Genshin Impact voice actors support critics of skin tones in the Natlan region: “This is unforgivable”

Voice actor for Genshin Influence have joined the chorus of critics accusing the game’s upcoming Natlan region of being “too white” compared to its real-world counterparts.

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As previously reported, some X-users and alleged fans of Genshin Influence were outraged by the fact that the characters of the upcoming Natlan had much lighter skin compared to the people in the real-life locations the film was inspired by.

The customer support of the developer miHoYo then reminded the complainants that the characters and all content contained therein were fictional.

Now some of the game’s English-speaking voice actors are joining the critics’ side.

Valeria Rodríguez, voice actress for Sucrose, was one of the first to object. She wrote to X: “I could stay silent and protect myself, but we people of color don’t always have to stay silent and allow others to make fun of us and treat us with disrespect so that we can continue to progress at half the speed of our white colleagues.”

“If you’re going to use real-world deities, RESPECT them,” Rodríguez urged. “If you’re going to base things on real-world cultures, RESPECT THAT. I don’t have a problem with things being inspired by different cultures – that’s great. Representation is great. But at least do your research and show some cultural appreciation.”

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Referring to the character Ororon, Rodríguez pleaded, “Ọlọrun is the supreme deity of the Yoruba. You could even find that out with a quick Google search. That’s unforgivable. Look at what an insane job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT’S NOT HARD!!!”

Cyno voice actor Alejandro Saab, surprised by this fact, claimed: “I didn’t know THAT was the person he was based on… AH, that’s bad. You still have time to change it.”

Zeno Robinson, whose voice brings Sethos to life, claimed: “If even your core audience, the Chinese fans, are asking for better representation or for characters with different shades of melanin, then who are you making these characters for?”

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Albedo’s voice actor Khoi Dao made a lengthy statement condemning miHoYo.

“When a game is so heavily inspired by real-world cultures and a character is based on the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like a pale Sasuke Batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, ESPECIALLY when said game is clearly committed to a *global* audience,” Dao wrote. “I hope you all continue to make your voices heard and I hope they listen.”

Jenny Yokobori of Yomiya puts it a little more vaguely, claiming: “The desire to recognize oneself in the media one consumes should not be a radical one.”

When a fan asked, “So is it okay to be upset about misrepresentation?” the voice actor simply replied, “Yes.”

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Anne Yatco, the voice actress for Raiden Shogun, made a more sober plea: “I really hope that a video game company listens to its fans when there is legitimate criticism several years in a row about how it conducts its research and includes elements/aspects of other cultures.”

“It’s just disappointing when parts of the world that are so rarely seen in media are portrayed accurately,” said Allegra Clark, Beidou’s voice actress, calmly. “I know this is ‘inspired by’ and not a 1:1 representation, but when you’re going to draw on certain sources, it would be so nice to see it as it should be!”

“There is so much beauty in the world – so many stories to tell or draw from, and if you don’t use that to its fullest, it ends up feeling disrespectful, even if that’s not the intention. I hope it’s possible to make changes at this stage,” Clark continued.

She continued to chat with other X users and discussed the importance of playing games from other cultures.

At the time of writing, there have been virtually no objections from the English voice actors and actress of the Natlan trio.

While Cassandra Lee Moris (Mualani) and Kristen McGuire (Kachina) only showed joy and enthusiasm, John Patneaude (Kinich) shared some interesting retweets.

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This includes a contribution from Kieran Regan, the voice of Shikanoin Heizou, who encourages dissatisfied players: “Keep talking. Your voices will be heard. There must be accountability and change.”

He also retweeted a post by 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 in the media that looked like my family,” Costello said. “Things have changed. Slowly, but they have changed! (But it feels so slow.) We all deserve to see ourselves in the media, to feel seen. That’s a beautiful thing.”

He also retweeted Gorou voice actor Cory Yee’s long thread on the subject.

“I want to express how representation can make a huge difference in someone’s life and why that matters,” Yee told his followers. “TLDR: It means so much to see people in media who look like you. And when representation is rare, the consequences can be huge. That’s why it matters to me.”

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In another retweet, miHoYo voice actress Kelsey Jaffer explained, “We’ve been at this for a while and my voice isn’t nearly as important as Latino/Black/Indigenous voices right now, but… stories are so much more beautiful, richer, and layered when they embrace all shades of the cultures they’re inspired by. People deserve better.”

According to a now deleted tweet, Yaoyao’s voice in Genshin Influence and Jane Doe in Zenless Zone Zero added: “To be clear, this is NOT about the actors. Please Be kind to them. This is about dealing with what could have been a beautiful integration of culture. With culture comes people, and with people comes a rainbow of skin tones. If we exclude that, we’re all missing out on richer stories.”

Patneaude also retweeted voice actresses in other miHoYo games, including Alice Himora (Robin in Honkai: Star Trail) and Sam Slade (Anby Demara in Zenless Zone Zero and topaz in Honkai: Star Trail) as well as several other X-users who were upset about the character designs.

Genshin Influence Update 5.0 and the Natlan nation will be released on August 28th.

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