Genshin Impact gets called out for lack of 'cultural appreciation' in latest Natlan teaser

Genshin Impact is once again at the receiving end of criticism from many people in the game's community including voice actors and popular content creators. This time, the criticism revolves around the latest characters introduced in the Natlan Ignition teaser. More specifically, it is centered around their skin color and ignorance of their cultural inspiration by HoYoverse.

This article delves into this developing controversy by highlighting the important details and some of the most notable responses to the situation so far.

---

Fans, voice actors and creators criticise lack of cultural appreciation in latest Genshin Impact Natlan teaser

The Genshin Impact outrage surrounding the latest Natlan teaser started when fans realized that the upcoming region takes inspiration from Mesoamerican and African culture for its geography and character names, but fails to show any kind of cultural appreciation while at it. It seems that the character Mavuika is based on Mahuika, the Māori deity of fire, by merely altering the spelling of the name, which many people find disrespectful.

The appearances and skin tones of the Natlan characters do not possess any similarities to that of the native people and culture HoYoverse has taken inspiration from.

The most notable response is from Sucrose's English voice actor, Valeria Rodriguez. In a thread on X, she stated the following:

"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. 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."

In the penultimate tweet of the thread, she points out the flaws of the new character, Ororon:

"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!!!"

Cyno's English voice actor, Alejandro Saab, replied to Rodriguez's tweet adding:

"o… oh that’s bad"

Apart from this, many fans have even started a petition to boycott HoYoverse for their lack of cultural appreciation regarding the Natlan characters and perceived disrespect towards people of color.

This is not the first time that HoYoverse has landed in hot water for designing characters with a fair skin tone hailing from regions that are inspired by cultures typically featuring colored people. When Sumeru was released, a good portion of the community was upset at the skin color of many of the characters considering the region took inspiration from Arabian and South Asian cultures.

The biggest criticism in both instances has been HoYoverse's lack of respect for the culture they have taken inspiration from. It is unlikely HoYoverse reverses its decision for the Natlan characters considering they have not addressed such issues before despite the criticism they received upon the launch of Sumeru and its characters.

---

Check out more Genshin Impact articles:

• Genshin Impact Natlan teaser confirms Capitano's appearance in the Pyro nation
• All Genshin Impact Natlan character VAs and their iconic roles
• Genshin Impact 5.0 to 5.3 banner schedule leaks