Hu Tao
Genshin Impact character
First gameGenshin Impact (2021)
Voiced by
In-universe information
WeaponPolearm
OriginLiyue
BirthdayJuly 15[2]

Hu Tao (Chinese: 胡桃; pinyin: Hú Táo) is a playable character in the action role-playing game Genshin Impact. She is voiced by Brianna Knickerbocker in English, Tao Dian in Chinese, Rie Takahashi in Japanese, and Kim Ha-ru in Korean. In the game, she serves as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor within the Chinese-inspired nation of Liyue. She would make her debut as a playable character within the second phase of Version 1.3 of the game on March 2, 2021.[3]

Creation and design

In the weeks following the initial release of Genshin Impact in September 2020, some players would discover unreleased characters within the game files with Hu Tao being among them.[4][5] This resulted in leaks that the character would be officially launched in Version 1.3 of the game,[5] but Hu Tao would go without mention in the Version 1.3 preview video released by miHoYo, which disappointed many fans that were looking forward to the character's launch.[6] By the end of February 2021, one month after the release of Version 1.3, miHoYo announced that Hu Tao would be released in the second phase of version 1.3 with her dedicated Story Quest chapter, “Papilio Charontis",[7] with her first Story Quest unlocked after players completed Archon Quest Chapter I: Act II, "Farewell, Archaic Lord".[3] On February 27, miHoYo released a character preview video, which revealed that Hu Tao was the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor of Liyue, possessing the ability to see ghosts and being acquainted with Zhongli.[8] Hu Tao's skills and gameplay were showcased in the character demo video released on March 1,[9] with both the announcement and demo also displaying her playful personality.[10] In gameplay, Hu Tao possesses the Pyro element and wields a polearm as her primary weapon. Her skills require sacrificing health to increase damage output, requiring the player to manage her health and utilize abilities from other characters.[11]

Hu Tao's Chinese voice actor, Tao Dian, described Hu Tao as a "creepy and cute" girl. After getting to know the character in depth, she found that Hu Tao, while being mature and strong internally, maintains the innocent and cheerful nature of a child. On the surface, she often makes light of subjects regarding life and death, but secretly has a more genuine and thorough understanding of them, treating the matters with sincerity and respect.[12][13] Hu Tao's English and Japanese voice actors are Brianna Knickerbocker and Rie Takahashi respectively.[14] Takahashi expressed surprise at the complexity of the character when she received background information regarding her. At the recording site, she was further surprised when directed to "make Hu Tao weird", as she had interpreted the character as having more of a tricky personality.[15]

Appearances

Hu Tao serves as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, which is responsible for planning funerals and similar affairs, although she often goes on breaks during the weekends. Most of the time, she is shown to have a livelier and active side to her, often pulling pranks on other characters, but is serious regarding matters to her profession.[16][17] In the early days of Hu Tao's management of the Parlor, she was questioned by the other undertakers because of her only being thirteen at the time. Her leadership would be up to the highest Calibur and increasing prestige, satisfying the other undertakers within. This also led to the subject of funerals being less taboo within Liyue as well as how Hu Tao obtained her vision. She is also a "famous" local poet, often traveling around to accumulate materials and inspiration for her poetry.[18] She describes herself as an "alley school dark poet" and is proficient in writing doggerel, with her works being so recognizable that children tend to recite them.[13]

Gameplay

After the update of version 1.3 of Genshin Impact, players can obtain Hu Tao through Wishes within the game.[3] Unlike other five-star characters, Hu Tao can only be obtained via specific banners that ran throughout the update.[19] She was intended as being a primarily offensive character with good damage output. Hu Tao differs from other offense-based characters in that she consumes health points to convert attack damage into Pyro elemental attacks and increase damage. Her Elemental Burst consists of a ranged attack which partially restores her own health if it hits a target. When her health is less than or equal to around half, the damage and healing amount caused by her Elemental Burst is increased.[20] She would later return in two re-runs for versions 2.2 and 3.4.[21][22]

Promotion and reception

In response to players' high expectations for the character, the production team postponed Hu Tao's trailer until after the traditional Lantern Festival to avoid potential negative impact of the character's announcement during the festival; the character was released a few days later. March 2 also corresponded with the Tung Shing, which contained terminology such as sacrifice, enshrinement, and funerals, which some perceived as a deliberate decision.[23] On May 23, 2022, Hu Tao appeared in a card collection as part of a collaboration with Bandai.[24] On August 9, 2022, Chinese electronics manufacturer OnePlus announced a limited edition variant of the OnePlus Ace Pro featuring the character.[25] In addition, a popular fan-made preset outfit based on the character would later be implemented in the action role-playing game Tower of Fantasy.[26][27]

Hu Tao was well received upon release, with players creating many fan-works as a result.[17] VideoGamer.com called Hu Tao one of the game's best female characters, citing the character's humor and quirkiness regarding her funeral services.[28] Sisi Jiang of Kotaku acknowledged her gameplay was a significant factor, he also attributed some of her popularity to "her cute goth appearance and eccentric personality".[29] GameDaily believes that the production team paid attention-to detail when introducing the characters, such as her constellations relating her poetry and to her profession within the Funeral Parlor.[30] In an analysis regarding the character's popularity, Game Grape editor Jiulian Baodeng stated that it came primarily from her setting and role within the story. He noted how the character appeals to the values and actions that younger demographics yearn for.[17]

In January 2023, as part of the game's annual "Lantern Rite" event, the character performs a rap, the performance of which received negative reaction from fans and media outlets. It resulted in multiple memes and comments, with some of the latter suggesting that the character had a "hidden talent [...] she should keep it hidden". Tyler Colp of PC Gamer noted that some compared it to streamer Mori Calliope's own performance in terms of poor quality, which while he felt was an unfair comparison understood it. He further suggested that localization was more a factor here, pointing out Knickerbocker had covered rap songs previously when written in English, and felt that the English version trying to make the characters "adhere to anime stereotypes" lost nuance from the Chinese script, "which has been a constant point of contention for fans".[31] On the other hand, Tilly Lawton of Pocket Tactics argued that all versions outside of the Chinese rendition were noticeably bad, expressing that some of the disappointment arose from people "looking forward to our fave ghosty gal getting a rare moment to shine."[32]

Her trailer video exceeded one million views in less than seven hours after being released on YouTube,[33] while Genshin Impact topped the iOS best-selling list in seven regions and ranked in the top ten on the best-selling list in 41 regions on the day of her release.[34] In November of the same year, Hu Tao appeared for the second time in her own banner, the sheer amount of players playing at once caused miHoYo's largest server "Celestia" to have a server implosion. Due to this being the second time where many had logged on simultaneously since the public beta, a queue system was set up to handle the surge of players.[35] On that day, Genshin Impact topped the iOS game best-selling list in 31 regions, the first time that Genshin Impact topped the charts simultaneously in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.[36] According to Sensor Tower statistics App Store and Google Play player payment records, on the day that Hu Tao's banner was launched, it brought in a revenue of 12.9 million USD to MiHoYo.[37] A similar study was conducted, where it was reported that within the first day, her release would bring in around 100 billion yen.[38] Her banner with Yelan would also go on to set a record-high in revenue by March 1, 2023.[39] Conversely, she would maintain a relatively high usage rate of 25.8%, ranking 17th.[40]

References

  1. ↑ 「原神」に★5キャラ雪晴梅香・胡桃（炎）が新登場. 4gamer.net (in Japanese). March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  2. ↑ Ashcroft, Helen (August 19, 2023). "Genshin Impact: Every Playable Character's Age, Height, And Birthday". TheGamer. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Lada, Jenni (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Banner Begins This Week". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  4. ↑ King, Austin (December 4, 2020). "Genshin Impact Leaks: All Eight New Characters Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Patino, Martin (February 26, 2021). "Genshin Impact Version 1.4 Character Leaks: Is Hu Tao Playable". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  6. ↑ King, Austin (January 22, 2021). "Is Hu Tao Still Coming To Genshin Impact 1.3". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Patino, Martin (February 28, 2021). "Genshin Impact Reveals New Events Alongside Hu Tao". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ Lada, Jenni (February 26, 2021). "Genshin Impact Hu Tao Trailer Asks If People Are 'Scared Yet'". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ Hashimoto, Kazuma (March 1, 2021). "Watch Hu Tao in Action in Latest Genshin Impact Character Trailer". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ Lada, Jenni (March 11, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Is Challenging in a Good Way". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  11. ↑ "《原神》拾枝杂谈-「胡桃：雪霁梅香」". bilibili (in Simplified Chinese). March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ "《原神》小剧场——「璃月雅集」第四期". bilibili (in Simplified Chinese). December 24, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Felix, Katherine (May 29, 2022). "Genshin Impact: Hu Tao Backstory – Explained". Spiel Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  14. ↑ Dino, Oni (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact Hu Tao Voice Actors Are Industry Veterans". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  15. ↑ Dino, Oni (March 13, 2021). "MiHoYo Told Rie Takahashi to Make Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Weird". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  16. ↑ Dong, Han (2021). "《原神》胡桃角色介绍". 计算机与网络 (in Simplified Chinese). Shijiazhuang, Hebei: 工业和信息化部无线通信专业情报网. 47 (6): 16–17. ISSN 1008-1739. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 Jiulian, Baodeng (November 19, 2021). "《原神》的角色人设方法论". Game Grape (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  18. ↑ "胡桃-原神wiki". miHoYo (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  19. ↑ "『原神』声優の高橋李依さん演じる★5キャラ「胡桃（フータオ）（炎）」が登場するイベント祈願が開催中" (in Japanese). Kadokawa. November 4, 2021. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ Broadwell, Josh; Shepherd, Harry; Martin, Sean (November 1, 2021). "The best build for Hu Tao in Genshin Impact". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  21. ↑ Anderson, Ethan (November 11, 2022). "Genshin Impact leak lists Hu Tao rerun and Alhaitham release in 3.4". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  22. ↑ Orr, Jessica (January 19, 2023). "Genshin Impact 3.4 Banner and event details: The full schedule for The Exquisite Night Chimes". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  23. ↑ 淖尔 (February 27, 2021). "原神胡桃上线角色PV,台词大胆被吐槽免费续碑,日版还有JOJO梗". GameDaily (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  24. ↑ "『原神』カード付ウエハース第2弾が5月23日より発売。新たに雷電将軍や胡桃、エウルア、神里綾華などが豪華ホロ箔仕様のカードに！". Famitsu (in Japanese). April 28, 2022. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  25. ↑ Sayyed, Rayan (August 10, 2022). "OnePlus Features Genshin Impact's Hu Tao For Limited-Edition Ace Pro". IGN India. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Tower of Fantasy: Best Genshin Impact Character Presets with IDs". USA Today. August 12, 2022. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  27. ↑ "The most popular Tower of Fantasy custom characters are Genshin Impact lookalikes". GamesRadar+. August 10, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  28. ↑ "7 Best Female Characters in Genshin Impact". VideoGamer.com. January 29, 2023. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  29. ↑ Jiang, Sisi (October 28, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Strongest Character To Make Comeback". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  30. ↑ 吸吸果冻 (January 2, 2021). "原神：新角色胡桃资料曝光,声优是陶典！命座名字有点问题". GameDaily (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  31. ↑ Colp, Tyler (2023-01-24). "Everyone agrees this Genshin Impact character should never rap again". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  32. ↑ Lawton, Tilly (2023-01-23). "Genshin Impact Hu Tao's rap is on fire, and not in a good way". Pocket Tactics. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  33. ↑ Harris, Iain (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact devs tease Hu Tao on YouTube, get one million views in seven hours". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  34. ↑ Wang, Erhei (March 3, 2021). "3月3日7大地区iOS游戏畅销榜:胡桃使《原神》登顶多国畅销榜". 游戏日报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  35. ↑ Hu, Nanshan (November 3, 2021). "原神第一次炸服,原来胡桃才是人气最高的角色,复刻都这么火". 游戏日报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  36. ↑ GreyKnight (November 4, 2021). "抽卡抽到服务器排队？《原神》胡桃复刻池首日人气爆棚 当日流水32国登顶". 17173.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-19. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  37. ↑ liyunfei (March 26, 2021). "《原神》新角色上线首日收入对比 钟离最受欢迎". 3DM. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  38. ↑ "わずか半年で1000億円超の売上を記録した「原神」はモバイルアプリゲームとして最速で売上を伸ばしている". Gigazine. March 25, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  39. ↑ Martinello, Eva (March 1, 2023). "These 2 Genshin Impact characters smashed revenue records in banners in reruns". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  40. ↑ Sharma, Aakrit (February 1, 2023). "Genshin Impact pick rates: Most popular characters as of version 3.4". Charlie Intel. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
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