I'm glad I'm not the only one disappointed in this.
I'm disappointed that Baal is not completely responsible for the Vision Hunt. Can they make it just like the sword hunt in our world where the shogun is completely responsible? In their effort to make Baal sympathetic, she still turned out to be a completely unsympathetic dictator with the status quo intact. Like she doesn't care she's killing people.
However, she still isn’t fully realized as in the end, it’s just moe than real development. It’s just feel wasted since there is no true development of complexity hinted at in the trailer. It’s just not developed enough. Baal is a waifu first than a character who wasn't able to fulfill their potential. Then again, it's what said about the female characters in Genshin that are basically waifus first then characters second. Their so-called complexity barely played a part in their quests. We got a hint of the Qixing but those are mostly flavor text and afterthought than actual development where the player is watching their development.
That can be said about Inazuma really. Poorly developed plot and characters despite having great ideas and visuals. Great gameplay too. The Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest seemed to be the most better written of the whole of Inazuma.
Seriously, the only saving grace so far of Izanuma is Yae and Kazuha to some extent. While Izanuma has great visuals but poor execution when it comes to the story, there are a few things that make me excited for the next land we're gonna be seeing. Very few of the leaks about Scaramouche and Childe to be true when the latter's death is far too early just like Signora, I'm gonna quit the story so fast that not even Zhongli can entice me.
Speaking of Kazuha, while I am glad he survived via true love through gay powers, his story has not been expanded upon that much. It felt like he fulfilled his purpose on this arc even if it wasn’t depicted much and at least this one felt nice even if everything else is heavily weighted by its cons. Out of all the character designs thus far in Inazuma, the best character designs came from Kazuha, Tomo, and Itto. The rest, especially Baal, was just okay, nothing particularly interesting.
Mainly because it's through info dumps just like Signora and Scaramouche. That's Mihoyo's weakness with dropping lore into info dumps when they should've made cutscenes that are invaluable to the story at hand. Make this lore into cutscenes and put it into quests or the main story while you're at it, not info dumps. Even Childe's lore about the Abyss is left in the basement! Like, seeing the Qixing more in the main story. Just so many things are left in the basement that it isn't utilized to any extent in the main story or even the quests.
Scaramouche could've been used to his potential or some of his potential due to his connection to Inazuma. Instead of letting his story be told in info dumps, tell it in the main story where we see Scaramouche take his revenge against Baal.
Say, he and the rest of the Fatui team up with the resistance there. They defeat Baal, take the gnosis, and the status quo is upended. We see Ayato shaking hands with the Fatui and the resistance while Baal is taken into prison for her crimes against Inazuma, mobs gathering outside her prison. Scaramouche revealed himself to the public and Fatui has a better diplomatic relationship there at Inazuma. Ayato is the new Shogun this time, no Archon because Inazuma has enough with their own Archon and wants to rule with their own power and open up the borders again.
As for his confrontation with Baal, we can witness Scaramouche and Baal have that backstory-laden thing drama while the traveler acts as a third wheel to the drama and probably want no place in this drama. They're just here for the resistance and while a grudging alliance with the Fatui, they do not want all this clone mess when they're here for their twin. They'll help fight Baal with Scaramouche while Scaramouche relished in his revenge.
And that's just one idea!
In fact, what about Baal's army's side with Kujou Sara where we actually see her question her loyalty to someone who doesn't even care that much about her? You could do so much with Kujou Sara and Yae and ugh, I can't list anyone else on Baal's side right now but their development is nonexistent just like the resistance's side. Instead, we got telling through voice-lines and the bulletin boards conversations to even make sense of their story when they don't impact the story in any meaningful way. I haven't seen the changed opinions that Keqing did regarding Rex Lapis and Kujou Sara had all that potential about Baal that she made her question her loyalty, the foil to Keqing!
As for the resistance, only we got one death, characters who were introduced only to have several lines, and not much done with them. It’s just there with the status quo still in place. I feel no connection when Teppei died. He just looks so much like Jun Kun that I'm just disgruntled that his death feels pointless just like Signora. How about adding Kokomi and her strategies into the mix? We could've seen Kokomi go all Lelouch on the Kujou army and destroy them!
If I want to feel more for Teppei's death, then I must learn more rather than having a Mauve Shirt because of Traveler's reaction to it. I certainly don't feel something about Teppei's death unlike how I would Kazuha or even Tomo because at least we got something about Tomo we can actually empathize with instead of a Mauve Shirt. Tomo got that bishounen design that he has going for him alongside what little we know about him. Tomo got that but not Teppei! Teppei is a Mauve Shirt, not a Red Shirt because of his impact on Traveler but no way his death has an impact on me, not when his design is not that unique! Tomo is dead but elicits more emotion out of me because of what we know and saw about him. Not to mention, he's hot as fuck.
Signora. Her death is utterly wasted and has no emotional payoff of any kind. Personally, I thought Signora would survive until Celestia at best, given her backstory revealed in info dumps. Personally, killing her or even her committing suicide in front of Venti - just any Venti interactions since it seems she has a personal grudge that showcases it more - would do better for her own story than what we got. All her lore is utterly wasted for a death that is for shock value. From a narrative and a moneymaking point of view, Signora's death is pointless and for shock value. Isn't it better if she's playable and has an important part in the main story in later arcs? Because it seemed that way the story was going with Act 1 and 2.
I do not mind her backstory as long as Signora fulfills her potential and Signora didn't fulfill her potential at all. Heck, I don't mind she isn't as evil as I wanted her to be - she's still evil just with a sympathetic backstory -, not when her story potential is wasted. I'm prioritizing story potential so much because it's better to fulfill a story than to leave it wasted.
On top of that, Signora didn't even fit into Inazuma at all. Yes, she played a part in the other two areas but in the end course. Come on, Childe was able to fit in the entirety of Liyue. Why not Scaramouche can handle Inazuma himself without Signora breathing down his neck? Signora could just be watching the events from a safe distance, amused by Scaramouche. It's what Signora did while she was watching Liyue.
The entire act feels like it's happening all at once but at the same time, everything is irrelevant. It's messy and fumbled that I'm pretty sure we're gonna see rewrites of this arc in fanfics and fan ideas thrown around.
Maybe I have high expectations which is why this update just left me disappointed. Regardless, if the next area has enough writing issues just like Inazuma, then I wonder why I would even be here if Childe is going to get killed off early?
Listen, Childe has death flags. His name, his weapons, etc are indications he's not long for this world. It's similar to Euphie's death flags in R1. These two pick up death flags like a kid at a candy store.
However, I wish for Childe to fulfill his potential first before getting killed off. For example, Princess Euphemia from Code Geass has her potential fulfilled before getting killed off because her death was foreshadowed. CG R1 is better written and stitched together than R2. Because we see Euphie grow and definitely have the potential to be a great queen had it not been for her flaws as a ruler which is why we see her get Geassed and have to be killed.
Right now, Childe's potential is still there with his connections to the Tsaritsa, Zhongli, Skirk, and the Abyss. If he gets killed off before Snezhnaya at least and Celestia at best, then I will go read fix-its to ease my pain of seeing wasted potential. Like I would like to meet his family before he gets killed.
Ruin the direction of Childe's character and you will see spite reading fix-its and rewrites. I'm already reading Chili fics so it's the more the merrier. If you try to harm Childe in any way before Snezhnaya to the point of death, I will not be happy.
Seriously, he's one of the three well-realized characters in the dang game. Killing him now is not good for the story and the money. If you can pander with pairing Childe and Zhongli together in merch and promo, then you cannot kill Childe now.
If this is the rate the main story for Genshin is going, then you can count on me reading fanfiction because that's what I've been doing to VLD where I prefer to see the fix-its and rewrites over canon compliance fics.
It's a good thing Kazuha's death was only a rumor since he survived so far. Turned out the canon death was Signora and boy what a pointless death that was. Kazuha's death seems like a treasure and more important than Signora would ever be now. I mean we got to see the gay powers of Kazuha and his best friend and at least we got to understand Kazuha and what his friend means to him. That seems more gravitating than what Signora's death ended up being.
Admittedly, I'm still stuck on 1.1 Liyue. If that is where their writing peaked, then I am wary about future acts. If Childe is gonna get killed early without fulfilling his potential, then you can count me out.
Genshin Impact is gonna end up on the pile VLD, Miraculous Ladybug, and RWBY are in right now about wasted potential with so, so bad resolutions or execution. Good ideas but bad execution or didn't make it work or fail to fulfill the potential that it has.
The only things Genshin hasn't failed were the visuals and the music. While writing is on its ups and downs, the only thing keeping me on board are Childe and Zhongli. With the writing on the female characters having been left to gather dust when it comes to the main story, the stories from their more compelling characters are there. Even if those stories are being left in the basement because we won't be seeing Zhongli and Childe for a long-ass time from now.
The problems with Inazuma might be the new censorship issues MHY has to deal with. Even if we do have to deal with new writers due to previous ones leaving for one thing or another, the last act is just so disastrous as if they were forced to complete it. I still think making waifu Baal was still a thing set in stone since every single female character in Genshin is a waifu first. However, the writing for everything else must have been forced and have to move onto Sumeru when it hopefully won't be blocked by the CCP. I can understand the writing issues due to switching to new writers who haven't left me with much hope but when the fundamental problems became more prominent because of the new writers... I know censorship will be an uphill battle regarding Inazauma's storyline but they could have at least done something. Anything about the political atmosphere or character development or anything at all because it just seems like waifu Baal was forgiven for all her atrocities when her Vision Decree killed her own citizens that she has already shown disdain for. I don't think Kazuha would ever forgive her for killing Tomo at all.
Regardless of what we got with Inazuma is what we have to deal with. Knowing the censorship issues and behind-the-scenes mess during Inazuma's writing, still won't fix Inazuma's writing issues. Again, waifu Baal was gonna be a thing whether people like it or not.
If every female archon including Tsaritsa - all my nightmares about waifu Tsaritsa are frightening - gonna become waifus, that's unfortunate. Really unfortunate.
Waifu writing for the female characters and lore splashing on a background including artifacts - probably the worst kind of lore writing since that's flavor, not actual textual meaning to the main story - was gonna be a thing from the start so I have to pick my battles with it. I would prefer to have the quests for the female characters the same way we have Venti, Zhongli, and Childe's quests where we actually see the lore that was stated beforehand get into the mix and actually impact them as characters moving forward, developing them and all that. That is what I want, not to have every female character fawn at the Traveler who they just met. Inazuma was just the worst offender.
Listen, if there's a malewife Thoma and waifu Tsaritsa as a choice, I will choose malewife Thoma any day.
To wipe away the sour taste Inazuma leaves me and likely Sumeru - this one being the skin tones which doesn't bode well at all - too, I'm gonna go read Chili fanfics and fanart. On an aside note, could we have a dendro vision user as a playable character since Baizhu isn't going to be one? Is our dendro vision user being the archon the one we're gonna use as our very first playable dendro user?
From what I heard, the new world quest Tsurumi Island is better received than the Inazama archon quest. Even Kokomi's quest and Thoma's hangout were better written than the Inazuma archon quest apparently. I don't know about the new labyrinth quest overall story and details yet but I heard tentative good things about the start. I haven't heard much about the new Dragonspine quest but it's tentative good things when people are complaining it should've been the main story exclusive quest, not an event quest.
I would like to imagine a Chili wedding with a combo of Chinese and Russian traditions. It does help that some traditions are similar like the Chinese door games and the Russian buy-out games. The only recent wedding I've been to was my oldest cousin's so I'm imagining the trajectory of the wedding day similar to theirs with the tea ceremony in the morning with an afternoon official ceremony with a night reception. The Chinese traditions are far easier to know which goes where on the timeline of the one-day-only wedding day. It's just where do these two would have their tea ceremony, official ceremony, and reception. I know Xiangling would be the head chef of the catering since Zhongli strongly recommended her cooking in his video. I'm sure Childe's mom and sisters want him to throw the bouquet for the single people while Venti would be either in the groom's party or even the live musician who would definitely play something during the bouquet throwing. It seems to be his type while Childe gets ready to throw the bouquet into the crowds of people. I'm sure Childe's family delights in the wedding door games that are basically the Russian buy-out games for the groom. Combining them should be easy for them since they could add the Chinese door games that are applicable to the couple like making Zhongli eat octopus and composing a poem. I know for sure my cousins found it fun making up the games for the door games since they were in charge of it.
On a side note, I have seen some Pokemon AUs for Genshin. Often, I see Water and sometimes Electric types for Childe and Rock types for Zhongli with the occasional Ground types. While those are fitting especially when these guys would be trainers, well Zhongli trainer-turned-professor kind of like how he mellowed out over time. I mean I see Gokudera going into the Pokemon Research field. I always see a Wailmer/lord with Childe and it's unsurprising considering Childe is both a whale and a narwhal. I want to see Dragon types for Zhongli since Drampa fits his old man vibes if you want to go there and it's a Chinese dragon too and a Shiny Drampa is right there! I have seen Rock and even Ground types for Zhongli but never Dragon types even though Dragon types fit him just as well. He seems like a burgeoning Pokemon researcher when a Trainer but gets his license as a Professor studying Pokemon archaeology while Childe will become a Pokemon Champion. He could be like Steven from Champion but still a Steel enthusiastic and we do see Steven go about studying so... Zhongli could be the Steven counterpart in terms of like that. We know the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champions do have hobbies such as Cynthia and Steven going on looking at archaeological dig sites. Because Champions have a lot of influence, they could do loads of stuff and have money to spare.
