Genshin Noir: City of Guilds【HoYoFair Animated Short】

In an alternate world where Teyvat is a city and run by seven guilds, Detective Aether is investigating the secrets that lurk in the city's dark corners. His information broker and cocktail bar owner, Hu Tao, has requested a meeting with him. Or has she? The Abyss Syndicate crash the meeting and their mysterious "boss" has ordered Aether's death!
Check out the HoYoFair Web Event “Detective Chronicles” for a chance to win free merch: hoyo.link/4O7l...
Producer, Director, Writer, Compositor, Editor
Richard "Subutai" Joslin ( / subutaiedits )
Director
TheDrakLad ( / @thedraklad )
Lighting, Lookdev, Technical Support, probably more:
BonnyAnimations ( x.com/bonnytwe... )
Animators:
EyeCandry ( / @eyecandrymovies )
SephticMI ( / @sephticmi )
TheDrakLad ( / @thedraklad )
NoPengoo ( / @nopengoo )
Sujikan ( / @su_jikan )
OzneR (x.com/0_zneR)
cinnamoncinema (x.com/raiko453)
VFX:
Aiko ( ‪@AikoDesu‬ )
Cody (x.com/CodyWinch)
3D Character Models & Textures:
Yochi Mochi ( / yochi_mochi_ )
Layla_3D ( / layla_3d )
Character Lightmapping
voidnon
3D Weapons:
cybeck ( / @cybeck2 )
Rigging Assistance:
AnimSebs (x.com/animsebs)
Environment/Props:
Yi Xuan Zhou (www.artstation...)
Film Score:
Robert Mai (www.bobmaimusi...)
Sound Design:
Vladislav Zharkov ( ‪@VladislavZharkov‬ )
Casting Assistance:
RedVelvetVA ( ‪@RedVelvetVA‬ )
Voice Cast:
Brandon Acosta - Aether
Mari Chavez - Hu Tao
SippyVA - Abyss Capo / Grunts
Technical Artists:
Mken ( / mken_techart )
voidnon
Enthralpy (‪@Enthralpy‬ )
Concept Artists:
BLACKmeow (x.com/miji_black)
HJS (x.com/hamujisan)
3D Image and Thumbnail Renders:
S0ra.Blend ( / s0ra.blend )
Orchestrations: Benjamin Hoff, Ben Ash, & Robert Mai
Assistant Orchestrations: Jacob Shrum
Music Assistance: Evan Tamagni
Live Studio Band:
John Robert Matz
Chris Barber
Ashley Jarmack
Josué González
Yuri Villar
Mason Lieberman
Ally Rozario
Special Thanks:
Blender Foundation
DillonGoo Studios
MADE IN GOO ENGINE
ㅇ Help us create more Genshin animation: / subutaiproduction
ㅇ Support us with one time donation☕: ko-fi.com/subutai
ㅇ Twitter: / subutaiedits
ㅇ TikTok: / subutai_edits
#hoyofair #genshinimpact #genshin #HuTao #animation #blender #3DAnimation #aether #hoyodetective #savepaimon

[@hamzahkhan4067]

This felt like watching early RWBY seasons, you really need to get given budget for a whole show at this point man...

[@Zekken001]

I AGREE!!! Personally, I like the Film Noir genre of it.

[@lol_Ozma]

TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUTTA MY MOUTH

[@RedFirefly96]

HOLY S***!! I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY WHO NOTICED THAT

[@RedFirefly96]

Now i want a fight between this version of Hu Tao and Neo (but her first outfit)

[@Zekken001]

@RedFirefly96 Absolutely! I literally saw Neo in Hu Tao's place during the fight scenes.

[@isekaidgaming]

Hutao: Umbrella warfare, I guess 🌂 Navia: I raised that girl

[@nekimi__]

From the spina with love ❤️

[@patsalvediayml-icpo1358]

Yes

[@Hades-100]

She is so very proud

[@DMeteorUnlimitedTH]

😅c. Ll lll. Yttuft. Y y of your 0:25 0:25 yttuft yyffg5fggt my lllkk, kkkkkkk kkkkkkk kkk keep you kkkkkkk t😂edxx,,m have yuuu😊😊uuu my uu uuyutt

[@diegotorres1746]

I keep seeing Navia instead of Hu Tao

[@cybik]

The fight choreographies here are BEYOND clean. Damn.

[@fii_89639]

And just like the one with guns, this is yet another re-interpretation of their game abilities for another setting. Although this felt more like RWBY than noir.

[@TacticalRIP_Rhymes]

Why does this feel like something Furina would write in her spare time and STILL get an award for it?

[@ridhwanidrus775]

Ah yes Furina writing script for Furina Festival and winning the Furina Award

[@4ntok]

5:30 Can we just appreciate this one goon? Dudes got schmooves

[@AuGAlaN]

The kicks, the sass to pose after finishing his normal attack animations bahahahahaa hes more then a goon in my eyes!

[@yogwi2786]

Harmony Trailblazer

[@MikoIsVeryWeird]

​@@yogwi2786 real

[@soralight_x]

This one clearly show more potential than the rest, but I think They should all be appreciate it. None of them were a joke.

[@pablotomasllodra4423]

Dr Faust

[@zakkurei6451]

Bro these guys gave the traveler more love than hoyo did in the past 4 years it's insane.

[@fgdivine]

this is how i expect aether to use his elemental powers in game 3:34

[@geoffreyganoe5246]

Really loved the Geo construct around himself into the Anemo burst!

[@ExiletheJedi]

Bro really went full avatar

[@RailieRjei]

He is the avator master of all elements

[@popcornpony8420]

I hope Pyro and Cryo won't be disappointed as Hydro. 😔

[@adikkinoersatryo8596]

No kidding. In fact, THIS is what Aether should have been.

[@TheDrakLad]

I directed animation, choreo, and more on this so I hope you enjoyed it! A massive amount of work went into this in a really short amount of time and it honestly wouldn't have been possible without so many exceptional people on the team so please please please check out everyone in the description, they're all amazingly talented people and this was only possible due to them! Huge shoutout to EyeCandry for the sheer amount of segments he handled, guy never faltered once. Being able to bring such amazing humour to a shot as well without having to even communicate how to go about it was such an easy process for him that never failed to make all of us laugh time and time again! Big cheers to Sephtic for helping out so much and for his added segment, it was so much fun going through ideas for choreo for it and he absolutely knocked it out of the park! NoPengoo and Sujikan handled all of the acting shots and they came out spectacular with so much care and detail put into them! Aether was cool as a cucumber and Hu Tao turned out so cute because of them! OzneR and cinnamon came in clutch for us to bridge each act! Massive, massive appreciation for the sheer amount of incredible VFX handled by Aiko, they came out stunning and wonderful! Brilliant VFX were also done by Cody, also came in clutch for solving all sorts of errors that would crop up! Blackmeow and HJS did such an amazing job on the character and weapon concepts, it's been lovely to see how enthusiastic people are for wanting to see the skins in game hahaha Thanks so much to Yochi Mochi and Layla for modelling and texturing Hu Tao and Aether, they clearly turned out fantastic! And huge thanks to voidnon for lightmapping them! Thanks for putting up with my crazy weapon ideas and modelling them Cybeck, they came out stellar! AnimSebs is why we were even able to use the umbrella staff of homa at all due to his fantastic rigging skills! Yi Xuan Zhou made environments and textures a complete breeze to put together! Robert Mai put an incredible score and orchestration together in such a short time, the live instruments turned out to be so worth it! The newly added music section adds so much flair to an already incredible performance! The trumpet and piano are such a joy to listen to alongside everyone else! The sheer amount of insanely high quality sound effects that Vladislav put together in such a short time is nothing short of an insanely amazing accomplishment! Mken helped out enormously for developing the project management system that we would have been lost without! Enthralpy saved us so much production time with his timely scripts and fixes! S0ra created some amazing promo material artwork that made the characters come to life and pop out so well! Brandon, Mari, and SippyVA absolutely killed it in each of their respective roles! And a big thanks to RedVelvetVA for casting assistance! Without BonnyAnimations, we would have been blind in the dark, and that's not just because of all of his lighting! Bonny touched just about everything in the project and was such an incredibly reliable person to problem solve with that made each hump in production a breeze to get through. Absolute savage for lighting just about every single segment of the entire project! And last but not least, insanely huge cheers and praise to Subutai for keeping us on the straight and narrow anytime we overreached and overthought how we would go about everything during production. Beyond directing and writing, he also edited and beautifully composited just about everything in such a crazy short amount of time that we would have been lost without! Also none of this would have been even possible to create without Blender and GooEngine, please consider donating so we can continue to improve productions and push art and animation even further! ❤

[@acasualuser1617]

You guys inspired me, now I really want to make my own piece of animation like this. Is there a community I can join to not only learn how to animate but also find similarly passionate teammate for the project?

[@inztict]

thank you for such an amazing work, much appreciation for the team!

[@unicorniomagico612]

Beautiful work, truly worth the effort ❤

[@leesama130]

Magnificent work. Your team cooked. Hope to see more from you guys one day. Until then, congratulations 👏.

[@ishikusan6298]

Thank you!!! We appreciate you and your team hardwork❤

[@thaipankatima658]

Hu Tao. Navia called. She wants her gunbrella back. ^_^

[@Alridz67]

That is Homabrella 😅

[@soralight_x]

5:55 Really, what is that Umbrella even made of?

[@patsalvediayml-icpo1358]

​@@soralight_x bombs

[@Dagger-back]

@@soralight_xperhaps the same material as the one the Kingsman uses

[@soralight_x]

@@Dagger-back You mean Phainon?

[@mrlegal712]

My favorite part about this entire animation is the way that Aether uses the elements in his combat style as well as the speed in which he changes between each of them to set up different elemental reactions. Legit one of my favorite fight choreographics I've seen out of any animation.

[@fii_89639]

I loved the little details and reactions the characters have, even those who are not the scene's focus. The minions warning the boss about Aether charging at him while he's monologing was just the best~

[@Jbigs720]

I swear your storytelling is on another level. I love Hu Tao's outfit and weapon design. Excellent work on this and I look forward to the next video you produce.

[@SubutaiProduction]

Thank you so much, that means a lot

[@PhantasmaNamer]

YES! Me too! She looks so cute with that Outfit!! I love it so much!

[@EdenDGarden]

This is sick! Detective Aether is gonna be shocked when he finds out his missing sister is a Donna now.

[@SephticMI]

Thank you for having me on againnn (and allowing my extra segment I'm very grateful 😭)

[@somefishhere]

Which part was your extra segment!

[@SephticMI]

@@somefishhere The fight from 5:14-5:47 is my extra segment not included in the HoYoFair livestream version!

[@dirichlettt]

That's a shame, it was my favorite part!

[@peccator821]

​@@SephticMI Yeah that was definitely one of the best parts sucks it didnt make it

[@CodenameCMB]

I love how the team decided against making weak henchmen, like the henchmen's attacks are so spicy. Like Dual Kunai's, Brass Knuckles (Quite bold against a dude with a spear) and a hat?! (That Aether and the henchman deflect back and forth.) Maybe it's just me but the choreography is just so well done.

[@SubutaiProduction]

The abyss mafia are no joke

[@Foxiol]

Loved the art style of everything...Hu Tao looked amazing in that outfit!

[@LilianaKali]

Absolutely! Her design was insane! This is the skin I would pay for, Hoyo! Not the one that's out right now.

[@jonathanrobinson198]

I can tell how much the people who worked on this love Avatar and RWBY. I recognize that air roll and Hu Tao take off anywhere! I was getting Neo vibes and then I saw the crescent rose dash pose.

[@diazpramudita5165]

Yeah the umbrella dash & the downward spin really reminds me of Ruby 😂.

[@silentwarriorts5779]

Excellent work you did here Subutai! Hu Tao's design was top notch, as is her Homa polearm-brella, that was just so cool. Aether's design is awesome too, i love his trenchcoat especially cuz no noir themed detective goes about their investigation without their trusty trenchcoat. Also, great coreograph, and what's even more great is how you incorporate genshin's elements and their reaction into their fight.

[@robertmai6319]

Thank you so much for having me on board to write music for this, Subu! It was such a blast ❤️

[@SubutaiProduction]

You're the best!

[@typicalmarivo]

You knocked it out of the park!!

[@kagayatemakairu9033]

5:15 Extra scene that didnt shown in Hoyofair! Loved how the hat enemy is doing Harmony Trailblazer pose to buff himself.

[@buahkelapaliar8829]

Or Aventurine Pose when he said "KAIDAAAA!!"

[@SubutaiProduction]

Thanks for noticing! ❤

[@KuromuMasamoto]

5:38 bro is NOT Caelus lol

[@marzeloperas]

Bro be like: "Ah Hee Hee!!"

[@Larry_the_larry]

"The mood is set just right" lookin ahh

[@astab2610]

he is harmony itself

[@thegemguy1334]

1:23. Was expecting Morax Dollar. Was not disappointed.

[@YumitoYeet]

i had been DYING to see this since i saw the mini trailer, and i must say i was SO SHOCKED by how good it was. by far one of the best if not the best this hoyofair, cant wait to see you next hoyofair!! i absolutely loved the fighting scene where aether switches between his elements and uses them in battle so casually, this is what i would expect aether to do in game. and hu tao’s outfit was absolutely stunning, i really like the idea of her umbrella being her staff of homa/weapon, and the voice acting was so amazing. hu tao and aethers voices really fit them. made me feel as if i was watching an anime tbh.

[@SubutaiProduction]

That means a lot to me/us, thank you ❤

[@Yenner12MC]

The traveler we all need, peak animation

[@spartan8ter]

The choreography in this is insane. Definitely taking notes alongside Dillion's. Amazing work as always, Sabutai!

[@Navi15]

You guys somehow made Hu Tao even more beautiful. I can't stop looking at her in awe. Wish this was a skin so bad😍❤

[@lowelldaveagnir6459]

The action sequence and choreography is so cool~ All the VAs is on point too~ specially Hu Tao. Subutai Productions cooked some very fine food here. Love it~

[@aaditshirke8755]

This was my fav one this year! I'm a sucker for anything Hu Tao related and this was just outstanding!

[@WorldEaterZero]

Animation and battle choreography is godlike as per usual but can we talk about how you nailed Hu Tao personality in Noir setting and the VAs are as close as the official EN ones. overall Absolute Cinema!

[@rvpairofdicethewanderer2383]

There is nothing I love more in fighting scenes than seeing so many different weapons being used by many combatants. I also love the fact that the goons are not the usual cannon-fodder pushovers, either, as it took Aether and Hu Tao a while to take out before the Boss. I like this World as much as the Elemental Warfare one and this one has Aether (apparently with all Elements) as the Protagonist.

[@TheIceman101418]

Man this feels like Monty Oum back from the grave with todays tech. Amazing work on all the team that did this. Clearly yall were inspired by Monty, can tell from the fight choreo to the outright homages to him. Also nice HSR reference with the hat throwing. The Noir aethestic was great, and you did some awesome efficient storytelling as well. Yall have out done yourselves and put to shame anything Rooster Teeth has put out in the last 6 years, well done. Seriously

[@somethingyouarereadingnow]

THIS IS AMAZING!!! The animation is so satisfying to watch, the fight scene choreo is really fun, and Hu Tao looks soooo cute in her outfit!!

[@SirWhig-esq.]

The flirting

[@Dominono.]

???

[@g-man3845]

The flirting

[@ryukaze7392]

That was amazing! When you had Aether switching up elements on the fly like that, I legit exclaimed "Man, I wish we could do that in game!"

[@zennir48]

Congratulations, amazing work by you and Your team Sabutai. Also loved the combat choreography and the embedded humour

[@watashihirodesu597]

All I can say is Absolute Cinema… …and the hopes of at least a mini series because sweet lord this is amazing, gorgeous effort on everyone’s part in this

[@cosmicXplosion]

Finally! We get to see lore accurate Aether fighting ❤ and it looks AMAZING 🤩

[@TheJNGKvault]

Notice in all of the animations, Aether / Lumine has that godlike combination of power that he/she can apply anytime at will. How I wish the main game could have done to the MCs.

[@llLuc-k]

The staff of Homa umbrella design is so creative! And it’s ranged as well?!

[@altheadsilva]

I was hooked from start to end! The lighting, voiceover, and those fight sequences!!!! Perfection! Aether using all those elements together and the way Hu Tao was using her umbrella were so fantastic!

[@lilian-pvz5126]

Not gonna lie, for as good as this was, the Wilhelm scream at 5:13 got me chuckling for a good minute or two Also, props to everyone who worked on this, this is QUALITY at it's peak

[@g-man3845]

I can't stop watching this lol. I've been watching it every day since it released. Kudos for such a cool concept 👏🎬

[@jacoblineberry1788]

That choreography! Holy eff, man. That was amazing!

[@treopl]

Aether and Hu Tao really have a nice chemistry there. And work well together as well.

[@Drrengore]

as someone who has always adored noelle and hutao and struggled to decide who i'd pair Aether with more, Seeing you use hutao was awesome. Then seeing the way she and aether fought together, was just perfect!

[@ashleyandanime4815]

Aether looks like he came straight from a detective movie

[@gidivelaz2570]

Movie Noire Style for be exact.

[@rovinteyvat4706]

HU TAO SO CUTE

[@MCG4REAL]

The animations are 🔥FIRE!!! You guys ended the year in epic style! 💥It was absolutely INSANE!!!

[@spectralsoul4574]

Hatguy really got them moves. And Aether here became the f*cking Avatar, I love it!

[@slifergames563]

This is so good!! The movements are so smooth, and I liked this Aether and Hu Tao fighting together. Everything was very creative ^^ (I ship 2:29 :3)

[@Naex__]

Y'all outdid yourselves for the fights choreography on this one, truly breath taking

[@estebanramirez1178]

5:13 The Wilhelm scream got me. Also, I love the subtle ragdoll effects on the goons getting thrown around.

[@boxwizard544]

The grunt guy with the hat is dapper as hell! 😆😆😆

[@ExiletheJedi]

It’s harmony trailblazer in a fatui costume

[@pimmie1427]

Is there anyone like me who watches animations like these again at 0.25x bc I wanna see all the small details. I noticed that the money Aether gave Hutao has Zhongli‘s face on it LOL mora in banknotes. AND HIS WRISTBAND THAT GLOWS TO HIS ELEMENTTT! ALSO HOW HE SWAPS WEAPON MID BATTLE THAT WAS SUPER COOL + love hutao‘s movement and use of her umbrella

[@SubutaiProduction]

Congratulations you are the first to notice the mora bank notes!

[@doctorwho3708]

I love how 4:00 Aether was in mid sentence saying he got it easy to just flay going "You know what. I'm just gonna shut up and follow your lead."

[@Arisx.78]

I watched it many times, even though i'm kinda late. But at, 6:40 , I just realize that Aether's hat came back to him😂

[@otakuverse8545]

Man, this was amazing. I loved the premise, and choreography was insane

[@alifeinpurpose]

Major shouts out to all artists and va's involved in this masterpiece! This is definitely a hit! I need 15 more episodes of this!

[@neohybridkai]

You and no_tables really gave RWBY vibe, and the best thing is you guys acknowledge each other

[@KaizuoSilva]

Omg its really good and the cast was stacked no wonder why. This was amazing and like some others said it reminded me of old rwby, love it

[@tamiamorton7389]

As an Aether main even in this year 2025, this was an absolute delight. Voice acting was great, too👌👌👌

[@flednanders7050]

I'm so happy this popped up on my recommended. Genuinely incredible stuff. From the animation to the choreography to the voice acting and humour. Amazing.

[@VergiliusSkyverse]

Brandon acosta did a good job in voicing aether whether with fist... or gun hutao looks really gorgeus and that fight really speaks her character too bad she doesn't use umbrella in the game she definitely gives off mysterious chinese female informant in that attire

[@SubutaiProduction]

Glad to know the vibe was right with Hu Tao's outfit!

[@tired3444]

small mistake, closed captions at 6:06 are a bit too early.

[@SubutaiProduction]

Thanks, fixed

[@blueberrybuns692]

this is by far one of the coolest genshin fanmade videos I've ever seen, bravo

[@typicalmarivo]

Oh hey that’s me!

[@YellowishOnion]

Man... That last grunt with the hat had some crazy sauce... Full on rwby energy, fighting with a hat that has razor blades and can shoot... It's crazy that the best part of the fight was cut feom the livestream.

[@IshimurA99]

This Genshin version of Sherlock Holmes is really GOOD 🗿🔥

[@luna_de_fontaine]

OMG FINALLY NEW VIDEO FROM SUBUTAI!! I LOVE THESE!

[@Slicerhood]

I just saw this in the HoYofair stream 😁 first of woah where when Hu Tao skin 😳 second animation felt so smooth like it's own anime🤯 third of all y'all peeps help make this possible did a outstanding performance bravo 👏

[@TheArcSet]

Wow. An amazing job, especially working in the reactions. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@Mrbrawnie]

That was so epic and beautifull! Soundtrack is really good too!

[@lvl1jy997]

The collective gasps and poses at 3:16 at just perfect

[@apple_pines]

That 6:29 pose for the attack is way too good. I am already full of praises for this animation with how the fights were choreograph and the smoothness of the animations that made it possible. Not to mention beautiful music that was paired with it. But that scene, that scene was the best way to end it. It was incredible.

[@tymonet31]

This was awesome! Gave me chills watching it, in a good way! Keep up the great work!

[@s0mon3-9_9]

ngl in hoyofair hu taos chibi actually helped with a clue like this animation

[@thepokemaster9388]

holy crap the fight scenes and choreography were elite in this video. well done to the whole team!

[@diegoterzi]

3:20 Navia: "Wo, wo, stop right there, little girl! Now you have to pay me royalties!" 😂

[@Zorako_Doc]

wow! i'm really amazed watching this video! I LOVE THE GRAPHICS! i hope you don't rush to make the next animation so the quality of the animation will be more good ❤

[@llLuc-k]

Hutao fans getting all the fan services with this one

[@KingGesura]

Traveler and Hu Tao finding Jack The Ripper will be awesome tho, they were detective in this timeline, it will be interesting if they could track the famous killer itself...

[@antoniorossi6038]

Ho tao is The gigling queen

[@0Blueaura]

best girl, best waifu

[@Wissle]

Man, that was absolutely amazing! Hooray for the Hu Tao involvement, just gotta love her!

[@jdtheva9541]

I know I'm a few days late But Holy cow this is the best thing I've seen in a while

[@Zekken001]

Noir? HELL YES!!! I love this kind of genre. This is absolutely amazing!

[@RedRapture540]

Everyone did such a good job on this! The fight scenes were so well choreographed and the atmosphere was spot on for this setting It is a shame we didn't get to see more about the disappearance of Cornelia I am hoping this will return as a mini series!

[@blackmamba2852]

Lord accurate aether, he should be using all the elements and weapons his come across. Amazing work, felt like watching rwby

[@JaylanDupiche]

lore wise Aether

[@kazumasumeragi3666]

We need Part 2 for the next HoyoFair! I can repeat watching this as many times I want!

[@yellongip879]

You made so much creative use of Aether’s elemental abilities in this animation. It was so cool to see! Amazing job!

[@taqirizvi3401]

Once more, a GREAT animation! W Subtai again!

[@Lord_Chaos000]

Ok, this is really cool! Love the chemistry between Aether and Hu Tao

[@silis_pap8473]

Subutai you're the gift that keeps on giving. That Hu Tao outfit is 🔥🔥

[@SheetsInc]

Move over Hat Guy, we got a new Hat Guy in town...

[@hmsjavelin5588]

Man this was great honestly could make this into a fully fledged series I would deffo watch good job

[@haskivideogame922]

"Oh no, the left one sounds good" is the icing on this wonderful cake

[@jackrabbit1704]

Classic animation RWBY style check. Great dedication and willing to release videos to the public check. No corrupt motivations, just art & enjoyment check. You’re on the fast track to success. Best of luck.

[@yaoretian5104]

This was awesome! The fight choreography was literally CHEF'S KISS In the words of a famous head teacher "ELEGANTO!!"

[@neopolitan6999]

This just too freaking good, the animation, soundtrack, the witty banter, everything is chef's kiss

[@Jimmmy925]

Probably one of your cleanest animations ever

[@dhanushpchande8597]

The fight mechanics, detailing, damn it was awesome. absolutely loved it