5 best Honkai Star Rail waifu-over-meta characters in 2023

Honkai Star Rail's eye-catching character designs have taken the community by storm. With millions of followers here to stay for HoYoverse's new journey, the company has managed to master the art of designing their characters equally throughout all rarities, including 4-stars and 5-stars.

Due to this, while Honkai Star Rail's turn-based combat system does require powerful meta characters to push through the endgame, some characters become instant fan favorites due to how beautiful they look. This allows the community to ignore their overall capability and contribution to any team.

However, readers should note that the following article doesn't mean to undermine any of the character's power within the game's meta. While some of these characters may also excel in the game's meta, their inclusion on this list primarily emphasizes their popularity and appeal on a personal level.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and relies solely on the writer's opinion.

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Himeko, Kafka, and other characters that perfectly fit the "waifu-over-meta" category in Honkai Star Rail

5) Natasha

Natasha as shown in the game (Image via Honkai Star Rail)

Natasha resembles Raven from Honkai Impact 3rd, and both of them share the same first name as well. She is a healer in Honkai Star Rail, and her medications have kept the entirety of the Underworld kicking for multiple years. Her soft tone and flirty interactions with the main character instantly clicked for the player base, making her one of the fan favorites.

Natasha also has her separate voice-acted story mission, similar to some other characters in the game. She is also present in multiple instances of the main story, alongside several side quests, which makes her a central character in the Belobog story arc as well.

Natasha's first appearance in the story (Image via Honkai Star Rail)

Natasha is one of the only two existing healers in the game, as she can be acquired for free after completing a few initial story missions. Hence, if anyone is missing out on Bailu, keeping Natasha as a healer on their team is a must. However, with the current rate-up banner, many will keep her as a primary healer.

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4) Bronya

Bronya as shown in the game (Image via HoYoverse)

Bronya from Honkai Star Rail is yet another familiar face for fans of Honkai Impact 3rd since both characters share pretty much everything, from their name and face to their stylish earrings. This has led to most players becoming highly invested in the new Bronya's lore.

However, unlike Honkai Impact 3rd, players are faced with a fully grown version of Bronya, who is also a commander of an entire military fleet. The culmination of her internal conflict and eventual acceptance of reality during the Jarilo-VI arc provided a gratifying resolution for players, setting the stage for future updates and additional narratives centered around her character.

Bronya conflicted with her decisions (Image via HoYoverse)

While Honkai Impact 3rd's Bronya was young and confident in her abilities, Honkai Star Rail introduced players to a Bronya who is an adult but still learning the ways of life.

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3) Himeko

Himeko as shown in Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai Star Rail (Image via HoYoverse)

The face of Himeko is known to almost all fans of HoYoverse titles. The tragic story of Himeko from Honkai Impact 3rd made everyone's eyes bawl out, seeing how she sacrificed herself to save her student, Kiana, from Honkai corruption.

The company took a bold step in killing off a playable character from the story, who was also considered to be one of the most popular DPS units in the game. This ultimately led everyone to a new Himeko in Honkai Star Rail, who looks identical to the Himeko everyone lost.

Himeko (Image via HoYoverse)

Typically, the entire situation evokes strong emotions among players, as many have developed a sense of protectiveness towards their newly-found redhead waifu in Honkai Star Rail.

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2) Tingyun

Tingyun with her skill (Image via HoYoverse)

Tingyun's appearance stands out the most in Honkai Star Rail, as she is associated with a very distinct fox race. Her physical features are similar to almost that of the fox girls that players might have encountered in any anime or video game.

However, Tingyun is a special case since her attire and way of speaking adds more to her beauty.

Tingyun's full-body model (Image via HoYoverse)

Her long ears and fluffy tail, mixed with a very powerful playable kit, makes her both a waifu and meta in everyone's eyes.

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1) Kafka

Kafka with her make-up during the initial stage of the game (Image via HoYoverse)

Kafka is currently a very famous character in Honkai Star Rail for several reasons. The game introduces the basics of combat through her different abilities, including skills and ultimate. Additionally, Kafka is heavily implied to be tied to the main character's mysterious background, which makes her the center of attention in almost every story arc.

Kafka without her make-up and accessories while being captured (Image via HoYoverse)

Her soft way of speaking to the players, alongside her subtle caring nature towards the main characters instantly made everyone fall in love with her. The contribution of Kafka's attire style and her anti-hero role in the story are important factors as well.

Kafka is yet to become playable, with her release date being speculated to be sometime around v1.2.