality, past, mindset, and how that affects his actions is just written so masterfully.
And Kaeya, oh Kaeya, his lore is better than a lot of 5 stars in my personal opinion. Not only this, any sort of Khaeriah mention ends up thickening the plot development for Kaeya as well imo.
Though I have to say, my favorite fem character of Genshin from story alone is Arlecchino. It’s very much biased as I’ve loved her for over two years by now, but her story makes me very emotional.
Xiao liking us is very understandable though. Xiao devoted his whole life to protecting Li Yue to show his gratitude to Morax, Li Yue is what he fought for for thousands of years, and the Traveler helped him protect the most important thing in his life from being obliterated, he was a pivotal figure in bringing people and Adepti together to protect Li Yue from being destroyed, so it doesn't feel like a stretch that he likes us more than others. We were the link between humans and Adepti that helped to save Li Yue, and because protecting the harbor is the most important thing to Xiao, he feels inclined to support this link to the humans. In the way he acts towards the Traveler he shows gratitude for helping him in the duty he devoted his life to, I just don't see much fanservice or romance there, even if there was - it looks very organic in the story.
Not to mention that traveller is the first person he properly opens to after the liyue archon quest, and he lived more emotionally secluded especially after the death of all the yakshas. From his story quest to all the lantern rite and other events, we see him slowly opening up more to traveller and eventually trusting them with their life. And this was precisely because traveller went out of the way to help him take it easy more.
AND THE BIRTHDAY LETTER HE SENT US AAAAAAA
Honestly it’s up to interpretation or whatever, as a Xiao fan who hates traveler ships, I also kinda see this relationship as romantic idk. But you can also see it more as gratitude and him being thankful.
I also heard somewhere that literally being near the Traveller reduces the effects of his karma.
@@Texxyz.Yass he literally said I dreamed about you.. And that made me miss you can we go out on a date? Seeing you in real life would make me feel better.
Kaveh is really a great example tho of how well executed male characters can be, we have all our questions abt him answered before he is basically all of what we wished ayato would have, you really should have talked more abt him considering the amount of lore and character development, layers he has he got basically the Alhaitham treatment we know all we need to know abt them
Such a shame his story is barred by a limited time event, it showed so much more depth with his relationship with Alhaitham. It was sooooo fascinating!
Hoyoverse writing males : A lot of variations
Hoyoverse wrting females : Variatuons of our overworked moms
I want to give a shoutout to Gorou’s hangout quest as having my favorite and least favorite ending. The ending we get to see Gorou the war general grieving over his fallen comrades has stuck with me. The ending where he and the traveler run away from yae miko was certainly……one of the endings
the war general grieving ending still sends chills... i can't believe that's inside a hangout. i'm glad they touched on it because they never showed it in the archon quest... the yae ending though... yeah oof. made me dislike yae, which is probably for the best.
@@floofthedooflike I got those 2 endings back to back and the whiplash could kill a man honestly
I haven’t done Goru’s hangout yet that’s really sad.
Baizhu is NOT evil. He is seeking immortality so that no one else would ever have to inherit the contract. He wants to keep Changshang, his Adeptus snake friend, alive, but for that to happen she needs a host. She in turn provides them with longevity (as long as they don't get killed, nor overdo what their body can handle, they would have a longer than normal lifespan). Changshang and Baizhu care about each other and about their patients. There are no ulterior motives, Baizhu is a genuinely good individual. Plus, even if he seems secretive at times, newsflash: EVERY CHARACTER HAS SECRETS!!! Hu Tao and Baizhu are opposites in the sense Hu Tao wants you to die while Baizhu would do everything he can to keep you alive. Qiqi was resurrected by his predecessor, not by him, and simply letting Hu Tao bury her would go against his morals since, while she is undead, she is still fully sentient (unlike Resident Evil zombies which are mindless). He sacrifices his own health to ensure his patients survive if conventional treatments fail. Everyone, Changshang included, warn him about overdoing it yet he is adamant in his goal. "My Mortality is no one's concern but mine." his line from his teaser, he would sacrifice himself if it meant saving Changshang and his patients. I hate it when people try to make it seem he is after immortality for his own benefit when he is doing it to save others.
I think a lot of people (at least those who have done his story quest) have changed their minds about Baizhu. Before that even I was suspicious of him because of some concerning things other characters said about him. Qiqi being okay with not remembering his face and Xingqiu says he can't talk with Qiqi when Baizhu is around does sound alarming. Before his story quest everyone just made the assumptions because he was described as having a weak constitution and he looks after an immortal zombie child, due to all of this assuming he was bad was not a stretch at all.
Why do people think he’s evil? Then again..
@@Suited_Nat Because snake. Almost everyone automatically assumes any character associated with a snake to be evil. Changsheng, the white snake adeptus, is always trying to keep Baizhu alive, she cares for his well-being and likely also cares about the patients being treated. Liyue is heavily inspired by China, and in Chinese folklore there is a White Snake named Bai Suzhen who could take a human form and fell in love with a man named Xu Xian because he, in a past life, saved her from being killed. She risks her life to save him after he died from shock upon seeing her in her true form. This is a rough summary of the tale, but it is clear white snakes, like Changsheng and Bai Suzhen, are benevolent.
@@Candytime9 Maybe not, but I still find it annoying that people constantly try to make it seem that everyone associated with a snake is inherently evil. Why must people try to demonize my favorite animals, or those who associate themselves with them? Baizhu may be secretive but I have never once sensed malice, spite, nor any other ill intent from him. He has always seemed likeable and trustworthy. If anyone tries to compare him to, say, Orochimaru from Naruto, even that doesn't work... Orochimaru is morally ambiguous at worse. He was a war hero who, along side Jiraya and Tsunade, saved many people during his time as a Sanin. He did kill the 4th hokage, but considering that specific hokage ordered the execution of his parents when he was but a child, thus robbing him of the two who would've taught him right from wrong, I'd say that was justified. He did look into forbidden jutsu to gain immortality but he most likely started looking into it in hopes of bringing his parents back, which is a very understandable feeling. He leads the Sound Village, which he uses as a place to take in those who have lost their families. Every act Orochimaru did that someone might label as evil is instantly countered by something that logically justifies it.
Can I just say I love your videos sm. I love seeing genshin writing being criticised whether positively or negatively, ur vids are my fav
I mean it is clear she is careful with what she says cause this fanbase is so rabid,
Hot take, but i think itto is probaly one of the best written chars in all of genshin, cause the nailed what they wanted him to be perfectly, he is just a guy, whos an idiot, who wants to have fun.........they dont need to give a char a "oh so tragic" story to make them well written and alot of people think thats a requirment, which is just wrong
This is precisely why I like the fact that Itto appears in many events. He is the type of character I wanna see in the events: not one with a lot of lore that can only be shown in specific events (Albedo), but rather one that makes all events pure fun for... just existing.
@@Otherface and thats purely why they need to make events permanent, the rewards can go away cause this is a live service game, fomo has to exist, but leave the quests in the game
(And the excuse of people saying "oh they have to take them out of the game to keep the game small" and to that, they can just make a menu to download files for certain events and quests, problem solved, they have file downloads in hi3rd they can do it in genshin)
Eh I don't agree, back then when there were only his story quest and the Chasm AQ I had the same though but right now it's at it's worst with the Fontaine patches, he appear way too much with the same character trait in every event he is featured in while adding nothing to inazuma itself even though it's in desperate need of something new, not to mention a lot of characters should have this much screentime to make them atleast likeable, not even talking about him being the center of the 4.6 main event.. at least it's happening in Inazuma this time ig
@@Wolf-vy7et ur pretty much missing he point of itto, he doesn't add anything to the plot, he is there for PURE COMIC RELIF, and thar job he does in whatever he's in, is done well
@@AccountthatexistsAnd that the exact problem, they made his character too bland and overused him to death that he is not entertaining anymore when he appears, that's just my opinion though.
I unironically think that Ayato's story quest showed us a lot about Ayato's personality and the way he does things as head of Yashiro commission, on par with Childe's. The marriage between the heads of other two commissions didn't suit him, so he went and got it cancelled , and the bride and groom to be even thanked him for that. The dialogues with the Traveller, when he never says his objective directly, just pushes us along the way, were also very amusing. To me, it never seemed to be about npc's problem. Otherwise, great video!
I think Ayato's story shines a lot more than Kokomi's when it comes to showing the characters' calibre in handling political affairs and strategising. Maybe that's because Ayato's problem is more intriguing (in terms of who's plotting it, why and how to resolve the crisis), and its pacing allows players to think things through and try to come up with a solution in Ayato's shoes. Not so with Kokomi's, which is resolved by luck...
i swear u gotta be the only person who thinks the same way i do, i sometimes think ppl did his quest with eyes closed bc the way the got the whole inazuma political scene - the rest of the 2 comissions (expect shogun) dancing on the palm of his hand IS SO AMUSING AND CUNNING AND OMG I LOVE THIS MAN
@@melian5018 for real kokomis quest still bothers me to this day like, "where is it, where's the genius stragetist moment" meanwhile ayato's at least shows him being a politician
I did read his character story and his story quest, He can be terrifying and cunning if you mess with his family. He can ruin your life without even trying.
Let's be honest, if it weren't for Ayato, Inazuma would have plunged to chaos long ago.
This!
i'm surprised you didn't talk much about kaveh. yes some of his screen time is locked behind alhaitham's story quest and an event but he also has a hangout that fleshes him out very nicely and he's just very well written (biased opinion but still)
I loooove Kaveh! He's a character both well written and relatable. I sincerely hope we get to see more of him, though I'm unsure since he's kinda "just a guy"
The 3.6 event was peak. Sucks newer players will never experience it:(
Right!! I was so surprised when she basically skipped him 😭😭 he is basically one of the rarely characters that has been done right by hoyo
Kaveh is probably one of the best written characters in Genshin! I'm still baffled they dedicated the 3.6 event to him instead of Baizhu considering Kaveh is "just" a 4 star while Baizhu is a 5 star. Whoever came up with Kaveh at Hoyo must really love him and his personality.
As someone who was DYING for Kaveh's hangout to come out (because 4 stars don't get story quests:(), I was pretty pleased for the most part. Do I want more? Yes. Do I need it? Only 'cause he's one of my main's and I related so heckin much to him.
the way I started to tear up by just seeing the karkata cutscene... I WANT THAT CRAB IN MY TEAPOT!!!!!
Or a baby Karkata
I ugly cried when I played that quest and got to the Karkata scene 😅
i think the reason a lot of the male characters feel better written is cause a lot of the female characters suffer under the male gaze, whether it be in their designs or their personalities going into waifu mode (ganyu being a shy secretary sterotype, raiden's first story quest being a cute date after years of martial law, etc). i've heard people say the female fontaine characters don't suffer from this as much and i agree, which is such a breath of fresh air. for a long time its felt like the two female archetypes have been shy and submissive or "step on me mommy" (or a combination of both) and it feels like they're finally moving away from that with characters like navia and furina
true!!
For Xiao’s affection towards the traveller, I’m a fan of the Xiao fan service in comparison to Ayaka’s simply because Xiao’s affection makes more sense than Ayaka. The reason? Ayaka has friends and family that she cares about. Even though the traveller helped her save her nation, this was the joint effort of many other people. Ayaka has strength that doesn’t come from the traveller. Ayaka could’ve gone through her character arc without the traveller. As for Xiao, even though he was saved by Rex Lapis, the traveller was the one who opened his heart up to the potential of warmth. The traveller taught him that he was allowed and deserved to feel compassion. That’s why it makes more sense for Xiao to be compassionate with the traveller in comparison to Ayaka, who seems to pander to the traveller for no apparent reason? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the interactions that both of them have with the traveller, but I think Ayaka’s affection towards the traveller doesn’t make too much sense.
I think at the end of the day, Hoyo's reason for males over females in lore is just, males don't sell the same on design alone. Male characters unfortunately need to be sold a lot more than the female characters.
Interesting, I never thought of that before.
It is easier to sell pretty girls to guys; than hot guys to girls!?! It probably has to do with the ages of the player base. Young guys tend to be easier to attract than young women? This is just a thought from an old woman who likes games. I like certain characters not JUST because they look good, but because of their personalities. Childe, and Ayato are a good example. I don't like their personalities, where as Kaeya, Zhongli, and Dainsleif have very pleasant personalities. They have secrets but they aren't likely to hurt you if you upset them. Then you have Childe; he would definitely hurt you, and Ayato might have you taken care of quietly if you "know too much".
@@canadalovesanime3137 im pretty sure not that many people would have anything against childe hurting them, tbh i would let childe destroy me bc he is pretty, cool, and interesting, and i would be the happiest person alive if childe kicked me like please
@@gfecbtgrbgtfrvgbvtfrgfvbbgvfr OH! I see. I guess in my old age I prefer a gentler touch, like Kaeya. Everyone has their own preferences after all. 😁😁
That kinda says a lot LOL.
The day i get to see heizou outside of work is the day i will be a very happy man
I’ve been begging hoyo to see heizou outside his work because in the 3.3 event he was working and in his hangout he was also working. We only ever see him in work mode and i want to see more of his lore and character development
He has really interesting lore and after the 3.3 event you can see him not taking part in the festival. I want hoyo to explore that more for him bc he has trauma related to festivals. I really want to see him finally overcome that trauma and take part in a festival
as a writer myself i eat this content up. time to play this in the background while i get all geoaculus
Those are pure pain, out of everything to copy from botw, why did they take the korok seed concept
@@Accountthatexists exploring Liyue was fun I just hate the ones where I have to do a whole side quest to get to a single Oculus
No sammmmeeee 😂
good luck with searching the vault!
In terms of recent events, I also enjoyed the Thelxie event, while it was mostly about the NPC's story (which was also heartbreaking, ngl), I liked that we got a glimpse of Freminet from how he seems dreams/fantasy and also that bit of him mentioning how some of the Hearth members fared mentally before.
childe being send to an important mission but giving up and going shopping instead is so funny to me for no reason
Honestly, i think Tartaglia's second story quest will appear after the end of Snezhnaya and connect the lore a LOT.
Parents and other family are something I'd like to see more of so it doesn't feel like these characters came from thin air and/or their family just disappeared/tragically unalived or is just super negligent/absentee. Was expecting to get some hint to Kaveh's mom since she's supposedly in Fontaine now (maybe in the future). I'm not expecting to meet Timmy's dad anytime, and I know Jean and Barbara are siblings, we've met Diona's dad and even done commissions for him, Shenhe and Chongyun, and stuff like that: but everyone comes from somewhere. Why don't we know more about them? Especially after maxing friendship we should probs have learned SOMETHING about their families. Although many tend to be ancient beings, orphans and stuff. Where are the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.?
The main deal one has to understand with this subject it’s that gacha characters are products first and characters second, they are made to appeal to certain demographics and within those limits they build everything else and we have seen how volatile this fanbases can be,there are certain topics and conflicts they won’t touch to avoid angering the fanbases and sadly the main demographic that pays for waifus it’s quite…vocally active when something doesn’t go the way they want, even having a female character interact with a male one in a too friendly manner can be seen as “cheating” limiting even more how they are written
You mean like those absolute loonies who murdered a cat that looked like Scaramouche? Ugh, fuck those guys. It's a shame that these types of nutjobs are the main money spenders.
Exactly. And the CN (and KR?) fanbase especially seems to be kinda vocal in what they like and dislike in certain characters. But with them being Hoyo's main audience (in money revenue) I don't blame the writers for playing it safe most of the time.
You hit the nail on the head.
As someone coming from a lot of different fictional media (especially games) before getting into Genshin, I care none for a character's "attractiveness" and solely focus on the kit, power, personality and such. Heck, I LOVE a lot of characters that are beasts, otherworldly creatures, animalistic or not at all human-like, which are often perceived as being "ugly" by people.
Seeing pretty faces all the time gets boring, and I'm not joking when I say I play Genshin for the world, exploration, power systems (I'm a sucker for elemental systems like in Pokémon), and combat. The characters are just vessels for me to traverse such a fictional world.
@@valse6195that’s why fgo is my favorite gacha game. The designers are allowed to make characters like hessian lobo and Ivan alongside your sabers and jeannes which makes every servant feel new since we get a bit of everything.
Alhaitham story is about him being him. Yes, some of us might hate someone like him. This smartass that just couldn't be bothered with others. If you read his story or lines? The ones you unlocked in his profile, you'll get to know that his parents died early and he was taken care of by his grandma.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, guys. But I remember the fact Alhaitham is always been like this ever since a kid. He's the kind that enjoys knowledge which fits him being a scholar. Even in his grandma's last moments, she told him not to change himself for others. This hits me because it's true, we can't please everyone in real life. Sometimes people can hate us due to some reasons and we might never know.
So about the story quest for Alhaitham, it's something some of us can relate. The other guy is trying to do his own ways and unhappy with Alhaitham for getting in his way. Imagine if you have something you want to do but someone else is trying to "sabotage" you, thus you might have some hatred for them. But in the end, what makes Alhaitham is good character to me because he doesn't need to be all good and trying to win your heart (let's not talk about his designs, people xD). And what's even more better is the fact the Sumeru boys are indeed close friends. Kaveh despite always get frustrated with Alhaitham, they are still friends.
I'm just happy Hoyo finally made a smart and calculated character THEN they SHOWN IT! Unlike one character... *Coughs* Kokomi being the rebel strategist...
There are some other male characters I enjoy and would like to express but it would be just a whole essay!
The worst thing about npc impact is the opportunity loss from the lack of character interactions. 99% of story quests only involve the titular character.
Making Ayato's story quest without involving Ayaka or Thoma is criminal. I mean, come on, that quest would've been a opportunity to flesh out all three of them. And they somehow managed to do nothing for any of them, even Ayato. How?
I loved that in the archipelago event with Kazuha, we learned a big part of his story and he was just like "well I learned nothing really, might pick up bonsai as a hobby".
Gorou being so forgotten that he didn't even get mentioned...
I think he had some good moments in the Inazuma story, even if just a little. His hangout is good, just a bit simple. But then his appearances have been mostly reduced to being bullied by Yae and being afraid of... Let's say "teasing" women, like Lisa in the latest event.
Wish we would get more of him being a loyal soldier and a natural leader, or explore why he's part dog. Maybe some Youkai genes? Or something like the Katzlein?
I love Albedo’s and Kaeya’s stories so much, I just wish we had more lore on them, they’re such interesting characters
I have several comments about this video
Why no mention about 4 star character event also highlight male 4 star more frequently, Razor windblume, Kaveh Interdarshan, Freminet Thelxie
No mention about hangout quest? Or is it for another video?
About Xiao vs Ayaka, the reason many likes Xiao Traveler ship so much (Like SO MANY people like it), I think is because the writing for Xiao gradual attachment to Traveler is more believable
1. Xiao didn't outright head over heels to Traveler from the start, he even shoo them in their first meeting, meanwhile Ayaka already admired Traveler from the start and she ask for help and trust Traveler from the start
2. Xiao start to trust Traveler because Traveler is the one that pursue Xiao. Xiao told Traveler to not get involved many times, he keeps refusing Traveler invitation to Lantern Rite, but Traveler keeps getting themself involved with Xiao. Meanwhile with Ayaka, it's Ayaka the one that do the pursuing and Traveler is just following her
3. Traveler genuinely changed Xiao's life, unlike other characters that have their own story and character development without Traveler. Traveler IS part of Xiao's story and character development. The involvement of Traveler in Xiao's character development is so big it makes the illusion (or maybe not illusion) that Traveler also have a thing for Xiao. (that waterborne event fanservice, such a personal moment)
Then we have an event featuring Ayaka having character development on her own (making new friends in Fontaine), without Traveler involvement at all, her interaction with Traveler is only very little too
YESSS i completely agree!
Valid! To be fair, I feel like the Kamisato siblings are probably both the weakest written in inuzuma imo.
@@Suited_Nat I feel like Hoyo miss the chance to show Ayato and Ayaka can be a caring sibling relatonship and show great they are with one another. Like we rarely get to have siblings interactions in the game sadly just like Barbara and Jean also.
It would be more exciting if they make Ayaka and Ayato work together in the Archon quest.
This is one of my favourite comments now HJFOBWOSK 😭💚💙
I think the big difference between Lyney and Xiao vs Ayaka is how the former are allowed to interact and have relationships with other characters besides the traveler (Lyney and Lynette are always together, I think that helps him become more dynamic), Ayaka had us waiting for her to talk with her brother until 4.2, and had a very interesting arc about learning to make new friends skipped/go off screen.
neuvi's sq made me cry
i just want more playable characters to be allowed to be assholes. not even EVIL evil, just... let them be annoying or mean. Chiori for example is a good direction for the game. sure i know she will be hated by many people and it's fair imo, but she feels unique. it's not even like Hoyo can't do it. i mean look at HSR, half the cast in that game is insufferable and they still sell well all the same so what are hoyo scared of ? 😂
wanderer
That would be cool. I was personally hoping they would’ve made The Knave the Genshin equivalent to John Constantine but it doesn’t seem like they’re going that route.
Or maybe something similar to Kafka but in a guy body. But doing so will piss off the waifu incels , but who cares. They're always so needy
@@josueravena3464Kafka? That name sounds really familiar to me for some reason but I can’t place it.
@thomasraines1396 A character from Honkai Star Rail. Her name is based off of the surrealist fiction novelist Franz Kafka.
Alhaitham's story quest have a very interesting lore implication, the hive mind idea is very consistent in genshin lore, from the golden slumber to the narzissenkreuz ordo plans, it seems they have taken the opportunity to explain the idea even more, especially that we are in sumeru where the irminsul tree is.
the strides we would make if we just had other characters in people's story quests. (like other characters not npcs)
the best part about Alethiam's quest is just... the fact that Kaveh was there! like Baizhu's quest was great because Hu-tao and Qiqi were THERE! !!! it ate! So many characters have accompanying ofther characters which should be pivotal to hanging out with them but it just... doesn't??? like- HEY why weren't any of the resistence present for Kokomi's story quest? I would love to see her dynamics with them now that the war is over. Lynney's quest is great because his VERY lore relevant sister is also there playing off of him. The traveler doesn't talk outside of dialogue choices and Paimon has just about as much chemistry as your average beetroot (like her random beef with Alheithem? idk what that is she's just 40% more obnoxious when he's on screen)
I would love to have a story quest with Mona where she just Larps with Vishl.(maybe also shove Ayaka in there somehow idk how but her trying to be very polite as Mona and Fishl commit more and more to the bit as Ayaka is trying desperately to figure out what they're talking about without seeming rude)
Or one where Zhongli is trying to sell therapy to Xaio without letting his "I don't need help" instincts kick in.
(also put Hu-Tao there cause funny)
I want to lock Furina Wanderer and Fishl in an escape room just because I think it would be funny (idk why that trio is so funny to me but I want to see it so badly) Furina and Fishl both just larping back and fourth and wanderer tries to call them dumb, but they outnumber him so he's just trying trying to ignore how similar he and Furina are (in like a "omg we met at the AA meeting" way).
I want to have the hearth kids and Childe in a room with them all being like "oh a superior" and be very formal and serious and have that be Juxtaposed by Childe fighting for his life trying to keep his older sibling instincts from kicking in to keep up appearances.
Arlecchino's story quest is amazing because it has 5 other playable characters present, although I wish Navia made an appearance too
In my opinion, Xiao's and Cyno's story quests' problem isn't about having too much focus on NPCs, but about not touching on much new about the characters' personalities (and boring execution in Xiao's case). Both characters have a lot of interesting lore, but the story quests don't really go into it and instead regurgitate stuff we already know about the characters.
I think it maybe lore related and that is why they have to hold back until the time is right. If they give us all the back story now; we could figure out where they plan to take us story wise. Plus too much all at once is just overwhelming. The NPC's are just plot devises at the end of the day. Stories are hard to tell without good characters.
2:10 ok, I will tell you: Because *it shows us how, contrary to Ganyu's internal belief, she's deeply connected to the Human society in Liyue.* She knows how people work internally, how to exploit that, but can also connect to the people close to her quite easily. THAT is what Ganyu's story quest shows us.
She does, in fact, fit into human society perfectly well. She's just too self-conscious about something most people either don't know, or don't care about. People respect her and what she does not because she's a (half-) adeptus, but because of her accomplishments and reputation of being an incredibly reliable person, worker, and a great mentor.
In other words, what a Story Quest should be about.
24:04, to me, it makes sense narrative wise. Yes, the Traveler was friendlier, but that was the point, to rebuild their relationship.
The Traveler initially left Lyney in act 1, apologizing and basically saying they needed some time to think about it. They aren't inherently mad at Lyney and closed up to any sort of reconciliation, and understand his pov; his story quest making them further understand his psychology.
During act 3, they also have to team up with Lyney. It's in a different context than his sq, which is why they're on their guards still, but at no point do they seem mad at him, no frowning, no turning their backs... just a polite refusal at first, before accepting as Lynette makes a comment about how Lyney just wants to spend time with them again, and genuinely appreciates them, which is what makes the Traveler give in. For that, Lyney's story quest seems rather undeniable, it needs to be played before act 3. It is narratively good and makes sense, I really don't understand how it doesn't.
And after that we're kind of friendly in Arlecchino's story quest
as much as Ayato is daddy AF to me but goddamn. Itto's story and personality is PEAK.
kaeya's a well written character. he's first introduced as a mysterious, is he a good guy or a bad guy sort of dude but through his hangout and the manga you see how he's genuinely willing to help just about anyone with just about anything, usually without expecting much back.
his lore actually has an impact on his development from his childhood, teenage years and finally adulthood (shy, rule-following child, broken teenager, uses-extravagance-to-cope adult). they've revealed enough of his lore to make him intriguing and crucial to the story while leaving out essentially all the important bits. he's a likeable, morally grey guy who makes impact and has been impacted.
One weird thing about male characters that feels related but not part of their writing: sensible everyday clothes.
There are a lot (a few) female characters in genshin that wear an outfit for a specific event, except they wear it all the time. The stage performers are the biggest offenders here. There's no way Nilou and Yun Jin wear stage costumes 24/7 but thats the look they're stuck with. Xinyan, she lives the rock lifestyle and probably does always dress like that.
But as the men are defined by more than a single role they play, none of the male outfits are glaringly stupid to wear all the time.
Oh yeah all the high heels are bad too but that just is what it is.
There’s no way Dehya would survive in the desert wearing what she wears.
@@thomasraines1396 true, but it is pretty close to what other eremites wear so at least it's consistent.
@@dominicjannazo7144 so they’re *all* a group of poorly dressed idiots, who would in no way survive the desert.
@@dominicjannazo7144 so they’re all consistently a bunch of morons.
Can't wait for cyno second story quest coz desert for me is the most interesting and vibing place, soundtrack is crazy good and the hidden story is thrilling and so so dark. I return to the lower desert every day
For me it's been surprising how within a year they released 3 MALE CLAYMORE 4* characters with good quality characterisation (at least in my opinion), which I think is a funny coincidence for them to have so many similarities, and additionally, the events they were featured in were super enjoyable for me.
The Parade of Providence featured a good half of the Sumeru cast and served as an amazing exploration of Kaveh's past and how guilty he feels about his father's death. Gaming (along with Xianyun and Shenhe of course, they are officially a comedic duo) made this year's Lantern Rite very refreshing. And Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures was one of the few times when I've actually deeply cared about an NPC (even though I would've liked to learn a bit more about Freminet).
After the 4.6 trailer, I'm hoping both Freminet and the twins will get even more development alongside Arlecchino.
the whole of inazuma could be its own video in absolute boredom save for a few cutscenes. but it was the worst pacing ever. also i wish they would write in ayato more. he's legit the biggest missed potential for real.
alhaitham also shows different sides to him around kaveh, so anytime they're together, it's really entertaining, especially his development in the PoP event. which well sadly, suffers from being an event and not everyone will see him. both him and kaveh are very relatable as people, living together, having normal jobs ( in comparison to other genshin characters lol ). and that makes them more loved for me
One thing that many people might miss is the note Furina wrote to Neuvillett on the table before and after his quest XD
Although Furina doesn't show up, that note did show a lot Furina character and her relationship with him
? And how did that relate to the video 😅
@@lelouchlamperouge1287 it in his story quest which add to his character?
This video is about how Hoyo write male character story quest so it should be inclued as well?
That was a funny one
I think it would’ve been interesting if Ayato’s and Kokomi’s quests were kind of side by side-they can tackle both sides of the Narukami/Watatsumi politics. That was one of my favorite aspects of Inazuma, and they had this tee’d up perfectly but they didn’t swing.
Yoimiya’s SQ focused around a festival, but festivals are a common aspect of Japanese culture, so both Ayato’s and Kokomi’s quests could’ve been about their respective organizations planning festivals. We can dive into the Watatsumi culture with Kokomi’s quest (because we don’t get to see a lot of that), and we can explore Ayato’s relationship with Ayaka as they plan a festival together.
You missed thoma lore.
His dad went to go visit his homeland but died in a shipwreck. So when Thoma was old enough he was like 'you know what I should go visit it to see what it's like' (and also I guess to find belonging.) and then he got in a shipwreck
So the siblings found him and took care of him in exchange for him taking care of them and the house. And he kind of got really attached to his Lord to the point where he's like 'I'm not leaving even though your dirt broke and we all might get assassinated' and got his vision
Now I'm wondering if he went on the ship with his dad. it's been a few years since I've read it. I'm absolutely sure his dad is dead though
I am glad female characters got better in Sumeru - Fontaine. Nahida, Dehya, Navia, Furina, Cloud Retainer/ Xianyun, Arlecchino are all good written and had important roles.
The males were written well since Mondstadt on with Inazuma being a low again. Inazuma writing was just overall bad. Kazuha is good written but you need to have been tehre for numerous events to really get all.
With such a large amount of females you’d think they’d be more variety but nope mihoyo was stuck in the past off oh waifu=money however ever since Fontaine they’ve been cooking on both the men and women I was genuinely surprised on how well written xianyuns and chihoris quest were so well done and nevuilette and lyneys quest as well(we don’t speak about wriothesely)
the way a lot of these characters have interesting aspects to their lore or personality if you just look at their character stories and they manage to make it "a day in the life of this character" or "let's help this random npc who ends up being the real main character" instead feels like so much wasted potential. and yeah, this is probably partly just because there are more female characters than male ones but there are so many female characters that literally just feel like copies of the same concepts over and over again. like, workaholic? check. generically nice? check. it makes me feel like they just don't care to put more effort in sometimes because they know she's pretty so she'll sell anyway. but when it comes to the male characters, they genuinely (for the most apart) feel like unique people with their own qualities that set them apart from others. and if you consider that story quests are the permanent content anyone can access while events are just gone if you miss them, it's so sad that sometimes events flesh out the character more than their story quest. (prime example: albedo)
@@_aster_ EXACTLY
Wriothesley has amazing story quest. Much better that Neuv(imo).
I especially loved Furina's story quest. I think it was one of my favourite story quests so far
Wow that's certainly an opinion I mean his sq wasn't that bad or anything but to say it's much better than Neuvi... You must really like him😅
Personally I’m convinced the writing or design of male vs. female characters comes down to who they are designed for. I would say female characters have to appeal to the male gaze and vice versa. I think staff at hoyoverse is almost 50/50 as well as their player base - which I’m thankful for since I think their design is rarely too fanservicey. I’m amazed how they improved their writing of the female characters but I’m also impressed how male characters can be meta defining now. So all in all I think they doing a great job. I miss Wanderer tho.
Don't use "male gaze" ever again
Albedo's events should be remade into story quests for him, imo.
Theres different levels of tragic backstory if you ask me. XIao`s backstory is many times more tragic than Ayaka because its less relatable.
If you meet people in Ayaka`s situation IRL, friendless orphans. they are most of the time more tragic than Ayaka cuz they arent the 1%(yes i am saying Ayaka looses tragic-ness points because she`s rich and her name has influence)
Whats Xiao`s irl situation? A war veteran who lost all his buddies to mentaly debilitating diseases they got from service and yet continues to serve so trying to re-acclimate him to society, show him what his team sacrificed themselves for before his own mind goes too?(and yes Xiao does earn tragic-ness points due to the time bomb that`ll Hoyo`l never trigger)
I feel like you can't really have a conversation like this without including the four stars. In my honest opinion it makes this discussion kind of hollow
Thank you for the deeper dive into Ayato. He always felt very underwhelming to me as a character, and I pondered why that never got better with time. The answer turned out to be both obvious but also more than that, and I appreciate how this video gave my messy thoughts more clarity, lol.
It makes me a little sad that he was so close to being a far more interesting character, but it felt like Hoyoverse took what time and effort should've desperately been used for Ayato and placed it into Ayaka. He definitely should've been introduced a lot sooner. Hoyoverse also seemed to have a pretty noticeable issue in Inazuma with the, "telling and not showing" trope when it came to a chunk of their characters there.
Aether and Lumine’s writing seems pretty similar in quality imo 😏
Good timing on the Cyno bit-- it's getting some explanation in the upcoming patch. There's a new character that seems to be some kind of Cyno rival for Hermanubis, and he has a unique enough charcter design to be playable in the future.
i think my favorite men who are written is Kaveh and Alhaitham and I loved both of their individual content, aka Alhaitham's story quest and Kaveh's hangout. No matter what anyone says, I think it's important to see them as individual characters and then analyze them together, you cannot omit either aspect. Because they're both solid characters alone, but they are a complete set together and it makes a very beautiful story when put together. I can't even compress it down, but they're just so well written. Especially Kaveh, he's such a realistic character and his story is so beautiful. His convictions, motivations, ideals, all of it. They're so well written, I wish we saw more of him in the offical story other than that little part with him and Alhaitham. They're just both so special to me
As a person who has been hyperfixated on these two for the past two years now - yes.
Not even mentioning the ship aspect (which, imo is incredibly beautiful but I might elaborate on that later), they tend to often be put together as their stories intertwine with each other quite a bit.
And the reason for it is very much valid - both of them have played an important role in each other's lives, with Kaveh especially being affected by Alhaitham bringing his issues to light back in their student years. And while the aspect of them developing around each other is extremely well-written and interesting, they are also wonderful characters on their own.
Kaveh is such a troubled man, and honestly, anyone in his place would have surely either given up already, or become bitter against the world or even other people. But he doesn't do either of those things - not only does he stick to what he believes in, he also remains kind and considerate towards those in need, regardless of how much discomfort he might be putting himself in in the process. People don't realize the amount of strength a person must have in order to carry this heavy of a burden and still somehow remain kind and hopeful. I'm still a firm believer that the people of Sumeru would probably not even care too much about him being in debt or living in Alhaitham's place, but he kind of needs to keep that last little bit of pride he has left haha
As for Alhaitham himself, man, I could go on for hours about the autistic coding of this man. His story quest only further solidifies the fact that he is literally just a guy being himself, and other people still see him as cold and aloof or even downright condescending when his story LITERALLY says that he doesn't look down upon anyone, regardless of their stature or even intellect. His personality may not be pleasant, but he's not being outright rude, and his disinterest in social interactions doesn't stop him from being considerate when he needs to (example: asking the npc in his story quest whether he would be comfortable with him looking into his files).
When it comes down to them together, what I find fascinating is the fact that they act completely different around each other than they do with literally anyone else, and due to their contrasting personalities, they almost do a full-on switch. Alhaitham, from being described as selfish and disinterested, suddenly sacrifices his peace and quiet just so Kaveh can have a place to live. He also does it again during the PoP event, during which he takes on the role of commentator in order to investigate Sachin - and he literally tries to show his findings to Kaveh, only to end up investigating on his own until he finds an explanation that gives Kaveh closure on the death of his father. He goes from selfish to selfless in a matter of seconds.
Kaveh, meanwhile, from a self-sacrificing kind-hearted man who trusts people way too easily, suddenly becomes distrustful of Alhaitham's intentions and ends up trying to prove his own worth to him.
They both allow each other so much room for growth that it's almost insane to me that people still don't see how deeply they care for each other, and how much they need each other for that development.
As for the ship itself - I think it's surprising to see that a company like Hoyo managed to write a compelling relationship between two men that isn't just "haha funny roommates so players can headcanon them to be gay". There is genuine depth to their connection, they have a history together, they constantly evolve with each other's help, improving their relationship with every new quest that comes out. Their relationship also relies heavily on them discovering the true meaning of "home", which I just think is a beautiful trope. Also, I do love the fact that they are presented as equals in terms of intellect and skill, and that they are both depicted as capable - mostly because even in subtextual (implied) gay romance, there is usually an attempt to make an obvious imbalance between the two men, where one is usually feminized or shown as the smaller, weaker, or in some cases even less intelligent. Their dynamic is just so realistic and somehow manages to be a positive depiction of what a deep connection between two men can be, which is strange coming from a Chinese company.
(Also before anyone jumps at this, yes, I'm aware nothing is confirmed, which is why I'm treating this as pure subtext, because there is A LOT OF SUBTEXT to these two. There is an over 30 page Google doc with all the hints and evidence regarding these two to be easily found!)
All of this to say, they are wonderful both separately and as a set, and I absolutely adore that. However, no matter which way you look at it - in order to fully understand one, you have to look at the other as well.
I'm pretty sure Benny will return when we have to cross Mare Jivari to reach Natlan. And some Mondstadt characters will return for the port Dornman expansion, but that may happen much later than we think.
Another banger video you made ❤
We're FINALLY getting Temple of Silence lore in the coming update - YES!!!
I won't call them bad per say, but even the "worst" ones are ok in terms of story quests.
Most stpry quests available are Act1 of the character's story an introduction to the character's personally, the way they behave, the way decide to deal with things in their own ways are things that are focused on more so then their lore or backstory in most cases as it's their introduction not a complete story arc. Many character don't particularly have their "Character moment" because it has already happened, these characters that we see and experience aren't characters whose stories have just storted but character's who have already grown from the original person they started off as, now they are not complete charactets they are still and will continue to grow but grow requires reason it just doesn't happen juts because and sunce the character's live in a more peaceful life there is little necessity for growth. That's where the continuation of their story quest (otherwise known as act 2) comes into play outing the characters in either an unfamiliar situation that tests them or situations the puts them face to face with their past.
Genshin's stories both the Archon Quests and Story quest showcase a more of a peaceful time, sure there have been internal problems within each nation but those don't particularly affect the peace of a nation (mostly because the traveller's Dull blade wacks stops the problem before they get out of hands). I'd say Liyue's probably the only nation who's peace was actively threatened due being attacked by sealed god and such. My point being that hoyo is staging up the world all stories that place in the present are meant yo show the peace of the continent and how people and characters live(the over archinh story is still in it's opening act even if we've reached Fontaine and will cross over to Natlannin a few months) only so it can all be destroyed in one fell swoop when the final act of the story begins.
I would talk about Inazuma but i don't think that would work seeing how many mistakes were made by the inazuma writing team which inevitably caused the characters to suffer alongside their stories with the sole somewhat exception of Ei.
Now i have seen people complain alot about how Ei's first story quest was just a date with traveller without ever putting in the smallest thought into what story quest meant. I really liked what they did with Ei's first story quest it held up very well when compared to the entirety that was Inazuma's Archon Quest. After the Archon Quest's event Ei is left confused and unsure what to do next as she was basically forced to abandon her idea of Eternity that so proudly proclaimed before (thanks to the power of the Dull blade). She basically locked herself in from the outside world because she believed that locking herself and her nation in dtate of stagnancy everything will remain the aame but her walk with traveller showed her that regardless of all her attempts things still changed nothing she remembered as Inazuma wete the same and then continuation of the story quest showed us why she did what she did. She tried to put everything in stagnancy because she wanted to protect her people because she thought change will cause them to suffer eventually. She wanted to create a Nayuon of her people that existec for Eternity. Her story quests are probably the only one's yhat held up any hope of Inazuma to me.
Character story quests that rely on NPC interactions will always feel a bit weak since the character will take place of the problem solver then the problem itself and I'm not against this kind of approach. As YOu said Ganyu's story started good with her adeptus training and ended not si good with a fraud case investigation but i don't really see it like that. It's just part of her character the dual nature of being half adeptus and half human. First we experience the adeptus side with ger training with Xiao, the adeptus choose to follow Morax none of them were forced to do so and they left Ganyu's life choices to her they never wanted/forced her to stay in the monntains and do the adeptus stuff that they all do but the doors are ipen if she vhooses to. And on the complete opposite side of the spectrum are the humans who actively need her due to her experience and knowledge as the secretary of the Qixing and part of the Ministry of Cuvil affairs(shady goverment organisation) there are and will always be thing that will need her expertise and experience. Her story quest is more about choosing does she go on with the life she was supposed to live considering her own lineage or live a life where people really need her (desperately)
note: Ganyu is i think the only secretary that we know of so she basically habdles work detail of all 8 members by herself of course the other members have their undelings probably, maybe not kequing but still that's alot of work not to mention she's being doing it for multiple generations of the Qixing.
I can see the Xiao and Ayaka comparison but i don't necessarily agree. Ayaka is fan servicy for no reason like there is literally no reason for it she just starts like that and that's why i don't like her very much.
Xiao's on the other hand is a different case. The traveller was the only person who managed to put the idea (if not convince) Xiao that what he's doing is bad and that he's allowed to rest and live life. As From Xiao's introduction he trues to keep people at a distance being worried for their safety, alway fighting, he cinsidered himself as kind of brink of a monsters but throughout his continued interactions with the traveller his perspective starts to change. Like the first lantern rite we barely managed to get him close to the city, the second lantern rite tho he participate in the festival we still see him watching the fireworks go off, the chasm interlude he ginally starts to acept that he's not all bad and can consider himself a hero a good guy like everyone does (this time indtrad of the full blade we needed help from the great words spoken by none other then Ushi), and frim then on we see him attending thr frdtivals snd even participate sometimes even if he fid it off his oen will, was a noyed into it orcoversed into it.
I actually hope hoyo would released all of the event story and make it permanent.
It's very limited to know a character just from archon quest and their own story quest as not everyone would get their act II, act III, etc. (I hope so but I believe not)
I agree that a lot of character really get fleshed out from event story and the experience will change if you missed them.
In my opinion, Xiao is still acceptable because I don't feel he flirt with traveller. He just trust the traveler now. But Ayaka feels so abrupt. I only see her in archon quest, her own story quest, and almost missed all of the other event quest that she shown up. Then suddenly i met her in the limited event when she get new skin and she kind of flirt with the traveler. I get so much goosebump and almost skip the entire story line because I just don't get why this character became like this.
It's also weird when it came to albedo. I am fortunate enough to get to play the event story when we get to know about his clone so I don't feel that he is weird. But if I play his story quest then suddenly met him in recent events, he had changed so much (in my case, I use the JP voice, the acting direction had changed extensively) that it feels so weird.
When it came to story quest, there are not much that stood out in the early versions. The only story quest that stood out to me is Zhongli, Venti, and Hu Tao. I like Hu Tao's story quest because of the mysticism concept in it so it's kind of biased.
I feel they handle the story quest better especially for the female character since Ye lan and Raiden act II, i don't feel they are just a tool for hoyoverse to sell waifu anymore so it's kind of a good improvement. But there are still some story that are not interesting enough such as Nilou's story quest.
And personally, I hate how they handle Navia. I feel that they just dump all of the tragic, sad, and injustice to her to get our sympathy. But they just keep repeating the same pattern (she lost her father, lost her close subordinate, than get betrayed in story quest). All of this just put me off. Navia kept repeating that she usually don't cry but most of the time I see her crying 😅
I really think that they need to put the Event Story quest as actual story quests that you can unlock with the purple keys and play for that 40 primo and lore, most of those events primos are from mini-games so I don't why they are not making those permanent and don't say its because of the size of the game cause it's too big already for most Phones 😂
I'm not even a new player I just was when Albedo's limited-time event came out and didn't know how to access the events page. I thought it was part of the main story quest so I specifically avoided getting spoiled and now I've missed out on a lot of cool lore/fan art/speculation when it was happening and the only way to experience it now is recordings of other people playing through it online
I prefer the male characters because most of them don't look like they're going to fall out of or rip their clothing the moment they step outside. I know it's not practical to run around exploring in suits and stuff, but most of them have more practical outfits than the women. I see the female characters running around in their dresses, tight clothes, heels, ruffles, lace, etc., and all I can think is "you would have broken your ankle several times in the last ten minutes, go put some proper outdoors clothing on". The female characters are pretty but in a game where so much of it consists of outdoor exploration I find it immersion breaking.
Dehya would realistically be dead from the heat from the desert with how she dresses: dark colors, overly exposed skin, that metal thing she has on her shoulder.
If you think Genshin girls are bad you probably never played other gacha games lol, like they are super tame compared to others
I think that the male characters fell deeper/better written can be attributed to how acceptable it is for characters to have traits of the opposing gender. Since male characteristics in females is often seen as a downgrade or disservice to the soft femininity they are supposed to have, males having more emotional depth and being kind/caring is less noticed, especially if that depth comes from a tragic backstory (males are the ones enduring hardships in traditional thinking)
Honestly, I hope you make a 2 hour video just talking about Genshin characters. Also I would love for you to do a deep dive on more of the 4 stars, like Kaveh cuz I’m biased. Or just how some 4 stars sometimes are more interesting than 5 stars. Especially in the early game in my opinion.
Like I think we can all agree that Beidou should have been a 5 star
I really love your videos! (Please make a video about the knave once she’s out)
For the story quests,hoyo can litrally add it as dlc quest with minor rewards, it will occupy less storage and we can even delete it later.
Diluc too is very lore intensive like he's had an entire event dedicated to him he's for some reason connected to Nicole and his father had a delusion of abyss origin like hoyo really need to hit on that.
I think the issue of storage for the limited time events could come in the form of dlc, if you want to see the extra bit of lore you can just download it at your own decision
I no joke smiled when at the end of Neuvi's story quest those guys almost lynced the guy who threatened the melusine.
I'm from the future (I just watched after 4.6 was out) I can safely say "Father" is one of the few very-well written female characters in the entire game, Hoyo really went all out on her.
Crossing finger we'll get Bennet story quest or some role in Natlan's Archon Quest 🤞🏼
After seeing arlecchino story quest I honestly don't see us getting a character like dottore playable unless out of no where they give him redeeming qualities that will make the traveler be on good terms with him which I would dislike. If he is playable it will probably be one of his clones cause I honestly feel like he will die. But who knows Hoyo might surprise me.
Also I feel like most fans feel like Xiao and the traveler had more of an arc together with their relationship which I guess makes the shippy moments feel more natural where with Ayaka and Lyney their crushes happened rather quickly which makes it feel more fan service feeling.
Even the most foreboding aspect of Arlecchino’s quest - at the very end of it where she goes on her big speech - is downplayed by the characters - including the Traveler - holding her in reverence so what she says just comes off as edgy and cool sounding then anything of weight.
I don't play genshin but based on what I usually hear about the story I'm of the opinion that similarly to how female characters are designed to be very physically attractive to appeal to a male player base, male characters are often written with a romance novel trope in mind. because of this, their personality is very important to their sales, and they often have one other character in particular that their relationship is particularly fleshed out with to use as an audience stand in for the trope. Alhaitham and Kaveh have their roommates situation and their banter, Neuvillette is very much so the powerful and cold guy who is actually very sweet and will take care of your kids, etc. problem with this theory is that I also don't read a ton of romance novels so correct me if I'm wrong TvT.
Don't read many romance novels but as a female writer who has entered a lot of times to readings clubs in Wattpad and uses that plataform and others to publish my novels this could be 90% true
The recent event with freminet made my eyes re-hydrate africa
Dottore better be playable and send us a food that instantly kills our active character on his birthday 😭😭
I don't think he would get redemption arc because hoyo has written multiple mad scientist type of characters in their other games none of them were redeemed to be playable.
Hoyoverse doesn't do pure evil because that's a naive approach to creating antagonists, it's basically creating an "other" for the audience to simply hate. You don't write characters that are evil for evil sake, you write evil characters who are driven by great motivation and reason behind their actions.
Hoyoverse has a way to write characters whose deeds look so evil and yet all makes sense in the end and even make you realise that what they did was the only way possible, and that while it was terrible, it was what they had to do.
Hoyoverse antagonists have no interest in clearing their own names, what they want to do is do whatever it takes to achieve what is "right" to them, this ends up taking them down the dark path, but in the end they will save everyone. They will get punished for what they did, but at the same time everyone benefited from what they were trying to achieve, some times a person has to take the fall for everyone else.
East Asian writing in general doesn't do "redemption", instead we do the Buddhist concept of "atonement". Atonement is different from redemption, to atone means to make up for what's lost, redemption is to clear one's own name.
It is how Hoyoverse has written worse antagonists than Dottore in Hoyoverse that people now cry over for what they were trying to do. Hoyoverse are the best anti-villain writers out there. They did not redeem themselves, they atoned for what they did by doing what's right in the end, saving more than those they had harmed.
@@GuyWithAnAmazingHat this is why I don't like when people call Dottore "pure evil" he's driven by his desire to make humans equal to gods and free humans from shackles of fate Celestia forced upon them. To me pure evil is when someone does evil things just for sake of doing evil. He's still not a good person of course, he did a lot of bad things for sake of knowledge. Atonement seems like a very interesting concept, it makes sense why I love hoyo villains so much and it makes me very excited for Dottore's arc in the future
Maybe it also has something to do with the way the female playerbase handles fandom things in general. Like, look at all the fanart and fanfiction out there, I'm sure a lot of them are done by female players. And of course, to do those content, we tend to delve deep into the lore, their personalities, their backstories. Heck, some people even make headcanons based on those lore, no?
Also some comments have pointed out below that design and gameplay alone is enough to sell female characters for guys. They prefer the visuals and action generally, after all.
DIDNT EXPECT IT TO COME OUT SO EARLY
Thank you:))
I love the anemo boys stories.
I think the problem with female characters is despite how well written their story quests are, in the end they'll always have a soft spot for the player, ocer literally any other character growth or traits. I love Shenhe but I genuinly find her soft spot for the traveler a noting, she should be more distant with us, but mihoyo wants to pander to a certain audience so the female characters have to always like us. The male characters are less important (since a lot of the time certain parts of the fanbase hate them eg Lyney and Scaramouche) and hoyo can give them proper characterisation without conforming to the "you're my special little silly rabbit traveler" rule. The male characters can be standoffish, they can keep secrets from us, they can be mean or sly and they don't need to like us.
16:41 I started screaming at Paimon and Lumine when they started throwing beans
To me Zhongli is one of the best male characters ever written because from the formation of the guili assembly(the time he had guizhong) to the start of the archon war and after centuries of defending liyue(fighting alongside the adepti during the archon war, sealing of azdaha one of his beloved friend ) he wanted to retire and to allow the quixing(Humans) to handle there fate for there time is right Zhongli has leaded Liyue to an age of prosperity for far enough enduring this he needs to enjoy is remaining life to the fullest
I would say that the guys are a good amount better written then the girls because at least most of the quests focus on the guys, not so much on NPCs, even if they did, the character is still important and we learn more about them. However, it is 50 50 especially with some being mid while others are being great in terms of writing. Hopefully Hoyo will keep up the pace with the cast and not go the usual one side has more growth then the other. Great job with the video as always!
Well Genshin's only playable Father... is a Woman....
Ah Woman who looks cool as heck, has an interesting personality AND also has a friggin Animated vid that has feels!
Well saying this after Arlecchino’s banner has gone by, she’s an antagonist in such a good way. Like I feel as though her design makes it kinda obvious but she’s very much a morally grey character.
Not going to spoil her story quest, but I have to say her story quest was the best one in Genshin in my opinion, compared to every other character.
Hii otsuu! Since you made a video for both male and female characters(loved them both), I am hoping to hear your thoughts on Arlecchino!
After her story quest I think she really takes some traits from both male and female characters, also something about her origin, backstory, development and role in the story feels so unique and fresh. I think for a really long time the entertainment industry thought people do not like intimidating strong women but Arle's existence kinda proves that otherwise since she's really hyped and well received. I think she's truly a character for the mature audience especially women, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! (I'm sorry for writing this request under a male char video tho 😭)
As someone who also has severe allergies I felt the same way during Itto’s quest😭
you forgot about freminet event, it wasn't about freminet in particular but it has one of the best story
I 50% agree with you about the male story quest. However, i think it's bigger issue. all the character quests feels lazy, offers no additional insight from what we already know, and un-engaging content for a game. for instance, Xiao's character during the chasm quest, or giving ayato screentime during the storming of Raiden's castle would have done more service than their character story quest can ever do.
its sad how i learned more about kazuha, fischl and xinyan in a limited event quest that isnt playable anymore by new players (that quest was amazing tbh)
I normally pull for characters my account needs to get stronger teams... Shadows amidst snowstorms event made me pull for Albedo and it was the only time I pulled a character for their story...
The Arlecchino's comment did not age well, she in fact was not evil, actually very merciful lol
Maybe we'll get evil ladies in Natlan?
We won’t, it’s against Chinese Law to have fully evil characters be playable, at least from what I understand.
Great video, lot of of interesting point !
I do not agree with you on the relation between Lyney and the traveller, during his trial and following the revelation that the Lyney is a fatui. I don't understand the travellers reaction because yes he is a fatui but we did help the fatui in some side quest in the chiasm but also we babysit childe's brother and help him after he tried to destroy liyue by unleashing an ancient god on the city to escape.
"Did I get him? Yes, after a full year since his release." -in reference to Tighnari
Me: "Omg me too! Me too!"