'Genshin Impact' Anime on the Works: What to Expect and Who are the Main Characters

With the recent release of Genshin Impact’s recent animated short, discussions about the upcoming anime adaptation of the game have sparked once again, leaving fans to look forward even more for the long-awaited anime series.

We all fondly remember the day when HoYoverse, the team behind Genshin Impact, finally responded to our pleas. Just a month ago, HoYoverse surprised fans with an announcement that they are developing an anime adaptation based on the hit open-world role-playing game.

They will supervise the collab project with the studio behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – a series that has received a lot of praise for its high-quality animations, as well as other notable video-game anime adaptations such as the Fate Series, God Eater and Tales of Zestiria the X.

The three-minute concept trailer was announced in a livestream during Genshin Impact's Version 3.1 Special Program, taking everyone by surprise – even the leakers didn’t see it coming. HoYoverse chose Japanese animation studio Ufotable behind the anime’s production. What's more, the team called their partnership a 'long-term project'. That means we'll likely have a slew of anime titles focused on Genshin Impact, so fans can prepare for a wave of new content.

What narrative will the Genshin Impact anime adapt? Unfortunately, there has been no hint regarding which of their upcoming long-term projects will come into fruition from this partnership. Everyone’s first guess is that it will be about the Traveler’s journey, but we can also expect that the anime may choose a different route – like telling a different tale tied to the main events of the game.

If Ufotable were to stick with the game’s storyline, the anime adaptation will naturally begin in Mondstadt, and we can assume that the anime will progress through each nation with every season. Fans can already expect Diluc and Kaeya, two of Mondstadt's most popular characters, being introduced early on. Amber is one of Genshin Impact's first characters who meets the Traveler, therefore she may be a prominent character in the anime's early episodes.

Of course, fans would also love seeing beloved characters like Hu Tao, Zhongli, Kamisato Ayaka and the Raiden Shogun appear in the anime, but they may have to wait if there will be multiple seasons based on other regions as well.

Some would even prefer if the anime would remain faithful to Genshin Impact’s official manga. This is less popular than the game yet has several intriguing plots. The manga series centers on Diluc and Keaya, as well as the Fatui organization and Knights of Favonius corruption. Practically speaking, going along with the main story would be a safer bet for Ufotable. It has been the choice for some video game anime adaptations such as Danganronpa. They could also take in some liberties and insert some tidbits of lore from Genshin Impact’s manga, or tell some untold stories through the anime.

With this, fans would be able to relive their favorite game through an animated version, and newcomers would be easily welcomed to the story, without missing out much if they aren’t able to try out the game for themselves yet.

According to GameRant, The Genshin Impact leaks subreddit has posted recent leaks about the anime plot. The source suggests the show will begin in Teyvat before the arrival of Aether and Lumine.

Given the use of speech bubbles and the awkward language, it's likely that the following text was translated using Google Translate. (via GameRant):

“It seems that the animation is about the prequel of the original god, that is, the period of [Khaenri'ah], or the period of the war between the gods, and maybe you can see the battle scene of the rock god Morax. At present, the game animations more like the role of improving the world view of Genshin Impact and supplementing the plot, and it may also be used to promote Genshin Impact’s IP to expand the market.”

Apparently, the anime will focus on the downfall of Khaenri’ah, or the Archon War, when gods fought for sovriegnty over a nation.

The leak disclosed that the project has been under development for 18 months and three of 12 episodes featuring the famed Mondstadt region have been produced. Each major game region will get a season in the anime. The leaker did not mention how many episodes for each season nor their lengths.

Due to the lack of reliability in the original source, the leak was immediately labeled as dubious, especially as the first trailer wasn’t advertised to be taking place during the Archon War .

If the leak turns out to be accurate, the Genshin Impact anime will serve as more of a prequel than a retelling of the Traveler's story. Fans will get to see their favorite Archons in their prime. However, we won’t be able to see our beloved present-day characters in action, which would be a shame.

At the moment, there is no set release window for the first Genshin Impact anime. The HoYoverse team already has enough with the IP as it is. Not long ago, the game introduced its vast nation of Sumeru, and Update 3.2 has more to share. Later next month, another update will join the game and plans to introduce Travelers to the final act of the current Archon Quest.

This announcement took many by surprise, but it is nothing but welcome. Genshin Impact fans have been asking for an anime since the game was released. The title's anime-inspired graphics made it easy to imagine what a full-blown anime might look like. But recently, all the anticipation of the fandom has finally paid off. The possibilities to recount the stories of Genshin Impact are really endless, but we hope that Ufotable picks a trump card to make sure that this adaptation will be a fan success.

Genshin Impact is now available on mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development with no confirmed release date.