Voice actors for Genshin Impact have added their voices to the chorus of critics accusing the game’s upcoming Natlan region of being ‘too white’ compared to their real-world inspirations.
As previously reported, some X users and supposed fans of Genshin Impact were outraged over the fact that characters from the upcoming Natlan were far more white-skinned compared to the people found in the real-world locations it was inspired by.
In turn, developer miHoYo had their customer support team reminding those complaining that the characters and all content therein are fictional.
Now, a variety of the game’s English dub voice actors are joining the fray on the side of the critics.
Valeria Rodríguez, voice actor for Sucrose, was one of the first to object, writing to X, “I could stay quiet about this & protect myself but us folks of color don’t always need to stay quiet & let others fk us over and disrespect us so that we can continue to advance at half the pace of our white peers.”
“If you’re going to use real-world deities, RESPECT them,” Rodríguez demanded. “If you’re basing off of real cultures, RESPECT THAT. I’m fine with things being inspired by various cultures- that’s awesome. Representation is dope. But bare minimum do some research & show some cultural appreciation.”
Pointing to the character of Ororon, Rodríguez implored, “Ọlọrun Is the supreme Yoruba deity. You could find that with a quick Google search, even. This is unforgivable. Look at what a sick job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT’S NOT HARD!!!”
Taken aback by this fact, Cyno voice actor Alejandro Saab asserted, “I didn’t know THATS who he’s based on… AH that’s bad. You still got time to fix it.”
Zeno Robinson, whose voice brings to life Sethos, claimed that “if even your base audience, the Chinese fans, are asking for better representation/or character with different shades of melanin, who are you making these characters for?”
Albedo’s voice actor, Khoi Dao, gave a lengthier statement, and in doing so condemned miHoYo.
“If a game draws so heavily from real-world cultures and bases a character on the supreme deity of Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like pale Sasuke Batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, ESPECIALLY when said game has a clearly-stated commitment to a *global* audience,” wrote Dao. “I hope y’all keeping make your voices heard, and I hope they listen.”
Speaking more vaguely, Yomiya’s Jenny Yokobori asserted, “It shouldn’t be a radical desire to want to see yourself reflected in the media you consume.”
In response to a fan who subsequently asked, “So its ok to be upset at misrepresentation?” the voice actor simply replied “Yes”.
Raiden Shogun’s voice actor, Anne Yatco, gave a more level-headed plea. “I really hope that a video game company listens to its fanbase when valid criticism is made multiple years in a row about the execution of its research and inclusion of elements/aspects of other cultures.”
“It’s just disappointing when parts of the world that are so seldom reflected in media could be portrayed accurately,” calmly said Allegra Clark, the voice actress for Beidou. “I know this is ‘inspired by’ as opposed to a 1:1 depiction, but if you’re drawing on specific sources it would be so lovely to see it done the way it should be!”
“There is so much beauty in the world—so many stories that can be told or drawn from, and when it’s not done to its full extent it ends up feeling disrespectful, even if that isn’t the intent. I hope it’s possible to make changes at this stage,” Clark further wished.
She continued talking with other X users, discussing the importance of also playing games made by those other cultures.
At this time of writing, there have been almost no objection from the Natlan trio’s English voice actors and actress.
While Cassandra Lee Moris (Mualani) and Kristen McGuire (Kachina) have only shown delight and excitement, John Patneaude (Kinich) shared some interesting retweets.
This includes a post from Kieran Regan, the voice of Shikanoin Heizou, encouraging unhappy players, “Keep speaking. Your voices are heard. There must be accountability and change.”
He also retweeted a post from Collei’s voice actress, Christina Costello, in which she explains the supposedly uplifting effect of representation.
“Ok no typos this time: When I was a kid, I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like my family in the media,” said Costello. “Things have been changing. Slow, but they have! (But so slow it feels.) We all deserve to see ourselves in the media, to feel seen. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Further, he retweeted Gorou voice actor Cory Yee’s lengthy thread regarding the matter.
“I want to articulate how representation can make a huge difference in someone’s life and why it matters,” Yee told their followers. “TLDR: it means so much to be able to see people who look like you in media. And when the rep is rare, the consequences can be immense. This is why it matters to me.”
In another retweet, miHoYo voice actress Kelsey Jaffer declared, “We’ve been at this for a bit, and my voice is not nearly as important as those of latino/black/indigeous people right now, but…stories are so much more beautiful, rich, and multidimensional when they embrace all shades of the cultures they’re inspired by. people deserve better.”
After a now deleted tweet, the voice of Yaoyao in Genshin Impact and Jane Doe in Zenless Zone Zero added, “To clarify, this is NOT about the actors. please be kind to them. this is about the handling of what could have been a beautiful integration of culture. with culture comes people, and with people comes a rainbow of skin tones. excluding that, we all miss out on richer stories.”
Patneaude also retweeted voice actresses in other miHoYo games, including Alice Himora (Robin in Honkai: Star Rail), and Sam Slade (Anby Demara in Zenless Zone Zero and Topaz in Honkai: Star Rail), as well as several other X users upset about the character designs.
Genshin Impact 5.0 update and the nation of Natlan, will launch August 28th.
